Slide 1The Classic Research on Working MemoryThe Classic Research on Working MemorySlide 4The Classic Research on Working MemorySlide 6The Classic Research on Working MemorySlide 8The Working-Memory ApproachThe Working-Memory ApproachThe Working-Memory ApproachSlide 12The Working-Memory ApproachThe Working-Memory ApproachThe Working-Memory ApproachThe Working-Memory ApproachThe Working-Memory ApproachThe Working-Memory ApproachThe Working-Memory ApproachThe Working-Memory ApproachThe Working-Memory ApproachThe Working-Memory ApproachThe Working-Memory ApproachThe Working-Memory ApproachThe Working-Memory ApproachThe Working-Memory ApproachThe Working-Memory ApproachThe Working-Memory ApproachThe Working-Memory ApproachThe Working-Memory ApproachCognition, 8eChapter 4Working MemoryThe Classic Research on Working Memory•George Miller's "Magical Number Seven" (7 ± 2)•suggested that people can remember about seven items (give or take two)•chunk—memory unit consisting of strongly associated components•proposed that people engage in internal mental processes in order to convert stimuli into a manageable number of chunksThe Classic Research on Working Memory•Other Early Research on the Capacity of Short-Term-Memory–The Brown/Peterson & Peterson Technique•Material held in memory for less than a minute is frequently forgotten.•present some items to be remembered; count backwards by threes (distractor task); attempt recall•rehearsalThe Classic Research on Working Memory•Other Early Research on the Capacity of Short-Term-Memory–The Recency Effect•serial-position effect•recency effect•primacy effectThe Classic Research on Working Memory•Other Early Research on the Capacity of Short-Term-Memory–Semantic Similarity of the Items in Short-Term Memory•semantics•Wickens and colleagues (1976)•proactive interference (PI)•Brown/Peterson & Peterson task varying semantic similarity on Trial 4•release from proactive interferenceThe Working-Memory Approach–Alan Baddeley & Graham Hitch (1974)–What does short-term memory accomplish for our cognitive processes?The Working-Memory Approach–working-memory approach—Our immediate memory is a multipart system that temporarily holds and manipulates information while we perform cognitive tasks.•central executive•visuospatial sketchpad•episodic buffer•phonological loop•long-term memoryThe Working-Memory Approach–The working-memory approach emphasizes the active manipulation of information in working memory.The Working-Memory Approach•Evidence for Components with Independent Capacities–Working memory is not unitary–Baddeley & Hitch (1974)•random numbers and spatial reasoning task•People performed remarkably quickly and accurately on both of these two simultaneous tasks.The Working-Memory Approach•In Depth: Phonological Loop–phonological loop—processes a limited number of sounds for a short period of time–subvocalizationThe Working-Memory Approach•In Depth: Phonological Loop–Research on Acoustic Confusions•acoustic confusions•Conrad & Hull (1964)•list of letters, presented visually•letters with similar-sounding names vs. letters with different-sounding names•lists of wordsThe Working-Memory Approach•In Depth: Phonological Loop–Other Uses for the Phonological Loop•counting•forming long term memories•self-instruction•acquiring new vocabulary•reading•learning foreign language•mathematical calculations•problem-solving tasksThe Working-Memory Approach•In Depth: Phonological Loop–Neuroscience Research on the Phonological Loop•frontal lobe•left temporal lobe•Romero Lauro and colleagues (2010)•Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)•left temporal lobe, left parietal lobe•rehearsal, storage•short vs. long sentencesThe Working-Memory Approach•Visuospatial Sketchpad•visuospatial sketchpad—processes both visual and spatial information•also known as: visuospatial working memory, short-term visual memoryThe Working-Memory Approach•Visuospatial Sketchpad•Allows you to:•store visual appearance and relative position•store visual information encoded from verbal stimuli•limited capacityThe Working-Memory Approach•Visuospatial Sketchpad–Research on the Visuospatial Sketchpad•performing two visuospatial tasks simultaneously•no standardized set of visual stimuli•tendency to provide names for visual stimuli, thus using phonological loop instead•Brandimonte and colleagues (1992)—say "la la la" while looking at complex visual stimulusThe Working-Memory Approach•Visuospatial Sketchpad–Other Uses for the Visuospatial Sketchpad•engineering, art, architecture•retaining image of a scene•finding your way from one location to another•track a moving object•videogames, jigsaw puzzles, mazesThe Working-Memory Approach•Visuospatial Sketchpad–Neuroscience Research on the Visuospatial Sketchpad•right hemisphere•occipital lobe•frontal cortex•frontal and parietal lobesThe Working-Memory Approach•Central Executive–central executive•integrates information from the phonological loop, the visuospatial sketchpad, the episodic buffer, and long-term memory•plays a role in: focusing attention, selecting strategies, transforming information, and coordinating behavior•suppressing irrelevant informationThe Working-Memory Approach•Central Executive–Characteristics of the Central Executive•plans and coordinates, but does not store information•executive supervisor•decides which issues deserve attention•selects a strategy•decides how to tackle a problem•limited ability to perform simultaneous tasksThe Working-Memory Approach•Central Executive–The Central Executive and Daydreaming•Teasdale and colleagues (1995)•random-number generation task•report thoughtsThe Working-Memory Approach•Central Executive–Neuroscience Research on the Central Executive•frontal region of the cortexThe Working-Memory Approach•Episodic Buffer•temporary storehouse that can hold and combine information from the phonological loop, the visuospatial sketchpad, and long-term memory•integrates information from different modalities•manipulates information for interpretationThe Working-Memory Approach•Episodic Buffer (continued)•make connections between concepts•limited capacity•temporary memory systemThe Working-Memory Approach•Working Memory and Academic Performance1. Scores on working-memory tasks