The 3 Box Model of Memory Flashcards
Why is the 3 Box Model the leading approach for memory?
- offers a convenient way to organize major finding on memory
- accounts for these findings
- is consistent with biological facts of memory
Function: sensory register
- preserves extremely accurate images of sensory information
- visual up to 1/2 second
- auditory up to 2 seconds
- includes separate subsystems for each of our senses
What happens during the transfer of information from the sensory register to short-term memory?
- stimulus is identified on the basis of information stored in LTM
- it is decided whether the stimulus is worth our attention
What is involved in the retention of (memory) information for brief periods?
-short-term memory (STM)
What is the capacity of STM?
-limited
Besides retaining new information for brief periods, what else can STM do?
-it can also hold information retrieved from LTM for temporary use
Information in STM is no longer a sensory image, but….
-an encoding of a sensory image
What are the estimates for STM capacity?
-estimates range from 2-20 items
How do we maximize the capacity of STM?
-we group small bits of information into larger units, called chunks
More information can be fit into a “chunk” if…
- you have more experience with the particular information
(ex. football lovers can put player formations into a chunk, and a football hater would need many more chunks, and probably won’t be able to retain it)
In the 3 box model, the STM functioned as a buffer for holding and rehearsing information until it could be transferred to LTM. Many have called for a more complex model, in which….
-the STM also functions as a working memory
Function: working memory
- holds and operates on information that has been retrieved from LTM for temporary use
- it includes active “executive” processes that control the manipulation of information and interprets it appropriately, depending on the task at hand
Function: long-term memory (LTM)
- long term storage of information
- capacity seems to have no limits
What are the ways in which information can get stored in LTM?
- in semantic categories
- by how the words sound or look
- by the familiarity, relevance, or association with other information
Define: long-term semantic memory
-an immense network of concepts and the relationships among them
Define: semantic category
-concept (orange), gets linked to its semantic category (fruit)
What happens in “tip of the tongue” (TOT) states?
-people tend to come up with words that are:
-similar in meaning
-similar to starting letter
-similar to prefix, suffix
-similar syllables
before they recall what they were looking for
Most theories of memory distinguish between….
- memories of “knowing how”
- memories of “knowing that”
What are “knowing how” memories associated with?
-performance of actions or skills
What are “knowing that” memories associated with?
-facts, rules, concepts, and events
What is the correct term of memories for the performance of actions or skills?
(knowing how)
-procedural memories
What is the correct term of memories of facts, rules, concepts, and events?
(knowing that)
-declarative memories
What kinds of memories are considered implicit?
-procedural memories
What are the 2 categories of declarative memories?
- semantic memories
- episodic memories
What types of memories are considered explicit?
-declarative memories
Memories of general knowledge, including facts, rules, concepts, and propositions are defined as…
-semantic memories
Memories of representations of personally-experienced events are defined as…
-episodic memories
The tendency to recall the first and last items on a list and surpass recall of items in the middle of the list is defined ass…
-serial-position effect
The first few items on a list are remembered well because…
-they do not have to compete to make it into LTM
What can explain why the last few items on a list are remembered…
-when items in the middle get into STM, it is already flooded, so many of these items drop our of STM before they can be stored in LTM
