memory

• what is coding?


  the process of converting information between different forms to be stored in memory
• who investigated coding?

  Alan Baddeley
• what was the procedure of alan baddeley's experiment?


  he gave different list of words to four groups of ps to remember: acoustically similar, acoustically dissimilar, semantically similar, semantically dissimilar.
• what were the results of baddeley's study?

  when recalling the words immediatley, ps did worse with acoustically similar words. When recalling 20mins later, ps did worse with semantically similar words.
• what was the conclusion of Baddeley's study?

  memory is coded acoustically in STM, and coded semantically in LTM
• who investigated the duration of STM?

  Peterson & Peterson
• what was the procedure of Peterson & Peterson's study?

  they tested 24 ps in 8 trials each. On each trial the ps was given a trigram to remember, and a 3 digit number. The student was then asked to count back from that 3 digit number until told to stop. On each trial they were told at stop at varying periods of time (3,6,9), then they were asked to recall the trigram
• what were the findings of Peteron & Peterson's study?

  after 3 seconds, average recall was 80%, after 18 seconds it was 10%
• what was the conclusion of Peterson & Peterson's study

  STM duration is around 18 seconds unless we rehearse the information
• who investigated the duration of LTM?

  Bahrick
• what was the procedure of Bahrick's study?

  he studied 392 American ps aged between 17-74. He did one photo recognition test consisting of 50 photos (some from the ps yearbook), and one free recall test where ps recalled all the names of their graduating class.
• what were the findings of Bahrick's study?

  Ps tested within 15 years of graduating were 90% accurate in photo recognition. After 48 years, this decreased to 70%. For those within 15 years, free recall was 60%, and after 48 years it was 30%
• what was the conclusion of Bahrick's study?

  LTM can last up to a lifetime
• who investigated capacity of STM?

  Joseph Jacobs
• hat was the procedure of Joseph Jacob's study?

  he measured digit span. The researcher would read out 4 digits, and the ps recalls these in the correct order. If this is correct, then the researcher will read out 5 digits, and so on until the ps can't recall the correct order.
• what was the results of Joseph Jacob's study?


  the mean span for letters was 7 +- 3, and for digits it's 9 +- 3
• who investigated the span of memory with chunking?

  Miller
• how did miller investigate capacity?

  he made observations of everyday life, and discovered that most things come in 7's.
• what were miller's findings?

  the span of STM is about 7+-2. People can also remember 5 words as easily as 5 letters by chunking.
• why does Baddeley's study have a lack of environmental validity ?

  he used an artificial stimuli as the words had no personal meaning to the ps.
• why is Jacob's study valid?

  his study has been repeated and his findings have been confirmed by other better controlled studies.
• what is a limitation of Miller's study?

  he may've overestimated the capacity of STM as Cowan reviewed other research and concluded that capacity is 4+-1
• what is a limitation of Peterson & Peterson's study?

  the stimulus material was artificial. It isn't completely irrelevant but recalling trigrams doesn't reflect everyday memory activities. The study lacks external validity.
• why does Bahrick's study have high external validity?

  the researchers investigated meaningful memories to the ps. When studies on LTM were investigated with meaningless pictures, recall rates were lower. Bahrick et al's findings were a more real estimate of the duration of LTM.
• what does the multi-memory model describe?

  it describes how information flows through the memory system. It suggests that memory is made up by 3 stores linked by processing: sensory register, short term memory, long term memory
• what is the sensory register?

  all stimuli from the environment passes into this register, This part of memory contains a register for each of the 5 senses, and they're all coded differently. The duration is very short, but they have a large capacity.
• how is memory coded in STM, and what is it's capacity and duration?

  memory is coded acoustically, and roughly lasts 18secs. The capacity is around 7+-2
• what is long term memory?


  this is the potentially permanent memory store for information that has been rehearsed for a long period of time
• how is LTM coded, and what is it's capacity and duration?

  LTM is coded semantically, and it's duration and capacity is limitless.
• case study of HM

  HM has a brain surgery during his infancy to relieve his epilepsy, and a part of hi brain called the hippocampus was removed. This is essential to memory function. When his memory was assessed in 1955, he thought it was 1953.He's unable to form new long term memories, but performed well on tests for his STM.
• why does the HM case study support the multi-memory model?

  it shows that STM and LTM are separate
• what is episodic memory?

  a type of LTM memory that refers to our ability to recall events from our life. These memories are time-stamped, and you have to make a conscious effort to recall them
• what is semantic memory?


  a type of LTM that stores our shared knowledge of the world (fact & meaning). These memories aren't timestamped, and it's less personal.
• what is procedural memory?

  a type of LTM for actions /skills (how to...)
• case study of Clive Wearing


  Clive has a severe form of amnesia from an infection. He can still play music perfectly, but doesn't remeber his musical education. He remembers some details from his life, but not all (he knows his wife, and he knows he has children but doesn't know their names). He only had a few seconds of LTM. His semantic and procedural memory were unaffected as he still understood the meaning of words, and how to do basic things.
• what is the working memory model?

  Baddeley and Hitch's explanation for how one aspect of STM is organised and how it functions. It has 4 main components: the central executive, phonological loop, visuo-spatial sketchpad, and the episodic buffer.
• what is the central executive?

  it monitors incoming data, focuses and divides our limited attention, and allocates subsystems to tasks. It has a limited processing capacity , uses all methods of coding, and doesn't store information
• what is the phonological loop?

  It deals with auditory information and preserves the order in which the information arrives. Its divided into the phonological store (stores the words you hear), and the articulatory process (allows maintenance rehearsal e.g.repeating words or sounds while they're needed). It has a capacity of 2 seconds, and is coded acoustically.
• what is the visuo-spatial sketchpad?

  stores visual or spatial information when required. It has a limited capacity of 3/4 objects, and is coded visually
• what is the episodic buffer?

  a temporary store of information, integrating the visual, and verbal, and spatial information processed by other stores, and maintains time sequencing