Short Term/Working Memory Flashcards
Processes involved in retaining, retrieving, and using information about stimuli, events, ideas, and skills after the original information is no longer present.
memory
Which type of processing does memory affect? Top-down or bottom-up?
Top-down because you need to remember your preconceived notions before you apply them to what you see.
_______ is active anytime a past experience has an impact on how you think or behave in the present or future
memory
Model of memory consisting of 3 stages of memory: Sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory.
What model is this?
Describe each step.
Modal Model of Memory
- Sensory memory - initial stage holding incoming information for seconds
- Short-term memory - holds 5-7 items for 15-20 seconds
- Long-term memory - permanent memory store holding large amount of information for years or decades
How long is each stage of the Modal Model of Memory?
- Sensory Memory - < 3 seconds
- Short term memory - 5-7 items for 15-20 seconds
- Long term memory - permanent
Active processes supporting encoding that can be controlled by the person
control processes
Two types of control processes:
maintenance rehearsal
Elaborative rehearsal
Repeating things over and over to help you remember
maintenance rehearsal
Relating new information to previously encoded things
Elaborative rehearsal
(type of control process)
Relating new information to previously encoded things
Elaborative rehearsal
(type of control process)
The retention for BRIEF periods of time (seconds or milliseconds), of the effects of sensory stimulation
sensory memory
Brief sensory memory of the things we see
iconic
(eye-conic lol)
Perceiving a film as smooth or continuous, rather than a series of interrupted still images (like the phi phenomenon) is called ____________ (3), which is due to _________ memory, because:
Persistence of vision
Iconic memory
We remember the frame before.
the brief sensory memory of things we hear, which is _________ memory, is responsible for ____________ (3), which is why songs sound continuous as connected
echoic memory
persistence of sound
How long does echoic memory last?
1-4 seconds
The __________ paradigm was created to measure the capacity and duration of sensory memory.
Sperling
Paradigm/model in which letters flashed quickly on screen and participants asked to report as many letters as possible; consistent of partial reports or full reports as the manipulated variables.
What did this measure?
Sperling Paradigm measuring Sensory Memory
Sperling partial report + result
just reporting the row that corresponds with the pitch of the tone played - high, medium, or low -> top, middle, bottom
- have access to ANY row actually
- can report > 80% of any row
- information briefly accessible, just decays in the time it takes to recite a few letters -> sensory memory is brief; 1-4 seconds
Full report Sperling paradigm + result
reporting all the letters
most could only report about a third of the letters
Delayed partial report method Sperling Paradigm + result
just like partial report except presentation of tone delayed for a fraction of a second after the letters were extinguished
- this slight delay caused poorer performance; sensory memory is so short
memory that stores small amounts of information for a brief duration of 15-20 seconds or less
short term memory
_________ consists of current sensory stores AND information recalled or retrieved from long term memory
short-term memory
Participants read 3 letters and a number then begin counting backwards by 3s (to distract them), and then asked to recall the 3 letters.
After 3 seconds, participants performed at around 80%.
Peterson and Peterson Short-term memory duration experiment
In the Peterson and Peterson experiment on the duration of short term memory, after 18 seconds of counting participants performed at 12%, suggesting that STM duration is about how many seconds?
15-20 seconds
the vanishing of a memory trace due to passage of time and exposure to competing stimuli
decay
way to measure capacity of short term memory with number sequences.
what is STM capacity generally? What’s the rule for the capacity?
digit span test
5-9 items or 5-7 items
General rule for STM capacity: 7 +/- 2
Peterson and Peterson’s STM experiment measured the __________ of STM
duration
Model that measures STM capacity in which an image with squares is shown and then the same image is shown with one square colour change that the participant has to detect. The number of squares on the screen is incremented with each trial; see how far they can go become they make mistakes. This is called the ____________ (3) and generally, people made mistakes when the number of squares was at ___________.
change detection paradigm
7 +/- 2
The change detection paradigm is a model that measures the __________ of short term memory.
capacity
combining individual items into larger units of meaning to facilitate encoding and retrieval
- easier to remember info when these units are meaningful, particularly when based on prior knowledge
chunking
Chase and Simon tested chess novices and experts by briefly presenting a board with pieces and then asking them to recreate it. Experts could correctly recall more chess pieces ONLY if the were placed in a way consistent with the rules of the game. Their expertise had an effect on their process of ________, which is combining individual items into larger units of meaning
Chunking
The _________ of stimuli being retained can affect capacity.
Complexity
ACTIVE and DYNAMIC manipulation/processing of information across time - other name for but kind of more present than STM
working memory
updating the numbers we’re holding in our mind as we carry out a series of sequential equations with BEDMAS is an example of _________ memory at play
working
Working memory is considered to be a domain-_______ skill.
domain-general skill
Working memory is not fixed, it can grow and be trained, due to brain _________.
plasticity
Model in which these conditions were observed:
- Mental operations could be performed on info held in conscious awareness (working memory) INDEPENDENT of involvement of/interaction with LTM
- Performance under dual-task conditions was just as good as under single-task conditions ONLY IF the two tasked engaged DIFFERED DOMAINS of information - eg: visual and visuospatial
This is called the ___________ (3).
working memory model (baddeley and hitch)
I’m trying to multitask and listen to two songs at the same time while focusing on both of their lyrics. According to which memory model, can I do this?
according to the working memory model no because you can’t multitask when the two tasks engaged are of the same domains of information
I’m trying to multitask by eating a sandwich while I listen to and pay attention to a movie. According to which model, can I do this?
