Tag Archives: working memory

Episode 37: Hooked on Mnemonics

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Cognitive Gamer
Cognitive Gamer
Episode 37: Hooked on Mnemonics
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How can some people remember scores of digits at a time or repeat back all the cards in a shuffled deck? Do they have exceptional memories? Is it a party trick? Or, is there something more?

Game References

Chess, En Garde, Sushi Go, That’s Not a Hat, Wilmott’s Warehouse

Research References

Chase, W. G., & Simon, H. A. (1973). Perception in chess. Cognitive Psychology, 4(1), 55-81.

Cowan, N. (2001). The magical number 4 in short-term memory: A reconsideration of mental storage capacity.Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 24(1), 87-114. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X01003922

Ericsson, K. A., Chase, W., & Faloon, S. (1980). Acquisition of a memory skill. Science, 208, 1181–118. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.737593

Foer, J. (2012). Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything. Penguin Books.

Miller, G. A. (1956). The magical number seven, plus or minus two: Some limits on our capacity for processing information. Psychological Review, 63(2), 81-97. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0043158

Price, J., & Davis, B. (2009). The Woman Who Can’t Forget: The Extraordinary Story of Living with the Most Remarkable Memory Known to Science–A Memoir. Free Press.

Episode 36: Memory Behaving Baddeley

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Cognitive Gamer
Cognitive Gamer
Episode 36: Memory Behaving Baddeley
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It’s time to dive in and finally have an in-depth discussion of working memory!

Game References

Carcassonne, River Valley Glassworks, Tetris, That’s Not a Hat, Wandering Towers, Wilmot’s Warehouse

Research References

Baddeley, A. (1992). Working memory. Science, 255(5044), 556-559.

Baddeley, A. D., & Hitch, G. (1974). Working memory. Psychology of learning and motivation, 8, 47-89.

https://brainscale.net/app/brain-training/corsi-block-tapping/training

Episode 35: Cognalysis: Sky Team and Wandering Towers

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Cognitive Gamer
Cognitive Gamer
Episode 35: Cognalysis: Sky Team and Wandering Towers
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It’s a bird, it’s a…yeah, it is a plane! Oh, and also a Tower? We are back with a cognalysis of two games, Sky Team, fresh off its Spiel des Jahres win, and also Wandering Towers.

Game References
Hanabi, Sky Team, That’s Not a Hat, Wandering Towers

Research References
Baddeley, A. (1992). Working memory. Science, 255(5044), 556-559.

DeLoache, J. S., Cassidy, D. J., & Brown, A. L. (1985). Precursors of mnemonic strategies in very young children’s memory. Child Development, 125-137.

Episode 11: O Memory, Memory, Wherefore Art Thou Memory?

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Cognitive Gamer
Cognitive Gamer
Episode 11: O Memory, Memory, Wherefore Art Thou Memory?
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Cognitive psychologists make a lot of distinctions with different types of memory. In this episode I provide an overview of the various ways that scientists have divvied up memory, and how each relates to how we play games.

Game References

Assassin’s Creed: Origins, Call of Duty, Clank!, Dominion, Kingdomino, Scrabble, Uno

Research References

Anderson, J. R. (2014). Rules of the mind. Psychology Press.

Baddeley, A. D., & Hitch, G. (1974). Working memory. Psychology of learning and motivation, 8, 47-89.

Corkin, S. (1968). Acquisition of motor skill after bilateral medial temporal-lobe excision. Neuropsychologia, 6(3), 255-265.

Sperling, G. (1960). The information available in brief visual presentations. Psychological monographs: General and applied, 74(11), 1.

Tulving, E. (1986). Episodic and semantic memory: Where should we go from here?. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 9(3), 573-577.

Episode 07 : That Blows Chunks: Increasing Working Memory

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Cognitive Gamer
Cognitive Gamer
Episode 07 : That Blows Chunks: Increasing Working Memory
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One constraint that everyone has is working memory capacity. Or in other words, how many things you can remember at any one point in time. While there are individual differences in this, another aspect turns out to be more important: chunking.

Game References

Chess, Guitar Hero, Konami Code, Scrabble

Research References

Chase, W. G., & Ericsson, K. A. (1982). Skill and working memory. In G. H. Bower (Ed.), The Psychology of Learning and Motivation (Vol. 16, pp. 1-58). New York: Academic Press.

Chase, W. G., & Simon, H. A. (1973). Perception in chess. Cognitive Psychology, 4, 55-81.

Miller, George A. (1956). The magical number seven, plus or minus two: some limits on our capacity for processing information. Psychological Review, 63, 81-97.