SHORT TERM MEMORY (memory span)

Short term memory is a structurally

complex and dynamically active device
whose function is not only to hold
information, but also to serve as a
computational space where cognitive
operation takes place.
Chunk can be defined as a collection
of elements having strong associations
with one another, but weak associations
with elements within other chunks.
Chunks are the atoms of the cognitive
system upon which memory operates.
Miller suggests that the usual memory
span is between five and nine chunks,
typically seven.

Atkinson and Shiffrins multi-component

model

Atkinson and Shiffrin were among

the first to formalize memory processing
by providing an integrated view of the
cognitive architecture.

Components of the model

Memory stores are places where

information is maintained and
processed.
Sensory registers are memory
stores that hold modality specific
information for a few hundred
milliseconds.
Sensory registers Is to keep a trace of
sensations until the information is
forwarded to the short term store.
Long term store is a space where
information is stored permanently.
Short term store is a powerful
structure: it serves the functions of
holding and processing information in all
modalities.
Short term store is sensitive to
interferences
It is limited to about seven items

Sensory registers: stealth memory stores

Iconic memory this memory lasting

less than a second

Echoic memory a similar shortlasting, modality-specific memory exist

for auditory information.

Short term memory: verbal information

Acoustic confusion the fact that we

encode verbal information as series of
sounds, even when it is presented
visually.

Short term memory: visuospatial

information

Visuospatial pertaining of the spatial

relationships among objects within the
field of vision.
Shepard and metzlers results were
among the first to support the
hypothesis that our representation of
visuospatial information is analogue
(there is a correspondence between the
representation in the mind and the
external representation) rather than
propositional (the relationship
between the representation and what is
presented is arbitrary, such as in
language.)

Memory traces
1. Encoding depends on the way
information is organized and presented
to the cognitive system
Rehearsal and depth of processing
Depth of processing theory
the strength of memory traces
depends on the amount of
processing to which stimuli are
subjected. The more deeply a
stimulus is processed, the
stronger the memory traces, and
thus the easier it is to recall.
Maintenance rehearsal
where stimuli are simply
rehearsed so that they can be
held in short term memory
Elaborative rehearsal where
stimuli are subjected to deeper,
typically semantic processing that
recodes them more efficiently.

2. Forgetting decay refers to the

gradual fading over time of a memory
trace.
Interference theory - acc. To
this theory, it is not so much the
time passed since learning that
affects the quality of memory as
the interferences caused by the
inevitable neural events that
cause noise in the encoding and
processing of information.

and focusing attention on task-relevant

items.
- it controls the information flow within
and between the phonological loop and
the visuospatial sketchpad.
LONG-TERM MEMORY AND LEARNING
-

Long term memory is the place

where we store all our memories, the
hard drive of the mind.

Two types of interference:

1. Proactive interference refers to the
influence of previously learned items on
the learning of new material.
2. Retroactive interference refers to
the opposite influence from new items
to already learned items.
Short term memory is now increasingly called
working memory

Long-term memory systems

Baddeleys theory of working memory

-

Performance is not affected as much as

it should be if the two processes
depended on the same memory
component.

Phonological loop is dedicated to

speech-based information
- Phonological store holds the item
online in a passive way, in either an
acoustic or phonological format
- Rehearsal process this second
component refreshes memory item by
item and then comes back to the first
item to start again the refreshing cycle.
Visuospatial sketchpad holds and
manipulates visuospatial information.
Only three or four items can be held
simultaneously in the VSSP, and these
items are subject to decay.
- Visual cache holds visuospatial
information, whereas the inner scribe
carries out cognitive operations on this
information.
Central Executive its purpose is to
monitor attentional processes, such as
dividing attention, switching attention

Declarative memory refers to

knowledge about facts and events. It is
recollected consciously and can be
verbalized for communication.
Semantic memory stores knowledge
about the world, including facts,
meanings and concepts.
Episodic memory stores memory of
events that are associated with a
specific place and time.
Autobiographical memory
the subset of episodic memory
that contains ones own life.

Declarative memory
Semantic memory

Concepts are a central kind of

semantic memory
-as a memory structure that
encodes a chunk of information
referring to an object or a category of
objects.

Schemas are organized memory

structures that release several chunks of
information in a task-oriented, contextdependent. Schemas are built up of out
of our past experiences. Their main
function is to organize and thus stabilize
our perception of the environment.
- Core containing constant information
- Slots containing variable information

Scripts important kind of schema; are

schema for sequences of events.

Semantic networks
-

a very influential model of the structure

of semantic memory was put forward by
Collin and quilian
node the basic component of
memory , which encodes objects, living
beings, and so on
Spreading activation a central notion
in the 1975 version of the model.

Anterograde amnesia is the

inability to encode new memory
-

Non-declarative memories
-

Memory for events

Semantic knowledge is knowledge

referring to general facts.
Episodic memory refers to memory
for the events that people have
experienced on their own and that can
be situated in time and space.
Autobiographical memory subclass
of episodic memory, which concerns
personal experiences that are important
in ones life.
Flashbulb memories the
memories are form whenever an
event has a strong emotional
resonance for the person.
Eyewitness testimony this
type of memory has an impact
beyond the field of psychology. It
is considered as acceptable
evidence in trials; it is important
therefore, to ensure that the facts
reported by witness are reliable,
as they are sometimes key to
establishing whether suspects are
guilty or not.
Prospective memory another type
of declarative memory, which can
defined as the ability to programmed
oneself to retrieve information at a
given point in the future
Forgetting a mere loss of information
Pathological forgetting a form of
forgetting that deletes potentially useful
information
Retrograde amnesia is the
inability to recall part of your
past.

Normal forgetting refers both to the

inability to access the information that
is still stored.

Refers to a wide range of different

memories. They may be as simple as
classical conditioning or as complex as
playing the piano. Still, they have in
common the notion of action and thus
are often related to performance. The
retrieval of non-declarative knowledge
does not require many resources from
the cognitive system and in particular
does not fill short-term memory.

Skill acquisition

Perceptual priming where the

perception of stimulus is enhance by the
earlier presentation of another stimulus.
This form of non-declarative memory,
because the perceiver cannot control
how the stimuli processed.
Retinotopic maps suggest that the
perceptual skills acquired by training
one specific region of the visual field will
not be transferable to another subregion.
Habits acquired and unconscious
dispositions to act in a given way.

Classical conditioning is a mechanism by

which a new neutral stimulus comes to elicit
an automatic response.
-

Unconditioned stimulus does not

require the presence of any other
specific condition to be effective
Conditioned stimulus a stimulus
that elicits a response after a learning
procedure.

Instrumental conditioning it is concerned

with how individuals select the most
appropriate action from the repertoire of
possible actions.
Non-associative learning

Habituation is the progressive

extinction of behavior in response to a
repetitive harmless situation.
Sensitisation is the exact opposite; a
magnification of behavior in response to
a meaningful stimulation.