3 Functions of inhibition
ACCESS to attention's focus, DELETION of irrelevant info from working memory, RESTRAINT of strong but incorrect responses.
An active goal-directed process that acts in conjunction with automatic activation processes that control the contents of consciousness
Articulatory rehearsal process
Rehearsal process involved in working memory that keeps items in the phonological store from decaying.
Interference with operation of the phonological loop that occurs when a person repeats an irrelevant word such as "the" while carrying out a task that requires the phonological loop.
The part of working memory that coordinates the activity of the phonological loop and the visuospatial sketch pad.
Used in connection with the idea of chunking in memory. A chunk is a collection of elements that are strongly associated with each other, but are weakly associated with elements in other chunks.
Combining small units into larger ones, such as when individual words are combined into a meaningful sentence. Chunking can be used to increase the capacity of memory.
The form in which stimuli are represented in the mind. For example, information can be represented in visual, semantic, and phonological forms.
In Atkinson and Shiffrin's modal model of memory, active processes that can be controlled by the person may differ from one task to another. Rehearsal is an example of a control process.
Delayed partial report method
Procedure used in Sperling's experiment on the properties of the visual icon, in which participants were instructed to report only some of the stimuli in a briefly presented display. A cue tone that was delayed for a fraction of a second after the display was extinguished indicated which part of the display to report.
A task in which information is provided, a delay is imposed, and then memory is tested. This task has been used to study short-term memory by testing monkeys' ability to hold information about the location of a food reward during a delay.
The number of digits a person can remember. Digit span is used as a measure of the capacity of short-term memory.
Brief sensory memory for auditory stimuli that lasts for a few seconds after a stimulus is extinguished.
A component added to Baddeley's original working memory model that serves as a "backup" store that communicates with both LTM and the components of working memory. It holds information longer and has greater capacity than the phonological loop or visuospatial sketch pad.
Brief sensory memory for visual stimuli that lasts for a fraction of a second after as stimulus is extinguished. This corresponds to the sensory memory stage of the modal model of memory.
The processes involved in retaining, retrieving, and using information about stimuli, images, events, ideas, and skills, after the original information is no longer available.
A phenomenon in which participants were solving problems by rotating an image of one of the objects in their mind.
Modal model of memory
The model proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin that describes memory as a mechanism that involves processing information through a series of stages, including short-term memory and long-term memory. It is called the modal model because it contained features of many models that were being proposed in the 1960s.
Partial report method
Procedure used in Sperling's experiment on the properties of the visual icon, in which participants were instructed to report only some of the stimuli in a briefly presented display. A cue tone immediately after the display was extinguished indicated which part of the display to report.
Difficulty in switching from one behavior to another, which can hinder a person's ability to solve problems that require flexible thinking. Perseveration is observed in cases in which the prefrontal cortex has been damaged.
Persistence of vision
The continued perception of light for a fraction of a second after the original light stimulus has been extinguished. Perceiving a trail of light from a moving sparkler is caused by the persistence of vision.
The part of working memory that holds and processes verbal and auditory information.
Phonological similarity effect
An effect that occurs when letters or words that sound similar are confused. For example, T and P are two similar-sounding letters that could be confused.
Component of the phonological loop of working memory that holds as limited amount of verbal and auditory information for a few seconds.
Physiological approach to coding
Determining how a stimulus or experiences is represented by the firing of neurons.
Proactive interference (PI)
When information learned previously interferes with learning new information.
The maximum number of sentences a person can read while simultaneously holding the last word of each sentence in memory. Reading span has been used to measure both the storage and processing functions of working memory.
A test in which participants are presented with stimuli and then, after a delay, are asked to remember as many of the stimuli as possible.
The process of repeating a stimulus over and over, usually for the purpose of remembering it, that keeps a stimulus active in short-term memory.
Release from proactive interference
A situation in which conditions occur that eliminate or reduce the decrease in performance caused by proactive interference. See Wickens' experiment.
Coding in the mind in the form of meaning. An example of semantic coding would be remembering the meaning of something you read, as opposed to what the letters or words looked like (visual coding) or sounded like (auditory coding).
A brief stage of memory that holds information for seconds or fractions of a second. It is the first stage in the modal model of memory.
Short-term memory (STM)
A memory mechanism that can hold a limited amount of information for a brief period of time, usually around 30 seconds, unless there is rehearsal (such as repeating a telephone number) that can maintain information in short-term memory. Short-term memory is one of the stages in the modal model of memory.
Structural features (modal model)
Stages in the modal model of memory. These stages are sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory.
Coding in the mind in the form of a visual image. An example of visual coding would be remembering something by conjuring up and image of it in your mind.
A type of mental imagery involving vision, in which an image is experienced in the absence of visual stimulus.
Visuospatial sketch pad
The part of working memory that holds and processes visual and spatial information.
Whole report method
Procedure used in Sperling's experiment on the properties of the visual icon, in which participants were instructed to report all of the stimuli they saw in a brief presentation.
Word length effect
The notion that it is more difficult to remember a list of long words than a list of short words.