Cognition U1: Memory Sturcture

Three memory processes?

Encoding, storage, retrieval.

Encoding?

Transformation of sensory information into a mental representation (perceiving/understanding a stimulus).

Storage?

Retention of encoded information in memory (saving a stimulus).

Retrieval?

Accessing/outputting information from memory (selecting the stored representation from LTM).

Multistore vs. unitary store models?

Multistore: different stores with different capacity/duration. Unitary: a single memory system; STM and LTM are different activation states.

Atkinson & Shiffrin (1968): three stores?

Sensory store, short-term store, long-term store.

Sensory memory?

Very short-term store of unprocessed sensory info (iconic = visual afterimages; echoic = auditory). Small capacity, short duration.

Can sensory memory contents be rehearsed?

No.

Short-term memory (multistore)?

Short-term store of minimally processed information; capacity and duration exceed sensory memory.

What is a digit span task?

Your digit span is the longest list of digits you can repeat back in the correct order immediately after presentation.

Miller (1956): question and answer?

'How many units of information can STM hold?' Answer: 7 ± 2 for digits.

Simon (1974)?

Found different capacities for words, phrases, and sentences even though all are 'chunks'; relates chunk length to rehearsal time.

How long does STM last without rehearsal?

Just seconds.

Peterson & Peterson (1959) forgetting curve?

Initial steep decline, then a slower, more consistent decline.

Working memory (WM)?

Memory that processes information within current attentional focus.

STM vs. WM relationship?

Process vs. representation; they work in concert.

Baddeley's WM model?

Multiple subsystems for processing and integrating different information types; includes characteristics of attention.

Central executive?

Attentional controller ('the boss'); not specific to sensory modality; no storage capacity; related to executive functioning.

Phonological loop?

Processes speech-based information (auditory-image verbal codes); small amount of very brief storage.

Word-length effect?

Longer stimuli lead to the appearance of a shorter/smaller memory span.

Visuo-spatial sketchpad?

Processes visual and spatial information (visual-imagery non-verbal codes); small amount of very brief storage.

Subsidiary systems?

Largely theoretical (taste, smell, tactile images); anecdotal data not sufficient.

Episodic buffer?

Storage system holding information from the phonological loop, sketchpad, subsidiary systems, and LTM; integrates/consolidates, relates and allows analysis of items in WM.

Hitch et al. (2025) updated WM model?

Hourglass diagram: episodic buffer in the center with central executive; semantics, visual LTM, episodic LTM, language above; visuospatial sketchpad and phonological loop below, on perceptual-motor systems.

Ueno et al. (2011): purpose?

Test what kinds of information get into the episodic buffer.

Ueno et al.: participants and materials?

20 undergraduates; simple colored shapes on white: targets, plausible suffixes, implausible suffixes.

Ueno et al.: conditions?

Plausible suffix, implausible suffix, control.

Ueno et al.: trial steps?

1) Four target shapes. 2) Suffix shape (plausible/implausible) as a distractor, or blank. 3) Test cue (color blob or uncolored shape). 4) Name the target shape that shared a characteristic with the cue. (Repeated '1-2-3-4' aloud throughout.)

Ueno et al.: accuracy results?

Plausible < control; implausible < control; plausible < implausible. (Control most accurate, plausible least.)

Ueno et al.: error results?

Many within-display confusions; more intrusions in the plausible condition; never named a stimulus from the implausible suffix set.

Suffix-plausibility effect?

Plausible distractors are more intrusive because we can bind their features to WM contents more readily; WM allows task-relevant features and filters out (imperfectly) task-irrelevant information.

Allen et al. (2025): WM and attention?

Telling people which stimuli are 'high-value' lets them allocate more attention; recall of those items is often more accurate, but overall accuracy doesn't improve.