Week 5 - memory

• info processing approach similar compares how info is processed in the brain to computers (1950/60s)
• both humans and computers receive info and process it therefore giving an output
• sensory memory/ register - where the sensory info enters the cognitive system through which it is passed on to working memory
• sensory register defined as a short lived persistence of a sensory stimulus in the nervous system
• info lasts in the sensory register up to 1 sec for vision and 5 for auditory info
• working memory is when info from the sensory register is attended to and therefore transferred to short term memory where it can last up to 30 seconds and has a 7+- 2 capacity
• info is stored temporarily in working memory and supports ongoing thought processes, "work space" of the mind (baddeley and hitch, 1974)
• Kaldy and Leslie (2005) used a looking-time violation of expectation task to measure how many objects 6.5-month-olds can store in their working memory.
• it was found that infants can only store the info of one object in their mind and it took longer when a different object was revealed after occlusion than when the same object was revealed (with no shape change)
• at 12 months infants can remember up to 3 hidden objects and 14 months infants use chunking to increase their working memory span remembering up to 6 objects (Feigenson, 2003)
• explicit vs implicit is long term memories which you are able to recall off the top of your head whereas others which may be a struggle to articulate as well
• semantic memories involve the meaning of things whereas episodic memory for specific events
• implicit memory recognition involves the ability to recognise stimuli when familiar, usually outside of conscious awareness
• study showed LTM can be held from 2-8 days in infancy however specifics are forgotten over time (Rovee-Collier, 1980)
• follow up study showed presence of a reminder makes the memory accessible after 14-28 days and better recall when tested in the same context
• power of implicit memory shown in infants where novel words are said to them every day over 2 weeks and 14-28 hours later the memory is tested showing infants to recognise the target words better then their own names (Ungerer, 1978)
• studies show implicit memory reaches an adult level at around 3-5 years old
• By 2 years children show evidence of temporally ordered recall of frequently occuring event sequences (Bauer, 2000) and novel ones
• early childhood amnesia is the inability to remember any autobiographical memories prior to 2.5 years
• could be due to memory format change meaning memories formed in early childhood become inaccessible
• could be due to neural change as in early life the immature brain regions may be unable to retain memories
• cueing hypothesis believes memories may be retained but only able to be retrieved when cues are present
• development of narrative skills, social sharing of memories and explicit rehearsal of past events and understanding of time all support the emergence of longterm autobiographical memory in children older than 3
• info is first represented in high capacity rapid sensory memories, then more limited working memories then finally high capacity long term memories
• large developmental change was found in working memory and episodic autobiographical memory
• memory strategies include ones with external support (note taking) and internral strategies (internal maintenance rehearsal)
• study shows by 10 years there is an 80% use of spontaneous use of rehearsal (Flavell, 1966)
• organisation is the process of imposing a structure on the information to be remembered by using categorical or hierarchical relationships
• study shows by 10 years 60% of children spontaneously use organisation (Schneider, 1986)
• metamemory is the ability to appreciate how your own memory works
• in more ecologically valid tasks children can be seen to use memory strategies by 3 years of age (Wellman, 1975)
• a major change in the development of memory involves improvements in the use of strategies for storing information
• development of metamemory seems to alleviate the use of memory strategies. At 4 there is inaccurate prediction of metamemory but by 8 accurate due to improvement in memory storage and organisation (Levy, 1975)
• Atkinson and Shiffrin, 1968 - memory model based on the information processing approach