Psychology Cognitive

Duration - how long the memory lasts

Capacity - how much can be held in the memory

Encoding - transferring information into code

STM

• limited capacity
• limited duration

LTM

• unlimited capacity
• permanent

Atkinson and Shiffrin Model

 Multi-Store Model

• suggested memory is a process
• the information we learn passes through stores during the journey from sensory memory  (SM) to long term memory (LTM)

Multi-Store Model

Sperling

• flashed 12 letters onto a screen for a second
• on average people could remember 4/5 letters
• association of a sound to each row helped increase recall
• suggesting that participants saw 9-10 od the letters but image faded from sensory memory before the recall could take place

+ lab experiment high control

- artificial

Evidence for sensory memory

Multi-Store Model

Peterson and Peterson

• they were shown nonsense trigrams which they were asked to recall after either 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 or 18 seconds
• within this pause they were asked to count backwards which was an interference task to stop from rehearsing
• after three seconds participants could recall 80% of trigrams correctly. After 18 seconds only 10% were recalled correctly
• when rehearsal is prevented very little can stay in the STM for longer than 18 seconds

+ lab high control

- aftificial lacks ecological validity

Investigating the duration of STM

Multi-Store Model

Bahrick et al

• list names of ex-classmates (free recall test)
• then photo-recognition test
• or name-recognition test
• 15 years - 90% names and faces, 60% accurate on free recall
• 30 years - free recall declined to about 30% accuracy
• 48 years - name recognition was about 80% accurate and photo recognition about 40% accurate

+ high ecological validity (field experiment)

- less control

investigating VLTM in a natural setting

Baddeley and Hitch

Working Memory Model

• central executive
  • described as attention
• 
• articulatory-phonological loop
  • speech based information
  • phonological store
  • articulatory
• visuo-spatial sketchpad
  • visual and spatial information

- central executive is vague with no research, simply suggest is to do with attention

+ explains semantic remembering

Method of loci

• put what you are trying to remember into a familiar place such as a home, and as you imagine walking *