Memory: Evaluation Points Flashcards
What are some strengths of the multi-store model?
Has research support from the case study of Clive Wearing and Bahricks study.
Who is Clive Wearing?
He suffered from brain damage which resulted in severe amnesia and was unable to transfer information from his STM to his LTM.
Clive Wearing matters because… ?
It demonstrates that the MSM is sequential and that if the ability to ‘transfer’ information from STM to LTM is broken, we cannot form nee memories, thus supporting the linear nature of the MSM.
What is Bahricks study?
Bahrick examined 392 American university graduates on their memory for former classmates by asking participants to match the names of former classmates to pictures in a year book.
Bahricks study matters because… ?
Supports the LTM store, as it shows memories stored in the LTM can last a lifetime.
What is a weakness of MSM?
Contradicting research from the case of patient KF, research from Peterson & Peterson lacks ecological validity
Who is Patients KF?
KF was injured in a motorbike accident. After his accident he was able to recall information from his LTM but had issues with his STM. He was able to remember visual images but unable to remember sounds.
Patient KF matters because… ?
It provides evidence against because patient KF shows there’s at least two STM stores which are acoustic and visual but the MSM shows only one presenting to us that the MSM is not accurate.
Who are Peterson & Peterson?
They investigated STM by conducting a lab study with 24 students who recalled 3 letter trigrams at different intervals, then counted backwards to prevent rehearsal until asked to recall.
Peterson & Peterson lacks ecological validity because… ?
The stimuli participants were asked to remember bear little resemblance to items learned in real life, e.g. Peterson and Peterson (1959) used nonsense trigrams such as ‘XQF’ to investigate STM duration.
What are weaknesses of the working memory model (WMM)?
- It is only concerned with the STM memory and is not a comprehensive model of memory. 2. Although the Central Executive is the most important component, there has been little research investigating the component. It isn’t clear exactly how the Central Executive works or what it does and this vagueness means it can’t be used to explain any experimental results.
What case study’s support the working memory model?
- Comes from dual task studies (e.g Baddeley & Hitch), who found that participants experience better performance on tasks which use different components of the working memory model, in comparison to task that use the same component. 2. Patients KF who could remember visual information but not verbal information, suggesting that there are different stores within short-term memory.
What are 2 strengths of the WMM? (Not case study’s )
- It is a much more plausible model because it explains the STM in terms of both temporary storage and active processing. 2. Physiological evidence exists using studies involving brain scans. PET scans have shown that different areas of the brain are active while completing verbal and visual tasks. These areas may correspond to components of the WMM.
What are 2 weaknesses of the WMM?
1.The working memory model is only concerned with short-term memory and is not a comprehensive model of memory 2. Although the Central executive is the most important component, there has been little research investigating this component. It isn’t clear exactly how the central executive works or what it does, and this vagueness means it can’t be used to explain any experimental results.
