Memory

What do memories include

Past experience, knowledge and thoughts

Name the three stages of memory

Sensory memory

Short term memory

Long term memory

How does information enter the brain

Sensory memory→ short term memory→ long term memory

Describe how information enters the brain

Sensory memory retains all visual (images) and auditory (sound) input received for a few seconds

Information then enters the short term memory

What is memory span

The number of pieces of information that can be stored

How can information in the STM be maintained

Rehearsal

How are items lost

Displacement or decay

What is chunking

taking several pieces pieces of information and using them to make one piece of information

What is chunking used for

Improving the capacity of the STM

Why can the STM perform simple cognitive tasks

The working memory model

What is rehearsal

The repeating of information

How effective is rehearsal encoding

It is a shallow form of encoding

What is elaboration

Adding meaning to information

How effective is elaboration

It is a deeper form of encoding

What is organisation

It involves putting information into related groups

How can retrieval of information be aided

Contextual cues

How can contextual cues help retrieve information

They relate to the time and place the information was initially encoded into the LTM

What is the general storage capacity of the LTM

unlimited

What is the general storage capacity of the STM

limited

How many pieces of information can the STM hold

5-9

Explain why information can be lost by displacement from short-term memory

Because short term memory has a limited capacity

Describe the serial position effect

The tendency of a person to recall the first and last items in a series the best and the middle items in the worst