Cog Psych and Human Memory - Cognitive Psychology and Human...

Cognitive Psychology and Human Memory
The Information Processing Model
0. Of human memory uses the computer as an analogy to understand how people deal
with information
1. Definition:
The Keyboard Buffer
2. The computer has places to hold information. These include:
3. The keyboard buffer:
4. Information enters into the system and is captured. This temporarily holds the
keystroke information for further processing.
Active Memory
5. Information that is currently being worked on is retained in active memory.
6. It disappears when the computer is turned off.
Hard drive/Disc
7. The hard drive and other media are places of permanent storage.
0. People have memory structures that are similar in function
Sensory Memory
8. Each sense has its own sensory memory.
9. Sensory memory:
Short-term Memory
10. STM is also called “Active Memory” or “Working Memory”.
11. STM is
12. It disappears when a person becomes “unconscious”.
Long-term Memory

Processes: What is done with the information.
1. Encoding:
2. Storing:
3. Retrieving:
4. Transforming:
5. Manipulating information in a memory structure (combining, organizing, adding,
subtracting, etc.)
6. For each of the three types of human memory, there will be four important
questions to answer:
Purpose
7. A) Purpose: what is the purpose of that type of memory
Capacity
8. B) Capacity: how much information can the memory hold at one time?
Duration
9. C) Duration: How long will the information remain in that memory?
Forgetting
10. D) How is information forgotten (or lost) from that memory?
The Information Processing Model
Sensory Memories (or Registers)
0. Each sense has its own sensory memory.
1. A) Purpose: Sensory memory holds sense information in order to capture it for
further processing.
2. B) Capacity: Sensory memory holds almost all of the information provided by that
sense in an instant.
3. C) Duration: The information will remain in sensory memory for only a very brief
period of time before being replaced by new information.
4. D) Forgetting: Information fades from sensory memory. It decays.

Visual Sensory Memory (Iconic Memory)
13. Visual Sensory Memory retains almost all of the information from the eyes and
retains it in picture form.
14. These visual images last only about ¼ sec before decaying.
15. Your book indicates the images last a fraction of a second – somewhere between
1/3 second to 1 second.
16. This information is NOT in conscious awareness.
Auditory Sensory Memory (Echoic Memory)
11. Echoic memory retains almost all of the information from the ears and retains it in
sound form.