Memory Flashcards
What is memory?
The process by which we retain information about events that have happened in the past.
What are 3 types of memory?
- Sensory Memory (SM)
- Short Term Memory (STM)
- Long Term Memory (LTM)
What is Sensory Memory?
- Initial contact for stimuli. It is only capable of retaining information for a very short time.
What is Short Term Memory?
Information we are aware or thinking about. Forms by paying attention.
What is Long Term Memory?
Continual storage of information which is largely outside of our awareness.
Describe the duration capacity of short term memory
7 secs (plus or minus 2) - miller
Describe the duration capacity of long term memory?
Last anywhere from 2 minutes to 100 years.
UNLIMITED DURATION
What did Peterson & Peterson suggest about STM?
- Forgetting in STM can occur if information is not rehearsed.
- Suggested duration of STM is approx 18secs.
What is a positive evaluation regarding Peterson & Peterson?
- Highly controlled, therefore limited the effect of extraneous variables
What is a negative evaluation on Peterson & Peterson’s research on STM?
- Artificial stimuli, therefore lacks mundane realism
- As a result, not generalisable.
- Lacks external validity
- Small sample size.
What was Peterson & Peterson’s experiment on STM?
Asked participants to recall nonsense phrases of 3 constants after different times. Found STM had a capacity of 18 seconds.
Describe Bahrick’s experiment
Participants asked to recall classmates, over long periods of time - recognition better than recall.
What is a positive evaluation for Bahrick’s experiment?
- High external validity - real-life meaningful memories
- Large sample size
What is a negative evaluation of Bahrick’s experiment?
- Cofounding variables are not controlled in these experiments.
- These picture could have been rehearsed over the years.
What is digital span?
A way of measuring the capacity of STM. Participants repeat back string of digits.
What did Miller suggest about STM?
Memory capacity is 7 items (plus or minus 2)
What are negative evaluations of coding studies?
- Artificial stimuli
- Lacks validity - digital span
What is encoding?
The way information is changed so it can be stored in memory.
What are different ways memory can be stored during encoding?
- Visual
- Acoustic (STM)
- Semantic (LTM)
What are two sub-divisions of memory storage?
- Explicit - put it into words and has to be consciously thought about to be recalled.
- Implicit - more difficult to put into words, doesn’t require conscious thought.
What are episodic memories?
Time-stamped memories which require conscious effort to remember it.
What part of the brain is used in coding of memory?
- Prefrontal cortex
- Hippocampus - creates a memory
What is procedural memory?
Concerned with learning motor skills, without conscious effort.
(implicit memory - doesn’t require conscious)
What is semantic memory?
Factual knowledge an individual has learned - not time related (no episodic time-stamp)
What is an example of a procedural memory?
How to walk
What part of the brain helps procedural memory?
Cerebellum - helps with timing and coordination of movements.
Who’s study suggested that acoustic coding takes place best over short term, whereas semantic coding is best over long term.
Baddeley
Who was Henry Molaison?
Man who suffered from epilepsy and after surgery couldn’t store or retrieve new memories
Who was Clive Wearing?
Suffered holes in his brain which meant that he was left with no memory - unable to create memories.
What are positive evaluations for Memory encoding?
- Clinical evidence: amnesia (memory loss) can be affected, by impairing recall of events (episodic memory, however semantic and procedural memory can all be intact).
- Neuroimaging evidence: Tulving found episodic and semantic memory were found in the prefrontal cortex.
- Real-life application e.g. Tulving and HM (Henry Molaison)
What is the difference between semantic memories and episodic memories?
Semantic - recall facts and knowledge
Episodic memory - life experiences
What type of memory is stored in the left prefrontal cortex?
- Semantic memory