Memory Flashcards
coding
format in which information is stored in the various memory stores.
capacity
amount of information that can be held in a memory store at a given
time.
duration
lengths of time information can be held in a memory store.
STM
limited capacity memory store. Coding is mainly acoustic, capacity is 5 - 9 items on average, duration - 18 and 30 seconds.
LTM
permanent memory store. Coding is mainly semantic, it has unlimited capacity and can store memories for up to a lifetime.
Baddley - Coding
Aim - Research coding in STM + LTM.
Procedure - There were 4 sets of word lists - acoustically similar, acoustically dissimilar, semantically similar, semantically dissimilar. Participants recall order of word lists. done immediately to assess STM and after 20 minutes to assess LTM.
Findings - given list of acoustically similar words had worst recall. confused similar sounding words. given list of semantically similar words had worst recall. confused similar meaning words.
Capacity in STM - Jacob
Aim - Research capacity of STM.
Procedure - Developed technique to measure digit span - how many items an indiv can remember, in sequence + repeat back in order.
Findings - Found mean span for digits across parti was 9.3 items. Found mean span for letters across parti was 7.3.
Conclusion - Memory can hold 7-9 items.
Capacity in STM - miller
Aim - Research capacity of STM.
Procedure - Observed things come in 7s: days of week used digit span technique, but “chunked” items into groups e.g. words + sets of n.0.
Findings - Found people could recall 5 words, as well as they can recall 5 letters (via chunking).
Conclusion - Used the term “the magical number 7’ to describe the capacity of STM.
Duration STM - PP
Aim - Research duration of STM.
Procedure - 24 students took part in 8 trials + given a consonant syllable and a three-digit number and asked to count backwards to prevent rehearsal.
On each trial, they were stopped after either 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 or 18 seconds. the retention interval.
Findings - Found STM lasts about 18 sec after this very few people correctly recall consonant syllable.
Conclusion - It suggests STM may have a very short duration, unless it is rehearsed.
Duration in LTM - barrick
Aim - Research duration of LTM.
Procedure - Tested recall of people, parti had gone to school with using photo recognition (50 photos from a person’s yearbook) and free recall (participants recalled all the names of their graduating class).
Findings - Found 90% accuracy for photo recognition for people who had graduated within 15 years and 60% accuracy for free recall. After 48 years, photo recognition recall was about 70% and 30% for free recall.
Conclusions - LTM lasts a very long time.
nature of memory evalution
P - Bahrick et al’s study had high external validity.
E - used memories were part of real life eg. peers at school.
E - Using real-life meaningful memories means findings are more likely to accurately represent memory in real world.
I - However, confounding variables not controlled like some of Parti may have recently looked over their yearbook photos.
Nature of memory evalution
P - Jacob’s study conducted a long time ago + early research such as this, often lacked control of extraneous variables.
E - eg, some participants may have been distracted.
E - This would reduce the validity of the findings.
I
Nature of memory evalution
P - Baddeley’s study didn’t use meaningful material.
E - words used no personal meaning to participants.
E - When info is meaningful people will use semantic coding even in STM.
Nature of memory evalution
P - PP study used artificial stimulus.
E - Consonant syllables/trigrams eg, YCG, BNT don’t reflect real life memory activities.
E - means study lacks external validity.
Multi Store Memory model
representation of how memory works in terms of 3 stores called sensory register, STM + LTM. describes how into is transferred from 1 store to another, how it’s remembered + how itsforgotten.
sensory register
memory stores for each of our five senses, such as vision (iconic store) and hearing (echoic store).
Coding in iconic sensory register is visual and in echoic sensory register it is auditory +capacity of sensory register is huge and info lasts for a very short time - less than half a second.
MSM ao1
Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968)
SR is info from senses is stored, but only for duration of approximately 1/2 before its forgotten. modality-specific
However, if attended to, sensory info moves into the STM for temporary storage, which is primarily encoded acoustically. Rehearsing info via rehearsal loop helps to retain info in STM, and consolidate it to LTM, which is predominantly encoded semantically.
