Cognitive Psychology Ch.6

acquisition

the process of placing new information into long-term memory (also called encoding)

storage

the state in which memory, once acquired, remains until it is retrieved. many people understand storage to be a “dormant” process, so that the memory remains unchanged while it is in storage. modern theories, however, describe a more dynamic form of storage, in which older memories are integrated with (and sometimes replaced by) newer knowledge

retrieval

the process of locating information in memory and activating that information for use

modal model

a nickname for a specific conception of the “architecture” of memory. In this model, working memory serves both as the storage site for material now being contemplated and as the “loading dock” for long-term memory. Information can reach working memory throught the processes, of perception, or it can be drawn from long-term memory. Once in working memory, material can be further processed or can simply by recycled for subsequent use. This model prompted a large quantity of valuable research, but it has now largely been set aside, with modern theorizing offering a very different conception of working memory

sensory memory

a form of memory that holds onto just-seen or just-heard input in a “raw” sensory form, lasts 1-5 seconds

short-term memory

an older term for what is now called working memory, the place where you hold information while you’re working on it

working memory

the storage system in which information is held while that information is being working on. All indications are that working memory is a system, not a single entity, and that information is held here via active processes, not via some sort of passive storage

long-term memory (LTM)

the storage system in which we hold all of our knowledge and all of our memories 

free recall procedure

a method used for testing what research participants rmember; participantsare given a broad cue (“what happened yesterday?”) and then try to name the relevant items in any order they choose.

primacy effect

an often-observed advantage in remembering the early-presented materials within a sequence of materials. This advantage is generally attributed to the fact that research participants can focus their full attention on these items because, at the beginning of a sequence, the participants are not trying to divide attention between these items and other items in the series

memory rehearsal

any mental activity that has the effect of maintaining information in working memory. Two types of rehearsal are often distinguished: maintenence rehearsal and relational (or elaborative) rehearsal

recency effect

the tendency to remember materials that occur late in a series

serial position

a data pattern summarizing the relationship between some performance measure and the order in which test materials were presented. In memory studies, the serial-position curve tends to be U-shaped, with people being best able to recall the first-presented items and also the last-presented items.

digit-span task

a task often used for measuring working memory’s storage capacity. Research participants are read a series of digits and must immediately repeat them back. If they do this successfully, they are given a slightly longer list, and so forth. The length of the longest list a person can remember in this fashion is that person’s digit span

7 plus or minus 2

a range often offered as an estimate of the number of tems or units to be contained in working memory

chunks

the hypothetical storage units in working memory; it is estimated that working memory can hold 7 plus or minus 2 chunks. However, an unspecified quantity of information can be contained within each chunk, because the content of each chunk depends on how the memorizer has organized the materials to be remembered

operation span

a measure of working memory’s capacity. This measure turns out to be predictive of performance in many other tasks, persumably because these tasks all rely on working memory. This measure is also the modern replacement for the (less useful) measure obtained from the digit span task.

working-memory capacity (WMC)

a measure of working memory derived from operation span tasks. Although termed a “memory capacity,” this measure can perhaps best be understood as a measure of a person’s ability to store some materials while simultaneously working with other materials

working-memory system

a system of mental resources used for holding information in an easily-accessible form. The central executive is at the heart of this system, and the executive then relies on a number of low-level assistants, including the visuospatial buffer and the articulatory rehearsal loop 

articulatory rehearsal loop

one of the low-level assistants hypothesized as being part of the working-memory system. This loop draws on subvocalized (covert) speech, which serves to create a record in the phonological buffer. Materials in this buffer then fade, but they can be refreshed by another cycle of covert speech

subvocalization

covert speech in which one goes through the motions of speaking, or perhaps forms a detailed motor plan for speech movements, but without making any sound

phonological buffer

a passive storage system used for holding a representation (essentially an “internal echo”) of recently heard or self-produced sounds

concurrent articulation task

the speaking or miming of speech while doing some other task. In many cases, the person is required to say “Tah-Tah-Tah” over and over. These procedures occupy the muscles and control mechanisms needed for speech,so they prevent the person from using these resources for subvocalization

maintenance rehearsal

a rote, mechanical process in which items are continually cycled through working memory, merely be being repeated over and over

relational or elaborative rehearsal

a form of mental processing in which one thinks about the relations, or connections, among ideas. The connections created (or strengthened) in this way will later guide memory search

intentional learning

the acquisiton of memories in a setting in which people know that their memory for the information will be tested later

incidental learning

learning that takes place in the absence of any intention to learn and correspondingly, in the absence of any expectation of a subsequent memory test

shallow processing

a mode of thinking about material in which one pays attention onto appearences and other superficial aspects of the material; shallow processing typically leads to poor memory retention

deep processing

a mode of thinking in which a person pays attention to the meaning and implications of the material; deep processing typically leads to excellent memory retention

level of processing

an assessment of how “deeply” newly learned materials are engaged; shallow processing involves thinking only about the material’s superficial traits, whereas deep processing involves thinking about what the material means. Deep processing is typically associated with a greater probability of remembering the now-processed information

retrieval path

a connection (or series of connections) that can lead to a sought-after memory in long-term storage 

mnemonic strategies

techniques designed to improve memory accuracy and to make learning easier; in general, mnemonic strategies seek to help memory by imposing an organization on the materials to be learned

peg-word system

a type of mnemonic strategy using words or locations as “pegs” on which “hang” the materials to be remembered

recall test

retrieving information from memory without—or with miniminal—external cues

serial recall

remembering items in the exact order they were presented

cued recall

memorize paired list of items; when given one item in the pair you must recall the second

recognition test

identifying previously learned information from a set of option

old/new recognition

participants study items and then are tested whether they were presented previously

forced-choice recognition

participants choose from a set of options (fancier word for multiple-choice test)