Memory and short term/ working memory

Question 1

what is memory

Answer 1

processes involved in retaining, retrieving and using information about stimuli, images, events, ideas and skills after the original information is no longer present

Question 2

encoding

Answer 2

incoming information is acquired and processed

Question 3

storage

Answer 3

a record of the eoncoded information is stroed in the brain

Question 4

retrieval

Answer 4

the information is recovered from the memory stored and brought to consciousess or used to execute a behaviour like a motor act

Question 5

when memory fails =

Answer 5

forgetting
can occur at any point in 
encoding
storage
retrieval

Question 6

caveats of stages of memory theory

Answer 6

computer theory of encoding, storage and retrival
in reality not as neat and independe as in the computer
new learning is dependent on knowledge
successful aquisition is dependent on how that information is to be used later

Question 7

explain the modal model of memory

Answer 7

computer as a model for human cognition
memory is an integrated systme that processes information
-aquire, store and retrieve information
-components of memory do not act in isolation
memory has a limited capacity
-space
-resources
-time

Question 8

how the modal model works diagram

Answer 8

incoming info
sensory memory
short term memory (maintained via rehersal
to either long term memory or lost
the retrieved from long term memory to the short term memory

Question 9

in modal memory what are control processes

Answer 9

active processes that can be controlled by the person

• rehersal
• strategies used to make a stimulus more memoreable
• strategies of attention

Question 10

was the modal model of memory special

Answer 10

yes cited to a huge extent

was a benchmark, changed the way memory was studied

Question 11

in modal memory model what does the sensory memory do

Answer 11

short lived sensory memory registers all of most information that hits our sensory receptors
visual = iconic
auditory = echoic
information decays very quickly
holds large amounts of information for a short period of time
holds the information very accutrately for a short period of time for initial processing and fills in the blanks
eg persistence of vision due to sensory memory - sparklers trail of light

Question 12

sperling’s modal memory - sensory memory study

Answer 12

measured capacity and duration of sensory memory
array of letters flashed on screen
then tone signalling to remember top middle of bottom (after letters have dissappeared)
when had to whole report - remember whole array = 4.5/12 letters
partial report - 3.3/4 letters for any row
delayed partial report - performance decreases rapidly

Question 13

modal memory model

short term memory explained

Answer 13

sotres small amounts of information for a brief duration

includes both new information received from the sensory store and information recalled rfom long term memory

Question 14

modal memory model

long term memory explained

Answer 14

stores unlimited amount of information for an unlimited period of time
no proof for this claim

Question 15

differences between STM and LTM in modal model memory

Answer 15

capacity
duration
getting infor into or out of STM is easier than LTM
benefits of cues and hints

Question 16

what is working memory

Answer 16

similar concept to short term memory
limited capacity system for temporary storge and manipulation of information for complex tasks such as comprehension, learning and reasoning

Question 17

how does working memory differ from original definition of STM

Answer 17

STM is a single component, WM = multiple parts
STM holds info for a brief period of time
WM is concerned with processing and manipulation of information that occurs during complex cognition

Question 18

what is the primacy effect

Answer 18

better memory for first few items as they were said first in the list
memory rehersal allowed them to transfer from WM to LTM
then when testes items were retrieved from LTM

Question 19

what is the recency effect

Answer 19

better memory for the last few words in a list
items still fresh in WM
retrieval directly from WM at test
very easy to get info out of WM

Question 20

name some evidence we have for modal model memory

Answer 20

serial position curve
the remebering of items in lists of words depend on their position in a list
so primacy effect
dip in remembering
huge spike at end due to recency effect

Question 21

how did to prove recency effect

Answer 21

make participants do a filler task after finishing hearing the words
primacy effect stays in tact, recency effect dissapears

