Psychology Chapter on Memory Models

A memory system with limited capacity that temporarily holds information received from sensory memory.

Limited, limited information can be held.

The number of items one can recall immediately in the correct order of presentation.

A memory system that receives information from the environment and holds it briefly.

A model of memory proposing a three-stage process (sensory memory, short-term memory, long-term memory).

A component of sensory memory that stores visual information.

A component of sensory memory that stores auditory information.

Repeating information to maintain it in short-term memory and potentially transfer to long-term memory.

The amount of information that can be held in short-term memory (STM) at a given time.

Grouping individual items (e.g., letters, digits) into meaningful units (chunks) to improve STM capacity.

Superior recall of items presented early in a list, due to rehearsal moving them into long-term memory (LTM).

Improved recall of items presented later in a list, due to the items still being in STM.

A graph illustrating the pattern of recall accuracy for different positions in a list (items at the beginning and end are easier to recall).

Memory performance quickly deteriorates after a few seconds, largely due to lack of rehearsal and displacement.

Shorter words are better remembered in STM tasks and vice-versa.

Recall is worse for similar-sounding words (e.g., key, me, ski) compared to dissimilar-sounding words (cat, pot, who).

A natural loss of information over time, like a fading photograph.

When other information disrupts our ability to recall a specific memory.

A model that explains how information is processed and managed in short‐term memory, not just stored.

A calculation done in your head, requiring active manipulation of information in working memory.

The demand on working memory by the task at hand.

A mental workspace that actively holds and manipulates information for current tasks. It's like a mental desktop you use to process information.

This model proposes that working memory is just a temporarily activated part of long-term memory. It's like highlighting a specific section of a book you're currently reading.

A test to measure working memory capacity by requiring participants to recall a sequence of numbers in reverse order.

A test that measures working memory capacity by requiring comprehension of sentences while simultaneously remembering the last word in each sentence.

This task measures working memory by requiring participants to solve simple math problems and remember a word or letter associated with each problem.

The Central Executive is the attentional control system of working memory. It manages and directs the other components (Phonological Loop, Visuo-spatial Sketchpad, and Episodic Buffer) and is responsible for allocating attention and coordinating cognitive processes.

The Phonological Loop is responsible for processing and storing auditory information. It consists of a passive Phonological Store (holding sounds) and an Articulatory Control Process (rehearsing and speaking sounds).

The Visuo-spatial Sketchpad is responsible for processing and storing visual and spatial information. It consists of a visual cache (holding visual images) and an inner scribe (refreshing and transferring information).

The Episodic Buffer is a temporary storage space that integrates information from the other working memory components (Phonological Loop, Visuo-spatial Sketchpad) and long-term memory.

Executive Functions are a set of cognitive skills that control and coordinate goal-directed behaviors. They help us plan, organize, and manage our actions efficiently.

The four sub-skills of Executive Functions are: Task Setting and Shifting, Energizing, Monitoring, and Inhibition.

This sub-skill refers to the ability to activate and switch between different goals.

Baddeley's model has been criticized for being overly complex and lacking specific details about how the processes occur. Neuroscientific evidence suggests a more distributed brain activation pattern associated with different information types. It also questions the need for separate components for different sensory modalities and spatial representations.