Week 12: Ch. 6 Human Memory: Encoding and Storage

We represent conceptual knowledge through  _________________. 1. Semantic networks 2. Type distractors 3. Token distractors 4. Isa links

semantic networks

What memory model did Atkinson & Shiffrin propose?

The Modal Model of Memory (1968).

What are the three major memory stores in the Modal Model?

Sensory store → Short-term memory → Long-term memory.

What is the function of the sensory store?

Holds raw sensory information briefly before attention selects what enters STM.

What is iconic memory?

Visual sensory memory lasting ~0.5 seconds.

What is echoic memory?

Auditory sensory memory lasting 2–4 seconds.

What process moves information from the sensory store to STM?

Attention

What is short-term memory?

A limited-capacity, temporary store for information.

What is memory span?

The number of items someone can immediately repeat back from STM.

What keeps information active in STM?

Rehearsal

What determines how much information is transferred to long-term memory?

amount of rehearsal

What is long-term memory?

a relative-permanent, high-capacity store

According to modern cognitive psychology, can information enter LTM without passing through STM?

Yes. Examples include traumatic events, procedural learning, and implicit memory.

What kinds of memories show that STM is not required for LTM storage?

Implicit skills (e.g., bike riding), emotional memories, classical conditioning, and language acquisition.

What is a major limitation of the Atkinson & Shiffrin model?

It oversimplifies memory pathways and incorrectly assumes rehearsal is required for LTM entry.

What does modern research suggest about rehearsal?

Rehearsal helps but is not the only way information is encoded into LTM.

What is sensory memory?

A brief memory store that holds raw sensory information for a very short period.

What is iconic memory?

Visual sensory memory that lasts about 250–500 ms.

What does the whole report procedure test?

How many items people can report after briefly seeing an array.

In whole report, how many items do people recall?

What were the two original explanations for whole-report results?

(a) People see only a few items.
(b) People see all items but memory fades before they can report them.

What is the partial report procedure?

A cue (tone/arrow) indicates which row to report from the quickly shown array.

What does partial report performance show?

Participants saw most of the items, showing large capacity in iconic memory.

What happens when the cue is delayed by 1 second?

Recall drops sharply (1.5/4 items), showing iconic memory fades quickly.

What two qualities does iconic memory have according to Sperling’s study?

• Large capacity

• Short duration

What is the Atkinson & Shiffrin (1968) model of memory?

A multi-store model proposing that memory consists of sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory.

What is sensory memory?

A brief, automatic store that holds incoming sensory information for a very short time.

What is iconic memory?

visual sensory memory that lasts about 0.2–0.5 seconds.

What is echoic memory?

Auditory sensory memory that lasts about 2–4 seconds.

What role does attention play in memory?

It determines which information moves from sensory memory into short-term memory.

What is short-term memory (STM)?

An intermediate, temporary store with limited capacity where information is actively processed.

What is memory span?

The number of elements a person can immediately repeat back.

Why is short-term memory considered limited?

Because it can hold only a small number of items at one time.

What is rehearsal?

Repeating or mentally practicing information to keep it in short-term memory and transfer it to long-term memory.

How does rehearsal affect long-term memory?

The amount of rehearsal controls how much information is transferred into long-term memory.

What is long-term memory (LTM)?

A relatively permanent memory store with large capacity.

What is the depth of processing theory?

The idea that memory depends on how deeply information is processed, not how long it is rehearsed.

Who proposed the depth of processing theory and when?

Craik and Lockhart in 1972.

What is shallow processing?

Processing based on surface features such as appearance, sound, or spelling.

What is deep processing?

Processing based on meaning, semantic relationships, and understanding.

Why does deep processing lead to better memory?

Because meaningful processing creates stronger and more durable memory traces.

What did Kapur et al. (1994) find about memory performance?

75% recall for deep processing and 57% recall for shallow processing.

What brain area was more active during deep processing?

The left prefrontal cortex.

What is the serial-position effect?

The tendency to remember items at the beginning and end of a list better than those in the middle.

What is the primacy effect?

Better recall for items at the beginning of a list due to long-term storage.

What is the recency effect?

Better recall for items at the end of a list due to short-term storage.

What happens to the recency effect if recall is delayed?

It disappears because items are no longer in short-term memory.

What is working memory according to Baddeley?

A system for temporarily holding and manipulating information needed to perform tasks.

