Memory Flashcards
Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968)
Created the multistore model of memory
an explanation of memory that sees information flowing through a series of storage systems.
Sensory register store (SR) - short duration store that holds impressions of information received by the senses
Short term memory store (stm) - temporary store holding small amounts of info for brief periods
Long term memory (LTM) - permanent store holding limitless amounts of info.
Multistore model of memory
Multi-store model of memory: Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968)
an explanation of memory that sees information flowing through a series of storage systems.
Sensory register store (SR) - short duration store that holds impressions of information received by the senses
Short term memory store (stm) - temporary store holding small amounts of info for brief periods
Long term memory (LTM) - permanent store holding limitless amounts of info.
How are stores are measured in the MSM
How are
Stores are distinguished by three terms:
Coding - what form it is stored in our memories ( sound, images, meaning )
Capacity - amount of information that can be stored
Duration - length of time that info can be held.
Whats the sensory store (MSM)
store
sensory stimulus from environment will pass though store ( sights smells sounds )
5 stores for each of five senses
Main stores are : iconic ( visual info ) and echoic ( auditory info )
Whats the short term memory store ( MSM)
Short term memory (stm)
limited capacity store of memory
Stores information that we process and recall straight away
When we take in new info ( from five senses), we must process it and transform it into a memory trace (coding)
If we dont attend to/rehearse sensory info then we forget it.
Coding:
mainly acoustic stores
Baddeley (1996):
gave four different word lists to participants to remember
Group 1: words are acoustically similar sounding eg: cat hat mat
Group 2: words are acoustically different : house pit blue
Found that in practice and recall participants did worse with acoustically similar words. So coded acoustically
Did worse when they are semantically similar because if they sound the same it is hard to code them by their meanings.
Capacity:
Jacob’s (1987)
digit span test to study capacity, participants given 4 digits to recall in order, when done correctly they get another digit each time.
Mean amount for numbers = 9.3 and mean amount for letters = 7.3
Therefore span for capacity in stm is 7+/-2
George Miller found that most things in life come in secrets (days of the week, number plates). He said that if we break things down by chunking which is breaking stuff down into groups which helps increase capacity.
Duration:
Peterson and Peterson () : found the decay of STM without rehearsal.
18-30 second duration in the STM
What the LTM atore (MSM) + CODING CAPACITY DURATION
Long term memory (LTM)
permanent memory store
Memory that has been rehearsed for a long period of time
When we want to recall info from out LTM we have to transfer it back to the STM through retrieveal. No memories are straight from LTM
Coding:
Baddeley (1996)
group 3 = words with similar meanings (semantically similar) eg: big, large, great
Group 4 = words that are semantically dissimilar eg: good, huge, hot
Participants did worse with semantically similar, so we code semantically
Duration:
Bahrick (1975) studied 392 participants from 17-74 using year books from school to recognise faces.
Recall was tested:
Photo recognition had 50 photos
Free recall was jsut any names
Participants who had graduated within 15 years had 90% accuracy in recognition
Participants who’d graduated 48 years ago had 70% photo recognition
Capacity:
Limitless
Assumptions about the MSM
Assumptions:
Different: clear distinction between two types of memory
Unitary: STM and LTM are seen as unitary aka only one type of STM or LTM
Linear: memory process = linear, flows in one direction.
What is rehearsal and what are the different types in the MSM
Rehearsal = long term repetition
Maintenance rehearsal = repeatedly verbalised or thinking about a piece of info
Elaborative rehearsal = involves thinking about the meaning of that term to remember it (more related to LTM cause LTM is semantic coding ( meaning )
Glanzer and Cunitz (1966)
showed 20 words one at a time and then had to recall them verbally
Found serial position effect
Serial position effect = primacy and recency effect
Primacy effect = (first word in sequence) you remember first words because you rehearsed them the most
Recency effect = (last words in sequence )remember these because they are the most recent recalled and are still in the short term memory
Strong because it proves the MSM theory of unitary short term and long term memory stores.
Case study of H.M
What does it show/who does it support
CASE STUDY: case of H.M, had the hippocampus removed because it was believed to remove seizures.
he couldn’t form new memories. so long term memory was good, but short term memory didnt work he couldn’t remebr any recent events.
Supports MSM ( Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968)) cause of unitary stores
Baddeley (1996) - what did he find for MSM
STM: mainly acoustic stores
Baddeley (1996):
gave four different word lists to participants to remember
Group 1: words are acoustically similar sounding eg: cat hat mat
Group 2: words are acoustically different : house pit blue
Found that in practice and recall participants did worse with acoustically similar words. So coded acoustically
Did worse when they are semantically similar because if they sound the same it is hard to code them by their meanings.
LTM
Baddeley (1996)
group 3 = words with similar meanings (semantically similar) eg: big, large, great
Group 4 = words that are semantically dissimilar eg: good, huge, hot
Participants did worse with semantically similar, so we code semantically
Jacob’s (1987)
Jacob’s (1987) - CAPACITY FOR STM
digit span test to study capacity, participants given 4 digits to recall in order, when done correctly they get another digit each time.
Mean amount for numbers = 9.3 and mean amount for letters = 7.3
Therefore span for capacity in stm is 7+/-2
George Miller found that most things in life come in secrets (days of the week, number plates). He said that if we break things down by chunking which is breaking stuff down into groups which helps increase capacity.
Peterson and Peterson
DURATION FOR STM
Peterson and Peterson () : found the decay of STM without rehearsal.
18-30 second duration in the STM
Bahrick (1975)
DURATION FOR LTM
Bahrick (1975) studied 392 participants from 17-74 using year books from school to recognise faces.
Recall was tested:
Photo recognition had 50 photos
Free recall was jsut any names
Participants who had graduated within 15 years had 90% accuracy in recognition
Participants who’d graduated 48 years ago had 70% photo recognition
Strengths/limitations of the MSM ( Atkinson and Shiffrin )
2p
6c
Strengths
bahrick - has high mundane realism as the task is realistic and applicable to real life.
baddeley - found acoustic stores for STM and LTM for semantic stores - had controlled studies
Limitations
jacob’s - found capacity for STM 7+/-2, which was a digit span test which has low temporal validity as we have more things to remover eg phone numbers or emails
More than one type of rehearsal - again undermines the unitary idea of the MSM
Craig and Watkins suggested what is important in rehearsal isnt the amount but the type
Maintenance rehearsal - in STM in able to pass onto LTM -
Elaborative rehearsal - needed in LTM only. Done by linking new knowledge to existing knowledge
H.M. case study - weak because
machine reductionist - they think memory works like a computer, which is too simplistic for the complexity of brains. eg emotions or..