memory

• STM


  - temporary

  - limited capacity 5-9

  - codes acoustically

  - duration of 18 seconds
• LTM


  - permanent

  - unlimited capacity

  - codes semantically

  - duration of a lifetime
• coding


  format information is stored in
• baddeley research


  - 1- acoustically similar

  - 2- acoustically dissimilar

  - 3- semantically similar

  - 4- semantically dissimilar

  
  

  - STM- worse at 1

  - LTM- worse at 3
• separate memory stores (AO3)


  - strength

  - identified difference between STM and LTM

  - important to understanding memory

  - led to MSM
• artificial stimuli (AO3)


  - limitation

  - no personal meaning

  - doesn't tell us about different types of memory tasks

  - limited application to real life
• capacity


  amount of memory which can be stored in
• digit span + chunking


  jacobs

  - digits recall 9.3

  - letters recall 7.3

  
  

  miller

  - 7 observations -> 7 +/- 2

  - chunking reduced to 5
• a valid study (AO3)


  - strength

  - replicated with more control and similar findings
• not so many chunks (AO3)


  - limitation

  - reviews say it may be 4 +/- 1
• duration


  length of time information can be stored for
• margaret and peterson


  - 24 students

  - consonant syllable + 3 digit number

  - counted backwards in intervals to prevent rehearsal

  - 3 seconds- 80%

  - 18 seconds- 3%
• bahrick et al.


  within 15 years of graduation

  - photo recognition- 90%

  - free recall- 65%

  
  

  after 48 years of graduation

  - photo recognition- 70%

  - free recall- 30%
• meaningless stimuli (AO3)


  - limitation

  - doesn't reflect most everyday memory activities

  - lacks external validity
• high external validity (AO3)


  - strength

  - meaningful memories

  - when studies on LTM used meaningless pictures recall rates were lower
• multi store model


  - a representation of how memory works

  - sensory register, stm, ltm

  - describes how information is transferred from one store into another
• msm diagram

  
• sensory register


  - stores memory from the senses

  - vision- iconic

  - hearing- echoic

  - huge capacity

  - short duration

  - information passes through if you pay attention
• maintenance rehearsal (rehearsal loop)


  when we repeat material to ourselves over and over again
• research support (ao3)


  - strength

  - baddeley research study on coding supports msm

  - capacity and duration studies also support

  - supports the idea that stm and ltm are separate

  
  

  - counter

  - artificial stimuli used by studies

  - doesn't represent meaningful memories captured in every day life

  - may not be a valid model
• more than one stm store (ao3)


  - limitation

  - kf case study

  - stm for digits was poor when read aloud to him but improved when he read it out himself

  - not a complete model
• elaborative rehearsal (ao3)


  - limitation

  - prolonged rehearsal may not be needed to transfer information to ltm

  - when you link new knowledge with existing knowledge in ltm it doesn't require any prolonged rehearsal

  - suggests that msm doesn't fully explain how ltm is reached

  - not a complete model
• episodic


  - ltm

  - personal events

  - time- stamped

  - places, objects, behaviours

  - conscious effort to retrieve
• semantic


  - ltm

  - knowledge of world

  - not time-stamped

  - conscious effort to retrieve
• procedural


  - ltm

  - how to do things- learned skills

  - no sonscious effort
• clinical evidence (ao3)


  - strength

  - hm and clive wearing case studies

  - - episodic memory was impaired in both due to brain damage

  - semantic and procedural memories unaffected

  
  

  - counter

  - lack of control over variables- before or during injury

  - no knowledge of the individual's memory before brain damage

  - limits
• conflicting neuroimaging evidence (ao3)


  - limitation

  - research concludes that semantic memory is located on the left side of the prefrontal cortex and episodic is on the right

  - however some say there's links with the left to encoding episodic, and right with retrieving episodic
• real-world application (ao3)


  - strength

  - helps people improve memory

  - intervention plans put in place to improve episodic memory in old people as it is common for memory loss

  - against a control
• working model memory


  - stm

  - suggests that stm is a dynamic processor of different types of information using subunits co-ordinated by a central decision-making system
• central executive


  - co-ordinates the activities of the three subsystems in memory

  - monitors incoming data

  - allocates subunits to tasks
• phonological loop


  - processes auditory information

  - phonological store- words you hear

  - articulatory process- allows maintenance rehearsal (repeating words in a loop)
• visuo-spatial sketchpad


  - processes visual and spatial information

  - visual cache- visual data

  - inner scribe- arrangements of objects
• episodic buffer


  - brings information together from other subsystems by recording events

  - provides a bridge to ltm
• clinical evidence (ao3)


  - strength

  - kf case study

  - poor stm ability for auditory but fine visually

  - phonological loop damaged but visuo-spatial sketchpad intact

  
  

  - counter

  - unclear whether kf had other impairments which may have affected performance

  - little control over variables
• dual-task performance (ao3)


  - strength

  - supports existence of visuo-spatial sketchpad

  - visual and verbal tasks performed at the same time

  - performance was same as separately

  - when both tasks were visual/verbal it worsened performance

  - due to same subsystem
• nature of central executive (ao3)


  - limitation

  - lack of clarity

  - most important but least understood

  - ce needs to be clearly specified

  - may consist of separate subcomponents

  - unsatisfactory

  - challenges integrity
• interference


  forgetting because one memory blocks another, meaning it is forgotten or distorted
• proactive interference


  older memories disrupt the recall of newer memories
• retroactive interference


  newer memories disrupt the recall of older memories
• research on effects of similarity (McDonald + McGeoch)


  - retroactive interference

  - had to learn words until 100% accuracy

  - then given another list

  - 1: synonyms

  - 2: antonyms

  - 3: unrelated

  - 4: consonants

  - 5: 3 digit numbers

  - 6: no list, rest, control

  
  

  - 1 had worst recall