Short Term Memory week-6 cog

Reading span

-The largest number of sentences read for comprehension from which an individual can recall all the final words over 50% of the time.

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMORY

? Most of us have one part of life that we remember better than others

The standard model of short-term memory (STM)

? has the following features: Internally represented information that is in a state of activation. Activated information that is accessed immediately and effortlessly. Activated information from LTM held in the short-term store. Decay of activation causes information to leave the short-term store. Decay can be prevented by rehearsal.

Learning processes in their levels-of-processing theory

? identified depth of processing (the extent to which meaning is processed), elaboration of processing and distinctiveness of processing as key determinants of long-term memory. Insufficient attention was paid to the relationship between learning processes and those at retrieval. The theory is not explanatory, and the reasons why depth of processing influences explicit memory much more than implicit memory remain unclear.

serial position curve

A ? shows a tendency to recall the first and last items in a series best, and the middle items worst. you can see this in the diagram that has been adapted from Glanzer and Cunitz's (1966) research into free recall as a function of serial position and duration of the interpolated task.

Phonological loop evaluated

Accounts for phonological similarity and the word-length effect. Supported by neuroimaging studies. May function to learn new words. Articulatory suppression disrupts foreign-native word pairings but not native-native Reduces phonological loop which is necessary to hold the sounds of non-native words in this task (Papagno, Valentine & Baddeley, 1991). Loop's capacity predicts vocabulary size, which is important developmentally (Majerus et al., 2006)

Repression

An unconscious process that excludes unacceptable thoughts and feelings from awareness and memory.

Echoic memory

Auditory Sensory Store 'Playback' facility Treisman (1964). Duration of information in the store ~2-4s. sensory store that holds auditory information for approximately two seconds.

Dysexecutive syndrome

Baddeley (1996) identified ? to include impairments in planning, organising, monitoring behaviour and initiating behaviour. In the syndrome, there is often damage to the frontal lobes with some patients having damage to posterior (mainly parietal regions) instead. Wilson et al.'s (1996) Behavioural Assessment of the ..... (BADS) addresses rule shifting, generating and implementing solutions to practical problems, and dividing time efficiently. Stuss and Alexander (2007) further refined the syndrome finding that patients with widespread frontal damage had a global dysexecutive syndrome. They also found that there were actually three executive processes within the frontal lobes. These differed from Miyake et al.'s functions, as patients with selective lesions exhibited problems with a single process.

Word-length effect

Based on a number of studies, memory span is lower for words that take a long time to say. Baddeley et al. (1975; 2002) found that articulatory suppression eliminated the word-length effect. Word-length effect persists even when output delay is controlled by using a recognition-memory test, suggesting that phonological loop capacity is determined by temporal duration. This is supported by a study by Mueller et al. (2003).

Amnesiacs

Case used to prove seperate areas for short and long term memory

Distinctiveness

Characterises memory traces that are distinct or different from other memory traces stored in long term memory

Levels of processing theory

Craik and Lockhart 1972 focus on learning processes. Identified depth of processing, elaboration of processing and distinctiveness of processing as key determinants of long term memory. Insufficient attention was paid to the relationship between learning processes and those at retreival. The theory is not explanatory and the reason why depth of processing influences explicit memory much more than implicit memory remain unclear.

Consolidation

Forgetting: A physiological process involved in establishing long-term memories; this process lasts several hours or more and newly formed memories are fragile.

Interference

Forgetting: the inference theory was the dominant approach to forgetting during the 20th century, according to this theory there are two forms of inference that can impair long term memory: -Proactive interference : Disruption of memory by previous learning (often of similar material). -Retroactive interference: Disruption of memory for previously learned information by other learning or processing occurring during the retention interval.

Striatum

It forms part of the basal ganglia ands is located in the upper part of the brain stem and the inferior part of the cerebral hemispheres

Inner scribe

Stores information about the physical relationship of items (part of the visuo-spatial sketchpad) spatial and movement information

LTM,

Strengths of unitary store model; Emphasised the relationship between STM and LTM. Good evidence that STM at least partially depends on ? activations. Patient data. Functional imaging.

