Sensory, Short-term & Working Memory

Question 1

encoding

Answer 1

the function by which information is coded in a form that allows it to be stored in memory

Question 2

storage

Answer 2

the function by which information is retained in memory

Question 3

retrieval

Answer 3

the function by which information is recollected as needed

Question 4

Multi-Store Model of Memory by Atkinson & Shiffrin

Answer 4

proposes that memory consists of three main stores: sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. Information flows through these stores in a linear fashion, with limited capacity and duration at each stage

Question 5

short-term memory

Answer 5

the memory systems in the brain involved in remembering pieces of information for a short period of time. Last 15 to 30 sec but may be retained longer by rehearsal of the material. The capacity of the short-term store is limited to a small number of “chunks” of information.

Question 6

long-term memory

Answer 6

provide a lasting retention of information (e.g., facts, episodes, skills, conditioned responses) from minutes to a lifetime. Appear to have an almost unlimited capacity.

Question 7

Magic number 7+-2

Answer 7

refers to the limited capacity of STM or WM by Miller. This means that individuals can typically hold between five to nine pieces of information in their STM at any given time. Beyond this capacity, information becomes increasingly difficult to retain and process.

Question 8

recollection

Answer 8

the act of recalling something to mind

Question 9

working memory

Answer 9

Part of STM. Memory that involves storing, focusing attention on, and manipulating information for a relatively short period of time. It’s the collection of mental processes that permit information to be held temporarily in an accessible state, in the service of some mental task.

Question 10

Secondary memory

Answer 10

refer to memory proper, which we not think of as LTM

Question 11

primary memory

Answer 11

now known as STM

Question 12

sensory memory

Answer 12

recollection of perceptual types of how a stimulus looks, feels, sounds, etc. Temorary sensory register that allows input from the sensory modalities to be prolonged.

Question 13

iconic memory

Answer 13

sensory memory store for visual stimuli

Question 14

echoic memory

Answer 14

sensory memory specific to auditory stimuli

Question 15

haptic/tactile memory

Answer 15

a form of sensory memory specific to tactile stimuli, sense of touch

Question 16

rehearsal

Answer 16

a set of processes by which we can act on currently active information. Involves recycling the information (e.g. by repeating it to ourselves)

Question 17

maintenance rehearsal

Answer 17

retains information in STM

Question 18

elaborative rehearsal

Answer 18

organizes the information so that it can be integrated into LTM

Question 19

decay

Answer 19

a process by which information is lost from STM over time

Question 20

displacement

Answer 20

a process by which information coming into STM causes information already held there to be lost

Question 21

digit span

Answer 21

number of digits that can be held in memory and is used as a measure of STM
on average most people can keep 7 +- 2. Can increase with chunking

Question 22

chunking

Answer 22

a strategy to improve memory by grouping smaller units together into a larger unite

Question 23

recency effect

Answer 23

tendency, given a list of items to remember, to recall those from the end of the list more readily than items from the middle

Question 24

serial position curve

Answer 24

used to plot recall of a word list such that performance is examined as a function of words position in a list. Best performance at the end of the list when recalling a long list of words in order, and at the beginning

Question 25

primary effect

Answer 25

enhanced recall of items at the start of a list compared to those in the middle

Question 26

negative recency effect

Answer 26

the tendency for recall of items from the end of a list to be poorer than for those from the start of middle of the list in a final, cumulative task

Question 27

amnesia

Answer 27

a patter of memory lost affecting elements of LTM, while STM remains intact

Question 28

double dissociation

Answer 28

when two related mental processes are shown to function independently of each other. Like STM and LTM

Question 29

Baddeley’s working memory model

Answer 29

posited that as opposed to the simplistic functions of STM in providing short-term storage of information, working memory is a multicomponent system that manipulates information storage for greater and more complex cognitive utility.
Includes: Central executive, visuo-spatial sketchpad, phonological loop and episodic buffer

Question 30

central executive

Answer 30

the component of working memory proposed to control and coordinate the activity of the other components. Focuses and switches attention

Question 31

visuo-spatial sketchpad

Answer 31

the component of working memory proposed for the temporary storage and manipulation of visual and spatial information. Limited capacity: three to four objects
Two components: visual cache and inner scribe

Question 32

visual cache

Answer 32

the component of the VSSP that stores visual information

Question 33

inner scribe

Answer 33

the component of the VSSP that allows spatial processing

Question 34

phonological loop

Answer 34

the component of working memory proposed for the temporary storage and manipulation of sound or phonological information.
Two subcomponents: phonological store and articulatory control process

Question 35

phonological store

Answer 35

holds speech-based information for a period of about two or three seconds

Question 36

articulatory control process

Answer 36

allows maintenance of information in the store and converts visual information to speech-based information. Processes linked to inner speech

Question 37

Four main evidence for the phonological loop

Answer 37

1. the word length effect
2. the effects of articulatory suppression
3. the irrelevant speech effect
4. the phonological similarity effect

Question 38

the word length effect

Answer 38

the recall advantage for shorter words compared to longer words when immediate serial recall is tested

Question 39

the effects of articulatory suppression

Answer 39

the ability to rehearse sub vocally can be disrupted if we require a participant to rehearse a string that is not relevant to the currant task

Question 40

the irrelevant speech effect

Answer 40

recall of visually presented verbal material is poorer when irrelevant speech is presented during learning

Question 41

the phonological similarity effect

Answer 41

recall is poorer for an ordered list of verbal items when the items sound alike, relative to performance on a list of items that do not sound alike

Question 42

dysexecutive syndrome

Answer 42

a range of deficits reflecting problems with executive function and control, and often associated with injury to the frontal areas of the brain

Question 43

the episodic buffer

Answer 43

a component that was added to the Working Memory Model later on. It is responsible for integrating information from the phonological loop, VSSP, and LTM to create a complete representation of an event or experience.

Question 44

activities that provide resistance to cognitive aging

Answer 44

bilingualism, playing musical instrument, aerobic exercises

Question 45

Cowan’s Embedded Processes Working Memory Model

Answer 45

proposes that working memory consists of two separate subsystems: the activated portion of LTM and a central executive. The activated portion of LTM holds a limited amount of information that is currently in use, while the central executive controls attention, decision-making, and retrieval from LTM. This model emphasizes the dynamic interaction between STM and LTM systems in cognitive tasks.