S2 Wk 1 - Cognitive: Memory Flashcards
memory systems are distinguished by what 3 things
Duration: sensory, short-term, long-term
Modality: visual, auditory, verbal etc
Type of detail stored : (episodic, semantic, procedural, etc)
three part division of memory
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
what model did Atkinson & Shiffrin (1968) make
multi-store model and/or modal model
- provides a simple schematic illustration of human memory
sensory stores / register
and subsystems
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)
movement from sensory registers to short-term memory relies on
attention (can be overt or covert)
if attention is not given to stimulus, the sensory trace will quickly decay
three points about short-term memory
very limited capacity
shown by digit / letter / word span tasks
typical number of items that can be retrieved is 7 +-2 (Miller, 1956)
three detailed points of short-term memory
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
how are items lost from short-term memory
through displacement
new items can ‘push out’ older items
long term memory 3 points
no known limit on capacity
coding is semantic
forgetting happens slowly
where does the main support for a distinction between short-term and long-term memory come from studies of
brain-damaged patients
in order to show a seperation between two psychological processes, we look for a
double dissociation
- some ppl perform well on task A but poorly on task B and vice versa
support for multi-store model
amnesic patient HM had impaired LTM but intact STM
KF had impaired STM but intact LTM
if memory is unitary this should not occur
5 limitations of multi-store model
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
working memory refers to what
a brain and cognitive system that allows both temporary storage and manipulation of info, necessary for a variety of complex cognitive tasks
key feature of Working Memory Model
it permits the performance of more than one cognitive task at a time, provided each task is processed by a different subsystem
what is the phonological loop
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
what is the visuospatial sketchpad
a subsystem that allows us to maintain and manipulate visual and spatial images
consists of visual cache and inner scribe
whats the central executive
the control centre that coordinates subsystems
allows us to select among possible actions, strategically allocates attention to different subsystems
what is the episodic buffer
temporary storage system that can hold and integrate info from the phonological loop, visuo-spatial sketchpad and LTM
controlled by the central executive
Craik and Tulving (1975) incidental learning
ppts performed tasks involving a number of words, but were not aware that in their memory for these words would be tested
Craik and Tulving (1975) task conditions differed in terms of level of processing
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
Craik and Tulving (1975) finding
Memory was more than 3-times higher for items subjected to deep processing compared to shallow processing
This is also affected by elaboration
what is perceptual processing
(shallow processing) - processing material to extract superficial sensory characteristics (e.g. shape, colour etc). Leads to poor retention.
what is semantic processing
processing of material to extract meaning. Leads to better retention.
