Memory Flashcards
What are the three processes of memory?
Encoding
Storage
Retrieval
What is encoding?
Changing information so it can be stored in the brain
What are the types of encoding?
Visual- What things look like
Acoustic- Sounds
Semantic- Meanings
Tactile- Physical feelings
Olfactory- Smells
What is free recall?
Retrieving information without cues
What is cued recall?
Retrieving information with cues
What are the three ways to retrieve information?
Recognition
Cued recall
Free recall
What is recognition?
Identifying information instead of trying to recall it
What was the aim of Baddeley’s study of encoding?
To see if there was a difference in the type of encoding used in short term and long term memory
What was the method of Baddeley’s study of encoding?
4 groups of participants- A,B,C,D
Group A given acoustically similar words
Group B given acoustically disimilar words
Group C given semantically similar words
Group D given semantically disimilar words
Groups A and B asked to recall immediately (STM)
Groups C and D asked to recall after 20 minutes (LTM)
What were the results of Baddeley’s study of encoding?
Group A recalled fewer words than group B
Group C recalled fewer words than group D
Acoustically similar words were more poorly recalled than dissimilar words
Semantically similar words were more poorly recalled than dissimilar words
What was the conclusion of Baddeley’s study of encoding?
Short-term memories are encoded acoustically and long-term memories are encoded semantically
The acoustically similar words more got muddled up than dissimilar so the participants must have been thinking in terms of the sounds
The semantically similar words got more muddled up than dissimilar so the participants must have been thinking in terms of the meaning (long-term memory was being tested as it was after 20 minutes)
What are the three evaluation points for Baddeley’s study of encoding?
Strength- Well controlled
Weakness- Overlooked where STM encoding is visual rather than acoustic
Weakness- Baddeley may not have been testing LTM at all
Explain a strength of Baddeley’s study of encoding:
One strength is the study was well-controlled which enhances the validity of the results. The study was conducted in a lab which means the conditions could be carefully controlled to prevent extraneous variables effecting recall. One important factor was hearing as if participants had poor hearing they would be less likely to hear similarities in words. They had a hearing test before the study to control this. This level of control means we can be more confident the results are due to changes in the independent variable.
Explain the weaknesses of Baddeley’s study of encoding:
One weakness is Baddeley overlooked cases where encoding for STM is visual not acoustic. He used quite artificial stimuli. If he had used different stimuli STM may not always be acoustic. Brandimonte found when processing visual information participants used visual encoding in STM. Normally we translate visual images into verbal codes in STM but this may not always be the case. This means STM is not always acoustic.
One weakness is Baddeley may not have been testing LTM at all. LTM was tested by waiting just 20 minutes. There are many things that we remember for 20 minutes but have forgotten by the next day, so recall after 20 minutes may not really be LTM. Therefore Baddeley may not have actually been testing what he claimed to be testibg
What is episodic memory?
Memory for events from your life
