Chapter 6 Memory Acquisition Flashcards
Clive Wearing
He got amnesia from a viral infection and he’s unable to form new memories but can remember skill sets (e.g., how to play music) and remembers his wife
Memory has three stages
Acquisition, storage, retrieval
Aquisition
the processing of information so that it can be stored. Brain transforms external information into a neural code.
Storage
The retention of encoded information over time. warehouse of information.
Retrieval
The act of recalling or remembering stored information when it is needed. Searching through warehouse/retrieving.
The acquisition, storage, and retrieval view was problematic for at least two reasons
1-) New learning is grounded in previously learned (stored knowledge) –Acquisition and storage are interconnected.
2-) Effective learning depends on how the information will later be retrieved– Acquisition and retrieval are interconnected.
Modal Model is a good start, but..
Sensory memory (iconic or echoic): sensory memory plays a minimal role in modern theorizing
Modal Model is a good start, but.
Short-term memory (STM): LArgely replaced by working memory, understood as a status or activity, rather than a place.
Modal Model is a good start, but.
Long-term memory (LTm)–FAr more expansive than anticipated: Includes events, but also general knowledge “Water is wet,” exam info
Modal Model is a good start, but.
WM-dynamic form of short-term storage: less like storage more like status
Updating the Modal Model.
See slides 17
Sperling (1960) studies
Participants can remember the entire display (iconic memory) for brief time.
The limitation of “report all” condition is that iconic memory fades before participants can report it all
Analogies of Memory
WM is like a white-erase board: temporary, limited in size, and used for short-term goals.
LTM is like a library. Info available for a long time, huge, almost limitless capacity, and used for long-term goals
WM and LTM
Experiment supporting the modal model: participants study a long series of words (e.g., 30 words, 1 word presented per second), free recall memory test
WM and LTM: One Memory or Two?
Primary effect and recency effect
Primary effect
Better memory for first few items relative to middle items.
Recency Effect
Better memory for the last few items
Last few items are not displayed by future items
Earlier items are displayed by subsequent items
Primary Effect
Memory rehearsal: As the list progresses, attention is divided across more items, and less is devoted to each individual item.
Words later in the list are rehearsed less.
Rehearsal increases the chance of a transfer of items from WM to LTM– earlier items were rehearsed more, so there is a greater chance of transfer.
Testing Claims about Primacy (“LTM”) and Recency (“WM”)
The manipulation of WM should affect the recall of recency items but not items presented earlier in the list
Testing Claims about Primacy (“LTM”) and Recency (“WM”)
Delaying recall with a different task (counting backward) displaces content in WM
Testing Claims about Primacy (“LTM”) and Recency (“WM”)
Early items should not be affected because LTM does not depend on the current activity.
Testing Claims about Primacy and Recency
Immediate recall or unfilled delay– recency effect is strong
Filled delay– recency effect is eliminated
