Types of Memory in Psychology

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Questions and Answers

What is the standard model of memory based on?

A computer metaphor (correct)

A neural network metaphor

A cognitive development metaphor

A library metaphor

What is the term for the visual sensory register?

Iconic storage (correct)

Linguistic storage

Echoic storage

Motoric storage

What is the normal range of information people can hold in short-term memory?

Five to nine items (correct)

Three to five items

Seven to ten items

Eight to twelve items

What is the term for information stored in words?

Verbal representations Signup and view all the answers

What is the process of connecting new information to material which is already known?

Elaborative rehearsal Signup and view all the answers

What is the effect that causes people to remember the beginning and end of a list more easily than the middle?

The serial position effect Signup and view all the answers

What are the three stores of memory in the modern view?

Sensory memory; short-term memory; long-term memory Signup and view all the answers

What did William James argue that primary memory is?

Immediate memory for information momentarily held in consciousness Signup and view all the answers

How are words stored phonologically?

based on sound Signup and view all the answers

Which region of the brain is believed to be involved in high-level cognitive functions?

prefrontal cortex Signup and view all the answers

What type of memory refers to how-to knowledge?

procedural memory Signup and view all the answers

What is the function of the visual-spatial sketchpad?

part of working memory Signup and view all the answers

How does the phonological store process words?

relatively shallowly Signup and view all the answers

What is chunking?

using knowledge stored in LTM to group information Signup and view all the answers

What are the two kinds of information people store?

procedural and declarative Signup and view all the answers

What is memory expressed in behaviour that does not require conscious recollection?

implicit memory Signup and view all the answers

What is prospective memory for?

remembering to pick up the kids later on Signup and view all the answers

What is the role of the medial temporal region (especially the hippocampus) in memory consolidation?

consolidation of explicit declarative information Signup and view all the answers

What is the most effective way to learn 300 foreign language vocabulary words?

Spreading the study sessions across longer intervals Signup and view all the answers

What is a characteristic of an item that makes it easier to remember?

It is connected to more associations Signup and view all the answers

What is the pattern of forgetting indicated by research?

A rapid initial loss of information, and only a gradual loss thereafter Signup and view all the answers

What type of interference do cognitive psychologists distinguish between when explaining memory failure?

Proactive and retroactive Signup and view all the answers

What is the result of relying on rote learning when trying to learn 300 foreign language vocabulary words?

A less effective way to learn the information Signup and view all the answers

What is the benefit of connecting an item to more associations?

It is easier to remember Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

The Standard Model of Memory

The standard model of memory consists of three stores: sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory.
Sensory memory stores information in a sensory mode, referred to as a sensory representation.
Short-term memory is brief, limited in capacity, and quickly accessed.

Types of Memory

Procedural memory refers to how-to knowledge.
Declarative memory consists of semantic memory (memory for facts and events) and episodic memory (memories of particular events).
Implicit memory is expressed in behavior that does not require conscious recollection.
Explicit memory requires conscious recollection.

Working Memory

Working memory is a system that temporarily holds and manipulates information for cognitive tasks.
The prefrontal cortex directs working memory.
The visual-spatial sketchpad is part of working memory.
The phonological store processes words relatively shallowly.

Memory Processes

Chunking refers to using knowledge stored in long-term memory to group information and thus expand working memory.
Elaborative rehearsal is a process of connecting new information to material already known.
The serial position effect is the phenomenon where people tend to remember items at the beginning and end of a list more easily than those in the middle.

Memory Consolidation

The medial temporal region (especially the hippocampus) plays a key role in memory consolidation, which refers to the consolidation of explicit declarative information.
Increasing the number of ways you encode information significantly improves retrieval.

Schemas and Association

Schemas play a reconstructive role in memory.
Long-term knowledge is stored in networks of association, where ideas are mentally connected to one another by repeatedly occurring together.
The process of spreading activation theory is where one node triggers the activation of closely related nodes.

Context and Learning

Context cues can improve memory performance.
The best way to learn information is to rely on a deep level of encoding and to spread study sessions across longer intervals.

Forgetting and Interference

Research on forgetting indicates that there is a rapid initial loss of information, and only a gradual loss thereafter.
Cognitive psychologists distinguish between proactive and retroactive interference when explaining memory failure.