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psychology unit3 ch8
models for explaining human memory
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Central executive | The functional component of working memory that is responsible for switching attention from task to task, deciding what material is to be retrieved from, or committed to long-term memory and for performing calculations and making linkages. |
Chunking | The process of grouping items together to improve memory capacity - especially of short-term memory, and of committing to long-term memory. |
Declarative memory | A long-term memory store of personal experiences (episodic) and facts (semantic). |
Echoic memory | Auditory memory in the sensory memory register. |
Elaborative rehearsal | A process by which we give meaning to information and link it to other information in our memories. |
Episodic buffer | A theoretical component of working memory that acts as both a bridge and a filter (for auditory and visual information) between long-term memory and the central executive and storage components in working memory. |
Episodic memory | Memory of personal experiences. |
Iconic memory | A sensory register for the fleeting storage of visual information. It lasts about 0.3 seconds. It explains why we can see a moving picture from a series of still photos. |
Levels of processing model | Suggests that memory does not comprise any specific number of separate memory stores but instead a continuous dimension in which memory is encoded. It is related to the ease with which it can be retrieved: deeper processing = more likely to be retrieved. |
Long-term memory | Where the information is encoded and stored, and as long as you know enough about the information then it can be retrieved. |
Maintenance rehearsal | A strategy for keeping information in short-term memory or moving it into long-term memory by repeating information over and over, but not trying to form meaningful connections between new info and other info already in memory. |
Multi-store model of memory | Describes three stores of memory - sensory memory, short-term memory and long-term memory - and how they interact with each other. |
Phonemic encoding | Encoding according to the sound of a word - e.g. by finding a rhyme or by rhythm. |
Phonological loop | A storage system for auditory information in working memory. |
Procedural memory | One aspect of implicit memory. Memory for how to perform particular tasks, skills or actions. |
Semantic memory | Long-term storage of facts that are not characterised by any particular personal context in which the individual acquired the facts. Semantic memories are general knowledge - for example knowing that Canberra is the capital of Australia. |
Semantic network theory | The idea that items in long-term memory are stored in a hierarchical pattern of nodes (concepts) with links between related nodes. |
Sensory memory | According to the multi-store model of memory, the sensory memory is the store for incoming, fleeting sensory information. |
Serial position effect | In immediate free recall, items at the beginning or end of a list are remembered better than those in the middle. The serial position effect comprises the primacy effect and the recency effect. |
Short-term memory | According to the multi-store model of memory, it is a store which receives information from the long-term and sensory stores; it has a limited capacity of 5-9 pieces of information, and a duration of approx. 12-30 seconds. |
Structural encoding | Processing according to physical features of the word to be remembered e.g. long or short, starts with consonant or vowel, upper case or lower case. |
Working memory | The mental work that is occurring at any one time, including retrieving information, problem-solving, and comprehending sounds and visions. It draws on information from your sensory and long-term memories. |
Visuo-spatial sketchpad | The storage system for visual information in working memory. |