The Three Memory Stores Flashcards
What are the three types of memory stores?
Sensory, Short term, Long term
What is the duration characteristic of sensory memory?
Typically less than a second
What did subjects see in Sperling’s experiment?
An array of letters flashed briefly
How many letters could subjects usually read in Sperling’s experiment?
3 or 4 letters
What was the partial report method in Sperling’s experiment?
Subjects reported letters from a specific row based on a tone
How soon after the flash was the tone sounded in Sperling’s experiment?
Within 250 milliseconds
True or False: Subjects could report 3 out of 4 letters from any row when the tone was sounded within 250 milliseconds.
True
What is the significance of the findings from Sperling’s experiment?
It indicates that sensory memory preserves an image for a quarter second
Fill in the blank: Sensory memory can be divided into subsystems called the sensory _______.
Registers
What does Sperling’s experiment suggest about the capacity of sensory store?
The capacity is very large.
Sperling’s experiment demonstrated that sensory memory can hold a significant amount of information, but it is fleeting.
What is the duration of sensory memory?
Only a few milliseconds before it is transferred to short-term memory.
Sensory memory lasts just long enough for the information to be processed for further storage.
How does sensory memory code information?
It stays in the input format.
Sensory memory preserves the original form of sensory input, such as visual or auditory.
What is short-term memory (STM)?
A temporary storage system that processes incoming sensory memory.
STM is crucial for holding information for brief periods while actively processing it.
What was the objective of Baddeley’s 1966 study on STM?
To test whether STM coding favours acoustic or semantic coding.
This study aimed to determine how information is encoded in short-term memory.
What procedure is used to test encoding in STM according to Baddeley?
Using word lists and recalling them in the correct sequence.
Participants listen to a list of words and must recall them immediately in the order presented.
What is the first step in the word list procedure for testing STM?
Start with List A followed by B, C, and D.
The lists are presented in a specific order to structure the recall task.
What is required for a recall to count as correct in Baddeley’s STM test?
Words must be written in the correct sequence.
Accurate sequencing is critical to assess the effectiveness of memory encoding.
What is an important characteristic of short-term memory?
It is temporary and limited in capacity.
STM typically holds information for about 15-30 seconds and can contain around 7±2 items.
What is the main characteristic of List A?
It has acoustically similar words
Examples include: mad, mat, can, cat, mag, cad, map, cab, cap, man.
What type of words does List B contain?
Equally common words in English that sound different
Examples include: pen, bar, few, cup, day, cow, wet, pit, mid, hot.
What is the focus of List C?
Adjectives with similar meanings
Examples include: big, long, tall, broad, wide, high, huge, large, great, girth.
What does List D consist of?
Adjectives with distinctive meanings
Examples include: foul, late, thin, old, strong, hot, deep, safe, lake, road.
What percentage of correctly recalled words was reported for List A?
10%
This was one of the findings from Baddeley (1966).
What was the percentage of correctly recalled words for List B?
82%
This indicates a high recall rate for common but acoustically different words.
What percentage of correctly recalled words was found for List C?
65%
This indicates a moderate recall rate for adjectives with similar meanings.
What percentage of correctly recalled words was found for List D?
71%
This suggests a relatively high recall rate for adjectives with distinctive meanings.
What method was used to calculate the recall percentage for each list?
Multiply the total number of words recalled in the correct order by 10
This gives a percentage figure for each list.
What is a strength of baddeley’s experiment?
Provided information about coding mechanism
This refers to the insights gained about short-term memory (STM).
What is a strength of baddeley’s experiment on stm coding?
Confounding variables could be controlled as it was a laboratory experiment.
Which other studies suggest that STM may not be only acoustic?
Studies by Baddeley et al. and Wickens et al.
They found that participants used visual encoding for visual tasks and that STM sometimes uses a semantic code.
True or False: List A contains words that sound different.
False
List A contains acoustically similar words.
What conclusion can be drawn about STM encoding?
STM is encoded acoustically
Why is it concluded that STM is encoded acoustically?
Words that are acoustically similar cause confusion in STM
Who conducted the test of STM capacity in 1887?
Jacobs
What method was used by the experimenter to test STM capacity?
Participants recall increasingly longer sequences of numbers
What indicates the end of the STM capacity test?
When participants get two numbers wrong in a row
What did Jacobs find regarding the number sequences?
Participants could recall up to 8 numbers
What is Miller’s claim about the capacity for STM?
7±2 items
What does the technique called chunking refer to?
Grouping items into larger units to aid recall
What is the average number of letters that can be recalled?
7.3 letters
Fill in the blank: The maximum number of items Miller claimed could be recalled is _______.
7±2
True or False: STM encoding is primarily semantic.
False
What is one criticism of Miller’s findings on STM capacity?
Miller’s findings haven’t been replicated, making it unreliable.
This suggests that the capacity of STM as proposed by Miller may not be universally valid.
According to Cowan (2000), what is the STM capacity in terms of chunks?
STM capacity is 4 chunks.
This indicates a revised understanding of how information is grouped in short-term memory.
What did Vogel (2001) conclude about STM capacity for visual information?
STM capacity for visual information is also a chunk.
This finding emphasizes that chunking applies to visual stimuli as well.
