Features of memory Flashcards
what is coding ?
when information enters the memory system, it can be stored in different formats called coding.
discuss baddeleys study of coding for short term memory
Badedely found that when Ps were given lists they had to immediately recall performance was worst when they sounded the same suggesting coding in the STM is acoustic
this means that coding in short term memory is acoustic because they were able to memorise sounds much quicker
what is capacity?
how much information can STM hold at any one time
discuss Jacobs study on digits span
jacobs gave for example 4 digits and the participants were asked to recall these in the correct order out loud. the number of digits increases until the participants can no longer recall the order correctly suggesting that the capacity for STM is 7 items
discuss Peterson and Peterson study on duration
laboratory experiment with 24 students
Findings: the longer the retention interval, the lower the percentage of letters remembered
Conclusion:short term memory has a limited duration when rehearsal is prevented
discuss Barracks study on long term memory
harry bahrick performed a photo recognition test consisting of 50 yearbook pictures and a free recall test where the students recalled all the names of the people in their graduation class
students tested after 15 years had a 90% accuracy compared to 48 years it dropped to 70% showing that
Evaluation: limitation
artificial stimuli used rather than meaningful material
The word list had no personal meaning to participants. This means we should be cautious about generalising the findings of different kidneys of memory tasks. For example, when processing more meaningful information, people may use semantic coding even for STM tasks. Limited application
Evaluation: limitation of the study on capacity is that it lacks validity
The study was conducted a long time ago and early research in psychology often lacked adequate control. E.g some participants may have been distracted while they were being tested/ this means there may be confounding variables not controlled.
Evaluation: limitation of millers research = may have overstimulated the capacity of the STM
e.g Cowan reviewed other research and concluded that the capacity of STM was only about four chunks. Millers estimate of 5 items is more appropriate than 7.
Evaluation: strength
Barracks study on duration = higher external validity
Real life meaningful memories were studied. When studies were conducted on meaningless studies, recall rates were lower. However it doesn’t control confounding variables .
