Cognitive approach KC1: characteristics of sm, stm, ltm

Question 1

sensory memory (sm)

Answer 1

all stimuli from the environment pass into sensory memory. it consists of 5 stores: one for each of our senses (hearing, vision, touch, smell and taste)

Question 2

short term memory (stm)

Answer 2

memory in the present or the immediate past. eg, trying to remember a food order.

Question 3

long term memory (ltm)

Answer 3

memory for events that have happened in the more distant past. eg, remembering information for an exam.

Question 4

what are the 3 characteristics of the memory stores?

Answer 4

encoding, capacity and duration

Question 5

encoding

Answer 5

involves converting information from the environment (sights, sounds, smells) into a form which can be stored in memory

Question 6

capacity

Answer 6

HOW MUCH information can be held in memory, measured in terms of bits of information such as numbers of digits

Question 7

duration

Answer 7

HOW LONG a memory lasts before it is no longer available, measured in secs, mins, hours, days and years

Question 8

what is the capacity of sensory memory?

Answer 8

very large

Question 9

what is the duration of sensory memory?

Answer 9

very short

Question 10

sensory memory encoding?

Answer 10

there are 5 stores one for each sense. eg, iconic - visual stimuli
echoic - auditory stimuli
haptic - touch stimuli

Question 11

what is the capacity of short term memory?

Answer 11

very limited
between 5 and 9 items (7+/-2)
chunking increases the capacity

Question 12

what is the duration of short term memory?

Answer 12

up to 30 seconds if rehearsal is prevented
rehearsal increases duration and information may then pass into long term memory

Question 13

short term memory encoding?

Answer 13

mainly acoustic (sounds of words)

Question 14

what is the capacity of long term memory?

Answer 14

unlimited
long term memory stores everything we learn so forgetting is due to a lack of appropriate retrieval cues, not capacity

Question 15

what is the duration of long term memory?

Answer 15

can last a lifetime

Question 16

long term memory encoding?

Answer 16

mainly semantic (meaning of words)

Question 17

name 1 strength of the characteristics of Sm, Stm and Ltm

Answer 17

Has practical application so is useful

research shows that the capacity of short term memory is between 5 and 9 items (miller). however, the technique ‘chunking’ (miller) can be used to increase that capacity.

Question 18

name 1 limitation of the characteristics of Sm, Stm and Ltm

Answer 18

Memory research often lacks ecological validity

memory is often investigated using lab experiments and artificial materials. eg, participants are often asked to remember lists of meaningless digits, letters or words. however, memories in everyday life are often about useful things that have meaning to that person (faces, places, facts). therefore, the results from such lab studies tell us little about how memory works in the real world (they lack ecological validity)