Chap. 3 - Short Term Memory

Digit Span

Maximum number of sequentially presented digits that can reliably be recalled in the correct order

• provides a standard test measure within educational and clinical psychology across a wide range of cultures and languages

Working memory span

Range of complex memory span tasks in which simultaneous storage and processing is required

• only memory, doesn't affect IQ

Instruction

requires someone to process and then remember the sequence of actions

Short-term memory

refers to a performance on a particular type of task

• involves retention of small amounts of information over brief intervals

• simple storage without manipulation

working memory

a system that temporarily stores information but also manipulates it

• based on theoretical assumption

• what reasoning and learning is based on

• mental workspace

2 things memory span requires

1. remembering what the items are

2. remembering the order in which they were presented

Limits of memory capacity

1. number of items to be recalled

2. number of chunks

chunking

the process of combining a number of items into a single chunk typically on the basis of long-term memory

• depends on the letter sequences that are consistent with long-term language halts

• groupings can be influenced by the rhythm in which the sequence was presented

• with thus errors were likely to be similar in sound to the item they replaced

  • P T C V B

Phonological loop

• Baddeley and Hitch

• model responsible for the temporal storage of speech like information

• multicomponent working memory model

• limited - as the number of items increase, total time to rehearse them all will be greater, with that comes a higher chance that the items will fade before they are refreshed

2 subcomponents of the the phonological loop

1. short term store - limited in capacity

2. articulatory rehearsal process

1. basic and sound based

2. articulatory component that can be use for rehearsal

Phonological similarity effect

A tendency for immediate serial recall of verbal material to be reduced, when the items are similar in sound

• demonstration that letter span is reduced for similar sounding items

• disappears when the task is modified to require long term memory

• assumed to occur at retrieval

  • auditory speech is assumed to feed directly into the phonological store

Articulatory suppression

a technique for disrupting verbal rehearsal by requiring participants to continuously repeat a spoken item

• subvocal rehearsal is blocked if you are requires to say something repeatably unrelated to the word

Word length effect

A tendency for verbal memory span to decrease when longer words are used

• perforce drops as word length increases

• trace decay and interference

articulacy rehearsal

• plays an important role in digit span

• the basis of span

• a useful strategy that allows verbalized items to be maintained while making minimal demands on attention

irrelevant sound effect

a tendency for verbal STM to be disrupted by concurrent flitting sounds, including both speech and music

• based on disruption of memory for a serial order

• not influenced by the intensity of the irrelevant sound or the phonological similarity between the irrelevant sounds and the items remembered

2 limits of the phonological loop

1. no adequate explanation of how the serial order of items is stored

2. no specification of the crucial processes involved in retrieval from the store

rehearsal

is assumed to involve the retrieval of items from the phonological store and their subsequent re-entry as rehearsed stimuli

free recall

where participants are oriented with a sequence of items which they are subsequently required to recall in any order as they wish

recency effect

a tendency for the last few items in a list to be well recalled

• found across a wide range of situations

• not limited to any type of memory system

• reflects retrieval strategy

primacy effect

a tendency for the first few items in a sequence to be better recalled that most of the filling items

• less pronounced than recency

long term memory variables that influence over al performance

1. presentation rate - slower

2. Word frequency - familiar words are easier

3. imageability of the words - easier if you can visualize

4. age of participant - young adults remember better

5. Physiological state - drugs/alcohol influence

long-term recency

a tendency for the last few items to be well recalled under conditions of long-term memory

2 aspects if visual working memory

1. spatial memory - where

2. memory for objects - what

Visual STM

needs to hold its representation of the world overtime

• visual system needs to be able to bind the perceptual features that constitute an object - spatial framework