Memory Notes (AQA A-Level Psychology)
This document covers all content on Memory (AQA A-Level Psychology). The notes are very detailed but only include what is relevant to the course. There are abbreviations throughout that you should understand as a psychology student, but don't hesitate to mes...
Memory → a store for mental representations of events, images ideas and info after the
original stimuli are no longer present
- term given to the structures/processes involved in the storage/retrieval of info
There are three process involved in creating a memory: encoding, storage and retrieval
1. Encoding
- transferring info from a sensory form to a form it can be processes
- Can be in any sensory mode e.g: visual (sight), acoustic (sound), semantic
(meaning)
2. Storage
- the nature of memory stores,
- i.e where info is stored, how long memory lasts (duration), how much can be stored
at any time (capacity) and what kind of information is held
- How we store info affects how we retrieve it e.g we cannot remember something if
we have not stored it but if we have stored it we still may not remember it
3. Retrieval
- getting information out of storage.
- If we can’t remember something, it may be because we are unable to retrieve it
Two types:
● Recognition → matching available information to previously stored information
● Recall:
- Free recall: remembering info without any prompts
- Cued recall: remembering info with prompts
- Serial recall: no prompts AND in the same order
,Multi store model of model
- explanation of memory proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin: assumes there are 3
memory stores, and info is transferred between stores in a linear sequence
Sensory register Short term memory Long term memory
Coding Info held a sensory Mainly acoustic Mainly semantic
specific ‘raw data’
Duration Approx 0.5s Approx 15-20s Up to a lifetime
Assumptions:
- Referred to as the structural model
- Info passed through in a linear way
- Three stores are distinct and separate
- STM and LTM are unitary stores (one store, no sub compartments
Processes: how information moves through the store e.g attention/rehearsal
Stores: the individuals store properties e.g STM/LTM
3 Stores:
● Sensory register
● Short term memory
● Long term memory
The nature of stores differ in terms of:
● Encoding
● Capacity
● Duration
Process needed for info to transfer between stores:
● Attention → STM has limited capacity, old info displaced for new
● Rehearsal → needed to keep information in the STM or transfer it to LTM
Evidence for separate stores in the MSM:
Glanzer and Cunitz (1966)
- Serial Position curve: primacy and recency effect
Procedure:
- P’s presented with a list of words one at a time
- Asked to recall the words in order
● Half p’s recalled words immediately after they’d
memorised them
● Other half of p’s counted backwards before the
recalled the words
Results →
, Multi - stage memory store questions
1. In the immediate recall condition which words were remembered
best?
The first and last words were remembered best
2. Referring to MSM, why do you think this happens?
The words early in the list were put into long term memory because the
person has time to rehearse each word acoustically. Words at the end of
the list went into the short term memory (which can generally hold
about 7 items. Words in the middle had been displaced within the
short term memory and not been there long enough to move into the
long term memory. When they remember first and last it is thought
they are recalling from two different stores
3. In the recall after distraction condition, which words were remembered
best?
The first words were remembered best
4. How can you explain the difference in recall between the immediate
recall and recall after distraction condition? Refer to MSM in you answer
The delay in recall meant that information in the short term memory
store was displaced during the distraction task therefore preventing the
recency effect.
5. Do these results support or challenge the MSM and why?
The primacy and recency effect can be taken together to show that
there are two separate stores that memory can be recalled from. With
the primary information recalled from the long term memory store and
recent information recalled from the short term store.
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