Short Term/Working Memory

Question 1

Processes involved in retaining, retrieving, and using information about stimuli, events, ideas, and skills after the original information is no longer present.

Answer 1

memory

Question 2

Which type of processing does memory affect? Top-down or bottom-up?

Answer 2

Top-down because you need to remember your preconceived notions before you apply them to what you see.

Question 3

_______ is active anytime a past experience has an impact on how you think or behave in the present or future

Answer 3

memory

Question 4

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.

Answer 4

Modal Model of Memory

1. Sensory memory - initial stage holding incoming information for seconds
2. Short-term memory - holds 5-7 items for 15-20 seconds
3. Long-term memory - permanent memory store holding large amount of information for years or decades

Question 5

How long is each stage of the Modal Model of Memory?

Answer 5

1. Sensory Memory - < 3 seconds
2. Short term memory - 5-7 items for 15-20 seconds
3. Long term memory - permanent

Question 6

Active processes supporting encoding that can be controlled by the person

Answer 6

control processes

Question 7

Two types of control processes:

Answer 7

maintenance rehearsal
Elaborative rehearsal

Question 8

Repeating things over and over to help you remember

Answer 8

maintenance rehearsal

Question 9

Relating new information to previously encoded things

Answer 9

Elaborative rehearsal

(type of control process)

Question 10

Relating new information to previously encoded things

Answer 10

Elaborative rehearsal

(type of control process)

Question 11

The retention for BRIEF periods of time (seconds or milliseconds), of the effects of sensory stimulation

Answer 11

sensory memory

Question 12

Brief sensory memory of the things we see

Answer 12

iconic

(eye-conic lol)

Question 13

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:

Answer 13

Persistence of vision

Iconic memory

We remember the frame before.

Question 14

the brief sensory memory of things we hear, which is _________ memory, is responsible for ____________ (3), which is why songs sound continuous as connected

Answer 14

echoic memory
persistence of sound

Question 15

How long does echoic memory last?

Answer 15

1-4 seconds

Question 16

The __________ paradigm was created to measure the capacity and duration of sensory memory.

Answer 16

Sperling

Question 17

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?

Answer 17

Sperling Paradigm measuring Sensory Memory

Question 18

Sperling partial report + result

Answer 18

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

Question 19

Full report Sperling paradigm + result

Answer 19

reporting all the letters

most could only report about a third of the letters

Question 20

Delayed partial report method Sperling Paradigm + result

Answer 20

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

Question 21

memory that stores small amounts of information for a brief duration of 15-20 seconds or less

Answer 21

short term memory

Question 22

_________ consists of current sensory stores AND information recalled or retrieved from long term memory

Answer 22

short-term memory

Question 23

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%.

Answer 23

Peterson and Peterson Short-term memory duration experiment

Question 24

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?

Answer 24

15-20 seconds

Question 25

the vanishing of a memory trace due to passage of time and exposure to competing stimuli

Answer 25

decay

Question 26

way to measure capacity of short term memory with number sequences.

what is STM capacity generally? What’s the rule for the capacity?

Answer 26

digit span test

5-9 items or 5-7 items

General rule for STM capacity: 7 +/- 2

Question 27

Peterson and Peterson’s STM experiment measured the __________ of STM

Answer 27

duration

Question 28

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 ___________.

Answer 28

change detection paradigm

7 +/- 2

Question 29

The change detection paradigm is a model that measures the __________ of short term memory.

Answer 29

capacity

Question 30

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

Answer 30

chunking

Question 31

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

Answer 31

Chunking

Question 32

The _________ of stimuli being retained can affect capacity.

Answer 32

Complexity

Question 33

ACTIVE and DYNAMIC manipulation/processing of information across time - other name for but kind of more present than STM

Answer 33

working memory

Question 34

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

Answer 34

working

Question 35

Working memory is considered to be a domain-_______ skill.

Answer 35

domain-general skill

Question 36

Working memory is not fixed, it can grow and be trained, due to brain _________.

Answer 36

plasticity

Question 37

Model in which these conditions were observed:

1. Mental operations could be performed on info held in conscious awareness (working memory) INDEPENDENT of involvement of/interaction with LTM
2. 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).

