Memory

• What are the three main aspects of memory?

  Capacity, duration, and coding
• How does the brain maximize information storage?

  By finding efficient storage methods
• What is the duration of sensory memory?

  0.5 seconds
• What does Baddeley (1998) suggest about sensory memory?

  It enables us to watch films
• What is the capacity of sensory memory?

  Potentially unlimited
• Why can't we recall all letters in sensory memory?

  Because the storage duration is very brief
• What are the separate sensory stores for?

  Different senses: echoic, iconic, olfactory
• How is sensory memory coded?

  It is not coded; stored in raw form
• What is the definition of Short Term Memory (STM)?

  A system for brief information storage
• What is the digit span in STM according to Miller?

  7 plus or minus 2 items
• Who developed the digit-span technique?

  Joseph Jacobs
• What does chunking refer to in STM?

  Grouping information to increase capacity
• What is the duration of STM?

  18-30 seconds
• What happens to items in STM when rehearsal is prevented?

  They decay and are forgotten
• What is maintenance rehearsal?

  Repeating information to remember it
• What was the aim of Peterson and Peterson's study?

  To test how long STM lasts without rehearsal
• What did Peterson and Peterson find about recall over time?

  Recall decreased as time intervals increased
• What can we conclude about the duration of STM from Peterson and Peterson's study?

  STM lasts 18-30 seconds without rehearsal
• What types of coding are used in STM?

  Visual, acoustic, and semantic coding
• What type of coding does STM primarily rely on?

  Acoustic coding
• What did Baddeley's (1966) study reveal about STM coding?

  STM codes acoustically, LTM semantically
• What is the capacity of LTM?

  Unlimited
• What did Bahrick's (1975) study conclude about LTM duration?

  LTM can last a lifetime
• What are the key features of the Multi Store Model of Memory (MSM)?

  • Memory flows in a fixed sequence
  • Capacity and duration limitations at each stage
  • Information transfer may require re-coding
  • Information can be lost at every stage
  • Attention transfers info from sensory to STM
  • Rehearsal recycles info within STM and to LTM
• What evidence supports the distinction between STM and LTM in the MSM?

  Case studies of Clive Wearing and H.M.
• How does Clive Wearing's case support the MSM?

  His STM is impaired, but LTM is intact
• What issues did H.M. face after his surgery?

  Problems in LTM, intact STM
• What is a criticism of the MSM regarding STM and LTM?

  It oversimplifies them as single stores
• What does the Working Model of Memory propose?

  STM consists of multiple components
• What are the components of the Working Memory Model?

  Central executive, phonological loop, visuo-spatial scratchpad, episodic buffer
• What is the role of the central executive?

  Involved in problem solving and decision-making
• What does the phonological loop consist of?

  Articulatory control system and phonological store
• What is the function of the visuo-spatial scratchpad?

  Stores visual and spatial information
• What are the two parts of the visuo-spatial scratchpad?

  Visual cache and inner scribe
• What is the role of the episodic buffer?

  Integrates material from different sources
• What evidence supports the existence of working memory components?

  Tasks using the same component are harder
• What did Gathercole and Badley's (1993) study demonstrate?

  Support for phonological loop and visuo-spatial scratchpad
• What did K.F.'s case study reveal about STM?

  Separate components for visual and verbal information
• How has the Working Memory Model evolved?

  It has been refined with new research findings
• What is a criticism of the central executive?

  Its exact function is unclear and vague