Short-term Memory - PSYC 224

A

Without rehearsal, how long does it take for decay of short-term memory to occur? A) a couple of seconds B) about a minute C) around half an hour D) an hour

central executive

(Like an attentional process) that gets information from sensory memory and coordinates sending information to long-term memory. Allocates information to the different stores (phonological store or visuo-spatial sketchpad). Limited capacity, can only hold so much information at any given time.

slower

(Slower/Faster) talkers have a smaller memory capacity.

T

(T/F): If we have something in long-term memory that we want to make use of, we have to retrieve it from there and put it into short-term memory.

T

(T/F): In the serial position curve experiment, if a delay is set between hearing the end of the list and being allowed to recall, the recency effect disappears.

T

(T/F): In the serial position curve experiment, when participants are forced to rehearse all the words the same amount (repeat each word out loud after getting it), the primacy effect disappears.

F (word length effect shows that people can remember a list of shorter words than longer words even if the number of words to remember stays the same)

(T/F): Memory capacity is just a function of number of items.

T (auditory and visual)

(T/F): There are multiple short-term memory stores.

serial position curve

Graph depicting both primacy and recency effects on people's ability to recall a sequence of items on a list

phonological store

Holds onto speech-like information. Capacity limited by how much can be rehearsed in a given amount of time (about 1.5 seconds).

C

In Wickens (1972), items that were from the same semantic category proactively interfered with one another in short-term memory. However, proactive interference diminished when participants were presented with a list of items in a new category. These effects demonstrate that: A) visual information creates interference in short-term memory B) long-term memory uses acoustic representations C) short-term memory represents semantic information D) short-term memory represents acoustic information

proactive interference

Information stored previously makes it difficult to add new information (interference from old onto new) Ex: I learned Spanish in high school and have a hard time learning Italian now, because I always remember the Spanish word first.

rehearsal

Keeps information in short-term memory. If this doesn't occur, information is lost.

retroactive interference

New information coming in overwrites older information in memory (interference from new onto old) Ex: Every time I have to reset my password, I forget what the old one was

visuo-spatial sketchpad

Stores mental images, important for spatial tasks. Like a visual "pen and paper". Limited capacity, about 9 filled in squares (pattern span tasks)

primacy effect

Tendency to remember items early in the list, most likely due to more opportunity to rehearse the first of the items given to you

recency effect

Tendency to remember items late in the list, most likely from having less time for decay

7

The capacity of short-term memory is around ___ (number)

A

What two factors explain the primacy effect, at the beginning of the serial position curve, and the recency effect, at the end of the serial position curve? A) extra rehearsal and lack of decay B) chunking and sensory memory C) rehearsal loop and long-term memory D) filled rehearsal and delayed response

B

Which has the most capacity-limited (smallest) memory? A) Sensory memory B) Short-term memory C) Long-term memory D) None of the above

D

Which of the following are ways that information can be lost? A) decay B) proactive interference C) retroactive interference D) all of the above

working memory

A newer understanding of short-term memory that has multiple stores that use different forms of representation (visual, auditory), also contains attention-like processes that control how these memory stores are used to accomplish tasks (Baddeley and Hitch, 1974).

D

Performance on short-term memory tasks will be determined by: A) How much people can rehearse a particular item B) How long people get to look at the given information C) How long the information has to be held in memory before being recalled D) Both A and C

chunking

Process of "recoding" information (or just thinking about it differently). Powerful way to functionally increase short-term memory capacity.

pronunciation time

Research shows that short-term memory capacity varies closely with _____________ ____.

D

Short-term memory may use representations that include A) auditory information B) visual information C) semantic information D) all of the above

phonological loop

Silent speech process that rehearses speech-like information; note that you can't use this process while you are talking (this is how talking prevents rehearsal).

word length effect

The notion that it is more difficult to remember a list of long words than a list of short words.

C

The theory of working memory proposed by Baddeley proposes that A) short-term memory stores all information in a single area B) the capacity of short-term memory is seven chunks C) short-term memory includes a visual store and a phonological store

A

The typical capacity of short-term memory is approximately _____ items. However, using a strategy called ________, humans are frequently able to exceed this number. A) seven, chunking B) five, consolidating C) seven, normalizing D) nine, memorizing