Memory

• What is coding

  This refers to the type of info stored

  STM= Acoustic

  LTM= Semantic
• Baddeley '66

  Participants were given a list of 10 words from one of four conditions: acoustically similar, acoustically dissimilar, semantically similar ,semantically dissimilar P's with acoustically similar words did worse immediately because STM is acoustically coded, so it confuses .P's with semantically similar lists did worse after 20 minutes because LTM is semantically encoded, so it confuses
• What is capacity

  The amount of information that can be held in a store

  STM= 7+-2

  LTM= unlimited
• Miller '56

  Found capacity of STM is 7+-2 but it can be increased with chunking
• What is duration

  The length of time information can stay in a store

  STM = 18-30 secs

  LTM = infinite/lifetime
• strength of duration of STM - research to support

  One strength of duration is that there is research to support. For example, Peterson and Peterson got participants to recall meaningless three letter trigrams at set intervals. To prevent recall participants had to count back from a specific number until asked to recall. They found that 80% of people were able to recall after only 3 seconds while only 10% of people could recall after 18 seconds. This supports the idea that the duration of STM is 3-18 seconds.
• Limitation of peterson and peterson - lacks ecological validity

  One limitation of Peterson and Peterson's study of duration is that it lacks ecological validity. This is because participants were asked to recall meaningless trigrams which is unlike anything people would remember in everyday life. Therefore we are unable to generalise the findings to everyday examples of memory. It might be that STM might be longer for more important things like a phone number.
• Strength of duration of LTM - research to support

  One strength of the duration of LTM is that it has research to support. For example, Bahrick et al got 392 graduates to name 50 photos from a yearbook and free recall of graduating class. They found that 90% could recall photos from yearbook after 15 years and 70% after 48 years. However in the free recall 60% could recall after 15 years and only 30% after 48 years. This supports the idea that LTM lasts a lifetime because a high proportion of people could remember names and faces from a yearbook.
• Strength of Bahricks study - high ecological validity

  One strength of Bahricks study is that it has high levels of ecological validity because it involves real life memories. For instance, participants had to recall real life information like photos from a yearbook. Therefore, these results reflect our memory of real life information and can be applied to everyday human memory.
• Limitation of Bahricks study - lacks population validity

  One limitation of Bahricks study is that it used a sample of 392 American graduates. This means that the study cannot be generalised to the wider population because it lacks population validity.
• What is the Multi store model


  The MSM describes the flow of information between three stores; sensory register, STM and LTM.
• What is the sensory register

  The sensory register is the first component of the MSM where information is taken in from the environment , has a duration of 1/4 to 1/2 a second and then is transferred to the STM.
• What is the STM

  STM is information that has been transferred from the sensory register through attention. It has a duration of 18-30 seconds, a capacity of 7+-2 and is coded acoustically.
• What is LTM

  This is information that has rehearsed in the STM and transferred to the LTM. The LTM has a duration of a lifetime, an infinite capacity and is coded semantically. Information can be forgotten from the LTM through either retrieval failure or interference.
• Strength of MSM - research to support

  One strength of the MSM is that it has research to support. For example, Clive wearing has an impaired STM with a duration of only 7 seconds compared to the normal 18-30 seconds and he was unable to rehearse new information. But he had a relatively normal LTM because he could still play piano and understand speech. This therefore supports the MSM because the STM and LTM have to be separate stores because one is more impaired than the other.
• Limitation of Clive Wearing - Cannot be generalised

  One limitation of Clive as a study to support the MSM is that he is one person that suffered brain damage as a result of an illness. Therefore this study cannot be generalised to the general population because there is no way to know if he was like this because of the illness or before it.
• Strength of MSM - research to support

  One strength of the MSM is that it has research to support. For example, KF suffered brain damage from a motorcycle accident. As a result KF was only able to remember 2-3 items compared to the normal 7+-2 items for the STM. But his LTM was relatively normal which suggests that STM and LTM have to be separate stores because one is more impaired than the other. Therefore this supports the MSM
• Limitation of MSM - over simplified

