7.2 Short Term Memory

These flashcards cover key concepts related to short term memory, including its capacity, duration, and methods to enhance memory retention.

Short Term Memory

A component of memory that holds information for a duration of less than a minute and has a limited capacity.

Magic Number

Refers to the capacity of short term memory, which is approximately seven plus or minus two items.

Digit Span Task

A method used to test short term memory capacity by having individuals repeat a sequence of numbers.

Chunking

A memory technique that involves grouping individual pieces of information into larger, meaningful units.

Brown Peterson Task

An experimental method used to demonstrate the rapid decay of short term memory when rehearsal is prevented by performing a distracting task.

Mental Rehearsal

The process of repetitively thinking about information to keep it active in short term memory.

Trigram

A set of three letters used in memory tasks to assess short term retention.