cgs 2301 - stm & wm

short term memory (STM)

temp storage that holds limit info for brief period of time

modal model of memory

• sensory things we attend to become short term memory

• maintenance rehearsal for temp retention

• unrehearsed things become lost

• encoding leads to long term memory

stm size

• 7 +- 2 items/chunks

• aka 5 - 9 items/chunks

chunks

• combining small units into larger, more meaningful chunks helps you remember things better

• ex: 1 is a chunk, 1992 is a chunk so chunking can help u remember more info

stm duration

6-10 seconds without rehearsal

how many components does stm have?

one

working memory

• new and improved stm

• temporary storage and working manipulation of info

multiple components of wm

• multiple memory stores involved with working memory

  • central executive: connects working and long term memory

    • phonological loop: temporarily stores and rehearses sounds for language processing

    • visual/spatial: color, shape, location, etc

patient EA

• 60 years old, college degree

• temporo-parietal lesion

• auditory span = 1.5

• fluent speech, occasional phonemic paraphasia (substituting word w/ non word that’s phonetically similar)

  • ex: “the duck and doochess of windsor” instead of “the duke and duchess of windsor”

• if you said two words in a row they would usually only be able to repeat 1 of them back

articulatory suppression

• research technique to study phonological loop

• interrupting normal verbal rehearsal with irrelevant sound

• hinders ability to maintain and manipulate verbal info

picture word interference

• naming a word is slower when an distracting picture is shown with it

  • ex: name den but it’s with pic of horse

• interference is stronger when distracting picture is semantically related (similar meaning) to word

  • ex: name cow but it’s with pic of horse

semantic processing

• stage of language processing after u hear a word and encode it’s meaning

• connect word w/ other words u already know

• understanding context and applying knowledge to new situations