Forgetting

Strong proactive and retroactive interference effects have been found inside and outside the lab. People use active control processes to limit proactive interference.. forgetting depend on encoding retreival overlap (Encoding specifies principle) But cue overload is also important. However, decreased forgetting overtime is hard to explain with encoding specifity principle. Consolidation theory (which has been expanded to include reconsolidation theory) explains the form of the forgetting curve. However it de-emphasises the role of cognitive processes.

decay theory

The act of forgetting something as the memory fades with time

passive phonological store and the articulatory process

Two main components of the phonological loop: The ? is concerned with speech perception. Auditory presentation of words has direct access to the store, whereas visual presentation has indirect access only to the phonological store through subvocal articulation. Studies by Vallar and Baddeley (1984) and Henson, Burgess and Firth (2000) have shown the phonological loop activates the left inferior parietal cortex. The ? is linked to speech production and provides indirect access to the phonological store. Neuroimaging by Henson, Burgess and Firth (2000) and Logie, et al. (2003) have shown activation in the left inferior frontal cortex.

crystallized intelligence

accumulated knowledge of the world acquired over time

Long-term memory argument

arguments for separate long and short term memory stores: ? is our brain's system for storing, managing, and retrieving information

Unitary-store model

created by Jonides theorised that the short term memory consists of temporary activations of long term memory representations of items that were recently perceived. Activation of part of long-term memory typically plays an important role in short-term memory It focuses on the similarities between LTM and STM. It has helped explain amnesic patients illness'. Amnesic patients perform well on short-term memory tasks because such tasks typically do not require storing relational information. Amnesic patients should have impaired short-term memory performance on tasks requiring relational memory. This is partially correct however nueroimaging studies and studies on amnesiac patients indicate that the difference in STMS and LTM are greater than what is assumed by the unitary store model

dysexecutive syndrome

impairments in the ability to control and direct mental activities. Damages to frontal lobe impair central executive function of working memory

retrograde amnesia

loss of memory from the point of some injury or trauma backwards, or loss of memory for the past

Sensory

memory stores: each modality. speech and holding information very briefly

retroactive interference

the disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information

proactive interference

the disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information

Memory

the faculty by which the mind stores and remembers information.

consolidation

the process by which memories become stable in the brain

BADDELEYS WORKING MEMORY SYSTEM:

this theory argued that we typically use short term memory when performing complex tasks. With such tasks, you carry out various processes. You also have to store briefly information about the outcome of early processes in short-term memory as you move on to later ones. Baddeley and Hitch (1974) replaced the concept of 'short-term store' with 'working memory'. The components of the system are thought to be limited in capacity and relatively independent. If two tasks use the same component, they can't be performed successfully together, and if two tasks use different components, they should be able to be performed similarly together. For example, in chess, selecting chess moves involved the central executive and the visuo-spatial sketchpad, but not the phonological loop.

Can you explain the consolidation theory of memory? How does this theory explain forgetting?

With respect to consolidation theory... recently formed memories are vulnerable to interference and forgetting and requires consolidation for long term use. Memories are fragile when the memory is 'disrupted by previous learning' or when new memories 'overide' previous learning. For example, when people experience retrograde amnesia after a head injury they typically find it most difficult to recall events that happened close to the time of the injury- this is an example where consolidation has been interrupted.

short term memory argument

arguments for separate long and short term memory stores: ? is closely related to "working" memory, short-term memory is the very short time that you keep something in mind before either dismissing it or transferring it to long-term memory

Working memory capacity

-An assessment of how much information can be processed and stored at the same time; individuals with high capacity have higher intelligence and more attentional control.

SENSORY STORES

-Iconic memory: sensory store that holds visual information for approximately 500 milliseconds or perhaps somewhat longer. e.g. Sperling, 1960) -Echoic memory: sensory store that holds auditory information for approximately two seconds. e.g. Treisman, 1964)

MEMORY STORES

-Sensory stores each modality- speech and holding information very briefly -Short term store of very limited capacity -Long term store of essentially unlimited capacity holding information over very long periods of time

LIMITATIONS OF THE MULTI STORE MODEL

-Stores are not unitary STM (Short Term Memory) is not the only route to LTM: The systems are interconnected Unconscious learning takes place without ever occupying the short-term store. Rehearsal may not be as crucial to learning as appears in many experiments. Over-emphasis of structural aspects of memory, rather than processes -over simplified -it was assumed the short term store acts as a gateway between sensory stores and long term memory (incorrect). -It was assumed that information in short term memory represents the 'contents of the consciousness' implying only information processed consciously can be stored in long term memory (incorrect) -the assumption that all items within short term memory have equal status is incorrect

Crystallised intelligence

-The ability to use knowledge, skills and experience.

Operation span

-The maximum number of items (arithmetical questions + words) for which an individual can recall all the words more than 50% of the time.

