Memory

• Our memory can be compared to a computer
• There are 3 basic processes involved with using computers: we put information into our memory (encoding), we store it there until we need it (storage) and we get it retrieve when we want it (retrieval)
• Encoding is taking information into memory and changing it into a form that can be stored
• Recall is to bring a memory back into one's mind (similar to retrieval)
• Retrieval is recovering information from storage
• Storage is holding information in the memory system
• Information enters our memory through one or more of our senses
• The information has to be changed into a language or code that the brain will understand, Some information is automatically encoded without us being aware of it, such as when people try to remember what they had for breakfast yesterday they can recall it but they never tried to remember it.
• Other information will only become encoded if you pay attention to it
• There are different ways of encoding written information

  • Visually - what the words look like
  • Acoustically - what the words sound like
  • Semantically - what the words mean
• Psychologists believe that there are 3 different types of long-term memory

  • Episodic memory
  • Semantic memory
  • Procedural memory
• Episodic memory is the idea of remembering unique memories which are concerned with personal experiences or events
• Procedural memory is our memory for carrying out complex skills
• Semantic memory are memories which are concerned with general knowledge rather than personal experience
• Semantic memories and episodic memories can be described to another person because they are easy to put into words. Procedural memories are not easy to describe to another person as they are hard to verbalise. It is very difficult to explain to someone how to walk without showing the actions
• The multistore model of memory is the theory of memory that suggests information passes through a series of memory stores
• The 3 stores in the multistore model of memory is

  • Sensory store
  • Short-term store
  • Long-term store
• Information that arrives at our senses is briefly held in the sensory store
• The sensory store is the memory store that holds information received from the senses for a very short period of time
• The short-term store is the memory store that holds approximately 7 bits of information for a limited amount of time
• The long-term store is the memory store that holds a vast amount of information for a very long period of time
• Capacity describes how much information can be stored
• Coding is the way that information is represented to be stored
• Duration is how long information can be stored for
• SENSORY STORE

  • Coding - the same way in which it is received from the senses
  • Capacity - very limited
  • Duration - less that one second
• SHORT-TERM STORE

  • Coding - mainly acoustic
  • Capacity - approximately 7 bits of information
  • Duration - up to 30 seconds
• LONG-TERM STORE

  • Coding - mainly semantic
  • Capacity - unlimited
  • Duration - unlimited
• The 2 effects in recall are the primacy and recency effects
• The primacy effect stated that more of the first information received is recalled than the subsequent later information
• The recency effect states that more of the information received later is recalled that the earlier information
• The effects of serial position means that the chances of recalling any item depends on its position in a list
• The serial position curve is the name given to the graph that displays the results of a serial position experiment
• Murdock's serial position curve study was in 1962
• The aim of Murdock's study was to see how the recall of lists or words relates to the serial position curve
• The study design of Murdock's study was a laboratory study in which there was control over possible extraneous variables
• All procedures in Murdock's study was standardised
• The participants in Murdock's study were male and female psychology students as it was part of a course requirement to take part in psychological research
• The method of Murdock's study was that

  16 participants were presented with a list of 20 words at the rate of 1 word per second. Once they had heard all 20 words, they were asked to recall as many words from the list as they could remember in any order (this is called free-recall). They were given 90 seconds to recall the words. The test was repeated with the same participants 80 times over a few days. A different list of 20 words was used each time
• The results of Murdock's study was

  The words at the end of the list were recalled first, words from the beginning of the list were also recalled quite well, but the words in the middle of the list were not recalled very well at all.
• The conclusion of Murdock's study was that

  • The first few words were recalled well and this is called a primacy effect. The primacy effect occurs because the first words have been rehearsed and passed into our long-term storage
  • The last words were recalled very well and this is called a recency effect. The words at the end of the list are readily available in short-term storage
  • The words in the middle of the list were not recalled well at all. This is explained as these words are neither in the long-term storage or the short-term storage