Karen Yanowitz wrote:
> Hi all-- In Cognitive this morning, I was explaining that information
> can be encoded differently in stm depending on type of info etc -
> student asked if there were developmental differences in ability to
> encode- for example acoustic vs visual-- that stumped me!- anyone
> have an answer?
I don't have an answer, but I have a related question. I'm teaching a
learning and cognition course this spring, using
Bruning, R. H., Schraw, G. J., & Ronning, R. R. (1999). Cognitive psychology
and instruction (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.
When the authors discuss the Sperling partial report study, they write that
it appears that the capacity of the sensory registers is roughly 7-9 items.
Later they say that it's a little more than 7 items. In the next chapter
they say that it's around 7 items. (I'd provide exactly quotes, but I left
the book out in my car).
I believe that the authors have confused the sensory registers with the
stm/working memory, and that we still generally believe that the sensory
registers' capacity is huge (essentially briefly containing EVERYTHING that
comes in through the senses). That's what John Anderson says in "Cognitive
Psychology and Its Implications", where he writes that the Sperling study
suggests "a memory that can effectively hold all the information in the
visual display". And it's what I've always believed.
Please tell me it's Bruning et al. who are confused, and not I...
Paul Smith
Alverno College
