Memory Flashcards
Give an example of research into coding
Baddeley 1966
- AIM: to see if LTM and STM coding was acoustic or semantic
- groups were given acoustically similar and dissimilar list of words and semantically similar and dissimilar lists of words
- those who recalled immediately (STM) found it harder to recall acoustically similar words
those who recalled after 20 mins (LTM) found it harder to recall semantically similar words
Research into coding AO3:
+ Baddeley used interference tasks to make sure he was actually measuring LTM - increases internal validity of findings
+ Real life application: students can use these findings to help strategise their revision techniques better
x Ethnocentric: carried out on British students; doesn’t consider cross cultural differences and limits generalisability of findings
x Lab study: has low ecological validity; unlikely that this process is used in everyday life
What are the 3 different types of LTM?
Episodic
Semantic
Procedural
What is the episodic memory?
- memory of events
- time stamped
- we make a conscious effort to recall these events (declarative)
- e.g. memories of a wedding or the first time meeting a partner
What is the semantic memory?
- memories for facts and knowledge
- an understanding of what words, themes, and concepts mean
- we make a conscious effort to recall these memories (declarative)
- e.g. using info related to one topic to help us with another
What is the procedural memory?
- memories of learned skills
- implicit; meaning we find them hard to explain even if we find the actions easy to perform
- recalled unconsciously (non-declarative)
- e.g. swimming or driving
Types of LTM AO3:
+ Clive Wearing: had episodic impairment from a viral infection but his semantic and procedural memory were still intact as he could still play piano and understand meaning of words
- shows how one type of LTM may be impaired but others won’t be affected
+ Peterson: demonstrated that semantic memories were recalled from left prefrontal cortex and episodic from right; supports idea that there’s different types of LTM and shows they each have neurological basis as they each operate in different parts of the brain
+ Real life application: practical application to differentiate between different types of LTM devised by Belleville to improve episodic memory in older people
- said that better understanding of episodic memory may lead to improved targeted treatments for mild cognitive impairments
What are the two main researches into capacity in memory?
- Miller: capacity of STM is is thought to be 7+/-2 items whilst capacity of LTM is unlimited
- based on Miller’s idea that things come in groups of 7 suggesting we’re predisposed to remembering this quantity and that a chunking method can help us recall info
- Jacobs: demonstrated that mean letter span was 7.3 and mean digit span was 9.3 (numbers of letters/digits we can recall after increasing intervals)
Research into capacity in memory AO3:
x Lack of standardisation and appreciation of scientific methods (Jacobs): confounding variables such as noisy room/ difficult word list may have greater influence on accuracy of recall leading to unreliable results
x Doesn’t take into account other factors: other factors that affect capacity e.g. age could also affect STM and Jacobs research acknowledged that STM gradually improved with age
+ Miller’s theory supported by psychological research: Miller’s notion of 7+/-2 is supported by Jacob’s results of a 7.3 mean letter span and a 9.3 mean digit span
