Working Memory

Cognition 7e, Margaret Matlin Chapter 4

CognitionCognition

Working MemoryWorking Memory

Chapter 4Chapter 4


IntroductionIntroduction

working memoryshort-term memorylong-term memory


The Classic Research on The Classic Research on Working MemoryWorking Memory

George Miller's "Magical Number Seven"George Miller's "Magical Number Seven"suggested that people can remember about

seven items (give or take two)chunk as memory unitproposed that people engage in internal mental

processes in order to convert stimuli into a manageable number of chunks



Other Early Research on Short-Term-Other Early Research on Short-Term-Memory CapacityMemory Capacity

The Brown/Peterson & Peterson Techniquematerial held in memory for less than a minute

is frequently forgottenremember three items; count backwards by

threesrehearsal


Brown/Peterson & PetersonBrown/Peterson & Peterson—Typical Results—Typical Results



Other Early Research on Short-Term-Other Early Research on Short-Term-Memory CapacityMemory Capacity

The Recency Effectserial position effectrecency effectprimacy effectused to measure the size of short-term

memory


Serial Position EffectSerial Position Effect



Atkinson and Shiffrin's ModelAtkinson and Shiffrin's Modelcontrol processes

Other Factors Affecting Working Memory's Other Factors Affecting Working Memory's CapacityCapacity

Pronunciation Timeshort names vs. long namesnumbers in different languagesacoustic properties of stimuli


Pronunciation Rate & Pronunciation Rate & Memory SpanMemory Span



Other Factors Affecting Working Memory's Other Factors Affecting Working Memory's Capacity Capacity (continued)

Semantic Similarity of the Items in Working Memory

semanticsWickens and colleagues (1976)

proactive interference (PI)release from proactive interferenceBrown/Peterson & Peterson task varying semantic

similarity on Trial 4


Release from Proactive Release from Proactive InterferenceInterference


The Working-Memory The Working-Memory ApproachApproach

Alan Baddeley & Graham Hitch (1974); Baddeley (2000, 2001, 2006)

What does short-term memory accomplish for our cognitive processes?


BaddeleyBaddeley’’s Model of s Model of Working MemoryWorking Memory



working-memory approach—our immediate memory is a multipart system that temporarily holds and manipulates information as we perform cognitive tasks

• central executive• visuospatial sketchpad• episodic buffer• phonological loop

emphasis on active manipulation of information in working memory



Evidence for Components with Evidence for Components with Independent CapacitiesIndependent Capacities

Working memory is not unitaryBaddeley & Hitch (1974)

random numbers and spatial reasoning task



In Depth: Phonological LoopIn Depth: Phonological Loopphonological loop—processes a limited

number of sounds for a short period of time

subvocalization



In Depth: Phonological LoopIn Depth: Phonological LoopResearch on Acoustic Confusions

acoustic confusionsSimilar sounding items are more difficult to recall

B D P T V CK M F Q Z L

Conrad & Hull (1964)list of letters, presented visually

lists of words



In Depth: Phonological LoopIn Depth: Phonological LoopOther Uses for the Phonological Loop

countingreadingacquiring new vocabularylearning foreign languagemathematical calculationsproblem-solving taskscomplex task instructions



Neuroscience Research on the Phonological Loop



Visuospatial SketchpadVisuospatial Sketchpadvisuospatial sketchpad—processes both

visual and spatial informationstore appearance and relative positionstore visual information encoded from verbal stimuli

limited capacity



Visuospatial SketchpadVisuospatial SketchpadResearch on the Visuospatial Sketchpad

performing two visuospatial tasks simultaneouslyno standardized set of visual stimulitendency to provide names for visual stimuli, thus

using phonological loop insteadBrandimonte and colleagues (1992)—say "la la la"

while looking at complex visual stimulus



Visuospatial SketchpadVisuospatial SketchpadOther Uses for the Visuospatial Sketchpad

engineeringart architectureretaining image of a scenefinding your way from one location to anothervideogames, jigsaw puzzles, mazestelevision



Neuroscience Research on the Visuospatial Sketchpad

Parietal and frontal areas are active during mental rotation



Central ExecutiveCentral Executivecentral executive—integrates information from the

phonological loop, the visuospatial sketchpad, the episodic buffer and from long-term memory

Characteristics of the Central Executiveplans and coordinates, but does not store

informationexecutive supervisordecides which issues deserve attentionselects a strategylimited capacity to perform simultaneous tasks



Central ExecutiveCentral ExecutiveThe Central Executive and Daydreaming

Teasdale and colleagues (1995)random-number generation taskreport thoughts

Neuroscience Research on the Central Executive

frontal lobe



Episodic BufferEpisodic Bufferepisodic buffer—temporary storehouse where we can gather and combine information from the phonological loop, the visuospatial sketchpad, and long-term memory

integrates information from different modalitieslimitedtemporary



Individual Differences: Major Depression Individual Differences: Major Depression and Working Memoryand Working Memory

Working memory performance is related to:• overall intelligence and grades in school• verbal fluency, reading comprehension, reasoning

ability, note-taking skills • reading ability• Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder



Individual Differences: Major Depression Individual Differences: Major Depression and Working Memoryand Working Memory

Major depressionChristopher and MacDonald (2005)

phonological loopvisuospatial sketchpadcentral executive

difficulty concentratingunwanted negative thoughts

Alterations in the Functional Anatomy Alterations in the Functional Anatomy of Working Memory in Adult Attention of Working Memory in Adult Attention

Deficit Hyperactivity DisorderDeficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Data suggest the use of compensatory mental Data suggest the use of compensatory mental and neural strategies by subjects with ADHD in and neural strategies by subjects with ADHD in response to a disrupted ability to inhibit response to a disrupted ability to inhibit attention to nonrelevant stimuli and the use of attention to nonrelevant stimuli and the use of internalized speech to guide behavior.internalized speech to guide behavior.

http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/article.aspx?http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/article.aspx?Volume=157&page=278&journalID=13Volume=157&page=278&journalID=13


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