STM and LTM Coding

• Baddeley: Procedure

  Gave DIFFERENT lists of words to FOUR groups of ppts:

  -Group 1: acoustically similar (cat, cab, can)

  -Group 2: acoustically dissimilar (pit, few, cow)

  -Group 3: semantically similar (great, large, big)

  -Group 4: semantically dissimilar( good, huge, hot)

  Ppts were shown the words and then asked to recall the words either immediately after (STM condition) or after 20 minutes (LTM condition.)
• Findings:

  -If ppts were asked to recall the words immediately (STM condition) they did worse on the acoustically similar word list.

  -If ppts were asked to recall after 20 minutes (LTM Condition) they did worse on the semantically similar word list.
• He concluded that SOUNDS are therefore important for STM and need to be distinctive.
• STM is coded acoustically.
• LTM is coded semantically, meanings are therefore important for LTM. This needs to be distinctive
• Strengths:

  P: It was a controlled lab experiment.

  B: This is because the researchers had control over extraneous variables. The researcher asked ppts to recall the words after 30 seconds for STM and recalled the words after 20 mins.

  S:This suggests the research has high internal validity. As well the researcher has high control over extraneous variables as the researcher has controlled which task the participants took part in.
• Weaknesses:

  P: It used an artificial stimuli.

  B: The task is artificial as it is not something which is trivial, as it does not represent real life memories. As well the setting is artificial as ppt know they are being tested. This creates a high chance of demonstrating order effects.

  S: This suggests the research cannot be generalised to real life. Therefore, it lacks ecological validity and reliability.