Memory 1 | Types of memory Flashcards
AO1 What is the sensory register in the multi-store model of memory
Sensory register is the first store where information from the environment is briefly held it has a large capacity but very limited duration around half a second and is coded depending on the sense modality
AO1 What are the key features of the sensory register according to MSM
It has a large capacity duration of less than half a second and coding is modality specific
AO1 Outline Sperling’s 1960 study on the sensory register
Sperling showed participants a grid of letters for 50 milliseconds and found that recall of rows was high if cued immediately suggesting large capacity but rapid decay in sensory register
AO3 Evaluate Sperling’s 1960 study
A strength is high control over variables increasing internal validity but a limitation is low ecological validity as it used artificial tasks
AO1 What is the capacity duration and coding of short term memory in the MSM
STM has a capacity of 7 plus or minus 2 items duration of about 18 to 30 seconds and is mainly coded acoustically
AO1 Outline Peterson and Peterson’s 1959 study on STM duration
Participants were asked to recall trigrams after 3 6 9 12 15 and 18 seconds with rehearsal prevented recall after 3 seconds was about 80 percent but fell to 10 percent after 18 seconds suggesting STM duration is around 18 to 30 seconds
AO3 Evaluate Peterson and Peterson’s 1959 study
A strength is high internal validity due to control of confounding variables but a limitation is that the task lacked mundane realism as trigrams are artificial
AO1 Outline Jacobs 1887 study on STM capacity
Jacobs used the digit span technique and found that the average span for digits was 9.3 items and for letters was 7.3 supporting STM capacity of 7 plus or minus 2
AO3 Evaluate Jacobs 1887 study
A strength is that it is a reliable measure still used today but a limitation is that it was conducted a long time ago so may lack control over confounding variables
AO1 What is the capacity duration and coding of long term memory in the MSM
LTM has unlimited capacity duration of up to a lifetime and is mainly coded semantically
AO1 Outline Bahrick et al 1975 study on duration of LTM
Bahrick tested participants’ memory for classmates’ names and faces after 15 and 48 years free recall after 15 years was 60 percent and 30 percent after 48 years recognition accuracy was 90 percent after 15 years and 70 percent after 48 years suggesting very long duration of LTM
AO3 Evaluate Bahrick et al 1975 study
A strength is high external validity as it tested real life memories but a limitation is that there was no control over how often participants rehearsed the information
AO1 What are the three stores in the multi-store model of memory according to Atkinson and Shiffrin
Sensory register short term memory and long term memory
AO1 How is information transferred from STM to LTM in the MSM
Through maintenance rehearsal
AO1 What is episodic memory
Episodic memory is a type of long term memory for personal events including information about when events occurred emotions and contextual details
AO1 What is semantic memory
Semantic memory is a type of long term memory for general knowledge concepts and facts that are not linked to time
AO1 What is procedural memory
Procedural memory is a type of long term memory for skills and actions such as riding a bike or typing that are recalled without conscious awareness
AO1 Name the three types of long term memory
Episodic semantic and procedural
AO3 What is one strength of the MSM based on research evidence
A strength is research from Baddeley who found that STM is coded acoustically and LTM is coded semantically supporting the idea of separate stores
AO3 What is a limitation of the MSM related to oversimplification
A limitation is that the MSM oversimplifies memory by assuming STM and LTM are unitary stores for example KF showed separate STM stores for visual and verbal information
AO3 What is one strength of types of LTM based on brain scans
A strength is research by Tulving et al using PET scans showing episodic and semantic memories are stored in different brain areas supporting that LTM has multiple stores
AO3 What is a practical application of understanding types of LTM
Research has led to interventions such as Belleville et al who found that episodic memory can be improved in older people with memory training
