Final Flashcards
(333 cards)
What is iconic memory?
Brief sensory memory for visual stimuli
Describe iconic memory
A type of sensory memory where you try to recall visual images after seeing it for a few seconds
What is the duration of iconic memory (H: Short)
Less than 1 second
What is the capacity of iconic memory?
The capacity of iconic memory is 3-4 letters when asked to report all items on a screen when shown a matrix of 9 or 12 letters, people remember 100% of the 9-letter matrix and ~75% of the 12-letter matrix when presented with a cue (pitch), and the number of items dropped when presented with a delay
What is echoic memory?
Brief sensory memory for auditory stimuli
Describe echoic memory
A type of sensory memory where you try to register auditory information until it’s processed and comprehended
What is the duration of echoic memory? (H: Longer)
A few seconds
Explain the modality effect (H: E vs I)
Echoic memory is longer than iconic memory because auditory information usually requires integrating information over time
Describe Sterling’s Partial Report Experiment
Participants are shown a matrix of 9 or 12 letters
They were told to report only items in one row based on cue
- High Pitch: Top row
- Middle Pitch: Middle row
- Low Pitch: Bottom row
Results: Participants could remember 100% of the 9-letter matrix and ~75% of the 12-letter matrix
What is short-term memory?
The contents of our conscious awareness
Describe short-term memory
What are we thinking about right now
What is the duration of short-term memory?
15-30 seconds
What is the capacity of short-term memory?
Limited
What is chunking?
A strategy where small units are combined into larger meaningful units
Describe chunking
A collection of units can be strongly associated with one another but weakly associated with units in other chunks
Examples
- Numbers → Area Code
- Letters → Words
What is sensory memory?
The memory system that stores a record of the information received by sensory neurons
Describe sensory memory (H: 4 items)
Characterized by short duration (<1 second), long capacity, highly accurate and modality-specific
How are short-term memory and sensory memory connected? (H: 2 items)
Both are of short duration (less than 1 minute)
Attention controls the transfer of information from sensory memory to short-term memory
What is Baddeley’s model of working memory?
A model that uses different systems of information storage for greater cognitive utility
Describe Baddeley’s model of working memory
Contains three aspects with the phonological loop focused on verbal and auditory information, the central executive focused on controlling activity, and the visuospatial sketchpad focused on visual and spatial information
What are the components of Baddeley’s model of working memory? (H: 3 items)
Phonological Loop
Visuospatial Sketchpad
Central Executive
Describe the phonological loop (H: 2 items)
Holds a limited amount of verbal and auditory information
Rehearsal can keep items in the phonological store from decaying
Describe the visuospatial sketchpad (H: 3 items)
Holds and manipulates visual and spatial information
Visual Cache: Form and color
Inner Scribe: Space and motion
Describe the central executive (H: 3 items)
Coordinates activity of the phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad
Pulls information for long-term memory
Cognitive Control