6A The explanatory power of the Atkinson-Shiffrin multi-store model of memory

Question 1

Memory

Answer 1

An information processing system that actively receives, organises, stores and recovers info.

Question 2

Information processing model

Answer 2

three-stage process
1) encoding
2) storage
3) retrieval

Question 3

Info processing model - Encoding

Answer 3

converting sensory info into a usable form that can be processed by the brain
- must pay attention to info

Question 4

Info processing model - Storage

Answer 4

retaining info over time
- organised = easier to recover

Question 5

Info processing model - Retrieval

Answer 5

accessing info that has previously been stored
- relys on usong the right cues or hints so you can locate the correct piece of info

Question 6

Multi-store model of memory

Answer 6

• Atkinson-Shiffrin
  Sensory memory
  Short-term memory (STM)
  Long-term memory (LTM)
• each process info in different ways and varies in its role, capacity and duration

Question 7

Sensory memory

Answer 7

a memory store that recieves and stores an unlimited amout of incoming sensory info for a breif time
- must pay attention to important sensory info for it to be further processed and transfered to STM if not it will be lost from memory forever

Question 8

Sensory memory function

Answer 8

filters out unnecessary info, preventing us from being overwhelmed by the amount of sensory info we get
- stores sensory impressions long (allows us to percieve the world around us as continuous

Question 9

Sensory memory capacity

Answer 9

unlimited
- structured to deal with lots of sensory stimuli entering at any given time

Question 10

Sensory memory duration

Answer 10

0.2-4 seconds

Question 11

Types of sensory memory registers

Answer 11

- Iconic memory
Function
Exact replica of visual info
Duration
0.3-0.5 second
Capacity
Unlimited
- Echoic memory
Function
Exact replica of auditory info
Duration
3-4 seconds
Capacity
Unlimited

Question 12

Short-term memory

Answer 12

memory store that has limited capacity of short duration, unless info is renewed

Question 13

Short-term memory function

Answer 13

when info enters we can actively manipulate encoded info while we complete everyday tasks
e.g
Sensory memory
sensory info about food e.g colour taste texture is attended to and transferred to short-term memory
LTM
past experiences of similar foods are retrieved from LTM to be compared to info in short-term memory

Question 14

Short-term memory capacity

Answer 14

limited
- average adult can hold 7±2 iterms or 5-9 unrelated iteems
- If short-term memory is at capacity new items can only be added by pushing old ones out
can be extended by chunking- grouping separate items together to form a larfe single of info

Question 15

Displacement

Answer 15

adding new single items to short-term memory by pushing out old ones

Question 16

Short-term memory duration

Answer 16

18-30 seconds
- if after 30 seconds info isnt manipulated in some way then it will fade from short-term memory and be permanently lost (decay)
- decay can be prevented by rehearsal (consious manipulation of info to keep it in STM for longer or to transfer it to LTM

Question 17

Rehearsal types

Answer 17

• Maintenance rehearsal
  repeating info vocally or sub-vocally to preserve it in STM (stays for as long as you repeate the info and are not interrupted)
• Elaborative rehearsal
  giving meaning to new info and making associations with other info already in LTM
  e.g making mnemonics, creating questions, making mind maps, explaining concept to someone who has no knowledge of the subject matter

Question 18

Long-term memory

Answer 18

memory that is relatively permanent and hold huge amounts of info for a long time (possibly life long)
- when info is transferred into LTM it undergos further encoding according to its meaning and becomes unconsicious (prevents us from being overwhelmed by the amount of info stored in LTM

Question 19

Long-term memory function

Answer 19

info is organised semantically and well organised according to meaning, which helps info be retrieved more efficiently

Question 20

Long-term memory capacity

Answer 20

unlimited, allows the storage of a lifetime of memories

Question 21

Long-term memory duration

Answer 21

relatively permanent, info is throught to last in the memory store for a long time, but it can decay due to physical or psychological factors