Memory

Memory

1. Testing memory:

   • free recall - pps are given words to learn and asked to recall them in any order
     • cued recall - as above but with cues
       • recognition - list of words, pps are asked to identify which were in the original presentation
         • paired association - pps are asked to recall its pair
           • nonsense syllables - memorise meaning less letters

2. the ability to collect, store and retrieve the information

3. Memory stores:

   • short-term memory
     • your memory for immediate events
       • limited capacity of 7 +/- 2 items and information can be lost if not rehearsed.
         • tends to be coded acoustically
           • sometimes referred to as working memory
             • long-term memory
               • your memory for events that have happened in the past
                 • duration lasts anywhere from 2 minutes to 100 years (potentially unlimited)
                   • tend to be coded semantically
                     • capacity - this is a measure of how much we can hold in our memory. it is represented in terms of bits of info, such as number of digits
                       • duration - a measure of how long a memory lasts before it is no longer available
                         • encoding - the way information is changed so that it can be stored in memory. Info enters the brain via the senses and is then stored in various forms such as visual codes, acoustic codes or semantic codes

4. The multi-store model:

   • the sensory register takes info from one of the sense organs and holds it in that same form
     • iconic memory - visual info from our eyes; stored as images
       • echoic memory - auditory input from the ears; stored as sound
         • haptic memory - tactile input from the body; stored as feelings
           • taste and smell senses are the two remaining senses
             • • The serial position curve - Glanzer & Cunitz
                 • supports the MSM; first words in the list are stored in the LTM, middle words in the list are stored in the STM but are eventually pushed out (displaced) by the last words on the list which stay in the STM
                   • the experiment lacks external validity, people behave in a certain and controlled way in a lab
                     • the experiment has a high internal validity

5. The working memory model:

   • addresses one aspect of memory only; short term memory. it is concerned with the memory you use when working on a complex task which requires you to store information as you go along
     • central executive - directs attention to particular tasks determining at anytime how the brains 'resources' are allocated to tasks, the CE has a very limited capacity
       • phonological loop - deals with auditory info and preserves the order of information; 1) the phonological store hold the info you hear, 2) an articulatory process which is used for words that are heard or seen and silently repeated
         • visuo spatial sketchpad - is used when you have to plan a spatial task. it stores the visual and physical relationship between things
           • Episodic buffer - is a general store that gives extra space with limited capacity. it integrates info from all 3 stores and it also maintains a sense of time sequencing, it basically records events/episodes

6. types of Long term memory:

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