features of memory

Question 1

what is memory

Answer 1

the ability to both preserve and recover information we have learned or experienced

Question 2

what are the main 3 features of memory

Answer 2

coding
storage
retrieval

Question 3

what is coding

Answer 3

the way in which information is stored into memory eg.acoustic,visual,semantic

Question 4

what is capacity

Answer 4

a measure of how much can be held in memory

Question 5

what is duration

Answer 5

a measure of how long a memory lasts in a store before it is no longer available

Question 6

what is the STM coding experiment

Answer 6

baddeleys cat/mat study

Question 7

what is baddeleys cat/mat study

Answer 7

Participants were shown one of these word lists and were then asked to recall the words in the correct order immediately after seeing them and after a delay
List 1: Acoustically Similar Words – For example, cat, bat, mat, and so on.
List 2: Acoustically Dissimilar Words – For example, cat, dog, pen, etc.
List 3: Semantically Similar Words – For example, large, huge, big, etc.
List 4: Semantically Dissimilar Words – For example, cat, pen, tree, etc

Question 8

what was baddleys findings

Answer 8

Acoustically similar words were harder to remember in short-term memory because they caused confusion due to their similar sounds.
Semantically similar words were harder to remember in long-term memory because the meaning of the words caused interference when trying to organize and recall them after a delay.

Question 9

what is the STM capacity experiment

Answer 9

jacobs serial digit span

Question 10

what is the jacobs serial digit span test

Answer 10

asked PP to recall a number that was repeated to them
everytime the number increased by 1 digit up to 10 digits

Question 11

what were jacobs findings

Answer 11

pps could only recall digits from 5-9 (came up with millers magic number 7+/-2 items)
chunking help increase the number of items we can hold in STM

Question 12

what is teh STM duration test

Answer 12

petersons and petersons trigram retention experiemnt

Question 13

what was the petersons and petersons test

Answer 13

• pps were read a nonsense trigram
• immediatelty after hearing it the had to count backwards in 3s from a random 3 digit number for a certain amount of time
• this time was called the retention interval designed to prevent rehersal
• end of retention they had to recall the trigram

Question 14

what were petersons and petersons findings

Answer 14

without rehersal the duration of STM is short between 18-30 secs

Question 15

what is the LTM coding experiement

Answer 15

badleys cat and mat experiement

Question 16

what were the LTM coding finidings

Answer 16

semantic confusion because the codes of the works were so similar- concluded that LTM coding is done mostly semantically

Question 17

what is the capacity of LTM

Answer 17

unlimited however the number of items stored in LTM cannot be measured there are no studies to test it

Question 18

what was the LTM duration experiment

Answer 18

Bahricks high school year book experiemnt

Question 19

what was the Bahricks high school year book experiemnt

Answer 19

• 400 pps
  task 1- free recall- asked to name everyone in their year
  task 2- cued recall- given a set of photos not all they went to school with asked to recgonise them
  task 3- cued recall- given a set of names and asked to recognise then

Question 20

conclusion of the Bahricks high school year book experiemnt

Answer 20

images help us remember, then names
duration of LTM if a lifetime long as we have cues to help us

Question 21

what is the multi store model of memory

Answer 21

draw pic

Question 22

what is the description of MSM

Answer 22

• information from our environment enters the sensory register via the 5 senses
• sensory register acts as a filter only if attention is payed to the information but it is only a temporary store
• information must be attented to in the rehersal loop if it is to avoid decay or displacement and so it e transferred to our long term memory for pernament storage
• information will need to be referred back to our short term store if it is to be used again

Question 23

what is the case study of kF

Answer 23

KFs memory was impaired as a result of a motorbike accident where he suffered a brain injury

Question 24

support of the MSM using KFs case study

Answer 24

STM had a reduced capacity of just 1-2 items yet his LTM was fine (showing that they must be in separate locations in the brain as one was damaged in the injury but the other was fine)

Question 25

challenge of the MSM using the KFs case study

Answer 25

KFs difficulties in capacity in STM were only for verbal items his STM for visual and acoustic items were fine (suggesting that just one unitary store for all STMs irrespective of type is oversimplfying how our STM actually works)

Question 26

what is the case study of clive wearing

Answer 26

he has no LTM since the herpes virus destroyed parts of his temporary lobes. His STM still works fine

Question 27

support of MSM using the clive wearing case

Answer 27

the idea of sperate stores of MSM; clives LTM had a reduced functioning yet his STM was undamaged thus showing they must be located in different areas of the brain as one was damaged by the virus in his temperal lobes but not the other

Question 28

challenge of MSM using the clive wearing case

Answer 28

the simplified nature of MSM; clives dificulties with his LTM were only for episodic memories his semantic and procedural LTMs were still fine- suggesting that just one unitary store for all LTMs irespective of the type is oversimplified how our LTM actually works