TEST 2
General overview Figures & Examples
1: Short-term and Working memory
Memory
Control processes
Modal Model of memory
- Sensory memory
o Persistence of vision effect
o Brief sensory memory
o Not all senses are attended
Sperling (1960) task
to
- Brief letter list grid; report after it
o Fades quick
flashed
- Short-term memory
- Whole report (all: 4.5/12 letters
o Approx 20 sec
avg)
o New and recalled info
- Partial Report (tone indicates what
o Duration: exposure to
row: 3.3/4)
competing stimuli causes
- Delayed partial report (tone
decay
delayed, performance dropped to
o Capacity: digit span task
whole report lvl)
(7+-2 – miller) (change
- Suggests brief sensory memory
detection is around 4
store
items)
Depends on type of
info
Chunk = unit
o Searching:
Serial search (one at
a time)
Parallel search (same
time) Alvarez and Cavanagh (2004) Change
Serial exhaustive detection method
search (scan one by - The more info in an image, the
one but all of them) fewer items held in STM
a cognitively Sternberg’s (1969) Memory Scanning
efficient and Experiment
systematic - Flashed numbers, then shown
process numbers and asked if they were
Working memory present
- Both holds and processes - Tested rt, length of list and location
information of number
- Limited capacity - If serial: length and location
important
This study source was downloaded by 100000899194722 from CourseHero.com on 05-29-2025 09:00:32 GMT -05:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/248643978/PSY270-Test-2-reviewpdf/
, - Components that function - If parallel: length of list or location
separately not important
- PFC is responsible for - If serial exhaustive: length of list
processing incoming visual and important but not location (this one
auditory information won)
Phonological loop
- Phonological similarity effect:
letters or words that sound
similar are confused
- Word-length effect: word list
memory is better for short
words than for long words
- Articulatory suppression:
disruption of the
phonological loop
(Rehearsing distracting task
reduces retention )
Visuospatial sketchpad Wisconsin Card Sorting Task
- Visual imagery (mental - assess frontal lobe dysfunction.
rotation) - Perseveration errors represent a
Central Executive breakdown in central executive’s
- Controls info btw the two; ability to control attention
“attention controller”
- Focus on some info and
suppress other info
- Perseveration:
- repeatedly performing the same
action or thought even if it is not
achieving the desired goal
Episodic buffer:
- Integrates information from
different modalities
- “Activity-silent working memory”
= WM can be stored in synaptic
patterns that remain “silent”
Monkeys without a PFC have difficulty
until reactivated when needed
holding information in WM
o Activity state (info to
- If PFC was damaged, the monkey
remember causes firing)
could see
o Synaptic state (firing
the cue but could not remember its
stops but connections are
location
strengthened
during the delay
- WM capacity is an important
source of individual differences
This study source was downloaded by 100000899194722 from CourseHero.com on 05-29-2025 09:00:32 GMT -05:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/248643978/PSY270-Test-2-reviewpdf/
General overview Figures & Examples
1: Short-term and Working memory
Memory
Control processes
Modal Model of memory
- Sensory memory
o Persistence of vision effect
o Brief sensory memory
o Not all senses are attended
Sperling (1960) task
to
- Brief letter list grid; report after it
o Fades quick
flashed
- Short-term memory
- Whole report (all: 4.5/12 letters
o Approx 20 sec
avg)
o New and recalled info
- Partial Report (tone indicates what
o Duration: exposure to
row: 3.3/4)
competing stimuli causes
- Delayed partial report (tone
decay
delayed, performance dropped to
o Capacity: digit span task
whole report lvl)
(7+-2 – miller) (change
- Suggests brief sensory memory
detection is around 4
store
items)
Depends on type of
info
Chunk = unit
o Searching:
Serial search (one at
a time)
Parallel search (same
time) Alvarez and Cavanagh (2004) Change
Serial exhaustive detection method
search (scan one by - The more info in an image, the
one but all of them) fewer items held in STM
a cognitively Sternberg’s (1969) Memory Scanning
efficient and Experiment
systematic - Flashed numbers, then shown
process numbers and asked if they were
Working memory present
- Both holds and processes - Tested rt, length of list and location
information of number
- Limited capacity - If serial: length and location
important
This study source was downloaded by 100000899194722 from CourseHero.com on 05-29-2025 09:00:32 GMT -05:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/248643978/PSY270-Test-2-reviewpdf/
, - Components that function - If parallel: length of list or location
separately not important
- PFC is responsible for - If serial exhaustive: length of list
processing incoming visual and important but not location (this one
auditory information won)
Phonological loop
- Phonological similarity effect:
letters or words that sound
similar are confused
- Word-length effect: word list
memory is better for short
words than for long words
- Articulatory suppression:
disruption of the
phonological loop
(Rehearsing distracting task
reduces retention )
Visuospatial sketchpad Wisconsin Card Sorting Task
- Visual imagery (mental - assess frontal lobe dysfunction.
rotation) - Perseveration errors represent a
Central Executive breakdown in central executive’s
- Controls info btw the two; ability to control attention
“attention controller”
- Focus on some info and
suppress other info
- Perseveration:
- repeatedly performing the same
action or thought even if it is not
achieving the desired goal
Episodic buffer:
- Integrates information from
different modalities
- “Activity-silent working memory”
= WM can be stored in synaptic
patterns that remain “silent”
Monkeys without a PFC have difficulty
until reactivated when needed
holding information in WM
o Activity state (info to
- If PFC was damaged, the monkey
remember causes firing)
could see
o Synaptic state (firing
the cue but could not remember its
stops but connections are
location
strengthened
during the delay
- WM capacity is an important
source of individual differences
This study source was downloaded by 100000899194722 from CourseHero.com on 05-29-2025 09:00:32 GMT -05:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/248643978/PSY270-Test-2-reviewpdf/
