Memory:
Coding – Baddeley gave acoustically similar/dissimilar words and semantically similar/dissimilar
words and found that acoustically words entered the stm at once while semantic words
entered the ltm after 20 minutes.
Capacity- Jacob read 4-digit span until the participants weren’t able to recall it correctly. Found
that they could read up to 9.3 numbers and 7.3 letters
Miller found that everything comes in 7 so the span of stm is 7+-2 but could be increased by
chunking
Duration – Peterson and Peterson gave 24 students a consonant syllable to recall and gave
them 3 digits to read backward from and recalled every 3 seconds. After 3 seconds recall was
80%, after 18 seconds recall was 3%. Withhold rehearsal is up to 18 seconds.
Bahrick et al- told 392 Americans aged 17-74 to either free recall names from their graduating
class or recognise 50 photos from yearbooks. He found that recognition was 90% accurate after
15 years and 70% accurate after 48 years while free recall was 60% after 15 years and 30%
recall after 48 years.
Evaluation:
Developed the multi store model.
Artificial stimuli. Tells us a little about everyday tasks. When processing more meaningful
information some people use semantic coding for stm. This means that his findings have limited
application.
Jacob is not as recognised today but plays a big part in psychology. This is old research so lacks
control over confounding variables. But his findings have been later confirmed. Therefore, his
research may still be valid.
Millers' results may be wrong as Cowan found it to be 4+-1.
Artificial stimuli not reflective of real life. However, we do sometimes remember irrelevant
things. But consonant syllables have no meaning as they are random letters so is not reflective
of everyday life. This lacks external validity.
High external validity as he used something different from the others. More realistic.
Multi – store model: Atkinson and Shiffrin – sperate memory stores
Enviromental stimuli _ sensory register: coding – 5 senses (echoic, haptic), duration – less than
half a second, capacity – high _ attention _ STM: coding – acoustic, duration – 18 seconds,
, capacity – 7+-2. Maintenance rehearsal – repeat material so that it goes to _ LTM: coding –
semantic, duration – lifetime, capacity – unlimited which can be retrieved back to STM.
Evaluation:
One limitation is that there are other parts to STM. For example, Patient KF had amnesia and
was able to recall 4 digits when he read them then when he heard them. This means that there
must be other memory stores to STM suggesting that MSM is not a complete explanation.
Another limitation is that Craik and Watkins suggested that there is another type of rehearsal
that goes to the LTM. This is called elaborative rehearsal which is when after you link
information to your existing knowledge. This suggest that MSM explanation is not complete.
Types of long-term memory:
Procedural: actions and skills, without conscious, automatic
Episodic: time-stamped, events, with conscious, personal
Semantic: knowledge/facts, not time-stamped, less personal
Evaluation:
One strength is supporting evidence. Clinical studies e.g. HM and Clive Wearing had difficulties
recalling their past memories because of amnesia. However, their semantic – HM didn't need
‘dog’ explained to him and procedural – Clive still played the piano. This shows that there are
different memory stores in LTM. However, the use of case studies has a lack of control as they
don't show anything about how the patient was before brain damage. Therefore, clinical
evidence is limited in what they tell us about the types of LTM.
One limitation is that there is conflicting research on LTM. Researchers found that the left
prefrontal cortex oversees semantic, and the right oversees episodic. However, Tulving et al
found that the left is also in charge of episodic. Therefore, there is no universal agreement
regarding types of LTM.
One strength is that there is there is real world value. Memory loss is very common of old
people – it is hard to recall new memories rather than past ones. Belleville et al devised an
intervention for old people and found that they improved their episodic memory better than a
control group. Therefore, types of LTM could lead to specific treatments to be developed.
One limitation is that there is conflicting research. Tulving said that episodic memory is a
subcategory of semantic memory as an intact semantic could work with a damages episodic
memory but bit vice versa. However, Hodges and Patterson found that in Alzheimer patients
Coding – Baddeley gave acoustically similar/dissimilar words and semantically similar/dissimilar
words and found that acoustically words entered the stm at once while semantic words
entered the ltm after 20 minutes.
