Process Models of Memory Practice Flashcards

A set of 40 vocabulary flashcards covering process models of memory, sensory stores, working memory, levels of processing, and theories of forgetting based on lecture notes.

Modal Model

Structural framework by Atkinson and Shiffrin ($1968$) consisting of sensory stores, a short-term store, and a long-term store.

Partial Report Technique

An experimental procedure by Sperling ($1960$) where a cued row of letters is reported, demonstrating a sensory store capacity larger than previously thought.

Reporting Bottleneck

The phenomenon where items fade from sensory memory before they can be reported, limiting the number of items a participant can recall from a display.

Dot-Pattern Fusion

A method used by Eriksen and Collins ($1967$) involving two random dot patterns shown sequentially ($<1\,sec$) to create the perception of a syllable.

Inter-Stimulus Interval (ISI)

The gap or time period between the disappearance of the first stimulus ($S1$) and the appearance of the second stimulus ($S2$).

Visible Persistence

The theory by Di Lollo suggesting that visual processing starts at stimulus onset and persists for a few hundred milliseconds regardless of duration.

Stimulus Onset Asynchrony (SOA)

The duration from the beginning of the first stimulus to the beginning of the second stimulus, critical in Di Lollo's persistence model.

Neural Persistence

One of three separate phenomena identified by Coltheart ($1980$) referring to very brief overlap in neural processing.

Informational Persistence

A phenomenon identified by Coltheart ($1980$) as an icon that decays over approximately $150-300\,msec$.

Haber's Critic of Iconic Memory

Haber ($1983$) argued that the notion of a brief icon is not useful in typical daily tasks, except perhaps for 'reading in a lightning storm.'

Working Memory Model

An active executive system proposed by Baddeley and Hitch ($1974$) that replaces the passive short-term store.

Dual Task Paradigm

An experimental setup where participants perform a primary task and a secondary 'concurrent memory load' task to test Short-Term Store capacity.

Phonological Loop

A speech-based system in working memory composed of the Phonological Store and the Articulatory Loop.

Phonological Store

A passive component of the phonological loop that stores memory traces for a few seconds before they fade.

Articulatory Loop

The 'inner voice' component of working memory that uses subvocal speech to rehearse and maintain information.

Word-Length Effect

The finding by Baddeley ($1975$) that memory span is greater for short duration words than for long duration words.

Articulatory Suppression

The process of articulating irrelevant items to prevent the rehearsal of specific material in working memory.

Visuospatial Sketch-pad

The 'inner eye' workspace in working memory used for storing and manipulating images to guide behavior.

Brooks Matrix Task

An experimental task used by Brooks ($1967$) to compare memory for spatial sequences versus non-spatial sequences.

Central Executive

The least understood component of the Working Memory Model that coordinates slave systems and functions as an attentional system.

Levels of Processing (LoP)

A framework by Craik and Lockhart ($1972$) arguing that memory retention is determined by the depth of analytical processes applied to a stimulus.

Maintenance Rehearsal

Type I rehearsal in the LoP framework, characterized by simple repetition and poor retention.

Elaborative Rehearsal

Type II rehearsal in the LoP framework, involving deeper processing and increased retention.

Orthographic Processing

The shallowest level of stimulus processing in the LoP framework, focusing on visual features like case or format.

Semantic Processing

The deepest level of stimulus processing in the LoP framework, focusing on the meaning of the stimulus.

Incidental Learning Paradigm

A study design where participants are unaware that their memory will be tested, used to evaluate encoding processes.

Transfer-Appropriate Processing (TAP)

The principle that memory performance depends on how well the processes at test match the processes used during initial learning.

Encoding-Specificity Principle

Tulving's ($1979$) theory that retrieval success depends on the informational overlap between encoding and retrieval contexts.

Extrinsic Context

Variables present during encoding not inherent to the stimulus, such as physical location or cognitive state.

Intrinsic Context

Features that are an integral part of the target stimulus, such as defining descriptors or sentence context.

The Forgetting Curve

A logarithmic function identified by Ebbinghaus ($1885$) showing that information loss is rapid initially and then levels off.

Proactive Interference

The phenomenon where prior learning disrupts subsequent learning, as demonstrated by Underwood ($1957$).

Retroactive Interference

Occurs when later learning disrupts the memory of earlier learning, studied by Slamecka ($1980$).

Molecular Consolidation

Biological process involving glutamate release and protein synthesis that strengthens synapses over hours.

Systems Consolidation

The process where the hippocampus mediates the strengthening of cortico-cortical connections over days or months.

Think/No-Think Paradigm

An experimental method by Mike Anderson used to investigate whether directing people to forget can reduce later cued recall.

Mood Congruency Effect

Better memory performance when an individual's emotional state at study matches their state at test ($Eich \& Metcalfe, 1989$).

Reconsolidation

The theory that retrieving a stored memory returns it to a labile state where it is sensitive to disruption before being stored again.

Pursuit Rotor Task

A spatial distractor task used by Baddeley to show that tracking disrupts spatial memory but not nonsense verbal conditions.

Digit Span Capacity

The capacity of the short-term store, traditionally estimated at $7\pm2$ items.