Memory Flashcards
what are the 3 types of memory?
sensory register
long-term memory
short-term memory
what do the three memory stores differ in?
duration and coding
what does the sensory register do?
- temporarily stores information from our senses
- unless we pay attention to it it will disappear quickly
- it has a limited capacity and very limited duration
- information is coded depending on the sense it has picked up.
what does short term memory do?
- it has a limited capacity and a limited duration
- coding is usually acoustic
- capacity of =7 or -2 items
what does long term memory do?
- unlimitied capacity and is permanent
- coding is usually semantic
what are the 3 types of long term memory?
eposodic memory
semantic memory
procedural memory
what does eposodic memory do?
stores info about events you’ve actually experienced e.g concert
what does semantic memory do?
stores facts and knowledge such as capital cities
what does procedural memory do?
stores the knowledge of how to do things e.g walking and swimming
how is information coded in stm?
keep information active by repeating it acoustically coded
how is information coded in ltm?
coding is generally semantic
who created the multi-store model?
Attkinson and shiffrin (1968)
what does the multi-store model propose?
that memory consists of 3 stores: a sensory register a short-term store and a long term store
how does the multi-store model work?
information initially goes into the sensory register and if you pay attention to it it will go into our short term memory. STM has a short capacity and duration and so therefore in order for imformation to transfer into the LTM it must be processed and rehearsed
what are the 4 main studies which support the multi-store model?
the primacy effect
the recency effect
people with korsakoff’s syndrome
milner et al (1957)
what is the primacy effect?
- research shows that rps are able to recall the first few items on a list better than those from the middle
- the multi-store model explains this because earlier items will have been rehearsed better and transfered to ltm
What is the recency effect?
rps tend to remember the last few items better than those from the start
as stm has a capacity of 7 items the words in the middle of the list if not rehearsed are displaced from STM by the last few words heard. therefore these words are still in STM therefore can be recalled
how do people with korsakoff’s syndrome provide evidence for the multi-store model?
they can recall the last items in a list suggesting an unaffected STM however their LTM is very poor
supports the model by providing evidence that STM and LTM are different stores
how is milner et al? evidence for the multi-store model?
carried out a case study into HM - suffered from epilepsy- removed part of brain around hippocampus - reduced his epilepsy but suffered from stm loss. He could still form short term memories but was unable to form new long term memories- supports the idea that STM and LTM are different stores
limitations towards the multi-store model?
information is transferred from STM to LTM through rehearsal but people dont always spend time rehearsing yet things are transferred to LTM.
who created the working memory model?
Baddely and hitch
what does Baddeley and hitch’s working memory model propose?
that STM rather than being a single store is an active processor which contains different stores
what is the central executive?
a key component that is described as attention
controls slave systems
it has a limited capacity
what is the phonological loop?
holds speech based information made up of phonological store and articulatory process
what is the phonological store?
the inner ear
what is the articulatory process?
the inner voice which rehearses information by repeating it
what is the visio-spatial sketchpad?
deals with the temporary storage of visual and spatial information
what is the episodic buffer?
added to model in 2000 briefly stores information from the other sub-systems and intergrates it all together
what are the strengths of the WMM?
shallice and warrington (1974)
gathercole and baddeley (1993)
what did shallice and warrington do?
found support for WMM through their study of KF
- he had a problem with immediate recall of words presented verbally but not with visual info
- proposed he had an impaired aritculatory loop but an intact VS-S therefore providing evidence for the WMM’S view of STM.
- this findings could not have been proposed by the MSM which proposed STM is just one system
what did Gathercole and Baddeley do?
reported on a laboratory study which supports the model.
- rps split into 2 groups
- all rps had to carry out a task where they had to carry out a task where they had to follow a moving spot of light (Visio-spatial sketchpad)
- more rps had to describe angles on a letter (visio-spatial sketchpad)
- more rps given a task which would involve phonological loop they had to do a verbal task while following the light
- they found that performance was much better in tasks which involved separate slave systems
what are the weaknesses of the WMM?
- they think the idea of the central executive is simplistic and vague
- the model only deals with information in STM and not how it is transferred into LTM
- most research has been lab studies which have reduced ecological validity
what is forgetting?
when learnt information cannot be retrieved
what do experiments on memory assume?
if you can’t retrieve a memory it is forgotten
what is forgetting in STM thought to be down to?
an availability problem- the information is no longer available due to the limited capacity and duration in the STM