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A* Alevel Psychology Notes - Memory
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A* Alevel Psychology Notes - Memory
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AQA AS Psychology Unit 1: MemoryIntroduction
Memory is generally seen as one of the easiest within unit 1. This may be because the link to
memory somehow makes it easier… to remember. Regardless, the topic is primarily concerned with
an explanation for the process of memory, one of the opaquest processes in the brain. Memory
seems to contribute to part of our identity, part of our learning and our capacity to use learning in
decision making. As we cannot directly see how memory works, we must make models to describe
the complex features of memory. This is the chief concern of the content here, with additional focus
on forgetting as an interesting facet of memory and EWT as an example of how memory relates to
everyday life.
Models of Memory
This sub-topic concerns the basic about what memory is, how we can categorise it and the leading
models psychologists have developed in order to analyse and explain the processes by which
memory works. Questions on this topic could take a variety of forms, although the content difficulty
is one of the simplest across the specification. Consider always the validity of any research or
theories you discover here, memory is immediately apparent to be an extraordinarily complex
process, and the fact that you are being asked to describe extremely simplified models of this
process means you should always be aware of the ability to criticise such models.
Key knowledge areas for the exam include:
Short and long term memory characteristics and differences
Types of LTM
The multi-store model
The working memory model
Short & Long-term Memory
Memory of events in the immediate past is often referred to as our STM. Memory for events in the
distant past is known as LTM. Your key task in the exam is to show you understand the difference
between the two. The easiest way to accomplish this is to compare these separate stores in terms of
their capacity, duration and encoding.
Capacity
This concerns how much data can be held in a memory store. In basic terms, STM has a limited
capacity whereas LTM has a potentially infinite capacity. Jacobs (1887) found that the digit span for
numbers was 9.3 on average and for letters was 7.3, perhaps as there are more letters than
numbers. Miller (1956) identified the 7 +/-2 rule, again suggesting the span of immediate recall is
about 7 items. Miller also found that we can chunk letters together (i.e. into words) without a
discrepancy in memory. All this indicates the limited capacity of STM
, -Evaluation
Cowan (2001) reviewed a number of studies on STM capacity and concluded that STM is limited, but
even more so than first thought. Research on visual rather than verbal stimuli in particular shows
that four items may be a more realistic average. This enforces the notion that whilst we have a clear
idea that STM is limited, there is still work to be done to find the exact parameters.
Others have also argued that the size of a chunk/item in STM does indeed matter. Simon (1974)
found participants had lower recall for larger chunks such as 8 word phrases than small chunks such
as 1 syllable words. This indicates again that review is still potentially needed in many areas of
memory research.
There is also a large scope for individual differences in STM capacity. Jacobs also found that digit
span increased steadily with age, with the mean for 8 year olds being 6.6 digits whereas for 19 year
olds it was 8.6 digits. This may be due to biological improvements or learned memory strategies,
either way it suggests we should moderate for the individual when trying to model memory.
Duration
In simple terms, LTM potentially lasts forever but STM has a short duration without repetition.
Peterson & Peterson (1959) studied STM duration in 24 students over eight trials. Each trial included
a consonant syllable and 3-digit number. Recall was tested via recollection of the consonant syllable
after multiples of 3 second intervals up to 18 seconds. Rehearsal was prevented by asking them to
count backwards from the number. Recall was 90% after 3 seconds, 20% after 9 and only 2% after
18. This suggests a very short STM duration of less than 18 seconds if rehearsal is prevented.
Bahrick et al (1975) investigated the duration of LTM in a study involving 400 participants aged 17-
74. When asked to recognise class mates amongst 50 photos, those who had graduated up to 15
years ago had 90% recall, declining to 70% after 48 years. This suggests LTM has very little decay
over time and thus a very lengthy duration.
-Evaluation
Findings on STM can be criticised as consonant syllable recall does not accurately reflect everyday
memory activities. This lack of mundane realism means we can question the external validity of the
study. However, we often do try to remember meaningless sequences such as postcodes, so there is
some relevance.
Furthermore, the Petersons results were arguably due to displacement, where information in STM
is overridden. Research using auditory tones instead of numbers finds a longer duration for STM.
This suggests the low recall in the Petersons study was down to displacement rather than decay.
Encoding
Coding, the final differentiation, refers to the way in which memory is written (coded) into each
store. Different codes include acoustic, visual and semantic. Baddeley (1966) found that participants
had difficulty remembering acoustically similar but semantically different words (e.g. Cat, cab, can,
cap) in STM but little in LTM. Conversely, semantically similar but acoustically different words (e.g.
Small, short, tiny, insignificant) were difficult in LTM but not STM. This suggest STM is largely coded
acoustically and LTM semantically.
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