  One limitation of the MSM is that it can be criticised for being over simplified. For instance, there is evidence to suggest that there are multiple stores of LTM which the MSM does not account for. For example, the LTM can be split into three different stores; episodic, semantic or procedural.
• What are the different types of LTM

  • Episodic
  • Semantic
  • Procedural
• What is episodic memory

  These are personal memories that make up the episodes of your life.
• What are semantic memories

  These are the things you know you know such as facts or concepts.
• What are procedural memories

  These are the memories of how to do things that we typically cannot explain.
• Strength of separate LTM stores - research to support

  One strength of separate stores of LTM is that there is research to support. For example, Clive wearing has a poor episodic memory as he has a poor memory for personal events but he has a good semantic and procedural memory. For example, he can still play piano and can understand speech. This supports the idea that LTM has a seperate stores because some areas of the LTM are more impaired than others.
• Limitation of Clive wearing - cannot be generalised

  One limitation of Clive as a study to support the idea that the LTM has separate stores is that he is one person that suffered brain damage as a result of an illness. Therefore this study cannot be generalised to the general population because there is no way to know if he was like this because of the illness or before it.
• Strength of separate LTM stores - research to support

  One strength of separate LTM stores is that there is research to support. For example, Tulving et al found more activity in different areas of the brain during different memories. For example, Semantic memories found higher activity in the left frontal cortex while episodic memories found higher activity in the right frontal cortex.
• What is the working memory model 


  This is the idea that the STM has multiple stores which process different types of STM. The different stores of the WMM are the Central executive, phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad and the episodic buffer.
• What is the central executive 


  This drives the whole system and allocates information to the subsystems (slave systems): phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad
• What is the phonological loop


  This component deals with spoken and written material
• What is the visuospatial sketchpad 


  This component stores information in a visual or spatial form. Its often associated with navigation
• What is the episodic buffer 


  This store acts as a backup store which communicates with LTM and the other components of the WMM
• Strength of WMM - Research to support

  One strength of the WMM is that there is research to support. For example, KF suffered from brain damage as a result of a motorcycle accident. KF could only recall 1-2 items compared to the normal 7+-2 but had a normal STM span for meaningful sounds like doorbells or phone rings. This shows that there has to be more than one STM store because certain stores are more impaired than the other. This therefore supports the WMM.
• Limitation of KF - Cannot be generalised

  One limitation of the case study KF is that he is one person that suffered brain damage from a motorcycle accident. Therefore the findings cannot be generalised to the wider population because we cannot be sure if he was like this before the accident or because of it.
• Limitation of WMM - Too simplistic

  One limitation of the WMM is that it has been criticised for being too simplistic and vague. For instance, it is unclear what the central executive actually is and its exact role within the working memory.
• What are the explanations for forgetting

  • Interference
  • Retrieval failure
• What is interference

  This is when interference from other memories disrupt the recall of a certain memory
• What is proactive interference

  This is when old memories affect the recall of new memories
• What is retroactive interference 


  This is when new memories disrupt the recall of old memories
• Strength of interference - Research to support 


  One strength of interference as an explanation for forgetting is that there is research to support. For example, McGeoch and mcdonald conducted a lab study where participants had to learn and recall a list of 10 words from one of six conditions. They found that semantically similar words caused the most interference and therefore poorest recall.
• Strength of McGeoch and mcdonald study - conducted in a lab


  One strength of McGeoch and Mcdonald's study is that it was conducted in a lab. This means it was conducted in a highly controlled environment where the researcher could control the variables. this ensures that there were no extraneous variables that could affect the results of the study therefore there is high internal validity. This means that the study can be replicated to gain reliable results.
• Limitation of McGeoch and Mcdonald's study - lacks ecological validity 


  One limitation of McGeoch and Mcdonald's study is that it lacks ecological validity. This is because participants were given an artificial task of memorising a random list of words. This is unrealistic because it is unlike anything anyone would do in real life situations therefore the findings cannot be generalised to real world examples of forgetting. Therefore this study has low external validity.