Memory AQA A Level Psychology
Questions and Answers
Psychologists broadly agree that there are two main types of memory:
- what are these? (2)
- how are they distinguished? (3)
➫ Short term memory (STM) = Your memory for immediate events
Long term memory (LTM) = Your memory for events that have happened in the
more distant past
• STM and LTM are often distinguished in terms of their coding, capacity and
duration.
STM and LTM are often distinguished in terms of their coding, what does this
refer to?
➫ Coding refers to the format in which information is stored in the various memory stores.
- Information enters the brain via the senses (e.g. eyes and ears) and then is
changed to another form so that it can be stored in memory. It can be stored in
the form of sounds (acoustic), images (visual) or meaning (semantic)
,STM and LTM are often distinguished in terms of their capacity, what does this
refer to?
➫ Capacity refers to the amount of information that can be held in a memory.
STM and LTM are often distinguished in terms of their duration, what does this
refer to?
➫ Duration refers to the length of time that information can be held in memory
What is the multi-store model of memory?
➫ The Multi-store model of memory is a linear model which represents the flow of information
through the memory system.
The model proposes that memory is made up of three separate memory stores
linked to each other by the processes that enable information to transfer from
one store to the next.
Each store has a different purpose and each differs in terms of coding,
capacity and duration.
Multi-Store Model of Memory
- Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968)
,➫
What is the Sensory Register? (Sensory Store)
- how it works
➫ A stimulus from the environment (e.g. the sound of someone talking) passes into the sensory
register along with lots of other sights, sounds etc. This part of memory is not one store but five, one
for each sense.
The two main stores are iconic (visual information is first encoded visually) and
echoic (sound based information is first encoded acoustically)
Coding, duration and capacity of the Sensory Register? (Sensory Store)
➫ • Coding: Information is coded depending on the sense that is picked up - e.g. visual, auditory or
tactile. (Modality specific)
• Duration: Sensory memory has a very limited duration of less than half a
second.
• Capacity: The sensory registers have a huge capacity (millions or receptors)
How is information transferred from the sensory register to Short term
memory?
, ➫ Attention is the key process.
If you pay attention to or 'think about' the information it will pass on to STM,
whereas information which is not attended to disappears quickly through
spontaneous decay.
What is Short-term memory (STM)?
- coding, capacity, duration
➫ Short term memory is your memory for immediate events. It temporarily stores information
received from the sensory register.
• Coding: Information is encoded acoustically in STM. (See Baddeley 1966)
• Capacity: STM has a limited capacity between 5 and 9 items before forgetting
takes place. (See Miller 1946)
• Duration: STM has a duration of around 30 seconds unless it is rehearsed.
(See Peterson and Peterson, 1959)
How is information transferred from STM to LTM?
➫ Maintenance rehearsal is the key process.
Maintenance rehearsal occurs when we repeat (rehearse) material verbally to
ourselves. This allows us to keep information in STM long enough for us to use it
Questions and Answers
Psychologists broadly agree that there are two main types of memory:
- what are these? (2)
- how are they distinguished? (3)
➫ Short term memory (STM) = Your memory for immediate events
Long term memory (LTM) = Your memory for events that have happened in the
more distant past
• STM and LTM are often distinguished in terms of their coding, capacity and
duration.
STM and LTM are often distinguished in terms of their coding, what does this
refer to?
➫ Coding refers to the format in which information is stored in the various memory stores.
- Information enters the brain via the senses (e.g. eyes and ears) and then is
changed to another form so that it can be stored in memory. It can be stored in
the form of sounds (acoustic), images (visual) or meaning (semantic)
,STM and LTM are often distinguished in terms of their capacity, what does this
refer to?
➫ Capacity refers to the amount of information that can be held in a memory.
STM and LTM are often distinguished in terms of their duration, what does this
refer to?
➫ Duration refers to the length of time that information can be held in memory
What is the multi-store model of memory?
➫ The Multi-store model of memory is a linear model which represents the flow of information
through the memory system.
The model proposes that memory is made up of three separate memory stores
linked to each other by the processes that enable information to transfer from
one store to the next.
Each store has a different purpose and each differs in terms of coding,
capacity and duration.
Multi-Store Model of Memory
- Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968)
,➫
What is the Sensory Register? (Sensory Store)
- how it works
➫ A stimulus from the environment (e.g. the sound of someone talking) passes into the sensory
register along with lots of other sights, sounds etc. This part of memory is not one store but five, one
for each sense.
The two main stores are iconic (visual information is first encoded visually) and
echoic (sound based information is first encoded acoustically)
Coding, duration and capacity of the Sensory Register? (Sensory Store)
➫ • Coding: Information is coded depending on the sense that is picked up - e.g. visual, auditory or
tactile. (Modality specific)
• Duration: Sensory memory has a very limited duration of less than half a
second.
• Capacity: The sensory registers have a huge capacity (millions or receptors)
How is information transferred from the sensory register to Short term
memory?
, ➫ Attention is the key process.
If you pay attention to or 'think about' the information it will pass on to STM,
whereas information which is not attended to disappears quickly through
spontaneous decay.
What is Short-term memory (STM)?
- coding, capacity, duration
➫ Short term memory is your memory for immediate events. It temporarily stores information
received from the sensory register.
• Coding: Information is encoded acoustically in STM. (See Baddeley 1966)
• Capacity: STM has a limited capacity between 5 and 9 items before forgetting
takes place. (See Miller 1946)
• Duration: STM has a duration of around 30 seconds unless it is rehearsed.
(See Peterson and Peterson, 1959)
How is information transferred from STM to LTM?
➫ Maintenance rehearsal is the key process.
Maintenance rehearsal occurs when we repeat (rehearse) material verbally to
ourselves. This allows us to keep information in STM long enough for us to use it
