MEMORY Flashcards
Define memory
process of retaining information after the original thing is no longer present
What are the 3 key concepts in memory and define them
CODING - format in which memories are stored
CAPACITY - amount of information that can be stored in the memory
DURATION - length and time information can be stored and held in the memory
Match primacy and recency effect with LTM or STM
Primacy = LTM
recency = STM
A01 research on capacity - digit span
-research on capacity of STM
-Joseph Jacobs (1887) measured capacity of the STM using digit span
-He reads 4 digits and participant recalls out loud in correct order. if correct then 5 digits and so on.
-found that the mean span for digits across all participants was 9.3 while mean span from letters was 7.3
A03 research on capacity - digit span +
-A strength is that the study has been replicated and findings have been similar
-BUT some older studies lacked proper controls (cofounding variable)
-BUT replication suggests Jacob’s study is a valid test of digit span in STM
A01 span of memory and chunking - What did George Miller find on capacity of the short term memory
-George Miller (1956) observed that many items in life come in groups of 7
-Believed capacity of STM was 7 items +/-
2 (referred to as Millers magic 7)
-also noted that participants could recall 5 words as easily as 5 letters
-This is done by chunking - grouping set digits/letters into units/’chunks’
A03 span of memory and chunking ( - )
-Miller may have overestimated STM capacity
-Cowan (2001) reviewed other research (replicated) and concluded STM capacity is 4 +/- 1
-suggests the lower end of Miller’s estimate (5 items) is more appropriate than 7 items
A01 duration of STM
-Peterson and Peterson (1959)
-tested 24 students in 8 trials each
-each trial student was given a consonant syllable and 3 digit no., to remember
-Student counted backwards from this no. until told stop, counting backwards was to prevent any mental rehearsal of the consonant syllable (which would increase the duration of STM for the syllable).
-on each trail they’ll stop after varying period of time (retention interval)
-after 3 secs avg recall was about 80%, but after 18 secs it was 3%
- … findings suggested that STM duration may be about 18 secs, unless we repeat the info over and over (verbal rehearsal)
A03 duration of STM (-)
-One limitation is that the stimulus material was artificial
-study is not completely irrelevant because we do sometimes try to remember fairly meaningless material (e.g. phone nos.). Even so, recalling consonant syllables doesn’t reflect most everyday memory activities where we are trying to remember is meaningful
- … study lacked external validity
A01 duration of LTM
-Harry Bahrick (1975)
-Studied 392 American participants (17-74 Y/o) and high school yearbooks were obtained
- recall was tested in various ways:
1) photo-recognition test = consisting of 50 photos, some from participants high school year book
2) free recall test = recalled all their names of their graduating class
-within 15 years of graduation, 90% accurate in photo recognition
-after 48 yrs, recall declined to about 70’5 for photo recognition
-free recall was less accurate than recognition - about 60% after 15 yrs, 30% after 48yrs.
- … LTM may last up to a life time for some material
A03 duration of LTM (+)
-one strength = high external validity
-researchers investigated meaningful memories (people’s names and faces), when studies on LTM were conducted with meaningless pictures to be remembered, recall rates were lower (e.g. shepard 1967)
- … Bahrick et al’s findings reflect a more ‘real’ estimate of the duration of LTM
Define STM
Limited-capacity memory store
-coding is mainly acoustic, capacity is between 5+9 items on avg with duration of 18 secs
Define LTM
Permanent memory store
-coding is mainly semantic (meaning), it has unlimited capacity and can store memories for up to a lifetime
AO1 coding in STM AND LTM
-Baddeley (1966)
- Gave lists of words to 4 groups: acoustically similar, acoustically dissimilar, semantically similar and semantically dissimilar. ppt were shown then asked to recall in correct order
results: Immediate recall = did worse with acoustically similar words
after 20 min delay ppt did worse on semantically similar words
therefore STM coded acoustically and LTM coded semantically
A03 whole concept of STM and LTM -of Baddeley’s research (separate memory stores)
Strength:
- identified clear difference between 2 mem stores
-findings have stood the test of time
-important step in development of MSM
Weakness
- artificial stimuli > not meaningful to ppt> findings don’t tell use about memory tasks in every life> limited application
What is the process of the Multi-store model
-stimulus from the environment
-sensory register (iconic, echoic, other sensory stores
-information is only stored if attention is payed
-Short term memory store
-prolonged rehearsal to store in the long term memory
-response is remembering
MSM sensory register
- info passes into STM if paid attention, if not it gets lost.
