cognitive approach- first model of memory Flashcards
what is the cognitive approach ?
our behaviour is determined by our mental processes
what analogy does the cognitive approach use ?
computer analogy
what does the computer analogy mean ?
our brain inputs information from our environment and then it processes it for a response (input,process, output)
what is memory ?
the ability of the mind to retain learned information and knowledge of past events and experiences , and then retrieve that information
how does your memory retrieve information ?
through a process of coding, storage and retrieval
what is the first model of memory
the idea that we have 3 memory stores
what are the 3 stages/stores of memory
sensory, short term, long term
how does information pass through the different stores of memory
information processing begins in the sensory memory, moves to the short term memory and eventually moves into the long term memory store
what happens to most of the information passing through the stores of memory ?
it is lost/ forgotten along the way
how can we make information move into the STM and LTM stores ?
what we pay attention to determines if it goes through all 3 stages (rehearsing the information)
what are the differences between the different memory stores ?
each store retains a ..
. different amounts of information.
. in a different way ( different ways of coding it )
. holding it for a different length of time ( how long it can retain it)
whats the duration of the sensory memory
very short ( few seconds)
whats the duration of the STM
limited duration
why is duration limited in the STM ?
we must rehearse the information to keep it in our STM
what happens if we rehearse information enough ?
it can move from our STM to our LTM
what research study shows the duration of STM
Petersons and Petersons
explain Petersons and Peterson experiment about duration of STM
. The experimenter said a consonant syllable to the participant and a 3 digit number ( e.g. SRT 238)
. the participant was then asked to count back from this number in 3’s and 4’s until they were asked to stop
. (intervals 3,6,9,12,14,16,18)
. The participants were then asked to recall the 3 consonants
how many recalled the letters correctly after 3 seconds ? in Petersons and Peterson experiment
80%
how many recalled the letters correctly after 18 seconds in Petersons and Petersons experiment
10%
What does Petersons and Petersons experiment show ?
recall got progressively worse as the delay grew longer
experiment aim ( petersons and petersons ) =
to see how long information could be stored in our STM
experiment conclusion ( petersons and petersons)=
STM lasts about 30 seconds at the most if not rehearsed , information is lost from STM from trace delay
what research study shows the duration of LTM
Bahrick et ales St
explain the experiment ( bahrick et ales - duration of LTM)
. Participants were asked to list the names of those they could remember from their graduating class. as well as photo recognition tests.
how accurate were the participants 15 years after graduation ? (in BAhrciks et ales experiment)
90% accurate at identifying names and faces
how accurate were the participants 48 years after graduation ? ( in bahrcik et ales experiement)
80%= verbal
70%= visual
experiment aim ( bahrcik et ales) =
to see how long information can be stored in the LTM
experiment conclusion ( bahrcik et ales) =
LTM has a potentially unlimited duration
how does encoding work in sensory memory
encoding in the SM involves converting the information from the environment (sight,sounds,smells) into a form in which it can be stored as memory
how does encoding differ in the SM
depends on the senses
what type of encoding is used for the STM
encoding is mainly acoustic
what does acoustic mean ?
based on sounds (words)
what evidence supports STM is acoustic ?
Allan Baddely (1966) found the mistakes made are acoustic when recalling words in the STM , such as substituting a word for another word that sounds the same ( such as cat instead of cap)
what type of encoding is used in the LTM
encoding is mainly semantic
what does semantic mean ?
based on meaning
what evidence supports that the type of encoding in the LTM is semantic
Allen Baddely (1966) found the mistakes made are semantic when recalling words in the LTM, such as substituting word that means the same thing (such as saying tiny instead of small)
describe Allen baddelys experiment for coding in the STM and LTM
participants were given words that were either
. acoustically similar ( words that sound the same)
.acoustically dissimilar (words that don’t sound the same)
.semantically similar ( words with similar meanings)
.semantically dissimilar (words that don’t have similar meanings)
what were the results in Allen baddelys experiment around encoding with STM and LTM ?
. Participants had difficulty remembering acoustically similar words in the STM
. participants had difficulty remembering semantically similar words in the LTM
conclusion ( Allen baddelys experiment) =
. dominant form of encoding in the
STM = acoustic
. dominant form of encoding in the
LTM= semantic
whats the capacity of SM ?
capacity is very high
whats the capacity of STM ?
capacity is limited
why is the capacity of STM limited ?
because it can only contain a certain number of things before forgeting occurs
why is the capacity of LTM unlimited ?
because we store everything we have ever learned in it
whats the capacity of LTM
Capacity is practically unlimited
Why do we sometimes forget information in our LTM ?
the information may still be in your LTM but you just cant access it because you don’t had the right cues
what experiment proves the information around Capacity of memory stores
Jacobs study of STM
explain the experiment of jacobs study about capacity in memory stores
. participants were presented with a string of letters or digits
. they had to repeat them back in the same order
. the number of digits increased until the participant failed to record them properly.
conclusion (jacobs study) =
STM has limited storage capacity of 5-9 items
what is a weakness of the first model of memory
a lot of research is not typical of everyday memory
explain how artificial experiments are a weakness in the first model of memory
In Peterson’s and Peterson’s study they had to remember 3 consonants ( with no meaning) making the experiment artificial. This means the different characteristics of memories stores may not be so clear when we use our memories in everyday life
what is a strength of the first model of memory ?
there is lots of evidence showing there are 3 memory stores, we can tell the SM, STM and LTM are separate as their characteristics differ so much ( shown in studies)
give examples of studies proving that there is lots of evidence about the first model of memory ?
Petersons and Petersons study
bahrcik et ales st study
Allen baddely study
jacobs study
what is strength of the first model of memory
knowledge of memory stores has practical applications, by understanding the different characteristics of memory stores we can improve memory.
prove that the first model, of memory has practical applications ?
this knowledge of memory stores means we can increase the limited capacity stores of STM through techniques such as “chunking”, this chunking approach can help us in everyday life such as in postcodes, registrations and phone numbers
