Working+Memory

Definition: STM is a temporary store for holding information in conscious awareness briefly.
Capacity: Typically, 7 ± 2 items; chunking can enhance capacity.
Key Concepts:
- Delay vs. Interference: Two types of interference can inhibit recall.
  - Retroactive Interference: New information interferes with old information.
  - Proactive Interference: Old information interferes with new information.
- Serial Position Effects: The position of an item in a list can affect recall ability.
- Searching in STM: Methods of recalling information from short-term storage.

Stages of Memory:
- Incoming Information -> Sensory Memory -> Short-Term Memory -> Long-Term Memory.
- Retrieval: Information is maintained via rehearsal in STM; otherwise, it is lost.

Tasks can require participants to determine if two images match.
Findings: Reaction time increases linearly with the rotation required to match images, indicating mental rotation.

Definition: "The workspace of the mind"; the site of conscious thought (Cowan).

Components:
- Central Executive: Coordinates and manages attention and processes in working memory.
- Visuo-Spatial Sketch Pad: Deals with visual and spatial information.
- Episodic Buffer: Integrates information from different modalities.
- Phonological Loop: Handles verbal information and phonological processing.

Function: Responsible for the rehearsal of verbal information and phonological processing.
Components:
- Phonological Store: A passive store for verbal information.
- Articulatory Loop: Actively rehearses and refreshes information in the phonological store; operates on a cycle of approximately 2 seconds.

Articulatory Suppression Effect: Memory for words deteriorates if participants must simultaneously articulate another word (Murray, 1967).
Irrelevant Speech Effect: Recall is impaired when irrelevant verbal sounds are present (Colle & Welsh, 1976).
Phonological Similarity Effect: Difficulty increases in recalling similar-sounding words (Conrad & Hull, 1964).
Word Length Effect: Longer words take more time to rehearse, thus impairing memory (Hawkins & Shigley, 1970).
- Evidence: Baddeley et al. (1975) showed faster pronunciation leads to better memory.

Function: Handles visual and spatial information.
Components:
- Visual Cache: Temporarily holds visual information (form and color).
- Inner Scribe: Refreshes stored information and briefly retains spatial relationships.

F Task: Participants mentally navigate an F shape, leading to more mistakes when required to point compared to verbal responses.
Checkerboard Task: Poorer performance in recalling information occurs when engaging in simultaneous motor tasks.

Role: Coordinates and integrates the content across working memory components.
Involved in: Planning, retrieval, decision-making, and integrating incoming information.
Resource Limitation: Each subsystem has limited attentional resources, which can become depleted under high demand.

Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task (PASAT): Assesses the ability to perform multiple cognitive tasks simultaneously. Tasks include adding numbers while tracking digital sequences and inhibiting previous sums.
Associated with factors like vigilance, intelligence, and concussion history.

Function: Integrates information from various sources to form new episodic memories, allowing organization into coherent sequences. Facilitates recall enhancement through structured presentation.

Activities may involve testing knowledge of memory effects (phonological similarity, word length, etc.) and assessing understanding of working memory structure through multiple-choice questions.