The capacity of short term memory from an evolutionary perspective

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Majid Manoochehri
Keyword(s):  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Cognitive System ◽  
Evolutionary Approach ◽  
Evolutionary Perspective ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Memory

Memory span in humans has been intensely studied for more than a century. In spite of the critical role of memory span in our cognitive system, which intensifies the importance of fundamental determinants of its evolution, few studies have investigated it by taking an evolutionary approach. Overall, we know hardly anything about the evolution of memory components. In the present study, I briefly review the experimental studies of memory span in humans and non-human animals and shortly discuss some of the relevant evolutionary hypotheses.

scholarly journals IS DIGIT SUPERIORITY INDISPENSABLE WITH REGARD TO SHORT TERM MEMORY SPAN?

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (22) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Familiar Stimulus ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Superiority Effect ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Color Name ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Familiar Stimuli

It is known that digits have a positive effect on the performance of short term memory (STM) span and it is called the digit superiority effect. This study aims to examine the effect of familiar stimuli (digits, colors, digit names, color names, and words) on STM span. In order to measure STM capacity, a memory span task was used including the digit, word, and color span lists. 91 participants (44 female, 47 male) aged between 18-27 (M = 21,43, SD = 1.50) participated in the study that consisted of three different experiments. Results of Experiment 1 revealed that there was a significant difference between the digit name and word with regard to span size and total span. In Experiment 2 and 3, the main effect of familiar stimulus type on total span and span size was significant, and also the difference between all types of stimuli was significant (Experiment II, digit name>word=color name; Experiment III, digit>digit name>color name>color). The common result obtained from all experiments is that digits are superior with regard to STM span than other familiar stimuli types such as words, color names, colors. This study confirmed that digit superiority effect is indispensable on verbal and visual STM span. Keywords Digit superiority, short term memory, memory span

scholarly journals Short-term memory span: insights from sign language

2004 ◽  
Vol 7 (9) ◽  
pp. 997-1002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mrim Boutla ◽  
Ted Supalla ◽  
Elissa L Newport ◽  
Daphne Bavelier
Keyword(s):  
Sign Language ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Memory

Non temporal determinants of bilingual memory capacity: The role of long-term representations and fluency

1998 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
DINO CHINCOTTA ◽  
GEOFFREY UNDERWOOD
Keyword(s):  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Auditory Memory ◽  
Language Fluency ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Language Dominance ◽  
Lexical Representations ◽  
Subvocal Rehearsal

Two experiments examine the view that the variation in bilingual short-term memory capacity is determined by differential rates of subvocal rehearsal between the languages. Auditory memory span and articulation time were measured for three bilingual groups who spoke Finnish at home and Swedish at school (FS), and either Finnish (FF) or Swedish (SS) in both the home and the school. The results of Experiment 1 indicate that memory span for words varied in a lawful manner as a function of both articulation time and language dominance for SS and FF. For FS, however, an equivalent memory span between the languages was noted despite a shorter articulation time in Finnish than Swedish. Experiment 2 found that for items with no pre-existing lexical representations (nonwords), articulation time was a more reliable predictor of memory span than language dominance for all three groups. The finding that within-language memory span was greater for short items than long items shows that, ceteris paribus, bilingual short-term memory capacity is sensitive to the effects of word length in both the dominant and non-dominant language. Taken together, these findings moderate the view that bilingual short-term memory capacity is mediated exclusively by subvocal rehearsal and indicate an influential contribution from factors related to language fluency and the strength of lexico-semantic representations.

scholarly journals Reduced short-term memory span in aphasia and susceptibility to interference: Contribution of material-specific maintenance deficits

2010 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 909-920 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura H.F. Barde ◽  
Myrna F. Schwartz ◽  
Evangelia G. Chrysikou ◽  
Sharon L. Thompson-Schill
Keyword(s):  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Interference Contribution

scholarly journals Effects of Lexical Competition on Immediate Memory Span for Spoken Words

2003 ◽  
Vol 56 (6) ◽  
pp. 929-954 ◽  
Author(s):  
Winston D. Goh ◽  
David B. Pisoni
Keyword(s):  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Item Type ◽  
Phonological Similarity ◽  
Lexical Competition ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Immediate Memory ◽  
Spoken Words ◽  
Sampling Procedures

Current theories and models of the structural organization of verbal short-term memory are primarily based on evidence obtained from manipulations of features inherent in the short-term traces of the presented stimuli, such as phonological similarity. In the present study, we investigated whether properties of the stimuli that are not inherent in the short-term traces of spoken words would affect performance in an immediate memory span task. We studied the lexical neighbourhood properties of the stimulus items, which are based on the structure and organization of words in the mental lexicon. The experiments manipulated lexical competition by varying the phonological neighbourhood structure (i.e., neighbourhood density and neighbourhood frequency) of the words on a test list while controlling for word frequency and intra-set phonological similarity (family size). Immediate memory span for spoken words was measured under repeated and nonrepeated sampling procedures. The results demonstrated that lexical competition only emerged when a nonrepeated sampling procedure was used and the participants had to access new words from their lexicons. These findings were not dependent on individual differences in short-term memory capacity. Additional results showed that the lexical competition effects did not interact with proactive interference. Analyses of error patterns indicated that item-type errors, but not positional errors, were influenced by the lexical attributes of the stimulus items. These results complement and extend previous findings that have argued for separate contributions of long-term knowledge and short-term memory rehearsal processes in immediate verbal serial recall tasks.

Distinction between Visuo-Spatial Short-Term-Memory and Working Memory Span Tasks

2006 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thierry Lecerf ◽  
Jean-Luc Roulin
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Fluid Intelligence ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Item Difficulty ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Spatial Span ◽  
Span Test ◽  
Span Tasks

Six experiments are presented that examined the constraints underlying performance in two visuo-spatial span tasks. In the Location Span Test (LST), participants have to memorize the cells of a 5×5 matrix containing arrows, while in the Direction Span Test (DST) they have to memorize the cells pointed at by arrows. The main objective was to assess whether both tasks were similarly influenced by experimental factors. Results showed that performance improved with longer encoding time (1-s. vs. 3-s) only for the DST. Maintenance interval (0-s vs. 5-s) and order of item difficulty (ascending vs. descending) have no effect either on the LST or on the DST. Another experiment indicated that the DST is a better predictor of fluid intelligence. These results seem to provide evidence that the LST and the DST relate to different constructs. Implications of these findings for the distinction between short-term and working memory span tasks are discussed.

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