Chapter 5 - short term and working memory

Articulatory rehearsal process

repeating information silently to keep it active in memory such as repeating a phone number to remember it

Echoic memory

brief sensory memory for sound lasting a few seconds such as remembering the last words someone said

Articulatory suppression

preventing rehearsal by repeating irrelevant sounds such as saying the the the while trying to remember words

Embedded processes model

working memory consists of activated long term memory plus attention such as focusing on part of stored knowledge

Central executive

control system that directs attention and coordinates working memory such as switching attention between tasks

Episodic buffer

component that integrates information from different sources into a coherent episode such as combining visual and verbal information

Change detection

task detecting differences between two visual displays such as noticing a color change

Event related potentials ERPs

brain responses measured using EEG linked to cognitive processes such as detecting changes in stimuli

Chunking

grouping small units into larger meaningful units such as remembering 149217761945 as dates

Control processes

strategies that influence memory such as rehearsal and attention

fMRI decoding procedure

using brain activity patterns to determine what a person is perceiving or remembering

Corsi block tapping test

test of visuospatial memory where participants repeat sequences of block taps

Iconic memory

brief sensory memory for visual stimuli lasting a fraction of a second such as briefly seeing an image after it disappears

Decay

loss of information over time due to fading such as forgetting a number after a few seconds

Memory

process of acquiring storing and retrieving information

Delayed partial report method

reporting part of a display after a delay to study sensory memory

Modal model of memory

model with sensory memory short term memory and long term memory stages

Operation span

measure of working memory involving solving math problems while remembering words

Delayed response task

task requiring holding information over a delay such as remembering location of an object

Partial report method

reporting only a portion of a briefly presented display such as recalling one row of letters

Digit span

number of digits a person can remember in order such as repeating a list of numbers

Persistence of vision

continued perception of a stimulus after it is gone such as seeing a sparkler trail

Phonological loop

system for holding and manipulating verbal information such as remembering spoken words

Short term memory STM

system for temporarily holding information such as remembering a phone number briefly

Phonological similarity effect

similar sounding words are harder to remember such as man can pan fan

Structural features

basic components of memory systems such as stores and pathways

Phonological store

part of working memory that holds verbal information briefly such as storing spoken words

Visual imagery

creating visual representations in the mind such as imagining a map

Proactive interference

earlier information interferes with new learning such as old password interfering with new one

Visuospatial sketch pad

system for visual and spatial information such as imagining rotating an object

Reading span

measure of working memory involving reading sentences and recalling words

Whole report method

reporting all items from a display such as recalling all letters shown

Rehearsal

repeating information to keep it in memory such as repeating a name

Word length effect

shorter words are remembered better than longer words such as cat dog vs hippopotamus

Retroactive interference

new information interferes with old information such as new password replacing old one

Working memory

system for temporary storage and manipulation of information such as solving a math problem in your head

Sensory memory

brief storage of sensory information such as briefly holding visual or auditory inpu