Psychology memory

Short term memory

Your memory for immediate events.
Working memory
Limited duration
Limited capacity

Long term memory

Your memory for events that have happened in the past
2 minutes – 100 years
Unlimited duration
Unlimited capacity

Duration

A measure of how long a memory lasts before it is
no longer available

Capacity

A measure of how much can be held in memory.
Measured in terms of bits of information i.e. number of digits

Chunking

Meaningful units of information
Increases capacity of STM

Central Executive

Monitors and coordinates all other mental functions in working memory

Phonological loop

Encodes speech sounds in working memory
Rehearsal
That is why it is called a loop

Visuo-spatial sketchpad

Encodes visual information in terms of separate objects as well as the arrangement of these objects in one’s visual field

Episodic buffer

1.Receives input from many sources
2. Temporarily stores
3. Integrates information
4. Constructs a mental episode of what is being experienced now

Word length effect

The observation that people remember lists of short words better than lists of long words.

Eyewitness testimony

Evidence provided in court by a witness of crime.
Accuracy may be affected: during initial encoding, during storage, during retrieval

Leading (misleading) questions

Question that, either by its form or by its content, suggests to the witness what answer is desired

Cognitive interview

A police technique for interviewing witnesses, encouraging them to recreate the original context, to increase accessibility of stored information.

Mnemonic techniques

Any structured technique used to help people remember and recall information

Elaborative rehearsal

Deeper processing for meaning which is then repeated.