Cognitive Psychology-MSM and WMM

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  • Created by: Louise
  • Created on: 02-05-13 21:43

WHAT IS MEMORY?

Three stages in memory:

  • Encoding
  • Storage
  • Retrieval

Encoding can be:

  • Acoustic
  • Visual
  • Semantic

Storage can be in:

  • Categories
  • Networks

Retrieval can be by:

  • Recognition-matching sensory information with information already stored in the brain
  • Free recall-independent recollection of information stored in the brain

GLANZER AND CUNITZ

Serial position curve

Last few words-Recency effect (most recent words displace the words prior to them due to limited capactiy of short term memory)

First few words-Primacy effect (words viewed first are transferred from STM to Long term memory)

 

MULTISTORE MODEL OF MEMORY

Sensory memory:

  • Stores unprocessed info
  • Capacity depends on how much the senses can register at any given time
  • Lasts for fractions of a second (length of stimulus)
  • Information is encoded the same as stimuli

Short term memory:

  • Stores information for short periods of time
  • Limited to between 5 and 9 digits
  • Duration of up to 30 seconds unless distracted
  • Mostly acoustic encoding but can be visual and sometimes semantic

Long term memory:

  • Stores a vast quantity of information for long periods of time
  • Uncertain if a limit exists
  • Information can last a lifetime
  • Usually semantic encoding but depends upon the stimulus (smells, sounds, photographs)

Loss of information:

  • Sensory-decay
  • STM-decay/displacement
  • LTM-interference/retrieval failure/decay

Transferring information:

  • Sensory to STM-RECODING PROCESS
  • STM to LTM-REHEARSAL TRANSFER
  • LTM to STM-RETRIEVAL
  • Information is retained in STM through rehearsal

CONRAD

Encoding in STM

Presented 2 visual lists of letters to participants. One list was acoustically simmilar and the other acoustically dissimilar. Ppts were then asked to recall the letters in the correct order.

Acoustically similar words were harder to recall so suggests that STM is encoded acoustically

MILLER

Presented pps with an acoustic list of numbers each list progressively getting longer by one digit. Pps were asked to recall the numbers in the correct order immediately after hearing the list. The longest chain they recalled correctly was their capacity for STM. He concluded that most people have a span of 7 plus/minus 2 digits as their capacity for STM.

 CLIVE WEARING

Has a 7second memory due to a virus detryong his short term memory.

He can still hear and appreciate music which shows that his long term memory is unaffected.

He can't read/watch a film because he can't remember what happened a few…

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