Memory - Paper 1 Flashcards
Outline the meaning of short term memory (STM)
Capacity of the brain to hold a small amount of information for a short period of time.
5-9 items
18-30 seconds
Primarily acoustic
Outline the meaning of long term memory (LTM)
Permanent memory storage.
Capacity unlimited
Duration a few minutes to a lifetime
Primarily semantic
Describe the meaning of capacity
Amount of information that can be stored in memory at any one time
Miller found STM has capacity of 7+- 2
LTM potentially unlimited
Describe the meaning of duration
The length of time information can be held
Peterson and Peterson STM duration for roughly 30 seconds
Bahrick found LTM unlimited duration
Describe the meaning of coding
The format in which information is stored
STM acoustically
LTM semantically (meaning)
Outline Jacobs research on capacity
Jacobs measured digit span
Sequence of digits then recall them out loud in correct order
Increased by one each time until participant can no longer recall
Mean span - 9.3 numbers, 7.3 letters
Evaluate Jacobs research on capacity
+ Been replicated
- old study 1887 - poor control, participants been distracted
+ results supported by further research supporting validity
Evaluate Millers research on capacity
- based on prevalence of seven in human evolution
+ overestimated. Cowan suggest 4 chunks
Evaluate research on duration of STM -
- Meaningless stimuli material artificial, nonsense trigrams
- lack external validity
+ forgetting can be explained - spontaneous decay - no rehearsal. New information pushed out old
Describe research into duration of STM
Peterson et al
Consonant syllables
3 digit number count back from
3 seconds - 80%
18 seconds - 3%
Describe research into duration of LTM
Bahrick
Yearbook photos
17 to 74 recognition - 90% after 15 years, 70% after 48
Free recall - 60% after 15, 30% after 48
Evaluate research in the duration of LTM
+ high external validity - real life memories
- hard to control confounding variables - looked and rehearsed photos over the years
Describe research into coding
Baddeley
Acoustically and semantically similar words
Immediate recall worse with acoustically similar words
Recall after 20 minutes worse with semantically similar words
Evaluate research into coding
+ identified two memory stores
- artificial stimuli
Key features of the multi store model of memory
Atkinson and Shiffrin
Three stores linked together by processing
Enviromental stimuli»_space; sensory register»_space; attention»_space; STM»_space; response / prolonged rehearsal»_space; LTM
Outline the sensory register (MSM)
Stimulus from environment passes into register
(Sights, sounds, smells)
Echoic memory (auditory), Iconic memory (visual), Tactile memory (touch), Olfactory memory (smell), Gustatory memory (taste)
Duration less than a second
Capacity high
Pay attention for information to pass through
How is information transferred from STM to LTM
Maintenance rehearsal - keep in STM
Prolonged rehearsal- transfer LTM
How are memories recalled in MSM
Transferred back to STM by retrieval
Evaluate the MSM
+ supporting research - Baddely mix similar words STM and similar meaning LTM. Memory stores separate and independent
- evidence more than one type STM. Patient KF amnesia. Recall much better when he read the digits. One visual and one auditory
- prolonged rehearsal not needed for STM - LTM transfer - limited explanation
Outline the episodic memory of the LTM store
Stores events
Complex
Events time stamped
Involve several elements - conscious effort to recall them
Outline the semantic memory of the LTM store
Stores out knowledge of the word
Not time stamped
Less personal - knowledge everyone shares
Outline the procedural memory of LTM
Actions and skills
How to do things
Recall unconscious
Hard explains actions
Evaluate types of LTM
+ case study evidence - Clive wearing - lost episodic
- conflicting findings - poor agreement on location
+ helping with memory problems - specific treatments