- duration = >0.5 sec
- capacity = very high due to retrieval cells
- coding = store depends on format . e.g. visual stored in iconic memory and acoustic stored in echoic memory
How is information stored in the short term memory
-rehearsal keeps info in STM if rehearsed enough , transfers to LTM
-duration = 18 secs
-capacity = 5-9 items
-coding =acoustic
MSM LTM
-memories from LTM have been retrieved and transered back to STM
How is information stored in the long term memory
-memories from LTM have been retrieved and transferred back to STM
-duration = life time
-capacity = unlimited
-coding = semantic
What is the Sensory register
The memory stores for each of our five senses, such as vision (iconic store) and hearing (echoic store)
What is the Multi-store model
A representation of how memory works in terms of three stores called the sensory register, short term memory and long term memory.
How is information stored in the sensory register
Duration: less than half a second
Capacity: very high
Coding: store depends on format
How is information passed on from the sensory register
by paying attention
Who came up with the Multi-store model of memory
Atkinson and Shiffrin
Maintenance rehearsal
We repeat material to ourselves over and over again which keeps it in the STM. If it’s rehearsed long enough it will pass onto the LTM
Retrieval
Recalling information from the LTM into the STM
+ MSM - research support
Strength
- Support from other studies show STM and LTM are different > Baddeley (1966) we tend to mix words that sound similar when using STM but mix words with similar meanings when use LTM> STM and LTM are separate + independent memory stores
-Extra evidence > Glanzer and Cunitz (1966) 2 groups ppt, 1 had immediate recall other had delay recall (counted backwards to prevent retrieval). Immediate = remembered 1st and last words. delayed = remembered word from beginning. both had difficulty remembering middle
- MSM - non-meaningful info
-Uses non-meaningful info> everyday life we form memories related to useful things e.g. names, faces but MSM studies use letters, words (Baddeley), consonant syllables (peterson x2) and so have no meaning > MSM may not be a valid model of how memory works in our everyday life where we have to remember much more meaningful info
-more than 1 STm store > Shallice and Warrington (1970) client KF had a clinical memory disorder . KF’s STm for digits = very poor when read out to him but recall was better when he read digits to himself > further studies show there could be and STM store for non-verbal sounds > MSM is wrong claiming there’s 1 STM store processing different types of info
What is a limitation of the Multi-store model of memory (Elaborative rehearsal)
A
-prolonged rehearsal is not needed to transfer to LTM
-Craik and Watkins found that the type of rehearsal is more important than the amount
-Elaborative rehearsal is needed for long-term storage and this occurs when you link the information to existing knowledge or think about what it means
-This suggests that the MSM does not fully explain how long-term storage is achieved
What is a limitation of the Multi-store model of memory (More than one STM store)
-Shallice and Warrington studied a client they referred to as KF who had amnesia
-KF’s STM for digits was poor when they were read out loud to him but his recall was better when he read the digits to himself.
-Further study of KF showed that there could even be another Short term store for non-verbal sounds
-This evidence suggests that the MSM is wrong in claiming there is just one STM store processing different types of information.
What is a strength of the Multi-store model of memory (research support)
-Studies show that the STM and LTM are different
-Baddeley (1966) found that we tend to mix up similar sounding world when using our STM, but similar meaning words when using LTM
-Further support in studies on capacity and duration
-These studies show that STM and LTM are separate and independent memory stores
What is a counterpoint to research support for the multi-store model
-Studies that support MSM used information that was not meaningful.
