Memory - Types of Memory Flashcards
Define coding
The form that information is stored in
Define retrieval
accessing information from long-term memory
What does short term memory contain?
small amounts of information which we are currently aware of
What coding is used for short term memory?
Acoustic (sounds/words/rhythms)
What is the capacity of short term memory?
Limited - 7 plus or minus two on average
What are the 3 types of memory?
Sensory Register
Short term memory
Long term memory
What is the coding for long term memory?
Semantic and Procedural
What is the capacity of long term memory?
potentially unlimited - lifelong
What is the duration of short term memory?
18-30 seconds
What does sensory memory hold?
information from the senses
What is the duration of sensory memory?
0.5 seconds - unless we pay attention it spontaneously decays very quickly
Describe the method of Sperling’s experiment into sensory memory
ppts shown a 3 by 4 grid of letters for 50 milliseconds
they then had to immediately recall either the whole grid (IV1) or a randomly selected row (IV2)
What were the results of Sperling’s experiment into sensory memory?
IV1 - four or five letters successfully recalled on average
IV2 - average of 3 letters, no matter which row selected
What were the conclusions of Sperling’s experiment?
As the ppts in IV2 didn’t know which row would be selected, they could recall 3 letters from any row - so therefore the whole grid must be in their sensory memory
However they couldn’t recall the whole grid because the trace had faded before they could finish recalling
Describe the procedure for Glanzer and Cunitz’s experiment (1996)
ppts were shown a list of 20 words, presented one at a time, and then asked to recall them all
What were the findings of Glanzer and Cunitz study into the multi-store model (1966)?
the serial position effect
What is the serial position effect?
when asking people to remember a list of words greater than the capacity of STM, words tend to be remembered from the beginning and end of the list
What does the serial position effect consist of?
The primary effect and the recency effect
What is the primary effect?
The first 5 or so items are remembered
What is the recency effect?
The last 5 or so items are remembered
What are the 4 types of long term memory?
Procedural
Episodic
Semantic
Emotional/Attatchment
Define episodic memory
memories with a narrative
Define procedural memory
Unconcious memories that someone is not always aware of eg muscle memories - like riding a bike
Define semantic memory
Memories with no emotion or context eg facts
What is the HM case?
HM had severe epilepsy following a head injury as a child
To reduce this, he underwent an operation to remove the hippocampus
As a result he couldn’t form any more semantic or episodic LTM after the surgery
What are some benefits of HM’s case?
Sparked lots of research into memory
Showed that the multi-store model is too simplistic - LTM can be split into different parts
What are some drawbacks of HM’s case?
HM is a unique case - too many extraneous factors
subjective vs objective -> just 1 person isn’t objective
correlation vs causation -> hippocampus may not be sole part for creating episodic memories, maybe part in a chain
What is an example of HM being able to form procedural memories?
He got better at doing a drawing task in a mirror even though he had no memory of doing it each time he completed the task
What is the multi store model of memory?
What is the working memory model?
What is the central executive?
the area that makes the decisions and decides which area does what
What is the capacity of the central executive?
limited and can only do a small number of things at once
What does the phonological loop do?
deals with auditory information and preserves word order -> like an inner ear / maintenance rehearsal
What does the visuospatial sketchpad do?
stores visual and/or spatial information
What is the capacity of the visuospatial sketchpad?
limited - 3 to 4 objects
What is the episodic buffer?
the area that stores chunks in order to be ‘built’ into bigger chunks
Why was the episodic buffer added to the working memory model?
Baddeley realised that the model needed a general store
Describe the procedure of Baddeley and Hitch’s 1976 experiment into STM
IV1 - repeating a word
IV2 - repeating random number sequences
DV - accuracy (seconds and errors)
What were the findings of Baddeley and Hitch’s 1976 study into STM?
reduced accuracy when 2 areas of STM are used together
What were the conclusions of Baddeley and Hitch’s 1976 study into STM?
the existence of the central executive and phonological loop is supported and they are functionally different
What is the word length effect?
longer words are harder to remember in a list compared to shorter words due to them taking up more space in the phonological loop
