Short-Term and Working Memory Flashcards
Modal Model of Memory
Proposed three types of memory: Sensory Short term Long term Information processes through these stages
Sensory memory
A brief stage of memory that holds information for seconds or fractions of a second
Persistence of vision
The continued perception of light for a fraction of a second after the original light stimulus has been extinguished.
Sterling’s experiment on measuring duration and capacity of sensory memory
Flashed an array of letters on the screen for 50 milliseconds and asked his participants to report as many of the letters as possible
Used three different report methods: whole, partial, and delayed
Conclusion: sensory memory registers all or most information that hits our visual receptors but this information decays within less than a second
Iconic memory
Sensory memory for visual stimuli that lasts for a fraction of a second
Echoic memory
Sensory memory for auditory stimuli that lasts a few seconds
Short-term memory (STM)
Holds a limited amount of information for a brief period of time (around 30 seconds without rehearsal)
How many items can be held in STM?
4-9 items
Chunking
Combining small units into larger ones to increase memory capacity
Alvarez and Cavanagh used the change detection theory with more complex objects to conclude that…
the greater amount of information in an image, the fewer items that can be held in STM
Working memory
A limited capacity system for temporary storage and manipulation of information
Working memory is used for…
complex tasks such as comprehension, learning, and reasoning
Three components of working memory proposed by Baddeley?
- Phonological loop
- Visuospatial sketch pad
- Central Executive
Phonological loop
Holds and processes verbal and auditory information. Attached to the central executive
Visuospatial sketch pad
Holds visual and spatial information. Attached to the central executive
Central executive
Coordinates the activity of the phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad. “Traffic cop” of working memory
Three phenomena that support the idea of a system specialized for language
- Phonological similarity effect
- Word length effect
- Articulatory suppression
Phonological similarity effect
The confusion of letters or words that sound similar
Word length effect
It is more difficult to remember a list of long words than a list of short words
Articulatory suppression
Prevented from rehearsing items to be remembered by repeating an irrelevant sound
The central executive is related to…
executive attention
The frontal lobe (prefrontal cortex) plays a central role in working memory, so people with frontal lobe damage…
have trouble controlling their attention
Perseveration
Difficulty in switching from one behaviour to another, which can hinder a person’s ability to solve problems that require flexible thinking.
The capacity of working memory can be increased by…
chunking
Episodic buffer
Additional component added to Baddeley’s working memory model. Represents a way of increasing storage capacity and communicating with LTM
What experiment supports that idea that the prefrontal cortex is important for holding information for brief periods of time?
Delayed response task used to test STM in monkeys
One reason why we can describe young infants’ memory behaviour as “out of sigh out of mind”
Their frontal and prefrontal cortex do not become adequately developed until about 8 months
When the prefrontal cortex is removed in monkeys during the delayed response task…
they are unable to hold information about an objects location
In Stoke’s model, information is held in memory by…
a brief change in the connectivity of neurons in a network
The idea that a number of areas of the brain are involved in working memory is an example of _________
distributed representation
