Psychology: Memory and Attention Processes

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Questions and Answers

What finding did Sperling (1960) determine regarding participants' recall in the partial-report task?

Participants could only recall 4.5 letters on average.

Participants could recall only the first letter shown.

Participants could recall all letters presented.

Participants could recall about 75% of the letters in any row. (correct)

Which aspect of memory does iconic memory relate to?

Visual system. (correct)

Kinesthetic memory.

Auditory processing.

Tactile sensations.

What does the partial-report task suggest about the visibility of letters in a matrix?

Participants can see only the letters they choose to look at.

Participants are unable to see any letters before recall.

Participants retain letters longer than they are visible.

The proportion of letters recalled reflects the proportion seen in the whole display. (correct)

In the partial-report task, what mechanism did Sperling use to prompt recalling specific letters?

Auditory probes. Signup and view all the answers

What was one conclusion Sperling (1960) made about the nature of the icon in visual memory?

The icon is not yet recognized and is just a raw visual image. Signup and view all the answers

What was Sperling's argument regarding the limit of 4.5 letters recalled in his study?

It reflects the limit of letters visibly seen by participants. Signup and view all the answers

What was a notable difference in Sperling's experiments when using a partial category report task?

No partial report superiority effect was observed. Signup and view all the answers

What does short-term memory (STM) primarily serve as in information processing?

An intermediate storage system prior to consolidation. Signup and view all the answers

What is the approximate duration of a short-term memory task before recall?

20 seconds Signup and view all the answers

Which method can enhance memory span during recall tasks?

Chunking Signup and view all the answers

What component of working memory is responsible for manipulating visual and spatial images?

Visuospatial sketchpad Signup and view all the answers

What is the key characteristic of long-term memory storage?

Large capacity Signup and view all the answers

Which effect describes better memory for items learned first in a list?

Primacy effect Signup and view all the answers

What happens to information in short-term memory without rehearsal?

It decays or is lost Signup and view all the answers

What does the central executive do in working memory?

Manages attentional resources Signup and view all the answers

Which factor can significantly enhance retrieval of memories?

Being in a familiar context Signup and view all the answers

What are the three basic processes needed for successful remembering?

Encoding, Storage, Retrieval Signup and view all the answers

What role does attention play in encoding information?

Attention acts as a filter for sensory stimuli. Signup and view all the answers

Which type of rehearsal involves rote repetition of information?

Maintenance rehearsal Signup and view all the answers

According to Craik and Tulving, which condition is best for learning?

Semantic processing Signup and view all the answers

What does elaborative rehearsal involve?

Deep thinking about the material Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of the sensory register in memory?

To briefly hold information from the senses Signup and view all the answers

What is the term used to describe the phenomenon where one can focus on a single conversation despite surrounding noise?

Selective attention Signup and view all the answers

How does the depth of processing influence memory encoding?

Deeper processing enhances the quality of encoding. Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

From Perception to Memory

Memory is a complex process involving three key steps: encoding, storage, and retrieval.
Encoding transforms sensory information into a format that can be stored in memory.
Storage involves retaining encoded information for future use.
Retrieval involves accessing and using stored information.

Encoding

Attention plays a crucial role in encoding.
The "cocktail party phenomenon" highlights our ability to focus on one conversation amidst distractions.
Selective attention acts as a filter, allowing certain information to be processed while others are buffered.
The amount and type of attention influence the quality of encoding.
Depth of processing also impacts encoding.
Maintenance rehearsal involves rote repetition, while elaborative rehearsal focuses on meaning processing.
Deeper processing, like semantic processing, leads to better memory performance.

Attention in Encoding

Cherry's (1953) "cocktail party phenomenon" demonstrates how we focus on one conversation amidst distractions.
Broadbent (1958) proposed the "filter" theory of attention, suggesting that stimuli are processed parallel, with only one stimulus allowed through the filter.
This filter prevents system overload.

Depth of Processing

Craik & Tulving (1975) found that deeper processing of information improves memory.
Semantic processing (processing the meaning of information) leads to better recognition compared to superficial or phonological processing.

Enhancing Encoding

Elaborative rehearsal involves linking information to existing knowledge for better memory.
Visual imagery aids recall, especially for concrete objects.
Self-referent encoding involves applying information to oneself, improving encoding and retrieval.

Storage

Memory storage is a multi-stage process including sensory memory, short-term memory (STM), and long-term memory (LTM).
Sensory memory briefly holds incoming sensory information from the senses.

Sensory Memory

Iconic memory is responsible for visual sensory information.
Sperling (1960) used a partial-report task to demonstrate that iconic memory has a large capacity but a very short duration.
This task involved showing a matrix of letters for a brief time, followed by a cue indicating which row to recall. Participants remembered more letters when they were cued to recall a specific row, suggesting a large but fleeting capacity of iconic memory.

Short-Term Memory (STM)

STM is the intermediate storage system that temporarily holds information before it is consolidated.
Digit span studies reveal that STM typically holds 7 ± 2 items.
Chunking can increase STM capacity by organizing information into meaningful units.
Rehearsal can extend the duration of information in STM.
Information in STM can be lost through decay or interference.

Working Memory

Baddeley (2000) proposed a model of working memory that includes three key components:
- Phonological loop/buffer manages speech-based information.
- Visuospatial sketchpad handles visual and spatial information.
- Central executive controls and coordinates the two slave systems.

Long-Term Memory (LTM)

LTM stores information for prolonged periods.
LTM is characterized by high capacity and long duration.
There are different types of LTM, including explicit (conscious) and implicit (unconscious) memory.

Retrieval

Retrieval involves accessing and using information stored in memory.
Free recall is a technique to recall information without any cues.
The serial position effect describes the tendency to recall items from the beginning (primacy effect) and end (recency effect) of a list more easily.
Contextual factors and internal state can influence retrieval.

Context and Retrieval

Memory is enhanced when retrieval occurs in the same context as learning.
Memory is also better when internal state matches the learning state.

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Description

Explore the intricate processes of memory, including encoding, storage, and retrieval. Delve into the role of attention in enhancing memory performance, investigating concepts like selective attention and the cocktail party phenomenon. Understand how different processing depths influence our ability to remember.