Memory

Question 1

what is memory?

Answer 1

the process by which we retain information about events that have happened in the past

Question 2

explain capacity:

Answer 2

the amount of info held in the store.

Question 3

explain duration:

Answer 3

the length of time info can be held.

Question 4

explain coding:

Answer 4

the format in which info is shared.

Question 5

what does the multi-store model look like?

Answer 5

sensory memory –> short-term memory –> long-term memory

Question 6

who developed the multi-store model?

Answer 6

Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968)

Question 7

describe the sensory store:

Answer 7

• information arrives from the 5 senses e.g. sight, sound, touch
• it is constantly receiving information but most is ignored.
• if you pay attention the info transfers to the STM.

Question 8

what is the coding of the sensory store?

Answer 8

each sense is stored differently e.g. iconic, echoic

Question 9

what is the capacity of the sensory store?

Answer 9

unlimited

Question 10

what is the duration of the sensory store?

Answer 10

less than 1/2 a second

Question 11

describe the short-term memory:

Answer 11

• info that has been paid attention is stored here.
• a small amount of info is stored for a very short time.
• rehearsal transfers this info to the LTM.

Question 12

what is the coding of the STM?

Answer 12

acoustic (heard)

Question 13

what is the capacity of the STM?

Answer 13

5-9 chunks of information

Question 14

what is the duration of the STM?

Answer 14

15-30s

Question 15

describe the long-term memory:

Answer 15

• info is stored here to create enduring memories.
• could be held forever.

Question 16

what is the coding of the LTM?

Answer 16

semantic (meaning)

Question 17

what is the capacity of the LTM?

Answer 17

unlimited

Question 18

what is the duration of the LTM?

Answer 18

potentially a lifetime

Question 19

who provided evidence for the CODING IN STM?

Answer 19

Baddeley (1966)

Question 20

what was the evidence for CODING IN STM?

Answer 20

1. participants were presented one of 4 word lists (acoustically similar/dissimilar, semantically similar/dissimilar)
2. participants had to put the muddled words in order (to test for coding)
3. he found that participants had difficulty remembering acoustically similar words in STM but not LTM.

Question 21

who provided evidence for the CAPACITY IN STM?

Answer 21

Jacobs (1887)

Question 22

what was the evidence for CAPACITY IN STM by Jacobs?

Answer 22

digit span method
- showed participants a list of numbers/letters
- asked them to recall them in the correct order and if they made a mistake another was added
–> people had an average span of 7.3.

Question 23

what was the evidence for CAPACITY IN STM by Miller?

Answer 23

miller’s magic number (1956)
- published a famous article reviewing existing research into STM
- he said that we can hold 7 items PLUS OR MINUS 2.

Question 24

who provided evidence for the DURATION IN STM?

Answer 24

Peterson and Peterson (1959)

Question 25

what was the evidence for DURATION IN STM?

Answer 25

- participants briefly shown a triagram (3 letter sequence) - they were then asked to recall the original triagram after intervals of 3,6,9.. --> as the time lengthened, fewer trigrams were recalled.

Question 26

who provided evidence for the CODING IN LTM?

Answer 26

Baddeley (1966)

Question 27

what was the evidence for CODING IN LTM?

Answer 27

1. participants were presented one of 4 word lists (acoustically similar/dissimilar, semantically similar/dissimilar) 2. participants had to put the muddled words in order (to test for coding) 3. he found that participants had difficultly remembering semantically similar words in LTM but not in STM

Question 28

who provided evidence for the CAPACITY IN LTM?

Answer 28

Wagenaar (1986)

Question 29

what was the evidence for CAPACITY IN LTM?

Answer 29

diary study - he recorded an event that happened during the day, every day for 6 years. - coded it in terms of what, who, when, where and a critical detail. - he was able to remember all the events that had happened over the 6 years. - supports the idea that the capacity of the long term memory is large