PSY-310 Chapter 5 Quiz

memory

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

Atkinson and Shiffrin

Modal Model of Memory

sensory memory

initial stage that holds all incoming information for seconds or fractions of a second; effects of sensory stimulation that fade very quickly

short-term memory

holds 5-7 items for about 15-20sec; includes both new information received from the sensory stores and information recalled from long-term memory

long-term memory

can hold a large amount of information for years or even decades

Modal Model of Memory

Input → sensory memory → short-term memory → long-term memory

control processes

active processes that can be controlled by the person from one task to another (rehearsal, elaboration, strategies to focus on specific attention, etc.)

persistence of vision

retention of the perception of light (trail of light from a moving sparkler, frames in film, etc.)

Sperling (1960)

measured the capacity and duration of sensory memory; array of letters flashed quickly on a screen and participants asked to report as many as possible

whole report method

participants asked to report as many as could be seen; avg 4.5 out of 12 letters (37.5%); patients reported fading

partial report method

participants heard tone that told them which row of letters to report; avg 3.3 out of 4 letters (82%), participants could report any of the rows

delayed partial report method

presentation of tone delayed for a fraction of a second after letters were extinguished; performance decreases rapidly

decay

process by which information is lost from memory due to passage of time

iconic memory

brief sensory memory of the things we can’t see; responsible for persistence of vision

echoic memory

brief memory of the things we hear; responsible for the persistence of sound; asking someone then remembering before they respond

Peterson and Peterson

measuring duration of short-term memory; read three letters then 3-digit number; begin counting backwards by threes; after a set time, recall three letters; after 3sec of counting, participants performed at 80%; after 18sec of counting performed at 10%; reduction in performance explained by decay

digit span

how many digits a person can remember; typical result = 4 to 9, George Miller = 7 ± 2

change detection

limit at about 4 (Luck and Vogel 1997)

chunking

small units combined into larger, more meaningful, units

chunk

collection of elements strongly associated with one another but weakly associated with elements in other chunks

Ericcson et al (1980)

trained a college student with average memory ability to use chunking; went from digital span of 7 to 79 after 230 one-hour training sessions

Alvarez and Cavanaugh (2004)

used colored squares as well as complex objects; used the change detection procedure

working memory

concerned with storage, processing, and manipulation of information; active during complex cognition

Baddeley and Hitch (1974)

came up with WM Model

phonological loop

phonological score; articulatory rehearsal process

phonological similarity effect

letters or works that sound similar are confused (not similar-looking)

word length effect

memory for list of words better for short words than long words; takes longer to rehearse long words and to produce them during recall

articulatory suppression

speaking preventing one from rehearsing items to be remembered; reduces memory span; eliminates word length effect; reduces phonological similarity effect for reading words

visuospatial sketch pad

creation of visual images in the mind in the absence of a physical visual stimulus

Shepard and Metzler (1971)

mental rotation test; tasks that called for greater rotations took longer

central executive

acts as the attention controller between phonological loops and visuospatial sketch pad; focus, divide, and switch attention; controls suppression of irrelevant information

perservation

repeatedly performing same action or thought even if it’s not achieving the desired goal

episodic buffer

backup store that communicates with LTM and WM components; holds information longer and has greater capacity than phonological loop or visuospatial sketch pad

prefontal cortex

responsible for processing incoming visual and auditory information

working

Monkeys without a prefrontal cortex have difficulty holding information from _______ memory.

Funashi et al (1989)

single cell recordings of a monkey’s prefrontal cortex during a delayed response task; neurons responded when stimulus was flashed in a particular location during delay; information remains available via these neurons as long as they continue firing

Stokes (2015)

information is stored in short-term changes in neural networks

activity-silent working memory

involves activity state and synaptic state

activity state

information to be remembered that causes neurons to fire

synaptic state

neuro firing stops, but connections between neurons strengthen

Vogel et al (2005)

measured ERP responses between high0capacity WM group and low-capacity WM group when shown either simple or complex stimuli; high-capacity participants more efficient at ignoring distractors