Memory Stores handout - Essay Example

The Three System Memory Theory Fill in the following boxes by identifying and defining the memory stores outlined in the text book. Save this document and type directly onto the document and boxes. The boxes will expand to accommodate what you write. Submit as an attachment to the appropriate drop box. Identify the Memory StoreDescription of Memory StoreSignificant Fact About Memory StoreSensory Memory Store: Information is detected by the senses and enters Sensory Memory where it is stored as either “Iconic” or “Echoic.

” Iconic Memory Stores hold visual information for brief periods of time (i.e. 1/10 sec). Echoic Memory Stores hold auditory information for short periods of time (i.e. 4-10 seconds).Allows us to take a ‘picture’ of our environments. Our reactions to this picture can be instinctual (i.e. Fight or flight in the assessment of danger).Short Term Memory Store (STM):Once information is assessed in Sensory Stores, it then enters the Short Term Memory. Short term memory has a very limited capacity and the storage of information is fragile at best.

The information is mainly auditory, is stored for 0-18 seconds and has a capacity for 7 +/- 2 items. If information is not rehearsed, it is forgotten through a process of interference/ displacement (loss due to competition from other information) and decay (loss due to passage of time). In Freudian Psychology, the sensory memory store is referred to as the conscious mind.Puzzles, word games and reading are sources of brain exercise that can help retain STM abilities.Long Term Memory Store (LTM):Once information is assessed in the STM, it may be transferred to the Long Term Memory Stores, where the storage of information continues.

Information in LTM stores has unlimited duration and capacity. It is encoded mainly through semantics, but can visual/auditory as well. LTM information can be Explicit, where the information is declarative and can be reflected upon consciously. LTM information can also be Implicit, or the knowledge is more procedural and can influence thoughts and behaviors without involving conscious awareness.In Freudian Psychology, LTM stores are referred to as preconscious and unconscious.“Tip of the Tongue” phenomena: Sometimes we know we have the information but cannot retrieve it.