S2 Wk 1 - Cognitive: Memory

Question 1

memory systems are distinguished by what 3 things

Answer 1

Duration: sensory, short-term, long-term

Modality: visual, auditory, verbal etc

Type of detail stored : (episodic, semantic, procedural, etc)

Question 2

three part division of memory

Answer 2

encoding - transforming any info into a coded representation

storage - storing the encoded representation in the memory

retrieval - retrieving the stored representation and reconstructing the event

Question 3

what model did Atkinson & Shiffrin (1968) make

Answer 3

multi-store model and/or modal model

• provides a simple schematic illustration of human memory

Question 4

sensory stores / register
and subsystems

Answer 4

limited to one sensory modality, and hold info very briefly

iconic memory: visual sensory store (hold for 1/2 second to a second)

echoic memory: auditory (hold for 2 seconds to 4 seconds)

Question 5

movement from sensory registers to short-term memory relies on

Answer 5

attention (can be overt or covert)

if attention is not given to stimulus, the sensory trace will quickly decay

Question 6

three points about short-term memory

Answer 6

very limited capacity

shown by digit / letter / word span tasks

typical number of items that can be retrieved is 7 +-2 (Miller, 1956)

Question 7

three detailed points of short-term memory

Answer 7

if items can be grouped into chunks - more can be remembered

info is held in short-term store for much longer through rehearsing - move to long-term memory

for auditory info the coding is phonological

Question 8

how are items lost from short-term memory

Answer 8

through displacement

new items can ‘push out’ older items

Question 9

long term memory 3 points

Answer 9

no known limit on capacity

coding is semantic

forgetting happens slowly

Question 10

where does the main support for a distinction between short-term and long-term memory come from studies of

Answer 10

brain-damaged patients

Question 11

in order to show a seperation between two psychological processes, we look for a

Answer 11

double dissociation

• some ppl perform well on task A but poorly on task B and vice versa

Question 12

support for multi-store model

Answer 12

amnesic patient HM had impaired LTM but intact STM

KF had impaired STM but intact LTM

if memory is unitary this should not occur

Question 13

5 limitations of multi-store model

Answer 13

over-simplified

assumes short-term store is a gateway to the long-term

states that the short-term store is the contents of consciousness (unconsciously processed info shouldn’t make it to long-term memory)

assumes all items in STM are of equal status

assumes most info in LTM gets there

Question 14

working memory refers to what

Answer 14

a brain and cognitive system that allows both temporary storage and manipulation of info, necessary for a variety of complex cognitive tasks

Question 15

key feature of Working Memory Model

Answer 15

it permits the performance of more than one cognitive task at a time, provided each task is processed by a different subsystem

Question 16

what is the phonological loop

Answer 16

consists of 2 parts
phonological store that holds acoustic or speech-based info for about 2 seconds

articulatory control process that produces our inner speech
allows us to sub-vocally rehearse info to ourselves to keep it refreshed in the phonological store

Question 17

what is the visuospatial sketchpad

Answer 17

a subsystem that allows us to maintain and manipulate visual and spatial images

consists of visual cache and inner scribe

Question 18

whats the central executive

Answer 18

the control centre that coordinates subsystems
allows us to select among possible actions, strategically allocates attention to different subsystems

Question 19

what is the episodic buffer

Answer 19

temporary storage system that can hold and integrate info from the phonological loop, visuo-spatial sketchpad and LTM

controlled by the central executive

Question 20

Craik and Tulving (1975) incidental learning

Answer 20

ppts performed tasks involving a number of words, but were not aware that in their memory for these words would be tested

Question 21

Craik and Tulving (1975) task conditions differed in terms of level of processing

Answer 21

shallow graphemic - ppts decided whether a word is in uppercase or lowercase letters

Intermediate phonemic: ppts decided whether each words rhymes with a target word

Deep semantic: ppts decided whether each word fits the blank in a sentence

Question 22

Craik and Tulving (1975) finding

Answer 22

Memory was more than 3-times higher for items subjected to deep processing compared to shallow processing
This is also affected by elaboration

Question 23

what is perceptual processing

Answer 23

(shallow processing) - processing material to extract superficial sensory characteristics (e.g. shape, colour etc). Leads to poor retention.

Question 24

what is semantic processing

Answer 24

processing of material to extract meaning. Leads to better retention.

Question 25

3 things to more likely remember things

Answer 25

distinctiveness

relevance

emotionality

Question 26

two major encoding processes

Answer 26

organisation

mnemonics - provide retrieval cues

Question 27

what are retrieval cues

Answer 27

tags attached to the memory which facilitate its recovery

make available memories accessible

Question 28

what did Tulving & Pearlstone 1966 distinguished

Answer 28

the availabilty of a memory and its accessibility

Question 29

Godden & Baddeley (1975) study

Answer 29

Deep-sea divers learned word lists on beach and underwater

Later recalled the words in either same or different learning environment

Divers tested in a different environment recalled 40% less than those tested in the same environment.

Question 30

context as a retrieval cue, where context can refer to

Answer 30

internal state

mood

Question 31

what is the forgetting function

Answer 31

a mathematical formulation of the rate of successful retrieval as a function of time:

Question 32

two main explanations to time-based forgetting are

Answer 32

decay - memories fade or deteriorate over time

interference - learning of new or old info can disrupt or prevent retrieval so memories encoded in long-term memory (LTM) are forgotten and cannot be retrieved into short-term memory (STM).

Question 33

what are two types of interference

Answer 33

retroactive inhibition: recent learning interfere old memories

proactive inhibition: old information prevents the recall of newer info