memory Flashcards
who proposed the multi-store model
Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968)
what is coding capacity and duraction
the three variables that can be used to describe the stores that informationn passes through
what does coding mean
the way in which infomation is stored/what format things are stored in
what does capcity mean
the amount of information that can be stored
what does duration mean
the time period that information is held in store
what three distinct stages does memory have to pass through in order to enter the storage
- sensory register
- short term memory
- long term memory
what dp Atkinson and Shriffin argue
Atkinson and Shiffrin’s (1968) model of human memory is based on the belief that we process memories in the same way that a computer processes information
what is the sensory register storage
The sensory register stores all incoming info from our senses. (registers sensory info from the outside world).The information is quickly discarded or transferred to short-term memory.
what is the duration/capacity of the sensory register
very brief duration - up to a couple of seconds.
capacity is big
what is stored in the sensory register
sensory information can be sights ,sounds, smellls and even textures. If we do not view the information as valuable we discard it and its duration is very short. IF WE VIEW IT AS VALUABEL THE IMFORMATION WILL MOVE ON INTO SHORT TERM MEMORY.
state the summary of the sensory register
duration:very quick (0.5 secounds)
capacity: large (all sensory info that we consume in their daily life)
coding: specific to each sense
sensory register has a sensory code
what is short term memory
a temporay storage system that processes incoming sensory memory
how long does short term memory storage last
20 secounds (estimated between 18 and 30 secs)
state the summary of short term information
duration: 20 secounds
capacity : 7+/- 2 items
coding: primarily acoustic
What is the term for the rehearsal process to move information from the short-term memory to the long-term memory?
memory consolidation
what is long term memory
the continuous storage of memory (unlike short term memory it has no limits)
state the summary of long term memory
duration: unlimited
capacity: unlimited
coding primarily semantic but can be others
what was Peterson and Peterson study
(1959) wanted to test the theory that information is quickly lost from short-term memory if its not rehearsed.
what procedure was conducted in peterson and petersons study
- laboratory experiment
- 24 psychology students participants
- participants had to try and recall trigrams (like PRC) after different intervals of time (3,6,9,12…)
- during these intervals participants were to count backwards from a random number in groups of three and four. This was to stop them from rehearsing the trigrams in their head
what was the results of petersons and petersons study (1959)
participants could recall fewer trigrams as the time gap increased eg
- 3-second intervals-participants recalled 80%correctly
- 18-second intervals-participants recalled 10% correctly
what was the conclusion of petersons and petersons study
our short term memory has limited duration when we cant rehearse information
what are the positives of petersons and petersons (1959)
good control of variables- because of lab setting
what are the cons of petersons and petersons study
- low ecological validity=because of artificial set up
- lacking variety of stimulus =no data on whether the type of stimulus affects the duration of the short term memory
what did Bahrick et al. (1975) study
studied very long-term memory (VLTM) by testing the ability of people to recall the names of ex-classmates.