lunes, 18 de octubre de 2010

What is memory - How does it work?



1.                Explain the concept of sensory memory.
- Sensory memory is the ability to store stimuli as memories. Sensory receptors sense this stimuli which could be detected as iconic memory or echoic memory.

2.      Give an example of sensory memory.
- An example of sensory memory could be when listening to a tune and remembering it. (echoic memory)
3. What is the capacity of our sensory memory?
-  the capacity of sensory memory is fairly large, however it is only able to hold images or sounds for a short period of time before turning it into short-term memory or letting it decay.
4. Describe the concept of short-term memory.
- The ability to hold a small amount of information in the brain and use it in a short period of time. It is believed that the duration of the short term memory only lasts a few seconds           
5. What is the "magic number" as it relates to short-term memory and who conducted the experiment which established this measurement?
- The number that relates to short-term memory is 7+/- 2. Miller(1956) conducted this experiment and stated that most people only store up to 7 independent items in short memory, these may be numbers, letters, words, etc.
6. What is chunking?
- Organizing things in a way one can be familiarized with.
7. What has been determined to be the ideal size of "chunks" for both letters and numbers?
- The idea size of chunks has been determined to be 4 +/- 1.
8. Which mode of encoding does short-term memory mostly rely on, acoustic or visual?
- acoustic
9. Explain the duration and capacity of long-term memory.
- Long term memory’s capacity is believed to be infinite and the duration is long enough to last a lifetime.
10. Explain in detail the Atkinson-Shiffrin Model of memory.
- Atkinsosn and Shiffrins Multi Store Model is based in the assumptions that memory is a number of separate stores and memories are sequential. The stores are thought of components which interact with the memory store through attentions, coding and rehearsal. The way the model works is of information accessing the sensory memory thorugh different senses like vision and hearing. This is called modality specific. The information will stay in the sensory memory briefly and some part of it will be sent to the short term memory store. When the information is in the STM, it can be easily lost within 6-12 seconds if its not rehearsed. Lastly, the information will go to the Long term memory store which could be thought of as an enormous storehouse for information.
11. Identify three criticisms or limitations of the Atkinson-Shiffrin Model of memory.
- A limitation is that the model can suggest how memory processes function. However, it won’t be anything more than a “model”.
- Experiments are criticized for being reductionists.
- Models are way too vague and cannot accurately describe complex events in memory.
12.Explain the Levels of Processing Model of memory.
- The levels of processing effect refers to the memory recall of stimuli as a function of the depth of mental processing. This is determined by connections such as preexisting memory, time spent processing the stimulus, cognitive effort and sensory input mode.
It contradicts Atkinson-shiffrin memory model in the representation of memory strength as continuously variable. Divided into Maintenance rehearsal and elaborative rehearsal.
13. What is maintenance rehearsal - give an example.
- Type of rehearsal proposed by Craik and Lockhart (1972) in levels of processing model of memory. It involves the repetition of an item’s auditory representation. This type of rehearsal does not lead to stronger or durable memories.
14. What is elaborative rehearsal - give an example.
- Type of rehearsal, also proposed by Craik and Lockhart (1972) in contrast to maintenance rehearsal, which involves simple rote repetition. Elaborative involves deep sematic processing of an item that has to be remembered, producing durable and stronger memories.
15. Who developed the Levels of Processing Model and the concepts of maintenance and elaborative rehearsal?
- Craik and Lockhart (1972)

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