AQA Psychology (A-Level) - Memory - Key Terms Questions and Answers

AQA Psychology (A-Level) - Memory - Key Terms Questions and Answers Capacity - Answer-This is a measure of how much can be held in memory. It is represented in terms of bits of information, such as number of digits Coding (Encoding) - Answer-The way information is changed so that it can be stored in memory. Information enters the brain via the senses (e.g. eyes and ears). It is then stored in various forms such as visual codes like a picture acoustic codes (sounds) or semantic codes (the meaning of the experience) Duration - Answer-A measure of how long a memory lasts before it is no longer available Long term memory (LTM) - Answer-Your memory for events that have happened in the past. This lasts anywhere from 2 minutes to 100 years. LTM has potentially unlimited duration and capacity and tends to be coded semantically Short term memory (STM) - Answer-Your memory for immediate events. STMs are measured in seconds and minutes rather than hours and days, i.e. a short duration. They disappear unless they are rehearsed. STM also has a limited capacity of about four items or chunks and tends to be coded acoustically. This type of memory is sometimes referred to as working memory Multi store model - Answer-An explanation of memory based on three separate memory stores, and how information is transferred between these stores Sensory register - Answer-This is the information at the senses - information collected by your eyes, ears, nose, and fingers and so on. Information is retained for a very brief period by the sensory registers. We are only able to hold accurate images of sensory information momentarily (less than half a second). The capacity of sensory memory is very large, such as all the cells on the retina of the eye. The method of coding depends on the sense organ involved, e.g. visual for the eye or acoustic for the ears Central executive - Answer-Monitors and coordinates all other mental functions in working memory Episodic buffer - Answer-Receives input from many sources, temporarily stores this information, and then integrates it in orde