Memory - Paper 1 Flashcards
Paper 1
What is coding?
The format in which information is stored
Who did research on coding?
Baddely
What is the procedure of Baddely’s experiment on coding?
Group 1 - Acoustically similar
Group 2 - Acoustically dissimilar
Group 3 - Semantically similar
Group 4 - Semantically dissimilar
Given a list of original words in wrong order, had to recall in correct order (LTM 20 Min interval, STM recall straight away)
What was the result of Baddley’s experiment for coding (STM)?
Confusion between acoustically similar words because of similar sounds
What was the result of Baddley’s experiment for coding (LTM)?
Confsusion between semantically similar words because of similar meanings
What was the conclusion for Baddley’s experiment on coding?
STM - Acoustic confusion, coded acoustically
LTM - Semantic confusion, coded semantically
What are the positive evaluation points for Baddley’s experiment on coding?
Lab study so allowed for manipulation of type of words presented and allowed for control of extraneous variables such as noise and has high internal validity. Cause an effect is shown, replicable
What are the negative evaluation points for Baddley’s experiment on coding?
May not have tested LTM: not clear how long we need to wait to test LTM. Should have waited longer than 20 mins as much longer gaps between learning and recall in life, questions whetehr coding of LTM is semantic.
Artificial Stimuli - cautious about generalising
What is capacity?
Amount of information that can be held
Who did research on capacity?
Jacobs and Miller (two separate people who did two separate studies)
What was Jacob’s method for his study on capacity?
Aim - to see how much info the STM can hold at one time
He developed a technique to measure digit span.
Researcher read out 4 digits. Pps attempt to recall in order. If correct, research reads out 5 and so on until cannot recall order correctly. This determines digit span
What were the findings of Jacob’s study on capacity?
Mean digit span: 9.3 items. This decreased to 7.3 when letters were used instead of numbers
What are the positive evaluation points of Jacob’s study?
Individual differences and effects of age acknowledged. He tested a range of ages and found digit span increases with age as memory becomes more complex. Strength because estimate of capacity of STM accounts for all ages.What are the positive evaluation points of Jacob’s study?
What are the negative evaluation points of Jacob’s study?
Lacks mundane realism, not something which would occur in real life so lacks ecological validity
What did Miller suggest about capacity?
Capacity of STM is 7+/-2 (5-9 chunks). People expand this capacity by chunking sets of digits or letters into chunks e.g., 05082015 –> 05/08/2015
Info held in STM in fragile state will disappear if not rehearsed. Maintenance rehearsal occurs when we repeat material, if we rehearse long enough, passes to LTM
What is Miller’s magic number?
7 +/- 2 (5-9 chunks)
What are the negative evaluation points for Miller’s study?
Miller may have overestimated STM capacity. Cowan reviewed the research and found it was only 4 chunks
What are the negative evaluation points of research on capacity?
Results are often based on case studies. Wagenaar used his own memories to measure his LTM. Memories are not representative of the general population so lacks population validity also subjective and difficult to apply to others
What is duration?
The length of time information can be held
How much time can information last in the STM?
18-30 seconds
How much time can information last in the LTM?
up to a lifetime
Who conducted research on the duration of the STM?
Peterson and Peterson
What was Peterson’s and Peterson’s procedure?
24 student Ps took part in 8 trials. On each trial the student was given a trigram and a 3 digit number to remember. Students then asked to count backward from 3 digit number to prevent rehearsal of trigram. On each trial they were told to stop counting after 3,6,9,12,15 or 18s
What were Peterson and Peterson’s findings?
Amount recalled correctly: 3 seconds - 90%, 18 seconds - 5% (significant difference
What was Peterson and Peterson’s conclusion about duration?
STM has very short duration unless rehearsed
What are the positive evaluation points of Peterson and Peterson’s study?
They controlled for confounding variables by have ps count backwards. It also has relevance to real-life as people do try and remember phone numbers
What are the negative evaluation points of Peterson and Peterson’s study?
It is an artificial situation so findings may not be able to be applied to real life.
Issues with methodology - different trigrams were used in each trial which could have caused interference
What are positive evaluation points of research into duration in the STM?
There is high external validity because findings are generalisable to other times, populations and situations. Bahrick asked about yearbook photos which are personal. This is a strength because everyday memories were represented, suggesting that the study has high external validity and results can be generalised to real-life memories
What are negative evaluation points of research into duration in the STM?
Often makes use of artificial stimuli. Peterson and Peterson asked ps to remember nonsense trigrams. Stimuli lacked external validity as it didn’t reflect most real-life memory activities.
Who did a study on long term duration?
Bahrick et al
What was the method for Bahrick et al’s study?
Investigated VLTM. 392 ps from America between 17-74.
1. Photo recognition test - name as many individuals from yearbook without cues
2. Free recall test - recall all names of individuals from yearbook without cues.
What were the results of Bahrick’s study?
Photo recognition: 90% accurate after 15 years, 70% after 48
Free recall: 60% accurate after 15 and 30% after 48
What was the conclusion of Bahrick’s study?
LTM can last a very long time, potentially a lifetime
What are the positive evaluation points of Bahrick’s study?
High ecological validity because it used real life memories
What are the negative evaluation points of Bahrick’s study?
Confounding variables were not controlled for - people could have looked at the year book (rehearsal)
What was the procedure for Sperling’s research on duration?
Demonstrated the very brief duration of the sensory register. Ps shown grid of numbers and words for 50 milliseconds. Ps divided into groups
Group 1 - Ps asked to recall all 12
Group 2 - Ps asked to recall one row. Ps heard a tone that indicated which row they need to recall
What were Sperling’s findings?
Group 1 - 42% (4 out of 12) items recalled correctly
Group 2 - 75% (3 out of 4) items recalled correctly
Group 1 recall is poor as the image of the items fades so rapidly that a person can only report about 3 or 4 of them before the remaining disappearing
Who devised the Multi-store model of memory?
Atkinson and Shiffrin
What is the multi-store model?
An explanation of how the memory works with the sensory register, STM and LTM. For info to be retained as a memory, processes of attention and rehearsal are required
What is the sensory register?
Short duration store that holds info we gain through the 5 senses. Transferred to STM if person pays attention
How is the sensory register mainly coded?
Each of the 5 senses has its own sensory register. Research mostly focuses on visual (iconic) and echoic (auditory) senses
What is the duration of the sensory register?
Very brief usually only 1-2 seconds
What is the capacity of the sensory register?
Very large as it includes material from all 5 senses
What is the STM?
For events in the present or immediate past.
How is the STM coded?
Coded acoustically (proved by Baddely), visual information is transformed to its acoustic codes
What is the capacity of the STM?
7(+/-)2 items or chunks (proved by Jacobs and Miller)
What is the duration of the STM?
18-30 seconds (Proved by Peterson and Peterson)
How is the LTM coded?
Info coded semantically (Proved by Baddely)
What is the capacity of the LTM?
Unlimited
What is the duration of the LTM?
Up to a lifetime (Proved by Bahrick)
Which case study supports the MSM?
Case of HM: Man underwent surgery, hippocampus removed. When his memory was assessed, he thought it was 4 years ago. LTM was damaged but STM performed well (Indicates separate store)
What are positive evaluation points of the MSM?
Research support from Glanzer and Cunitz provide clear support for the existence of STM and LTM as distinct memory stores.
What happened in Glanzer and Cunitz’ study?
Ps heard a list of words and had to recall them immediately in order.
Findings: Ps had good recall for 2st part of list (Primacy effect) and the last part of the list (Recency effect). Words in middle had poorest recall. Supports MSM suggests STM and LTM are distinct stores