Models of memory

Question 1

Multi-Store memory model - Key componenets

Answer 1

• sensory memory
  
  • Short term memory store
  • Long-term memory store

Question 2

Multi-Store memory model - Sensory memory

Answer 2

This section does not process information. It’s function is to detect information and hold it until it is transferred to short term memory or lost. There are several components of the sensory memory store but two commonly focused components are Iconic Memory and Echoic Memory.
• Capacity: this is limited by sensory perception.
• Duration: Is very short, normally a variation of a few seconds across components.
• Condition: Requires attention, information that is attended is stored in the memory.

Question 3

Multi-Store memory model - Short Term Memory

Answer 3

Short-Term Memory:

* Capacity: 7±2 chunks of information
* Duration: Dependent on modality but limited to 30 seconds
* Condition: Increasing the duration of short term requires rehearsal

Question 4

Multi-Store memory model - Short Term Memory

Answer 4

Long-Term Memory:

* Capacity: Currently estimated to be virtually unlimited. 
* Duration: Decades and years
* Condition: Contextual clues

Question 5

Multi-Store memory model -Evaluation

Answer 5

Evaluation:
• When does Sensory Memory become considered STM?
• Is there a physiological basis for memory stores
• Is information mono-directional?
• Is rehearsal a sufficient enforcing method?
• Structure over process bias
• Oversimplifications

Question 6

Working memory model - Key Components

Answer 6

• Central executive
  
  • Visuospatial sketchpad
  • Phonological loop

Question 7

Working Memory model - Visuospatial sketchpad

Answer 7

This component holds visual and spatial information.

Question 8

Working Memory model - Phonological loop

Answer 8

This hold sound information and has two main areas
• Phonological store
• Articulatory rehearsal component
The phonological store holds these information passively such as storing someone’s speech. The articulatory rehearsal component turns visual stimuli into sounds such as the pronunciation of words as well as rehearsal of information in the inner ear, by repeating these words we are increasing duration of working memory and transferring information to long term storage.

Question 9

Working Memory model - Central Exectutive

Answer 9

A system that allocates resources between the visuospatial sketchpad and phonological loop. In this sense it is considered a manager for the two systems.

Question 10

Working Memory model - Episodic Buffer

Answer 10

This is a component that integrates information from other components and links it to long term memory structures.

Question 11

Working memory model - Evaluation

Answer 11

• Physiological correlations to this model
Holistic Model
• Integrate findings from work on short term memory
• Does not overemphasize the role of rehearsal
• Degree of complexity is more difficult to test empirically
• Difficult to test the model in its entirety and rather its components individually are tested-thus difficult to falsify
Does not take into account of sensory or LTM structures

Question 12

Glanzer and Cunitz aim

Answer 12

Investigate how order and chronology affects memory

Question 13

Glazner and Cunitz method

Answer 13

Condition 1
A sample of 240 military enlisted men were presented with recordings of 20 word lists consisting of one syllable nouns. Immediately after hearing the words they were made to do a free recall task for two minutes.
Condition 2
Researchers introduced a delay at the end of the task and before allowing them to free recall objects for 30 second using a filler task of counting backwards from a given number thus preventing rehearsal.

Question 14

Glaner and Cunitz Results

Answer 14

Participants were better at remembering words at the start of the list (primacy effect) and at the end of the list (recency effect).
Condition 2
The resulting data indicated that participants were still successful at recalling words from the start but were no longer able to remember words from the end of the list. Thus the primacy effect s preserved but the recency effect was not.

Question 15

Conrad and Hull 1964 aim

Answer 15

The effect of rhyming on memory A.K.A Phonological similarity effect.

Question 16

Conrad and Hull 1964 method

Answer 16

Participants were instructed to recall a list of letters. Some list of letters were phonologically similar like (B,C,D,G,P) while other lists were not like (F,H,P,R,X).