Question 22

what does slow presentation of words do in serial position recall

Answer 22

same recency effect

memory for the list is better as more time to reherse all the words

Question 23

retrieval from LTM specifically activated the

Answer 23

hippocampus

Question 24

retrieval from WM specifically activates the

Answer 24

perirhinal cortex

Question 25

how to measure the duration of WM

Answer 25

``` read three letters then a number begin counting backwards by threes after a set time recall tree letters delay of three seconds = 80% performance 18 second delay = 10% performance conc - working memory, when rehersal is prevented holds infor 15-20 seconds ```

Question 26

what was the original theory that described working memory duration and what is the alternative explanation

Answer 26

decay of information | proactive interference - occurs when information learned previously interferes with learning new information

Question 27

how was proactive information demonstrated

Answer 27

best on first trisl | got worse after many trials

Question 28

how can we measure the capacity of WM

Answer 28

digit span test | typical recall = 5-8 items

Question 29

what improves WM capacity

Answer 29

chunking - small units can be combined into larger meaningful units

Question 30

chunking study

Answer 30

trained college student with average memory ability to use chunking initial digit span of 7 230 one hour training session 79 digits by chunking them into meaningufl chunks also chess pieces on a board (masters vs beginners) - master is better at reproducing actual game positions but masters performance drops to the level of a beginner when arranged randomly

Question 31

more modern measurement of WM capacity

Answer 31

operation span - measures WM when it is working, not as if it is a box that just holds digits or chunks

Question 32

reading span

Answer 32

participant reads sentences and remebers last word of each sentence continue to add sentences until limit is located have to store some material while simulatanoeuly working with other material

Question 33

operation span example

Answer 33

perform simple arithmetic while remebering words

Question 34

operation spans shows a strong positive correlation with...

Answer 34

verbal comprehension tasks verbal SAT reasoniing ability tests and IQ tests

Question 35

individual differences in working memory study set up

Answer 35

determined participants working memory high and low capacity working memory groups task = remember the orientations of only the red intem in the visual field indicated by the arrow ERP - event related potential measured to simple and complex arrays

Question 36

individual differences in working memory | results

Answer 36

performance is the same when only the red rectangles are present but adding two blue rectangles increased response for the low capacity group but not high high capacity participants were more efficient at ignoring the distractors (less activation) is this due to focus or more working memory capacity

Question 37

what do we mean by coding memory

Answer 37

the way information is represented

Question 38

what do we mean by physiological coding

Answer 38

how stimulus is represented by the firing of neurons

Question 39

what do we mean by mental coding

Answer 39

how stimulus or expeience is represented in the mind - visual - auditory - semantic

Question 40

explain auditory coding study (Conrad) and conclusion about working memory we draw from it

Answer 40

participants briefly saw target letters and asked to write them down errors occured most often with letters that sounded alike so f and s not e (visual error) so wm is primarily auditory

Question 41

explain visual coding (della sala) study and conclusion about working memory we draw from it

Answer 41

presented visual info that is difficult to verbalise (grid with some coloured black) participants could recreate patterns of up to 9 items so wm is also visual

Question 42

explain semantic coding (wickens et al) study and conclusion about working memory we draw from it

Answer 42

participants listened to 3 words counted backwards for 15 seconds attempted to recall 3 words multiple trials = proactive interference so performance was steadily decreasing on trial 4 one group memorized words from a different category so relased from proactive interference and memory increased indicates participants used meaning of words in their processing wm is semantic

Question 43

baddeley and hitch working memory model

Answer 43

working memory is divided into 3 components - central executive - visuospatial buffer (visuospatial sketchpad) - articulatory loop (phonological loop)

Question 44

role of phonological loop

Answer 44

deals with verbal and auditory info in wm phonological similarity effect - confuse words that sound the same evidence for specialised language portion of wm = loop

Question 45

word length effect

Answer 45

memory for lists of words better for short than long words | takes longer to reherse long words by subvocal speech and to produce during recall

Question 46

articulatory supression

Answer 46

prevention of rehersing words to be remembered (eg by saying the the the the...) reduces memory span elimate word-length effect reduces phonological similarity effect for reading words

Question 47

visuospatial sketchpad

