Attention & Memory (Pt.1)
P S YC H 1101 : DAY 15 P ROF. DAVID P IZ AR RO CO R NE L L P S YC H . NE T
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Memory Is The Processing Of Information
Stages Of Memory •
Sensory Memory (like a “buffer”)!
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Unattended information is quickly lost!
Short-term Memory (like RAM)!
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Unrehearsed information is quickly lost!
Long-term Memory (kind-of permanent storage)!
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Information is lost over time
Without Attention, Memory Doesn’t Get Going •
Attention acts as a filter and a highlighter!
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we focus on certain information (at the expense of other information)!
This way, it gets information from sensory memory to short-term memory
Sometimes It Is Effortless
Sometimes Attention Requires Effort
Attention Is Often Involuntary
Red ! Blue! Black! Green ! Blue! Green ! Black! Red! Green
Red ! Blue! Black! Green ! Blue! Green ! Black! Red! Green
Horse ! Stage! Bring! Card! Tell! Swim! Shit! Ass! Fuck!
The “Cocktail Party Effect” •
In the midst of a loud and noisy room, you are not attending to all conversations.!
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If your name is spoken, it “pops” out and captures attention
Dichotic Listening Task
Attention In The Real World
We Don’t Attend To Most Things
Change Blindness
Sensory Memory --> ShortTerm Memory •
Information that we attend to in sensory memory passes into short-term memory!
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Long term memory seems to have no limit, but short-term memory has a limited storage capacity
The “Magic Number” 7 (+/- 2) (Miller, 1956)
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Short term memory is constrained! But 7 +/- 2 What?! “Chunks” of information!
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DRAMAMINE! DRA MA MINE! DRAMA
MINE