Memory Key Words Flashcards
Coding
The format in which information is stored in the various memory stores.
Capacity
The amount of information that can be stored in a memory store.
Duration
The length of time information can be held in memory.
STM
The limited-capacity memory store. Coding is mainly acoustic (sounds), capacity is between 5 and 9 items on average, duration is between about 18 and 30 seconds.
LTM
The permanent memory store. Coding is mainly semantic (meaningful), it has unlimited capacity and can store memories for up to a lifetime.
Consonant Syllable/Trigram
Three letter chunks with no vowels
Digit Span
A way of measuring the capacity of STM in terms of the maximum number of digits that can be recalled in the correct order[
Chunking
Grouping sets of digits or letters into units or ‘chunks’
Free Recall
A method of testing memory where participants are given lists to memorise and are later asked to recall the items
Memory Trace
The physical record or ‘trace’ of memory
Spontaneous Decay
The disappearance of the physical memory trace over time where there is no external cause
Semantically
The meaning of something, such as a word
Acoustically
Refers to sounds or the sense of hearing
Generalisation (Research Findings)
The extent to which findings and conclusions from an investigation can be broadly applied to the population
Multi-Store Model (MSM)
A representation of how memory works in terms of three stores called sensory register, short-term memory and long-term memory. It also describes how information is transferred from one store to another, how it is remembered and how it is forgotten.
Sensory Register
The memory stores for each of our five senses, such as vision (iconic store) and hearing (echoic store). Coding in the iconic sensory register is visual and in the echoic sensory register it is acoustic. The capacity of sensory registers is huge (millions of receptors working at once) and information lasts for a very short time (less than half a second)
Maintenance Rehearsal
Verbally repeating an item to keep it in memory
Retrieval
Recall of information previously stored in memory
Episodic Memory
A long-term memory store for personal events. It includes memories of when the events occurred and of the people, objects, places and behaviours involved. Memories from this store have to be retrieved consciously and with effort.
Semantic Memory
A long-term memory store for our knowledge of the world. This includes facts and our knowledge of what words and concepts mean. These memories usually also need to be recalled deliberately.
Procedural Memory
A long-term memory store for our knowledge of how to do things. This includes our memories of learned skills. We usually recall these memories without making a conscious or deliberate effort.
PET Scan
Positron Emission Tomography. A brain scanning method used to study activity in the brain. Radioactive glucose is ingested and can be detected in active areas of the brain
Brain Scan
A technique used to investigate the functioning of the brain by taking images of the living brain.This makes it possible to match regions of the brain to behaviour by asking participants to engage in particular activities while the scan is done. Brain scans are also used to detect brain abnormalities such as tumours. Examples,: CAT, PET, MRI fMRI scans
Hemisphere
The forebrain (largest part of the brain) is divided into 2 hemispheres
Control Group
In an experiment with an independent groups design, a group of participants who receive no treatment. Their behaviour acts as a baseline against which the effect of the IV may be measured
Declarative Memory
Memories that are consciously recalled, explicit and can be put into words
Non-declarative Memory
Memories are implicit, on automatic pilot and without conscious thought they cannot be put into words
Working Memory Model (WMM)
A representation of short-term memory (STM). It suggests that STM is a dynamic processor of different types of information using sub-units coordinated by a central decision-making system.
Central Executive (CE)
The component of the WMM that co-ordinates the activities of the three sub-systems in memory. It also allocates processing resources to those activities.
Phonological Loop (PL)
The component of the WMM that processes information in terms of sound. This includes both written and spoken material. It’s divided into the phonological store and the articulatory process.
Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad (VSS)
The component of the WMM that processes visual and spatial information in a mental space often called our ‘inner eye’.
Episodic Buffer (EB)
The component of the WMM that brings together material from the other subsystems into a single memory rather than separate strands. It also provides a bridge between working memory and long-term memory.
Phonological Store (PL)
A component of the phonological loop which acts as an ‘inner ear’ i.e. storing sounds
Working Memory
An area of memory that deals with information that is being worked on, equivalent to STM. It is divided into separate stores representing different modalities
Visual Cache
In the WMM, a component of the VSS which deals with the storage of visual information, such as the arrangement of objects
Inner Scribe
In the WMM, a component of the VSS which deals with spatial relations, such as the agreement of objects in the visual field
Articulatory Process
A component of the phonological loop which acts as an ‘inner voice’, i.e. sounds are verbally repeated
Articulatory Suppression Task
An activity that prevents rehearsal of words in the articulatory loop
Dual-task performance
Refers to a research procedure where an individual is asked to perform 2 tasks simultaneously. If participants are slower doing these tasks at the same time than when doing them separately, it is assumed that both tasks complete for the same resources in the brain
Word-length Effect
People remember lists of short words better than lists of long words, governed by the capacity of the phonological loop
Cued recall test
A method of testing memory where the participants are given material to be learned and when recall is tested, they are given cues to enhance recall. This permits one to discover all the words that are available not just those that are currently accessible
Interference
Forgetting because one memory blocks another, causing one or both memories to be distorted or forgotten.
Proative Interference (PI)
Forgetting occurs when older memories, already stored, disrupt the recall of newer memories. The degree of forgetting is greater when the memories are similar.
Retroactive Interference (RI)
Forgetting occurs when newer memories disrupt the recall of older memories already stored. The degree of forgetting is again greater when the memories are similar.
Retrieval Failure
A form of forgetting. It occurs when we don’t have the necessary cues to access memory. The memory is available but not accessible unless a suitable cue is provided.
Cue
A ‘trigger’ of information that allows us to access a memory. Such cues may be meaningful or may be indirectly linked by being encoded at the time of learning. For example, cues may be external (environmental context) or internal (mood or degree of drunkenness).
Encoding Specificity Principle
Recall is best when there is a large overlap between the information available at the time of retrieval (cues) and the information in the memory trace
Eyewitness testimony (EWT)
The ability of people to remember the details of events, such as accidents and crimes, which they themselves have observes. Accuracy of EWT can be affected by factors such as misleading information, leading questions and anxiety.
Misleading Information
Incorrect information given to the eyewitness usually after the event. It can take many forms, such as leading questions and post-event discussion between co-witnesses and/or other people.
Leading Question
A question which, because of the way it is phrased, suggest a certain answer. For example, “Was the knife in the accused’s left hand?” This suggests that the answer is ‘left hand’.
Post-event discussion (PED)
PED occurs when there is more than one witness to an event. Witnesses may discuss what they have seen with co-witnesses or with other people. This may influence the accuracy of Each witness’s recall of the event.
Own age bias
The tendency to recognise or remember things more easily if they relate to your own age group
Anxiety
A state of emotional and physical arousal. The emotions include having worried thought and feelings of tension. Physical changes include an increased heart rate and sweatiness. Anxiety is a normal reaction to stressful situations, but can affect the accuracy and detail of eyewitness testimony.
Tunnel Theory
An explanation for weapon-focus effect that the weapon narrows the field attention and thus reduces information to be stored
Fight-or-flight response
The way an animal responds when stressed. The body becomes physiologically aroused in readiness to fight an aggressor or, in some cases, flee
Yerkes-Dodson Law
The inverted U theory states that performance will increase with stress, but only to a certain point, where it decreases drastically
Cognitive Interview (CI)
A method of interviewing eyewitnesses to help them retrieve more accurate memories. It uses four main techniques, all based on well-established psychological knowledge of human memory – report everything, reinstate the context, reverse the order, and change perspective.