Parkinson's disease

A progressive disorder involving damaged to the basal ganglia; symptoms include muscle rigidity, limb tremor and mask like facial expressions

d

According to the working memory model of Baddely, words presented visually obtain access to the phonological loop indirectly through: a)Articulatory suppression b) Rehearsal c)The visuo-spatial sketchpad d)Subvocal articulation

Implicit learning

Behavioural findings from healthy and brain damaged patients indicate support the distinction between implicitly and explicit learning. In addition the brain areas activated during implicit learning (striatum) typically differ from those use din explicit learning (prefrontal cortex). However, there are complexities because much learning is a mixture of implicit and explicit learning and the systems underlying the implicit and explicit learning probably interact with eachother.

right prefrontal, prose

Evidence of the episodic buffer Chincotta, et al. (1999) tested participants with a memory span for Arabic numerals and digit words. Participants combined information from phonological loop and visuo-spatial sketchpad. Participants in Zhang, et al. (2004) recalled a mixture of digits and visual locations in an fMRI setting. They yielded greater ? activation than in an unmixed control condition. That is, a mixing effect was found (location + digit). Baddeley and Wilson (2002) found that good immediate prose recall was dependent on capacity of episodic buffer and an efficiently functioning central executive creating and maintaining information in the buffer. Thus, even amnesiacs (LTM deficit) were able to have good prose recall, provided their executive functioning was intact. Other evidence casts doubt on the importance of central executive in ? recall with a failure to replicate. In some studies, the hippocampus, which is associated with binding and integrating information, has shown activation in tasks related to the episodic buffer. For example, Alzheimer's patients with the most anterior hippocampal damage had greater deficits on immediate prose recall (Berlingeri, et al., 2008).

Latent Variable Analysis ,

Executive functions of the central executive. Miyake, et al. (2000) found cognitive tasks involve multiple processes using ? (LVA) on healthy participants' performance. It revealed three partially independent functions. Collette, et al. (2005) found three functions activated distinct prefrontal regions with all tested tasks yielded activation in the: Right intraparietal sulcus - selective attention to relevant stimuli and suppression of irrelevant information. Left superior parietal sulcus - switching and integration processes. Left lateral prefrontal cortex - monitoring and temporal organisation. It also showed that co-ordinating tasks (dual-tasking) is another executive function with dorsolateral prefrontal cortex activations.

Savings method

Forgetting: A measure of forgetting introduced by Ebbinghaus in which the number of trials for relearning is compared against the number for original learning.

Repression

Forgetting: Motivated forgetting of traumatic or other threatening events (especially from childhood).

Motivated forgetting

Forgetting: Reduced long-term memory caused by instructions to forget information that had been presented for learning

Evidence for unitary store models

Hannula, et al. (2006) researched amnesiac participants who were given scenes to study. Some scenes were later repeated exactly, where as others had objects that had moved in the scene. When compared to controls: amnesiacs' recognition was impaired even at short lags (STM). This was likely due to relational-memory impairments. Recognition also fell to chance at longer lags (LTM). As a result, amnesiacs had shows STM impairments under relational memory conditions, thus demonstrating that there is no 'pure' dissociation between STM and LTM. In another study, Hannula and Ranganath (2008) asked participants to study four objects at different locations and then mentally rotate the display. Participants had to determine whether a second display matched rotated version. In the task, activation in left hippocampus predicted relational performance at a short-term interval, as hippocampus damage is related to short-term memory problems when relationships must be learnt.

short term

memory stores: store of very limited capacity

Long term

memory stores: store of essentially unlimited capacity holding information over very long periods of time

reconsolidation

neural processes involved when memories are recalled and then stored again for later retrieval. this is a new consolidation process that occurs when a previously formed memory trace is reactivated; it allows that memory trace to be updated

chunking

organizing information into meaningful units to make it easier to remember

working memory capacity

refers to one's ability to hold and manipulate information in conscious attention

Learning through retreival

LTM is typically much better when much of the learning period is focused on retreival practice rather then study. The testing effect is greater when it is hard to retreival the to-be-remembered information. A likely explanation for this finding is that difficult retreival enhances the generation and retreival of effective mediators. Testing can be less effective the restudying in enhancing LTM when it limits the types of information processed

Phonological similarity effect

Larsen, Baddeley, and Andrade (2000) found that recall was 25% worse with a phonologically similar list, compared to a dissimilar list. This suggests that we use speech-based rehearsal processes within the phonological loop.

amnesiacs,

Limitations of unitary store model STM is not only activated by LTM. It is possible to manipulate info in STM but not in LTM. No strong evidence that? have impaired performance on relational memory tasks dependent primarily on STM.

