Cognition exam 2a part 1

a temporary memory store for information that is currently in awarness

a memory span task that found that memory has a limited capacity of 7 items +/- 2

the process of grouping items together (creating chunks), and then remembering the newly formed groups (chunks)

forgetting is caused simply by the passage of time

older material interferes with recollection of current stimulus

newer material interferes with recollection of older items (your current phone number interferes with your ability to remember your ability to remember your childhood home number)

short-term memory is a bottleneck because a lot of sensory register has to go through a short attention span, thus coming up with the 7 +/- 2 approach (has a limited capacity) until it reaches long-term memory

due to clever recording strategies that make it possible to hold its information

3-letter stimulus followed by 3-digit number and start counting backwards by 3's.

Then after some backwards counting, report the 3-letter stimulus

How well you can rehearse that information without thinking about the three letters

results were interpreted through the definition of decay, and through retroactive inference

accuracy of recall for the early list positions

Normally quite high, thanks to rehearsal and encoding into long-term memory can be changed by giving more or less time for rehearsal

accuracy of recall for the final latest list positions

Normally high, thanks to availability and recall from short-term memory, and can be changed by giving more or less distractions/interference

How well do we do on recalling items on a list depending on the position on the list (in our short-term memory)

In non-rehearsal, the problem is with interference

In rehearsal, if the amount of information is 7+/- 2, then the information stays there

However, if it is more, the information goes away, and then you will forget the information in the middle (serial position curve), and either have the primacy effect or the recency effect