psychology coding capacity and duration Flashcards
what is the research on coding
baddeley gave different lists to four groups
group 1- acoustically similar
group 2- acoustically dissimilar
group 3- semantically similar
group 4- semantically dissimilar
pps shown the original list and asked to recall them in the correct order
when done from the stm- acoustically similar words had the worst performance
when done from the ltm- semantically similar words had the worst performance
suggests info is coded semantically in ltm and acoustically in stm
what is the research on capacity (digit span)
jacobs- researcher read out four digits and pps recall out loud in the correct order and would keep adding the amount of digits until couldnt recall
mean span for digits- 9.3
mean span for letters- 7.3
what was the research on capacity (span of memory and chunking)
miller- made observations of everyday practice
thought the span was about 7+-2 items
people can recall five words as easily as five digits through chunking (grouping sets of digits or letters into units or chunks)
what was the research on duration (duration of the stm)
peterson and peterson tested 24 students on 8 trials and gave them consonant syllables and 3 digit number on each trial
they counted backwards from the number to prevent memory rehearsal of the consonant syllable
they were told to stop after varying times
after 3secs- 80%
after 18secs- 3%
what was the research on duration (duration of ltm)
bahrick studied 392 students aged 17-74 obtaining their high school yearbooks
did photo recognition and free recall
pps graduated within 15yr- photo recognition was 90% and free recall was 60%
pps graduated within 48yrs- photo recognition was 70% and free recall was 30%
what was the evaluation points for baddeley
strength
- identified clear difference between stores of ltm and stm
- most of his findings stood the test of time
- important step in our understanding of the memory system
weakness
- used artificial stimuli rather than meaningful material
- world lists had no personal meaning to pps
- may not tell us much about coding in different kinds of memory tasks
- when processing more meaningful info people may use semantic coding
- findings from the study have limited application
what are the evaluation for jacobs
strength
- it has been replicated
- findings have been confirmed by other better controlled studies
- valid test of digit span in stm
what are the evaluation points for miller
weakness
- may have overestimated stm capacity
- cowan- only 4+-1
- lower end is more appropriate than seven items
what are the evaluation points for peterson and peterson
weakness
- stimuli was artificial
- recalling consonant syllables does not reflect every day memory activities where what we have to remember is much more meaningful
- lacked external validity
what are the evaluation points for bahrick
strength
- high external validity
- investigated meaningful memories
- reflect more of a real estimate of the duration of ltm