memory

• encoding is the process of converting information into a form that can be stored in the brain
• storage is holding the info in the memory to be used when needed
• retrieval is finding and accessing the memory
• the multi store model consists of 3 levels: sensory memory, short term memory and long term memory
• the sensory register has an unlimited capacity
• info lasts less than a second in the sensory register
• if you pay attention to info it will move to the short term memory
• info is coded acoustically in the STM
• the STM's capacity is limited to 5-9 items
• to remember more items in the STM you need to use chunking
• chunking means grouping together similar things, like phone numbers or postcodes
• the LTM can store unlimited amounts of information
• rehearsal helps keep info in the STM by repeating it over and over again
• long term memory (LTM) has no limit on how much info can be stored
• in LTM info is encoded semantically
• Craik and Watkins argued elaborate rehearsal is rehearsal that involves adding meaning to the words
• Jacobs used the digit span technique to test capacity of the STM
• Peterson and Peterson found that the average person can remember info for 18-30 secs
• the case study of KF shows the MSM is too simple as he could remember visual info but not auditory info
• the MSM was the first model to say there are 3 separate stores
• the working memory model has 4 separate components: central executive, phonological loop, visuo-spatial sketchpad and the episodic buffer
• the central executive is the 'boss' of the brain and is responsible for allocating tasks to the other parts of the brain via its attentional resources
• visuo-spatial sketchpad is a slave system to the CE and a temporary store of visual information that is used to perform visual tasks
• both the VSS and PL have limited capacity
• the Phonological loop deals with auditory information. it is a slave system to the CE and has a limited capacity
• episodic buffer is a back up for CE and links info from different senses
• in the VSS there is the visual cache (stores visual info) and the inner scribe (spatial awareness)
• in the PL there is the phonological store (inner ear) and the articulatory process (inner voice)
• the WMM is supported by dual task performance studies e.g. Baddeley asking participants to recall a list of words while performing either a visual or verbal task
• the WMM is supported by brain scans
• the case study of KF shows some people can have a VSS but not a PL
• the CE had limited attentional resources so the VSS and PL can not work at the same time
• the central executive and episodic buffer are untestable concepts, but they are useful to explain how the brain works
• there are 3 types of long term memories: semantic (knowledge of words and world), episodic (about own life) and procedural (skills and actions)
• the case study of Clive Wearing supports the idea of different stores in LTM - he had semantic and procedural but not much episodic
• Tulving supported the LTM by using brain scans
• two explanations for forgetting: interference theory and retrieval failure theory
• interference theory is when forgetting is caused by two competing memories
• interference can either be proactive (when the new info interferes with the old info) or retroactive (when the old info interferes with the new info).
• interference theory can help students when revising