COGNITIVE- Memory Flashcards
Give a definition of memory
The ability to retain infomation and demostrate retention through behaviour
What are the 3 processes of memory?
Encoding
Storage
Retrieval
What is the recency effect?
When the last items from a list are recalled well
What is the primacy effect?
When the first items from a list are recalled well
give 3 ways in which data can be stored and retrieved?
Acoustically - the inner voice
Visually - the mind’s eyes
Semantically - based on meaning
What is the sensory memory?
A storage system that holds information in a mostly unprocessed form for fractions of a second when the physical stimulus is no longer available.
What does the short term memory do?
Stores information for brief periods of time
Describe the capacity of the short term memory
it is limited, a brief duration of 10-15 seconds
Describe the duration of the short term memory
storage is very fragile and information can be lost easily with distraction or within fractions of a second
What is the Multi-Store Model of memory?
A model of short and long term memory that suggests memory is made up of a series of stores.
How may short term memory capacity be tester?
Miller’s (1956) Magic number 7 (plus or minus two) provides evidence for the capacity of short term memory
Who devised the Multi-Store Model and when?
Atkinson & Shiffrin 1968
What are the different stores in the Multi-Store model?
Sensory memory
Short term memory
Long term memory
What does the long term memory do?
Stores complex and diverse memories and information
Describe the duration of long term memory
Can store information for almost a life time
Describe the capacity of long term memory
Psychologist are unable to accurately measure the capacity but estimate that it has no upper limit
How is info encoded in the long term memory?
semantically
How is info encoded in the short term memory
There are separate sensory stores for each of the senses
How is information stored in the long term memory according to the Multi-store model?
Information detected by sense organs and enters sensory memory.
If attended to this information enters the STM
Information from the STM is transferred to the LTM only if that information is rehearsed.
If rehearsal does not occur information is forgotten as it is lost from STM through the processes of displacement or decay.
Give the strengths of the Multi-store Model
There is evidence to support the claim that the memory is comprised of more that one store and they are all different.
It explains many of the things we know to be true e.g struggling to hold new info
Give limiations of the Multi-store Model
Many of the studies used to act as evidence lack ecological validity as the tasks set were not natural/take place in the real world.
The model is too simplistic and inflexible to represent the human brain.
Emphasis on rehearsal as a primary process for transferring info into the LTM. This does not explain why we sometimes remember insignificant events and forget important things.
What is the Working memory?
Working memory is STM. Instead of all information going into one single store, there are different systems for different types of information.
Who devised the Working Memory model and when?
Baddeley and Hitch (1974)
What are the 4 components of the Working Memory model?
Central executive
Visuo-Spatial scratch pad
Episodical buffer
Phonological loop