Capacity- Jacob read 4-digit span until the participants weren’t able to recall it correctly. Found
that they could read up to 9.3 numbers and 7.3 letters
Miller found that everything comes in 7 so the span of stm is 7+-2 but could be increased by
chunking
Duration – Peterson and Peterson gave 24 students a consonant syllable to recall and gave
them 3 digits to read backward from and recalled every 3 seconds. After 3 seconds recall was
80%, after 18 seconds recall was 3%. Withhold rehearsal is up to 18 seconds.
Bahrick et al- told 392 Americans aged 17-74 to either free recall names from their graduating
class or recognise 50 photos from yearbooks. He found that recognition was 90% accurate after
15 years and 70% accurate after 48 years while free recall was 60% after 15 years and 30%
recall after 48 years.
Evaluation:
Developed the multi store model.
Artificial stimuli. Tells us a little about everyday tasks. When processing more meaningful
information some people use semantic coding for stm. This means that his findings have limited
application.
Jacob is not as recognised today but plays a big part in psychology. This is old research so lacks
control over confounding variables. But his findings have been later confirmed. Therefore, his
research may still be valid.
Millers' results may be wrong as Cowan found it to be 4+-1.
Artificial stimuli not reflective of real life. However, we do sometimes remember irrelevant
things. But consonant syllables have no meaning as they are random letters so is not reflective
of everyday life. This lacks external validity.
High external validity as he used something different from the others. More realistic.
Multi – store model: Atkinson and Shiffrin – sperate memory stores
Enviromental stimuli _ sensory register: coding – 5 senses (echoic, haptic), duration – less than
half a second, capacity – high _ attention _ STM: coding – acoustic, duration – 18 seconds,
, capacity – 7+-2. Maintenance rehearsal – repeat material so that it goes to _ LTM: coding –
semantic, duration – lifetime, capacity – unlimited which can be retrieved back to STM.
Evaluation:
One limitation is that there are other parts to STM. For example, Patient KF had amnesia and
was able to recall 4 digits when he read them then when he heard them. This means that there
must be other memory stores to STM suggesting that MSM is not a complete explanation.
Another limitation is that Craik and Watkins suggested that there is another type of rehearsal
that goes to the LTM. This is called elaborative rehearsal which is when after you link
information to your existing knowledge. This suggest that MSM explanation is not complete.
Types of long-term memory:
Procedural: actions and skills, without conscious, automatic
Episodic: time-stamped, events, with conscious, personal
Semantic: knowledge/facts, not time-stamped, less personal
Evaluation:
One strength is supporting evidence. Clinical studies e.g. HM and Clive Wearing had difficulties
recalling their past memories because of amnesia. However, their semantic – HM didn't need
‘dog’ explained to him and procedural – Clive still played the piano. This shows that there are
different memory stores in LTM. However, the use of case studies has a lack of control as they
don't show anything about how the patient was before brain damage. Therefore, clinical
evidence is limited in what they tell us about the types of LTM.
One limitation is that there is conflicting research on LTM. Researchers found that the left
prefrontal cortex oversees semantic, and the right oversees episodic. However, Tulving et al
found that the left is also in charge of episodic. Therefore, there is no universal agreement
regarding types of LTM.
One strength is that there is there is real world value. Memory loss is very common of old
people – it is hard to recall new memories rather than past ones. Belleville et al devised an
intervention for old people and found that they improved their episodic memory better than a
control group. Therefore, types of LTM could lead to specific treatments to be developed.
One limitation is that there is conflicting research. Tulving said that episodic memory is a
subcategory of semantic memory as an intact semantic could work with a damages episodic
memory but bit vice versa. However, Hodges and Patterson found that in Alzheimer patients
