Q2: Lecture 10 Flashcards
working memory
alternative way of thinking about STM; can accommodate both the data that fit with the modal model as well as those that do not, makes new prediction, and is flexible enough to accommodate theoretical modifications
unitary memory store perspective
does not propose multiple memory storage places, and working memory itself is not considered a storage place
central executive
the higher-level component of the working memory system, and the one we might easily associate with many consciously directed mental activities; can also manipulate retrieved information to perform mental tasks such as
mathematical calculating and inference drawing. In addition, it can perform evaluative functions and
register the outcomes of those functions into the long-term store.
resource allocation
phonological loop
activation buffer; also known as articulatory loop, can keep a limited number of speech sounds activated
visuospatial sketchpad
activation buffer; can
keep a limited number of visual patterns actively available
activation buffer
2 subordinate activation buffers: phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad; both are considered slaves systems
slave system
do not function according to their own goals, they exist only to serve the higher-order functions of the central executive; keeps info stored in the long-term store active long enough for the central executive to perform goal-directed manipulation, evaluation, recoding, and integration
Baddeley, Thomson, & Buchanan (1975)
All three of the studies examine a phenomenon called the
word length effect
word-length effect
the tendency to recall shorter words better than longer words
articulatory suppression task
thought to interfere with the subvocal rehearsal mechanism required to keep the visually presented words active in the phonological loop
subvocal rehearsal
The process whereby auditory patterns
are kept active in the phonological loop; called this because it is as if the loop is
silently repeating the sounds to itself
Brooks (1968)
evidence for the validity of the concept of the visuospatial sketchpad; used a series of trials on which participants were given a stimulus they needed to hold
in immediate memory, and about which they were required to answer a series of Yes/No questions.
Stimuli were either visual patterns or sentences. When a visual pattern was used it formed the outline
of a large block letter F. It also included an asterisk at one of the corners of the outline.
Della Sala, et al. (1999)
a question relevant to the working memory model is whether the two aspects
of the rehearsal buffer can act somewhat separately and, therefore, be influenced by different factors; study performed either a visual grid-
shading task or the spatial Corsi blocks task. For each trial of the grid-shading task,
participants saw a sample grid with a specific pattern of filled and unfilled boxes.
Afterwards, memory for the stimulus was tested by providing a blank grid and having
participants fill in the appropriate boxes; the effect of the visual interference task was especially
pronounced for the grid shading task that presumably tapped into the
visual aspect of the visuospatial sketchpad. By contrast, the effect of the
spatial interference task was particularly noticeable for the Corsi blocks
task that tapped into the spatial aspect of the visuospatial sketchpad.
Thus, the results supported the idea that the two different facets of the
sketchpad can operate at least somewhat independently.
visual grid-shading task
participants saw a sample grid with a specific pattern of filled and unfilled boxes
Corsi blocks task
A set of cubes is
arranged on a table, and the tester presents a sample spatial pattern by
tapping a finger on a sequence of blocks. Afterwards, memory for the
spatial pattern is assessed when a participant tries to recreate the
pattern by tapping the blocks in the same order
haptic peg-following
Participants reached a hand under a table to touch a board into which a series of pegs were inserted.
The pegs formed a trail and participants used a finger to trace the prg-trail from the beginning to the
end
Baddeley & Hitch (1974)
Recall that one of Baddeley’s ideas about working memory was that the rehearsal buffers can
“borrow” attentional capacity from the central executive. This idea was evaluated in a study by
Baddeley and Hitch; a study that involved a simple statement verification task. On each trial of
the statement verification task, research participants saw a pair of letters and a statement that
described a pair of letters. Participants responded by saying whether the statement accurately
described the visual pair
statement verification task
research participants saw a pair of letters and a statement that
described a pair of letters. Participants responded by saying whether the statement accurately
described the visual pair
Donder’s subtractive method
if one performed a task that required the use of
several different cognitive functions, then the total time required to perform the task is equal to the
sum of the times required of each mental act.
Sternberg’s additive method
involves having people
repeatedly complete a task that requires the use of a mental process of interest. By gradually
increasing the number of times that the process must be used, the amount of additional time required
of the task can be noted. In turn, the amount of extra time associated with one additional repetition of
the mental process is considered the temporal requirement of that process
immediate memory-scanning task
At the
beginning of each trial, a set of letters was presented
visually, and participants were required to briefly hold them
in memory. Memory sets ranged in size from one letter to six letters. After a set was presented, a
probe letter was shown. Participants’ task was to say whether the probe letter was part of the memory
set – a task that required then to scan the contents of working memory. On some trials the probe
letter was part of the memory set, and on other trials it was not. Thus, the nature of the correct
response varied across task trials.
memory set
ranged in size from one letter to six letters
probe letter
a specific letter or stimulus used in a memory test, typically presented after a series of other letters, to assess whether a participant remembers if that particular letter was part of the original sequence
parallel scan
the ability of the human brain to simultaneously process lots of sensory information at the same time
self-terminating serial scan
each item in working memory is considered one at a time, but that scanning
ceases once it is no longer necessary
exhaustive serial scan
items are scanned one-at-a-time, but that scanning
always continues until all items are scanned. In other words, even if a positive match is made
between the probe letter and a scanned letter, the scanning just keeps going until the last item is
examined.
pronoun reference task
strongly related to performance on the working memory span task because one must keep the first
part of the sentence actively available to understand the pronoun that appears much later, at the end
of the sentence
working memory span task
required people to recall verbal materials rather than a series of digits.
For the task they developed, they found that the working memory span scores for a sample of college
students ranged from 2 to 5.
subject variable
participants are assessed using the working memory span task and divided into groups according to
their scores
Conway, Cowan, & Bunting (2001)
simple ex post facto study; study engaged in dichotic listening and a
shadowing task, much like participants in the studies you learned about when selective auditory
attention was discussed. The thing that was special about this study, however, was that the to-be-
ignored message presented to the unattended ear occasionally included the name of the participant; They found that 65% of low
working memory span participants noticed the utterance of their names, whereas only 20% of high
working memory span participants did. In other words, people with low working memory spans were
much more likely to be distracted from the shadowing task by the sound of their own names.
Kane & Engle (2000)
The researchers found that participants with low working memory spans
exhibited much more proactive interference than participants with high working memory spans. Thus,
Kane and Engle (2000) provided converging evidence that people with small working memory
capacities are less able to maintain an attentional focus on relevant information compared to people
with large working memory capacities
Kane & Engle (2003)
examined Stroop
task performance for participants with high and low working memory spans
Rosen & Engle (1997)
made use of a common neuropsychological assessment called the verbal fluency task;
verbal fluency task
neuropsychological assessment; involves asking people to name as many members of a specified category as they can
within a limited amount of time
digit-monitoring task
people
listened to a continuous stream of digits being read aloud. Their task was to press a button as quickly
as they could whenever three consecutive digits were odd. Thus, the digit monitoring task was used
to sap attentional resources and leave fewer resources available to perform the verbal fluency task.