According to the working memory model yes I can because the two task I’m engaged in are of different domains of information.
Working memory model single-task condition
Only verbal task = good performance
Only visual task = good performance
Working memory model dual-task conditions:
Good performance ONLY if one task is verbal (relating to words/comprehension) and the other is visual/visuospatial
The _______ model explains why you can’t talk on the phone and read a book at the same time because:
Working memory model
2 tasks have the same domain of information = poor performance
The Working Memory Model was made by:
Baddeley and Hitch
3 components of Baddeley and Hitch’s working memory model:
- Phonological loop
- Visuospatial sketchpad
- Central executive
Component of working memory that processes verbal and auditory information.
phonological loop
2 components of phonological loop (which in itself is a component of the working memory model)
phonological store
Articulatory rehearsal process
Component of the phonological loop (which is a component of Baddeley and Hitch’s working memory model) that has a limited capacity of only a few seconds is the:
phonological store
the component of the phonological loop (which is a component of the working memory model) that supports rehearsal to prevent information from the phonological store from decaying is the:
Articulatory Rehearsal Process (ARP)
Encoding representations based on the way they sound rather than their semantic meaning or visual appearance is called ____________ encoding
phonologically encoding
(think phone = sound)
Letters/numbers/words that SOUND similar are more easily confused than those that look similar. This is known as the ______________ (2) effect.
phonological similarity
memory for lists of shorter words is better compared to lists of longer words; implies buffer with finite capacity can store more short words than long
this is called the __________ (2) effect.
word-length effect
Imagine being from the town of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch…like that’s a crazy ass town name
Silently and continually repeating something to occupy the phonological loop to PREVENT rehearsal
Articulatory suppression
(ASS….why you making me say stuff in my head to prevent rehearsal damn you)
A common manipulation in studies examining the phonological loop in working memory that:
- reduces memory span
- eliminates word-length effects
- eliminates phonological similarity effects
Is called ___________ (2).
Articulatory suppression
Making someone say something else to turn off their phonological loop to turn off their mind rehearsal is called: (2)
Articulatory suppression
The phonological loop is the first component of the ________ (2) model.
working memory
the component of working memory that deals with visually and spatially based information
visuospatial sketchpad
(VSS)
the creation of visual images in the mind in the absence of a physical visual stimulus (mind’s eye)
visual imagery
Participants must determine whether two shapes, presented at different rotations are the same or different. This is known as the __________ (3) in which trials that involved greater ________ (2) were responded to more slowly, while trials that involved less ________ (2) (by degrees) were responded to more quickly.
mental-rotation task
rotational difference
the process of breaking down a task into different processing stages based on measured response times
mental chronometry
estimating the duration of psychological process by measuring the reaction time of a task involving said psychological process
subtractive logic
the attention controller in the working memory system that filters and sends the information to the buffer
central executive
The attention controller component of working memory that:
- controls the flow of information
- responsible for focusing, dividing, switching attention
- suppresses irrelevant info
Central executive
the phonological loop is for ______ information
verbal
the visuospatial sketchpad is responsible for ______ information
visual
The component of working memory that coordinates verbal and visual information through the phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad is called the:
the central executive
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.”
Repeatedly performing the same action or thought even if it is not achieving the desired goal, leads to the failure of the central executive at times. This redundant action is called:
perseveration
the Central Executive is supposed to do all of these important things, though there is very little specifics to describe how they are accomplished, so it resembles a _____.
homunculus (fetus)
When we know what something does but we don’t know how it does it, it’s comparable to a __________.
homunculus….
The FOURTH component of the basic 3 piece working memory model was the ________ (2), which revealed we can hold more information than would be expected based on the estimated capacity limits of the other components
episodic buffer
secret fourth part of the 3 part working memory model that temporarily holds information retrieved from LTM until the central executive allocates it
Episodic buffer
which cortex is responsible for processing incoming visual and auditory information?
prefrontal cortex
Monkeys without a prefrontal cortex have issues holding information in their _________ memory.
working memory
Testing if monkeys still remember which can the food is in after a delay.
delayed-response task
In a delay response task to test working memory, neurons in the prefrontal cortex flashed in a particular location. Funahashi found that the information remains available during the delay as long as
the neurons keep firing
If you have high capacity working memory it requires less brain activation but if you have low it:
Whats the idea behind this? What is this attributed to?
requires more brain activation cause you’re more susceptible to distractions taking up space
it’s attributed to a weaker central executive that’s unable to filter out distractions
