BCS 111 Unit 6.1

Three major memory processes

• Encoding: the process that converts input into a memory trace

• Storage of memory trace

• Retrieval of memory trace

Sensory memory

• Initial and brief storage of sensory input

  • Visual (iconic)

  • Auditory (echoic)

  • Gustatory (taste)

  • Tactile (touch)

  • Olfactory (smell)

Iconic memory: partial-report technique

• Report only a portion of the stimuli according to the given cue

  • Allows for more efficient processing

Iconic memory

• Whole-report: no cue à 35-45% reported à higher cognitive demand

• Partial-report technique (Sperling 1960)

  • Recall better when cued

  • But the timing of cue matters!

  • Delayed cue (~ 1 sec) not helpful

  • Retention < 1s

Iconic memory: in some cases partial report won’t work

• Displayed letters contain both vowels and consonants

  • One cue for vowels and another for consonants

  • Cued by category not helpful

  • Iconic memory formed before fine-grained categorization!

• Recall all the letters that rhyme with “P”

• Cued by letter pronunciation also not helpful

  • Sensory memory is modality-specific!

How to erase your icons from memory?

• Present a mask (as a cover) right after the display of letters

  • Typical

A typical masked priming paradigm

• Most people reported not seeing the prime if it’s presented < ~60 ms

• Masked prime is unconsciously processed but still CAN facilitate object naming

• Implications: “icons” erased but still CAN be processed without being consciously aware of it

Testing echoic memory

Hear letters from 4 channels at the same time then recall all letters (whole report)

Auditory sensory memory - Echoic memory

• Partial report also helps (as in iconic memory)

• Cued by sound category IS helpful in echoic memory

  • Contrary to iconic memory

  • Slightly larger capacity than iconic memory

• Auditory mask (a suffix) presented right after the list hinders recall of auditory stimuli

  • Suffix effect (just like the visual mask in the iconic memory task)

  • The more similar the suffix to the stimuli, the greater the interference

Sensory memory - summary

• Modality specific: each sense has its own corresponding sensory memory

• Very brief (~1 sec) (echo lasts a bit longer)

• Brief storage of under-processed information