PSYC 110 Lecture Notes - Lecture 17: Echoic Memory, Stroop Effect, Cocktail Party
27 Jun 2018
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Memory
Mind is a processor of information. Information-processing theories are based on 2 assumptions
Individual has limited mental resources for processing information - limited mental
energy, storage space
Information moves through a system of stores like it is brought in through sensory
systems, manipulated, stored into long-term storage
Refer to Figure 9.1
The mind contains 3 types of memory stores (sensory, short-term/working, long-term) and each is
characterized by its function, capacity, and duration. It also includes control processes which show
processing and movement of information.
Sensory Memory: (Prolongation of Sensory Experience)
You can see flash and the lit up environment in a split second. You can remember the last few words
of your friends statement when they catch you not listening -> shows some sensory input stays in
information-processing system for a few seconds even when not paying attention -> sensory memory
Function of store is to hold onto sensory information in its original form that is analyzed and decided
if it should be brought to short term store. Only selective information is transferred by attention into
working memory.
Short-term store: (Conscious Perception and Thought)
Information brought into short-term store fades away quickly in a few seconds if not
attended to
Major workplace of working memory - thus, called working memory
Seat of conscious thought - perceiving, comparing, feeling, reasoning
Information can enter from both sensory memory store and long term memory store
(like a CPU)
Lot of information flows through it but capacity to hold onto it is very minimal here
Maintenance rehearsal in the short term store involves repeating what we have learned
to hold it in short term memory34
Long-term memory: (Mind's Library)
Stored representation of what happens everyday to a person
Capacity is enormous; remembering tastes, faces, names, songs
We are not conscious of the information in our long term store unless when activated
and moved into short term store
Long Term Memory Short Term Memory
Passive (storage of information) Active (information is thought about)
Long duration (lifetime) Short duration (few seconds if not thought about)
Unlimited capacity (all long-lasting knowledge) Limited capacity (information currently thinking
about)
Control Processes: (Mind's Information transportation)
Movement from one store to the other is regulated by attention, encoding, and retrieval
Strategies for moving information between stores and enhancing performance
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
oAttention: Controls flow of information from sensory to short term but capacity
of sensory is large and capacity of short term is small so must restrict flow of information
oEncoding: Controls movement from short term to long term. When you
deliberately try to remember a poem, you are encoding but most encoding is incidental
as a side effect of interest in the subject
oRetrieval: Controls flow of information from long term to short term.
"remembering" or "recalling". Can be deliberate or automatic. Something we think about
in short term calls for a long stream of thoughts from long term
Because short term capacity is small and its functions are large, it requires a lot of mental energy
which can be measured using glucose consumed while executing a mental operation. -> glucose is
source of energy for brain and more is used for operations that require more energy
Effortful processes Automatic processes
Require good mental energy Require little to none short term capacity
Need consciousness Occur without intention or conscious awareness
Interfere with other processes Doesn't interfere with other processes
Improve with practice Doesn't improve with practice
Influenced by differences in intelligence,
motivation, education
Not influenced by differences in intelligence,
motivation, education
-> Processes that require effort in the beginning eventually become automatic - mental energy was
needed at some point. Cognition involves both processes.
Attention
Evolutionary basis:
Focus mental resources at the task in hand and not be distracted
Shift attention from task at hand to incoming danger or benefit
Gate between sensory and short term memory - analyzes relevance and significance of information
entered through senses - analysis is unconscious and called preattentive processing - probably
involves comparison between sensory input and short term/long term memory to infer its
relevance/significance
Parts of the brain work to recognize this and help determine what information should be allowed to
pass through attention gate to limited capacity short term store -> top down control
Refer to Figure 9.2
Two problems attention system tries to solve:
Focusing attention on task at hand
Monitoring stimuli for its significance
Evidence for this:
Selective Listening:
oCocktail party phenomenon - listening and paying attention to one persons
voice while disregarding loud voices around
oCan be studied by playing two voices and asking subject to only repeat one
while ignoring the other - most people can do it when there is a physical difference in
voice. They can say if the ignored voice was that of a man's or woman's but cannot
repeat the words
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Individual has limited mental resources for processing information - limited mental energy, storage space. Information moves through a system of stores like it is brought in through sensory systems, manipulated, stored into long-term storage. The mind contains 3 types of memory stores (sensory, short-term/working, long-term) and each is characterized by its function, capacity, and duration. It also includes control processes which show processing and movement of information. You can see flash and the lit up environment in a split second. You can remember the last few words of your friends statement when they catch you not listening -> shows some sensory input stays in information-processing system for a few seconds even when not paying attention -> sensory memory. Function of store is to hold onto sensory information in its original form that is analyzed and decided if it should be brought to short term store. Only selective information is transferred by attention into working memory.
