memory Flashcards
what is multi-store model of memory
the multi store model of memory was proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin and is a structure model. They proposed that memory consisted of three stores: sensory register, short term memory (STM) and a long term memory
the three stages of the MSM
description (AO1)
sensory memory is the information you get from your sense, your eyes and ears. When attention is paid to something in the environment it is then converted to short-term memory. Maintenance rehearsal is the process of verbally or mentally repeating information which allows the duration of short-term memory to be extended beyond 30 seconds. This type of rehearsal usually involves repeating information without thinking about its meaning or connecting it to other information. If maintenance rehearsal does not occur, then information is forgotten and lost from short term memory through the processes of displacement or decay. If the information is given meaning (elaborative rehearsal) it is passed on to the LTM. Elaborative rehearsal involves the process of linking new information in a meaningful way with information already stored in long-term memory.
maintenance rehearsal meaning
the process of verbally or mentally repeating information which allows the duration of short-term memory to be extended beyond 30 seconds. This type of rehearsal usually involves repeating information without thinking about its meaning or connecting it to other informatin
elaborative rehearsal meaning
involves the process of linking new information in a meaningful way with information already stored in long-term memory.
definition of encoding
the way information is changed so that it can be stored in the memory. there are three main ways in which information can be encoded. 1. visual 2. acoustic 3. semantic
definition of capacity
how much information can be stored
definition of duration
the period of time information can last in the memory stores
duration, capacity and encoding
sensory register
duration: less than 0.5 seconds
capacity: unlimited
encoding: sense specific
duration, capacity and encoding
short term memory
duration: between 18-30 seconds
capacity: limited to 5-9 pieces of information
encoding: mainly acoustic
duration, capacity and encoding of long term memory
duration: unlimited
capacity: unlimited
encoding: mainly semantic
strengths of the MSM (AO3)
- there is a large base of research that supports the idea of distinct STM and LTM systems (eg. brain damaged case study patient KF’s STM was impaired following a motorcycle accident, but his LTM remained intact)
- it makes sense that memories in the LTM are encoded semantically - ie. you might recall the general message put across in a political speech, rather than all of the words as they were heard.
weakness of MSM (AO3)
the model is arguable over-simplified, as evidence suggests that there are multiple short and long term memory stores, eg. LTM can be split into episodic, procedural and semantic memory
rehearsal is considered a too simple explanation to account for the transfer of information from STM to LTM. For instance, the model ignores factors such as motivation, effect and strategy which underpin learning.
which model is supported by the case study CW
memory store model MSM
which case study supports the memory store model
Cleave Wearing CW
Cleave Wearing case study
MEMORY STORE MODEL
In 1985, CW contracted a disease: herpes viral encephalitis which impacted CW’s memory. At that time, CW was a musician. The disease damaged both the left and right temporal lobe and even the frontal lobe. CW’s hippocampus was completely eradicated by the disease. This gave him anterograde amnesia, which refers to the inability to make or keep memories. However, CW also has retrograde amnesia, which refers to losing previous memories as well.
Following the virus, CW could not keep information in short-term memory for longer than 30 seconds; however he was able to recall information from his past, for example his wife’s name. CW was unable to transfer information from his STM to his LTM, but was able to retrieve information successfully. CW’s case supports the idea that memories are formed by passing information from one store to the next in a linear fashion and that damage to any part of the MSM can cause memory impairment.
The strengths of his case study is that is shows that long term memory encodes semantically as he remembers his wife and remembers how to play the piano.
MSM research
what did Baddeley do
coding of STM and LTM
MSM research
Baddeley - coding of STM and LTM (AO1)
Baddeley (1966) gave participants one of four word lists to learn. The lists contained words that were either acoustically similar (sounded the same, e.g. hat, cat, bat); acoustically dissimilar (sounded different, e.g. hat, stage, ball); semantically similar (had the same meaning, e.g. big, large); or semantically dissimilar (had different meanings, e.g. gate, big). Participants either recalled the list immediately, testing the coding of short-term memory (STM) or after 20 minutes, testing the coding of long-term memory (LTM). Participants did worse with acoustically similar words in STM, suggesting that information in STM is coded according to sound, as similar-sounding information conflicted with each other. For LTM, they did worse with semantically similar words, suggesting that information in LTM is coded according to meaning, as information with similar meanings conflicted with each other.
