AS Psychology: Cognitive Psychology

AS Psychology:

Unit 1 PSYA1 (January exam)

Memory – Models of Memory

Booklet 1 (of 2)

Background to memory

A definition of memory could be:

“The process by which we retain information about events that have happened in the past. This includes fleeting (short term) memories as well as memories that last for longer (long term)”

There is an interdependence of learning and memory - learning would not occur unless there was somewhere to retain the information learnt and if learning did not occur there would be no content in memory.

The process of memory has 3 stages:

In order for information to be stored it has to have been registered, however everything that is registered is not necessarily stored (selective attention). Likewise, in order to retrieve information it has to have been stored, however the fact that something has been stored does not always mean that it will be retrieved.

Coding/encoding: Involves the transformation of a sensory input e.g. Sounds or images, into a form which allows it to be stored in memory. The coding of sensory information is usually visual, acoustic or semantic (in terms of meaning).

Storage: Involves the retention of information in memory. The storage of information may be temporary or permanent. The length of time information is stored is referred to as DURATION and the amount of information that can be stored is referred to as CAPACITY.

Retrieval: Involves the extraction of information from memory.

Characteristics of Memory (STM and LTM)

William James suggested that there were two types of memory store. The first holds information for a few seconds until you have used it e.g. remembering a phone number (Short Term Memory). The second type holds information for much longer periods – from a few minutes to a lifetime (Long Term Memory).

Short term memory (STM) and long term memory (LTM) differ from each other in 3 main ways (YOU MUST KNOW THE WAYS IN WHICH THEY DIFFER!!):

Capacity – the amount of information the memory store holds

STM:Research conducted by Jacobs using the ‘Digit Span Technique’ has suggested the capacity of STM is limited to between 5 & 9 items (or 7+/- 2 units).When new information comes into STM it pushes out the old information (displacement) due to this limited capacity.

Research:Jacobs supports the idea of a limited capacity with his research using the digit span technique. This involves reading a series of digits that get progressively longer. The individual is asked to repeat the digits in the right order. Jacobs found that participants could recall on average 7 +/- 2 digits (ie. 5-9 items of separate bits of information). He concluded that STM has a limited capacity and that new information coming into STM pushes out (displaces) the old information due to this limited capacity.

LTM:Research suggests that the capacity of LTM, on the other hand,

is unlimited.

Duration – the length of time the memory store holds information

STM:Research (such as that conducted by Peterson and Peterson) has suggested that information can only be held in STM for a short period of time (approximately 18 - 30 seconds). However this can be extended through rehearsal (i.e. repeating the information over and over).

Research:Peterson and Peterson’s asked 24 students to listen to a nonsense trigram (a random string of 3 letters e,g, WRT). Immediately after hearing the trigram, they heard a random 3 digit number and they were asked to count backwards in 3’s to prevent rehearsal of the trigram. The participants were asked for recall of the trigram after 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 or 18 seconds.

They found that the highest level of recall was after 3 seconds (about 90% recalled the trigram). This decreased rapidly as the seconds elapsed, until there was only 2% recalled after 18 seconds.

LTM:Research has suggested the duration of LTM, however, is only limited

by the length of human life. Even if information cannot be retrieved that does not mean that the information is not stored somewhere.

Coding – the way information is encoded (or processed)in the memory store

STM:The main coding system in STM seems to be acoustic. When a person is presented with a listof items to remember, they will try to hold them in STM by saying them over and over out loud.

Research: Baddeley supports this. He found that if participants were presented with a list of words that were acoustically similar (e.g. cat, cab, mat) and asked for immediate recall then they made errors as there was confusion based on the way the words sounded. He concluded that data in STM is stored acoustically.

LTM:Researchers agree that coding in LTM is mainly semantic (by meaning). We need to understand something (process its meaning) in order for it to be retained in our LTM.

Exam-Style Questions on Characteristics of Memory:

1) Using the list below, complete the table to distinguish between long-term memory and short-term memory. (3 marks)

Unlimited, Up to a Lifetime, 7 +/- 2 Items, Mainly Acoustic, Seconds, Mainly Semantic

CHARACTERISTICS / STM / LTM
Capacity
Encoding
Duration

2,It is argued that encoding in STM is mainly acoustic. In an experiment to investigatethis, a psychologist invited participants to a laboratory to compare their recall of the following two lists of letters.

List 1: BVTCDGEP

List 2: MRWLZYQA

All participants were read List 1 and then, after recalling List 1, were read List 2 and asked to recall it. The data was recorded in the table below and the number ofcorrectly recalled letters for each list was compared.

a) Examine the letters in each of the lists and explain why the investigator selected the letters in each list. (3 marks)

b) Which research method was used in this research study? Tick the correct box. (1 mark)

Laboratory Experiment
Field Experiment
Natural Experiment

c) Identify one weakness of this research method. (3 marks)

Models of Memory

A model is a representation of how something works. A model of memory is a basic idea of how the memory system operates, the various parts that make up the memory system and how the parts work together.

The most influential model of memory was developed by Atkinson & Shiffrin and is referred to as the multi-store model.

The Multi-Store Model (MSM) of Memory:

Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968):

Rehearsal

attention rehearsal

Sensory

input

Retrieval

Information not Information lost

encoded fades by displacement

or decay

Description of the Multi-Store Model (AO1):

Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) claimed that memory is comprised of three different structural memory stores. The sensory stores are constantly receiving information but most of this receives no attention. This incoming data remains in the sensory store for a very brief period. If the person’s attention is focused on the sensory store then the data is encoded and transferred into STM (this usually happens acoustically – based on how the information sounds). Here it can be lost through displacement (STM can only hold about 7 items) or decay (as the duration of STM is only approximately 30 seconds). If the information is rehearsed and understood then it can be transferred into the different store of LTM (this is mainly through semantic encoding – based on meaning). The LTM can hold an infinite amount of information and can hold it for up to a life time. Atkinson and Shiffrin proposed a direct link between rehearsal in STM and the strength of the long-term memory. When information needs to be recalled from LTM it is retrieved from STM into LTM.

Evaluation of the Multi-Store Model (AO2)

The main STRENGTHS of the MSM come from support for the idea that two separate memory stores do exist (i.e. STM and LTM)

KF suffered brain damage as the result of a motor bike accident. His STM was severely damaged and became impaired for verbal material such as spoken words, letters and numbers. He could only manage 2 digits on the digit span test. However his STM was largely unaffected for visual material and meaningful sounds. His LTM remained intact.

How does this support the MSM?

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However, one weakness of the MSM is that it suggests that the STM and LTM stores are unitary (meaning that there is only one type of STM and LTM). The case of KF can be used to challenge this:

As well as using the case of KF to support the MSM, the case can also be used to criticise the idea of ‘unitary’ stores & therefore criticise MSM-how?

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Brain scanning techniques have also been used to investigate memory. These scans have also suggested that STM and LTM are not ‘unitary’. Cohen and Squire proposed there are, in fact, different types of LTM (which are located in different areas of the brain) including:

Procedural: memory for skills (e.g. riding a bike).
Declarative: memory for specific facts (e.g. London is capital of England)
Episodic: memory for personal experiences (episodes) associated with particular time and place (e.g. first date, driving test)

Evidence against the MSM comes from the case of Clive Wearing. He was a highly talented musician who contracted a viral infection causing extensive brain damage. He still has use of his procedural memory (he can still play the piano) but has lost his declarative and episodic memory (e.g. he has no recollection of his wedding)

How does this criticise the MSM?

MSM Exam-Style Questions:

1)Outline the main features of the multi store model of memory(6 marks)

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2)Using the multi-store model of memory, outline how information is transferred from short-term memory to long-term memory. (2 marks)

3)Explain one strength of the multi store model (4 marks)

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4)Explain one weakness of the multi store model (4 marks)

5)The following are all concepts relating to memory:

A Duration

B Capacity

C Encoding

D Retrieval.

Definition / Concept
The length of time the memory store holds information
Transforming incoming information into a form that can be stored in memory

6)The multi-store model of memory has been criticised in many ways. The following example illustrates a possible criticism.

Some students read through their revision notes lots of times before an examination, but still find it difficult to remember the information. However, the same students can remember the information in a celebrity magazine, even though they read it only once.

Explain why this can be used as a criticism of the multi-store model of memory.

7)Outline and evaluate the multi-store model of memory.(12 marks)

The Working Memory Model

(An alternative to the Multi-Store Model)

Description of the Working Memory Model (WMM) (AO1):

The Working Memory Model (WMM)was developed by Baddeley & Hitch (1974) and arose out of criticisms aimed at the Multi-Store Model (MSM), particularly the idea that STM was a unitary store. The idea of a ‘working memory’ store emphasises that it is an active store made up of different components and not simply one big ‘stopping off station’ for information.There are 3 main components:

Central Executive:This is known as the ‘Boss’. This component can process information from any modality (sound, smell etc) and has responsibility for coordinating the activity needed to carry out more than one processing task at a time as well as starting the rehearsal process (amongst many other things).

