Memory Flashcards
(87 cards)
Outline the difference between the capacity of short-term memory and the capacity of long-term memory. (2 marks)
Short term memory’s capacity is 7+- 2 (millers magic number)
Long term memory’s capacity is potentially unlimited.
How is STM encoded?
Acoustically - refers to the sound of the word
How is LTM encoded?
Semantically - refers to meaning of the word
What were the 4 groups in Baddley’s research?
Group1 - acoustically similar
Group 2 - acoustically dissimilar
Group 3 - semantically similar
Group 4 - semantically dissimilar
What were the findings of Baddley’s research for LTM? +explanation.
LTM: When asked to remember words after a longer period of time, they did worse with semantically similar words this indicates we code semantically.
Explanation: This is because the words that have similar meanings are competing for space in the LTM and may have become distorted or confused as they all have the same meaning.
What were the findings of Baddley’s research for STM? + explanation.
STM: When participants were asked to recall words directly after they heard them they had poorer recall or words which were acoustically similar compared to words which were acoustically dissimilar.
Explanation : We are more likely to become confused with similar sounding words because they sound similar. Words become distorted in the STM .
AO3
Give one strength of research into duration
(Bahrick et al)
-Use of meaningful stimuli
-Real life memories were studied as ppts were asked to recall names which is something we do in everyday life and is a real representation of how our LTM works
-These findings have high ecological validity because they can be generalised to real life.
-Strengthens our acceptance of the research
AO3
Outline one strength of research into encoding
One strength of research into encoding STM is that it clearly identified a difference between two memory stores.
Later research showed there are some exceptions to Baddeley’s findings. but the idea that STM uses mostly acoustic encoding and semantic mainly for LTM has stood the test of time. This was an important step in enhancing our understanding of the memory system, which led to the multi store model of memory
AO3
Outline one weakness into encoding in STM and LTM
One limitation is that there was use of artificial stimuli rather than meaningful stimuli.
For example, the word lists has no pesonal meaning to the ppts so baddeleys findigns may not be applicable to the real world, where we need to remeber things with meaning such as names, adresses and important dates. This is a weakness of the research as it has low ecological validity as the task can be criticised for lacking mundane realism, thus weakening acceptance of the theory
AO3
Outline one strength of research into capacity
One strength of Jacob’s study is that it has been replicated. The study is very old and early research in psychology often lacked adequate controls. For example, some ppts’ digit spans might have been underestimated because they were distracted during testing (confounding variables). Despite this, Jacobs’ findings have been confirmed by other, better controlled studies since. This suggests that Jacobs’s study is a valid test of digit span in STM
AO3
Outline one weakness of research into capacity
One weakness of Miller’s research is that it may have overestimated STM capacity. Cowan et al reviewed other research and concluded that the capacity of STM is only about 4 plus minus 1. This suggests that the lower end of Miller’s estimate is more appropriate than 7 items
AO3
One weakness of Peterson and Peterson’s research into duration
Research is artificial
Ppts were asked to recall consonant symbol trigrams.
This is a weakness because the stimuli is artificial
This doesn’t represent how our memory works in real life scenarios
In everyday life we dont use our memories to learn random syllables
Therefore we should accept the findings from Peterson and Peterson with some caution and more meaningful stimuli should be used to to test STM
What were Baddley’s conclusions?
Information is coded acoustically in the STM and semantically in the LTM.
Describe Peterson and Peterson’s research
-Lab experiment
-24 participants
- trigrams were presented 1 at a time to the participants and had to be recalled after intervals of 3,6,9,12,15,18 seconds in each trial
- after hearing the trigram they were asked to count backwards in 3s out loud from a specified random digit number until they saw a red paper
- This is known as the Peterson technique which is aimed TO PREVENT REHEARSAL
Explain semantic memory
-Contains our knowledge of the world, includes facts about everything
-Memories are not time stamped
-Not as personal
e.g. meaning of words
Explain procedural memory
-Muscle memory
-Recall these memories without conscious awareness
-Almost automatic
-These memories are taught
-Not time stamped
e.g. how to ride a bike
Explain episodic memory
-Events/stuff that happened in our lives
-Time stamped (you know when they happened)
-You make a conscious effort to remember them (declarative memory)
-You remember specific details, context and emotion.
What is a declarative and non-declarative memory?
-Declarative = The recall requires conscious effort to retrieve information
-Non-declarative = The recall doesn’t require conscious effort to retrieve information
Explain primacy effect (MSM)
Occurs because this information was the first to be rehearsed and transferred to LTM
Explain recency effect (MSM)
Recency effect occurs because this information is the last information to be presented therefore these are the words that are remembered.
AO3
Outline one strength of MSM
(CW)
One strength of MSM is that there is research support from Clive wearing (CW). For example, CW didn’t have the rehearsal mechanisms which transfers information from STM to LTM. This suggests there are two different stores and also a process that transfers information from one store to another, which is what coincides with the principles of MSM, thus strengthening acceptance of the theory.
AO3
Outline one strength of MSM
(Research support)
+COUNTER
One strength of the MSM is support from studies showing that STM and LTM are different. For example, Baddeley found that we tend to mix up words that sound similar when we are using out STM. But we mix up words that have similar meanings when we use to our LTMs. Further support comes from the studies of capacity and duration we encountered in the in the previous spread. These studies indicate that STM and LTM are separate and independent memory stores, as claimed by the MSM.
HOWEVER, despite such apparent support, in everyday life we form memories related to all sorts of useful things - people’s faces, their names, facts, places, etc.. But many of the studies that support the MSM used none of these materials. Instead, they used digits, letters and sometimes words. They even used consonant syllables that no meaning. This means that the MSM may not be a valid model of how memory works in our everyday lives where we have to remember much more meaningful information
AO3
Outline one weakness of MSM
(Rehearsal)
Another limitation of MSM is that elaborative rehearsal may not be needed for transfer to LTM. According to the MSM, the more you rehearse something, the more likely it is to transfer to LTM. However, in some real life cases, we dont need to rehearse tnhings for them to become part of our LTM e.g. Birthdays, important dates and other life events. This implies that information can be transferred to LTM without prolonged rehearsal, which isnt predicted by the theory. This suggests that the MSM does not fully explain how long-term storage is achieved, thus weakening acceptance of MSM as an explanation of memory
AO3
Outline one weakness of MSM
(Patient KF)
One weakness of the MSM is evidence of more than one STM store. Warrington et al studied patient KF who had amnesia. KF’s STM for digits was very poor when they read out loud to him. But his recall was much better when he read the digits to himself. Further studies of KF showed that there could be another short-term store for non-verbal sounds. This evidence suggests that the MSM is wrong in claiming that there is just one STM store processing in different types of information e.g. visual, auditory etc.