Memory Lessons 01 - 06

Question 1

Define Cognitive Psychology

Answer 1

Cognitive psychology is concerned with people’s thought processes and how these affect the way in which they behave

Question 2

Define Memory

Answer 2

The process of retaining learned information, and accessing this information when it is needed
It is an important factor in how humans process information

Question 3

Coding

Answer 3

The way information is changed so that it can be stored into memory

Question 4

Storage

Answer 4

Keeping information within the memory system until it is needed

Question 5

Retrieval

Answer 5

Recovering information stored in the memory system when it is required

Question 6

The types of memory stores

Answer 6

Sensory Register (SR)
Short - Term Memory (STM)
Long - Term Memory (LTM)

Question 7

Sensory Register (SR)
(definition)

Answer 7

Contains unprocessed impressions of information received through the senses - has a separate sensory store for each sensory input (iconic store = visual info, echoic store = auditory info)

Question 8

Short - Term Memory (STM)

Answer 8

A temporary store for information received from the SR

Question 9

Long - Term Memory (LTM)

Answer 9

A permanent store holding limitless amounts of information for long periods of time, potentially a lifetime

Question 10

Capacity

Answer 10

The amount of information that can be held in memory before new incoming information DISPLACES it (pushes it out)

Question 11

Duration

Answer 11

The amount of time information can be held becore it is lost due to DECAY (information ‘fades away’)

Question 12

Coding in SR

Answer 12

Modality specific - each sensory store codes information differently

Question 13

Coding in STM

Answer 13

Coded ACOUSTICALLY (according to how it sounds)
Baddeley (1966) investigated it. He gave participants 4 lists of words to recall: A = words sounded similar, B = words sounded dissimilar, C = words had similar meanings, D = words had dissimilar meanings. Participants performed worse with list A than list B, but there was no difference between C and D. Because STM organises information according to how it sounds, similar sounding words can be muddled

Question 14

Coding in LTM

Answer 14

Coded SEMANTICALLY (according to its meaning)
Baddeley (1966) repeated his experiment. He tested recall of the lists after a 20 minute delay - to ensure the info is in LTM. Participant’s recall of list C was worse than recall of D, and no difference between A and B. Because LTM organises information according to its meaning, words with similar meanings can be confused

Question 15

Evaluation of Baddeley (1966) (Coding for STM and LTM)

Answer 15

(+) A laboratory experiment - easy to replicate as variables have been closely controlled, RELIABLE
(-) Findings have LOW ECOLOGICAL VALIDITY. The materials (lists of words) were artificial (unlike information that people need to recall in everyday life), and the lab setting was artificial

Question 16

Capacity of SR

Answer 16

Unlimited

Question 17

Capacity of STM

Answer 17

Jacobs (1887) used a DIGIT SPAN TEST. He gave participants several sequences of digits or letters and asked them to IMMEDIATELY repeat each sequence. The sequences got longer by 1 item each time. Jacobs found that on average, we can hold 9.3 digits and 7.3 letters.
Miller (1956) reviewed research studies and found that capacity is 7 + - 2.
If we try to recall more information than we have the capacity for, then new incoming information displaces old information. People can remember 5 words as easily as 5 letters - CHUNKING (grouping large amounts of information into smaller groups) can help remember more

Question 18

Evaluation of Jacobs (Capacity of STM)

Answer 18

(+) Jacobs’ research (1887) was the first to acknowledge that STM capacity gradually improves with age
(-) Conducted a long time ago - may not have been done to the same standard as research is done to today - questionable VALIDITY

Question 19

Capacity of LTM

Answer 19

Unlimited

Question 20

Duration of SR

Answer 20

250 milliseconds

Question 21

Duration of STM

Answer 21

Peterson and Peterson (1959) used nonsense trigrams (random 3 consonants) to test duration. To prevent maintenance rehearsal, they were asked to count backwards from 100 in threes. After 3 seconds, recall was accurate 90% of the time. After 9 seconds, recall was accurate 20% of the time. After 18 seconds, recall was accurate 2% of the time. They concluded that information lasts for 18-30 seconds without rehearsal before it is lost due to decay

