Memory 2 Flashcards
know everything
Name the authors and three stores according to the traditional model of memory.
The traditional model of memory was developed by Richard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin, and it includes three stores: sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory.
Briefly describe the sensory store.
Stores relatively small amounts of information for brief periods.
Briefly describe the short-term store.
Stores small amount of information for short periods of time (longer than sensory but still short)
Briefly describe the long-term store.
Large capacity (maybe indefinitely) stores large amount of information for long periods of time.
What is the difference between the terms store and memory according to the traditional
model?
Stores are structures for holding information and memory is the information being stored in those structures.
What do we mean by the term hypothetical construct? Why are they needed in
psychology?
Those are construct that are not measurable or observable but we need them to understand complex psychological phenomena.
Describe the whole-report procedure in Sperling’s experiments (1960).
In Sperling’s 1960 whole-report procedure, participants briefly saw a grid of letters (12) and were asked to recall as many as possible, but they could usually remember only a few (4-5), suggesting that sensory memory holds more information than can be reported before it fades.
Describe the partial-report procedure in Sperling’s experiments (1960).
In Sperling’s 1960 partial-report procedure, participants saw a 12-letter grid briefly, but instead of recalling all the letters, they were cued by a tone to report only one row, and they were able to recall about 3 to 4 letters from that row, suggesting they had briefly stored most or all of the grid in sensory memory.
What did Sperling’s data show about the capacity and duration of iconic memory?
The iconic store can hold 9 items and the information decays rapidly (250 millisecond before it fades).
Describe how Averbach and Coriel (1961) solved the problem of potential interference in
Sperling’s experiments.
Averbach and Coriel (1961) solved the interference problem in Sperling’s experiments by adding a dot right after the letter grid, which prevented participants from rehearsing the letters and helped measure how long iconic memory lasts.
Describe how Averbach and Coriel (1961) showed that iconic memory can be erased.
Averbach and Coriel (1961) showed that iconic memory can be erased by presenting a masking stimulus (like a dot) right after the visual information, which interfered with the memory trace and caused the information to fade more quickly.
For how long can short-term storage hold information (without repeating)?
15-18 seconds.
In what modality is information typically stored in short-term storage?
Information in short-term memory is typically stored acoustically.
How much information can short-term storage hold? What were the traditional
estimates, and what are the more recent ones?
Traditional estimates, based on George Miller’s research in 1956, suggested that short-term memory can hold about 7±2 items. More recent estimates, however, suggest that the capacity may be closer to 4±1 items when considering factors like chunking and individual differences in cognitive abilities.
Explain chunking.
Chunking is a memory strategy where you group individual pieces of information into larger, meaningful units (chunks) to make it easier to remember, such as remembering a phone number as three separate chunks (e.g., 555-123-4567) instead of ten individual digits.
What is the capacity of long-term storage?
We do not know maybe is unlimited but we cannot test it.
What was the significance of Penfield’s data?
Penfield’s data, from his studies of brain stimulation in patients, suggested that memories are stored in specific areas of the brain and that some memories, especially vivid ones, could be retrieved with electrical stimulation, offering early evidence that long-term memory might be localized in the brain.
What is permastore?
Permastore refers to a type of long-term memory that, once formed, remains relatively stable and resistant to forgetting over time, even after many years, as seen in some studies of long-term retention.
