Short & Long-Term Memory Flashcards
What is short-term memory?
Information that we process straight away and are currently aware of. This is conscious.
What is long-term memory?
Continual storage of information which is largely outside of our awareness, but can be recalled when needed. This is unconscious.
What is capacity?
The amount of information held in a memory store.
What is duration?
The length of time information can be held in that memory store.
What is coding?
The format in which information is stored in our memory.
Outline Jacobs’ (1887) research into capacity.
Conducted a digit span test to test the capacity of STM.
Average span: digits = 9.3 items, letters = 7.3
Outline Miller’s (1956) research into capacity.
Concluded that the capacity of STM is 7 +/-2. Chunking information together allows for more to be remembered.
What is the capacity of LTM?
Unlimited.
Outline Peterson & Peterson’s (1959) research into duration.
- Studied the duration of STM.
- Used 24 students.
- Participants were tested over 8 trials.
- Participants given a consonant syllable and a three-digit number each trial.
- Asked to recall the consonant syllable after intervals of 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 or 18 seconds.
- During the retention interval, participants had to count back from their 3 digit number. (To prevent rehearsal)
Outline the findings of Peterson & Peterson’s (1959) study.
- 90% correct after 3 secs.
- 20% correct after 9 secs.
- 2% correct after 18 secs.
STM therefore has a short duration of up to 18 seconds - without rehearsal.
Outline Bahrick’s (1975) study into duration in LTM.
- Tested 400 people between 17-74 on their memory of classmates.
FINDINGS:
- Face-recognition: 90% accuracy after 15 years. 70% after 48 years.
- Free recall: 60% after 15 years. 30% after 48 years.
What is the duration of LTM?
The duration of LTM can be up to a lifetime.
Outline Baddeley’s (1966) research into coding.
- Tested in a lab experiment the way information is encoded in both STM and LTM.
4 conditions:
- Acoustically similar words
- Acoustically dissimilar words
- Semantically similar words
- Semantically dissimilar words
Outline Baddeley’s (1966) findings into coding.
- Participants struggled to remember acoustically similar words in STM and struggle to remember semantically similar words in LTM.
STM - encoded acoustically - we focus on the sound of the words so it is harder to distinguish and remember words.
LTM - encoded semantically - we focus on the meaning of the words so it is harder to distinguish and remember words.
What is the duration of STM?
Up to 18 seconds. (Peterson & Peterson)
How is LTM coded?
Semantically. (Baddeley)
How is STM coded?
Acoustically. (Baddeley)
What is the capacity of STM?
The magic number 7 +/- 2. (Miller)
Duration - A03 - PEELs
Evaluate research into duration in memory.
STRENGTH:
P - High internal validity
E - Peterson & Peterson, could not rehearse by making them count backwards until recall
LIM:
P - Lacks ecological validity and mundane realism
E - Peterson & Peterson, used consonants which were not real words
Coding - A03 - PEELS
Evaluate research into coding in memory.
STRENGTH:
P - High internal validity
E - Baddeley (1966), participants were given word lists in both conditions
E - Differences caused by the IV.
LIM:
P - Low mundane realism leading to a lack of ecological validity
E - Baddeley (1966), participants were asked to remember semantically and acoustically similar/dissimilar word lists.
Capacity - A03 - PEELS
Outline research into capacity in memory.
STRENGTH:
P - High reliability
E - Jacobs (1887), used standardised procedures in a lab
E - Can be replicated to get similar results
LIM:
P - Capacity may not be the same for everyone.
E - Jacobs (1887) found that recall from the digit-span test increased with age: 8 year olds - 6.6 digits on average, and 19 year olds - 8.6 digits.
E - differs with individual differences, capacity of STM is not fixed and can increase with age due to strategies like chunking or changes in brain capacity
