LTM (MSM) Flashcards
What is the capacity of the LTM
unlimited
there is no memory loss due to lack of capacity memories only fade due to decay or interference
What is the coding of the LTM
Semantic
What is the duration of the LTM
Lifelong
What was the aim of Bahrick et al’s study
investigate the duration of the LTM
What was the method of Bahrick et al’s study
Investigators interviewed graduates es from a high school over a 50 year period. 392 graduates were shown a set of photographs from their yearbook. Ppts were split into 2 groups
Photo recognition - had to match name to photo
Recall group - had to name ppl without being given a set of names
What were the results of Bahrick et al’s study
Photo recognition group:
15 years - 90% could accurately match correct name to person in the photo
48 years - 70% could accurately match correct name to photo
Recall group:
15 years - 60% could accurately name person in photo
48 years - 30% could accurately name person in photo
What was the conclusion of Bahrick et al’s study
The duration of the LTM can last a long time - at least 34 years based on evidence from this study
What is a strength of Bahrick et al’s study
High ecological validity
What is a limitation of Bahrick et al’s study
Low control
Evaluate high ecological validity as a strength of Bahrick et al’s study
(P) high ecological validity
(E) study used a meaningful stimulus and tested people for memories of their own lives
(E) strength because it provides real life valuable evidence to suggest duration of LTM is lifelong
What was the aim of Baddleys study
to investigate coding in STM and LTM
What was the method of Baddeleys study
Ppts were divided into 4 different conditions and were shown a list of 10. words that were either:-
A. Acoustically similar (e.g. man, mad, map);
B. Acoustically dissimilar (e.g. pen, day, few);
C. Semantically similar (e.g. great, big, large);
D. Semantically dissimilar (e.g. hot, old, late)
- In the STM study ppts were asked to immediately recall the 10 words they had heard in the correct order.
- In the LTM study participants were given an interval of 20 minutes to complete another task and were then asked to recall the 10 words in the correct order
What were the results of Baddeleys study
Recall was much worse for semantically similar words compared to semantically dissimilar words in the LTM study
Recall was much worse for acoustically similar words compared to acoustically dissimilar words in STM study
What was the conclusion of Baddeleys study
Coding in LTM is mainly semantic (we conclude this because LTM gets distracted by the semantic similarities and muddles them up-therefore recall is worse for semantically similar words as it causes confusion).
Coding in STM is acoustic (we conclude this because STM gets confused by the similar sounds - this is why recall is worse for acoustically similar words
What is a strength of Baddeleys study?
high control
What are limitations of Baddeleys study?
- low ecological validity
- low population validity
Evaluate high control as a strength of Baddeleys study
(P) lab experiment, therefore establishes cause and effect.
(E) high control over extraneous variables we can be confident that the IV
(whether the words were acoustically/semantically similar/different) affected the DV (the number of
words recalled).
(E) strength of the study because results are unlikely to be affected by confounding variables and
therefore have high internal validity. We can be confident that coding in LTM is mainly
semantic and coding in STM is mainly acoustic.
Evaluate low ecological validity as a limitation of Baddeleys study
(P) low ecological validity.
(E) Recalling a list of words is an artificial and simple task which does not test the true
complexity of memory.
(E) limitation because Baddeley’s results cannot necessarily be generalised to real life and therefore might not provide valid support for the claim that information is usually
coded semantically in LTM and acoustically in STM.
Evaluate low population validity as a limitation of Baddeleys study
(P) low population validity
(E) sample consisted of British housewives and therefore do not represent all types of
people in the population – the memories of such individuals may work differently to other people.
(E) This is a limitation because the findings that STM is coded acoustically and LTM is coded semantically
may be difficult to generalise to other people in the population
