PSY 1001 MEMORY QUESTIONS AND ACCURATE
ANSWERS
Modal Model of Memory
the three stage model of memory that depicts the movement of memory from the sensory store,
to the short term memory, to the long term memory. It also includes the names of the processes
in which these movements occur (ie encoding, retrieval, and attention).
Working Processes of Memory
attention, rehearsal, encoding, and retrieval.
Attention
the way in which information in the sensory store is moved into short term memory.
Rehearsal
the way in which information is kept in the short term memory store.
Encoding
the way in which information is moved from short term memory to long term memory.
Retrieval
the way in which information is moved from long term memory to working memory.
Sensory Memory
brief storage of perceptual information before it is passed to short-term memory. Capacity is very
large (scenic), duration is very short, and function is to sustain sensations for identification.
Sperling's Study
demonstrated the existence of iconic memory. He quickly flashed participants a display of 12
letters, with four letters arranged in three rows. He later found that all 12 letters had an equal
chance of being recalled, but that no one could recall them all. This led to the question: "if
participants had remembered (sensory memory) the whole visual display, why could they recall
only a handful of letters and no more?". To answer this question, he decided to present a tone
(immediately after flashing the 12 letters) to signal participants which of the three rows to report.
This helped him arrive at the conclusion that our iconic memories fade so quickly that we can't
access all the information before it disappears.
Echoic Memory
auditory sensory memory. Duration: lasts as long as 5 to 10 seconds.
Iconic Memory
, visual sensory memory. Duration: very short, it fades so quickly that we can't access all the
information before it disappears.
Short Term Memory
memory system that retains information for limited durations. Its capacity is 7 plus or minus 2
items or "chunks". Its duration is 10-15 seconds. Its function is to do conscious work/to think.
Chunking
organizing information into meaningful groupings, allowing us to extend the span of short-term
memory.
Magic Number
the span of short-term memory, according to George Miller; seven plus or minus two pieces of
information.
Peterson and Peterson study
tested duration of short-term memory by presenting participants with lists of three letters each
(like MKP or ASN) and then asked them to recall these three letter strings. In some cases, she
would have participants wait 3 seconds to recall the letters, in other cases, she would have them
wait 18 seconds. Each time, they told participants to count backwards by threes while they were
waiting. She found that after about 10 or 15 seconds, most participants did no better than chance.
Levels of Processing
depth of transforming information, which influences how easily we remember it.
Visual processing
hone in on how the sentence looks.
Phonological processing
focus on how words in the sentence sound.
Semantic processing
emphasize the sentence's meaning. will produce the best recall or most enduring long-term
memories.
Semantic Memory
our knowledge of facts about the world.
Episodic Memory
our recollection of events in our lives.
Explicit Memory
ANSWERS
Modal Model of Memory
the three stage model of memory that depicts the movement of memory from the sensory store,
to the short term memory, to the long term memory. It also includes the names of the processes
in which these movements occur (ie encoding, retrieval, and attention).
Working Processes of Memory
attention, rehearsal, encoding, and retrieval.
Attention
the way in which information in the sensory store is moved into short term memory.
Rehearsal
the way in which information is kept in the short term memory store.
Encoding
the way in which information is moved from short term memory to long term memory.
Retrieval
the way in which information is moved from long term memory to working memory.
Sensory Memory
brief storage of perceptual information before it is passed to short-term memory. Capacity is very
large (scenic), duration is very short, and function is to sustain sensations for identification.
Sperling's Study
demonstrated the existence of iconic memory. He quickly flashed participants a display of 12
letters, with four letters arranged in three rows. He later found that all 12 letters had an equal
chance of being recalled, but that no one could recall them all. This led to the question: "if
participants had remembered (sensory memory) the whole visual display, why could they recall
only a handful of letters and no more?". To answer this question, he decided to present a tone
(immediately after flashing the 12 letters) to signal participants which of the three rows to report.
This helped him arrive at the conclusion that our iconic memories fade so quickly that we can't
access all the information before it disappears.
Echoic Memory
auditory sensory memory. Duration: lasts as long as 5 to 10 seconds.
Iconic Memory
, visual sensory memory. Duration: very short, it fades so quickly that we can't access all the
information before it disappears.
Short Term Memory
memory system that retains information for limited durations. Its capacity is 7 plus or minus 2
items or "chunks". Its duration is 10-15 seconds. Its function is to do conscious work/to think.
Chunking
organizing information into meaningful groupings, allowing us to extend the span of short-term
memory.
Magic Number
the span of short-term memory, according to George Miller; seven plus or minus two pieces of
information.
Peterson and Peterson study
tested duration of short-term memory by presenting participants with lists of three letters each
(like MKP or ASN) and then asked them to recall these three letter strings. In some cases, she
would have participants wait 3 seconds to recall the letters, in other cases, she would have them
wait 18 seconds. Each time, they told participants to count backwards by threes while they were
waiting. She found that after about 10 or 15 seconds, most participants did no better than chance.
Levels of Processing
depth of transforming information, which influences how easily we remember it.
Visual processing
hone in on how the sentence looks.
Phonological processing
focus on how words in the sentence sound.
Semantic processing
emphasize the sentence's meaning. will produce the best recall or most enduring long-term
memories.
Semantic Memory
our knowledge of facts about the world.
Episodic Memory
our recollection of events in our lives.
Explicit Memory
