Features of each memory store Flashcards
What is capacity?
The amount of information kept in any memory store at any time.
What is duration?
How long information can be stored in each memory store.
What is coding?
The format of information stored in each memory store.
What is the capacity of sensory memory?
Short lived but large.
What is the duration of sensory memory?
Limited duration, typically 0-3s.
How is sensory memory coded?
Modality (sense) specific.
What is the capacity of STM?
7 +/- 2 items
(Miller)
What is the duration of STM?
18-30s
(Peterson and Peterson)
How is STM coded?
Acoustically (sound)
What is the capacity of LTM?
Unlimited
What is the duration of LTM?
Unlimited
How is LTM coded?
Semantically (meaningful)
What is ‘chunking’?
Taking information and putting it into meaningful groups.
Evaluate memory research.
-Baddely’s study for the coding of STM and LTM lacks ecological validity.
It was unrealistic, findings can’t be generalised to real life everyday tasks or experiences.
-Peterson and Peterson’s study also lacks ecological validity.
However, both Peterson and Baddely’s studies were done in labs, meaning they were highly controlled and had reduced extraneous variables.
+Bahrik’s study has high ecological validity.
Means it can be generalised and we can establish cause and effect. It has real life applications for revision methods e.g. chunking.
