Lesson 1 - Coding, Capacity and Duration

Question 1

What is memory

Answer 1

The process by which we retain information about events that have happened in the past.

Question 2

What is short term and long term memory

Answer 2

STM - memory of information held for a short period of time.

LTM - where memories are held indefinitely.

Question 3

Capacity of STM + LTM

Answer 3

How much information we can hold in memory.
STM - 7 +/- 2 items
LTM - unlimited capacity

Question 4

Duration of STM + LTM

Answer 4

How long memory lasts.
STM - 18-30 seconds
LTM - unlimited duration

Question 5

Coding of STM + LTM

Answer 5

How information is stored in memory.
STM - coded acoustically
LTM - coded semantically

Question 6

Peterson and Peterson…

Answer 6

• Aim - to investigate the duration of STM.
• Participants - 24 psychology students.
• Lab experiment in which participants had to recall trigrams eg. TGH, participants were then asked to cut backwards in 3’s and 4’s from a specified number until a red light appeared (Brown Peterson technique). Intervals of 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18.
• Findings - the longer the interval, the less the trigrams were recalled (after 3 sec interval - 90% of trigrams were recalled but after 18 sec interval - 2% were recalled).

Question 7

Baddeley…

Answer 7

• Aim - to find how information is stored in STM + LTM.
• Participants - 147 servicemen
• Lab experiment with 4 different groups who were each read a different word list - acoustically similar, acoustically dissimilar, semantically similar and semantically dissimilar.
• 1/2 of participants had a 20min interval and 1/2 performed next stage straight away.
• Findings - In STM, participants recalled words in correct order least on list 1 and for LTM, participants recalled words in correct order least on list 3.

Question 8

Jacobs…

Answer 8

• Aim - to find capacity of STM.
• Participants - Jacobs studied his students as participants (aged 8-19).
• Lab experiment, Jacobs used serial digit span technique (repeating back a string of increasing items in the correct order). A persons digit span is the point at which they can recall sequences correctly 50% of the time.
• Conclusion - the capacity of STM is between 5 and 9 items.
• Supported by Miller.

Question 9

Miller…

Answer 9

Miller made observations that things come in sevens, he believed that the capacity of STM is about 7 items, plus or minus 2. He also noted that people can recall 5 words as easily as they can recall 5 letters, we do this by chunking.

Question 10

Bahrick…

Answer 10

• Aim - to find out the duration and capacity of LTM.
• Participants - 392 people from Ohio, aged 17-74.
• They looked at testing individuals recall of aspects of the yearbook in various ways: participants were tested after 15 and 48 years of graduation.
  1. Free recall - p’s had to recall all the names o people they could remember.
  2. Photo - photo recognition of 50 photos, some form yearbook.
  3. Name - name recognition of people, many of whom from yearbook.
• Findings:
  1. Free recall: 15yrs - 60%, 48yrs - 30%
  2. Photo: 15yrs - 90%, 48yrs - 70%
  3. Name: 15yrs - 90%, 48yrs - 80%