Content deleted Content added
No edit summary |
No edit summary |
||
Line 5:
Serial memory processing uses internal representations of the memory set in order to compare them to a target stimulus or item that is being presented. These internal representations are then compared to the target stimulus, one at a time. It's been consistently found that reaction time increases linearly with the set size, where the more items in the memory set, the longer it will take to compare. <ref name=Sternberg>Sternberg, S. (1966). High-speed scanning in human memory. ''Science, 153''(1).</ref>
{{multiple image
| width = 200
| footer = Hypothetical slopes for positive and negative trials
| image1 = Graph_showing_Self-Terminating_Search.jpg
| caption1 = Self-Terminating Search
| image2 = Graph_Showing_Exhaustive_Search.jpg
| caption2 = Exhaustive Search
}}
Serial memory processing can be either self-terminating or exhaustive. Self-terminating implies that comparisons stop abruptly as soon as the target is found, and then the response is generated. <ref name=Townsend /> Evidence for this method is found in reaction time studies. If the reaction time slope for a positive trial (where the target was present in the memory set) is about half of the slope for a negative trial (where the target was not present in the memory set) this demonstrates self-terminating processing. This is because, on average, participants (on positive trials) will stop comparisons about halfway through when they find the target match but participants (on negative trials) will need to compare until the end when no target match is found. <ref name=Sternbergg>Sternberg, S. (1969). Memory-scanning: Mental processes revealed by reaction-time experiments. ''American Scientist, 57''(4).</ref> On the other hand, exhaustive implies that comparisons continue until the entire set is compared and then a response is generated. <ref name=Townsend /> Evidence for this method is also found in reaction time studies. In this case, the reaction time slope is equal for both positive and negative trials, as comparisons are made to the end in both cases. <ref name=Sternberg /> Participants may process some serial memory sets using the self-terminating method and in other cases use the exhaustive method, there is no clear distinction between which method is better to use. <ref name=Townsend />
| |||