How does the size of a chunk affect STM according to Simon (1974)?
Shorter duration of memory for larger chunks.
This indicates that larger pieces of information are harder to retain for long periods.
What did Jacob find regarding digit span recall and age?
Digit span recall increases with age.
For example, 8-year-olds recall about 6.6 digits while 19- year-olds recall about 8.
Fill in the blank: Miller (1956) proposed the capacity of STM as the ‘magical number _____’.
7 ± 2.
This concept suggests a typical range for the amount of information that can be held in STM.
What was the aim of the Peterson & Peterson (1959) study?
To find the duration of STM.
This study aimed to investigate how long information can be retained in short-term memory.
What experimental method was used in the Peterson & Peterson study?
Laboratory.
This indicates a controlled environment in which the study was conducted.
What was the procedure followed in the Peterson & Peterson study?
Participants were given 3 consonants and a number, then asked to count down from that number for 3 seconds.
This method was designed to prevent rehearsal of the consonants.
What were the findings of the Peterson & Peterson study after 3 seconds?
90% accuracy.
This suggests that short-term memory can retain information for at least a brief period.
What were the findings of the Peterson & Peterson study after longer durations?
After 18 seconds, recall dropped to 2%.
This highlights the rapid decay of information in short-term memory.
What is one evaluation point regarding the Peterson & Peterson study?
Small sample size.
This may limit the generalizability of the findings.
True or False: The Peterson & Peterson study is considered highly reflective of real-life situations.
False.
The study lacks mundane realism due to its artificial nature.
What alternative method did Reitner (1974) use in his study?
Auditory tones instead of numbers.
This approach aimed to prevent displacement effects in memory recall.
What does the study suggest about the reasons for forgetting in STM?
Decay vs. displacement.
The study indicates that forgetting may occur due to interference rather than merely the passage of time.
What is the capacity theory of short-term memory?
7+2
This theory was proposed by Miller in 1956.
What is the duration of short-term memory according to Peterson & Peterson’s study?
< 18 seconds
This study was conducted in 1959.
How is information largely encoded in short-term memory?
Acoustically
This concept was studied by Baddeley in 1966.
What did Baddeley’s study in 1966 reveal about short-term memory coding?
Tested coding in LTM similarly to STM
He used a method with 72 participants from Cambridge University.
What procedure was followed in Baddeley’s study on long-term memory?
Participants were exposed to 10 words and then performed an interference task
They were asked to recall after 20 minutes.
What types of word groups were tested in Baddeley’s long-term memory study?
- Acoustically similar
- Acoustically dissimilar
- Semantically similar
- Semantically dissimilar
This categorization helped analyze the encoding process.
What were the findings regarding acoustically similar and dissimilar words in Baddeley’s study?
No significant difference between acoustically similar and dissimilar
The study indicated a difference mainly in semantic encoding.
What was a notable evaluation point regarding the long-term memory study’s duration?
LTM was tested only after 20 minutes
This raises questions about the exclusivity of semantic encoding.
What evidence suggests that long-term memory may involve more than just semantic encoding?
Frost’s evidence of visual + semantic and Nelson & Rothbart’s evidence of acoustic
This indicates that multiple coding mechanisms could be at play.
What is a key criticism of Miller’s findings on short-term memory?
Findings haven’t been replicated, raising questions about their reliability
This highlights the need for further research.
True or False: The findings of Baddeley’s study on LTM showed significant differences between acoustically similar and dissimilar words.
False
The study found no significant difference in this regard.
What is the capacity of Long Term Memory (LTM)?
The capacity of LTM is unlimited
Information may be lost due to decay or interference.
Can the capacity of LTM be measured?
No, the capacity of LTM can never be measured
There are no studies that can test it.
Who illustrated the concept of LTM capacity with case studies?
Kim Peek and ‘S’ (Solomon Shereshevsky)
Reported by Luria (1968).
Is the capacity of LTM falsifiable?
No, LTM capacity is not falsifiable
It cannot be disproved.
What was the aim of Bahrick’s 1975 study on LTM?
To test LTM and find deviation
Focused on memory recall over time.
What age range did Bahrick (1975) test in his study?
Ages 17-74
Included various conditions for testing.
What were the two conditions of Bahrick’s study?
a) Photo recognition tests of classmates
b) Free-recall name tests from graduating classes
What was the finding for facial recall within 15 years according to Bahrick (1975)?
90% facial recall
Indicates strong retention in the short term.
What was the finding for free recall within 15 years in Bahrick’s study?
68% free recall
Suggests a decline in recall ability.
What was the finding for facial recall after 48 years?
70% recall
Indicates long-term retention of memory.
What aspect of memory did Bahrick’s study evaluate?
Real-life memory
High ecological validity.
What was a limitation of Bahrick’s study?
Small sample size
Limited generalizability.
What type of memory did Bahrick’s study primarily focus on?
Episodic memory
Other types of memory were not examined.
What is the duration theory of LTM according to Bahrick (1975)?
Long time
Indicates that memories can last for decades.
What is the coding theory of LTM according to Baddeley (1966)?
Semantic
Suggests that information is processed based on meaning.
What is a key evaluation point for the coding theory of LTM?
Needs further validation
More studies are required to confirm findings.
