memory Flashcards
paper 1 section A
what is enconding
changing information so it can be stored in your brain
episodic memory
long term memory for personal events
semantic memory
long term memory for general facts
procedural memory
long term memory for complex skills also known as muscle memory
capacity, duration and encoding of stm, ltm and sensory memory
sensory memory
- encoded from senses
- less than half a second duration
- capacity of a very large amount
short term
- encoded acoustically
- less than 30 seconds duration
- capacity of 5 to 9 items
long term memory
- encoded semantically
- unlimited duration
- unlimited capacity
the multi store model
- input - sensory memory - attention - short term memory [maintenance] - transfer - recall - long term memory
evaluation of the multi store model
+ supporting research, Baddeley’s study found we tend to mix up similar sounding words in our STM and similar meaning words in our LTM. high external validity
- simplicity, the STM has a visual and acoustic section and LTM has episodic, semantic and procedural. low internal validity
Murdock’s serial position curve study
method: she listed the most 4,000 most common English words and 103 psychology students were tested in sections. They were listened to 20 lists of words ranging from 10 to 40 words and asked to recall them.
results: she found the primacy and recency effects. primacy effect- we remember the beginning of the list as its in our LTM. recency effect- we remember the end of a list as its still in our STM.
evaluation of Murdock’s serial position curve study
+ lab experiment, the researcher controlled the familiarity of words, how fast they read them and ensured practice had no affect. high internal
- artificial task- not how we use day to day memory, only told us 1 aspect of memory which is memorising words. low external validity
Bartlett’s war of the ghost study
method: gathered Cambridge English students on the left a native American folks tale and asked them to recall after 15 mins. He told what previous participants recalled to a new group and repeated.
results: the story was shorted and simplified, complex words changed to more familiar ones canoe- boats, story interpreted due to their own social and cultural expectations.
evaluation of Bartlett’s war of the ghost study
- sample, the participants were Cambridge university students meaning they have higher familiarity with interpreting texts. low external
- lacks control- participants were not given explicit instructions and another study found recall to be more accurate when the participants were told that accurate recall is important. low internal
theory of reconstructive memory
- memory is an active process
- we store fragments of a memory and fill the gaps during recall
- each time you recall the memory, the pieces are combined slightly differently
- social/ cultural expectations may influence the pieces we store
- effort after meaning = we focus on the general meaning of events and after the event we attempt to make sense of the event by changing it into familiar terms
evaluation of the theory of reconstructive memory
+ realistic research- the war of the ghost study reflects how we use day to day memory. high external
- some memories are accurate- people do not always reconstruct memories and some are accurate. low internal
what is interference
one memory prevents us from accessing another
what is context
an environment that the memory is formed in acting as a cue
