Chapter 5-Memory Pt. 2

Question 1

Working memory

Answer 1

Similar concept to short term memory

Baddeley and Hitch

Working memory: limited capacity system for temporary storage and manipulation of information for complex tasks such as comprehension, learning, and reasoning

Question 2

Baddeley and Hitch’s basic model of working memory

Answer 2

Phonological loop: verbal and auditory information

Visuospatial sketch pad: visual and spatial information

Central executive: coordinates verbal and visual information and focuses attention on relevant information

Question 3

Phonological similarity effect

Answer 3

• phonological loop

- letters or words that sound similar are confused

Question 4

Word-length effect

Answer 4

• phonological loop
• memory span for short lists of words is better than for long lists of words because it takes longer to rehearse long words and produce them during recall

Question 5

Articulatory suppression

Answer 5

-phonological loop

• prevents you from rehearsing items that you need to remember
• reduces memory span
• eliminates word length effect
• reduces phonological similarity effect for reading words

Question 6

Two parts of the phonological loop

Answer 6

1. Phonological store

2. Articulatory control process

Question 7

Phonological store

Answer 7

Apart of phonological loop

Memory store that retains speech based information for a short period of time. Unless rehearsed, the traces within the store decay within about 2 seconds

Question 8

Articulatory control process

Answer 8

• apart of the phonological loop
  1. translates visual information into a speech based code and deposits it in the phonological store
  2. refreshes a trace in the phonological store

Question 9

Coglab: Phonological similarity effect

Answer 9

When people are asked to recall a list of items, their performance is usually worse when the items sound similar (for e.g. F confused with S)

The phonological similarity effect occurs even when there is no auditory input because the articulatory control process has converted the visual information into phonological information.

If you used visual representation, you would likely confuse items that looked similar (e.g. E and F)

Question 10

Phonological similarity effect: demonstration based on Murray

Answer 10

-uses articulatory suppression technique to prevent the articulatory control process from translating visual information into phonological information

Quiet condition: you repeat sequence in same order

Speak condition: say “1,2,3..” during sequence then repeat sequence

Length of the lists were classified as being three levels of acoustic confusability: one sound, two sound, five sound

Question 11

Experimental results of Murray demonstration (phonological similarity effect coglab)

Answer 11

Dissimilar (5 word) quiet had greatest memory span and then dissimilar speak condition

When you did not engage in articulatory suppression (quiet), you should recall more dissimilar than similar letters. Similar letters produce phonological similarity effects.

When you engaged in articulatory suppression, performance should be worse than when you did not, and you should also find no difference in recall of similar and dissimilar letters. articulatory control process is not converting visual info into phonological info and as a result you have reduced (or no) phonological similarity effects and word length effects for that matter.

Question 12

Memory span is correlated to what

Answer 12

Articulation rate (word length effect)

Our memory span increases as we are able to articulate words more rapidly

Question 13

Phonological loop (how many items can people remember)

Answer 13

People are able to remember the number of items they can pronounce in about 2 seconds

Baddeley et al

Question 14

Visual imagery

Answer 14

• apart of the visuospatial sketch pad
• The creation of visual images in the mind in the absence of a physical visual stimulus
• Shepard and Metzler
• mental rotation task of cubed objects
• tasks that called for greater rotation took longer

Question 15

Working memory is set up to ______

Answer 15

Process different types of information simultaneously

Working memory has trouble when similar types of information are presented at the same time

Question 16

Brooks experiment

Answer 16

Memorize a sentence and then consider each word mentally-phonological loop is used

Phonological: say “yes” if it is a noun and “no” if it isn’t
-difficult to do: overloads the phonological loop
Visuospatial: point to Y if word is a noun and N if it isn’t
-easier (working memory engaged)

Also had the “F” visual experiment to show reverse
-speaking easier than pointing

Question 17

The central executive

Answer 17

Attention controller
-focus, divide and switch attention

Control suppression of irrelevant information

Question 18

Damage to the central executive causes

Answer 18

Perseveration: repeatedly performing the same action or thought even if it is not achieving the desired goal

Question 19

Episodic buffer

Answer 19

Back up store that communicates with long term memory and working memory components

Holds information longer and has a greater capacity than phonological loop or visuospatial sketch pad

Question 20

WM and the Brain

Answer 20

Prefrontal cortex responsible for processing incoming visual and auditory information

Monkeys without a prefrontal cortex have difficulty holding information in WM

Question 21

Funahashi

Answer 21

Single cell recordings from monkeys prefrontal cortex during a delay-response task

Neurons responded when stimulus was flashed in a particular location and the during delay (responded most during delay)

Information remains available via these neurons for as long as they continue firing

Shows that prefrontal cortex is important for holding information in the working memory

Question 22

Holding information in the visual cortex (Harrison and Tong)

Answer 22

• Sample 1 and sample 2 are shown (have different orientations)
• cue that says which sample to remember
• delay
• test frame appears and participants must say which way it is oriented from the sample

Want to see which brain area produces the neural response pattern so we can distinguish which pattern you saw

Produces a distribution representation

Question 23

Stokes

Answer 23

Information can be “stored”in working memory by short term changes in the connectivity of a neural network

Activity-silent working memory:

1. Activity state: Information to be remembered causes neurons to be fired
2. Synaptic state: neuron firing stops, but connections between neurons are strengthened

Question 24

Reading span test

Answer 24

Read a list of sentences

Report last word of each sentence at end

Reading span test performance correlated with reading ability (and working memory)

Question 25

Carry versus no carry experiment

Answer 25

Control: math only(with and without carry)
-carry has higher percent error because it uses more working memory

Dual task: math and letter task (with and without carry)
-using more working memory with the secondary task and therefore you have more trouble with carry math because it also requires working memory which is already in use

Question 26

Working memory: individual differences

Answer 26

Vogel et al

Determined participants WM

• had high capacity WM group
• had low capacity WM group

Shown cue, red rectangles, delay, and then test display and had to determine if the test display was the same orientation as the memory display. Also added blue bars as distractors.
Measured event related potential responses (ERPs) to determine how much space was used by working memory

Results: high capacity participants were more efficient at ignoring the distractors