duration of LTM

Question 1

who did research on the duration of LTM?

Answer 1

Bahrick et al

Question 2

what was Bahricks procedure when researching the duration of LTM?

Answer 2

392 american ex high school students 17-72 years old

recalling high school yearbook in several ways:

-free recall of the names
-photo recognition
-name recognition test
-a name and photo matching test

Question 3

what were the findings of Bahricks procedure on LTM?

Answer 3

-photo recognition = 90% accuracy within 15 years of graduation. 70% after 48 years

-free recall = 60% accuracy after 15 years and 30% accuracy after 48 years

Question 4

what were the conclusions of the duration of LTM after Bahricks procedure?

Answer 4

people have very long term memories, and recognition is better than free recall.

duration of LTM may be up to a LIFETIME for some memories

Question 5

what is one problem with Bahricks study of the duration of LTM?

Answer 5

lack of CONTROL for extran variables. These may have become CONFOUNDING and lowered the IV of the study on duration of LTM, as we’re unsure how long ago participants are RETRIEVING their memory from.

Question 6

What is one strength of Bahricks study?

Answer 6

the stimulus material is REALISTIC in this study, as recalling highschool classmates isn’t uncommon.

NOT artificial, so has a higher level of EXTERNAL validity.