T1 L11: Basic principle of Memory Flashcards
What is the definition of memory?
Involves encoding, storage, and retrieval of information
What are the 2 types of sensory memory?
Echoic (auditory) and Iconic (Visual)
Is attention required to pass sensory memory information to the STM?
Yes
What is the capacity and duration of sensory memory?
Capacity: Large
Duration: Millisecond to seconds (like and ‘echo’)
What is the Capacity and duration of STM?
Capacity: short
Duration: Seconds to minutes (vulnerable to distraction)
What is the span of STM?
7+- 2 items
This information can be put into chunks
What are some criticisms of the STM?
- Implies a serial structure to memory which is not supported by research
- Patients with impaired STM could still form LTM
- There are other routes to encoding information that bypass these stages
- There are modality effects - is the STM is full then you shouldn’t be able to do other tasks but you can
What is the difference between Short Term Memory and Working memory?
They both do not hold information for very long but short term memory simply stores information for a short while, while working memory retains the information in order to manipulate it.
What are the 4 main components of the working memory model?
The central executive, The visuospatial sketchpad, Episodic buffer, and the phonological loop
What is the phonological loop?
It’s the verbal workspace. It can hold about 7+- 2 items in the mind for a limited time
It’s content is refreshed by the articulatory processes
What is the Visuospatial sketchpad?
It’s the visual workspace
What does the Visuospatial sketchpad consist of?
The visual Cache: Visual info such as form and colour
Inner scribe: Spatial movement and manipulation
How does rehearsal in the visual cache occur?
Via the Inner scribe
What was the Corso block tapping test used to test?
Spatial span
People were asked to tap on boxes in the correct places
What is the mental rotation test used to show?
The function of the visuospatial working memory
What is the function of the central executive?
It’s command and control centre
Which model of memory uses both new information Eg from the sensory memory and old information from the LTM?
The working memory model
Which hemisphere do visuospatial tasks typically occur on?
The right hemisphere
Which hemisphere do phonological tasks typically occur on?
The left hemisphere
What can cause declines in working memory?
Age, neurological disorders like traumatic brain injury (TBI), Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, ADHD
What tasks can become difficult when someone has Working memory deficits?
- Difficulty starting tasks (due to feeling overloaded)
- Struggling with long instruction
- Slow response
- Can’t follow directions
- Struggles with mental arithmetic
- Low educational attainment
What is the definition of encoding?
Initial acquisition and consolidation of information into memory
What is the definition of retrieval?
Accessing information stored in memory
What are the 3 levels of processing?
Orthographic (appearance) - Shallow level but poor retention Phonological (sound) - Shallow level but poor retention Semantic (meaning) - Deep level with greater retention
Which type of memory processing results in the greatest retention?
Deep, meaningful processing of information
What is transfer-dependent processing?
Memory can be enhanced when the cognitive processes during retrieval and encoding are the same Eg. both shallow
What is self-reference effect?
Memory will be better if information is related to the yourself
What are the 3 types of retrieval?
Free recall, Cued recall, Recognition
Which disease causes encoding failure?
Alzheimer’s disease - related to hippocampal dysfunction
Dysfunction in which areas of the brain causes deficits in executive function?
Frontal or subcortical dysfunction