-They used digits,letters and sometimes words.
-This means that the MSM may not be a valid model of how memory works in our everyday lives
What are the 3 types of long term memory
Episodic
Semantic
Procedural
Who came up with the types of Long term memory
Tulving (1985) realised that the MSM view of LTM was too simple and there must be multiple stores for different types of LTM.
Episodic memory
-ability to recall personal events + also how events relocate to each other in time
-most complex
1) time stamped - remember when they happened
2) memory of a single episode e.g. ppl or objects
3) need to make a conscious effort to recall epi memories - done quickly
Semantic memory
-contains shared knowledge of the world eg meaning of words
- less vulnerable to distortion, not time stamped, less personal, contains immerse collection of material which is always being added to
Procedural memory
- memory for actions or skills
- effort isn’t needed
- once learnt how and without conscious awareness
- may find it difficult to explain to someone else how it is done
- if describe what you’re doing it may be more difficult
What is a strength of the types of memory stores (clinical evidence)
-Evidence from case studies of HM and clive wearing
-episodic memory in both men was severely impaired due to brain damage
-but their semantic memory and procedural memory was intact
-Still understood the meaning of words
-Didn’t recall stroking a dog half an hour ago but didn’t need to have the concept of a dog explained to him
-This evidence supports Tulving’s view that there are different memory stores in LTM
What is a counterpoint of clinical evidence
-Studying people with brain injuries can help researchers understand memory
-Lack control variables
-The brain injuries experiences were usually unexpected
-Researcher had no way of controlling what happened to the participant before or during the injury
- no knowledge of the individuals memory before the injury
-This lack of control limits what clinical studies can tell us about different types of LTM
What is a limitation of the types of memory stores (conflicting neuroimaging evidence)
-conflicting research findings linking types of LTM to areas of the brain
-Buckner and Petersen reviewed evidence regarding the location of semantic and episodic memory.
-Concluded semantic memory is located in the left side of the prefrontal cortex and episodic is on the right
-Other researchers found that the left prefrontal cortex is linked to encoding of episodic memory and the right with episodic retrieval
-This challenges any neurophysiological evidence to support types of memory
What is a strength of the types of memory (real world application)
-Allows psychologists to help people with memory problems
-E.g as people age they experience memory loss. But research has shown this seems to be specific to the episodic memory
-Belleville derived an intervention to improve episodic memory in older people by training participants on a episodic memory test.
-This shows that distinguishing between types of LTM enables specific treatments to be developed.
The working memory model
A representation of short-term memory. It suggests that STM is a dynamic processor of different types of information using subunits co-ordinated by a central decision-making system.
Central Executive
The component of the WMM that co-ordinate’s the activities of the three subsystems in memory. It also allocates processing resources to those activities.
Phonological Loop
The component of the WMM that processes information in terms of sound. This includes both written and spoken material. It’s divided into the phonological store and articulatory process.
The Phonological Store
The “Inner Ear”
Stores words you hear
The Articulatory Process
The “Inner Voice”
-Allows maintenance rehearsal to keep information in working memory.
-Capacity of about 2 seconds’ worth of sounds
The Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad
The component of the WMM that processes visual and spatial information in a mental space often called our ‘inner eye’
What was the VSS subdivided into
The Visual Cache
Stores visual data (e.g. form and colour)
The Inner Scribe
Records the arrangement of objects in the visual field.
The Episodic Buffer (later addition)
The component of the WMM that brings together material from the other subsystems into a single memory rather than separate strands. It also provides a bridge between working memory and long-term memory.
What is strength of the working memory model (clinical evidence)
-support from Tim Shallice and Elizabeth Warrington’s (1970) case study of patient KF.
-KF had poor STM ability for auditory (sound) information but could process visual information normally.
-For instance his immediate recall of letters and digits was better when he read them (visual) than when they were read to him (acoustic).
-KF’s phonological loop was damaged but his visuo-spatial sketchpad was intact.
-This finding strongly supports the existence of separate visual and acoustic memory stores.