ch 5: Short-Term and Working Memory in Cognitive Psychology

Modal Model of Memory

proposes 3 types of memory (sensory memory, short term memory and long term memory)

Sensory Memory

initial, very brief recording of sensory information for seconds or fractions of a second

allows the brain to process and interpret sensory information before it is either discarded or transferred to short-term memory for further processing

Iconic Memory

Brief sensory memory for visual stimuli, decays in less than a second.

Echoic Memory

Brief sensory memory for auditory stimuli, decays in about 10 seconds.

Short-Term Memory (STM)

Temporary storage of information

Capacity of STM

Holds 5-9 items as suggested by the digit span task.

Complexity Influence on capacity of STM

More complex stimuli reduce the number of items that can be held.

Chunking

collection of elements that are strongly associated with one another but weakly associated with elements in other chunks

ex. UNCRSVPASAP → UNC RSVP ASAP

Rehearsal

helps to maintain information and potentially transfer it to long-term memory

Long-Term Memory (LTM)

Can hold a large amount of information for years.

Encoding

Process of storing information in LTM.

Retrieval

remembering information that is stored in LTM

Working Memory (WM)

Includes temporary storage and processing of information.

Differences STM and WM

Working memory (WM) involves both storage and processing of information for complex tasks like comprehension, learning, and reasoning while STM is just storage

Phonological Loop

Processes verbal (language) and auditory (sounds) information in WM.

Phonological Store

Holds verbal/auditory information for a few seconds.

Articulatory Rehearsal

Keeps items in the phonological store from decaying through rehearsal

Evidence for phonological loop

word length effect, articulatory suppression, and Phonological Similarity Effect

Phonological Similarity Effect

Similar-sounding letters are often confused.

ex. F mistakenly recalled as S or X (sound similar); Never recalled as E (look similar)

evidence for phonological loop

Word Length Effect

Short words are remembered better than long words.

evidence for phonological loop

Articulatory Suppression

reduced WM memory when speaking an irrelevant sound;

Speaking disrupts recall

eliminates word length effect (worsens memory for both long and short words)

evidence for phonological loop

Visuospatial Sketchpad

Stores and manipulates visual and spatial information

Evidence for visuospatial sketchpad

mental rotation tasks, recalling visual patterns, and Interference of other visual stimuli during a visual imagery task

Mental Rotation Tasks

Participants mentally rotate objects to compare them.

Takes longer time to imagine image rotated more number of times

Visual Pattern Recall

Information must be encoded "visually" rather than verbally

Interference in WM

Pointing reduces accuracy in visual imagery tasks since pointing another visual task

(when doing visual imagery task, can't do another visual task with it b/c focuses on two stimulus using same visual effort)

Central Executive

Directs attention, pulls information from LTM, and coordinates the phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad.

Episodic Buffer

Links WM to LTM and provides additional storage.

Prefrontal Cortex (PFC)

Important for controlling attention and working memory tasks.

Phineas Gage Case Study

PFC damage led to impulsivity and poor planning (complex mental tasks); thus, WM is involved PFC

Compare and Contrast Phonological loop and visuospatial sketch pad

Phonological loop: verbal and auditory info.

visuospatial sketch pad: visual and spatial info.

same: controlled by central executive (control center for WM)