MSM Evalution
P - research into STM duration has low ecological validity as stimuli parti were asked to remember bear little resemblance to items learned in real life.
E - PP used nonsense trigrams such as ‘XQF’ to investigate STM duration.
E - This means findings regarding memory may be inaccurate when applied to “real-life” stimuli
MSM Evalution
P - evidence to suggest diff types of LTM.
•E a Clive Wearing couldby recall what his children were doing with lives (semantic memory) but could remember how to walk + play piano (procedural memory).
E - view LTM is only 1 store is therefore not correct + overly simplified.
MSM Evalution
P - MSM states what matters in rehearsal is amount of it that you do.
E - more you rehearse info, more likely it is transfer to LTM.
C - However, research suggests this prediction is wrong. Craik and Watkins found what really matters about rehearsal is type.
E - discovered 2 types of rehearsal, maintenance + elaborative. very serious limitation of MSM as it’s another research finding cant be explained by model.
MSM Evalution
P - MSM was pioneering model of memory that inspired further research.
E - influential in creating other models of memory, like WMM, to deal with short comings of original model.
E - shows how important Atkinson’s + Shiffrin’s contribution to field of memory was.
LTM - WWW
separated into :
- explicit ( inspected + consciously recalled)
- implicit (can’t be consciously recalled)
Semantic Memory
- conscious recall of facts that have meaning as opposed to own life events
- explicit
- eg capital cities
Episodic Memory
- events that can be reported from person’s life
- explicit
- eg fav xmas
procedural Memory
- knowledge of tasks that usually doesn’t require conscious recall to perform them
- implicit
- eg walkingg
LTM evaluation
P - clinical evidence to support view that there are diff types of LTM.
E - HM could learn new procedural memories but not episodic or semantic mem. Got better at task eg drawing by looking at reflection in mirror but unable to recall doing it previously
C - evidence demonstrates 1 store can be damaged but other stores are unaffected.
I - However, there is a serious lack of control with brain damaged patients as can’t see what they like befor injury. Could b Ethan their mem structures don’t represent those of normal people
LTM evalution
P - argument about whether episodic + semantic memory should be separate.
E - psychologist disagree with Tulving’s division of LTM into 3 types, instead arguing there should be 2 - declarative (semantic + episodic) vs. non-declarative (procedural).
E - as its very difficult to separate episodic + semantic memory into completely separate types; also both stored in prefrontal cortex suggesting some similarity.
LTM evalution
P - Identifying diff types of memory allows treatments to be developed.
E - Belleville showed episodic memories could be improved in indiv who had mild cognitive impairment; trained parti performed better on test of episodic memory after training than control group.
E - shows there real life applications to research into types of LTM.
LTM evalution
P - evidence from brain scans to show diff types of memory are stored in diff parts of brain.
E - Tulving found episodic + semantic memory recalled from prefrontal cortex (PFC) - however, left PFC was involved in semantic memories + right PFC for episodic memories.
E - supports view there is a physical reality to diff types of LTM.
WWM
representation of STM suggests STM is dynamic processor of diff types of info using sub-units coordinated by central decision-making system.
Central executive
component of WMM that coordinates activities of 3 subsystems in memory. processes info in all sensory form but only able to deal w 1 strand of info at a time
- limited capacity
- deals w cog tasks like mental arithmetic
Phonological Loop
- deals w auditory info. acoustic coding.
- preserves info in order which it arrives - capacity is 2 sec worth of what said
divided into : - articulatory process (inner voice) of language = allows maintenance rehearsal. Includes any language presented visually, then converted to phonological state, allows to repeat, sounds in a loop to keep in working memory.
- Phonological store (inner ear) holds is auditory speech info + order which it was heard. Include any visually presented language, then converted by articulatory process. Keeps/ stores words heard
Visuo Spatial sketchpad
- Stores + processes, visual and/or special info when required.
- Capacity of 3/4 objects at 1 time
divided into : - Visual cache = stores visual info about form + colour
- Inner scribe = spatial relationship + arrangement of objects