memory Flashcards
what is coding?
information is stored in the memory in different forms.
coding is the process of converting between these forms.
Alan Baddeley (coding study)
When was this?
What was the procedure? (different list)
What were the findings?
Evaluate.
after20 minutes….. pariticipants did worse on….
showing that info is …..
1966
procedure:
gave different lists of words to 4 groups
participants shown and asked to recall
findings:
when recall was asked immediately, participants did worse with acoustically similar words
when asked after 20mins, participants did worse with semantically similar words.
conc:
info is stored acoustically in STM and semantically in LTM
eval:
+clear difference between two memory stores
-artificial stimulus.
Jacobs (capacity research-digit span)
reads out 4 digits then….
findings?
evaluate
1887
found the capacity of STM by measuring ‘digit span’
procedure:
researcher reads out 4 digits, askes for recall
if correct, another digit added and so on until recall is incorrect
findings:
mean digit span was 9.3 numbers
+has been replicated in more controlled conditions, proven to be a valid test
Miller (capacity research-chunking)
(STM)
noted things come in….
span of STM is….
most people can….
who criticised this?
1956
noted things come in 7s
span of STM is 7 + or - 2
noted people can recall 5 digits easily, using chunking
STM ‘chunks’ information
- over estimated STM - Cowan 2001, suggests its 4 plus or minus 1
Peterson and Peterson (duration of STM)
how many students?
given syllable … asked to count down to prevent
results? this suggests STM duration is
con of this study?
1959
tested 24 students in 8 trials (tests)
given syllable and 3 digit number students counted back told to stop (prevents mental rehearsal)
on each test, they were told to stop after different times
after 3 seconds- 80% average recall
after 18 seconds- 3% average recall
suggests STM is about 18 seconds unless verbal rehearsal takes place
-stimulus artificial, lacks external validity
Bahrick (duration of LTM)
1975
obtained yearbooks
free recall of people in graduating class
ALSO
showed pictures (separately)
recall of those who graduated more recently was better, however even those who graduated 70 years ago had good recall- shows some memory may last a lifetime in LTM
+high external validity, as they are meaningful memories so more ‘real’ estimate of LTM
describe the ‘multi-store model’ of memory (MSM)
by who? A… and S….
suggests memory is made up of … stores all linked by p….
Atkinson (1968) and Shiffrin (1971)
suggest memory is made up of three stores, all linked by processing.
sensory register:
info automatically detected and registered
each coding is modality specific
large capacity, short duration
goes to STM by paying attention to info
STM:
acoustic
7 items (+ or - 2)
duration 18-30 seconds
maintenance rehearsal keeps info in STM
if rehearsed long enough, goes to LTM
LTM:
coded semantically (in terms of meaning)
when info from LTM needs to be recalled, it has to be transferred back to STM in ‘retrieval’
explain :
maintenance rehearsal
elaborative rehearsal
maintenance rehearsal is when you keep repeating the information
elaborative rehearsal is linking the new information with pre-existing information in the LTM
evaluate the ‘multi-store model’ of memory
+ research shows that STM and LTM are different
(Baddeley’s 1966 study shows reasons we mess up words in STM and LTM are different)
-there is evidence that there is more that one STM store
Shallice and Warrington (1970)- studied patient KF, recall poor when digits read out but when he read them much better
- MSM does not mention elaborative rehearsal states all that matters is the time you rehearse
Craik and Watkins (1973) say the most important thing is the type of rehearsal
MSM does not fully explain how long term storage is achieved
types of LTM
who suggested there were three types of LTM? (T….)
What are they?
Tulving (1985), a cognitive [psychologist, suggested thst MSM was too simplistic in regards to LTM. said there were three types of LTM
episodic-
ability to recall events
time stamped
memories have to be consciously retrieved
semantic-
shared knowledge of the world
less vulnerable to distortion/forgetting
procedural-
memory for actions/skilled
eventually recalled without conscious awareness
evaluate the suggestion that there are different types of LTM
+ c…. evidence (two case studies)
+ r… w… a…. (helps psychologists..)
-conflicting n…. (linked…)
+clinical evidence
HM and Clive Wearing both had brain damage
episodic memory affected but semantic memory fine
+real-world application
understanding LTM allows psychologists to help people with memory problems
age, memory loss, specific to episodic memory
distinguishing between types of LTM helps treatment develop
-conflicting neuroimaging evidence
different psychologists have ,linked different areas of the brain to different types of LTM - therefore this is not conclusive
describe the working memory model (WMM)
sub units which are controlled by a central decision making system
central executive (CE)-
supvisory role
monitors incoming info and devides attention to ‘slave items’
phonological loop-
deals with auditory information
divides into : phonological store (storage) and articulatory process (maintenance rehearsal)
visuo-spatial sketchpad-
limited capacity 3/4 items
stores visual/spatial info
visual cache (storage) and inner scribe (records arrangements)
episodic buffer-
added by Baddeley in 2000
temporary store
brings info from other subsystems into a single memory
links working memory to LTM
evaluate the working memory model
+c…e…. (case study of … damage to …. so couldn’t….. but fine …. so could…..)
+d… t… p… (Baddeley, what were participants asked to do?)
-lack of clarity over….. (Baddeley quotation)
+clinical evidence
KF has poor processing of auditory info (phonological loop damaged) but could process visual info (visuo-spatial sketchpad)
+dual-task performance
Baddeley (1975)
participants did visual and verbal task separately
when same task (visual and visual) was done at same time, performance declined
because both tasks competed for same slave system
-lack of clarity over central executive
Baddeley (2003) ‘most important but least understood component of the working memory’
explain how ‘interference’ may cause forgetting
interference is when two pieces of information disrupt each other.
this means that one or both pieces of information are forgotten, or distortion is experienced
can explain forgetting info from LTM as although arguably the information is permanent, it is now harder to access due to interference
describe the two types of interference
proactive interference (PI)
older memories interfere with new ones
retroactive interference (RI)
new memories interfere with old ones