what is memory essential for?
understanding ourselves and the world around us
what are the three seperable processes in memory?
- encoding= entering info into system
-storage= retaining memories over time - retrieval= finding and recovering stored memories
what are basic distinctions in memory?
sensory input
sensory memory
short term memory
long term memory
what is sensory memory?
- visual iconic
- speech based echoic
if asked to recall letters performance was poor- around 4 items
when presented with a tone, immediately after presentation, p’s recall was excellent
if tone was a second after the presentation of letters then performance was poor again
rapid decay happens in the sensory store, especially in the iconic store
what is short term memory?
limited capacity and duration
- recalls 3-4 pieces of info
what is millers magic number?
- magic number seven plus or minus two
mean capacity across tasks such as digit recall is around 7 - also explored concept of chunking - grouping items into smaller meaningful segments enhances recall
e.g, ITVUSAFBICIA, SEFHOUPNHFG - Chunking important in determining capacity
what is short term memory duration study by peterson and peterson?
- study XRQ, count backwards from 3 from 49, recall XRQ
- using vocal process to do counting backwards, blocks rehearsal, pure measure of short-term memory capacity. -Criticism= possibly due to confusion between different lists of letters.
what is modal/ stage model by atkinson and shiffrin?
- learning depends on how material is processed rather than time in short term storage
- number of patients have severe short term memory deficits without clear long term deficits
- simple storage in unitary stores does not tell the whole story
- way to learn- process of rehearsal, the longer you rehearse, the more likely you will remember the info by transfer to long term
what is working memory?
short term memory PLUS processing
important for huge range of abilities, e.g. educational attainment
expanded version of short term memory- breaking down types of info- visual spatial sketchpad - episodic buffer- central executive- phonological loop- language- episodic LTM- visual semantics
what is long term memory?
- no known limits in capacity or duration
- standing 1970’s work
- p’s can store 1000’s of items- brady et al
what is memory as a unitary system?
short term memory and long term memory have the same characteristics and principles
difference is strength of that representation- continuum of STM to LTM
what is primacy and recency?
- postman and philips
- primacy and recency in immediate and delayed recall
- delay often doesn’s eliminate recency effect
- recency is observed in LTM too
- Recency- short term- last words you saw
-Primacy- long term- first words you saw
-Distinction
-Sometimes see recency effects after a delay- delay often doesn’t eliminate recency effect.
-Temporal discrimination- like seeing poles- closer are clearer- further away are less clear.
-Can’t use primacy and recency.
evidence from neurology =
-Can infer partial independence of cognitive functions underlying 2
cognitive tasks
-Helps to rule out task difficulty as explanation
who is patient HM with amnesia?
- bilateral damage to hippocampus and medial temporal lobe
- severe retrograde amnesia
- limited temporally graded retrograde amnesia
-spared digit span, peterson performance, recency in free recall
-short term memory was intact= long term memory was impaired - jon - hippocampal amnesic
what did STM patients show?
- patient KF and others showed opposite pattern of memory problems, completing double dissociaton between short and long term memory
- impairments; peterson task, other short term memory tasks, recency in free recall, spared ability for long term memory tasks
- considerable evidence suggests short term and long term dissociation
-Shows that STM and LTM are different processes- supports that hypothesis
what are episodic/ biographical events?
- remembering that the word ‘elephant’ was presented in a studied list of words
- remembering getting your a level results
what is semantic events (words, ideas, concepts)?
- knowing that elephants live in africa
- knowing your a level results
what are skilled based procedures?
Skill based procedures- implicit memory- hard to describe it- just able to do it- long term
what is flashbulb memory?
- snapshot in time
- memory of hearing about emotional and often public events
- vivid and high confidence
-Print down memory- vivid and high confidence- Muzzulini (e.g. where were you when princess diana died)
-Involves surprise, emotion
-Proposed emotional-integrative model; surprise, emotionality, personal importance to that event, determine efficient encoding and later rehearsal
-Produces detailed and durable representations
-Confidence in memories
-Incredibly unreliable
-Fill in the gaps - inconsistent
