5. Short-Term and Working Memory

Memory

The processes involved in retaining, retrieving, and using information about stimuli, events, ideas, and skills after the original information is no longer present

Modal Model of Memory

A model that describes memory as a mechanism that involves processing information through a series of stages, including short-term memory and long-term memory

• Atkinson and Shiffrin

• contained features of many models that were being proposed in the 1960s

Sensory Memory (Modal Model of Memory)

The first stage of the Modal Model of Memory that holds incoming information for seconds or fractions of a second

• auditory: echoic

• visual: iconic

Short-Term Memory (Modal Model of Memory)

A memory mechanism that can hold a limited amount of information for a brief period of time, usually five to seven items for around 30 seconds, unless there is rehearsal to maintain the information

• a stage in the Modal Model of Memory

• passive

Long-Term Memory

A memory mechanism that can hold a large amount of information for long periods of time

• years, decades

• a stage in the Modal Model of Memory

Control Processes (Modal Model of Memory)

Active processes supporting encoding that can be controlled by the person and that may differ from one task another

• ex, rehearsal

Maintenance Rehearsal

Rehearsal that involves repetition without any consideration of meaning or making connections to other information

• minimal retention benefits

Elaborative Rehearsal

Rehearsal that involves thinking about the meaning of an item to be remembered or making connections between that item and prior knowledge

• optimal retention benefits

Iconic Memory

A brief sensory memory for visual stimuli that lasts for a fraction of a second after the stimulus has been extinguished

• sensory memory stage

Persistence of Vision (Iconic Memory)

The continued perception of light for a fraction of a second after the original light stimulus has been extinguished

• ex, perceiving a trail of light from a sparkler

Echoic Memory

A brief sensory memory for auditory stimuli that lasts for a few seconds after a stimulus is extinguished

• sensory memory stage

Persistence of Sound (Echoic Memory)

The continued perception of sound for a fraction of a second after the original audio stimulus has been extinguished

• ex, a delayed processing of what someone said

Partial Report Method

A procedure used in Sperling's experiment on the properties of the visual icon, in which participants were instructed to report only some of the stimuli in a briefly presented display

• A cue tone immediately after the display was extinguished indicated which part of the display to report

Full (Whole) Report Method

A procedure used in Sperling's experiment on the properties of the visual icon, in which participants were instructed to report all of the stimuli they saw in a brief presentation

• a typical result of only reporting a third of the total stimuli

Delayed Partial Report Method

A procedure used in Sperling's experiment on the properties of the visual icon, in which participants were instructed to report only some of the stimuli in a briefly presented display

• A cue tone that was delayed for a fraction of a second after the display was extinguished indicated which part of the display to report

• performance decreases rapidly with even a slight decay

Decay

The process by which information is lost from memory due to the passage of time

Interference

A disruption in the ability to encode due to the exposure of similar or competing stimuli

• a common explanation for behaviour that may otherwise appear to simply be about “forgetting” (decay)

Digit Span

The number of digits a person can remember

• used as a measure of the capacity of short-term memory

• estimated to be around 7 (±2) digits

Change Detection

The detecting of differences between pictures or displays that are presented one after another

• displays of stimuli are shown briefly, followed by a delay interval

Chunking

The combining of small units into larger ones, such as when individual words are combined into a meaningful sentence, to facilitate encoding/retrieval

• can be used to increase the capacity of memory

Working Memory

A limited-capacity system for temporary storage and manipulation of information for complex tasks such as comprehension, learning, and reasoning

Working Memory Model

A model by Baddeley and Hitch which observes that

• mental operations could be performed on information held in conscious awareness independent of involvement of/interaction with LTM

• performance under dual-task conditions was just as good as under single-task conditions, only if the two tasks engaged different domains of information (ex, verbal + visuospatial)

Phonological Loop (Baddeley and Hitch Model)

The part of working memory that holds and processes verbal and auditory information

Visuospatial Sketchpad (Baddeley and Hitch Model)

The part of working memory that holds and processes visual and spatial information

Central Executive (Baddeley and Hitch Model)

The part of working memory that coordinates the activity of the phonological loop and the visuospatial sketch pad

• controls the flow of information

Phonological Store

A component of the phonological loop of working memory that holds a limited amount of verbal and auditory information for a few seconds

Articulatory Rehearsal Process

A rehearsal process involved in working memory that keeps items in the phonological store from decaying

Phonological Similarity Effects

An effect that occurs when letters or words that sound similar are confused

• ex, mixing up T and V as they are similar in sound

Word-length Effects

The notion that it is more difficult to remember a list of long words than a list of short words

• implies a buffer with a finite capacity that can store more short words than long ones