Memory Research - CODING, CAPACITY and DURATION

Memory Research - CODING, CAPACITY and DURATION

1. Coding

   • The format in which information is processed and stored
   • Baddeley
     • Semantics
       • Long-term memory
     • Acoustics
       • Short-term memory
     • Different list of words to four groups
       • When asked to recall short term- Acoustically similar did worse
         • When asked to recall long term- Semantically similar worse did worse
     • Artifical Stimuli
       • Difficult to generalise the results because the task doesn't have much ecological validity

2. Capacity

   • The amount of information that can be held in a memory store
   • Digit Span
     • Jacobs
       • Given number of digits and asked to repeat out loud in correct order
         • Mean number span for numbers 9.3
         • Mean number span for letters 7.3
       • Susceptible to temporal validity (1887)
         • Likely to be less controlled
           • Less validity
         • Yet does have research support, increasing reliability
   • Chunking
     • Miller
       • Noted the rule of 7's
         • Days of week
         • Post codes
         • Musical Scale
         • Everyday Practices
       • Can recall 5 words, as well as; they can recall 5 letters
         • Grouping into units
       • Research to contradict- Cowan (only 4 chunks)
         • Therefore, lower end of estimate in more apporiate

3. Duration

   • The length of time the information can be held in a memory store
   • Peterson and Peterson
     • TRIGRAMS
       • PSD 147
         • Had to count back in threes from that number
     • Repeated at 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 or 18 seconds
     • Duration of STM is very short, unless allowed to verbally rehearse
     • 24 Students
     • Spontaneous Decay
       • Counting down during interval would have led to displacement
         • Reducing the strength of peterson and petersons research
       • Very artificial task, which limits the ecological validity
   • Bahrick
     • LTM Duration
     • 392 P's from Ohio, aged 17-74
     • Recall tested from PHOTOS and FREE RECALL
     • Photo recall within 15 years of graduation = 90%
       • Photo recall after 48 years of graduation = 70%
     • Free recall within 15 years of graduation = 60%
       • Free recall after 48 years of graduation = 30%

4. Long-term

5. Short-term