Long term memory

• Capacity


  • potential capacity of the long term memory is unlimited
  • information may be lost due to decay or interference but not due to a limited space in the brain
• What type of coding is preferred in long-term memory (LTM)?

  Semantic coding
• How does the level of processing affect coding in LTM?

  A deeper level means stronger coding
• Who conducted the study on coding in LTM?

  Baddeley
• How many participants were involved in Baddeley's study?

  75 participants
• What was the main difference between the lists of words in Baddeley's study?

  Some were semantically similar, others dissimilar
• What was the recall percentage for semantically similar words in Baddeley's study?

  55% recall
• What was the recall percentage for semantically dissimilar words in Baddeley's study?

  70-85% recall
• What does Baddeley's study suggest about LTM coding?

  LTM is coded on a semantic basis
• Why is it hard to see how tastes and smells can be encoded semantically?

  They do not have clear semantic meanings
• What does the involvement of different brain areas in LTM suggest?

  There are varying forms of encoding in LTM
• Duration


  • few minutes to a lifetime

  Bahrick et al

  • showed 400 Ps aged 17-74 photos and a list of names of ex school friends
  • left school in last 15 years - 90% faces and names
  • left school in last 48 years - 80% names and 70% faces
  • suggests that memory for faces is long lasting
• A03


  • findings can depend on how memory is tested (recognition is often better than free recall)
  • if a person does not remember it can be due to retrieval failure
  • can also be due to a degeneration of neurons
  • Bahrick et al - some Ps may have seen people from school recently or looked over the yearbook, there is also high mundane realism as they are using phorographs from people's past