Suppressed memories

Memories can be suppressed with executive control processes within the prefrontal cortex playing a major role.

Memory span

Miller (1956) found that the maximum number of units recalled without error is seven (+/- two), and memory span is not limited to a certain number of items, but by the number of chunks. Chunking is when you group a series of apparently random items into a smaller number of meaningful segments to enhance recall. When rehearsal and long-term memory are factored out, Cowan (2000) found that short-term capacity is approximately four chunks.

Process disassociation procedure

On learning tasks, participants try to guess the next the next stimulus (inclusion condition) or avoid guessing the next stimulus correctly (exclusion condition); the difference between the two conditions indicates the amount of explicit learning

Visual cache

Part of the visuo-spatial sketchpad that stores information about form and colour

Visuo-spatial sketchpad evaluated

Strengths- Supported by research that shows the independence in spatial and visual tasks. Support from studies of brain-damaged patients. Patient NL (Beschin et al., 1997) had unilateral neglect restricted to visual imagery (hence a dissociation) but could still do perceptual tasks. Weakness- Many tasks require both components. Not yet clear how information is combined and integrated.

central executive

The ? is seen as an attentional system with four main processes (Baddeley, 1996): Switching of retrieval plans. Timesharing in dual-task studies. Selective attention to certain stimuli while ignoring others. Temporary activation of long-term memory

frontal regions,

The central executive evaluated Strengths- Accumulating evidence that inhibition, updating, shifting, and dual-task co-ordination may be four major executive processes. Weaknesses- Notion of a single 'dysexecutive syndrome' is misleading. Various processes associated with different ? are involved. Executive processes associated with healthy individuals don't match up exactly to those determined via patient studies.

iconic memory

Visual Sensory Store Sperling (1960) Decays within about 0.5s. Landman et al. (2003) Actually lasts ~1.6s, with reduced task demands. Useful because: The mechanisms responsible for visual perception always operate on the icon (i.e., sensory memory) rather than directly on the visual environment. We can shift our attention within iconic memory in ~55ms. sensory store that holds visual information for approximately 500 milliseconds or perhaps somewhat longer.

IMPORTANCE OF MEMORY

We use memory for numerous processes every single day, allowing us to keep track of conversations, remember telephone numbers, write essays in exams, make sense of what we read, recognise peoples faces and to understand what we read in books or see in television.

d

What are some characteristics of our sensory stores? a) The information they contain is short lived b) They may operate in parallel c)They can operate below our level of conscious awareness d) all of these

c

What are some problems identified with the central executive? a)It is unlikely to be a single entity b)The notion of a single "dysexecutive syndrome" is misleading c)both of these

b

What is the main difference in how the unitary store model explains amnesia compared to other models a)The model cannot explain amnesia b) Impairments in relational memory c)Long-term memories can be partially damaged d)There can be interference from long-term to short-term memories

primacy effect,

When the first few items on a list is recalled best, this is called ?, which is connected to LTM effect

recency effect,

When the last few items on a list is recalled, this is called ? which can be eliminated by a brief delay filled a with a distractor task.

In what ways does long term memory influence short term memory?

While some models of memory emphasise the differences between STM and LTM the Unitary Store Model highlights the ways that LTM influences STM. STM, according to this model, contains long term memory representations as seen in chunking information into recognizable pieces of information. Without LTM, we are unable to identify the relationships in unique pieces of information to allow us to chunk information.

There are four main components to the latest version of the working memory model:

1.Central executive : A modality-free, limited capacity, component of working memory. 2.Phonological loop : A component of working memory in which speech-based information is processed and stored and subvocal articulation occurs. The phonological loop consists of two components: a passive phonological store directly concerned with speech perception; an articulatory process linked to speech production (i.e., rehearsal) giving access to the phonological store. 3.Visuo-spatial sketchpad : A component of working memory used to process visual and spatial information and to store this information briefly. The visuo-spatial sketchpad is used for the temporary storage and manipulation of visual patterns and spatial movement. In essence, visual processing involves remembering what and spatial processing involves remembering where. 4: Episodic buffer : A component of working memory; it is essentially passive and stores integrated information briefly.

MEMORY AND MORPHEUS

? Researchers have come to believe slumber actively helps our brains consolidate what we learn and remember.

IMPLICIT MEMORY

? is a major form of long-term memory that does not require conscious thought. It allows you to do things by rote.

