Cognitive Psych Working Memory- Unit 2

Learning and memory

Acquisition, storage, and retrieval

Multi-store model of memory

Model including sensory memory and short-term memory (STM) with a digital span of 7 plus or minus 2 items or 4 chunks

Displacement

The process by which information is lost from short-term memory

Phonological loop

A working memory system that handles verbal and acoustic information

Phonological store

A passive store within the phonological loop concerned with speech perception

Articulatory control process

An active process within the phonological loop concerned with speech production and rehearsal

Word length effect

The finding that it is harder to remember long words than short words because rehearsal takes longer

Visuospatial sketchpad

A working memory component used in the temporary storage and manipulation of spatial and visual information

Visual cache

A part of the visuospatial sketchpad that stores visual features like shape, color, and appearance

Inner scribe

A part of the visuospatial sketchpad that maintains spatial locations, movement information, and supports mental imagery

Central executive

The most important and versatile component of working memory that focuses attention, divides attention, and interfaces with LTM

Episodic buffer

A limited-capacity system that holds about four chunks, briefly stores information, and acts as an intermediary between the phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad, and LTM

Cowan's embedded processes model

A model proposing that working memory is an activated portion of long-term memory managed by a focus of attention holding 4 chunks

Retro cue benefits

Improvement in memory accuracy when a cue points to a specific item in visual working memory after the original input has disappeared

Oberauer's refinement

A working memory model dividing structure into activated LTM, a region of direct access (4 chunks), and a single-item focus of attention (1 chunk)

Time-based resource sharing (TBRS)

A theory stating that forgetting depends on time spent on concurrent processing as attentional resources are shared

Reading span

An assessment measuring working memory capacity by the largest number of sentences from which an individual can recall final words over 50% of the time

Executive function

Comprises three types: updating information in working memory, shifting between tasks, and inhibition

Stimulus-independent thoughts (SITs)

Mind wandering, daydreams, worries, or intrusive thoughts produced when executive control resources drift

Activity-silent working memory

The theory that working memory can be stored in short-term synaptic changes rather than continuous firing and can be reactivated by cues or TMS

Prefrontal basal ganglia gating

A mechanism where the basal ganglia acts as a gatekeeper to decide when to update or maintain working memory contents, biased by dopamine

Hippocampal contributions

Brain structures supporting relational and binding working memory, such as face-scene and object-location pairings

Fronto-parietal control network

A network involving the dorsolateral PFC and posterior parietal cortex that supports flexible allocation of attention and working memory capacity

Multiple demand system

Domain-general fronto-parietal circuits engaged by any cognitively demanding task, not just working memory

Mnemonic strategies

Techniques like first-letter mnemonics and peg-word systems that improve memory through organization

Relational rehearsal

A deep rehearsal method that is superior to maintenance rehearsal for transferring information to LTM

Incidental learning

Learning that occurs in the absence of a deliberate intention to learn

Intentional learning

Deliberate learning with the expectation that memory will be tested later