Coding, Capacity and Duration (M) Flashcards
Coding
Format in which memory is stored
The process of converting information from one form to another
Capacity
The amount that of information that can be held in the memory store
Duration
The length of time information is stored
STM
Limited capacity memory store
LTM
Permanent memory store, coding is semantic (It has unlimited capacity and can store memories up to a lifetime
What happens once information gets into the memory system?
It is stored in different formats depending on the memory store
What is the experiment for coding?
Baddeley (1966a, 1966b)
What was Baddeley’s experiment?
Give different lists of words to four groups of participants to remember Group 1= acoustically similar Group 2= acoustically dissimilar Group 3= semantically similar Group 4= semantically dissimilar
Participants were then asked to recall the words in the correct order
What were the results of Baddeley’s experiment?
When asked to do this immediately the acoustically similar group were worse (STM)
After 20 Minutes the group with semantically similar words were worse (LTM)
What did Baddeley’s results suggest?
That information is coded semantically in the LTM
Evaluation of Baddeley’s experiment
Artificial stimuli so word lists had no personal meaning so there are difficulties generalising and have limited application
What is the expriment for capacity?
Jacobs (1887) Digital span
What was Jacobs experiment?
Recall 4 digits in order, If correct 5 digits are given to recall and so on until a mistake is made (reading allowed) and this Is your digital span
What were the results from Jacobs experiment?
Mean span = 9.3 digital items and 7.3 letter items
What Was millers experiment for?
(1956)
Span of memory and chunking
What was millers experiment?
Observed everyday practice and noted the importance of sevens
7 musical notes, 7 days of the week, seven deadly sins
What did millers results suggest?
That the span of the STM is about 7 (+/-2)
He noted that people can recall 5 words just as well as five letters
What is chunking?
Grouping sets of digits or letters into units/chunks
What is the evaluation of millers experiment?
Lacks validity as it lacks adequate control of confounding variables
May have overestimated the capacity of STM
(Cowan 2001, capacity is only 4 chunks so five is more believable than 7)
What is the experiment for duration of short term memory?
Peterson and Peterson (1959)
What was Peterson and Petersons experiment?
24 undergraduate students,each student had 8 trials
On each trial students were given a consonant syllable to remember and a 3 digit number
They were then asked to count backwards from 3 digit number until stopped , each trial stopping a different times (retention interval)
What were the results of Petersons x2 experiment?
STM has a very short duration unless it is repeatedly regularly
What is the evaluation of petersons and petersons experiment?
Stimulus material is artificial - not real so consequently lacks external validity (however we do remember random phone numbers)
