STM+LTM+SR RESEARCH ANAYLSIS

Question 1

What is memory?

Answer 1

Process in which information is retained about the past.

Question 2

What are the three types?

Answer 2

Sensory register, Short-term memory, Long-term memory.

Question 3

What is capacity?

Answer 3

How much data can be held in a memory store.

Question 4

What is duration?

Answer 4

The length of time information remains in memory.

Question 5

What is coding?

Answer 5

The way in which information is changed so that it can be stored.

Question 6

What is the capacity of the STM?

Answer 6

7+/-2 miller

Question 7

What is the capacity of the SR?

Answer 7

Huge e.g. the number of cells in a retina.

Question 8

What is the capacity of the LTM?

Answer 8

Unlimited

Question 9

What is the duration of the STM? * and who proposed this?

Answer 9

Less than 18 seconds.* Peterson and Peterson.

Question 10

What is the duration of the SR?

Answer 10

250 milliseconds

Question 11

What is the duration of the LTM?

Answer 11

Unlimited (2 mins-100 years).

Question 12

what is the coding of the SR?

Answer 12

depends on organ, MODALITY SPECIFIC

Question 13

what is the coding of the STM?

Answer 13

acoustic (form of sounds).

Question 14

what is the coding of the LTM?

Answer 14

semantic (form of meaning).

Question 15

what did M suggest?

what did J also find?

research into the capacity of STM x 2 ?

Answer 15

digit spans test Jacobs (1887) digits 9.3 items 7.3 letters- Jacobs suggested only 9 digits 26 letters.

Miller (1956) concluded STM 7+/-2 items. Dots flashed ppts accurate recall with 7 dots not 18.
Ppts recalled 5 words as well as 5 letters.- chunking (group letters/ digits into meaningful units).

Question 16

research into duration of STM?

Answer 16

Peterson+ Peterson, 24 ppts, 8 trials, given a constant syllable and 3 digit number. Asked to recall the syllable after retention interval of 3-18 secs,during the interval count back from 3 digit no 90% correct of constant syllables after 3 secs, 20% 9 secs but 2% correct after 18 secs. (short if verbal rehearsal prevented).

Question 17

research into duration of LTM ?

Answer 17

Bharick (1975) 400 ppts of various ages- memory classmates. photo -recognition 50 photos within 15 years 90% accurate after 48 yrs 70%. Free recall 60% to 30%.

Question 18

What does it suggest?

research into coding of STM?+ LTM?

Answer 18

Baddeley (1966) had 4 groups learn diff word lists: A ACOUSTICALLY SIM (cab can cat), B:ACOUSTICALLY DISSIMILAR(pit few pew), C: SEMANTICALLY SIMILAR (big large huge), D: SEMANTICALLY DISSIMILAR (good huge hot). when STM tested A had worst recall, LTM 20 mins later C had worst recall.
suggests STM acoustic and LTM semantic

Question 19

evaluation of capacity of STM
may be even more limited.

Answer 19

criticism of research into STM is miller’s finding not replicated. Cowan reviewed studies on capacity STM concluded 4 rather than 7 chunks.
suggests STM not as extensive as 7+/-2 items.

Question 20

evaluation of capacity of STM
the size of the chunk matters.

Answer 20

research shown size of chunk affects no of chunks that can be remembered.
Simon (1974) found ppl smaller memory span for larger chunks (multi-syllable words vs single - takes longer to rehearse).
supports view STM memory has a limited capacity despite benefits chunking.

Question 21

evaluation of duration STM.
testing STM is artificial
and however.

Answer 21

criticism of STM research - takes place in artificial situations e.g remembering meaningless syllables. Does not reflect how we use memory in real life, where info is more useful.
however some material we remember like postcode meaningless so research has some relevance to real life.

Question 22

(researchers p+p)

who found something else?
suggests…

evaluation of duration STM.
STM results due to displacement

Answer 22

criticism of Peterson and Peterson research is it didn’t measure what it set out to measure. counting back in no. displaced syllables to be remembered. Reitman used auditory tones rather than no. and found duration of STM longer.
suggests forgetting in P+P study was due to displacement than decay.

Question 23

evaluation of coding STM
STM not exclusively acoustic.

Answer 23

studies found visual code also used STM. Brandimote (1992) found ppts used visual coding when given pics to remember and prevented from verbally rehearsing.
suggests there multiple types of coding in STM not exclusively acoustic.

Question 24

evaluation of coding LTM
LTM not exclusively semantic.

Answer 24

general semantic but frost (1972) showed L-T recall was related to visual and semantic categories. Furthermore Nelson and Rothbart (1972) found evidence for acoustic coding in LTM. Suggests LTM codes acoustic visual semantic info depending on type of info being remembered.