Memory and Emotional Subsystems
Introduction
The human brain is made up of distinct types of memory systems with varied storage and retrieval capacities. Information from the environment is transformed into the working memory as an internal form by the sensory memory.” So the active information resides in the working memory”. Besides this information long term memory is also accessed by the working memory
( Jaspers, Steen, Bos, & Geenen, 2004).Working memory acts as work-space, which processes the information from sensory memory and the long term memory. (E.g. storage, computation and decision –making) ( Ruchkin S. D., Grafman, Cameron, & Berndt, 2003). There are various limitations in the working memory, “focus of attention (3 to 5 unrelated items) is capacity limited and focus of activation is time limited (10 to 20 seconds).” (Cowan N. , An embeded process model of working memory, 1999). The two important factors that impact the functions of working memory are cognitive load and emotion. It’s absolutely necessary to understand the limitations of working memory to create user friendly interface designs that reduce the cognitive load of the user. Mybentley.edu will be used as an example to explain the ways by which user experience of a website can be improved.
Working Memory and its Components
“Working memory is a limited capacity system, which temporarily maintains and stores information, supports human thought processes by providing an interface between perception, long-term memory and action”. (Baddeley A. , Working Memory : Looking back and looking forward, 2003). According to (Baddeley A. , Working memory, 1986), the working memory system is comprised of four components such as phonological loop (“for maintaining acoustical input”), Visuo-spatial sketchpad (“for storing visual input”), central executive (“supervisory attentional system”) and episodic buffer (“buffer store”). These components comprise of storage systems and processes that can be connected across modules. (Baddeley A. , Working Memory: Theories, Models, and Controversies, 2012). The central control structure (heart) of the working memory is the central executive; it is involved in general fluid intelligence. (kane et al, 2004).The visuo spatial sketchpad, separates system into visual and spatial components. (Logie, 1995) ,”Visuospatial storage/rehearsal is involved in visual reasoning”. (kane et al, 2004). The phonological loop is reponsible for the storage of information, “phonological storage/rehearsal is necessary for verbal reasoning” (kane et al., 2004), vocabulary (Gathercole & Pickering, 2000) and” phonological and syntactic abilities”. (Larigauderie, Gaonac’h, & Lacroix, N., 1998). The Episodic buffer holds the integrated episodes/chunks of multidimensional codes. It acts as a connection between the two temporary storage systems and the schema formed in the long term memory (LTM). (Cowan N. , Working Memory Capacity, 2005).The Central executive relies on the episodic buffer to retrieve the information from the other systems. The Buffer acts as a multidimensional medium that permits attributes from different sources to be bound/chunked (Baars, A Cognitive Theory of Consciousness, 1988).
Limitations of Working Memory
“Cognitive load theory (CLT) suggests that it is very important for the learning to align with the human cognitive architecture”. ( Paas, Renkl, & Sweller, 2003). CLT explains that the working memory has limited capacity to retain and process novel information. The limited information can be converted to unlimited information, if familiar information is produced, which is nothing but information stored previously in the schemas of LTM. Information can be effectively categorized by the schemas based on their pattern of usage. (Chi, M, Glaser, R, & Rees, E, 1982). There are 3 types of loads- Intrinsic, extraneous and germane load. Intrinsic load is a self-imposed load on the working memory by a person in order to assess the complexity of a task. Extraneous load is referred to as unnecessary or ineffective cognitive load and germane load is also known as effective cognitive load that helps in comparing the new data with the preexisting schemas in the LTM and organizes them. “The relations between the three forms of cognitive load are asymmetrical”. ( Paas, Renkl, & Sweller, 2003). There are many types of extraneous cognitive load effects. Split-attention - This format is often produced in the instructional materials such as question papers, books etc., where the text and graphics are separated, therefore it increases the extraneous cognitive load. (Sweller et al., 1990). The redundancy effect occurs when the learners are provided with unwanted extra information. (E.g. same information in diagrammatic and verbal form) (Chandler, P & Sweller, J, 1996).