EXPLICIT MEMORY

? is a type of long-term memory requiring conscious thought. It's what most people have in mind when they think of a memory.

savings method

A measure of forgetting introduced by Ebbinghaus in which the number of trials for relearning is compared against the number for original relearning

serial reaction time task

Participants on this task respond as rapidly as possible to stimulus typically presented in a repeating sequence; it is used to assess implicit learning

encoding specificity principle

Principle stating that recall is better if the retrieval context is like the encoding context.

Executive processes

Processses that organise and coordinate the functioning of the cognitive system to achieve current goals

Recovered memories

Recovered memories of childhood abuse are more likely to be genuine when recalled outside therapy then within therapy

What is the multi-store model of memory? What are the three memory stores involved?

The multistore model of memory comprises of three memory stages/ stores; sensory memory, STM and LTM. The different stages differ in terms of temporal duration, storage capacity and forgetting mechanisms. 1)Sensory memory is limited to sensory information. 2) Short term store which has limited capacity and has been traditionally thought to hold up to 7 units. However, as mentioned above it is possible to increase this capacity by the use of chunking and it it is therefore more accurate to say that we can hold up to 7 units or chunks (+/- 2). 3)Long term memory (which we will explore more after the break) is thought to have an unlimited capacity.

b

The study by Baddeley and Wilson (2002) on prose recall in amnesic patients offered support for the existence of which component of working memory? a)Visuo-spatial sketchpad b)Episodic buffer c)Phonological loop d)Central executive

Synaesthesia

The tendency of one kind of sensory experience to evoke another

EXPLICIT MEMORY IMPLICIT MEMORY AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMORY MEMORY AND MORPHEUS

Types of long term memory include:

Focused attention, relational

Unitary store models assume that: STM consists of temporary activations of LTM representations or recently perceived items. Activations usually arise from ? Highly vulnerable to distraction. Amnesiacs' LTM impairments due to impaired ? memory. Need to find relationships between items and context. If you can't find them, recall will be difficult. STM does not require relational information to be processed, thus amnesiacs are fine at it. Primarily supported by the hippocampus and surrounding medial temporal lobe (associative memory structures) and the correlations activation has with behaviour.

partial deficits,

Working memory model evaluated Strengths -Better than Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968). Suggests ways both processing and storage occur, which is important for a more complex understanding of many cognitive processes. - Explains ?, such as that three components can be damaged independently. -Verbal rehearsal with the phonological loop is just one process, not everything. Weaknesses -Central executive processes may be many different things. -It is not clear how information is actually integrated in the episodic buffer. -Phrenology-like arguments for complex processing which almost always uses many different brain areas.

levels of processing

the concept that the more deeply people encode information, the better they will recall it

The multi-store model of memory

was proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) and is a structural model. They proposed that memory consisted of three stores: a sensory register, short-term memory (STM) and long-term memory (LTM) Evidence that stores differ in several ways: Duration. Capacity. Forgetting mechanisms Effects of brain damage.

Episodic buffer

working memory model: A component of working memory; it is essentially passive and stores integrated information briefly. Baddeley (2000) added this fourth component to the working memory model as the components in the original model were too separate in their functioning. The original model didn't explain how long-term memory could influence immediate recall and it was considered that there must be some interactivity between them. How can we recall 12 and more words if the phonological loop has less capacity? Baddeley and Wilson (2002) proposed that an episodic buffer acts as an intermediary between the phonological loop and the visuo-spatial sketchpad (cross-modal information). This is a process of active binding (sticking things together).

Central executive

working memory model: A modality-free, limited capacity, component of working memory.

Phonological loop

working memory model: A component of working memory in which speech-based information is processed and stored and subvocal articulation occurs. The phonological loop consists of two components: a passive phonological store directly concerned with speech perception; an articulatory process linked to speech production (i.e., rehearsal) giving access to the phonological store.

Visuo-spatial sketchpad

working memory model: A component of working memory used to process visual and spatial information and to store this information briefly. The visuo-spatial sketchpad is used for the temporary storage and manipulation of visual patterns and spatial movement. In essence, visual processing involves remembering what and spatial processing involves remembering where. The visuo-spatial sketchpad is used in the temporary storage and manipulation of spatial and visual information. Logie (1995) proposed that it consists of the visual cache, which stores information about visual form and colour, and the inner scribe, which processes spatial and movement information, is involved in rehearsal of information in visual cache, and transfers information from the cache to the central executive.