PSYC 395 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Sensory Memory, Working Memory, Mnemonic
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Skim/skip memory storage (pp. 328-333) but look at figure 8. 12. In chapter 11 skip affiliation & achievement (p. 448-455) Sensory memory holds information very briefly (typically much less than a second). Each of the five senses has its own sensory register. The sensory registers can store a lot of information. Stm holds items that have been passed on by sensory memory. Items are kept in stm through maintenance rehearsal. If not rehearsed, items in stm decay rapidly (about 18 to 20 seconds). Stm capacity is limited (about 7 or 8 chunks (meaningful bit of information/unit) for most people). Ltm holds memories that have been passed on by stm through the process of elaborative processing (connecting new information with stuff you already know). Items can be kept in ltm indefinitely. This is a newer conceptualization of short-term memory. Working memory is where we react to the environment, process information, and solve problems. (figure 8. 4, p. 321)