Question 17

Conrad and Hull 1964 Results

Answer 17

They found that rhyming lists were more difficult to remember since the similar sounding words when encoded can get confused for being too similar thus supporting the idea that memory for speech material uses a sound based storage system which we know as the phonological store.

Question 18

baddeley, lewis and Vallar 1984 aim

Answer 18

What is the effect of articulatory suppression on the phonological similarity effect

Question 19

Baddeley, lewis and Vallar 1984 Method

Answer 19

• Participants were made to repeat a sequence of words over and over.
○ While at the same time performing the experimental task.
• They were made to recite rhyming and non rhyming words.
Through spoken mode of presentation and written mode of presentation.

Question 20

Baddeley, Lewis and Vallar 1984 context

Answer 20

• Articulatory suppression
• The Visual input cannot be recorded into sounds and hence cannot enter the phonological store.
• Auditory inputs enter the phonological store but their rehearsal will be impossible.
The “Inner Voice” is filled up.

Question 21

Baddeley, Lewis, Vallar 1984 results

Answer 21

• Phonological similarity effect between condition one and condition two.
○ Rhyming words harder to recall than non-rhyming
○ No phonological similarity effect for condition 3 and 4
§ Rate of recall for rhyming and non-rhyming were the same

Question 22

Baddeley, Lewis, Vallar 1984 conclusion

Answer 22

• When articulatory rehearsal is inhibited spoken info can enter the ohonological store directly.
• Since rhyming words sound similar and create similar traces
○ These traces are easier to confused.
§ Showing phonological similarity effect.
• Written info can also enter working memory but it does not get reocrded into sounds.
○ Presumed to enter the visuospatial sketchpad

Question 23

Baddeley 1996 aim

Answer 23

○ Investigate the role of the central executive

Question 24

baddeley 1996 method

Answer 24

○ Participants were required to produce random sequences of digits by pressing a key every second on a keyboard determined by a metronome.
○ To produce a random sequence you have to use attentional resources to remember digits you have pressed.
○ The dependent variable was the randomness of the digit sequence.
○ The more random the sequence the better the central executive was at this cognitive task.
○ Simultaneously participants were required to engage in a second activity at the same time
§ Recite the alphabet
§ Count numbers
§ Alternate between letters and numbers

Question 25

baddeley 1996 results

Answer 25

○ Counting or reciting did no affect randomness.
○ Alternation did reduce randomness.
○ It was concluded that constantly switching of retrieval plans Is performed by a separate memory system (the central executive)

Question 26

Visuo-spatial sketchpad

Answer 26

Visuo-Spatial memory

This is a section that provides a virtual environment for physical simulation, calculation and visualization and optical memory recall. It gathers the initial processing of information and it is later retrieved from the long term memory to produce the recollection of an image.
There are two subdvisions of visuospatial memory
1. The visual cache which stores information on colour and shape/form.
2. The inner scribe, which deals with spatial and movement information. It also rehearses information in the visual cache and transfers information in to the central executive.

Main findings

1. There is less interference between visual and spatial tasks than a visual-visual or spacial-spacial. 
2. Brain damage can influence one of the components without influencing the other.
3. Results from brain imaging show that working memory tasks with visual objects activate mostly areas in the left hemisphere where spatial information activate more areas in the right hemisphere.

Question 27

Episodic Buffer

Answer 27

The episodic buffer acts as a ‘backup’ store which communicates with both long-term memory and the components of working memory. This is fed by other subsystems and links to central executive. It forms chunks of information.

Question 28

Phonological loop

Answer 28

This part of working memory deals with spoken and written material. It consists of two parts.
The phonological store acts as a inner ear and holds information in a speech based form for 1-2 seconds. Spoken words enter the store directly. Written words must first be converted into an articulatory (spoken) code before they can enter the phonological store.
The articulatory control process acts like an inner voice rehearsing information from the phonological store. It circulates information round and round like a tape loop. This is how we remember a telephone number we just heard. As long as we keep repeating it we can retain the information in working memory. The articulatory system also converts written material into an articulatory code and transfers it to the phonological store