Module 5: Memory Systems and Sensory Memory

Vocabulary practice flashcards generated from lecture notes covering peer advising opportunities, general definitions of memory, the Atkinson-Shifrin Modal Model, sensory memory (iconic vs. echoic), George Sperling's iconic memory experiments, and clinical applications.

Memory

The process involved in retaining, retrieving, and using information about stimuli, images, events, ideas, and skills after the original information is no longer present.

Modal Model of Memory

An influential memory model proposed by Richard Atkinson and Richard Shifrin in 1968 that describes information flowing from sensory inputs to sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory.

Sensory Memory

An initial, high-capacity memory system that briefly holds an exact representation of visual or auditory perceptual input immediately after the physical stimulus disappears.

Iconic Memory

The sensory memory system for information in the visual domain, holding a brief copy of perceptual input that rapidly and gradually fades away.

Echoic Memory

The sensory memory system for information in the auditory domain, functioning like a brief mental playback recording of recent auditory input.

Working Memory

An active memory system, also referred to as short-term memory, that holds whatever present thoughts and information a person is currently focusing on for immediate use.

Long-Term Memory

The memory system responsible for storing information over extended periods, such as knowledge for exams or memories of personal past events.

Whole Report Procedure

An experimental task where a display of 12 letters and numbers is briefly flashed for 100 milliseconds, and participants are asked to recall as many total items as possible.

Whole Report Capacity Limit

The average finding that participants can report only about 5 items out of 12, constrained by the capacity limits of short-term/working memory rather than sensory memory.

George Sperling

The cognitive psychologist who adapted the whole report paradigm into the partial report procedure to measure the true capacity and duration of iconic memory.

Partial Report Procedure

An experimental task where a 12-item display flashes briefly, followed immediately by an auditory cue tone indicating which specific row of items the participant must transfer to working memory and recall.

Partial Report Procedure Results

Findings showing that participants can accurately report nearly all items from any cued row, demonstrating that virtually all 12 items are present in iconic memory right after stimulus offset.

Delayed Partial Report Procedure

An experimental variation where the cue tone is delayed by set intervals (up to 1000 milliseconds) following stimulus offset to determine how long iconic memory lasts.

Iconic Memory Duration

The rapid decay rate of visual sensory memory, where roughly 50% of stored information is lost by 150 milliseconds and almost completely gone by 500 milliseconds (0.5 seconds).

Iconic Memory in Mild Cognitive Impairment

A pattern observed in older adults with mild cognitive impairment showing both a reduced overall iconic memory capacity and a significantly accelerated rate of decay.

Iconic Memory in Schizophrenia

Experimental findings demonstrating that individuals with schizophrenia display a minor decrease in iconic memory capacity compared to age-matched controls, but no alteration in memory duration or decay rate.