Cognition Vocab ch. 5
Magic number
7 +/- 2 coined by Miller (1956) also known as the capacity of STM
Central executive
One component of Working memory, directs the flow of information, chooses which information will be operated on when and how
Working memory
A limited-capacity 'workspace' that can be divided between storage and control processing
Modal Model of Memory
Assumes that information is receives, processed, and stored differently for each kind of memory
Short-Term Memory (STM)
Attended information held for 20-30 seconds is stored here
Memory Trace
Encoded mental representations of the to-be-remembered information that is not rehearsed breaks down within about twenty seconds
Chunking
Grouping information into chunks in order to be able to remember more information
Hebb rule
If a synapse between two neurons is repeatedly activated at about the same time as the postsynaptic neuron fires, the structure or chemistry of the synapse changes
Primary effect
Improved recall of words at the beginning of a list (reasoning: more time to rehearse)
Recency Effect
Improved recall of words at the end of list (reasoning: fresh in memory, less items to cause interference)
Anterograde Amnesia
Inability to form and/or remember new memories
Retrograde Amnesia
Inability to remember past events
Long-Term Memory (LTM)
Information needed for longer periods of time is transferred and stored here
Retention duration
Length of time that information can be stored in STM before is it lost
Clive Wearing
Musician who contracted viral encephalitis and now suffers from forms of both retrograde and anterograde amnesia
Forgetting
Occurs when we cannot retrieve information
Long-term potentiation
Process in which neural circuits in the Hippocampus are subjected to repeated and intense electrical stimulation
Coding
Refers to the way in which information is mentally represented, the form in which the information is held
Echo
Sensory memory storage for auditory material (Also named by Neisser)
Icon
Sensory memory storage system for visual material. Holds information for up to about one second (named by Neisser, 1967)
Serial search
Type of search in which several stores of information are examined one at a time in order to match the target
Self-terminatinng search
Type of search in which several stores of information are examined to match the target and once a match is found, the search stops
Exhaustive search
Type of search in which several stores of information are examined to match the target but even if the match is found, the search continues until all options are exhausted
Parallel Search
Type of search in which several stores of information are simultaneously examined to match to the target
Sensory Memory
Unattended information presented very quickly is stored very briefly in this.
Phonological loop
Used to carry out subvocal rehearsal to maintain verbal material
Visuospatial sketch pad
Used to maintain visual material through visualization
Decay
break down of information or memory
Interference
displacement of knowledge by new knowledge
Alan Baddeley
first coined and proposed the idea of Working Memory
Proactive Interference
material learned first can disrupt retention of new information
Free Recall experiments
participants were asked to read a list of words and recall them later in any order
Serial Position effect
people are more likely to remember words that are at the beginning or end of a list of words
Encoding
process by which information is first translated into a form that other cognitive processes can use
Rehearsal
repetition of items
retrieval
the calling to mind of previously stored information