Models of Memory Flashcards
how and why did ebbinghaus study memory?
he studied lists of CVC nonsense syllables to give insight into learning (law of repetition) and forgetting (savings model)
what does the law of repetition state?
more maintenance and rehearsal leads to better retention
what creates a steep learning curve?
the more repeated, the less new information is added
when is there rapid improvement for recall?
in first repetitions
what are the three core memory processes?
- encoding
- storage
- retrieval
encoding
using attention to select relevant information
storage
memory traces are temporarily stored in the hippocampus and integrated in cortical information networks
retrieval
bringing information back into focus of attention
the atkinson and shiffrin model of memory storage (1968)
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
sensory memory
fills in the blanks where there is intermittent information, by taking a snapshot of the world in order to attend to what is important
evidence of modality specific sensory memory
- iconic memory for vision
- echoic memory for hearing
- haptic memory for touch
- olfactory memory for smell
- gustatory memory for taste
what did sperling (1960) aim to find about memory store?
evidence on capacity and duration
sperling (1960) findings
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
sperling (1960) conclusions
there is a large amount held in iconic memory which decays rapidly
function of STM
the conscious processing of information, by converting sensory information into WM or STM
what did miller (1956) suggest about STM?
has limited capacity of 7±2
how can chunking be used for STM?
to overcome the information bottleneck by grouping familiar stimuli into a single storage unit
information is lost within ______ seconds if not rehearsed
15-20
what can forgetting be caused by?
time delay/decay
proactive and retroactive interference
rehearsal
the process of repetitively verbalising or thinking about the information
what is release from proactive interference?
where performance gradually declines from doing the same type of trial
performance becomes accurate once the stimulus has changed
what does the MSM model not consider?
information might not need to be consciously processed, and rehearsal does not guarantee LTM storage
function of LTM
organise information using different systems
unlimited capacity and permanent duration
the baddeley and hitch model of working memory (1974)
replaced single STM store with four working memory components, as they believed STM was necessary to perform complex tasks
WM components
- central executive
- phonological loop
- visuospatial sketchpad
- episodic buffer
what is the phonological loop involved in?
language acquisition and the temporary storage of auditory information
two components of the phonological loop
- phonological store
- articulatory loop
phonological store
(inner ear)
speech-based information can be held for 2s until it disappears. this is a passive and temporary storehouse
articulatory loop
(inner voice)
active rehearsal component which is linked to speech. involves subvocal articulation to rehearse auditory information
evidence for phonological loop
- phonological similarity effect
- word length effect
- unattended speech effect
- articulatory suppression
phonological similarity effect
misremembering is more likely if items sound phonologically similar, as items are based on a phonological code which reduces their discriminability
word length effect
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
unattended speech effect
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
articulatory suppression
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
what is the visuospatial sketchpad?
the system for manipulating images and spatial movement by processing spatial, visual, and kinaesthetic information
components of the visuospatial sketchpad
- visual cache
- inner scribe
visual cache
visual information about shape and colour (what)
inner scribe
spatial and movement information (where)
what is the function of the visuospatial sketchpad?
to construct and manipulate images which are isomorphic to perceptual images
evidence for visuospatial sketchpad
- 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
neurophysiological findings for visuospatial sketchpad
higher brain activity in occipital lobe for visual tasks and parietal lobe for spatial tasks
what is the function of the central executive?
maintains task goals and goal-related information to direct processing in prefrontal cortex
central executive attention and storage
attention is limited and has no storage
central executive tasks
directing attention
switching between stages
selective attention and inhibition
neuropsychology and central executive
- patients with frontal lobe damage have issues with attentional control
- AD patients have difficulty distributing attention between tasks
effects of those with dysexecutive syndrome
- 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)
what does evidence suggest about central executive?
may have multiple mechanisms rather than one unitary system
what is the function of the episodic buffer?
integrates information from phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad into a single complex structure or an episode
what can the episodic buffer hold?
four pieces of information in a multidimensional code, and assists in binding
binding
integrating information about location, colour, size, feel, and scenes
what does the episodic buffer interact with?
both perception and LTM
ways to measure WM capacity
- operation span
- reading span
- corsi block task
what does WM correlate with?
fluid intelligence and attentional control
