Essay questions for exam 2

5. List and briefly describe the three major components of Baddeley's working memory model. Provide an experimental paradigm used to study this model.

1) The Central Executive: In charge of planning future actions, initiating retrieval and decision processes and integrating information coming into the system. The central executive has its own pool of resources that can be depleted if overtaxed. 2) The Phonological loop: The speech and sound-related component responsible for rehearsal of verbal information and phonological processing. This component recycles information for immediate recall, including articulating the information in auditory rehearsal.

5. List and briefly describe the three major components of Baddeley's working memory model. Provide an experimental paradigm used to study this model. (part 3)

3) The Visuo-Spatial sketch pad: A system specialized for visual and spatial information, maintaining that kind of information in a short-duration buffer. If you must generate/hold a visual image for further processing, the visuo-spatial sketch pad plays that role. 4) The Episodic Buffer: Where information from different modalities and sources is bound together to form new episodic memories. This is the part/role of working memory where "all-important" chunking process occurs. Ex: participants given a working memory span test.

4. Describe an experimental paradigm used to study some aspect of short-term memory. What does this tell us about short-term memory processes? (part 2)

Backward counting prevents rehearsal of the three letters you are supposed to memorize because rehearsal uses the same cognitive mechanism as the backward counting. Counting was done aloud, at the end of a period of time, people reported the trigram MHA. RESULTS: memory of trigram (MHA) was only slightly better than 50% after 3 seconds of counting, letters were forgotten so quickly that they did not even enter short term memory encoding. Implications: decay: increasing period of time means less and less information remains in short term memory. Waugh and Norman suggest that the distractor task is a source of interference.

4. Describe an experimental paradigm used to study some aspect of short-term memory. What does this tell us about short-term memory processes?

Brown-Peterson: Demonstrated that short term memory is only around for a short period of time. Central idea: forgetting caused by the passing of time "decay". In experiment: 3 letter trigram MHA presented to people followed by a three digit number. People told to look at letters try to remember them and then to count backwards by threes from a number given to them by the experimenters. Backwards counting was the distractor task and was the essential ingredient , because it requires a great deal of attention.

1. Describe the Collins/Quillian/Loftus model of semantic memory. What does this tell us about the structure and the process of memory retrieval from semantic memory? (part 3)

Concept nodes are linked by pathways: labeled, directional associations between concepts. This entire collection—nodes linked via pathways—is the network. The major process that operates on the network is spreading activation, the retrieval of information from this network. Concepts mostly are at baseline in a quiet, unactivated state.

1. Describe the Collins/Quillian/Loftus model of semantic memory. What does this tell us about the structure and the process of memory retrieval from semantic memory?

Concepts are like nodes in a network connected by pathways of how each nodes are related. Spreading activation is the retrieval of information from this network, when a node is activated, other related nodes are activated along the way. Collins and Quillian model of semantic memory was based on a network metaphor of memory.

7. Describe experimental evidence for false memory. What is it about our memory system that allows this to happen? What are some real-world implications?

Experimental evidence: Subjects saw a film of a car accident. Different groups of subjects were asked: how fast were the cars going when they "hit" or "smashed" or "collided" or "bumped" or "contacted?" Each group was presented with a different verb. The DV was estimate of car's speed. They brought participants back a week or two later and asked: whether there was broken glass in video or pic but there wasn't.

3. Describe current issues and/or paradigms used to study consciousness.

Fighter pilots and G-forces study. Normal awake: fully aware/conscious, daydreaming, semi-awareness, hypno? REM sleep (in consciousness PP). Issues: consciousness is hard to study For sleep: study altered consciousness states: Buddhist monks... how are they able to meditate like they are?

