Lecture 7 - Memory 1

Question 1

What is memory the process of?

Answer 1

Encoding, Storing and Retrieving information

Question 2

Do encoding, storage, and retrieval focus on different aspects of memory performances?

Answer 2

Yes

Question 3

Are encoding, storage and retrieval interdependent?

Answer 3

Yes- retrieval can’t happen without encoding and storage

Question 4

What did early models of memory suggest that memory consist of?

Answer 4

The sensory register (store), short term memory and long term memory

Question 5

What does Atkinson and Shiffrin’s model emphasise?

Answer 5

That memory storage varies in duration and capacity

Question 6

What is the Sensory Register (Store)?

Answer 6

Holds information very briefly (under 1sec) and does little interpretation of info - different store for each sense

Question 7

What stores has most research examined?

Answer 7

Iconic store (visual) and Echoic store (auditory)

Question 8

What did Sperling (1960) research?

Answer 8

The capacity of the iconic store - suggests that iconic store holds info for about 500ms - very rapid decay

Question 9

What is Short term memory?

Answer 9

Memory for items that have just been perceived - forms the ‘psychological present’
Limited in capacity (7 +/- 2) and duration (approx 20-30 seconds)

Question 10

What did Miller (1956) suggest?

Answer 10

Short term memory can hold 7 ‘bits’ or units of information (+/-2)
• Used digit spans - longest list of numbers that can be remembered without errors

Question 11

How can the capacity of the STM be increased?

Answer 11

By remembering chunks of information e.g. remember DOG rather than d, o ,g

Question 12

What do recent conceptualisations of short term memory see it as?

Answer 12

Active process rather than passive storage

Question 13

What is working memory?

Answer 13

An active processing system that keeps different types of information available for current use - remains for 20-30 seconds unless actively prevented from disappearing

Question 14

What is Long term memory?

Answer 14

The relatively permanent storage of information - does not have a definite capacity

Question 15

How can the distinction between long and short term memory be demonstrated?

Answer 15

Serial position effect - ability to recall dependent on order - earliest and latest items remembered better than middle

Primacy effect - better memory for items at beginning of list (reflects LTM)

Recency effect - better memory for items at end of lost (reflects working memory)