Memory Flashcards
What is memory
- process of retaining learned information
- accessing information when needed
What are the processes in memory (3)
- coding
- storage
- retrieval
What is coding
- the way information is changed so it can be stored in memory
What is storage
- keeping information within the memory system until it is needed
What is retrieval
- recovering information stored in memory system when it is required
What are the different memory stores (3)
- sensory register (SR)
- short term memory (STM)
- long term memory (LTM)
What is the sensory register (SR)
- contains unprocessed impressions of information received through senses
- has separate stores for each sensory input
What are the different stores within the sensory register and what are they for (5)
- iconic store
=> for visual information - echoic store
=> for auditory information - haptic store
=> for physical senses of touch and internal muscle tensions - gustatory store
=> for taste information - olfactory store
=> for information related to smell
What is the short term memory
- temporary store for information received from sensory register
What is the long term memory
- permanent store for information from short term memory
What factors cause differences between the STM and the LTM (3)
- coding
- capacity
- duration
How is information coded in the sensory register
- coding is modality specific
- means each sensory store is coded differently
How is information in the short term memory coded and who researched into this
- Baddeley (1966)
- gave participants 4 lists of words
- list A sounded similar, B sounded dissimilar, C had similar meaning, D had dissimilar meanings
- found participants recalled B better than A
- STM is thus coded acoustically
How is information in the long term memory coded and who researched into this
- Baddeley (1966)
- similar to test for stm but had a 20m delay to ensure it was passed to LTM
- found participants recalled D better than list C
- LTM is thus coded semantically
How would Baddeley (1966) be evaluated (positive and negative)
- was a lab study
- easy to replicate as variables have been controlled
- high reliability
- findings have low ecological validity
- lists were seen as artificial
- setting was also seen as artificial
What is the capacity of the sensory register
- unlimited
What is the capacity of the short term memory and who researched into this
- Jacobs (1887) digit span test
- gave participants several sequences of digits or letters and asked them to repeat in order
- sequence got longer each time
- found on average we can hold 9.3 digits and 7.3 letters
- Miller (1956) reviewed researched studies and concluded span of STM is 7 (+/-)2
- new information displaces old information
- easier to remember through chunking
How can the research into the capacity of the short term memory by Jacobs (1887) be evaluated
- first to acknowledge STM capacity gradually improves with age
- study conducted long time ago
- may not have been done to same scientific standard as of today
- validity and findings can be questioned
What is the capacity of the long term memory
- unlimited
What is the duration of the sensory register
- 250 milliseconds
What is the duration of the short term memory and who researched into this
- Peterson and Peterson (1959) used nonsense trigrams
- asked participants to count backwards from 100 in 3s to prevent maintenance rehearsal of trigrams and storing in STM
- after 3 seconds, recall was 90%
- after 9 seconds, recall was 20%
- after 18 seconds, recall was 2%
- concluded information lasts for 18-30 seconds in STM before it is lost due to decay
How would the study into the duration of the STM by Peterson and Peterson (1959) be evaluated
- researched used fixed timings
- elimated noise and other factors
- high control using standardised procedures
- findings could have be caused by interference from previous trigrams instead of short duration
- lists lack meaning => lack ecological validity
What is the duration of the long term memory and who researched into this
- Bahrick (1979) tested 400 participants (17-74 yo)
- photo recognition test showing 50 photos and deciding if they were in their class or not
- in free recall test, participants asked to list names they could remember from graduating class
- 90% accuracy within 15 years and 70% after 48 for photo recognition
- 60% accuracy within 15 years and 30% after 48 for free recall
- concluded duration of LTM is a lifetime but retrieval failure occurs and we need retrieval cues
How would the study into the duration of the LTM by Backrick (1979) be evaluated
- high ecological validity
- material more useful than that of Peterson and Peterson (1959)
- problematic to control for extraneous variables
- people may have stayed in touch or looked at yearbook after leaving