Answer 47

visual and spatial bit of wm | used for visual imagery, mental rotation etc

Question 48

Brooks exp 1 visuospatial sketchpad experiments

Answer 48

memorize sentence and consider each word mentally response is either phonological = yes or no to noun or not visuospatial = point to y or n if noun or not results - pointing to your answer was easier why task involved the phonological loop verbal response also involved phonological loop conducting 2 verbal tasks overloaded the phonological loop

Question 49

Brooks exp 2 visuospatial sketchpad experiments

Answer 49

visualise capital letter F starting at top left corner response is either phonological = say out if it is in an exterior corner or in if interior visuospatial = point to out if exterior or point to in if interior results - speaking your answers was easier than pointing why task involved visuospatial sketch pad pointing response also involves visuospatial sketchpad conducting 2 visuospatial tasks overloaded the visuospatial sketchpad

Question 50

conclusions about wm from Brooks experiments

Answer 50

if task and response on same wm component = performance is worse than if distributed between diff components wm is set up to ptocess different types of info simultaneously wm has trouble when similar types of info presented at the same time = task-specific resource

Question 51

central executive

Answer 51

attention controller - focus, divide and switch attention controls supression of irrelevant info also supresses habit response when necessary plan and set goals

Question 52

baddelet revised wm model

Answer 52

episodic buffer -backup store that communicates with LTM and wm holds info longer + greater capacity than phonological loop or visuospatial sketchpad

Question 53

wm and the brain

Answer 53

prefrontal cortex = processes incoming visual and auditory info -monkeys without prefrontal cortex = difficulty holding info in wm and perform at 50% in delayed response task (move eye to where square was)

Question 54

monkey study of working memory and the brain (funahashi)

Answer 54

delay response task again single cell unit recording from prefrontal cortex neurons responded when stimulus was flashed in a particular location and during delay info remains available via these neurons for as long as they continue to fire

Question 55

name the 2 types of rehersal we have

Answer 55

maintenance | relational or elaborative

Question 56

explain maintenance rehersal

Answer 56

reciting maintains info but unlikley to transfer to ltm eg repeating a phone number eg we have seen pennies before but dont know which one is right for sure

Question 57

explain relational or elaborative rehersal

Answer 57

linking more likely to transfer to ltm levels of processing theory

Question 58

how memory enters ltm

Answer 58

memory depends on how info is encoded intentional vs incidental -intention = trying to leanr -incidental = didn't mean to learn depth of processing -shallow processing = superficial, little attention to meaning (poor memory) -deep processing = close attention to meaning (good memory)

Question 59

effect of level of processing for entering ltm

Answer 59

strong eg told to learn the words or deep processing like how pleasant imagery (pretty much the same remembering) but count or search for letters is poor memory

Question 60

effect of learning intent for entering ltm

Answer 60

no difference between deep processing and learn this instructions

Question 61

what do we mean by indirect effect of intention to learn

Answer 61

when people intend to learn, they often use strategies that involve deeper processing

Question 62

why does deeper processing aid memory

Answer 62

depth of processig promotes recall by facilitating later retrieval - learning = establishing indexing, a path to the information - connections between to-be-remembered items facilitates retrieval

Question 63

elaborate sentences and memory

Answer 63

elaborate sentences aid memory | perhaps elaborate sentences = richer retrieval paths

Question 64

how organization could be key to memory

Answer 64

key to creating connections in the to-be-remembered material we memorize well when we find order in the material mnemonics improve memory through organization

Question 65

popular mnemonic systems

Answer 65

``` peg-wrod -items hung on a system of well known pegs first letter mnemonics SIGECAPS mnemonics work! ```

Question 66

how we remember non-arbitrary material

Answer 66

highly dependent on understanding material | eg ambigious pictures are understood and remembered better if they are identified

Question 67

what matters when encoding situation

Answer 67

what memorizer was doing at the time of exposure | the background knowledge of the memorizer

Question 68

are aquisition, retriveal and storage easily separable

Answer 68

no new learning is grounded in previously learnt (stored) knowledge effective learning depends on how the information will later be retrieved concept is evident in many new models of memory

Question 69

cued recall

Answer 69

increased performance over free recall | retrieval cues most effective when created by the person who uses them

Question 70

which results in a stronger memory trace = re-reading or testing and why

Answer 70

in the short term re-reading does best | but in the long term being tested does best