Chunking
Chunking is one of the best ways to avoid problems caused by the limitations of working memory. (Chase, W. G & Simon, H. A, 1973). While the LTM has unlimited storage capacity, the working memory can store only store 3 to 5 unrelated words at a time. (Cowan N. , An embeded process model of working memory, 1999). To improve the efficiency of the working memory, similar items are grouped/chunked together in the episodic buffer. (Baars , A Cognitive Theory of Consciousness., 1988)
(Cameron, Haarmann, Grafman, & Ruchkin, 2004) used a response to test the activation of long term memory. Retention of words in working memory can be easily forgotten by the learner without proper practice. The schemas in the LTM need to be activated and conscious effort need to be taken to retain the words in the working memory. (e.g., rehearsals). “The level of activation of these words rely on the depth of processing. (e.g., phonological, semantic)”. (Ruchkin D. S., Grafman, Cameron, & Berndt, 2003).The role of reviving is attributed to rehearsal by Decay theory and the important function of the rehearsal to predict the word. (Conrad & Hills, 1958). Sub vocal articulation is the form of rehearsal for a phonological loop and they are exposed to various factors like the word length effect and acoustics similarity effect that can affect their performance. ( Baddeley & Thomson, 1975).Thus the limited duration of the working memory can be improved by rehearsals. “Traces present in the store without rehearsal over a period of 2 seconds are subject to decay” (Baddeley & Hitch, 1974).
Attention
Attention plays an important role in the working memory, “the contents of working memory can also be mentioned as “activated representations” of long term memory currently within the focus of attention.” (Cowan N. , 1995).The main functions of the central executive include focusing and dividing attention among the parallel tasks and to act as an interface between working memory and LTM. (Baddeley, A. D, 1996).” There are bottom up and top down attentional processes.” The working memory capacity can be mitigated by bottom up attentional guidance. (Cowan et al., 2006) The time based resource sharing model suggests that when the attention is switched between two concurrent tasks (processing & maintenance), the trace of the memory decays once the attention is switched from one task to the other. ( Bernardin, Barrouillet , & Camos, 2004) Switching between the two tasks infuses a lot of distractions and imposes high cognitive load on the central executive. (Kane & Engle, 2003a).High – WMC (working memory capacity) individuals are better at switching the task without much distractions than low- WMC individuals. (Heitz, & Engle, 2007). High cognitive load leads to interference in the working memory, which results in the loss of materials to be remembered (MTBR).Proactive interference occurs when irrelevant information is introduced prior to the relevant material and retroactive interference occurs when irrelevant information is introduced after presenting the relevant information. (Keppel & Underwood, 1962)& (Jonides & Nee, 2006). These findings underpin the point that it’s absolutely essential for the working memory to actively maintain stimulus processing priorities. These priorities help in focusing the attention to relevant stimuli, and minimize the irrelevant distractors. (Fockert,, Rees, Christopher, & Lavie, 2001).”The evidence from the research of the relationship between working memory capacity and interference susceptibility shows that the cognitive load would be very high if the irrelevant information is very similar to the relevant information. (Stabler, 1994). . Individual differences on working memory capacity highlights the ability to use controlled attention to stay out of extraneous load and interference from preexisting schemas in LTM (Kane, Bleckley, Conway, & Randall, 1980).
Age
Age related limitations in working memory were significant in the memory span, speed and the central executive of Baddeley‘s (1986) model except for the functioning of the phonological loop. The reduction in the rate of activation in working memory is the reason for age related limitations in the central executive functioning ( Warr & Fisk , 1996).
Emotions- Effects of Motivation
“It is the state that results from a combination of individual needs and desires with the stimulus properties of the situation.” ( Humphreys & Revelle, 1984).Motivation can influence the cognitive efficiency and level of performance of working memory.” Motivation to avoid loss has greater psychological impact than motivation to gain”. (Krawczyk & Esposito, 2011). A motivated person has more self-regulation and stays vigilant during the process of learning. (Baumeister, Vohs , & Tice, 2007).
“Arousal is the activation/alert/peppiness/vigor state of organism”. ( Humphreys & Revelle, 1984).Arousal plays a vital role in central executive functioning by concentrating on task- relevant information, which results in excellent performance (Robbins, 1997). Further stress and arousal results in Information tunneling. (Dirkin, 1983)
The dimension of the arousal state varies from extreme sluggishness/drowsiness at one end to extremely vigilant at the other end. A High level of arousal is linked to salient sensory stimuli and the low levels are linked to the dull stimuli. ( Humphreys & Revelle, 1984). ( Kuhlmann, Piel, & Wolf, 2005) study demonstrates that stress and the emotional arousal affects the memory retrieval in humans by increasing the cognitive load.
