Cognitive Psychology: Short-Term & Working Memory

Phonological loop = Concerned with the storage, processing and manipulation of information Central executive = Temporary storage of visual information Visuospatial sketch pad = Process responsible for rehearsal that keeps information from decaying Articulatory rehearsal process = Handling spatial information and visual imagery

Phonological similarity effect = Memory for lists of words is better for short words than for long words Word length effect = Letters or words that sound similar are confused Limited capacity = Only holds information for a few seconds Rehearsal process = Takes longer to rehearse long words and to produce them during recall

Short-term memory = Concerned with the storage, processing and manipulation of information Working memory = Holds information for a brief period of time Visual short-term memory = Limited capacity for temporary storage and manipulation of information Phonological loop = Handles spatial information and visual imagery

Baddeley and Hitch = Proposed the concept of short-term memory Hitch = Introduced the concept of the central executive Baddeley = Developed a model of working memory with multiple components None of the above = Proposed the concept of visual short-term memory

Temporary storage and manipulation of information = Description of short-term memory Limited capacity for complex tasks = Description of working memory Storage, processing, and manipulation of information = Description of the phonological loop Handles different types of information simultaneously = Description of the central executive

Sensory memory = Holds all incoming information for seconds or fractions of a second Short-term memory = Can hold a large amount of information for years or even decades Long-term memory = Holds five to seven items for about 15 to 20 seconds Control processes = Active processes that can be controlled by the person

Atkinson and Shiffrin = Proposed the modal model of memory in the 1960s Unknown = Identified the three types of memory: sensory, short-term, and long-term William James = Developed the concept of the 'stream of consciousness' Freud = Focused on the role of memory in shaping personality

Structural features = Active processes that can be controlled by the person Control processes = The initial stage that holds all incoming information for seconds or fractions of a second Modal model = A type of memory that can hold a large amount of information for years or even decades Sensory memory = Features of many memory models proposed in the 1960s

Modal model = Contains features of many memory models proposed in the 1960s Structural model = Emphasizes the active processes involved in memory Sensory model = Focuses on the initial stage of memory that holds all incoming information Long-term model = Holds five to seven items for about 15 to 20 seconds

Memory that holds information for seconds or fractions of a second = Short-term memory Memory that holds a large amount of information for years or even decades = Sensory memory Memory that holds five to seven items for about 15 to 20 seconds = Long-term memory Memory that can be controlled by the person = Control processes

Sensory Memory = Retention of information in long-term memory for extended periods of time Long-term Memory = Retention, for brief periods of time, of the effects of sensory stimulation Working Memory = The process of retrieving information from long-term memory to Conscious Awareness Rehearsal = The process of briefly storing information from the environment

Whole Report Method = Participants asked to report a specific row of letters after being presented with an array of letters Partial Report Method = Participants asked to report as many letters as possible from an array of letters Rehearsal Method = A method used to measure the capacity of working memory Sperling's Method = A method used to measure the duration of sensory memory

Persistence of Vision = The ability to retain information in long-term memory Trail of Light = A phenomenon where the human eye retains an image for a brief period of time Rehearsal = A strategy used to improve memory retention Frames in Film = A series of still images that create the illusion of motion

Sensory Memory = Temporary storage of information from the environment Working Memory = Retention of information for brief periods of time Long-term Memory = The process of briefly storing information from the environment Rehearsal = The process of retrieving information from long-term memory to Conscious Awareness

Sperling's Study = Found that participants could report an average of 4.5 out of 12 letters Miller's Study = Found that the capacity of working memory is 7 ± 2 chunks Rachel's Study = Found that rehearsal improves memory retention

Sensory Memory = Stores small amounts of information for a brief duration. Short-Term Memory = Brief sensory memory of the things that we see. Iconic Memory = Responsible for persistence of sound. Echoic Memory = Responsible for persistence of vision.

Sperling's (1960) partial report experiments = Performance decreases rapidly due to rapid decay of iconic memory. Measuring duration of short-term memory = Participants performed at 80% after 3 seconds of counting. Delayed partial report method = Participants performed at 10% after 18 seconds of counting. Modal Model of Memory = Average of 3.3 out of 4 letters (82%)

Decay = The vanishing of a memory trace due to the passage of time and exposure to competing stimuli. Iconic Memory = Responsible for persistence of sound. Echoic Memory = Brief sensory memory of the things that we see. Sensory Memory = Stores small amounts of information for a brief duration.

Sensory Memory = Brief duration. Short-Term Memory = Three seconds. Iconic Memory = Eighteen seconds. Echoic Memory = A fraction of a second.

Sperling's (1960) partial report experiments = Read three letters, then a three-digit number. Measuring duration of short-term memory = Presentation of tone delayed for a fraction of a second. Delayed partial report method = Begin counting backwards by Threes. Modal Model of Memory = Participants could report any of the rows.

Funahashi et al. = Neurons in the prefrontal cortex respond during a delayed-response task and continue to respond during the delay. Slattery et al. = Working memory is involved in reading comprehension and uniquely predicts word reading. Goldman-Rakic = Working memory is not involved in attentional tasks. Bruce = Monkeys without a prefrontal cortex have difficulty holding information in working memory.

Prefrontal cortex = Involved in storing information in working memory. Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex = Involved in mnemonic coding of visual space. Phonological loop = Involved in reading comprehension. Visual cortex = Not involved in working memory.

Delayed-response task = Visuospatial sketchpad. Alphabetic decoding = Phonological loop. Reading comprehension = Central executive. Attentional task = Prefrontal cortex.

The fixation X goes off = Stage (c) - The monkey demonstrates its memory for the location of the square. The cue square is flashed at a particular position = Stage (a) - The neuron responds to the cue. The neuron continues to respond during the delay = Stage (b) - The neuron responds during the delay. The neuron stops responding = Not a stage of working memory.

Funahashi et al. = Journal of Neurophysiology. Slattery et al. = APA Journal. Goldman-Rakic = Nature Neuroscience. Bruce = Not specified.

To aid in the combination of features from different stimuli

It is an automatic and subconscious process

Participants reported combinations of features from different stimuli

Bottom-up processing is driven by sensory information, while top-down processing is driven by expectations

They were unable to focus attention on individual objects

Objects are broken down into their features

To combine features from different stimuli

The participants who were told to focus on objects could correctly pair shapes and colours

To create simulations of future events and anticipate future needs and outcomes

The memory of skills and actions without recalling where or when they were learned

Priming

Amnesiac patients performed poorly on recall tests but well on implicit memory tests

Episodic memory is conscious, while implicit memory is unconscious

Procedural memory

To create simulations of future events and anticipate future needs and outcomes

They can still learn new skills through procedural memory

Experience-dependent plasticity

Determining the identity of an object

More complex perception

Experience-dependent plasticity

Determining the location of an object

Constant coordination

Familiarity with environments

Offering more views to create accurate perceptions

Decay, the vanishing of a memory trace due to the passage of time and exposure to competing stimuli

Five to eight items

Converting small units into larger, more meaningful units

Seven items

15 to 20 seconds or less

To store small amounts of information for a brief duration

It reduces the recall of the three letters due to interference

To measure the capacity of short-term memory

To prevent decay of information in the phonological store

It reduces memory span by preventing rehearsal in the phonological loop

To control the suppression of irrelevant information

Repetitive performance of the same action or thought, even if it is not achieving the desired goal

To act as a backup store that communicates with long-term and working memory components

It causes letters or words that sound similar to be confused

It showed that tasks that called for greater rotations in the mind took longer

It takes longer to rehearse and produce long words during recall