Exam 2 Flashcards
(69 cards)
__ memory refers to the memory system that is responsible for holding onto a small amount of information that has been recently taken in from the environment
Short-term
In what way does short-term memory have a limited capacity?
1) The amount of time that the short-term memory system can hold onto information
2) The amount of information that it can hold
__ memory has a large capacity and contains your memory for experiences and information that have accumulated throughout your lifetime
Long-term
What was George Miller’s perspective on the limitations of memory?
He proposed that we can hold only a limited number of items in short-term memory and that people can remember about seven items (give or take two: 5-9 items)
What is a chunk?
A memory unit that consists of several components that are strongly associated with one another
What is the Brown/Peterson and Peterson technique?
- Involves presenting participants with some items that they are instructed to remember
- And then perform a distracting task
- And then asked to recall the original items
__ refers to the U-shaped relationship between a word’s position in a list and its probability of recall
Serial-position effect
What is the recency effect?
Better recall for items at the end of the list
What is the primacy effect?
Enhanced recall for items at the BEGINNING of the list
- they don’t need to compete with any earlier items
- people rehearse these early items more frequently
One additional factor that can influence short-term memory is __, (the meaning of words and sentences)
Semantics
What is proactive interference (PI)?
Trouble learning new material because previously learned material keeps interfering with their new learning
The number of items stored in short-term memory depends on both:
1) Chunking strategies
2) Word meaning
The __ is one approach to cognition, arguing that (a) our mental processes are similar to the operations of a computer, and (b) information progresses through our cognitive system in a series of stages, one step at a time
Information-processing approach
The __ proposed that memory involves a sequence of separate steps. In each step, information is transferred from one storage area to another
Atkinson-Shiffrin model
__ memory is a storage system that records information from each of the senses with reasonable accuracy
Sensory
What are control processes?
Intentional strategies-such as rehearsal- that people may use to improve their memory
What is working memory?
Brief, immediate memory for the limited amount of material that you are currently processing; part of it also actively coordinates your ongoing mental activities
The __ proposed by Baddeley, our immediate memory is a multipart system that temporarily holds and manipulates information while we perform cognitive tasks
- multiple components for our working memory
Working-memory approach
The __ can process a limited number of sounds for a short period of time. It processes language and other sounds that you hear and sounds you make
Phonological loop
What is subvocalization?
When you silently pronounce the words that you are reading
What is acoustic confusions?
People are likely to confuse similar-sounding stimuli (i.e. make more errors when letters sound the same)
The __ processes both visual and spatial information
Visuospatial sketchpad
Neuroscience research on the central executive shows that the __ region of the cortex is the most active portion of the brain when people work on a wide variety of central executive tasks
Frontal
The __ serves as a temporary storehouse that can hold and combine information from your phonological loop, your visuospatial sketchpad, and long-term memory
Episodic buffer
