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Memory Psychology AQA A Level

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This document contains comprehensive, exam-focused essay plans covering the entire Memory topic for AQA A Level Psychology (Paper 1: Introductory Topics in Psychology). These cover both the old and new specification. It is designed to help students structure high-level 16-mark essays and achieve strong AO1 and AO3 marks in the exam. Included in this resource: • Clear and concise AO1 explanations of all key models and theories • Well-developed AO3 evaluation points with detailed explanation and linking • Structured 16-mark essay plans with logical paragraph organisation • The Multi-Store Model (Atkinson & Shiffrin) • Types of Long-Term Memory (episodic, semantic, procedural) • Working Memory Model (Baddeley & Hitch, including episodic buffer) • Explanations of forgetting (interference & retrieval failure) • Cue-dependent forgetting • Eyewitness testimony • Misleading information (Loftus & Palmer) • Anxiety and EWT • The Cognitive Interview Each essay plan is organised clearly to support effective revision, allowing students to understand how to balance description and evaluation to reach the top bands of the mark scheme. These plans are ideal for timed practice, exam preparation, and reinforcing evaluation skills. They save time by breaking down complex theories and research into structured, adaptable essay frameworks. Suitable for AQA A Level Psychology students preparing for Paper 1 examinations.

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MEMORY

Coding, Capacity, and Duration of Memory

AO1

1. Coding is how information is stored in memory
2. Baddeley’s research found that it is coded acoustically in STM and
semantically in LTM
3. Capacity is how much information can be stored in memory
4. Jacobs’ digit span research found the capacity was 9.3 digits and
7.3 letters, Miller found the span to be 7+/-2 items and that
putting items together extends STM capacity (chunking)
5. Duration is how long information can be stored in memory
6. Peterson and Peterson found duration of STM to be up to 18
seconds without rehearsal, Bahrick et al. (yearbooks) found that
90% recognised faces after 15 years, but recognition dropped to
70% after 48 years
AO3

Artificial stimuli in coding research: Lacking validity in capacity
the word lists had no personal research: could be extraneous
significance variables such as distractions
High external validity in duration of Other explanation in STM duration
LTM: meaningful real-life research: Peterson and Peterson
memories, showed greater recall may have measured displacement
than LTM studies with meaningless rather than decay
material

, The Multi-Store Model of Memory

AO1

1. Sensory register: iconic, echoic, and haptic stores with very short
(milliseconds) duration and high capacity
2. Sensory register is transferred to STM through attention
3. Short-term memory: coded acoustically with a capacity of 7+/-2
items and a duration of 18-30 seconds
4. STM is kept there by maintenance rehearsal and transferred to
LTM by elaborative rehearsal
5. Long-term memory: unlimited capacity and duration (up to a
lifetime), coded semantically
6. LTM is created through elaborative rehearsal
AO3

Supports different memory stores: More than one type of STM: studies
the case of HM – had surgery to of amnesia (KF case study) show
remove his hippocampus to treat different STMs for auditory and
epilepsy and he was unable to visual information
form new LTMs but could form
STMs
More than one type of LTM: the Supporting research: studies into
Clive Wearing case study suggests coding and duration demonstrate
there’s more than one LTM store, differences between STM and LTM
he couldn’t recall events but still
knew how to play the piano and tie
shoelaces

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Publisher: 27 juni 2025 ISBN: 9781036019754 Edition: Unknown

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