Psychology Course 2.1 Cognitive Psychology – Memory (2016-2017)
PSYCHOLOGY YEAR 2
COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
Cognition: Thinking and Remembering
Learning objectives:
Distinguish different types of memory from one another
Compare different approaches in language representations
Differentiate theoretical approaches from practical applications
Critically evaluate different approaches on cognitive processes
Exam components during the course:
Attendance requirement
Course exam on October 7th (multiple-choice questions)
Practical exam on October 9th (group assignment)
Professional conduct
Property of Sarina Verwijmeren
, Psychology Course 2.1 Cognitive Psychology – Memory (2016-2017)
Problem 1.1 Learning to Remember
Matlin; Chapter 4 Working Memory Gluck; Chapter 5 Working Memory and Executive Control
Baddeley; Chapter 4 Working Memory Reisberg; Chapter 5 The Acquisition of Memories and the
Eysenck: Chapter 6 Learning, Memory and Forgetting Working-Memory System
BASICS
New information is presented to a person (acquisition), that information is held in memory until it is needed (storage) and retrieved
when it needs to be used. Maybe you think of the working memory as a box with information, transferring information to the long-term
memory. You should see it as an office with busy librarians who are sorting and cross-referencing new material.
How the working memory functions exactly, varies somewhat from one person to another. The working memory can hold about 7 plus-
or-minus 2 items (George Miller). But some people are capable of chunking the information (e.g. H, O, P, T, R, A becomes HOP,
TRA) therefore remembering more information. If you chuck information, it is more likely to get to your LTM. When you are trying to
remember something, chances are that you will confuse similar sounding letters and words with the actual word.
THEORIES & MODELS
Information Processing View
Complex events such as learning and remembering involve a large number of discrete steps.
These steps happen one by one (get input from the previous step and create output that serves as input for the next step)
The modal model:
× There are two kinds of memory: short-term (1) and long-term memory (2).
× Short-term memory (STM) holds on to information currently in use. This is instantly and
easily available. It has a limited capacity of about 30 seconds.
× The working memory is involved in almost all mental tasks (e.g. you have to remember
the first words of this sentence in order to understand the last words, and the sentence
as a whole). It is used to manipulate the information.
× Note! Short-term memory is not the same as working memory.
× Long-term memory (LTM) includes information that you don’t need right now, because
you are not using it/thinking of it. Retrieving this information can be effortful and slow.
× When testing the distinction between STM and LTM, subjects are shown a lot of words in a short time and try to recall them
in any order (free recall). The results are displayed in a serial position curve/effect.
× If there are more trials in the experiment, is it harder to distinguish what word was in which trial.
× People are likely to remember the first view words (primacy effect) and the last few words (recency effect).
× The recency effect is linked to retroactive interference (new information blocks out the older information) and primacy
effect has been linked to proactive interference (old information blocking the new information).
× Explanation of recency effect by the modal model: the working memory tries to capture the listed words, but has a limit of 7
plus-or-minus 2 items/chunks. Early words will be replaced with later words. That is why you remember the last few
words: there are no words that kick the last words out of the STM. They will be replaced by something else again if the
STM is needed (Brown-Peterson task: is a memory experiment that shows that information will be removed from the
memory if no attention can be given to it. The chances of that happening appear to be dependent on timespan. It shows
sets of three letters, you have to remember this but in the interval you have to count backwards from 201 by three. This
shows that the recency effect disappears.). But just delaying the recalling (without using the short-term memory) will not
lead to a different effect. If there is more time in between the words, the effect will fade away (because of the 30 seconds
limit of the STM)
× Explanation of primacy effect by the modal model: in order to get the words from the working memory into the LTM, you
need attention and time. Because subjects try to remember, they rehearse the first few words in their head. But every new
Property of Sarina Verwijmeren
PSYCHOLOGY YEAR 2
COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
Cognition: Thinking and Remembering
Learning objectives:
Distinguish different types of memory from one another
Compare different approaches in language representations
Differentiate theoretical approaches from practical applications
Critically evaluate different approaches on cognitive processes
Exam components during the course:
Attendance requirement
Course exam on October 7th (multiple-choice questions)
Practical exam on October 9th (group assignment)
Professional conduct
Property of Sarina Verwijmeren
, Psychology Course 2.1 Cognitive Psychology – Memory (2016-2017)
Problem 1.1 Learning to Remember
Matlin; Chapter 4 Working Memory Gluck; Chapter 5 Working Memory and Executive Control
Baddeley; Chapter 4 Working Memory Reisberg; Chapter 5 The Acquisition of Memories and the
Eysenck: Chapter 6 Learning, Memory and Forgetting Working-Memory System
BASICS
New information is presented to a person (acquisition), that information is held in memory until it is needed (storage) and retrieved
when it needs to be used. Maybe you think of the working memory as a box with information, transferring information to the long-term
memory. You should see it as an office with busy librarians who are sorting and cross-referencing new material.
How the working memory functions exactly, varies somewhat from one person to another. The working memory can hold about 7 plus-
or-minus 2 items (George Miller). But some people are capable of chunking the information (e.g. H, O, P, T, R, A becomes HOP,
TRA) therefore remembering more information. If you chuck information, it is more likely to get to your LTM. When you are trying to
remember something, chances are that you will confuse similar sounding letters and words with the actual word.
THEORIES & MODELS
Information Processing View
Complex events such as learning and remembering involve a large number of discrete steps.
These steps happen one by one (get input from the previous step and create output that serves as input for the next step)
The modal model:
× There are two kinds of memory: short-term (1) and long-term memory (2).
× Short-term memory (STM) holds on to information currently in use. This is instantly and
easily available. It has a limited capacity of about 30 seconds.
× The working memory is involved in almost all mental tasks (e.g. you have to remember
the first words of this sentence in order to understand the last words, and the sentence
as a whole). It is used to manipulate the information.
× Note! Short-term memory is not the same as working memory.
× Long-term memory (LTM) includes information that you don’t need right now, because
you are not using it/thinking of it. Retrieving this information can be effortful and slow.
× When testing the distinction between STM and LTM, subjects are shown a lot of words in a short time and try to recall them
in any order (free recall). The results are displayed in a serial position curve/effect.
× If there are more trials in the experiment, is it harder to distinguish what word was in which trial.
× People are likely to remember the first view words (primacy effect) and the last few words (recency effect).
× The recency effect is linked to retroactive interference (new information blocks out the older information) and primacy
effect has been linked to proactive interference (old information blocking the new information).
× Explanation of recency effect by the modal model: the working memory tries to capture the listed words, but has a limit of 7
plus-or-minus 2 items/chunks. Early words will be replaced with later words. That is why you remember the last few
words: there are no words that kick the last words out of the STM. They will be replaced by something else again if the
STM is needed (Brown-Peterson task: is a memory experiment that shows that information will be removed from the
memory if no attention can be given to it. The chances of that happening appear to be dependent on timespan. It shows
sets of three letters, you have to remember this but in the interval you have to count backwards from 201 by three. This
shows that the recency effect disappears.). But just delaying the recalling (without using the short-term memory) will not
lead to a different effect. If there is more time in between the words, the effect will fade away (because of the 30 seconds
limit of the STM)
× Explanation of primacy effect by the modal model: in order to get the words from the working memory into the LTM, you
need attention and time. Because subjects try to remember, they rehearse the first few words in their head. But every new
Property of Sarina Verwijmeren
