Short-term memory is our brain's temporary storage system. It holds onto information for a brief period, allowing us to process and manipulate it. This system is crucial for tasks like remembering a phone number long enough to dial it or following a conversation.
, maintenance, and retrieval are key processes in short-term memory. We encode information through attention and , maintain it through rehearsal, and retrieve it using various strategies. Understanding these processes helps us grasp how we handle immediate information in our daily lives.
Encoding Processes in Short-term Memory
Encoding in short-term memory
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Sensory input reception captures information through visual iconic memory lasting ~250ms, auditory echoic memory persisting ~3-4 seconds, and other sensory modalities (touch, smell)
Attention allocation directs cognitive resources selectively to specific stimuli or divides focus among multiple tasks
Chunking groups individual pieces of information into larger meaningful units enhances memory capacity (phone numbers)
matches incoming sensory data with stored knowledge facilitates quicker processing and encoding
connects new information to existing knowledge deepens encoding (relating new vocabulary to familiar words)
repeats information mentally or verbally to keep it active in short-term store
Maintenance and Retrieval in Short-term Memory
Attention and rehearsal for retention
Attention focuses concentration on specific stimuli acts as a limited capacity resource necessary for information transfer to short-term memory
Maintenance rehearsal involves subvocal repetition of information extends duration in short-term memory (repeating a phone number)
Elaborative rehearsal processes information deeply enhances likelihood of transfer to long-term memory (creating a mnemonic device)
briefly focuses on each item in memory maintains activation without verbal rehearsal
combines phonological storage and subvocal rehearsal process supports verbal information retention
Serial vs free recall
requires items to be recalled in original presentation order exhibits primacy and recency effects with position errors more common than item errors (remembering a sequence of numbers)
allows items to be recalled in any order shows more pronounced and clustering of semantically related items (recalling items from a grocery list)
Task differences: Serial recall relies more on temporal-positional information while free recall allows for more flexible retrieval strategies
Retrieval factors in short-term memory
posits information fades over time without active maintenance leads to rapid loss in short-term memory
Interference occurs when:
: prior learning interferes with new information
: new learning interferes with recall of older information
Similarity effects: impairs verbal information recall while affects visual information recall (confusing similar-sounding words)
: Environmental cues facilitate or impair retrieval (recalling information better in same room as learning)
provide partial information aiding recall of complete memories (first letter of a forgotten name)
: Recall of initial items interferes with recall of subsequent items in a list
: Overload of information beyond short-term memory capacity 7±2 items impairs retrieval