Question 22

Evaluation of Peterson and Peterson (1959) (Duration of STM)

Answer 22

(+) Researchers used fixed timings for participants to count backwards from. They also eliminated noise and other factors that could influence memory. Research has a HIGH LEVEL OF CONTROL, using standardised procedures to make sure all participants experienced the same process
(-) The findings may have been caused by INTERFERENCE rather than STM having a short duration (earlier trigrams became confused with later ones)

Question 23

Duration of LTM

Answer 23

Bahrick (1979) tested 400 people of various ages (17-74) on their memory of their classmates. A photo recognition test consisted of participants being shown 50 photos and deciding if they belonged to their classmates or not. In a free recall test, participants were asked to list the names they could remember from their graduating class.
90% accuracy at identifying faces within 15 years of leaving school - 70% within 48 years
Free recall of names of classmates was 60% accurate within 15 years of leaving school - 30% after 48 years
Conclusion: the duration of LTM is potentially a lifetime, but sometimes we have retrieval failure and need retrieval cues to access the information

Question 24

Evaluation of Bahrick (1979) (Duration of LTM)

Answer 24

(+) Higher ECOLOGICAL VALIDITY than Peterson and Peterson (1959) as the material used was more meaningful and relevant to everyday life
(-) Problematic to control for EXTRANEOUS VARIABLES - people may stay in touch after leaving school, people may look at their yearbook

Question 25

The Multi-Store Model of Memory

Answer 25

MSM was developed by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968). Attempts to explain how information flows from one memory store to another. 3 permanent structures: sensory register (SR), short-term memory (STM), long-term memory (LTM). Each store differs in terms of capacity, duration and coding, and how information is lost from them

Question 26

MSM: Sensory Register

Answer 26

Environmental stimuli is received through the senses, enters the SR (a short duration store retaining unprocessed impressions of information received through the senses). There is a separate sensory store for each sensory input. Capacity = unlimited, duration = 250 milliseconds A small fraction of information received by the SR is attended to and selected for further processing in STM, the rest is lost to decay

Question 27

MSM: Short-term Memory

Answer 27

If information from the SR is attended to, it is acoustically coded into STM (similar sounding material can be confused). STM is the temporary store before information is transferred to LTM. In the STM, information can be recalled and forgotten. Capacity = 7 + - 2 pieces of information, duration = 18-30 seconds (information can be displaced, and without rehearsal, it will decay very quickly) Information can be kept in STM using maintenance rehearsal (repeatedly verbalising or thinking about information). If there is sufficient rehearsal, or elaborative rehearsal (information is organised in a more meaningful way), information can be transferred to LTM

Question 28

MSM: Long-term Memory

Answer 28

If information is sufficiently reheared in STM, it is semantically coded into LTM. Capacity = potentially infinite, duration = potentially a lifetime When information in LTM is needed, it is retrieved by STM and then recalled. Sometimes, there is retrieval failure, and so retrieval cues may be needed

Question 29

Evaluation of the Multi-Store Model of Memory (MSM) | Neurobiological Evidence

Answer 29

+ Scoville (1957) attempted to treat HM’s epilepsy by removing parts of the brain, including the hippocampus. HM was unable to code new long-term memories, but his STM was unaffected - supports the idea of there being separate STM and LTM + Shallice and Warrington (1970) reported the case study of KF who had a motorbike accident, resulting in a reduced STM capacity (of only 1 or 2 digits), but his LTM was normal - supports the idea of separate STM and LTM. - KF had poor STM for verbal tasks, but not visual tasks - more than one type of STM, contradictory to MSM. According to MSM, long-term memories are retrieved by STM, so if STM is damaged, it should be difficult to retrieve LTM, but this was not the case for KF

Question 30

Evaluation of the Multi-Store Model of Memory (MSM) | Laboratory Experiments

Answer 30

+ Murdock (1962) presented participants with a long list of words to be recalled in any order (FREE RECALL experiment). Words at the beginning and the end were recalled better than in the middle. This is the serial position effect. Words at the beginning are recalled because they have been rehearsed and are in LTM (the PRIMACY EFFECT), and words at the end are in STM (the RECENCY EFFECT). Supports the idea of distinct STM and LTM

Question 31

Evaluation of the Multi-Store Model of Memory (MSM) | General Evaluation

Answer 31

(-) MSM is oversimplified in assuming there is only one type of STM and LTM. Research studies show that there are several types of STM (phonological loop, visuo-spatial sketchpad) and LTM (episodic memory, semantic memory, procedural memory). (-) Baddeley and Hitch (1974) claimed that MSM does not explain the ability to multi-task (if there was only one type of STM, multi-tasking would not be possible, but it is).

Question 32

The Working Memory Model (WMM)

Answer 32

Baddeley and Hitch questioned the MSM as it claimed that people only have one type of STM. They also argued that STM is far more complex than simply being a temporary store for information before it is transferred to LTM. They saw STM as an ACTIVE store holding several pieces of information while they are being worked on. They saw LTM as the PASSIVE store that only holds previously learned material to be used by STM when needed

Question 33

WMM: The Central Executive

Answer 33

The CE drives the whole working memory system and allocates data to the other components (slave systems). It deals with COGNITIVE tasks (mental arithmetic, reasoning, problem solving). Individuals have a limited attentional capacity, tasks that are automated make less attentional demands on the central executive and so leave us free to perform other tasks. Example: after 10 years, driving becomes an automated task that does not make as many attentional demands as it did when first learning - drivers can then multi-task (listen to the radio, talk to passengers etc)

Question 34

WMM: The Phonological Loop

Answer 34

The component of working memory that deals with SPOKEN and WRITTEN MATERIAL: Two sub-components: - Phonological Store (AKA inner ear): Linked to speech perception and holds information in speech-based form for 1-2 seconds - Articulary Loop (AKA inner voice) Linked to speech production and is used to rehearse and store verbal information from the phonological store, allowing maintenance rehearsal

Question 35

WMM: The Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad

Answer 35

AKA inner eye Stores and processes information in a visual or spatial form. Used for navigation. Two sub-components: - Visual Cache Stores visual material about form and colour - Inner Scribe Handles spatial relationships

Question 36

WMM: The Episodic Buffer

Answer 36

In 2000, Baddeley added the episodic buffer because he realised the model needed a GENERAL STORAGE COMPONENT - slave systems only deal with processing and temporary storage of specific types of information, and the CE has no storage capacity at all

Question 37

Evaluation of the Working Memory Model (WMM) | Neurobiological Evidence

Answer 37

+ Shallice and Warrington (1970) reported the case study of KF, who had a motorbike accident, resulting in poor STM for words that were presented verbally (phonological loop), but not for words that were presented visually (visuo-spatial sketchpad) - suggests there is more than one type of STM

Question 38

Evaluation of the Working Memory Model (WMM) | Laboratory Experiments

Answer 38

+ Baddeley and Hitch (1974) gave participants a dual task - one reasoning task (using the CE) and one reading aloud task (using the phonological loop). Participants could do both simultaneously - suggests there are separate components in STM + Baddeley et al. (1975) gave participants brief visual presentations of lists of words, either short words or long words. Participants were asked to recall the list immediately in the correct order. It was found that participants could recall more short words than long ones. This is the WORD LENGTH EFFECT. Conclusion: the phonological loop can hold as many items as said in 1.5 - 2 seconds, rather than a limit of 7 + - 2 items like the MSM says

Question 39

Evaluation of the Working Memory Model (WMM) | General Evaluation

Answer 39

+ WMM has PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS - improved understanding of how people learn to read and has helped psychologists to assist those with DYSLEXIA - Several psychologists have CRITICISED the WMM because they think the idea of a CE is vague and untestable. Damasio (1985) presented the case of EVR who had a cerebral tumour removed. He had good reasoning skills (suggests the CE is intact), but could not make decisions (suggests the CE is damaged) - indicated the CE is more complex than the WMM claims