Memory

Types of Memory Sensory Short term Long term

Sensory Memory What: colors, tastes, smells, tones, touch How Stored: Unanalyzed How Much: Everything How Long: Measured in Milliseconds

Sensory Memory We don't want to store everything we see feel, hear 24/7 or it would be overload (Dreams are often made up of things we perceived but didn't attend to)

Short Term Memory Working Memory What: post it note memory  solving problems in head  remembering what you said after being distracted  memorizing phone numbers  simultaneous interpretation How stored: analyzed and stored How much: between 5 and 9 things How long: seconds

How much can we remember? How about four letters?

Remember the letters you see

E Z N J

Remember the letters you see

X U V L

Remember the 7 numbers you see

Remember the 7 numbers you see

Remember the 13 numbers you see

Remember the 13 numbers you see

Remember the 16 numbers you see

Remember the 16 numbers you see Why is this different?

Long Term Memory What: repository of our knowledge in world general knowledge, personal experiences How stored: Depends on what memory it is How much: Potentially infinite (lifelong?) How long: Potentially infinite

Kinds of Long Term Memory Declarative  Episodic  Semantic Procedural

Declarative Memory Knowing what Conscious knowledge Knowledge of facts, events  What did you have for breakfast  How do you calculate the average Is easy to describe to others

Declarative Memory Episodic Memory  personal memory, not shared with others  memory of experiences, emotions, context  autobiographical with person as actor Semantic Memory  impersonal memory, shared with others  facts, knowledge, concepts, word meaning

Procedural Memory Knowing how (compared to what) Unconscious, tacit, skills  ride bike  chew  speak Is hard to describe to others

What kind of memory is language? Words Word meanings Sentences (are they stored?) Motor skills in speech Ability to understand (Can you explain how?)

What if you had no short term memory? More Clive Wearing

Word Frequency Little Bo-Peep has lost her sheep, And can't tell where to find them; Leave them alone, And they'll come home, Wagging their tails behind them. Token frequency of them: 3 Type frequency of them: 1

Word Frequency The North Wind and the Sun disputed as to which was the most powerful, and agreed that he should be declared the victor who could first strip a wayfaring man of his clothes. Token frequency of -ed: 3 Type frequency of -ed: 1 Token frequency of past tense: 4 Number of types of past tense: 2

What makes speech perception hard Sounds are not put side by side like letters are  A round lemon and a melon (In PRAAT) Different people have different voices Different people have different accents The same person's pronunciation of same word is never exactly the same Speech sounds are on a continuum, are not categorical

What makes speech perception hard Speech sounds are on a continuum, are not categorical

What makes speech perception hard Speech sounds are on a continuum, are not categorical These are all [I], but they differ

Light compared to speech We can say color is halfway between blue and green (continuous perception) Even though two speech sounds may be different we don't say “that consonant is halfway between [d] and [t] (categorical perception)

Motor Theory of Speech Perception How can you account for perception in the face of so much variation? If speaking and hearing activate same parts of brain then hearing it helps you know how you say it and vice versa

Speech Perception So articulatory features help perception Could visual features affect perception?  McGurk Effect McGurk Effect