Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM


Top Flashcards (Certified)
All Flashcards

psychology > Memory > Flashcards

Memory Flashcards

1
Q

What is STM?

A

Allows us to recall memory from up to 30s ago. Is very limited.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What is LTM?

A

Enables us to recall memory from distant past, has unlimited capacity and has potentially a lifetime of duration.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What are the 3 ways that STM and LTM differ?

A
  • duration
  • capacity
  • encoding
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What is duration?

A

How long information can be stored for/ how long it lasts.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What’s STM’s duration?

A

Doesn’t last long.

To keep info for longer than a few seconds it must be rehearsed to be kept active.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What’s the STM duration study?

A

Peterson and Peterson,
24 undergrad students given constant trigram.
Asked to count backwards in 3s (to stop them from rehearsing it)
Then asked to stop and repeat trigram.
Repeated using different trigrams

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What were Peterson and Peterson’s results?

A

90% after 3s.
20% after 9s.
Less than 10% after 18s.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What was the conclusion of Peterson and Peterson’s study?

A

Information decays quick when you can’t rehearse it.

Maximum duration of STM is 18s

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What are the positives of Peterson and Peterson experiment?

A

+ Lab experiment, tightly controlled variables can be replicated to see if results are reliable

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What are the negatives of Peterson and Peterson study?

A
  • Low ecological validity is unrealistic
  • trigrams from earlier trials can cause confusion. Results gained can be due to participants forgetting or being confused
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What is the overall conclusion of STM maximum duration?

A

18 to 30 seconds without rehearsal (due to further research)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What is LTM duration experiment?

A

-Bahrick et al (1975)
-400 Americans
-asked how well they could remember former classmates:
Matching names to pics or recalling names with no picture cue

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

What were the results from Bahrick’s study?

A
  • 70% accuracy from after 48 years using the link/Cue

- 30% accuracy from after 48 years (free recall names)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What is the conclusion from the long-term memory duration study?

A

30 to 50 years on people are still able to recall, long-term memory can last a lifetime.

  • Cannot immediately access info in LTM
  • cues being presented help with retrieval
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What are the positives and negatives of Bahrick’s study?

A

+High ecological validity is as it was a natural task

  • less control of the independent variable as it’s likely some of the names could have been rehearsed
  • only looked at a specific type of information, type of info is particularly meaningful and regularly rehearsed
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What is capacity?

A

Measure of how much information can be held/stored.
LTM probably unlimited
STM very limited

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

What is the experiments for STM capacity?

A

Jacobs (1887)
Serial digit span technique, four digit number was read and asked to repeat
Digit added to participant couldn’t repeat accurately

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

What are the results of Jacobs study?

A

-9 digits and 7 letters correctly recalled.
-capacity increased with age during childhood:
-gradual increases in brain capacity
-ppl developed strategies to improve it (chunking)
Digits are easier to remember as theirs only 10.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

What’s the STM capacity experiment evaluation?

A
  • lacks ecological validity as it’s an unrealistic test.

- can’t be sure of extraneous variables were controlled as it was done so long ago.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

What did miller say?

A

STM has capacity of 7+-2 items.
Capacity can be increased by chunking.
Size of chunk is important.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

What did cowen argue with miller about?

A

He aid miller may have overestimated capacity of STM after reviewing research.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

What is coding?

A

Form in which information is stored in memory

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

What are the different types of coding?

A
  • acoustic-by the way it sounds
  • semantic-by the terms of its meaning
  • visual-by the way it looks
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

How is information encoded in stm?

