Psyc2007 lec 6- memory 2 wmm

• What was the key limitation of viewing Short-Term Memory (STM) as a single, unitary store?

It cannot explain how we can perform multiple tasks at once (like reasoning while remembering numbers) or how different types of information (sounds vs images) are processed seperately

What is the core difference between Short-Term Memory (STM) and Working Memory (WM)?

STM is often viewed as a passive, temporary holding space. Working memory is an active used for manipulating information, reasoning and problem solving

What did Baddeley's (1966) study on phonological similarity vs. semantic similarity reveal about STM and LTM?

STM is primarily sound-based (phonological)—similar-sounding words are hard to remember. LTM is primarily meaning-based (semantic)—similar-meaning words are hard to remember.

What are the 4 components of Baddeley and Hitch’s (1974) updated working memory model?

1. Central executive 

2. Phonological loop

3. Visuo- spatial sketchpad

4. Episodic buffer

What is the function of the central executive?

• Attentional boss

• Controls focus, coordinates the other components and retrieves information from the long term memory.

What is the function of the phonological loop?

• System that holds and manipulates verbal and sound based information

What are the 3 key phenomena that provide evidence for the phonological loop?

1. Phonological similarity effect

2. Word length effect

3. Articulatory supression 

What is the phonological similarity effect?

It is harder to remember items that sound similar (e.g., B, C, D, P, T) because their acoustic codes interfere in the phonological loop.

What is the phonological similarity effect?

it is harder to remember items that sound similar (e.g B,C,D,P,T) because their acoustic codes interfere in the phonological loop

What is the word length effect?

It is harder to remember a list of long words than short words because the phonological loop is time-limited; you can only rehearse as much as you can say in ~2 seconds.

What is articulatory suppression and what does it do?

The task of repeatedly saying a word aloud (e.g “the”). It blocks the phonological loop, disrupting rehearsal and eliminating the word length and phonological similarity effects.

What is the function of the visuo-spatial sketchpad?

It is a system for holding and manipulating visual and spatial information

Why was the Episodic Buffer added to the model?

To explain how information from the other subsystems and from Long-Term Memory is integrated into a single, coherent episode or chunk (e.g., understanding a story or remembering a scene).

What was Miller’s (1956) famous proposal about STM capacity?

The "magical number" of 7 ± 2 items

What is Cowan's (2001) revised estimate of working memory capacity?

About 4 ± 1 items

What did Luck & Vogel's (1997) change detection experiment find

That people could accurately detect changes in up to 4 objects. This is supported by the discrete slot model of visual working memory 

What is the discrete slot model of visual working memory?

The idea that VWM has fixed number of slots, (about 4) and each slot can hold one object, regardless of it’s complexity

What did Alvarez & Cavanagh (2004) find that challenged the Discrete Slot Model?

That VWM capacity decreased as objects became more visually complex. This supports the Continuous Resource Model.

What is the continuous resource model of visual working memory?

The idea that VWM is a pool of mental resources that can be flexibly distributed. More complex objects require more resources, so you remember fewer of them. 

According to Cowan's Embedded-Processes Model, what is Working Memory?

It is the activated part of Long-Term Memory that is currently under the focus of attention.

In Cowan's model, what are the three levels of memory activation?

1. Long-Term Memory (the entire knowledge base),

2. Activated Memory (a currently active subset of LTM),

3. Focus of Attention (the ~4 items you are consciously focused on).

According to the multicomponent model, would training on a visual task improve performance on a verbal task? Why?

No, not significantly. The two tasks rely on different "slave systems" (Visuo-spatial Sketchpad vs. Phonological Loop), which are largely independent.

What is the key takeaway from the Working Memory lecture?

Working Memory is a limited-capacity, active system with multiple specialized components, crucial for complex thought, rather than a single, passive store.