Does Baddeley’s working memory model focus on long-term memory storage?

No, it focuses on the active use of information, not transferring it to long-term memory.

What are the main components of Baddeley’s working memory model?

The central executive, visuospatial sketchpad, and phonological loop.

What is the role of the central executive?

It controls attention and coordinates how the slave systems are used.

Does the central executive store information?

No, it manages and directs processing.

What is the visuospatial sketchpad responsible for?

Temporarily storing visual and spatial information.

What type of information does the phonological loop handle?

Verbal and auditory information.

What are the two components of the phonological loop?

The phonological store and the articulatory loop.

What is the phonological store?

A temporary store for speech-based sounds.

What is the articulatory loop?

An inner voice that rehearses verbal information to keep it active.

What is the word-length effect?

The finding that short words are remembered better than long words in verbal working memory.

Why do one-syllable words have better recall than five-syllable words?

: Because they can be rehearsed within the 1.5–2 second limit of the articulatory loop.

How much verbal material can the articulatory loop maintain?

About 1.5–2 seconds’ worth of information.

What is the phonological loop responsible for?

Temporary storage and rehearsal of verbal and auditory information.

What are the two components of the phonological loop?

the phonological store and the articulatory loop.

What is the phonological store?

An “inner ear” that stores verbal information in a phonological form.

Why does information fade in the phonological store?

Because it decays quickly unless rehearsed.

What is the articulatory loop?

An “inner voice” that rehearses and refreshes verbal information.

How does the articulatory loop help memory?

By preventing decay in the phonological store through rehearsal.

What part of the brain is strongly involved in working memory in primates?

The frontal cortex, particularly area 46.

What is the delayed match-to-sample task?

A task where a subject must remember a stimulus across a delay and later identify the match.

What does neuronal firing during the delay period indicate?

Maintenance of information in working memory.

What did Smith & Jonides (1995) find about working memory?

Different frontal cortex areas maintain different types of information.

How does frontal cortex specialization support Baddeley’s model?

It shows that working memory has multiple, specialized systems rather than a single store.

What brain structure is most important for forming new long-term memories?

The hippocampus.

What is the main role of the hippocampus in memory?

Linking different aspects of an experience into a single coherent memory.

What types of information does the hippocampus bind together?

Sights, sounds, smells, spatial context, and emotional content.

Is the hippocampus important for maintaining old memories?

It is less important once memories are consolidated.

What role does the prefrontal cortex play in memory formation?

Organizing, elaborating, and strategically encoding information.

Who was Patient H.M.?

A patient who developed severe memory impairment after hippocampal removal.

What is anterograde amnesia?

The inability to form new long-term memories after brain damage.

What type of amnesia did H.M. primarily have?

Anterograde amnesia.

What is retrograde amnesia?

Loss of memories from before brain damage.

Why was H.M.’s retrograde amnesia limited?

Because older memories were already stored in cortical areas.

What did Patient H.M. demonstrate about memory storage?

That the hippocampus is crucial for forming but not permanently storing long-term memories.

What is the role of the prefrontal cortex in memory formation?

It organizes and strengthens encoding, predicting which memories will be retained.

What is the subsequent memory paradigm?

A method comparing brain activity during encoding for items later remembered versus forgotten.

During which phase is brain activity measured in the subsequent memory paradigm?

The study (encoding) phase.

What does “subsequently remembered” mean?

Items that are later successfully recalled or recognized.

What does “subsequently forgotten” mean?

Items that are not remembered at test.

Which prefrontal region predicts memory for words?

The left prefrontal cortex.

Which prefrontal region predicts memory for pictures?

The right prefrontal cortex.

What did Wagner et al. (1998) and Brewer et al. (1998) show?

Prefrontal activation during encoding predicts later memory success.

How does prefrontal activation strengthen memory at the neural level?

By driving long-term potentiation (LTP) in the hippocampus.

What does LTP stand for?

Long-term potentiation.

Why is the subsequent memory paradigm important?

It identifies neural activity that causes successful memory encoding.

What is long-term memory?

A relatively permanent store of information with multiple specialized systems.

What is the main distinction in long-term memory types?

Explicit (declarative) vs. implicit (nondeclarative) memory.

: What is explicit (declarative) memory?

Memory that can be consciously recalled and verbally described.

What are the two types of explicit memory?

Semantic memory and episodic memory.

What is semantic memory?

Memory for facts, meanings, and general knowledge.