Memory (AO1 & 2)

what are the 3 conditions of recall/retrieval?

recognition, cued recall and free recall

Define retrieval by recognition

Encountering and identifying information that you know

Define the retrieval by cued recall

remembering information with the help of clue(s)

Define the retrieval by free recall

Remembering without clues

Forms of encoded memory

visual, acoustic and semantic

Define encoding

Altering the form of information so that it can be held and stored in the brain

Define storage

keeping/holding of information in the brain

Define retrieval

accessing information that has been stored in the brain

Define memory

a cognitive process of encoding, storing and retrieving information from the brain

Describe the difference between ‘attention’ and ‘rehearsal’ as part of the memory process (exam style question)

Attention is when a person notices and is interested in a particular stimulus whereas rehearsal is not (1) because rehearsal is when a person repeats information again and again in an effort to remember it (1)

What are the processes of memory

encoding, storage and retrieval

Define semantic encoding

Memory recorded(encoded) on the basis/terms of meaning or words

Define acoustic encoding

Memory of how something sounds like (memory in the form of sound)

Define visual encoding

Memory in the form of a mental image

Define tactile encoding

Memory coded in the form of sensory (how something feels)

provide an answer for questions 1 and 2

1. Ezra uses multiple types of encoding in his learning process: when Ezra re-writes passages from the textbook into his own words, he is engaging in semantic encoding. This involves processing the meaning of the information(1). Also, Ezra tries "staring at the textbook," which involves visual encoding as he processes how the information looks(1). Lastly, Ezra also attempts "reading the page out loud," which involves acoustic encoding as he processes the sound of the words(1).

2. Ezra couldn’t remember all his notes as he didn’t rehearse enough(1). As a result, the information was stored in his short term memory, which is limited in capacity and duration, hence that he couldn’t retrieve the entirety of the information the next day(1).

Define long term memory (LTM)

A permanent memory that is long lasting and large in capacity. (limitless)

Define short term memory (STM)

A temporary, limited in duration and capacity memory. Can hold up to 5-9 items enduring of 15-30 seconds

Aim and date of Baddeley’s experiment

To investigate whether there’s a difference in how STM and LTM is encoded, 1966

Name the model, year of birth and parents

Multi-Store Memory Model, 1968, Atkinson & Shiffrin

Label the missing components

STM, Retrieval, LTM

Define the 2 types of hypotheses

Alternative hypothesis= statement predicting a difference or correlation in results

Null hypothesis= statement predicting no difference or correlation in results

Who proposed there are 3 LTM stores? Identify them

Tulving stated the existence of episodic, semantic & procedural LTM stores

Outline the 3 LTM stores

episodic- memory of time-based, personal events/experiences/episodes of one’s life (declarative/conscious recall)

semantic- memory of fact-based, public knowledge: form of meaning (declarative)

procedural- memory of skill-based knowledge of how to do something (non-declarative/unconscious recall)

APRC of Baddeley’s experiment

Investigated whether the STM and LTM encoded different forms of information. Did this by dividing 4 groups of participants into A, B(tested for STM), C and D(tested for LTM). All groups listened to 12 sets of 5 words. After each set, participants recalled the order of words. A and B recalled immediately after each set whilst C and D wait 20 minutes before recall. Their words were different too: list A; acoustically similar words, list B; acoustically dissimilar words, list C; semantically similar and list D; semantically dissimilar. Participants had all 10 words in front them as results depended on the order of words recalled from each set. Results showed that list B did better than list A and list D did better than list C. Baddeley concluded that STM is encoded acoustically. Since the acoustically similar words were more difficult to recall immediately in the right order, the STM must rely on acoustic coding. Results of C and D showed that LTM is encoded semantically. Since the semantically similar words are more difficult to recall in the correct order after an extended period, LTM must rely on semantic encoding.

(Overall, this suggests that short-term memories are encoded acoustically and
long-term memories are encoded semantically)

What did Murdock investigate, and when?

effects of serial position on recall, in 1962

What were Murdock’s findings? Define the terms

the primacy and recency effects:

primacy effect- tendency to remember the first few words at the beginning of a list, because the first words are most rehearsed, therefore transfer to the LTM

recency effect- tendency to remember the last few words at the end of a list, because they are still in the STM at the time of recall

What did Bartlett investigate? Method, results and conclusion?

Bartlett investigated the accuracy of reconstructive memory and influence of schemas on memory. He showed a participant a story which belonged to a culture different from that of all the British participants. He asked him to retell it shortly after. Then the reproduced story was shown to another participant and this was repeated. He observed that participants tended to remember segments of the story and interpreted it within their own frame/perspective of expectation to make sense of it. Bartlett concluded that the brain alters information according to schemas to make material easier to remember, rather than remembering the meaning of information. This reconstructed version of events becomes a memory of the event.

Theory of reconstructive memory

theory that the brain only remembers fragments of information which are reassembled(reconstructed) in the telling of a story. This involves the brain filling gaps with schemas(societal expectations) so that a story that makes sense it produced.

APRC of McDonald’s interference study

McDonald investigated whether information learned a first time would affect learning a second time. 12 participants learnt a list of 10 words until they 100% accurately remembered them. Then, a second list was shown and the same thing was conducted. This was done with 5 different lists of 10 words where the first and second list shown were related in these ways: synonyms, antonyms, unrelated to og, consonant syllables, 3-digit numbers. A control variable was set where the participants were retested. Resultingly, the recall of the original list of words depended on its similarity to the second. He concluded that interference is stronger when memory of similar activity is possessed.

Define interference and the two types

when forgetting occurs because one memory is preventing the access of another one. They’re similar, so they compete(backed up by McDonald’s study!)

proactive: older memories disrupt recall of newer memories, causing forgetting

retroactive: newer memories disrupt recall of older memories

Define false memory

a memory of something that did not happen but feels as though it were a true memory

main influences that plant false memory

schemas and leading questions

APRC of Godden et al study of context and memory

Investigated whether environment of learning information affects recall accuracy depending on the environment at the time of recall. Godden and Baddeley did this by making 18 participants, all who were members of a diving club, listen to 36 unrelated words either on the beach or underwater for about 4 minutes. They were divided into 4 groups: 1; learned dry, tested dry, 2; learned dry, tested wet, 3; learned wet, tested wet and 4; learned wet, tested dry. The accuracy of recall was tested by counting the number of words recalled. Results showed that people who recalled in the same environment as the learning recalled more words. In conclusion, the context of learning triggers cued recall, hence enhances memory accuracy at the same environment of the learning process.