Models of Memory

Question 1

how and why did ebbinghaus study memory?

Answer 1

he studied lists of CVC nonsense syllables to give insight into learning (law of repetition) and forgetting (savings model)

Question 2

what does the law of repetition state?

Answer 2

more maintenance and rehearsal leads to better retention

Question 3

what creates a steep learning curve?

Answer 3

the more repeated, the less new information is added

Question 4

when is there rapid improvement for recall?

Answer 4

in first repetitions

Question 5

what are the three core memory processes?

Answer 5

1. encoding
2. storage
3. retrieval

Question 6

encoding

Answer 6

using attention to select relevant information

Question 7

storage

Answer 7

memory traces are temporarily stored in the hippocampus and integrated in cortical information networks

Question 8

retrieval

Answer 8

bringing information back into focus of attention

Question 9

the atkinson and shiffrin model of memory storage (1968)

Answer 9

attended sensory information is transferred into STM where it can be rehearsed to be stored into LTM

these memory stores differ in terms of duration

Question 10

sensory memory

Answer 10

fills in the blanks where there is intermittent information, by taking a snapshot of the world in order to attend to what is important

Question 11

evidence of modality specific sensory memory

Answer 11

• iconic memory for vision
• echoic memory for hearing
• haptic memory for touch
• olfactory memory for smell
• gustatory memory for taste

Question 12

what did sperling (1960) aim to find about memory store?

Answer 12

evidence on capacity and duration

Question 13

sperling (1960) findings

Answer 13

full report condition: participants could name 4/12 letters despite feeling they saw more

partial report condition: could report 9/12 after a tone indicated the line they should focus on

Question 14

sperling (1960) conclusions

Answer 14

there is a large amount held in iconic memory which decays rapidly

Question 15

function of STM

Answer 15

the conscious processing of information, by converting sensory information into WM or STM

Question 16

what did miller (1956) suggest about STM?

Answer 16

has limited capacity of 7±2

Question 17

how can chunking be used for STM?

Answer 17

to overcome the information bottleneck by grouping familiar stimuli into a single storage unit

Question 18

information is lost within ______ seconds if not rehearsed

Answer 18

15-20

Question 19

what can forgetting be caused by?

Answer 19

time delay/decay
proactive and retroactive interference

Question 20

rehearsal

Answer 20

the process of repetitively verbalising or thinking about the information

Question 21

what is release from proactive interference?

Answer 21

where performance gradually declines from doing the same type of trial

performance becomes accurate once the stimulus has changed

Question 22

what does the MSM model not consider?

Answer 22

information might not need to be consciously processed, and rehearsal does not guarantee LTM storage

Question 23

function of LTM

Answer 23

organise information using different systems

unlimited capacity and permanent duration

Question 24

the baddeley and hitch model of working memory (1974)

Answer 24

replaced single STM store with four working memory components, as they believed STM was necessary to perform complex tasks

Question 25

WM components

Answer 25

1. central executive
2. phonological loop
3. visuospatial sketchpad
4. episodic buffer

Question 26

what is the phonological loop involved in?

Answer 26

language acquisition and the temporary storage of auditory information

Question 27

two components of the phonological loop

Answer 27

1. phonological store
2. articulatory loop

Question 28

phonological store

Answer 28

(inner ear)

speech-based information can be held for 2s until it disappears. this is a passive and temporary storehouse

Question 29

articulatory loop

Answer 29

(inner voice)

active rehearsal component which is linked to speech. involves subvocal articulation to rehearse auditory information

Question 30

evidence for phonological loop

Answer 30

1. phonological similarity effect
2. word length effect
3. unattended speech effect
4. articulatory suppression

Question 31

phonological similarity effect

Answer 31

misremembering is more likely if items sound phonologically similar, as items are based on a phonological code which reduces their discriminability

Question 32

word length effect

Answer 32

memory span for short words is greater than for long words, due to articulation duration

languages with a faster speaking rate can rehearse more words in the articulatory loop

Question 33

unattended speech effect

Answer 33

performance is impaired if other verbal material needs to be ignored, as irrelevant material gains access to the phonological store

this must then be distinguished into noise or speech

Question 34

articulatory suppression

Answer 34

prevents rehearsal by (c)overt articulation which makes the articulatory loop harder to use

• during visual presentation this results in the speaker not being able to use sub-vocal articulation
• during auditory presentation, this has no effect as items have direct access to the phonological store

Question 35

what is the visuospatial sketchpad?

Answer 35

the system for manipulating images and spatial movement by processing spatial, visual, and kinaesthetic information

Question 36

components of the visuospatial sketchpad

Answer 36

1. visual cache
2. inner scribe

Question 37

visual cache

Answer 37

visual information about shape and colour (what)

Question 38

inner scribe

Answer 38

spatial and movement information (where)

Question 39

what is the function of the visuospatial sketchpad?

Answer 39

to construct and manipulate images which are isomorphic to perceptual images

Question 40

evidence for visuospatial sketchpad

Answer 40

• better at identifying components of an image if the mental image is large
• time scanning between imagined landmarks increases along with their distance
• amount of mental rotation required is proportional to the time to answer

Question 41

neurophysiological findings for visuospatial sketchpad

Answer 41

higher brain activity in occipital lobe for visual tasks and parietal lobe for spatial tasks

Question 42

what is the function of the central executive?

Answer 42

maintains task goals and goal-related information to direct processing in prefrontal cortex

Question 43

central executive attention and storage

Answer 43

attention is limited and has no storage

Question 44

central executive tasks

Answer 44

directing attention
switching between stages
selective attention and inhibition

Question 45

neuropsychology and central executive

Answer 45

• patients with frontal lobe damage have issues with attentional control
• AD patients have difficulty distributing attention between tasks

Question 46

effects of those with dysexecutive syndrome

Answer 46

• perseverance (cannot interrupt an ongoing schema)
• utilisation behaviour (fail to focus attention and can only respond automatically to cues)
• catatonia (motionless and speechless for hours due to failed schema initiation)

Question 47

what does evidence suggest about central executive?

Answer 47

may have multiple mechanisms rather than one unitary system

Question 48

what is the function of the episodic buffer?

Answer 48

integrates information from phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad into a single complex structure or an episode

Question 49

what can the episodic buffer hold?

Answer 49

four pieces of information in a multidimensional code, and assists in binding

Question 50

binding

Answer 50

integrating information about location, colour, size, feel, and scenes

Question 51

what does the episodic buffer interact with?

Answer 51

both perception and LTM

Question 52

ways to measure WM capacity

Answer 52

• operation span
• reading span
• corsi block task

Question 53

what does WM correlate with?

Answer 53

fluid intelligence and attentional control