STM and LTM

Question 1

define coding

Answer 1

• format in which information is stored in the various memory stores
• can be stored acoustically, semantically or visually

Question 2

describe Baddley’s 1966 study

Answer 2

1. gave different lists of words to 4 groups of participants
   -2. asked them to recall them in the correct order

Question 3

what did Baddley conclude about the STM?

Answer 3

• acoustically similar words were more difficult to recall immediately
• so the STM relies on acoustic coding

Question 4

what did Baddley conclude about the LTM?

Answer 4

• semantically similar words were more difficult to recall after 20 minutes
• so the LTM must rely on semantic encoding

Question 5

define capacity

Answer 5

the amount of pieces of information you can hold in your memory

Question 6

what was Jacobs’ 1887 study?

Answer 6

Digit span Study

Question 7

describe the Digit Span Study

Answer 7

1. read 4 digits, participant repeats out loud
2. if correct, researcher reads out 5 digits and so on until participant makes a mistake

Question 8

state Jacobs’ findings

Answer 8

average amount of
- digits recalled was 9.3 items
- letters recalled was 7.3

Question 9

explain a weakness of Jacobs’ 1887 Digit Span Study

Answer 9

• carried out in 1887
• early research often lacked controls
• confounding variables may have had an effect
• could reduce validity

Question 10

define validity

Answer 10

how well a test actually measures what it was created to measure

Question 11

explain a strength of Jacobs; 1887 Digit Span Study

Answer 11

• replications have found similar results
• for example, Bapp et al’s 2005 replication
• suggests his study is valid in testing STM capacity

Question 12

explain a strength of Baddley’s 1966 study

Answer 12

• identified a clear difference between 2 memory stores
• as he founded STM and LTM encoded info differently
• provides evidence the stores are different from each other
• helped support MSM

Question 13

explain a weakness of Baddley’s 1966 study

Answer 13

• the experiment used artificial stimuli
• word lists had no meaning and had no value in everyday life
• when processing meaningful info, people may use semantic coding

Question 14

what did Miller conclude about capacity?

Answer 14

• capacity of STM is 7 +/-2 items
• we chunk pieces of info together

Question 15

explain a weakness of Miller’s theory

Answer 15

• he may have overestimated capacity of STM
• Cowan found lower
• Simon found that the size of chunks impact capacity of STM

Question 16

what did Cowan do?

Answer 16

• 2001, found that capacity of STM is only 4+/-1 chunks
• suggests Miller’s estimation was too high

Question 17

define duration

Answer 17

length of time that information can be stored in the memory

Question 18

describe Peterson and Peterson’s 1959 study

Answer 18

-24 students, 8 trials
each student was given a trigram, then a 3 digit number
- had to count backwards from this number until told to stop
(to prevent mental rehearsal)
- each trial told to stop after a certain period (3, 6…18 secs)

Question 19

what were Peterson and Petersons findings?

Answer 19

• after 3 secs, recall was 80%
• after 18 secs, recall was 3%
• suggested STM duration was 18 secs, unless we rehearse the information

Question 20

explain a weakness of Peterson and Petersons study

Answer 20

• use of artificial material as stimuli
• ppts asked to recall meaningless material
• problematic, doesn’t reflect everyday memory use
• may mean research isn’t useful in understanding STM duration in regular life

Question 21

describe Bahrick’s 1975 study

Answer 21

• tested 400 people aged (17-74) on memory of classmates
  1. PHOTO RECOGNITION test from yearbook
  2. FREE-RECALL, ppts asked to list names from their class

Question 22

what were Bahrick’s findings for the photo recognition test?

Answer 22

• within 15 years, accuracy was 90%
• after 48 years, accuracy declined to 70%

Question 23

what were Bahrick’s findings for the free recall test?

Answer 23

• within 15 years, accuracy was 60%
• after 48 years, declined to 30%

Question 24

what was the conclusion for Bahrick’s 1975 study?

Answer 24

• he found that the LTM’s duration can last a lifetime

Question 25

explain a strength of Bahrick’s study

Answer 25

• use of personal memories
• recall rates are lower in studies with artificial stimuli
• use of meaningful memories means that Bahrick’s study has high external validity

Question 26

define the term external validity

Answer 26

the extent to which you can generalise the findings of a study to other situations, people,settings and measures

Question 27

state a disadvantage of Bahrick’s study

Answer 27

• may be confounding variables
• some participants may look at the yearbook more frequently

Question 28

state the difference between recall and recognition

Answer 28

RECALL - consciously remembering information without being shown
RECOGNITION - remembering information only after it is shown to us

Question 29

state what is meant by sensory coding

Answer 29

Sensory coding is a type of code which we use to store sensory information.

Question 30

state what is meant by visual coding

Answer 30

a type of sensory code which we use to store information about images.

Question 31

state what is meant by acoustic coding

Answer 31

sensory code which we use to store information about sound

Question 32

state what is meant by semantic coding

Answer 32

type of code which we use to store information about its meaning

Question 33

state what is meant by the sensory register

Answer 33

• temporary memory store which holds information from each of our 5 senses
• capacity is huge
• duration is1-2 seconds
• uses sensory encoding (which is modality specific)

Question 34

state what is meant by the STM

Answer 34

system that processes information while performing an ongoing task
- capacity of 7 +/-2 items
- duration of 18 seconds
- encodes acoustically