The Modal Model of Memory and Sensory Memory
Describe the Modal Model of Memory and why it is insufficient.
Incoming information -> sensory information -> short-term memory (maintained by rehearsal) -> long-term memory (or lost) where it can be retrieved into short-term memory.
Overly simplistic, viewing memory as a static, sequential process rather than the dynamic and active manipulation of information
Define short-term memory and how long it lasts.
A memory mechanism that can hold a limited amount of information for a brief period of time, unless there is rehearsal to maintain the information in short-term memory. Lasts 1-20s generally.
What are the components of Baddeley’s Working Memory Mode?
Central Executive <-> (Phonological Loop; Episodic Buffer Visuospatial Sketch Pad) <-> Long-Term Memory
What are individual differences in working memory called? What differs between people?
Working memory capacity.
Differences in capacity are about how well you can
ignore distractions.
How does working memory apply to the case of Phineas Gage?
Early evidence that the frontal lobe is important for executive functioning (and cognitive control).
What is sensory memory and how is it stored?
A memory system that stores the “trace” of information received by receptor cells. A different store for each sensory system.
What is the Brown-Peterson Procedure and what did it find?
Memorize a list of Trigrams (L Z T) then
count backwards from 100 by 3 (blocks rehearsal). Recall the trigrams after 3-18 seconds.
Found a rapid decay in memory.
What does the phonological loop process and what are its two components?
Bonus: What processes support the existence of this?
Processes verbal and auditory information.
Phonological Store: limited capacity (holds information for only a few seconds)
Articulatory Rehearsal Processes: keeps items in the phonological store and translates info into an auditory code
Supported by:
Phonological similarity effect: we are more likely to mistake words that sound similar versus ones that look similar.
Articulatory suppression and word length effect
How is working memory capacity measured?
Reading Span: read the sentence, determine whether or not it makes sense, then remember the last word.
Operation Span: Solve the math problem and then remember the word.
What area of the brain is most associated working memory?
Prefrontal Cortex (PFC) - a part of the frontal lobe that is vital for working memory
What is sensory memory for hearing and vision respectively?
Echoic memory and iconic memory
What did a re-analysis of the Brown-Peterson Procedure find about forgetting in short-term memory?
Forgetting was due to proactive interference--information that was learned previously interferes with learning new information.
What does the visuospatial sketch pad and what does it help with?
Bonus: What processes support the existence of this?
Processes visual and Spatial information. Helps with mental rotation, Geographical orientation, navigating spaces, visual imagery.
Supported by:
Mental Rotation: It takes longer to decide if the shapes are the same when there is a greater difference in their orientation.
Interference: double dissociation tasks
Define cognitive control and what is it related to?
A set of functions that allow one to regulate their behavior and attentional resources, and to resist temptation to give in to impulses.
Related to working memory capacity.
What component of working memory is associated with this brain area?
The prefrontal cortex is important for the central executive component of working memory.
It is not where we store information, but it allows us to keep information in our attention and to ignore distractions.
What is persistence of vision and why does it occur?
Bonus: How does it relate to movies?
The continued perception of a visual stimulus even after it is no longer present.
Multiple discrete images blend into a single image, allowing us to perceive motion from still images.
How big is short-term memory (the magic number)?
7 +/- 2
What is the central executive, and what is its role in working memory?
Bonus: what is dysexecutive syndrome
No storage. Plans future actions, initiates retrieval and decision processes, integrates info coming into the system.
Coordinates information--how phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad use info.
Attention controller--determines how attention is focused, divided between tasks, and switches between tasks.
Dysexecutive Syndrome: damage to the frontal lobes that disrupts central executive function. Perseveration - cannot disengage from old mode of thinking. Distraction - attention easily drifts if not currently processing info.
How does working memory capacity focus on the central executive?
Activate items in memory
Maintain attention
Ignore distractions
What is the Delayed-Response Task? What do its results teach us about working memory and the brain?
Monkeys with a lesioned prefrontal cortex performed properly by chance on tasks they were previously trained in. Record activity of neurons in the prefrontal cortex during a delayed-response task.
Taught us that information is held in working memory by neural activity that continues over a gap.
What does the Sperling Partial Report Technique tell us about the capacity and duration of sensory memory?
Sensory memory has a large capacity but lasts milliseconds to a second. The Sperling Partial Report Technique showed this by flashing letters and numbers in front of participants before asking them to recall it.
What is chunking and how does it affect short-term memory capacity? Who is Student “S.F.” and what did his results teach us?
Chunking involves adding meaning and order to random numbers or letters. Student S.F. memorized a 79 digit span with training, showing that short-term memory and long-term memory interact actively (working memory).
What is the episodic buffer? Why was it added to Baddeley’s working memory model? (what problem did it help solve?)
Mental workspace with a limited capacity (4 chunks). Link between subsystems and long-term memory.
Added to answer the questions:
How can people remember more items than expected, given the limited capacities of the two sub-components?
How is WM connected to long-term memory?
Why does working memory capacity matter? How did people with low vs high working memory capacity perform on the Stroop Task and the Dichotic Listening Task
Determines how well people perform with distractions.
Stroop Task: under the 75% congruency task, high group performed significantly better than the low group.
Dichotic Listening Task: People with lower working memory capacity were more likely to notice their name, which means they did a worse job at ignoring the unattended ear.
How can neural networks hold information in short-term memory?
Activity-Silent Working Memory: to-be-remembered information causes short-term changes in the strength of the connections between neurons (connectivity) in a neural network. This change in connectivity allows the
information to be remembered over a few seconds.