Paper 1 - Memory - Topic 2 - Coding, Capacity And Duration Of Memory

Question 1

2.1 What is the process of converting information between different forms in memory called?

Answer 1

Coding

This process is essential for how information is stored in different memory stores

Question 2

2.1 What type of words were used in Group 1 of Baddeley’s Study

Answer 2

Acoustically similar words

Examples include words like cat, cab, and can

Question 3

2.1 What type of words were used in Group 3 of Baddeley’s Study?

Answer 3

Semantically similar words

Examples include words like great, large, and big

Question 4

2.1 How did participants perform when recalling acoustically similar words from STM?

Answer 4

They tended to do worse

This was observed when recalling immediately

Question 5

2.1 When recalling semantically similar words from LTM after a 20-minutes interval, how did participants perform?

Answer 5

They did worse

This suggests the nature of coding in LTM

Question 6

2.1 What was the mean digit span found Joseph Jacob’s?

Answer 6

9.3 items

The mean span for letters was found to be 7.3

Question 7

2.1 What does George Miller’s research suggest about capacity of STM?

Answer 7

About 7 items, plus or minus 2

The idea is commonly referred to as Miller’s Law

Question 8

2.1 What is chunking in the context of memory?

Answer 8

Grouping sets of digits or letters into units or chunks

This helps in recalling larger amounts of information

Question 9

2.1 What was the average recall percentage after 3 seconds in Peterson and Peterson’s study?

Answer 9

About 80%

This percentage dropped significantly after 18 seconds in

Question 10

2.1 What did Peterson and Peterson’s findings suggest about the duration of STM?

Answer 10

About 18 seconds

Unless information is rehearsed

Question 11

2.1 What was the accuracy of photo recognition for participants tested within 15 years of graduation in Bahrick et al’s study?

Answer 11

About 90%

The accuracy declined over time

Question 12

2.1 What did Bahrick et al.’s study reveal about the duration of LTM?

Answer 12

It may last up to a lifetime for some material

This was indicated by the longevity of recalling high school memories

Question 13

2.1 What is one strength of Baddeley’s study?

Answer 13

It identified a clear difference between two memory stores

This contributed to the understanding of memory systems

Question 14

2.1 What is one limitation of Baddeley’s study?

Answer 14

It used artificial stimuli

This may not reflect coding in everyday memory tasks

Question 15

2.1 How has Jacob’s study in terms of validity?

Answer 15

It has been replicated and confirmed

This suggests it is a valid test of digit span of STM

Question 16

2.1 What did Nelson Cowan conclude about the capacity of STM?

Answer 16

About 4 chunks, plus or minus 1

This suggests Miller’s estimate may be an overestimation

Question 17

2.1 What is one limitation of Peterson and Peterson’s study?

Answer 17

The stimulus material was artificial

This affects the external validity of the findings

Question 18

2.1 Why does Bahrick et al.’s study have high external validity?

Answer 18

It investigated meaningful memories

This contrasts with studies using meaningless stimuli, which had lower recall rates