working memory Flashcards
how to measure short-term memory and how to assess working memory
*via memory-span procedures
memories as many items or sequences as possible in a list, and the point at which they can recall 50 % is their memory span
*via reading span tasks
tasks requires participants to read a series of sentences aloud and recall the final word of the setensence.
assessing working memory
*dual task methodology
-if tasks use same components, they cannot be performed successfully together
-if two taska use different components, it should be possible to perform them as well together as separately.
what are the three components of working systems and the role of working memory
-visuospatial sketchpad (as it’s to do with visual images ie objects, it has a bidirectional link with episodic LTM to compare with previously learned objects)
-episodic buffer (combine/ integrates information together between
-phonological loop
bidirectional relationship
role of working memory is to manipulate the information in our minds for a short period, aiding us understand, process, and respond to information we receive from the world around us.
what is the function of the phonological loop, what is it subdivided into, and its capacity, as well as evidence to support this?
*ability to hold verbal and auditory information
*The phonological loop is especially important for remembering numerical information, such as phone numbers or mathematical formulas, by repeating them mentally.
2 subdivisions:
-phonological store (holds words we hear temporarily)
-articulatory process (allows us to subvocally repeats words)
capacity:
capacity (items): 7 items +-2 (Miller 1956)
capacity (time): 2 seconds per item for how long you can store it for, then it decays after if not rehearsed
EVIDENCE
*word-length effect:
The length- smaller words are easier to recall. It takes longer to articulate longer words so they decay more quickly
*Articulatory suppression:
when you are doing a memory task and you have to say a word like ‘the’ while doing it. It has an impact on memory performance.
The phonological store is being disrupted as there are other words being held
what is the function of the visuospatial sketchpad, what is it subdivided into, and its capacity, as well as evidence to support this?
The visuospatial sketchpad is like a mental whiteboard where we sketch and manipulate images and spatial information in our mind. It helps us:
*Visualize: Imagine how objects look
SUBDIVISIONS:
* Logie (1995) argues that VSSP can be subdivided:
1. visual cache: stores information about visual form and colour
2. inner scribe: deals with spatial and movement
information
stroke victim LH performed much better on memory tasks involving spatial processing than on tasks involving the visual aspects of imagery (eg, judging animal sizes).
capacity:
hold about 3 to 4 items or chunks of visual/spatial information in their visuospatial sketchpad at one time.
EVIDENCE:
Participants were given a visual tracking task: track a moving line with a pointer. At the same time, they were given one of two tasks:
1.To describe the angle of the letter F (which system did this task involve?)
2. To perform a verbal task (which system did this task involve?)
They performed better in the second task Why?
The task involving describing the angle of the letter F likely involves the visuospatial sketchpad system which is responsible for processing and manipulating visual and spatial information in short-term memory.
The verbal task likely involves the phonological loop system which is responsible for processing and manipulating auditory and verbal information in short-term memory.
Participants performed better in the second task likely because the verbal task (involving the phonological loop system) did not compete for cognitive resources/ mechanisms with the visual tracking task to the same extent as the visuospatial sketchpad task. When performing the verbal task, participants could maintain attention on the visual tracking task more effectively because the two tasks involved different cognitive systems. In contrast, the visuospatial sketchpad task may have required more cognitive resources that competed directly with the visual tracking task, leading to poorer performance.
what is the function of the central executive, and its capacity, as well as evidence to support this?
The central executive is like the manager of our brain’s working memory. It decides what we pay attention to, helps us juggle different tasks due to the different components it incorporates, makes decisions, and integrates together information from all over our brain to help us understand and respond to what’s happening around us using the bilaterally connected episodic LTM. It’s basically in charge of organising our thoughts and making sure everything runs smoothly in our minds. Feeds information from the world into the relevant component stores to manipulate information and help process and understand it.
EVIDENCE:
Experiments where participants are asked to perform two tasks simultaneously (like remembering a list of words while solving math problems) show that our ability to manage multiple tasks is limited and requires coordination. The difficulties and strategies people use in these situations suggest the existence of a central system for managing cognitive resources.
what is the binding problem of working memory and how can it be resolved
Usually, we have many pieces of information (visual, spatial, and verbal) that need to be processed (independently), so one way in which it can be bound together is via the episodic buffer to form memories.
what is episodic buffer and what is evidence for its existence?
The episodic buffer integrates information from the various components of working memory (the phonological loop, the visuospatial sketchpad, and long-term memory) into coherent episodes. This integration allows for information that is visual, spatial, and verbal to be combined with long-term memory, creating a comprehensive memory trace.
EVIDENCE:
-findings that amnesic patients can retain relatively large amounts of complex information briefly (e.g., sentence span, numbers)The episodic buffer’s role is to integrate information from different sources (like verbal and spatial information) and link it with long-term memory to form coherent episodes. The fact that amnesic patients can understand and remember complex sentences or sequences of numbers for a short period indicates that they can integrate and hold multiple pieces of information together, even if they cannot store them in long-term memory. This aligns with the episodic buffer’s function of creating temporary, integrated representations of information.
what are the neural structures that are associated with the different components of memory?
occipital lobe: visual spatial sketchpad
Broca’s area/ wernicke’s: phonological loop
prefrontal cortex: central executive
parietal lobe: episodic buffer
At what age does memory decline
55 requiring more energy to do certain tasks due to decline in memory (weaker synaptic connections so requires more energy to carry out cognitive tasks to perform reasonably well)
