Chapter 5 short term and working memory

Hermann Ebbinghaus

pioneering studies of memory — invented over 2300 nonsense syllables and put them into random lists

Delay between memorization and recall

caused forgetting

Spacing effect

beneficial effects of distributed practice for repetitions

Memory

processes involved in retaining

Memory (active)

any time some past experience has an impact on how you think or behave now or in the future

The Modal Model of Memory

Atkinson & Shiffrin model

Sensory memory (Modal Model)

initial intake of memory that lasts briefly under half a second

Short-term or working memory (Modal Model)

can hold a small number of items for 15–30 seconds

Long-term memory (Modal Model)

can hold large amounts of data for years or decades

Control processes

mechanisms that control movement of information within and between memory stores

Information-processing model

compares memory to computers — information enters the system

Sensory memory (Information-processing model)

combination of memory and perception

RAM (random-access memory)

temporary storage of information that is still vulnerable to damage or loss

Short-term/working memory (Information-processing model)

temporary storage of recently encountered information

Long-term memory (Information-processing model)

relatively permanent storage of mostly meaningful information with no physical limit

KINDS OF MEMORY (Subtypes)

iconic

Working Memory Components

phonological loop

Sensory memory (Function)

holds information long enough to be processed for basic physical characteristics

Sensory memory (Capacity)

large

Sensory memory (Duration)

very brief retention that decays rapidly — about 0.3 sec for visual info and 2 sec for auditory info

Iconic memory

visual memory

Echoic memory

sound memory

Gustatory memory

taste memory

Olfactory memory

smell memory

Tactile memory

touch memory

Structural features

types of memory indicated by boxes in models of memory

Rehearsal

the process of repeating a stimulus over and over to keep it active in short-term memory

Encoding

the process of storing information into long-term memory

Retrieval

the process of remembering information stored in long-term memory by returning it to short-term memory

Persistence of Vision

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

Recall

a procedure where participants are presented with stimuli and then

Decays

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

Short-term memory (STM) duration

usually lasts about 15 to 20 seconds

Peterson and Peterson experiment

demonstrated that the duration of short-term memory is about 15 to 20 seconds or less by preventing rehearsal via counting backward

Digit span

the number of digits a person can remember

Change detection

a procedure used to measure the capacity of short-term memory by detecting differences between briefly presented displays

Story mnemonic

a memory strategy that organizes random items into a meaningful story for easier recall

Short-term memory capacity by information amount

the capacity depends on the complexity or amount of visual features in the objects

Working memory (WM)

a limited-capacity system for temporary storage and manipulation of information for complex tasks such as comprehension

Phonological store

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

Articulatory rehearsal process

the rehearsal process within working memory that maintains items in the phonological store and prevents them from decaying

Word length effect

the finding that it is more difficult to remember a list of long words than short words because longer words take more time to pronounce and rehearse

Articulatory suppression

interference with the phonological loop caused by repeating an irrelevant word while performing a memory task

Mental rotation

rotating an image of an object in the mind

Perseveration

difficulty in switching from one behavior to another

Prefrontal cortex (PFC)

brain structure associated with working memory and executive control

Delayed-response task

monkey experiments showing persistent neural firing in the PFC during a delay interval represents working memory for a stimulus location

Activity-silent working memory

hypothesis that information can be stored through short-term changes in neural connectivity without continuous neural firing

Reading span test

test developed to measure individual differences in working memory capacity and predict reading comprehension success

Reading span

measure of working memory capacity defined by how many sentences (13–16 words each) a person can read while remembering the last word of each

Event-Related Potential (ERP)

measure recorded with scalp electrodes detecting group neuron activity

Cognitive control

functions that allow regulation of behavior