psychology - memory

• what is memory?


  It is the retention of learning and experience. It is located in the Hippocampus.
• what is the info processing approach?


  In order to describe the process involved in memory, psychologists compare it to a computer.Cognitive psychology.
• what are the three components in the multi store model (MSM)?

  Sensory memory, short-term memory, long-term memory
• sensory memory (SM)?


  capacity = unknown but limited

  duration = very limited period (1-2 secs)

  coding = raw/ unprocessed (all 5 senses)
• Short term memory (STM)


  capacity = limited (7+-2) - Miller 1956

  duration = very limited (20 secs) - Peterson & Peterson 1959

  coding = acoustic
• Long term memory (LTM)


  capacity = unlimited

  duration = lifetime/ years - Bahrick 1975

  coding = semantic (meaning)
• Peterson & Petersons (1959) experiment

  They examined the effect of the duration on short term memory. 24 psychology students were shown 3 letter words, followed by a distractor task of 3-18 secs. They then tried to recall the words. After, 3 secs, 80% of the words were recalled, whereas 10% were recalled at 18 secs. This shows that duration has an effect on STM.
• Evaluation of Peterson & Petersons (1959)

  sample issues: lacked population validity- we are unable to generalise results to other culture.

  methodological issues: trigrams are artificial- they lack ecological validity; lab studies are controlled and easy to replicate.

  ethical issues: Got informed consent from participants and gave the right to withdraw.
• Baddeley & Hitch (1974)


  they developed the working memory model (WMM)
• what is the working memory model (WMM)?


  It is an explanation on how the STM is organised and how it functions. It is concerned with the part of the mind that is active when we are temporarily storing or manipulating information.
• What are the 4 main components in the WMM?

  central executive, visuo-spatial sketchpad, articulatory control system & phonological store (both of which in the phonological loop).
• Dual task studies


  Baddeley et al found out if both tasks use the same component (phonological loop or the visuospatial sketchpad) then performance will be poor. But of both tasks uses a different component (phonological loop and the visuospatial) then performance will be improved.
• The central executive

  • It controls attention and directs information to the slave system.
  • It also deals with the cognitive tasks such as mental arithmetics and problem solving.
  • limited capacity
• The phonological store

  • "inner ear" - it holds what we hear
  • has limited capacity
  • stores acoustic information for a short period of time
• Articulatory control system

  • "inner voice"
  • allows sub vocal repetition of items in the phonological store (silently repeated)
• The visuospatial sketchpad

  • "inner eye"
  • stores visual and spatial information
  • manipulates mental images
  • limited capacity
• episodic buffer

  • It integrates (binds together) information from the STM and other components.​
  • Central executive has no storage capacity; so there is nowhere to hold information that relates to both visual and acoustic.​
  • The episodic buffer is an extra storage system​
  • Sends information to LTM.​
• limitations of the working memory model

  • WMM only concerns itself with the STM and its not a comprehensive model of memory.
  • Although the central executive is the most important component, its the lease known about. The capacity of it has never been measured. Furthermore, it isn't clear how it works or what it does and the vagueness means that it can't be used to explain any experimental results.
• What is the name of the control system mentioned in the study material?

  Extraal control
• What are the two components of the phonological loop?

  The phonological store and the articulatory rehearsal system
• How does the phonological store function in the phonological loop?

  It stores verbal information temporarily
• What role does the articulatory rehearsal system play in the phonological loop?

  It allows for vocal repetition and manipulates mental images
• What type of tasks are mentioned as being supported by the phonological loop?

  Visual tasks
• What does the study material suggest about short-term memory (STM)?

  It involves temporary storage and active processing
• What does the mention of "support canoes" imply about the phonological loop?

  It suggests that there are supportive components that enhance memory capacity
• What is the abbreviation for short-term memory mentioned in the study material?

  STM