Short Term And Working Memory (missed Class) Flashcards
What is memory?
-retaining, retrieving and using information after the original information is gone
What happened to Clive Wearing?
-he has severe amnesia from brain swelling
What is the modal model of memory?
-also called the Atkinson-Shiffrin model, is a theory describing memory in three stages: sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory.
What are the stages in the modal model memory called?
-structural features
Describe how the modal model memory works. (5)
-all input to sensory memory and some which we pay attention to is passed to short term memory which can be extended with a control process like rehearsal. Information we are trying to remember or is significant will then move to long term memory which can move back to short term as we remember things
What is sensory memory, and how long does it last?
-briefly holds sensory information, such as sights and sounds, lasting about 1/4 seconds for visual (iconic) memory and for auditory (echoic) memory.
Describe short term memory which is part of modal model memory.
-it stores info for a slightly longer time, like 20 seconds, but it has a limited capacity
Describe long term memory as part of the modal model of memory.
-large capacity can store info for a long time, maybe indefinitely
What are control processes?
-things we actively do to remember things
What are some control processes? (3)
-rehearsal (repeating)
-attention like when you are studying
-memory strategies like relating it to a familiar date
What does sensory memory focus on?
-registers most information that hits our sensory receptors
What are the two types of sensory memory? (2)
-iconic store
-echoic store
What is the iconic store?
-brief storage of apparent motion
What is the perceptual trail?
-when we see the light from the sprinkler drawing something out because we can only process 12 images per second, retention of the perception of light in your mind
Do we have separate sensory memories?
-yes
What is the echoic store?
-it briefly holds auditory info
How did Sperling show that the effect of sensory memory is not perceptual but an actual memory experience?
-whole report vs. Partial report
What is the whole report? How many numbers could be remember?
-when a series of numbers is quickly flashed at you and you’re asked to say as many letters as you remember
-4.5 out of 12
What is a partial report? What is the outcome? (2)
-when you’re given a tone to tell you which row to look at (reported 3.3/4 letters)
-people do better at this which is why sensory memory is not just what we are perceiving but also what we are paying attention to
The Brown Peterson task looked at short term memory. What did they do? What was the outcome? (2)
-they were given 3 numbers and 3 digits and they had to remember the numbers while simultaneously counting backward from the number.
-After 3 seconds, they remembered it 80% of the time and at 18 they remembered 10%
What is the relationship between attention and the STM?
-determines which sensory information moves from sensory memory to short-term memory.
What is retrieval in terms of the STM?
-accessing memories in LTM and place in STM
What are encoding and retrieval in the context of the modal model?
-Encoding is transferring information from STM to LTM, while retrieval is bringing information back from LTM to STM for conscious use.
What is capacity? What is STM capacity? (2)
-the max number of independent units that can be held in STM
-7 plus or minus two
What is a digit span?
-how many digits a person can remember, typically 5-8
Describe Luck and Vogels change detection task.
-different coloured squares would show up on the screen and then again show up later and you had to say if any had changed
According to the model of working memory, which of the following mental tasks should LEAST adversely affect people’s driving performance while operating a car along an unfamiliar, winding road?
a) Trying to imagine a portrait from a recent museum exhibit
b) Trying to imagine how many cabinets are in their kitchen
c) Trying to remember the definition of a word they just learned
d) Trying to remember a map of the area
c) Trying to remember the definition of a word they just learned.
Explanation: According to the model of working memory, tasks that involve visual-spatial processing (like imagining a portrait, picturing the layout of cabinets, or recalling a map) are likely to interfere more with the demands of driving along a winding, unfamiliar road, as both driving and these tasks rely on the visuospatial sketchpad. In contrast, remembering a word definition involves the phonological loop, which processes verbal information and is less likely to interfere with the visual-spatial demands of driving.
Auditory sensory memory is to __________ as visual sensory memory is to _____________.
-echoic; iconic
A task with the instructions “Read the following words while repeating ‘the, the, the’ out loud, look away, and then write down the words you remember” would most likely be studying
-articulatory suppression
Physiological studies indicate that damage to the brain’s___________can disrupt behaviors that depend on working memory.
-prefrontal cortex
Observations that people may actually process and manipulate information rather than simply store it for brief periods of time challenged the conceptualization of
-short-term memory
Leah has the lead role in her community theater’s play. She studies her lines by reading them over and over. Leah is demonstrating
rehearsal in short term memory
Braden is counting the money he made at the yard sale. When his sister begins counting aloud the money she made at the sale, Braden finds it very difficult to continue counting. This difficulty can be understood as
a) interference of the visuospatial sketchpad
b) interference of the central executive.
c) interference of sensory memory.
d) interference of the phonological loop
d) interference of the phonological loop
Sperling’s delayed partial report procedure provided evidence that
a) information in sensory memory fades within one or two seconds.
b) short-term memory has a limited capacity.
c) short-term and long-term memory are the independent components of memory.
d) information in short-term memory must be rehearsed to transfer into long-term memory.
a) information in sensory memory fades within one or two seconds.