Memory (Paper 1) Flashcards
Friday 16th May - 9:15 → 11:15
Definition of coding
To enter memory, information has to be ‘written’ in a particular format or code.
Definition of capacity
Refers to the amount of storage space available in memory.
Definition of duration
How long information lasts before it is no longer available i.e. before it is forgotten
3x features used when describing memory
- Coding
- Capacity
- Duration
What does the multistore model of memory suggest
Information flows through 3 memory stores - sensory register, short term memory, long term memory
At any point the information can be lost or forgotten
3x assumptions made by the multistore model of memory
- There are 3 separate stores (Sensory register, STM, LTM)
- These stores are unitary (they cannot be subdivided)
- Information is transferred through rehearsal
Role of the sensory register
1.Consists if several stores for each of our senses, this means that the information can be coded in the form of the incoming information
STM coding, capacity, duration
- Acoustic
- 5-9 items
- 30 seconds without rehearsal
LTM coding, capacity, duration
- Semantic
- Unlimited
- Decades
Research into the idea that memory comprises of separate stores
Case study of HM:
- HM underwent brain surgery to remove his hippocampus in order to control epilepsy.
- After surgery, his memory was impaired
- He was no longer able to produce new LTMs but STM was unaffected
Aim of sperling
To investigate the capacity and duration of the iconic store
method of sperling
- Used a tachistoscope to present a grid of 12 symbols to ppts (1/20 second)
- Sounded a high, medium, or low tone
- ppts had to recall high, medium or low row of letters
Findings of sperling
-As long as the tone sounded within 1/4 of a second of the presentation, ppts could recall 3/4 symbols from any row
Aim of peterson and peterson
To investigate duration of STM
method of peterson and peterson
- participants were presented with nonsense trigrams and asked to remember them
- ppts had to count aloud backwards in 3s for intervals of 3
- They then had to recall the trigrams
findings of peterson and peterson
3 second interval - 80% correctly recalled
9 second interval - 30% correctly recalled
18 second interval - 10% correctly recalled
aim of jacobs
to investigate the capacity of STM
method of jacobs
- digits or letters were presented to ppts at half second intervals
- They had to repeat the list back in the correct order
- List started with 3 items and increased until ppts could no longer recall them
findings of jacobs
ppts were able, on average, to hold between 5 and 9 items
aims of conrad
to investigate coding in STM
method of conrad
- ppts briefly shown a series of random sequences of 6 consonants in rapid succession
- Asked to write down the letters in correct order
- Letters were either acoustically similar or dissimilar
findings of conrad
ppts found it more difficult to recall acoustically similar sounding sequences than dissimilar ones
aim of bahrick
to investigate the duration of LTM
method of bahrick
- 329 graduates and their yearbooks were traced
- ppts aged 17- 74 and the time since their graduation varied from weeks to 57 years
- researchers selected 130 pictures from each yearbook
- conditions were: free recall of names, recognition of names, matching names to pictures, naming pictures
findings of bahrick
- free recall of names: 50% accuracy at 3 months/ 20% after 40 years
- Recognition: 85-90% accuracy
- Naming pictures - 70% accuracy at 3 months/ 60% after 15 years/ 20% after 40 years
aim of baddeley
to investigate coding in LTM
method of baddeley
- 70 young servicemen, divided into 4 different groups
- briefly presented with the same 5 words but order changed each time
- They had to write down the words in the correct order
Findings of baddeley
- there was no difference in recall between acoustically similar and acoustically dissimilar words
- there was a difference in recall between semantically similar words (55%) and semantically dissimilar words (85%)