A

Acoustic form

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
How is info stored in LTM?
Semantically (on basis of meaning)
26
What conclusion can we draw from how information is stored in the STM and the LTM?
Acoustically similar words are harder to remember, and we are more likely to make mistakes remembering semantically similar words.
27
What was baddelys experiment?
``` Five words under 1/4 conditions: -acoustically similar words -acoustically dissimilar words -semantically similar words -semantically dissimilar words. And then immediately had to write them down in order ```
28
What were the results of Baddeley experiment?
Participants were least accurate with acoustically similar words (they’ve got muddled) 20 minutes later participants well least accurate with semantically similar words.
29
what is the evaluation of Badeley’s experiment?
Low ecological validity is as it was meaningless tasks | Therefore limited application to real life.
30
Who came up with the multi store model?
Atkinson and shiffrin
31
Describe the multi store model.
Environmental input then it is detected by sense organs and so enters sensory memory. Attention applied: goes to STM Rehearsal applied: go to LTM Retrieval applied: goes back to STM to be recalled There is a rehearsal loop (Maintenance rehearsal)around STM
32
What happens if rehearsal doesn’t happen?
Information decays and is then forgotten
33
What Are the five stores in the sensory register?
It has five stores: iconic (visual), echoic (auditory), haptic (physical senses), gustatory (taste), olfactory (smell)
34
What is the duration of the Sensory register?
A quarter of a second
35
What Is the capacity of the sensory register?
Unlimited
36
What is the coding of the sensory register?
Depends on the sense
37
What are the strengths of the multi store model?
+ Explains primacy and recency effects + case study supports the idea that STM and LTM are separate stores(HM) +Brain scanning techniques support the separate store ideas
38
What is the primacy effect?
Primacy is where you remember it because it is the first piece of information you had so you have had longer to rehearse it so it’s more likely to move to the LTM
39
What is the recency effect?
You remember last pieces of info as you’ve Heard them more recently so likely to still be in STM
40
Describe the case study of HM.
Moved hippocampus from both sides of the brain to reduce severe epilepsy. STM was still intact He couldn’t form LT memories Therefore they must be separate
41
What is brain scanning technique prove that LTM and STM are separate stores?
Prefrontal cortex was active during STM not LTM
42
What are the weaknesses in the multi store model?
- Rehearsal idea doesn’t explain flashbulb memories - it suggests that LTM and STM are not single stores STM can be divided into visual and auditory information (case study KF) - Most studies supporting multi store model lack ecological validity is (unrealistic) (lack external validity as evidence may not reflect how memory works in real life)
43
Describe the case study of KF
Brain damage from motorbike accident | Severely impaired STM for verbal information but visual information was fine therefore argued it’s not a unitary store
44
What is one of the criticisms of the multi store model?
It suggests that STM and LTM are unitary stores when research suggests that they are made up of sub stores
45
The difference between explicit and implicit memory?
Explicit is where the memories can be easily describedAnd they can only be recalled with conscious thoughts Implicit is where the memories cannot be easily described and they don’t need conscious thought to be recalled
46
What are the different types of long-term memory?
Episodic Semantic Procedural
47
What is episodic LTM?
Autobiographical record of personal experiences and are influenced by: -emotions present at time memory is coded -degree of processing of information during coding with highly processed episodic events record more easily Helps individuals to distinguish difference between real and imaginative events
48
What is semantic LTM?
Contains all knowledge (facts and concepts)
49
What is procedural LTM?
Skills such as driving a car | Speak in a language
50
What are the differences between these three types of LTMs?
Episodic and semantic are conscious (Explicit) | Procedural is unconscious (implicit)
51
Where is semantic memory located?
Left prefrontal cortex
52
Where is episodic memory located?
Right prefrontal cortex
53
What are the strengths of LTM types?
+Supported by case studies + evidence from brain scans shows different types of LTM are stored in different parts + can be used in real life applications.
54
Describe three case studies that support LTM types
- HM and Clive wearing-had impaired episodic memories but could still learn new skills, showing they are in different stores as you can damage one and leave the others on affected - vicari-CL8-year-old girl who suffered brain damage due to the tumour removal, difficulties forming episodic memories but was still able to create semantic memory is - PM 68-year-old cellist suffered brain damage leading to severe episodic and semantic memory difficulties but could still read play music and learn new complex pieces (procedural memory was unaffected
55
What is the weakness of LTM types?
Gender differences suggest research on types of LTM is cannot be generalised to all our needs to be treated with caution, 1000 Swedish participants: females consistently performed better on tasks requiring episodic
56
What is the working memory model?
STM is not a unitary store it has sub stores . | Each responsible for processing different types of information.
57
Describe the working memory model.
It has four components: - central executive - phonological loop - visuospatial sketch pad (inner eye) - Episodic buffer
58
What is the central executive?
Has overall control and processes information in all sensory forms. Chooses which of its slave systems are needed Problem-solving/decision-making Limited capacity therefore cannot make many decisions at the same time
59
What is the phonological loop?
Temporary stores wordbased information. -Phonological store (inner ear) speech based form spoken words into the store directly written words must be converted into articulatory code before entering -articulatory Process (inner voice) rehearsing information from phonological store as long as we keep repeating it we can retain information in working memory. Phonological loop has limited capacity and duration
60
What is the visuospatial sketch pad?
Limited amount of visual and spatial information for brief periods of time: - visual cache : Stores visual data - inner scribe :Remembers the arrangement of objects in space
61
What is the episodic buffer?
Backup storage communicates with both LTM and integrates visual, special, verbal information. Despite being on the control of central executive it has its own storages and processes. Was added in 2000 after WMM Didn’t allow communication between slave systems or explain how LTM communicates with different slave systems
62
What is the capacity and coding of the central executive?
Capacity: Ltd Coding: modality Free. (Store information in any sense form)
63
What is the coding and capacity of the phonological loop?
Capacity: two seconds Coding: acoustic
64
What is the capacity and coding of the visuospatial sketch pad?
Capacity: 3 to 4 objects Coding: visual
65
What is the coding and capacity of the episodic buffer?
Capacity: four chunks Coding: visual spatial and verbal information
66
Describe Baddeley and Hitch’s study in wmm.
Asked participants to perform two tasks at same time (dual task technique) Digit span Task (repeat a list of numbers Verbal reasoning task (answer true or false questions)
67
What were the results of the Baddeley and Hitch’s experiment?
As number of digits increased participants took longer to answer the questions. (Only fractions of a second) Didn’t make any more errors in verbal reasoning tasks as the number of digits increased
68
What is the conclusion of the WMM study?
Verbal reasoning task use the central executive and the digit span task use the phonological loop
69
What are the strengths of the working memory model?
+Can account for jewel tasking (two tasks at once if one is words based and one is visual as you use two different slave systems) + accounts for case studies like KF where his word-based information was worse than visual) + explains how we carry out everyday tasks. We can therefore say it has greater face validity (make sense)
70
What are the weaknesses of the working memory model?
- Role of central executive is unclear-the fact that it directs attention and chooses which slave system is still vague. It has been suggested that it may have sub components. Capacity has never been measured. Therefore WMM lacks necessary detail - evidence from brain damage participants is not reliable as they have suffered from traumatic experiences so you can’t generalise to normal memory function - It’s restricted to STM and doesn’t say anything about LTM or sensory memory. Therefore we cannot say that the model is a comprehensive model of memory

psychology (18 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions