Types of memory - STM

Question 1

what is the capacity for the STM?

Answer 1

• 5-9 items

- chunking can help remember more

Question 2

what is the duration for STM?

Answer 2

• 18-30 seconds

- can be increased by verbal rehearsal

Question 3

what is the coding for the STM?

Answer 3

• acoustic

- material with similar sounds can be confusing

Question 4

describe the method used to research the duration of the STM

Answer 4

Peterson and Peterson (1959):

• gave p’s trigram (3 consonants e.g CVM)
• asked to recall after either 3,6,9, 12, 15 or 18 secs
• during paused, p’s asked to count back in 3’s
• this was a interference task

Question 5

describe the results of the research into the duration of the STM

Answer 5

• after 3 secs: p’s could recall 80%

- after 10 secs: p’s could recall 10%

Question 6

describe the conclusion of the research into the duration of the STM

Answer 6

when rehearsal is prevented very little can stay in STM for longer than 18 secs

Question 7

evaluate the research into the duration of the STM

Answer 7

• lab, reliable, high internal validity

- lacks ecological reliability, artificial

Question 8

describe the method used to research the capacity of the STM

Answer 8

Jacobs (1887):

• p’s presented with string of letters or numbers
• had to repeat them in same order
• number of digits increased until p’s got on wrong

Question 9

describe the results of the research into the capabity of the STM

Answer 9

• mean span for letters - 7.3

- mean span for numbers - 9.3

Question 10

describe the conclusion of the research into the capacity of the STM

Answer 10

• STM has limited capacity of 5 - 9 items
• STM may have increased due to chunking
• digits may have been easier to recall as there was 10 numbers but 26 letters

Question 11

evaluate the research into the capacity of the STM

Answer 11

• lacks ecological validity, artificial

- lab, reliable, high internal validity

Question 12

what did Miller say about the capacity of the STM?

Answer 12

• p’s can remember 7 + or - 2 items (millers magic number)
• chunking can increase capacity
• e.g 2,0,0,3,1,9,8,7 to 2003, 1987

Question 13

describe the method used to research coding in the STM

Answer 13

Baddeley (1966):

• gave list of words to p’s either:
• acoustically similar (same sound)
• acoustically dissimilar (sound different)
• semantically similar (similar meaning)
• semantically dissimilar (different meanings)
• p’s asked to recall straight after

Question 14

describe the results of the research into the coding of the STM

Answer 14

p’s were worst at recalling acoustically similar

Question 15

describe the conclusions of the research into the coding of the STM

Answer 15

the confusion suggests the coding of STM is acoustic

Question 16

evaluate the research into the coding of STM

Answer 16

• artificial, lack ecological validity

- independent groups was used so p variables weren’t controlled