2. Human Memory: Basic Questions
• How does information get into memory?
• How is information maintained in memory?
• How is information pulled back out of
memory?
• Memory timeline
– Short term – recent?
– Long term – remote?
– Operational definitions
23. Working Memory
• System involved in holding information in mind
needed to complete complex tasks in the face of
interfering processes and distractions
• Composed of three components
– Central executive
– Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad
– Phonological loop
24. Stroop Task
Kane & Engle, 2001
Which condition should be less error prone?
What differences between groups do you expect?
27. Working Memory
Resource Limited (source of individual differences)
• State differences
– Situational demands can reduce amount of WM resources
available
• Trait differences
– Some individuals generally have more WM resources to
work with
• Emphasis is on limits in attention not # items stored
28. Measuring Working Memory
(12*5) – 3 = 24?
E
(4*8) -9 = 38
P
Recall?
T AG
W D E
(12*5) – 3 = 24?
E
(4*8) -9 = 38
P
Recall?
T AG
W D E
Complex SpanSimple Span
29. Working Memory
Is WM important? YES!
WM Predicts: reading comprehension, math
problem solving, vigilance, multi-tasking,
distractibility and fluid intelligence
Also associated with optimistic thinking, emotion
regulation, self control and happiness… and
more!
30. Short Term Memory
Attention moves information from the sensory systems
into short-term memory for further processing.
31. Attention: Getting Information
Into Short-Term Memory
• The role of attention
– Focusing awareness
– Selective attention = selection of input
• Filtering: early or late?
• Multitasking
32. Selective Attention
• Big questions…
• How do we select what we attend to?
• What happens to the information we don’t
attend to?
34. Selective Attention:
Change Blindness
The Monkey Business Illusion The Movie Perception Test
• Change Blindness:
– The phenomenon in which some prominent feature of
the visual environment is dramatically changed without
the perceiver apparently noticing.
– This is NOT due to:
• A failure to take notice of the feature that is eventually
changed.
• The fragility of visual STM.
• LTM for complex scenes is not very detailed.
37. Divided vs. Skill-Focused Attention
• Novices & the less-proficient foot for experts
benefit from on-line attentional monitoring of
step-by-step performance, BUT high-level skill
execution is harmed!
