Memory

Question 1

Outline research into Coding

Answer 1

Alan Baddeley (1966a, 1966b). lists of words were given to four different groups, the participants had to memorise these words.
Group 1: Acoustically similar; Can, Cat, Cab
Group 2: Acoustically dissimilar; Pit, Few, Cow
Group 3: Semantically similar; Great, large, big
Group 4: Semantically dissimilar;good, huge, hot
Groups assigned to STM recall tended to do worse with acoustically similar words, groups assigned to LTM recall tended to worse with semantically similar words. This suggests STM is coded acoustically but LTM is coded semantically.

Question 2

Evaluate Baddeley’s research

Answer 2

Artificial stimuli was used - therefore we cannot generalise as if the information had personal meaning semantic coding may have been used.

Question 3

Outline research into capacity

Answer 3

Joseph Jacob’s (1887) read a series of digit’s to participants and asked them to recall them. If this was done correctly then he would increase the digits until they could not correctly recall all digits. On average participants could recall 9.3 numbers and 7.3 letters.

George Miller (1956) noticed that many things come in 7’s; 7 notes on the musical scale, 7 days of the week, 7 deadly sins etc. The capacity of STM is 7 items (give or take 2) but can be improved by chunking into meaningful units.

Question 4

Evaluate research into capacity

Answer 4

Jacobs - research of this time lacked control of extraneous variables and so reduces validity.
Miller - overestimated capacity of STM; other research has found that it is more likely around 4 items

Question 5

Outline research into STM duration

Answer 5

Peterson and Peterson (1959) gave 24 students a three lettered constant (e.g YCG) and a 3-digit number to remember. They were then asked to count backwards for 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 or 18 seconds; this was the retention interval designed to stop rehearsal. On average recall was about 80% after 3 seconds but only 3% after 18.

Question 6

Evaluate research into STM duration

Answer 6

Artificial stimuli - we do not normally memorise consonant syllables and so this study lacks external validity. We do however remember phone numbers so it does have some validity.

Question 7

Outline research into LTM duration

Answer 7

Bahrick et al (1975) Participants were american high school graduates between 17-74. Participants were asked to 1) identify peoples yearbook photos and 2) list all the people in their graduating class.
Participants were 90% accurate in photo recognition after 15 years, and 70% after 48 years. Free recall was 60% accurate after 15 years and 30% accurate after 48 years.

Question 8

Evaluate research into LTM duration

Answer 8

High external validity as it uses real-life memories research without these memories has been lower. It is weakened however as participants may have looked at years books before the study and so has low confounding variables.

Question 9

Outline the MSM.

Answer 9

The MSM describes how information flows through the memory system. Memory is made of three stores that are linked by processing. It goes from being detected by stimulus in the environment into the STM where it is maintained through maintenance rehearsal - if this happens enough it then flows into LTM. When memory is retrieved it first has to flow from LTM to STM (if it is stored in LTM) and is then is retrieved from STM (this is called the response).

Question 10

In the MSM what is the sensory register?

Answer 10

Stimulus from the environment passes through the sensory register (SR). It is 5 different stores - one for each sense. It has very low duration, but very high capacity and coding depends on what sense it is.

Question 11

How does information transfer from SR to STM?

Answer 11

Very little of what goes into the SR actually progresses to STM. Information only goes to STM if attention is paid to it.

Question 12

What is the information about STM? (in relation to MSM)

Answer 12

Duration: between 18-30 seconds, unless rehearsed
Capacity between 5-9 items before forgetting occurs.
Coding: acoustic.

Question 13

In the MSM how is information transferred from STM to LTM?

Answer 13

In STM we have to rehearse information to remember it - if we rehearse it enough it moves into LTM.

Question 14

What is LTM?

Answer 14

It is a permanent memory store. If we want to recall LTM information it has to be transferred back into STM through retrieval.
Duration: potentially a lifetime
Capacity: Potentially unlimited
Coding: in terms of meaning - semantic.

Question 15

What are the evaluation points for the MSM?

Answer 15

Baddley’s research shows that STM and LTM are different. We mix up similar sounding words in STM and similar meaning words in LTM - the MSM supports view that STM and LTM are different stores.
Evidence suggests that there are different types of STM. KF could not remember digits read to him, but could rember ones he read. this suggests that there are two stores (such as WMM) but MSM only suggests one.
MSM only suggests one type of rehearsal (maintenance). however some people suggest that elaborative rehearsal (linking to other information/understanding info is needed for LTM.
studies use artificial materials that do not do not represent meaning in real life. thus the studies lack external validity because they show how memory works in a lab - but not in everyday life.
It also oversimplifies LTM - does not reflect different types (semantic, episodic, procedural, etc.) this is a limitation.

Question 16

What is episodic memory?

Answer 16

They sotre events (episodes) of our life and is like a diary of stuff that has happened.
They are complex. They are time-stamped and involve several elements (such as people, places, objects and behaviours all in one memory). We have to make a conscious effort to recall them.

Question 17

What is semantic memory?

Answer 17

They store information about the world - kind of like a dictionary and encyclopedia. This could be things such as the taste of an orange, the meaning of words and how to apply to uni.
They are not time stamped so we do not remember when we first learnt them. It is not personal but information we all share.

Question 18

What is procedural memory?

Answer 18

This is our memory for how to do something or certain skills. Often we do these procedures without even realising that we’ve done them, if we try to think about doing them or explain what we are doing then we may struggle to do so.
An example of this is driving a car, eventually we learn to change gears and indicate without even realising we have done so. If we then tried to explain this we may struggle.

Question 19

What is the evaluation for types of LTM?

Answer 19

The cases of HM and Clive Wearing. Both had damaged episodic memories but intact semantic and procedural memories. HM would not remember stroking a dog, or owning one but would understand the concept of a dog. however they both knew how to walk, talk and tie their shoelaces. Wearing also knew how to read and play music. This supports the theory that there are several stores for LTM as one store can be damaged without affecting the others. This also suggests that different stores are in different parts of the brain.
Evidence from brain scans supports the theory that different parts of the brain are involved in the different types of memory. Tulving et al found that the left prefrontal cortex is involved with semantic memory, whilst the right prefrontal cortex is involved with episodic memory. This supports the validity of the theory that LTM is different, as there is physical evidence. similar studies have had similar findings which also increases the validity of it.
Real life implications - one study found that in older people with a mild cognitive impairment episodic memory could be improved. As episodic memory is most affected by these impairments it highlights the importance of distinguishing between types of LTM, as it allows different treatments to be developed.
Disagreement over types of memory. Some researchers have suggested that procedural memories form one type, but that semantic and episodic are actually combined to form one type of memory declarative because it can be consciously recalled.