Evaluation for KC1

Question 1

Practical applications

Answer 1

Understanding the different memory stores can help improve people’s memories. For example, people know that they need to chunk information to help people to recall it e.g. if someone was learning a phone number.

Question 2

Research

Answer 2

There is a wealth of research evidence into the coding, capacity and duration of different memory stores. For example, Jacobs and Miller found evidence for the limited capacity of the STM (digit span experiments). Peterson & Peterson looked at the duration of the STM. Bahrick looked at the duration of the LTM. However, this research has been criticized for taking place in artificial settings (labs) and for using artificial stimuli, this brings into question how far we can apply the findings to real-life.

Question 3

Weaknesses

Answer 3

It also ignores the complexity of the stores for example, other psychologists such as Tulving have argued that the STM and the LTM are in fact multiple stores.