coding, capacity and duration of memory

Question 1

what is coding?

Answer 1

the format in which information is stored in the various memory stores

Question 2

what is capacity?

Answer 2

the amount of information that can be held in a memory store

Question 3

what is duration?

Answer 3

the length of time that information can be held in memory

Question 4

what is short term memory?

Answer 4

limited capacity memory store, coding is mainly acoustic (sound), capacity between 5-9 items, duration about 18 seconds

Question 5

what is long term memory?

Answer 5

permanent memory store, coding is mainly semantic (meaning), unlimited capacity, duration is up to a lifetime

Question 6

Baddeley (coding)

Answer 6

aim - find out difference between how info is coded in STM vs LTM
procedure - different lists of words to remember, recall was tested immediately and then after 20 minutes
findings - after recalling immediately, did worse with acoustically similar words, after recalling after 20 minutes, did worse with semantically similar words
conclusion - info is coded acoustically in STM, semantically in LTM

Question 7

Jacobs (capacity)

Answer 7

aim - find out how much info STM can hold
procedure - researcher read out 4 digits, pp recalls in order, if correct, digit is added etc.
findings - mean span for digits was 9.3 items, mean span for letters was 7.3

Question 8

Miller (capacity)

Answer 8

aim - research the span of memory and chunking
procedure - noted that everyday things often come in sevens, so he thought that capacity of STM is 7 items
findings - noted that people can recall 5 words as easy as 5 letters
conclusion - chunking, grouping sets of digits or letters into units or chunks

Question 9

The Petersons (duration)

Answer 9

aim - research how short the duration of STM is
procedure - students were given 3 letters to remember, then had to count back from a 3 digit number until asked to stop
findings - after 3 seconds, recall was 80%, after 18 seconds was 3%
conclusion - STM duration is about 18 seconds unless we repeat info over and over

Question 10

Bahrick et al (duration)

Answer 10

aim - research duration of LTM
procedure - photo recognition test from yearbooks, free recall test of names
findings - pps tested within 15 years of graduation were 90% accurate, within 48 years was 70%, free recall was less accurate, about 60% within 15 years and 30% after 48 years
conclusion - LTM may last up to a lifetime for some material