Effects of Anxiety
It can be defined as the emotional and motivational state that occurs during threatening situations. ( Eysenck, Derakshan, Santos, & Calvo, 2001). It can be further explained as a state in which the individual is impaired from making the right decisions to achieve the existing goal. (Power, M. J & Dalgleish, T, 1997).Anxiety plays an important role in the field of cognition and performance, and it is often linked to the negative effects of performance. (Eysenck M. , 1992). Anxiety to a certain extent helps in improving the performance but if the level exceeds the performance starts deteriorating (Hebb, 1955) .During a highly anxious state, the processing efficiency of the working memory drops as the attentional control and the ability to avoid the worrisome thoughts declines. ( Eysenck, Derakshan, Santos, & Calvo, 2001). The trait of anxiety and situational stress impacts the capacity of the working memory to a great extent (Sorg & Whitney, 1992).
Design Case
Mybentley.edu is examined to talk about the difficulties faced by a student (Nick) who has prior experience in the registration process, but still found it a bit confusing and managed only to register for 2 out of his 3 desired courses. (Emma) who has no prior experience, found it extremely difficult to browse the website and could register for only1 out of her 3 desired courses. The course registration time was announced to them in advance. (time slot of 3 hours)
Main menu Display: The items are not listed effectively, the four links listed are not sorted and there is no method of organization. “The blue fonts seen at the distance are never sharp to the eye” ( Birren, 2016). Emma found it extremely difficult to remember the items listed under the main menu options as the working memory can store only up to 5 unrelated words (Cowan N. , An embeded process model of working memory, 1999). Small text size increased her attention levels and she was highly motivated to register for the desired courses. It is known that heightened motivation can weaken the information processing capacity ( Eysenck, Derakshan, Santos, & Calvo, 2001). Nick, on the other hand, had no problem accessing this page as he had the structure of this page in the preexisting schemas of his LTM, which could be retrieved through temporarily active retrieval cues (Ericsson & Kintsch, 1995).
Recommendations
1.First and foremost, the need is to list all the details in the main menu in a drop down box, which can be easily accessed by scrolling.
2. Increase the font size and also change the color of the fonts.
3. Increase the spacing between the lines for a clearer display. It’s always recommended to design a simple and clear path for actions that match the user’s mental model to achieve their goal.
Gestalt Principle of Organization
Add/drop classes, Select term and the general registration information should be grouped together according to the gestalt rule of proximity. These three items are highly related and it’s easier to find the necessary information. Emma found it difficult under the stressful circumstance to browse the items she wanted as they weren’t placed together. The select term option is present in two screens causing unnecessary redundancy by increasing the cognitive load. Since Nick was well adapted to the system, he did not face any difficulty at this stage. Grouping of data and implementing a clear design helps in reducing the confusion as working memory is highly volatile.
Risk of loss aversion
People are more alert towards the risk of loss than the gain. (Krawczyk & Esposito, 2011). Emma was highly motivated to register for her desired courses. But the efficiency and performance of cognition are affected by motivation. Proper functioning of working memory is absolutely essential for attaining the desired goal. (Krawczyk & Esposito, 2011). The performance deficits are so common in highly anxious individuals due to the limitation in working memory (MacLeod & Donnellan, 1993).My recommendation to reduce the cognitive load would be to design an interface which would automatically display all the courses with multiple select options that the students are eligible to register for. This way a lot of time and confusion can be avoided which, in turn, eases the cognitive load of the working memory. The visual display of courses helps to process the framework easily in the visuo-spatial sketchpad.
Anxiety caused by stress
Emma did not have her course numbers written down, so used the look up tab and searched for the course numbers through the advance search option and it displayed an error message. This caused a lot of anxiety which deteriorated her working memory capacity.Poeple with higher anxiety are not sure about their own abilities and are prone to making mistakes. Emma couldn’t perform well, “the prolonged state of motivation can lead to sluggishness/fatigue. ( Humphreys & Revelle, 1984). Nick was comfortable initially, but the error message made him anxious. So he tried to get out of the registration tab and then accessed the general registration information tab to get the CR numbers that he wanted. During that process his attentional levels increased and his processing efficiency decreased. The CR numbers listed look similar, thereby, increasing the cognitive load due to the similarity of relevant and irrelevant information. (Stabler, 1994). It was very hard for him to chunk the numbers. During such emergency situations, the central executive would be surrounded by worrisome thoughts and it could be filled with irrelevant thoughts (being waitlisted, losing the desired course). ( Eysenck, Derakshan, Santos, & Calvo, 2001). So it’s important to reduce the cognitive load to mitigate the working memory capacity during such crucial events. A text box should be provided on the side to note down the CR numbers. It frees up all the components of the central executive and prevents the time decay of data.
Conclusion
Understanding the limitations of working memory is absolutely essential. Working memory includes the memory and all of its executive control components. My.bentley.edu should consider incorporating the above mentioned recommendations to reduce the stress levels of the students.