STM + LTM

Question 1

What is Memory?

Answer 1

The process by which we retain information about events that happened in the past.

Question 2

What are the two types of Memory?

Answer 2

Short term memory
Long term memory

Question 3

What is Short Term Memory?

Answer 3

Memory for events in the immediate past

Question 4

What is Long Term Memory?

Answer 4

Memory for events in the distant past

Question 5

What are the 3 ways that STM and LTM differ by?

Answer 5

Capacity
Duration
Coding

Question 6

What is the Capacity of STM and LTM?

Answer 6

• Capacity is a measure of how much information can be held in each memory store
• LTM has a potentially unlimited capacity
• STM has a limited capacity

Question 7

Research into Capacity of STM - Procedure

Answer 7

• The capacity of STM can be assessed using digit span
• Digit span is the number of digits you can repeat in the correct order immediately after hearing them

Question 8

Research into Capacity of STM - Findings

Answer 8

• Miller (1956)
• Individuals tend to have a digit span of 7 +/- 2
• Most can remember 7 digits
• Some can only remember 5 digits
• Some can remember up to 9 digits
• The same is true for letters
• “The magic number seven plus or minus two”

Question 9

What is the name of other research into Capacity of ST?

Answer 9

Chunking

Question 10

What happens in Chunking?

Answer 10

• Miller also found individuals can recall 5 words as well as they can recall 5 individual letters
• This is due to chunking
• Chunking occurs when we combine individual letters or numbers into larger meaningful units (e.g. words)

Question 11

What was the overall finding of chunking/research of capacity of STM?

Answer 11

• Miller therefore concluded that the capacity of STM is limited to 7+/-2 chunks of information

Question 12

What is the Duration of STM and LTM?

Answer 12

• Duration is a measure of how long a memory lasts before it is no longer available
• LTM has a potentially unlimited duration
• STM has a limited duration

Question 13

Research into duration of LTM

Answer 13

• Bahrick et al. (1975)
• Asked 400 participants to put names to faces from their high school year book
• Participants were able to do this with 70% accuracy 48 years after graduation
• This demonstrates the considerable duration of LTM

Question 14

Research into duration of STM

Answer 14

• Information held in STM does not last very long
• However, people can keep information in their STM for longer by rehearsing it (repeating it over and over again)