Multi-store Model Of Memory Flashcards
Define coding.
The way information is entered into memory, in a particular format or code. Includes visual, acoustic and semantic.
Define capacity.
The amount of storage space available in memory, I.e the number of items that can be held at 1 time.
Define duration.
How long information lasts before it is no longer available (forgotten).
Briefly describe the multi store model of memory.
Sensory input - sensory register (unattended info lost) - STM (maintenance rehearsal keeps it in STM, Retrieval failure) - prolonged rehearsal moves it into LTM - retrieval moves info from LTM to STM - some info may be lost from LTM (decay/brain damage)
Briefly describe the sensory register in terms of coding, capacity and duration.
Coding: visual (iconic store), acoustic (echoic store)
Capacity: at least 9 items
Duration: iconic 1 second, echoic 2 seconds
Briefly describe STM in relation to coding, capacity and duration.
Coding: largely acoustic
Capacity: between 5 and 9 items - 7+/- 2 magic number
Duration: about 30 seconds
Maintenance rehearsal keeps information in STM. define maintenance rehearsal.
It occurs when we repeat material over and over again.
Briefly describe LTM in relation to coding, capacity and duration.
Coding: semantically
Capacity: potentially unlimited
Duration: potentially many years
How is information both passed Into LTM and lost from LTM?
(Prolonged) Rehearsal puts info into LTM
it is lost through decay, interference and retrieval failure
It is transferred back to STM by retrieval
What is the research into the idea that memory comprises several stores?
HM- brain surgery to remove hippocampus to control epilepsy, after his memory was impaired. Couldn’t produce long term memories but short term memory was unaffected showing they’re different stores.
What research was done into the sensory register?
CAPACITY+DURATION
Tachyscope flashed a grid of 12 symbols to a participant for 1/20th of a second. Recall was 100% for most participants but if recall was delayed by even a couple of seconds it was much poorer. This shows the capacity is large but duration is poor.
What was the research into the coding of STM?
participants showed a series of random sequences of six consonants in rapid succession on a screen and asked to write down the letters in the correct order. The sequences were acoustically similar or dissimilar. PPs found it more difficult to recall acoustically similar sequences than dissimilar suggesting acoustic coding.
What was the research into the capacity of STM?
Lists of digits or letters were presented at half second intervals and they had to repeat the list back in the correct order. Lists started w 3 items add increased by one at a time until they couldn’t recall the list accurately. This was repeated to get an average number of items they could recall which became their ‘digit span’. On average it was 5-9 items.
What research was done to investigate the duration of STM?
Participants were presented w nonsense trigrams and asked to remember them. To prevent rehearsal, participants had to count aloud, backwards and in threes for intervals of 0,3,6,9,12,15 or 18 seconds and then had to recall the trigrams.
3 second interval = 80% recall
9 second interval = 30% recall
18 second interval = 10% recall
This shows that some people can retain items for up to 30 seconds.
What research was done into the coding of LTM?
70 young servicemen divided into 4 groups. They did trials were they were shown the same 5 words but the order of the words changed each time. Try had to write down the words in the correct order. G1 = acoustically similar, G1 = acoustically dissimilar, G3 = semantically similar, G4 = acoustically dissimilar. There was no difference in the acoustic groups but semantically similar words had 55% accuracy whereas semantically dissimilar had 85% accuracy suggesting coding is semantic.
