Short-term Memory / Working Memory Flashcards
Who taught us of memory?
- The patient H.M
Had epilepsy surgery, where hippocampus got removed - Issues with his short term memory
- Could have conversations
- Could remember new information for a short time but could not store it in long-term memory
Visual Persistence
Of visual stimulus beyond its physical duration
- A subjective feeling
- Information can be gathered
Example: Duration of lightning
Iconic memory
Visual info in visual sensory memory
- A temporary buffer
Echoic memory
Auditory info in auditory sensory memory
What is the sensory register/memory?
- Modalic memories stored in different sensory memory, for a very short time
What did partial report studies show?
Evidence that sensory info for a short time is available for further processing
- Around 4-5 items can be stored - span of apprehension
- Decays very quickly
How does partial report studies work?
Phase 1
1. Presentation of a matrix with random letters for a short time
Presentation of 12 letters
2. Which letters were in the previous display (whole report)?
Shows around 4-5 letters
Phase 2 - adding of tunes(cues) to specific rows
1. Presentation of a matrix followed by a cue
Added a delay to see how long the letters stays in memory
2. Which letters were in the cued column?
Without delay - 75% correct answer, more delay the less correct answers
Whole report condition
Report any letters the participants can
Partial report
Report the specific row the letters were in
Icon
The visual image that stay in our iconic memory
Decay
That memories fades away during the course of time
- Old idea
- Spontaneous
Interference
Forgetting is caused by intervening stimulation or mental processing
- Modern approach
Study by Averbach & Coriell*
- Did a partial report study as well but with visual cues instead
- Result; using circle as cues gave less accurate answers than using a rectangle
Backward masking
A later stimulus can drastically affect the perception of an earlier one
- A kind of interference
What is trans-saccadic memory?
The memory that comes from a series of eye movements
- Use of object files
Mental representations of individual objects
- Brain assumes objects are stable
Can miss changes very easily
Simple memory task*
- To see what we can recall in our STM
1. Listen to a series of words
2. Recall them in the exact order of presentation - Serial recall
What is short-term memory span?
The longest list of items that a person can repeat back immediately after presentation, in correct order
- 50% of the trials
Is there a limited capacity in STM?
- There is yeah
Capacity is 7 +/- 2 (though this is arguably a bit too much) - Without chunking, 3-4 units
- STM is the bottleneck in our information processing system
We cant encode vast quantities of info AND hold it accurately
What is chunks?
A way for us to bypass capacity limits by grouping multiple items into a larger, meaningful unit
- A sort of strategy
- Categorising
Recoding
The technical term for grouping items together and then remembering the newly formed groups - The cognitive process
- 2 conditions for this though
1. Enough time or resources to apply a recording scheme
2. The scheme is well-learned from the get-go
Modern research on STM span*
- Presenting a memory array or sample display
Number of different types of shapes or objects - Presenting the test array or test object
Is it different or the same?
Was it in the sample display or not?
- Familiarity with the objects
- Time mattered
Longer time step 1 was presented, time delay between step 1 and 2, how long it takes to answer etc - Localization
- In hopes of avoiding people to chunk information
Free recall task*
- Listening to a series of words
- Recall the words in any order you wish