Answer 37

working memory model (baddeley and hitch)

Question 38

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?

Answer 38

according to the working memory model no because you can’t multitask when the two tasks engaged are of the same domains of information

Question 39

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?

Answer 39

According to the working memory model yes I can because the two task I’m engaged in are of different domains of information.

Question 40

Working memory model single-task condition

Answer 40

Only verbal task = good performance
Only visual task = good performance

Question 41

Working memory model dual-task conditions:

Answer 41

Good performance ONLY if one task is verbal (relating to words/comprehension) and the other is visual/visuospatial

Question 42

The _______ model explains why you can’t talk on the phone and read a book at the same time because:

Answer 42

Working memory model

2 tasks have the same domain of information = poor performance

Question 43

The Working Memory Model was made by:

Answer 43

Baddeley and Hitch

Question 44

3 components of Baddeley and Hitch’s working memory model:

Answer 44

1. Phonological loop
2. Visuospatial sketchpad
3. Central executive

Question 45

Component of working memory that processes verbal and auditory information.

Answer 45

phonological loop

Question 46

2 components of phonological loop (which in itself is a component of the working memory model)

Answer 46

phonological store
Articulatory rehearsal process

Question 47

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:

Answer 47

phonological store

Question 48

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:

Answer 48

Articulatory Rehearsal Process (ARP)

Question 49

Encoding representations based on the way they sound rather than their semantic meaning or visual appearance is called ____________ encoding

Answer 49

phonologically encoding

(think phone = sound)

Question 50

Letters/numbers/words that SOUND similar are more easily confused than those that look similar. This is known as the ______________ (2) effect.

Answer 50

phonological similarity

Question 51

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.

Answer 51

word-length effect

Imagine being from the town of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch…like that’s a crazy ass town name

Question 52

Silently and continually repeating something to occupy the phonological loop to PREVENT rehearsal

Answer 52

Articulatory suppression

(ASS….why you making me say stuff in my head to prevent rehearsal damn you)

Question 53

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).

Answer 53

Articulatory suppression

Question 54

Making someone say something else to turn off their phonological loop to turn off their mind rehearsal is called: (2)

Answer 54

Articulatory suppression

Question 55

The phonological loop is the first component of the ________ (2) model.

Answer 55

working memory

Question 56

the component of working memory that deals with visually and spatially based information

Answer 56

visuospatial sketchpad

(VSS)

Question 57

the creation of visual images in the mind in the absence of a physical visual stimulus (mind’s eye)

Answer 57

visual imagery

Question 58

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.

Answer 58

mental-rotation task

rotational difference

Question 59

the process of breaking down a task into different processing stages based on measured response times

Answer 59

mental chronometry

Question 60

estimating the duration of psychological process by measuring the reaction time of a task involving said psychological process

Answer 60

subtractive logic

Question 61

the attention controller in the working memory system that filters and sends the information to the buffer

Answer 61

central executive

Question 62

The attention controller component of working memory that:

1. controls the flow of information
2. responsible for focusing, dividing, switching attention
3. suppresses irrelevant info

Answer 62

Central executive

Question 63

the phonological loop is for ______ information

Answer 63

verbal

Question 64

the visuospatial sketchpad is responsible for ______ information

Answer 64

visual

Question 65

The component of working memory that coordinates verbal and visual information through the phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad is called the:

Answer 65

the central executive

Question 66

“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:

Answer 66

perseveration

Question 67

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 _____.

Answer 67

homunculus (fetus)

Question 68

When we know what something does but we don’t know how it does it, it’s comparable to a __________.

Answer 68

homunculus….

Question 69

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

Answer 69

episodic buffer

Question 70

secret fourth part of the 3 part working memory model that temporarily holds information retrieved from LTM until the central executive allocates it

Answer 70

Episodic buffer

Question 71

which cortex is responsible for processing incoming visual and auditory information?

Answer 71

prefrontal cortex

Question 72

Monkeys without a prefrontal cortex have issues holding information in their _________ memory.

Answer 72

working memory

Question 73

Testing if monkeys still remember which can the food is in after a delay.

Answer 73

delayed-response task

Question 74

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

Answer 74

the neurons keep firing

Question 75

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?

Answer 75

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