This component has a very limited capacity but can delegate information to its two ‘slave systems’.

Crucially for the model, Baddeley & Hitch concluded that two tasks can be carried out simultaneously in STM provided that they are being dealt with by different parts of the memory. The LTM is seen as a passive store that maintains previously learned material for use by the STM when needed.

Evaluation of the Working Memory Model (WMM)

Empirical support: There is a large amount of scientific research to

support the claims of the WMM that STM is better seen as a number of independent processing systems rather than a single unitary store as proposed by the Multi-Store Model.For example, Shah and Miyake (1996) have shown that an individual can score high on spatial working memory yet low on verbal working memory and vice versa. This seems to demonstrate independent systems are at work. Furthermore, the WMM has helped to explain how participants are able to do two tasks requiring different slave systems (e.g. the phonological loop and the visuo-spatial scratchpad) and how they are impaired if tasks both require the same system (e.g. both tasks use the phonological loop).

Real-life application: The WMM has helped to improve our understanding of learning development. Baddeley et al (1998) have presented evidence that the phonological loop plays a key role in the development of reading and that the phonological loop is not operative in some children with dyslexia. This also has an important role in comprehending complex texts or learning new vocabulary. It has also been suggested that working memory capacity can be used as a measure of job suitability and research has considered its use as a recruitment tool for the US air force (Kyllonen and Christal, 1990).

Exact role of the Central Executive unclear: Researchers (e.g. Shah and Miyake, 1996) have questioned whether the Central Executive can be a single component or whether there are separate verbal and spatial

working memory systems.This is problematicbecause it could bring the accuracy of the whole WMM into question.

Fails to account for musical memory: Berz (1995) has criticised the WMM because it cannot explain why people are able to listen to instrumental music without impairing performance on other acoustic tasks. This is problematic as it hints that memory is more complicated than the WMM suggests.

Exam-style questions on the Working Memory Model

1,Outline key features of the working memory model. (6 marks)

2,Four of the following statements are descriptions of different

components of the Working Memory Model:

A Stores acoustically coded items for a short period

B Stores and deals with what items look like and the physical relationship

between them

C Encodes data in terms of its meaning

D Acts as a form of attention and controls slave systems

E Silently repeats words that are heard or seen

(a) In the table below, write down which description, A, B, C, D or E,

matches each component part of the model. (4 marks)

Components of Working Memory Model / Description of Components
Phonological Store
Visuo-Spatial Scratchpad
Articulatory Process
Central Executive

3,Explain one strength of the working memory model. (4 marks)

4, Explain one weakness of the working memory model. (4 marks)

5, Zac is playing a computer game which involves sorting coloured shapes that appear on the screen. He has to capture the shapes and drag them to the appropriate collection box. While he plays, he chats to Dan about a football match. When he has completed Level 1, he moves on to Level 2. Here, the shapes are replaced by words that have to be sorted according to their meaning. Zac begins to make mistakes and so stops talking to Dan.

With reference to features of the working memory model, explain why Zac can easily cope with Level 1 and chat to Dan but, when he gets to Level 2, he cannot do both things at the same time. (6 marks)

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8)Outline and evaluate the working memory model of memory. (12 marks)

1.IDENTIFY a criticism.

2.EXPLAIN what the criticism means…

3.EXAMPLE or EVIDENCE to back up your explanation

4.WHY is this a criticism??

The worst case scenario…

A limitation of the deviation from social norms definition of abnormality is that social norms change over time

A slightly better scenario…

A limitation of the deviation from social norms definition of abnormality is that social norms change over time.

This means that something that was once seen as unacceptable may nowadays be viewed as acceptable (e.g. homosexuality was legalised in Britain in 1967)

The best case scenario…

A limitation of the deviation from social norms definition of abnormality is that social norms change over time.

This means that something that was once seen as unacceptable may nowadays be viewed as acceptable (e.g. homosexuality was legalised in Britain in 1967)

Thisis a problem because the definition doesn’t stand the test of time because social norms are subject to change.

Activity:

Try the following using the 3-point rule:

One problem within the deviation from ideal mental health definition of abnormality is ‘ethnocentrism’

This means ……………………………………………………………………………………………

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This is problematic because the definition can’t be generalised to other cultures. In particular, the fact that collectivist cultures don’t place emphasis on autonomy would mean they were seen as abnormal by the criteria.

A further problem with the deviation from ideal mental health definition of abnormality is that the criteria are too idealistic.

This means ……………………………………………………………………………………………

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This is a problem because…………………………………………………………………………

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