lesson 1- Coding, Capacity, and Duration

• What is coding in memory?

  Format in which information is stored
• What does capacity refer to in memory?

  Amount of information that can be held
• What does duration refer to in memory?

  Length of time information can be held
• What are the characteristics of Short-Term Memory (STM)?

  • Coding: acoustic
  • Capacity: 5-9 items
  • Duration: 18 seconds without rehearsal
• What are the characteristics of Long-Term Memory (LTM)?

  • Coding: semantic
  • Capacity: unlimited
  • Duration: up to a lifetime
• What was the procedure in Baddeley's research on coding?

  Participants recalled different lists of words
• What were the four groups in Baddeley's study?

  Acoustically similar, dissimilar, semantically similar, dissimilar
• What did Baddeley's findings indicate about STM and LTM coding?

  STM uses acoustic coding; LTM uses semantic coding
• What is a strength of Baddeley's research?

  Identified a clear difference between memory stores
• What is a limitation of Baddeley's research?

  Used artificial stimuli rather than meaningful material
• What was the mean digit span found by Jacobs in 1887?

  9.3 items
• What was the mean digit span for letters found by Jacobs?

  7.3 items
• What is a strength of Jacobs' digit span research?

  Has been replicated with consistent findings
• What did Miller propose about STM capacity in 1956?

  Capacity is 7 items ± 2
• What is chunking according to Miller?

  Grouping sets of digits or letters into units
• What is a limitation of Miller's research on STM capacity?

  Overestimated STM capacity according to Cowan
• What was the average recall after 3 seconds in Peterson and Peterson's study?

  80%
• What was the average recall after 18 seconds in Peterson and Peterson's study?

  3%
• What was the conclusion of Peterson and Peterson's study on STM duration?

  STM duration is about 18 seconds
• What is a limitation of Peterson and Peterson's study?

  Stimulus material was artificial and not meaningful
• What was the procedure in Bahrick et al.'s study on LTM?

  Tested recall using high school yearbooks
• What was the accuracy of photo recognition after 15 years in Bahrick et al.'s study?

  90%
• What was the accuracy of free recall after 48 years in Bahrick et al.'s study?

  30%
• What conclusion can be drawn from Bahrick et al.'s study on LTM duration?

  LTM may last up to a lifetime
• What is a strength of Bahrick et al.'s research?

  High external validity with meaningful memories