Short & Long-Term Memory

Question 1

What is short-term memory?

Answer 1

Information that we process straight away and are currently aware of. This is conscious.

Question 2

What is long-term memory?

Answer 2

Continual storage of information which is largely outside of our awareness, but can be recalled when needed. This is unconscious.

Question 3

What is capacity?

Answer 3

The amount of information held in a memory store.

Question 4

What is duration?

Answer 4

The length of time information can be held in that memory store.

Question 5

What is coding?

Answer 5

The format in which information is stored in our memory.

Question 6

Outline Jacobs’ (1887) research into capacity.

Answer 6

Conducted a digit span test to test the capacity of STM.

Average span: digits = 9.3 items, letters = 7.3

Question 7

Outline Miller’s (1956) research into capacity.

Answer 7

Concluded that the capacity of STM is 7 +/-2. Chunking information together allows for more to be remembered.

Question 8

What is the capacity of LTM?

Answer 8

Unlimited.

Question 9

Outline Peterson & Peterson’s (1959) research into duration.

Answer 9

• 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)

Question 10

Outline the findings of Peterson & Peterson’s (1959) study.

Answer 10

• 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.

Question 11

Outline Bahrick’s (1975) study into duration in LTM.

Answer 11

• 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.

Question 12

What is the duration of LTM?

Answer 12

The duration of LTM can be up to a lifetime.

Question 13

Outline Baddeley’s (1966) research into coding.

Answer 13

• 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

Question 14

Outline Baddeley’s (1966) findings into coding.

Answer 14

• 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.

Question 15

What is the duration of STM?

Answer 15

Up to 18 seconds. (Peterson & Peterson)

Question 16

How is LTM coded?

Answer 16

Semantically. (Baddeley)

Question 17

How is STM coded?

Answer 17

Acoustically. (Baddeley)

Question 18

What is the capacity of STM?

Answer 18

The magic number 7 +/- 2. (Miller)

Question 19

Duration - A03 - PEELs
Evaluate research into duration in memory.

Answer 19

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

Question 20

Coding - A03 - PEELS
Evaluate research into coding in memory.

Answer 20

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.

Question 21

Capacity - A03 - PEELS
Outline research into capacity in memory.

Answer 21

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