working memory

THEORIES OF WORKING MEMORY

## COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY II

OVERVIEW OF MEMORY MODELS

  • Key Components of Working Memory:

    • Central Executive

    • Phonological Loop

    • Visuospatial Sketchpad

    • Episodic Buffer

    • Multisensory Temporary Storage

    • Connection to Long-Term Memory (LTM)

    • Role of Attention and Executive Functions

EBBINGHAUS’ EXPERIMENT

  • Pioneering Work in Memory Research:

    • First researcher to study memory in a laboratory setting.

    • Examined the relationship between practice, learning, and recall.

    • Utilized three-letter meaningless syllables for experimental paradigms.

    • Conducted experiments on himself.

    • Learned 13 syllables and tried to recall them multiple times.

    • Developed what are known as the “forgetting curves.”

FORGETTING CURVE

  • Graphical Representation of Memory Retention:

    • Average percentage of information retained over time.

    • Key Statistics:

    • Retention at time intervals:

      • 100% at learning

      • Significant drop in retention shortly after learning.

      • 20-minute recall reflects rapid forgetting.

      • Little memory loss for remaining information over several weeks.

PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING

  • Factors Influencing Memory Retention:

    • The amount of syllables remembered is proportional to repetition.

    • Reference to the testing effect.

TYPES OF MEMORY

  • Categories Established from Ebbinghaus’ Research:

    • Short-Term Memory (STM)

    • Long-Term Memory (LTM)

    • Sensory Memory

RELATIONSHIPS AMONG MEMORY PROCESSES

  • Interconnection of Memory Aspects:

    • Attentional processes are closely related to working memory.

    • Top-down Processing: Influenced by prior knowledge and expectations.

    • Bottleneck effect in attention management.

    • Sensory memory is crucial for initial processing.

    • Attentional control is a key process in working memory tasks.

    • Capacity limitations in short-term memory.

EARLY SELECTION MODEL

  • Model of Information Filtering:

    • Selection occurs at the input stage.

    • Information is filtered in sensory memory before further processing.

CONTAINER MODEL OF MEMORY

  • Detailed Breakdown of Memory Structure:

    • Sensory Memory:

    • Retention: 25-2000 milliseconds

    • Large capacity.

    • Working Memory:

    • Retention: 15-30 seconds

    • Limited capacity (7 ± 2 units, Miller's Law).

    • Long-Term Memory:

    • Infinite retention period and capacity.

    • Involves rehearsal, encoding, and storage.

    • Memory Decay: Unattended information in sensory memory is lost; unrehearsed information in working memory is also lost over time.

SENSORY MEMORY

  • Characteristics:

    • Lasts for 1-3 seconds.

    • Contains unprocessed information regarding shape, size, color, and location.

    • Capacity is essentially unlimited.

SHORT TERM MEMORY (STM)

  • Characteristics:

    • Duration: Approximately 15-30 seconds.

    • Information selected from sensory memory enters STM.

    • Limited capacity: around 7 ± 2 chunks of information.

    • Example chunks: Numbers [1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 3] or items [pipe, ball, dog, pin, pen, tea, cat].

    • Vulnerable to aging and trauma.

LONG TERM MEMORY (LTM)

  • Characteristics:

    • Lifelong retention capability.

    • Essentially unlimited capacity.

    • Involves semantic encoding of information.

ATKINSON-SHIFFRIN MODEL

  • Structural Model of Memory:

    • Similarities to the earlier container model regarding information flow from sensory memory to working memory and long-term memory.

    • Emphasizes the role of rehearsal in consolidating information into long-term memory.

    • Details retention times and capacity for each memory store.

CRITICISM OF TRADITIONAL MODELS

  • Craik and Lockhart's Levels of Processing Model (1972):

    • Introduced the concept of depth of processing affecting recall.

    • Two types of tasks tested the recall:

    • Phonemic processing vs. semantic processing.

    • Deeper processing yields stronger memory traces.

    • Specificity of Processing (Tulving and Thomson, 1973):

    • Effectiveness of cue depends on how the information was encoded.

    • Auditory cues yield better recall when presented in the same modality as in encoding.

TRADITIONAL VS NONTRADITIONAL VIEWS OF MEMORY

  • Traditional View:

    • Distinction between short-term and long-term memory.

    • Emphasis on a linear transfer of information from long-term to short-term memory.

  • Nontraditional View:

    • Working memory is an active component and the most recently activated part of long-term memory.

    • Visualizes memory as nested concentric spheres where information smoothly transitions among types of memory.

    • Highlights the complexity of information transfer and maintenance in memory.

WORKING MEMORY MODEL (BADDELEY AND HITCH, 1974)

  • Components of Working Memory:

    • Visuospatial Sketchpad: Handles visual and spatial information.

    • Phonological Loop: Manages verbal and auditory information.

    • Central Executive: Oversees and integrates information from slave systems (the functioning components).

  • Experimental Evidence:

    • Evidence from dual-task paradigms supports the existence of domain-specific systems.

CENTRAL EXECUTIVE

  • Role and Functions:

    • Acts as a cognitive control center; integrates working memory with long-term memory.

    • Responsible for updating and coding incoming information.

    • Binds information from multiple sources into coherent episodes.

    • Coordinates slave systems and manages shifting between tasks.

    • Inhibits dominant responses and controls selective attention.

PHONOLOGICAL LOOP

  • Structure:

    • Two parts:

    • Phonological Store: Similar to an inner ear for retaining auditory information.

    • Articulatory Control (Inner Voice): Assists in rehearsing information to prevent decay.

    • Works with verbal and visual information after transformation.

VISUO-SPATIAL SKETCHPAD

  • Role in Memory:

    • Manages spatial and visual information including location, color, movement, and texture.

    • Functions differ from object identification (ventral stream) to spatial processing (dorsal stream).

EPISODIC BUFFER

  • Functionality:

    • Serves as a passive system that integrates information across domains for coherence.

    • Links working memory to both visual semantics and LTM, facilitating the processing of time-sequenced information.

NEURAL UNDERPINNINGS OF WORKING MEMORY

  • Mapping Components to Brain Regions:

    • Central Executive likely engages multiple brain areas including the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.

    • Key Areas Involved:

    • Hippocampus: Crucial for encoding, consolidation, and retrieval of memory.

    • Supplementary Motor Area: Involved in verbal working memory and phonological processes.

COWAN’S WORKING MEMORY MODEL (2010)

  • Key Features:

    • Central executive serves as a supervisory attention system.

    • Long-term memory remains activated as long as needed; brief sensory memory lasts less than 250 ms and orients attention.

ROLE OF WORKING MEMORY

In Cognitive Development

  • Facilitates retention of concrete/abstract items and supports language learning and problem-solving.

In Education

  • Tailors learning materials to cognitive levels and encourages critical thinking skills.

IMPROVING WORKING MEMORY

  • Methods and Techniques:

    • Use of memory games and exercises such as "lumosity" for targeted skills improvement.

    • Research suggests mixed efficacy of working memory training for cognitive disorders, particularly for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

    • Short-term improvements noted, but generalization to other cognitive skills remains inconclusive.