Short and Long Term Memory

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  • Created by: madiha23
  • Created on: 18-01-19 09:05
Short Term Memory
Your memory for events in the immediate past or present and is measured in seconds rather than hours/days. Information in STM disappears unless continuously rehearsed.
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Long Term Memory
Your memory for events that have happened in the more distant past. Has a potentially infinite capacity and is measured in years and days.
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The Capacity of STM.
STM has a very small capacity (average span for digits-9.6 items and average span for letters-7.3 according to Joseph Jacobs(1887))/ George Miller (1956) concluded that the span of immediate or STM is about 7 ± 2 items. Chunking words is efficient.
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Evaluation of Capacity of STM
Cowan (2001)- STM is likely to have a more limited capacity. Simon (1974) found that people had shorter memory span for larger chunks. Jacobs (1887) found that digit recall increased with age due to an increase in brain capacity.
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The Duration of STM
Peterson and Peterson (1959) studied duration of STM using students. Tested using 8 trials given a "postcode" and asked to recall it after an interval of time with prevented verbal rehearsal . 90% correct after 3 seconds and 2% correct after 18.
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The Duration of LTM
Bahrick et al (1975) tested 400 people of various ages on memory of classmates using a test consisting of pictures from their high school yearbook. Those tested within 15 years of graduating were 90% accurate and those tested after 48 years were 70%.
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Evaluation of Duration
The test for STM was artificial as it did not reflect everyday memory activities (we remember more meaningful information). However it has some slight relevance to everyday life. Reitman (1974) did the same test but with auditory tones to prevent re-
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Evaluation of Duration Pt.2
-hearsal and found the duration was longer. This implies that forgetting in Peterson's study was due to displacement and not due to a short capacity.
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Coding of STM and LTM
Information is changed so that it can be stored in the memory and can be coded acoustically, visually or semantically. Baddeley (1966) two lists containing acoustically similar but semantically different words and semantically similar but acoustica-
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Coding of STM and LTM Pt.2
lly words. He found that participants had difficulty remembering acoustically in STM and remembering semantically similar in LTM proving STM is encoded acoustically and LTM is largely encoded semantically.
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Evaluation of Coding
Baddeley "tested" LTM by waiting 20 minutes after the participants had heard the word list, so it can be argued that it wasn't really testing LTM. STM appears to rely on acoustic code but other research shows that visual and semantic coding is used.
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Evaluation of Coding Pt.2
LTM also appears to semantic but researchers have found evidence of semantic and acoustic categories present in the LTM. This therefore implies that coding is not exclusive to one categories but is dependent on circumstances.
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Card 2

Front

Your memory for events that have happened in the more distant past. Has a potentially infinite capacity and is measured in years and days.

Back

Long Term Memory

Card 3

Front

STM has a very small capacity (average span for digits-9.6 items and average span for letters-7.3 according to Joseph Jacobs(1887))/ George Miller (1956) concluded that the span of immediate or STM is about 7 ± 2 items. Chunking words is efficient.

Back

Preview of the back of card 3

Card 4

Front

Cowan (2001)- STM is likely to have a more limited capacity. Simon (1974) found that people had shorter memory span for larger chunks. Jacobs (1887) found that digit recall increased with age due to an increase in brain capacity.

Back

Preview of the back of card 4

Card 5

Front

Peterson and Peterson (1959) studied duration of STM using students. Tested using 8 trials given a "postcode" and asked to recall it after an interval of time with prevented verbal rehearsal . 90% correct after 3 seconds and 2% correct after 18.

Back

Preview of the back of card 5
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