PSY 3217: Ch. 6 - Short term and Working Memory

Atkinson and Shiffrin's Modal Model of Memory

sensory [all info for secs]

short-term [5-720sec]

long-term [yrs]

Persistence of vision

retention of the perception of light

Ex.) trail of light from a sparkler

Characteristics of Sensory Memory

short duration/erasable

large capacity

info is precategorical

Iconic sensory memory

brief sensory memory of the things that we see

echoic sensory memory

brief sensory memory of the things that we hear

Short term memory

stores small amounts of info for brief duration

includes info recieved from sensory, and info retrieved from LT

Maintenance rehearsal: literal repeating of the material

literal repeating of the material

Elaborative rehearsal

meaningful rehearsal (allows transfer to LTM)

Digit Span

how many digits a person can remember

Chunking

small units can be combined into larger meaningful units

Baddeley and Hitch’s model of Working Memory

Working memory is a limited-capacity system for temporary storage.

Function: hold task relevant info for cognitive work.

WM is concerned w storage, process, and manip of info

Central Executive

acts as the attention controller, suppression of irrelevant info

Phonological loop

letters or words that sound similar r confused

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

Episodic buffer

backup store that communicates w LT and WM, hold info longer, great capacity

Visuospatial Sketchpad

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