2.1 Cognition: Thinking & Remembering
Problem 1 – Learning to remember
Literature: Radvansky, Baddeley, Maltin
Short-term memory (STM)
= performance of task requiring little information; tested immediately or right after
- System responsible for STM is part of working memory
- Limited capacity (7±2) chunks of information
- Expand STM through chunking (previous knowledge)
o Using long-term memory knowledge
- Retrieval from STM
o Serial exhaustive search – going through all items even after target was found (experiments support)
o Serial self-termination – going through items one at a time; stops when target was found
o Parallel search – all items are available at once
- Serial position curves
o Better at recalling info in the beginning and the end compared to “in between”
o Primacy effect
= Better memory of info at the beginning
Rather LTM effect (more opportunity to be rehearsed)
More time to rehearse → ↑ primacy effect
Activation of brain area responsible for LTM
o Recency effect
= Better memory for info at the end
Info is not interfered with by following info
Working memory (WM)
= can manipulate and shortly store info; “temporary mental workspace”
- Allows performance of complex tasks (e.g. reasoning/learning/understanding)
Memory span
1. Remember items (e.g. numbers// numbers in foreign language)
2. Remember order (e.g. sequence of digits)
- Miller (1956): Memory = limited by number of chunks (not items)
- Chunking = combing items to one chunk; based on long term memory
→ e.g. nonsense word into syllables that actually exist
o Grouping: e.g. through pauses 837192846 (difficult to remember) vs. 837-192-846 (easier)
- STM relies on acoustic code which fades quickly (forgetting)
o Study: Stings of consonants; recall errors likely to be similar in sound
Phonological loop
1. Short-term memory store
o Limited capacity
o Items = memory traces (decay within seconds)
2. Articulatory rehearsal process
o Refreshes traces through (sub-)vocal rehearsal
- ↑ number of items → ↑ time to rehearse → ↓ chance to refresh → Limited memory span
- Accounts for:
o Phonological similarity effect
Letters (s.o.); words
Long list of words: similarity of meaning ˃ similarity of sound
o Word length effect
Recall: five one-syllable words ˃ five five-syllable words
↑ length → ↑time to speak → ↑word decay → forgetting during (sub-)vocal rehearsal
o Irrelevant sound effects
Problem 1 – Learning to remember
Literature: Radvansky, Baddeley, Maltin
Short-term memory (STM)
= performance of task requiring little information; tested immediately or right after
- System responsible for STM is part of working memory
- Limited capacity (7±2) chunks of information
- Expand STM through chunking (previous knowledge)
o Using long-term memory knowledge
- Retrieval from STM
o Serial exhaustive search – going through all items even after target was found (experiments support)
o Serial self-termination – going through items one at a time; stops when target was found
o Parallel search – all items are available at once
- Serial position curves
o Better at recalling info in the beginning and the end compared to “in between”
o Primacy effect
= Better memory of info at the beginning
Rather LTM effect (more opportunity to be rehearsed)
More time to rehearse → ↑ primacy effect
Activation of brain area responsible for LTM
o Recency effect
= Better memory for info at the end
Info is not interfered with by following info
Working memory (WM)
= can manipulate and shortly store info; “temporary mental workspace”
- Allows performance of complex tasks (e.g. reasoning/learning/understanding)
Memory span
1. Remember items (e.g. numbers// numbers in foreign language)
2. Remember order (e.g. sequence of digits)
- Miller (1956): Memory = limited by number of chunks (not items)
- Chunking = combing items to one chunk; based on long term memory
→ e.g. nonsense word into syllables that actually exist
o Grouping: e.g. through pauses 837192846 (difficult to remember) vs. 837-192-846 (easier)
- STM relies on acoustic code which fades quickly (forgetting)
o Study: Stings of consonants; recall errors likely to be similar in sound
Phonological loop
1. Short-term memory store
o Limited capacity
o Items = memory traces (decay within seconds)
2. Articulatory rehearsal process
o Refreshes traces through (sub-)vocal rehearsal
- ↑ number of items → ↑ time to rehearse → ↓ chance to refresh → Limited memory span
- Accounts for:
o Phonological similarity effect
Letters (s.o.); words
Long list of words: similarity of meaning ˃ similarity of sound
o Word length effect
Recall: five one-syllable words ˃ five five-syllable words
↑ length → ↑time to speak → ↑word decay → forgetting during (sub-)vocal rehearsal
o Irrelevant sound effects
