Coding ,capacity and duration of memory

• Memory

  Ability to keep things in ones mind and recall them at will
• Process of memory


  encoding, storage, retrieval
• Encoding


  Creating a memory trace, eg-a representation of an event in our memory
• Storage


  Once encoded, memory trace is stored somewhere in the memory system
• Retrieval


  Where memory is recalled or remembered
• STM duration


  10 seconds under 20
• STM capacity


  7 +/- 2 items
• LTM duration


  Unlimited duration that could last a lifetime
• LTM capacity


  Potentially unlimited
• Jacobs - capacity of STM


  Developed the digit span technique where a participant has to immediately recall a sequence of letters or numbers which increase by one with each trial , found that STM has a very limited capacity between 5 and 9 depending on material used
• Criticisms of Jacobs, AO3

  Other studies have found the same thing (Miller) = Jacob's study may be valid, different studies have shown individual difference which suggests that performance may be affected by factors rather than capacity
• Peterson and Peterson-duration of STM and rehearsal of LTM

  Concluded that STM has a limited duration of approximately 18 seconds, results show that we are unable to store information in LTM unless we rehearse information
• Criticisms of Peterson and Peterson, AO3

  Students are not like everyone else , no real world application since a laboratory experiment is unlike real life
• Baddeley-coding STM and LTM

  Aimed to establish whether STM and LTM encode information in different way, suspected that LTM encoded semantically and STM=acoustically
• Criticisms of Baddeley, AO3

  STM may not always use and acoustic code, there is more than one kind of LTM
• Bahrick- Duration of LTM and VLTM

  Duration of LTM or VLTM, recognition was better than recall
• Criticism of Bahrick , AO3

  Some aspects were not controlled , eg-participants may have regularly rehearsed information