Theories and Concepts of Sensory and Primary Memory

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Theories and Concepts of Sensory and Primary
Memory

• Lecture 1 of the Human Memory Lecture Series

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Introduction

• Lectures are developed based on Daniel T.
  Willinghams book Cognition the Thinking Animal,
  second edition.
• Materials and thoughts are also taken from
  Alan Baddeleys Human Memory

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Introduction

• You have learned
• The brain
• Visual perception and attention
• Motor control and visual imagery
• Decision making and deductive reasoning

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Outline

• 1.1  Understand sensory memory theories
• 1.1.1        Define Sensory Memory
• 1.1.2        Explain span of appreciation
• 1.1.3        Explain iconic memory
• 1.1.4        Explain echoic memory
•  
• 1.2  Understand primary memory
• 1.2.1        Explain the characteristics of
  primary memory
• 1.2.2        Explain how primary memory works

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1.1 Sensory Memory

• After we walk through this sensory memory
  session together, you will be able to
• Define sensory memory
• Explain span of appreciation and Jevons
  experiment
• Explain iconic memory by defining iconic memory,
  stating characteristics of iconic memory,
  explaining purpose and function of iconic memory
  and giving examples of iconic memory
• Explain echoic memory by defining and giving
  examples of it
•  

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Definition of Sensory Memory

• Sensory memory is the buffer between the
  environment and the memory. It is extremely
  short-lived but has an enormous capacity.

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Span of Apprehension

• Stanley Jevons, 1871

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Iconic Memory

• Large capacity
• Spontaneous decay and the potential to be erased
• Brief duration
• Representation of physical feature

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Echoic Memory

• The auditory version of iconic memory

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Review of Sensory Memory

• When we process information from the
  environment, which one does the information first
  enter? Sensory memory or primary memory?
•  
• Stanley Jevon did an experiment to test how
  much information could get into consciousness at
  once tossing black beans into a white box. How
  did he conduct the experiment? And what does his
  experiment results say?
•  
• What is span of apprehension?
•  
• What are the characteristics of iconic
  memory?

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Primary Memory

• Primary memory v.s. secondary memory
• Short term memory v.s long term memory
• Primary memory is like the circulation desk of a
  library

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ForgettingBrown and the Petersons experiment
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Forgetting

• Interference-proactive interference and
  retroactive interference
• Decaying

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Primary Memory Representation Forms

• Visual Encoding
• Acoustic Encoding

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Read the following lists of words and try to
remember

• Mad, man, mat, cap, cad, can, cat, cap
•  
• Big, long, broad, great, high, tall, large, wide
• Cow, day, bar, few, hot, pen, sup, pit

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Capacity of Primary Memory

• 7 Digit Theory
• What you can read to yourself in 2 seconds
• 4 Objects
• Chunks

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How primary memory works

• Braddleys working memory structure model

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Review

• What is acoustic presentation in memory?
• Give an example of acoustic representation in
  memory.
• Explain your understanding of the capacity of
  primary memory by explaining the 7-digit research
  finding of primary memory capacity, the semantic
  capacity of primary memory, and the visuospacial
  capacity of primary memory.

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Review

• Explain how primary memory works by explaining
  Braddley structure of working memory,
  demonstrating understanding of the interaction
  between primary and secondary memory, and
  demonstrating understanding of primary memorys
  function as a workplace.
• What is STM? What is LTM? How do they work
  together for us to remember things?
• What are the two functions of working memory?