MSM research
strength of Baddeley experiment (AO3)
reliable - it has standardised procedures that can be easily replicated. Baddeley improved the reliability of his own study by getting rid of the read-aloud word lists (some participants had hearing difficulties) and replacing them with slides. Everyone saw the same word for the same amount of time (3 seconds).
mundane realism - has beneficial implications for real-life scenarios; for instance, students can use these findings to strategies their revision techniques better
MSM research
weakness of Baddeley experiment (AO3)
cross-cultural differences - it was carried out on British students, which makes it ethnocentric. Therefore the research does not consider cross-cultural differences and limits the generalisability of the findings.
small sample - the sample included 72 participants, which is not representative of the population and limits the generalisability of the findings.
MSM research
who did coding of STM and LTM
Baddeley
what did Miller do
capacity of short term memory
MSM research
Miller - capacity of short term memory (AO1)
Miller presented participants with a sequence of numbers. He added one number to each sequence each time they were able to recall the sequence.
The capacity of the STM is found when they can no longer accurately recall the sequence. When using chunking, Miler found that the participants were able to recall 5-9 items. This is a strength of the multi-store model because this supports the claim that the STM has a limited capacity of 5-9 items. Therefore this increases the credibility capacity of the STM in the MSM, making the MSM an increasingly valid model of memory.
MSM research
strength of Miller experiment (AO3)
supported by psychological research - For example,Jacobs (1887) conducted an experiment using a digit span test, to examine the capacity of short-term memory for numbers and letters. Jacobs used a sample of 443 female students (aged from 5-16) from the North London Collegiate School. Participants had to repeat back a string of numbers or letters in the same order and the number of digits/letters was gradually increased, until the participants could no longer recall the sequence. Jacobs found that the student had an average span of 7.3 letters and 9.3 words, which supports Miller’s notion of 7+/-2.
MSM research
weakness of Miller experiment
miller didn’t take into account other factors that affect capacity - Jacobs conducted research with children between 5 and 16. He found that the capacity of the STM in children, 5 and under was shorter than the capacity of children who are 16 and older. This is a limitation of Miller’s findings because Jacob’s study shows that there may be other factors such as age, which affects the capacity of the STM. This reduces the validity of Miller’s findings, because the STM has a capacity that may not be as limited as Miller thought. This makes the MSM reductionist because other factors such as age weren’t considered.
MSM research
who found out about the capacity of short term memory
Miller
MSM research
what did Peterson and Peterson’s do
duration of STM
MSM research
Peterson and Peterson - duration of STM
Peterson & Peterson (1959)investigated theduration of short-term memoryby conducting a laboratory experiment with a sample of 24 psychology students.
The students had to recall meaningless three-letter trigrams (for example, THG, XWV) at different intervals (3, 6, 9, 12, 15 or 18 seconds). To prevent rehearsal (practice) the students had to count backwards in threes or fours from a specific number, until they were asked to recall the letters.
Peterson & Peterson found that the longer the interval the less accurate the recall. At 3 seconds, around 80% of the trigrams were correctly recalled, whereas at 18 seconds only 10% were correctly recalled.
Peterson & Peterson concluded that short-term memory has a limited duration of approximately 18 seconds. Furthermore, the results show that if we are unable to rehearse information, it will not be passed to long-term memory, providing further support for the multi-store model and the idea of discrete components.
Peterson and Peterson carried out an experiment to determine the duration of the STM.
They used the 24 male and female used psychology students. The researcher presented a 3 constant sequence. Immediately after, a 3 digit number was read out to them. The participants were asked to count backwards from the number as an interference task, to prevent rehearsal of the trigram within the STM. A red light was presented at intervals between 3 and 18 seconds. When the red light went off, they had to recall the trigram. Peterson et al found that at 3 seconds, the average recall was 80%, whereas at 18 seconds, the average recall was 10%. This supports the claim that the STM has limited duration of 18 seconds. The participants were asked to count back from the number, which interfered with the ability to rehearse the trigram. The trigram may have also been displaced from the STM due to the addition of new information. This increases the validity of the findings regarding the duration of STM in the MSM model for memory, making it more credible.
