memory Flashcards
What is meant by capacity
The volume of information in any memory store at any one time
what is the capacity of sensory memory
large capacity
what is the capacity of STM
7 +/- 2 items
-‘chunking’ method of grouping info into smaller more memorable groups can be used to help recall info e.g phone numbers
what is the capacity of LTM
Unlimited
describe research into capacity
Jacobs: gave ps letter or numerical lists and were asked to repeat back the lists exalty as they were presented
-lists started as a single item and increasingly became larger until ps consistently made mistakes
-found average between 5-9
-digits recalled better then letters
-and capacity increased with age
-
what is meant by duration
refers to how long info can be stored for I each memory store
what is the duration of sensory memory
0-3 seconds
-extremely limited
what is the duration of STM
18-30 seconds
describe research into the duration of STM
Peterson:
gave ps nonsense trigrams and were asked to recall after 3,9,12,15, or 18 seconds (retention intervals)
-asked to count backs from a three digit number (e.g 999) to prevent mental rehearsal
-% of correct trigrams recalled was recorded
findings
-if rehearsal is prevente, recall I negatively effected by duration
3-6 secs >75% correct recall
9-12 seconds <50% correct recall
15-18 seconds <25% recall
STM for most is below 30 seconds
what is the duration of LTM
unlimited
describe research into duration of LTM
Bahrick: investigated photo recognition
-asked a ps to recall names from a year book
recall was 90% accurate after 15 years
recall was still 70% accurate after 48 years
what is meant by coding
refers to the format or ‘type’ of information stored in each memory store.
info can be processed acoustically (how it sounds) or semantically (what it means)
how is info coded in the sensory register
in its raw form, sensory processing doesn’t actually occur
how is info coded in STM
acoustically
how is info coded in LTM
semantically
