Exam #2 Study Guide
★ CHAPTER 4: WORKING MEMORY ↷
● Memory: The storage of past experiences and information; has 2 components ↴
1. Duration: How long can you hold onto the information?
2. Capacity: How much information can you hold onto?
a. NOTE: Memory is evolutionary and nearly all animals have it!
● Nice! So how do we obtain/use memories?
1. Encoding: Obtain + transform information → something we can understand.
2. Storage: Retain the information.
3. Retrieval: Locate + recover the information for immediate use.
● Types of Memory Systems ↴
a. Sensory memory: A large-capacity storage system that records information from
each of the senses.
i. Large capacity, but temporary storage! For instance, you grab your arm
and have the feeling linger for a brief moment.
b. Short-term memory: Short duration, small capacity.
i. Duration: Approx. 30 seconds.
ii. Capacity: 7± 2 chunks (aka. memory units)
1. HINT: All the characteristics start with S!
c. Long-term memory: Long duration, large capacity.
i. Duration: Up to a lifetime!
ii. Capacity: Endless.
1. HINT: All the characteristics start with L!
,● Atkinson and Shiffrin Model (aka. Memory Model) ↴
● What’s going on here…?
○ Basically, we receive information from our environment and store it in our
sensory memory, which then → short-term memory.
■ Ideally, we would try our best to remember these items to keep them in
our long-term memory… but without control processes (e.g., rehearsal)
these chunks are lost. This can occur at any step!
● EXAMPLE: Suppose you’re reading the textbook to study for an
exam. The words (external input) → sensory memory which sends
some material to your STM and even less of that material to your
LTM.
★ NOTE: Remember the information processing approach?
○ This model is also based on the idea that mental processes = computer
operations that process information one step at a time (serial processing).
■ Sensory input → STM → LTM!
, ● So why isn’t all the info from our STM sent into our LTM?
○ Many factors can influence its encoding limits ↴
a. Semantics: Word meanings.
i. Information in the same semantic category interferes!
1. EXAMPLE: Your coworkers are called Jake, Jack, and
John, but because they all sound similar you struggle to
recall them.
a. Also occurs with synonyms and object categories!
b. Serial position effect: Says that a word's position in a list affects how
likely you are to remember it; U-shaped curve (first & last items).
i. Primacy effect: Says that we’re better at remembering items that
are first (primary) on a list.
ii. Recency effect: Says that we’re better at remembering items that
are last (recent) on a list.
c. Proactive interference: Occurs when old information blocks new
information from being retained.
i. EXAMPLE: Writing down the previous year when you should be
writing the current year, typing in an old password after changing
it to something new, etc.
★ NOTE: The Atksinson Shifrin model didn’t work out because our brain (shockingly)
doesn’t work like a computer or function linearly! However, it did contribute:
a. The difference between STM and LTM processes.
b. What properties affect our STM.
c. An explanation of how our STM processes affect our LTM storage.
● So what else is there if there isn’t a STM…?
★ CHAPTER 4: WORKING MEMORY ↷
● Memory: The storage of past experiences and information; has 2 components ↴
1. Duration: How long can you hold onto the information?
2. Capacity: How much information can you hold onto?
a. NOTE: Memory is evolutionary and nearly all animals have it!
● Nice! So how do we obtain/use memories?
1. Encoding: Obtain + transform information → something we can understand.
2. Storage: Retain the information.
3. Retrieval: Locate + recover the information for immediate use.
● Types of Memory Systems ↴
a. Sensory memory: A large-capacity storage system that records information from
each of the senses.
i. Large capacity, but temporary storage! For instance, you grab your arm
and have the feeling linger for a brief moment.
b. Short-term memory: Short duration, small capacity.
i. Duration: Approx. 30 seconds.
ii. Capacity: 7± 2 chunks (aka. memory units)
1. HINT: All the characteristics start with S!
c. Long-term memory: Long duration, large capacity.
i. Duration: Up to a lifetime!
ii. Capacity: Endless.
1. HINT: All the characteristics start with L!
,● Atkinson and Shiffrin Model (aka. Memory Model) ↴
● What’s going on here…?
○ Basically, we receive information from our environment and store it in our
sensory memory, which then → short-term memory.
■ Ideally, we would try our best to remember these items to keep them in
our long-term memory… but without control processes (e.g., rehearsal)
these chunks are lost. This can occur at any step!
● EXAMPLE: Suppose you’re reading the textbook to study for an
exam. The words (external input) → sensory memory which sends
some material to your STM and even less of that material to your
LTM.
★ NOTE: Remember the information processing approach?
○ This model is also based on the idea that mental processes = computer
operations that process information one step at a time (serial processing).
■ Sensory input → STM → LTM!
, ● So why isn’t all the info from our STM sent into our LTM?
○ Many factors can influence its encoding limits ↴
a. Semantics: Word meanings.
i. Information in the same semantic category interferes!
1. EXAMPLE: Your coworkers are called Jake, Jack, and
John, but because they all sound similar you struggle to
recall them.
a. Also occurs with synonyms and object categories!
b. Serial position effect: Says that a word's position in a list affects how
likely you are to remember it; U-shaped curve (first & last items).
i. Primacy effect: Says that we’re better at remembering items that
are first (primary) on a list.
ii. Recency effect: Says that we’re better at remembering items that
are last (recent) on a list.
c. Proactive interference: Occurs when old information blocks new
information from being retained.
i. EXAMPLE: Writing down the previous year when you should be
writing the current year, typing in an old password after changing
it to something new, etc.
★ NOTE: The Atksinson Shifrin model didn’t work out because our brain (shockingly)
doesn’t work like a computer or function linearly! However, it did contribute:
a. The difference between STM and LTM processes.
b. What properties affect our STM.
c. An explanation of how our STM processes affect our LTM storage.
● So what else is there if there isn’t a STM…?
