Coding, capacity and duration of memory

• What are the main topics covered in Paper 1 of the psychology specification?

  Social Influence, Memory, Attachment, Psychopathology
• What are the key aspects of memory that are investigated?

  Coding, Capacity, Duration
• What is the definition of memory according to Matlin (2005) and Sternberg (1999)?

  • Matlin (2005): "Memory is the process of maintaining information over time."
  • Sternberg (1999): "Memory is the means by which we draw on our past experiences in order to use this information in the present."
• What does coding in memory refer to?

  Coding refers to how the memory is stored.
• Who investigated coding in short-term memory?

  Baddeley
• What did Baddeley find regarding short-term memory coding?

  Participants made significantly more mistakes on words that sounded alike.
• What conclusion did Baddeley draw about short-term memory coding?

  Information in short-term memory is encoded acoustically.
• What is the average span for letters according to Jacobs' findings?

  1. 3
• What is the average span for numbers according to Jacobs' findings?

  1. 3
• What is chunking in the context of short-term memory?

  Chunking is a strategy used to group information together to increase capacity.
• What did Miller's research suggest about the capacity of short-term memory?

  The average adult can hold 7 items in short-term memory, plus or minus 2.
• What limitation did Miller's research have regarding chunk size?

  Miller's research failed to identify how large each chunk of information could be.
• What was the aim of Peterson & Peterson's (1959) research?

  To test the hypothesis that information which is not rehearsed is lost from short-term memory.
• What are the three key aspects of memory that researchers focus on?

  • Coding: How information is stored
  • Capacity: How much information can be stored
  • Duration: How long the memory lasts
• Outline the research into the capacity of short-term memory.

  • Jacobs (1887): Digit span test with 443 female students; average span for letters = 7.3, numbers = 9.3.
  • Miller (1956): Suggested average capacity is 7 items, plus or minus 2; introduced chunking as a method to increase capacity.
• Why is memory essential to our lives?

  Without memory, we cannot operate in the present or think about the future.
• What types of coding are identified in memory?

  Acoustic, Visual, Semantic
• What is the significance of the "Magical Number Seven" in memory research?

  It suggests that the average adult can hold 7 items in short-term memory.
• How does chunking help improve short-term memory capacity?

  Chunking groups information together, allowing more information to be stored as single units.
• What is the role of rehearsal in short-term memory according to Peterson & Peterson's research?


  Rehearsal helps to retain information in short-term memory; without it, information is lost.
• What does "chunking" refer to in the context of short-term memory?

  Chunking refers to the process of grouping parts of information to reduce the load on short-term memory.
• What was the main finding of Miller's (1956) research regarding short-term memory capacity?

  Miller's research suggested that the capacity of short-term memory is around seven items, plus or minus two.
• What limitation did Miller's (1956) research have regarding the size of information chunks?

  Miller's research failed to identify how large each chunk of information could be, making it difficult to conclude the exact capacity of short-term memory.
• What did Peterson & Peterson (1959) aim to test in their research on short-term memory?

  They aimed to test the hypothesis that information which is not rehearsed is lost quickly from short-term memory.
• What was the sample size used in Peterson & Peterson's (1959) study?

  The sample size was 24 psychology students.
• What task did participants perform in Peterson & Peterson's (1959) study?

  Participants had to recall meaningless three-letter trigrams at different intervals.
• Why did Peterson & Peterson avoid using vowels in their trigrams?

  Vowels were avoided so that words couldn't be constructed, making the task more challenging.
• What was the main conclusion drawn from Peterson & Peterson's (1959) study regarding short-term memory duration?

  They concluded that short-term memory has a limited duration of approximately 18 seconds.
• What did Peterson & Peterson find regarding recall accuracy at different time intervals?

  They found that the longer the interval, the less accurate the recall.
• What is the "Magic Number" proposed by Miller regarding short-term memory capacity?

  The "Magic Number" is seven, plus or minus two.
• What type of coding did Baddeley find to be predominant in long-term memory?

  Baddeley found that information in long-term memory is encoded semantically, by its meaning.
• What did Bahrick et al. (1975) investigate in their research?


  They investigated very long-term memory (vLTM) and memory of school friends.
• What were the results of Bahrick et al.'s (1975) free recall test after 15 years?

  After 15 years, participants had 60% accuracy in recalling names.
• What were the results of Bahrick et al.'s (1975) photo recognition test after 48 years?

  After 48 years, participants had 70% accuracy in identifying names and faces.
• What are the key differences between short-term memory (STM) and long-term memory (LTM) in terms of coding, capacity, and duration?

  Short-Term Memory (STM):

  • Coding: Acoustically similar (Baddeley)
  • Capacity: 7±2 items (Miller)
  • Duration: Approximately 18 seconds (Peterson & Peterson)

  
  

  Long-Term Memory (LTM):

  • Coding: Semantically different (Baddeley)
  • Capacity: Theoretically unlimited
  • Duration: Can last for many years (Bahrick)
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of the studies conducted by Miller, Peterson & Peterson, and Bahrick?

  Strengths:

  • Miller's work is supported by Jacobs' findings on capacity.
  • Peterson & Peterson's study had high control over extraneous variables.
  • Bahrick's study had high ecological validity due to real-life meaningful memories.

  
  

  Weaknesses:

  • Miller did not specify the size of information chunks.
  • Peterson & Peterson's sample was biased and lacked ecological validity.
  • Bahrick's study may not account for individual differences in memory.
• What is the significance of the term "very long-term memory" (vLTM) as used by Bahrick et al. (1975)?


  vLTM refers to the phenomenon where recall can be accurate over a very long period of time.
• How does Baddeley's research contribute to our understanding of memory processes?

  Baddeley's research provides insights into how information is encoded in both short-term and long-term memory, emphasizing the role of semantic coding.
• What is a limitation of using a laboratory experiment in memory research, as seen in studies like Peterson & Peterson's?

  A limitation is that laboratory settings can lack ecological validity, making it difficult to generalize findings to real-world situations.
• What is the main conclusion of Miller's research regarding the capacity of short-term memory?

  Miller concluded that the capacity of short-term memory is approximately 7 items, plus or minus 2.