UNIT 3 | SHORT MEMORY

Question 1

How does the episodic buffer help with semantically related nouns (e.g., “cure” – “saint”)?

Answer 1

The episodic buffer helps solve problems with semantically related nouns by allowing the storage and retrieval of pairs of related words (such as “cure” – “saint”) whose capacity exceeds that of the phonological loop, by integrating semantic information.

Question 2

: What is the capacity of the phonological loop?

Answer 2

The phonological loop has a capacity of around 5 items or chunks.

Question 3

How does the episodic buffer solve the issue with semantically related items (e.g., nouns)?

Answer 3

The episodic buffer helps solve the issue with semantically related items by integrating information across different modalities (visual, phonological, semantic), allowing for better coherent storage and retrieval.

Question 4

How does the episodic buffer interact with other components of working memory?

Answer 4

The episodic buffer receives information from the phonological loop, the visuospatial sketchpad, and long-term memory, allowing it to store information with different codes (e.g., visual, phonological).

Question 5

What is the role of the episodic buffer in working memory?

Answer 5

The episodic buffer is a separate storage system that can hold about four items (or chunks) of information and integrates information from various sources.

Question 6

What are the key abilities of the central executive?

Answer 6

The central executive is responsible for:
Focusing attention on relevant tasks.
Dividing attention between multiple tasks or information.
Activating the appropriate task or mental process as needed.

Question 7

What is the role of the central executive component in working memory?

Answer 7

The central executive is a limited attentional capacity control system responsible for manipulating information and controlling the subsidiary storage systems (phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad, and episodic buffer).

Question 8

What does the inner scribe (or spatial sketchpad) do in the visuospatial sketchpad?

Answer 8

The inner scribe is involved in the active processing of spatial information, allowing for the transformation, manipulation, and integration of stored spatial data.

Question 9

What is the role of the visual cache (or visual buffer)?

Answer 9

The visual cache retains visual information that has not been modified by further processing or coding, essentially storing visual data in its raw form.

Question 10

What is the function of the visuospatial sketchpad in working memory?

Answer 10

The visuospatial sketchpad is responsible for the storage and maintenance of visual and spatial information, independent of the phonological loop.

Question 11

How does articulatory rehearsal function in the phonological loop?

Answer 11

Articulatory rehearsal (or subvocal speech) actively retrieves and rearticulates information retained in the phonological store to refresh the memory and prevent forgetting.

Question 12

What is the role of the passive phonological store?

Answer 12

The passive phonological store holds memory traces in an acoustic or phonological format for a few seconds before they fade.

Question 13

What is the episodic buffer in working memory?

Answer 13

The episodic buffer is a store of limited capacity that integrates information from the phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad, and long-term memory, using a multidimensional code.

Question 14

What is the function of the phonological loop in working memory?

Answer 14

The phonological loop is responsible for the storage and maintenance of information in a phonological (speech-like) format.

Question 15

What does the central executive component do?

Answer 15

The central executive is a limited attentional capacity control system responsible for manipulating information and controlling the other components of working memory (phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad, episodic buffer).

Question 15

What is the role of the visuospatial sketchpad in working memory?

Answer 15

The visuospatial sketchpad stores and maintains visual and spatial information, such as images and locations.

Question 16

What do the results from neuropsychological studies suggest about visual and spatial STM?

Answer 16

The results suggest that visual STM and spatial STM may be separate systems, as evidenced by patients being able to performone type of task (e.g., Corsi Block) but not the other (e.g., pattern span).

Question 16

What does the phonological loop do in working memory?

Answer 16

The phonological loop is responsible for the storage and maintenance of information in a phonological (speech-like) format.

Question 17

What is the role of the executive component in disrupting tasks?

Answer 17

The executive component in tasks adds complexity, making them more likely to interfere with visual and spatial processing in STM.

Question 18

What types of tasks are most likely to disrupt visual and spatial processing in STM?

Answer 18

Disrupting tasks typically involve both visual and spatial processing, and may also have an executive component that adds additional complexity.

Question 19

What type of evidence supports the idea of separate visual and spatial components of the STM system?

Answer 19

Neuropsychological studies provide evidence, showing that some patients are capable of performing the Corsi Block task but not the pattern span task, and vice versa.

Question 20

How does a concurrent attentional task affect performance in the study?

Answer 20

A concurrent attentional task interferes with performance, but the impairment is no greater in the binding condition (color + shape) than in the single feature conditions (color or shape alone).

Question 21

How do bound features (color + shape) compare to single features in terms of memory difficulty?

Answer 21

Bound features (color + shape) are nonsignificantly harder to remember than single features.

Question 22

What did Allen, Baddeley & Hitch (2006) find about the impact of attentional disruption on the binding process?

Answer 22

Their results showed that attentional disruption did not differ across conditions, suggesting that the process of binding shape and color operates automatically and is not disrupted by additional tasks.

Question 23

Which feature is easiest to remember according to the findings?

Answer 23

Colors are easiest to remember, followed by shapes, which are somewhat harder.

Question 24

What did Allen, Baddeley & Hitch (2006) hypothesize about binding and attention?

Answer 24

They hypothesized that performing an attentionally demanding task should interfere more with the binding condition (where both shape and color are combined) than with conditions where only separate features (shape or color) needed to be maintained.

Question 25

Provide an example of binding in memory.

Answer 25

An example of binding is recognizing a red square, where the shape (square) and the color (red) are encoded separately and then integrated into the perception of the object.

Question 26

Does the binding process require effort in memory tasks?

Answer 26

The additional process of binding shape and color may operate automatically, without requiring significant effort from the participant.

Question 27

How does the binding condition perform compared to other conditions in memory tasks?

Answer 27

The binding condition (where shape and color are combined) is often no worse than the harder of the two single feature conditions (e.g., remembering either shape or color alone).

Question 28

How are features encoded in memory during binding?

Answer 28

Separate channels encode different features of an object (e.g., shape and color), which are then combined to form the perception of a single object.

Question 29

What is binding in memory?

Answer 29

Binding is the capacity to reunite the features of an object, allowing different features to be integrated and experienced as a single object.

Question 30

How does Visual STM benefit from attention?

Answer 30

Visual STM appears to benefit from an active attempt to maintain an item in the focus of attention, improving memory retention.

Question 31

What is the capacity of Visual STM?

Answer 31

Visual LTM may not be precise, but it has the capacity to store enough information to distinguish between pictures that were seen and non-seen pictures.