Memory Studies- Peterson and Peterson's theory

Question 1

Background of Peterson and Peterson’s Short term retention of individual verbal items

Answer 1

Lloyd and Margret Peterson conducted a laboratory experiment to investigate the duration of short term memory. As we can hold information in short term memory by rehearsing it over and over, they could only test the true duration of a short term memory trace by interfering with this rehearsal process.

Question 2

Aim

Answer 2

To test the true duration of short term memory

Question 3

Procedure

Answer 3

24 students were tested individually. Each student was asked to repeat out a loud a set of letters (trigrams) that they heard. Immediately after they had to count backwards from a number in 3s or 4s. When signalled by the red light, they had to re-call the trigram. A second same experiment was carried out except the participants were given time to remember the trigram.

Question 4

Results

Answer 4

Their results showed that the longer the students had to count backwards, the less able they were to accurately recall the trigrams. After counting back for 3 seconds, 80% of trigrams were remembered correctly however after 18 seconds, the percentage was less than 10.

Question 5

Conclusion

Answer 5

With the participants unable to rehearse the trigrams, the Petersons concluded that information held in our short term memory fades rapidly and less than 10% could remember after 18 seconds.

Question 6

Strength of the theory

Answer 6

The researcher used fixed timings, eliminated noise and other factors that could have an influence on memory. They used standardused procedures

Question 7

Weakness of the theory

Answer 7

It lacked mundane realism and ecological validity as it isnt a realistic situation to memorise nonsense trigrams