Coding, capacity & duration of memory

Flashcards based on a lecture about memory, covering coding, capacity, and duration of STM and LTM.

What is coding in the context of memory?

How information is stored in memory using senses.

What is capacity in the context of memory?

The amount of information a memory store can hold.

What is duration in the context of memory?

How long memories last before they become unavailable.

What are the characteristics of STM regarding storage, amount, and capacity?

Temporary storage, small amounts, and limited capacity.

What are the characteristics of LTM regarding storage and amount?

Permanent storage and large amounts.

What is Sensory memory registers?

Incoming sensory information from environmental stimuli that lasts for a brief moment.

What was the procedure used by Baddeley in his coding study?

Participants learnt words varying in acoustic/semantic similarity.

What were the findings of Baddeley's study regarding STM and LTM coding?

STM: better recall for acoustically dissimilar words; LTM: better recall for semantically dissimilar words.

What is a strength of Baddeley's study?

Clear distinction between STM & LTM coding, controlled lab study

What is a limitation of Baddeley's study?

Artificial stimuli reduce ecological validity.

What was the procedure in Peterson & Peterson's STM study?

Participants recalled nonsense trigrams after intervals (3, 6, 9 seconds), counting backward to prevent rehearsal.

What was the finding of Peterson & Peterson's STM study?

STM is limited to 18-30 seconds without rehearsal.

What is a limiation of Peterson & Peterson's STM study?

Artificial stimuli lack mundane realism

What was the procedure in Jacobs' study on STM capacity?

Participants recalled strings of digits/letters of increasing length.

What were the findings of Jacobs' study on STM capacity?

STM capacity averaged 9 digits & 7 letters.

How did Miller describe the capacity of STM?

7±2 chunks.

What strategy did Miller suggest to improve memory?

Chunking.

What is a strength of Jacobs findings?

Findings are
replicable and valid

According to cowan, what may be a limitation of millers findings

STM capacity is only 4±1 chunks potentially overestimating Miller's

What was the procedure used in Bahrick et al.'s LTM duration study?

Participants matched names to faces from their yearbooks after 14 or 47 years.

What were the findings of Bahrick et al.'s LTM duration study?

90% accuracy after 14 years; 60% accuracy after 47 years.

What is a key finding of Bahrick et al.'s LTM duration study regarding LTM duration?

Suggests LTM duration is potentially unlimited.

What is a strength of the Bahrick et al study?

High external validity due to real-life relevance

What is a limitation of the Bahrick et al study?

Less control over confounding variables like rehearsal.

STM coding type

Acoustic (Baddeley)

What type of coding is associated with LTM according to Baddeley?

Semantic (Baddeley)

What is the capacity of STM according to Miller?

7±2 chunks

LTM Capacity

Unlimited

What is the duration of STM according to Peterson?

18-30 secs

LTM Duration

Unlimited