Memory: Coding, capacity, duration

Question 1

What is coding?

Answer 1

The format in which information is stored in the various memory stores

Question 2

Who studied coding?

Answer 2

Baddeley

Question 3

What procedure did Baddeley use to study coding?

Answer 3

Ppts were given a list of acoustically similar words or acoustically disimilar words

Semantantically similar or dissimilar words

Question 4

What were the findings from Baddeley’s coding study?

Answer 4

Immediate recall worse with acoustically similar words so STM is acoustic

Recall after 20 minutes worse with semantically similar words, LTM is semantic

Question 5

What is a strength of Baddeley’s coding study?

Answer 5

It identified two memory stores.

Even though later studies showed that there are exceptions to Baddeley’s findings, STM is mostly acoustic and LTM is mostly semantic

Led to the development of MSM

Question 6

What is a limitation of Baddeley’s coding study?

Answer 6

It used artificial stimuli

The words used had no personal meaning to the ppts so tells us little about coding for everyday memory tasks

When processing more meaningful tasks people use semantic coding even for STM, limited application

Question 7

What is capacity?

Answer 7

Amount of information that can be held in memory before new incoming information displaces it

Question 8

Who studied capacity?

Answer 8

Jacobs
Miller

Question 9

What was the procedure of Jacob’s digit span?

Answer 9

Gave participants several sequences of digits or letters asking them to repeat after each sequence in correct order

Sequence increased in size by 1 each time

Question 10

What were the findings of Jacob’s digit span study?

Answer 10

9.3 digits or 7.3 letters at once can be held in STM

Question 11

What is Miller’s magic number study?

Answer 11

Reviewed psychological research studies and concluded span of STM is 7 (+/-) 2

Question 12

What is chunking according to Miller?

Answer 12

grouping large amounts of information into smaller meaningful units so more can be remembered

Question 13

What is a strength of Jacobs study?

Answer 13

Has been replicated

Old study with confounding variables but later studies (Bopp + Verhaegen) confirmed findings

Valid measure of digit span

Question 14

What is a limitation of Miller’s study?

Answer 14

Overestimates STM capacity

Cowan - suggested more lile 4+- 1 chunks

Lower end of millers estimate more appropriate

Question 15

What is duration?

Answer 15

Amount of time that information can be held in a memory store before it is lost due to decay

Question 16

Who studied duration?

Answer 16

Peterson + Peterson
Bahrick et al

Question 17

Who studied STM duration?

Answer 17

Peterson + Peterson

Question 18

What was the procedure of Peterson + Peterson’s study?

Answer 18

Ppts were given 3 letters to remember and then had to count down from a random 3 digit number they were given until told to stop.

Question 19

What were the findings of Peterson + Peterson’s study?

Answer 19

Recall after 3s was 80% but recall after 18s was 3%

STM duration without rehersal is up to 18 secs

Question 20

What is a limitation of Peterson + Peterson’s study?

Answer 20

There is meaningless stimuli, sometimes recall meaningless irl so not completely irrelevant but doesn’t entirely reflect normal life

Lack of external validity

Question 21

Who studied LTM duration?

Answer 21

Bahrick et al

Question 22

What was Bahrick et al’s procedure?

Answer 22

392 Americans aged between 17 and 74

Recognition test - 50 photos from high school books and say names

Free recall test - ppts listed names from their graduating class

Question 23

What were the findings from Bahrick et al’s study?

Answer 23

Recognition test - 90% accurate after 15 years, 70% after 48 years

Free recall test - 60% accurate after 15 years, 30% after 48 years

Question 24

What is a strength of Bahrick et al’s study?

Answer 24

High external validity, meaningful memories were studied

Shepard, meaningless photos produce less recall

Predict a more ‘real’ estimate of the LTM duration

Question 24

How is STM coded?

Answer 24

Acoustically

Question 25

How is LTM coded?

Answer 25

Semantically

Question 26

What is the capacity of STM?

Answer 26

7 plus minus 2

Question 27

What is the capacity of LTM?

Answer 27

Potentially unlimited

Question 28

What is the duration of STM?

Answer 28

about 18s

Question 29

What is the duration of LTM?

Answer 29

Potentially up to a lifetime