chapter 5 terms

articulatory suppression

if we fill up the phonological loop by speaking out loud, we cannot rehearse verbal or auditory information

central executive

decides what info gets into working memory, where it goes, what is done with it

• controls and coordinates operation of phonological loop and visuospatial sketch pad

  • when driving and receiving directions from someone

chunking

putting info into more meaningful units

• arranging numbers into memorable numbers (911, 2005)

  • each group of numbers would be a bit rather than a single number

control processes

takes effort and a conscious decision to do something

delayed match-to-sample task

the animal observes something, is given a delay, and then must make a response that matches what it observed before the delay

delayed partial report method

presentation of tone was delayed for a fraction of a second after letters disappeared

• results same as whole report procedure

delayed/later recall

delay recall by doing another task, making your memory worse because you are unable to rehearse

echoic memory

auditory sensory memory

episodic buffer

another immediate stage of memory that keeps track of things that happened to us over the last few days

• larger capacity and longer duration than other parts of WM

• entirely outside conscious awareness

hippocampus

critical for forming new memories

iconic memory

visual sensory memory

immediate recall

write down all the words right after saying them

• recency effect

long-term memory

almost infinite capacity can hold information for years

• what we typically think of when we talk about memory

• if we rehearse info enough, it will make it into long-term memory

memory

the processes involved with retaining, retrieving, and using information about things that are no longer present

miller’s magic number

7 ± 2

modal model of memory

there are three different types of memory

• sensory memory

• short term memory

• long term memory

partial report method (immediate vs. delayed)

participants are only asked to report 4 of the 12 letters they are shown

• immediate

  • the tone for which row to memorize came on right when the letters disappeared

• delayed

  • the tone for which row to memorize came on after the letters disappeared

persistence of vision

retention of the perception of light

• frames in film

phonological loop

stores and manipulates verbal and auditory information

• reading: verbal info enters phonological loop, repeated internally and understood

phonological similarity effect

letters or words that SOUND similar are confused

prefrontal cortex

most important area for working memory

• anterior/front part of frontal lobe

primacy effect

you will tend to remember the first words in the list better than the middle of the list

• due to rehearsal advantage

  • due to last in, first out strategy

recency effect

you will remember the words at the end of the list better than the words in the middle of the list

• only happens with immediate recall

rehearsal

when information is in short-term memory, we can repeat it consciously over and over

• if we rehearse long enough, it will make it to long term memory

2 types of rehearsal

• rote rehearsal

  • repeating info over and over

• elaborative rehearsal

  • doing something more with the info

  • leads to better memory than rote

sensory memory

• holds all information for a fraction of a second

• very large capacity, very short duration

serial position effects

the tendency of people to remember certain items in a list better than others

short-term memory

intermediate stage of memory between sensory and long term memory

• holds between 5-7 pieces of info for about 15-20 seconds

visuospatial sketch pad

stores and manipulates visual and spatial information

• puzzle

von restorff effect

the distinctive items in a list tend to be remembered better

whole report method

where participants are asked to report all letters they were shown

word length effect

we can remember a list of short words better than a list of long words

• because short words can be rehearsed and produced faster, more likely to make it to long-term memory

working memory

limited capacity system for temporary storage and manipulation of information for complex tasks such as comprehension, learning, and reasoning

• has multiple parts

• concerned with both storage and manipulation of information

• can handle two types of info at same time

• resource pools have limited capacity and can be overloaded