Task 1 Flashcards
What are the three main distinctions among different types of memory according to the Atkinson and Shiffrin model?
- Sensory memory
- Short-term memory
- Long-term memory
What is meant by sensory memory in Atkinson and Shiffrin’s model?
Brief, transient sensations of what has just been perceived. Information automatically and rapidly decays
What is meant by short-term memory in Atkinson and Shiffrin’s model?
Temporary memory that can be maintained as long as it rehearsed/consciously attended to.
What is meant by long-term memory in Atkinson and Shiffrin’s model?
Memories can be retained for long periods, or permanently, without requiring ongoing maintenance/conscious attention.
What are transient memories?
Nonpermanent memories that last seconds or minutes; in the Atkinson-Shiffrin model, they correspond to sensory and short-term memory.
What is ‘depth of processing’?
Level of activity devoted to processing new information
What does Baddeley’s working-memory model consist of?
A visuo-spatial sketchpad and a phonological loop, both controlled by a central executive and stored separately.
Which two important distinctions does the Baddeley working-memory model make?
- It distinguishes between two processes: manipulation (memory buffers) and maintenance (central executive).
- Its two buffers are material-specific: one stores verbal material and the other stores object and location material.
What is the Sperling Task? And what does it show?
– People are presented with 3x4 visual array. Once latter is removed, one of three tones are played. Each tone represents a row of letters. Participants are indicated to report row corresponding to tone.
- Results show that participants can report 75% of letters, and only 30-40% when asked to report total array.
- It means that people have visual memory that persists for very short time but includes all items recently seen.
How are each memories forgotten?
Sensory memory: Decay
Short-term memory: Displacement
Long-term memory: Interference
How is short-term memory limited in ability to hold information?
- limited in capacity
- limited to what we can pay attention to
What is the visuo-spatial sketchpad in Baddeley’s model?
Mental workspace for storing and manipulating both visual and spatial information.
How can we test the visuo-spatial sketchpad?
Delayed nonmatch-to-sample-task
- monkeys have to learn to remember which unique sample was seen previously and hold this memory in visuo-spatial memory until presented with choice.
What is the phonological loop in Baddeley’s model?
It holds auditory memories, maintaining them by means of internal speech rehearsal. Average phonological loop can retain 2 seconds’ worth of speech.
What test was used to see if visuo-spatial sketchpad and phonological loop are independent?
Dual-task experiment
-Participants are asked to imagine a * travelling along periphery of letter ‘F’. Whenever it turns a corner, participants have to signal whether it turned at extreme corner rather than at some intermediate corner.
What cognitive functions require executive control?
- Controlled Updating of short-term memory buffers
- Setting goals and planing
- Task switching
- Stimulus selection and response inhibition
How can researchers test the executive controls’ controlled updating of STM buffers?
- N-Back task
- Petrides’ self-ordered memory task
How can researchers test the executive controls’ ability to set goals and plan?
- Tower of Hanoi
How can researchers test the executive controls’ Task switching ability?
- Wisconsin Card Sort Test
How can researchers test the executive controls’ ability to select stimuli and inhibit responses?
- Stroop task
What is the Dysexecutive Syndrome? And how can it be tested?
- Disrupted ability to think, plan and organize.
- Wisconsin Card Sort Test - people show perseveration
What is the Wisconsin Card Sort Test?
- Participants are shown cards with graphics that differ in color, shape and number. They are asked to sort them by any of these dimensions. Later, after sorting rule is learned, task changes without warning and participant must learn new rule for sorting, based on one of other dimensions.
- requires learning a rule, keeping it in mind, learning to change the rule and keep track of new one without confusing with old.
How is Goldman-Rakic’s eye gaze response test of spatial memory in monkeys structured?
– Monkeys begin task by fixating central point and keeping focus on that central spot when a cue (b) appears on periphery. After cue is removed (c), there is delay of several seconds before central spot disappears. Afterwards (d), monkeys are rewarded if they shift gaze to place on screen where cue had previously appeared.
How does the frontal brain activity look like during the Goldman-Rakic task?
- many PFC neurons only fire during delay period, when animal are required to maintain information about spatial location of object
