encoding

• types of encoding

  • acoustic coding
  • visual coding
  • semantic coding
• define acoustic coding 


  encoding by the sound of the stimulus
• define visual coding 


  encoding by the physical appearance of stimulus
• define semantic coding 


  encoding by apply a meaning to the stimulus
• baddeley (1966) aim 


  to find out how we encode information in short term memory and long term memory
• What was the main focus of Baddeley's (1966) procedure?


  To investigate how short-term and long-term memory encodes information
• What types of word categories were used in Baddeley's (1966) study?

  Acoustically similar, acoustically dissimilar, semantically similar, semantically dissimilar
• short term - participants asked to do what immediately after being shown the words?

  Write down the words from the sequence
• What conclusion was drawn about short-term memory based on the recall of acoustically similar words?


  Short-term memory encodes information acoustically
• What was the follow-up task for participants after an interval in Baddeley's (1966) study?

  To write down the sequence of words again, to test long term memory
• What issue did participants face when recalling semantically similar words?


  They had problems recalling them, indicating long-term memory encodes semantically
• What are the key conclusions from Baddeley's (1966) study regarding memory encoding?

  • Short-term memory encodes acoustically
  • Long-term memory encodes semantically
• short term memory encodes acoustically - hence why highest amount of errors were acoustically similar words

  long term memory encodes semantically - hence why highest amount of errors were semantically similar words
• procedure of baddeleys 1966 study

  • shown random sequence of 5 words from 4 categories similar and dissimilar, semantic and acoustic
  • stm- free recall immediately of sequence
  • ltm- intervals, then recall
• because the type of error depended on both the type of list and time delay, it showed that recalling from short term memory had more acoustic errors and long term memory had more semantic errors
• advantages of baddeley 1966

  • highly controlled
  • can be replicated and tested for reliability
• disadvantages of baddeley 1966

  • can't be generalised, as people may have individual differences and therefore encode differently
  • lacks mundane realism, as the memorisation of a 5 word sequence is not an everyday task - it is not accurate to real life
  • lacks ecological validity, meaning it can't be applied to other environments