Selective Attention
• Selects certain information for further
processing
• We normally pay attention to only a
SMALL
(PLEASE ENJOY THE IRONIC FONT SELECTION)
of incoming information
portion
Reticular Formation
Sensory Memory
• A split second
holding tank for ALL
sensory information.
• The registers are very
large, but information
stays for only a very
short time
• Iconic Memory
• Echoic Memory
Visual and Auditory Registers
• Visual register holds images, or icons, that
represent all aspects of a visual image
– Icons normally last about ¼ second in the visual
register
• Auditory register holds echoes of sound
– Echoes can last up to several seconds in the
auditory register
• Why do the auditory registers last longer?
Now let us test your visual registers
• I will flash the next picture for just ¼ of a
second.
• DON’T BLINK
• After the image flashes we’ll return to a white
screen and you can tell me everything you
saw.
Did you pay attention to everything?
Sensory Memory
Examples:
•You lose concentration in class during a lecture. Suddenly you hear a
significant word and return your focus to the lecture. You should be able
to remember what was said just before the key word since it is in your
sensory register.
•Your ability to see motion can be attributed to sensory memory. An
image previously seen must be stored long enough to compare to the
new image. Visual processing in the brain works like watching a cartoon - you see one frame at a time.
•If someone is reading to you, you must be able to remember the words
at the beginning of a sentence in order to understand the sentence as a
whole. These words are held in a relatively unprocessed sensory
memory.
Modifed Akinson/Shiffrin
Sensory input
Attention to important
or novel information
Encoding
External
events
Sensory
memory
Short-term
memory
Encoding
Long-term
memory
Retrieving
Short-term Memory
• Short-term memory holds information we are
aware of or thinking about at any given
moment
• Sometimes referred to as working memory
Capacity of Short-Term Memory
• Research indicates that STM can hold 7+/- 2
bits of information
• Current research has demonstrated that STM
can hold whatever is rehearsed in 1.5 to 2
seconds
• Larger amounts of information can be held by
using the process of chunking
Maintaining STM
• Information can be held in STM by using rote
rehearsal, also called maintenance rehearsal
• Rote rehearsal involves repeating information
over and over
• This technique is not very effective in creating
long term memories
Long-term Memory
• Everything that is learned is stored in longterm memory
• Capacity of long-term memory
– Vast amounts of information may be stored for
many years
– No known limits to capacity