Memory

• What is memory?


  The process in which information is encoded, stored and retrieved.
• What is coding?

  The way information changes its format so it can be stored in memory.
• What is capacity?


  This is a measure of ow much information can be held in memory.
• What is duration?


  The length of time information can be held in memory.
• What are the 3 types of memory?

  Sensory, STM, LTM
• What is sensory memory?


  Immediate information coming in from the environment which first registers with a sensory store.
• What is STM?


  A temporary store of memory that can store a short amount of information for a brief amount of time (18 seconds).
• What is LTM?


  A permanent memory store, that stores unlimited information for a long period of time.
• Who carried out research for the capacity of STM?

  Jacob’s, Millers
• What did Jacob’s research encounter?

  Serial digit span, ppt repeat back a string of numbers, the quantity gradually increases until the ppt isn’t able to recall. The average number of letters recalled was 7.3 letters and 9.3 digits. Capacity is reduced in STM.
• What did Millers research encounter?

  He reviewed existing research, and found that chunking of information enable the STM to cope, therefore the STM has extended capacity with chunking.
• What is a limitation of Jacobs research?

  Lacks validity, as it was a long time ago therefore it lacks control and isn’t accurate due to confounding variable so lacks internal validity.
• What is a limitation of Millers research?

  Overestimated STM capacity, Cowan reviewed and the capacity of the STM is around 4 items therefore the lower end of the estimate is more appropriate. Therefore there’s no accurate understanding.
• What does rehearsal do?


  Keeps memory active. Verbal rehearsal allows memory to transfer to LTM.
• Who carried out research for the duration of STM?

  Peterson and Peterson
• What did Peterson and Peterson do?


  Recalling of trigrams at intervals of 3,6,9,12,15,18 seconds. Ppts were also asked to carry out an interference task of counting backwards. The longer the interval the less accurate recall was, therefore STM cannot hold information unless rehearsal takes place.
• What does too much information cause?

  Displacement
• What are the limitations of Peterson and Peterson research on STM?

  Meaningless stimuli (trigrams), that do not reflect real life activities, therefore lacking external validity.
• What is a strength of Peterson and Peterson‘s study on STM?

  High level of control, research was carried out in a lab, therefore all ppts are exposed to the same trigrams and standardised procedures, therefore it has a high internal validity.
• Who carried out research for the duration of LTM?

  Bahrick et al
• What did Bahrick et al research consist of?


  Photo recognition and free recall test by US high school graduates. Those who had graduated within 15 years ago had a 90% accuracy during photo recognition and those who graduated 48+ years ago had a 70% accuracy. Free recall was worse with people graduated after 15 years ago having 60% accuracy and people who graduated 48 years or more ago having a 30% accuracy. Therefore LTM lasts for a prolonged time.
• What is a strength of Bahrick et al study?

  High external validity, due to have real meaningful memories. However meaningless pictures usually have lower recall rates so it can be seen as inaccurate for all forms of memories. Therefore for real meaningful memories the study is an accurate depiction of the duration of LTM.
• What is iconic?


  Visual memory
• What is echoic?


  Auditory memory
• How does coding take place in the STM?

  Acoustically
• How is information coded for in the LTM?

  Semantic
• Who investigated coding for STM and LTM?

  Baddeley
• What did Baddeley’s research for coding include?

  He presented groups of words to participants (acoustically similiar, acoustically dissimilar, semantically similar and semantically dissimilar). One group was asked to recall immediately after and acoustically similiar words were the worst. Other group was asked to recall words 20mins later and semantically similar words were the worst repeated. Therefore information is coded acoustically in the STM and semantically in the LTM.
• What is a strength of Baddeley’s research?

  Proves that there are different memory stores that code in different ways. Shows 2 different stores with significant functions.
• What is a limitation of baddeleys research?

  Artifical stimuli, so words have no personal meaning and therefore tells us no significant meaning in day to day life. So findings have limited application.
• Can the STM and LTM be subdivided?

  NO
• How is information transferred from the sensory register to the STM?

  Through paying attention
• How is information transferred from the STM to the LTM?

  Prolonged maintenance rehearsal
• How is information transferred from the LTM to the STM?

  Retreival
• How is information kept in the STM?

  Maintenance rehearsal
• How is information forgotten in the sensory register?

  Through decay
• How is information forgotten through the STM?

  Forgetting through decay or displacement
• How is information forgotten in LTM?

  Forgetting through decay, interference and retrieval failure.
• What are the 2 stores in the sensory register?

  Iconic, echoic
• What is a strength of MSM?

  Supporting research (Baddeley, coding) shows that the features of the STM and LTM are different. This supports the idea that the STM and LTM are unitary stores.