HP2600 Chapter 5 STM & WM

memory

retention of information over a period of time

echoic buffer

perceptual store for auditory information

iconic buffer

perceptual store for visual information

haptic buffer

perceptual store for sensory information

properties of perceptual stores

- modality specific

- large capacity

- fast degradation

- information can be lost through masking

- limited amount of information can be transferred to other memory stores (STM, LTM) for further processing

masking

difficulty in seeing target stimulus when it is quickly replaced by a similar stimulus in the same or a nearby location

visual persistence/persistence of vision

continued perception of a visual stimulus even after it is no longer present

short-term memory

system involved in storing small amounts of information for a brief period of time

capacity of STM

5-8 items

features of STM

- smaller capacity than perceptual stores

- includes new information received from sensory stores and information recalled from LTM

- slower rate of decay than perceptual stores

- rehearsal can prevent memory degradation

- attention usually required to place information in STM

duration that information can be held in STM

15-20s

proactive interference

interference of previously learned information with learning of new information

retroactive interference

interference of newly learned information with recall of previously learned information

chunking

combining small units of information into larger meaningful units

can increase ability to hold information in STM from 5-8 items to 20 or more

problems with modal model of memory

- incorrectly claims that STM is modality free

- fails to explain how information can be lost or encoded in LTM

- claims rehearsal is necessary for transfer to LTM with insufficient evidence

additional points

- de-emphasises roles of proactive/retroactive interference and retrieval cues in STM and forgetting

- does not consider how retrieval cues can help recover decayed memory

working memory

limited capacity system for temporary storage and manipulation of information for complex tasks

components of working memory

- phonological loop

- visuospatial sketchpad

- central executive

- episodic buffer (2000 model)

phonological loop

consists of phonological store and articulatory rehearsal process

holds verbal and auditory information

phonological store

buffer for auditory information that holds up to 2s of phonological information

articulatory rehearsal process

used to refresh items in phonological store before they decay and to transfer visual information into phonological store

digit span

number of digits a person can remember

phonological similarity effect

confusion of letters or words that sound similar

recall advantage for phonologically dissimilar words

word length effect

memory for lists of words is better for short words than for long words

recall advantage for short words

articulatory suppression

prevents rehearsal of items to be remembered through repetition of an irrelevant sound

reduces memory span

suppression of short and long words eliminates word length effect

reduces phonological similarity effect for reading words

visuospatial sketchpad

component of WM involved in visual imagery

holds visual and spatial information

visual imagery

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

central executive

coordinates information between phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad, and controls how attention is directed

connects information from LTM to STM

dysexecutive syndrome

impaired ability to plan and control short-term impulses due to frontal lobe damage

perseveration

repetition of the same action regardless of whether it achieves the desired goal

episodic buffer

storage buffer that links WM to LTM, where multimodal information is combined

provides more storage capacity and keeps track of chunks