MSM research
strength of Peterson and Peterson experiment (AO3)
good control - it uses standardised procedures to make sure all participants experienced the same process. This means that the study is scientific because it can be replicated and the reliability of the findings can be checked to make sure they were not a one-off result
MSM research
weakness of Peterson and Peterson’s experiment (AO3)
In this study participants were asked to recall three letter trigrams, which is unlike anything people would want to memorise in their everyday lives. As a result we are unable to apply these results to everyday examples of memory and are unable to conclude if the duration of short-term memory may be longer for more important information i.e. memorising a phone number.
MSM research
who did duration of STM
Peterson and Peterson’s
MSM research
Peterson and Peterson’s experiment (AO3)
good control - it uses standardised procedures to make sure all participants experienced the same process. This means that the study is scientific because it can be replicated and the reliability of the findings can be checked to make sure they were not a one-off result
MSM research
weakness of Peterson and Peterson’s experiment (AO3)
low levels of ecological validity - In this study participants were asked to recall three letter trigrams, which is unlike anything people would want to memorise in their everyday lives. As a result we are unable to apply these results to everyday examples of memory and are unable to conclude if the duration of short-term memory may be longer for more important information i.e. memorising a phone number.
what is the working memory model (AO1)
the working memory model proposed by Baddeley and Hitch in 1947, replaced the idea of a unitary STM. It suggests a system involving active processing and short-term storage of information.
who made the working memory model
Baddley and Hitch
key features of the working memory model
central executive
phonological loop
visuospatial sketchpad
episodic buffer
what is the central executive (AO1)
the central executive has a supervisory function. It acts as a filter and a control centre. It decides where the information goes and what information to pay attention to. It can process information in all sensory forms and directs information to the phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad and collects responses. It has a limited capacity and deals with only one piece of information at a time.
Early in Baddeley’s analysis of working memory, he suggested that the central executive system carried out five important executive component to process:
1. capacity to focus attention
2. capacity to divide attention between two concurrent tasks
3. capacity to switch attention from one task to another
4. inhibition is the ability to hold back a predominant, automatic, or previously learned response that may be inappropriate or irrelevant in the present context
5. planning and decision making as it allows us to actively keep track of all of the necessary information
what is the articulatory-phonological loop (AO1)
this temporarily retains language based information. it stores a limited number of speech based sounds for a brief period. it holds information in a speech-based form for 1-2 seconds. written words must first be converted in an articulatory code before they can enter the phonological loop
the two subcomponents are:
an articulatory rehearsal process = (inner voice) allows sub-vocal repetition of the items stored in the phonological store
the phonological store = (inner voice) allows acoustically coded items to be stored for a brief period
what are the two sub component of articulatory phonological loop (AO1)
articulatory rehearsal process
phonological store
what is the visuospatial sketchpad (AO1)
stores visual and spatial information and be thought of as an inner eye. It is responsible for setting and manipulating mental images. It has limited capacity but the limits of the two systems are independent.
Visual information refers to what things look like. It is likely that the visuospatial sketchpad plays an important role in helping us keep track of where we are in relation to other objects as we move through our environment. For example, being aware of where we are in relation to desks, chairs and tables when we are walking around a classroom means that we don’t bump into things.
The sketchpad also displays and manipulates visual and spatial information held in long-term memory.
- inner scribe = retains information about movement sequences and is closely linked to the planning and execution of movement
- visual cache = holds information about form and colour
what are the two subcomponents of visuospatial sketchpad
inner scribe
visual cache
what is the episodic buffer (AO1)
in 2000 Baddeley proposed the additional component. it is responsible for integrating and manipulating material. it has limited capacity and depends heavily on executive processing. it binds information together from different sources into chunks or episodes. it is able to recall material from LTM and integrate it into STM when working memory requires it.