8. Both experiments and case studies involving individuals with some type of brain damage or disease provide examples of dissociations in memory processes. Describe a study using clinical populations (or a single individual) which demonstrates distinctions between different types of memory. (part 2)

K.C. and the disruption of episodic memory Episodic vs. semantic memory: motorcycle accident damage to frontal regions of brain, has retrograde and anterograde amnesia, shows difficulty in both storing and retrieving personal experiences in long term memory; episodic memory does not work, but semantic is intact! He can still respond to general questions such as how was your brother's funeral? He replies:" it was sad", KC knows this not because he remembers the funeral, because of the general knowledge that funerals are sad. KC's case shows us that semantic and episodic memories are separate systems, one can be intact even if the other is damaged.

2. Outline Larry Squire's memory taxonomy. What do these processes tell us about memory in general?

Memory. Declarative /explicit: LTM that is retrieved or reflected on consciously. Facts /semantic, Events/episodic. Nondeclarative /implicit: knowledge that influences thought and behavior without any necessary involvement of consciousness. Skills and habits /procedural, Priming, Simple classical conditioning /associative, Non-associative learning Key distinction: declarative requires conscious awareness while nondeclarative does not.

6. How does research by individuals such as Bartlett, Kintsch, and/or Bransford & Franks contribute to our understanding of how information is stored and retrieved from memory?

Reconstructive memory.... We kind of build our memory back up, we don't remember it as a whole right off the bat. Episodic and semantic interactions.

2. Outline Larry Squire's memory taxonomy. What do these processes tell us about memory in general? (part 2)

Semantic memory is your general world knowledge, your encyclopedia. Episodic is your personally experienced events. Uses parts on conscious and unconscious mental worlds, integrates various types of info: sensory, motor, spatial, language, emotional, and narrative. Uses a rich variety of info about a broad range of human experience. Key distinction: declarative requires conscious awareness while nondeclarative does not.

1. Describe the Collins/Quillian/Loftus model of semantic memory. What does this tell us about the structure and the process of memory retrieval from semantic memory? (part 2)

The model consists of 3 concepts: Network, Node, & Pathways. Each provides a proposition that relates the 2 concepts with each other and thus jogs our memory. The structure of semantic memory was a network: an interrelated set of concepts/body of knowledge. Each concept is represented as a node: a point or location in the semantic space/network.

7. Describe experimental evidence for false memory. What is it about our memory system that allows this to happen? What are some real-world implications? (part 2)

Those who responded "yes" to broken glass more likely were those who were given verbs such as "smashed" "collided" etc. Loftus & Palmer study tells us retroactive interference/memory impairment is present. There is a genuine change or alteration in memory as a function of some later event. Participants' episodic memory has been transformed.

5. List and briefly describe the three major components of Baddeley's working memory model. Provide an experimental paradigm used to study this model. (part 2)

Two components of the phonological loop: phonological store and articulatory loop Phonological store: Passive store component of the loop; it holds on to verbal information. Information in the phonological store is forgotten unless it is actively refreshed. Example: Phonological store is your inner ear. Articulatory loop: The role of the phonological loop involved in the active refreshing of information in the phonological store. Ex: Your inner voice. Articulatory suppression effect: Speaking interferes with retention. Phonological similarity effect: Words/letters that sound the same are harder to maintain.

8. Both experiments and case studies involving individuals with some type of brain damage or disease provide examples of dissociations in memory processes. Describe a study using clinical populations (or a single individual) which demonstrates distinctions between different types of memory.

•H.M. and anterograde amnesia explicit vs. implicit memory. Anterograde: disruption in acquiring new memories for events occurring after the brain injury. Surgeon lesioned H.M's hippocampus in both the left and right hemispheres in an attempt to gain control over his severe epilepsy, from bicycle accident, instead severe anterograde amnesia occurred, as well as retrograde amnesia.... Still had ability to develop some motor skills... HE COULD DO PROCEDURAL LEARNING, HAD NO EPISODIC LONG-TERM MEMORY. H.M unable to recall or learn anything new, but memory of events before surgery remained intact, retaining new info was severely affected.