Memory

• Memory


  • Info is stored in different forms
  • The process of converting info in different forms is known as coding
• Baddeley's word lists


  • 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)
• When recalling from STM

  Group 1 tended to struggle
• When recalling from LTM

  Group 3 tended to struggle
• Short-term memory


  • Info is coded acoustically
  • Long-term memory is coded semantically
• Capacity of STM


  • How much info can be held in STM at one time
• Joseph Jacobs (1887) found people’s digit span for remembering numbers and letters
• Miller (1956) thought the span of STM was 7 +- 2
• People could recall 5 words easily due to chunking
• Duration of STM


  • How short is STM
• Margaret and Peterson (1959) found STM is only around 18 seconds long
• Bahrick (1975) studied the duration of LTM
• Bahrick found that LTM has a duration of potentially a lifetime
• Multi Store Model


  • Sensory memory, Short-term memory, Long-term memory
• Sensory memory


  • Stimuli from the environment
  • Has several sensory memory stores (Five senses)
  • Eg, echoic - acoustic, iconic - visual
• Short-term memory


  • Coded mainly acoustically and lasts around 18 seconds
  • Capacity is around 7+-2 items
• Long-term memory


  • Permanent store through rehearsal
  • Mostly coded semantically
  • Duration potentially a lifetime/forever
  • Capacity is unlimited
• From the MSM, LTM to STM occur through retrieval
• One strength of the MSM

  It shows that LTM and STM are different
• One limitation of the MSM

  There is more than one STM store
• Types of Long Term Memory

  • Episodic
  • Semantic
  • Procedural
• Episodic Memory


  • Ability to recall events in our life
  • Time-Stamped in our life
  • Must make a conscious effort to recall episodes
• Semantic Memory


  • Our knowledge of things, facts or meanings
  • Less personal but facts we all share
  • Not time-stamped
• Procedural Memory


  • Our knowledge on how to do things
  • Without conscious control
  • Our ability to do things become automatic through practice
• One strength of the types of LTM

  Clive Wearing's case shows that there are more than one LTM store
• One limitation of the types of LTM

  Research for the location of LTM stores lacks validity
• Central Executive


  • Supervisor role
  • It monitors data
  • It divides and sends out information to the different stores
  • Limited capacity
  • Does not store information
• Phonological Loop


  • Deals with auditory information
  • Coding is acoustic
  • Divided into 2 parts
• Research suggests


  Left hemisphere for episodic encoding, right hemisphere for episodic retrieval
• Research suggests that support for Long-Term Memories (LTM) is lacking in validity
• Strength: Warrington and Shallice’s study on KF supports the idea of separate components in the WMM model
• Strength: Dual tasking evidence supports the presence of different stores in the WMM
• Limitation: Lack of clarity on the Central Executive component challenges the integrity of the WMM
• Explanations for Forgetting


  • Interference, Types of Interference (Proactive, Retroactive)
• Interference has been proposed for forgetting in the long term
• Types of Interference: Proactive interference is when old information affects the new, Retroactive interference is when new information affects the old
• Research: McGeogh and McDonald (1931) - Effects of similarity in memory
• Research Findings: The most similar words (Synonyms) produced the worst recall
• Research Conclusion: Interference is strongest when words are similar
• Strength: Baddely’s and Hitch’s research on rugby players (1977) enhances the validity of interference in memory