Memory Flashcards
What is encoding
Changing information so that it can be stored in the brain.
State 3 types of encoding
Visual, acoustic, semantic
What is visual encoding
How something looks.
For example, ‘seeing’ your house in your mind and counting the number of windows uses visual encoding.
What is acoustic encoding
How something sounds.
For example, you can hear the words and music if you think about your favourite song in your head.
What is semantic coding
The meaning of something.
For example, if you know what an elephant is and can use ‘elephant’ in a sentence, you are encoding the word by its meaning.
What is storage
Holding information in your memory so it can be retrieved at a later point in time.
What is retrieval
The process of accessing information that has been stored in your brain and being able to use it.
3 different types of retrieval
Recognition relates to identifying something previously learned from a number of options.
Cued recall relates to being given a clue to help you remember.
Free recall is when you remember something without any clue.
What was the aim of Baddeleys study
Baddeley aimed to see if there was a difference in the type of encoding used in short-term (STM) and long-term memory (LTM).
What was the method of baddeleys study
Method: Four groups of P’s- A, B, C & D. Each were given a word list, read out at a rate of one word per second, then asked to recall the list in the correct order. List A contained acoustically similar words, List B contained acoustically dissimilar words. List C contained semantically similar words, List D contained semantically dissimilar words. Groups A & B recalled the lists immediately, C & D after 20 minutes.
What were the results of Baddeley study
Group A recalled fewer words than Group B. Group C recalled fewer words than Group D.
Words with similar sounds were more poorly recalled than words with different sounds in STM.
Words with similar meanings were more poorly recalled than words with different meanings in LTM
What conclusion can be drawn from Baddeley
This shows STM is encoded by sound and LTM by meaning.
One strength of Baddeley study (of different coding in stm ltm)
A strength of this study is that it was a well controlled experiment (which enhances the validity of the results)
It was conducted within a lab where conditions could carefully be controlled so that no other factors would influence ps ability to recall lists. One important factor that was controlled was , poor hearing by Baddeley giving participants a hearing test.
Therefore we can be more certain that the type of words used was the factor that affected participants’ recall due to the higher level of control
2 weaknesses of Baddeley’s study
One weakness is that he overlooked cases where encoding in STM is visual rather than acoustic.
Baddeley used quite artificial stimulation (his words lists). If different stimuli were used STM may not always be acoustic. Brandimonte el al (1992) found that Ps used visual encoding in STM when processing visual info.
Therefore stm is not always acoustic
Another weakness is Baddeley may not have been testing LTM at all
In the studyLTM was tested by waiting for 20 minutes. There are many things that we remember for 20 mins but have forgotten by the next day so recall after 20 mins may not really be LTM
Therefore Baddeley may not have actually been testing what he claimed to be testing
What is Long Term Memory LTM
These are memories that last a week, month, year or even a lifetime. There are three types of LTM. Episodic semantic and procedural
What is episodic memory
Memory for events from your life and what you have done.
For example, your birthday party when you were 10.
What is semantic memory
Memory about what things mean (your own encyclopaedia).
For example, knowing that the capital of France is Paris.
What is procedural memory
Memory of how to do things. We struggle to consciously explain how to perform these skills but can still do them anyway.
For example, driving a car.
What is a strength of dividing LTM into different types (specific locations of the brain )
One strength is that brain scans have shown separate locations in the brain for each of the three types of memory, supporting the idea of different kinds of memory.
If the three types of memory are different then each should have a specific location and researchers have found support for this e.g episodic memory is associated with the right prefrontal area
Semantic is the left prefrontal area
And procedural is associated with he motor area which controls fine motor skills
This research is supported by case studies of amnesic patients.
For example, Clive Wearing lost most of his episodic memory but not his procedural memory as he could still play the piano.
This again shows that there are different types of LTM.
Yay
This research is supported by case studies of amnesic patients.
For example, Clive Wearing lost most of his episodic memory but not his procedural memory as he could still play the piano.
This again shows that there are different types of LTM.
A weakness of dividing LTM
It’s not that simple A weakness is that distinctive types of LTM are difficult to separate.
There isn’t a clear difference between episodic and semantic memories because memories are usually a mixture of types. E.g your semantic knowledge of your fav singer is closely linked to experiences of seeing him sing which is episodic
Therefore having separate types of LTM may be an oversimplification.
