IB Psychology HL - CLOA - Evaluation of a Cognitive Process

proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968)

- early example of information-processing approach

sensory memory

short term memory

long term memory

storage system that holds unprocessed information for a second or less

has a store for each type of sensory memory

filters out useless information and enables us to focus on important details

iconic (visual)

echoic (auditory)

haptic (touch)

decays rapidly (1s for iconic, 2-4s for echoic)

unlimited

info is picked up by the senses

core process responsible for transfer of info from sensory stores to STM store

a limited-capacity memory system to store info for brief periods of time

info is lost unless it is rehearsed (via repetition)

if rehearsed enough, the item can be transferred to the LTM

15-30 seconds (Peterson and Peterson, 1959)

5-9 units (Miller, 1956)

acoustic (Baddeley, 1966)

holds a vast quantity and variety of info

can be stored for long periods of time

includes personal memories, general knowledge, skills and expertise…

transferred to STS via retrieval

48 years (Bahrick et al, 1975)

unlimited

primarily semantic (Baddeley, 1966), but can also be acoustic and visual

Key study: Baddeley, 1966

first and crucial process of creating memories

allows info to be converted into concepts that can be stored within the brain

to be recalled later, from the STM or LTM

Loss due to passage of time

Loss due to replacement by other memories

Rehearsal of memory gets interfered during retrieval

pattern that emerges when recall is plotted against the position of the words in the list

occurs due to primary-recency effect

Main studies:

- Baddeley (1966)

to test the primary-recency effect

- investigating encoding in the short term memory store

Participants were given lists of words that were:

- acoustically similar (cat, mat...)

- acoustically different (pen, cow...)

- semantically similar (boat, ship...)

- semantically different (book, tree...)

Their recall of the words were tested.

better recall of acoustically different than acoustically similar words

more errors found in reciting acoustically similar words

slightly better recall of semantically different words than semantically similar words

the first and last words were better remembered

results fell into a pattern known as the “serial position curve”

the first few words were better remembered because the subject had more time to rehearse them, so they entered the LTS store

the last few words were better remembered because they were still in the short term memory store

provides evidence for multi-store model

info in STS is encoded acoustically because recall is affected by sound of words

info in LTM is encoded semantically because recall is affected by meaning of words

controlled environment to allow researchers to analyze cause-effect

but lacks ecological validity

serial position curve and free-recall experiments

| - anterograde amnesia

experiment in which participants are given a list of items to memorize

items are usually presented one at a time

participants are asked to recall the words, in any order

Study: Glanzer and Cunitz (1966)

pattern that emerges when recall is plotted against position of word in the list

occurs due to primary-recency effect

investigate how the primary-recency effect was affected by time delays

participants were shown a list of 15 words to memorize

they were asked to recall the words in any order

Condition 1: asked to recall immediately after being shown the list

Condition 2: asked to recall 30 seconds after being shown the list

immediate-recall participants showed primary-recency effect

delayed-recall participants only showed primary effect

this was due to the first few words being rehearsed more and thus being stored in LTM

the last few words were stored in the STM, so a time delay would have canceled the recency effect

Clive Wearing

a musician that contracted a viral infection encephalitis

this left him with serious brain damage to the hippocampus, causing memory impairment

He suffers from:

anterograde amnesia: impairment in ability to remember after a particular incident

retrograde amnesia: impairment in ability to remember before a particular incident

Main study: Sacks (2007)

To demonstrate memory processes between STM and LTM with regard to MSM

Wearings could talk, read, write, and sight-read music scores

however, he couldn't transfer the info from STS to LTS

his memory lasts 7-30 seconds and he cannot form new memories

STM and LTM are separate memory stores

| - memories stored in LTM have a limited duration

realistic case study with in-depth info

| - however, as a case study, it cannot be generalised to the whole population

influential model that stimulated further research into memory processes

the model is still widely accepted and used

there is considerable evidence demonstrating the existence of separate STM and LTM stores

considers anterograde amnesia (Sacks, 2007)

supported by free recall experiements and the primary-recency effect (Glanzer and Cunitz, 1966)

a lot of studies support this model

demonstrates differences in encoding, duration, and capacity between stores

over-focused on structure, glossing over mechanism (functioning/processing)

Craik and Watkins (1973): rehearsal may not be that important for transferral to LTM

Eysenck and Keane (1995): most people rarely actively rehearse info in daily life yet info is being constantly transferred to LTM

Eysenck and Keane (2010): primarily semantic processing in STM, while LTM uses a wider variety (e.g. visual, acoustic, semantic)

reductionist; it oversimplifies memory processes

doesn't account for emotional aspects of memory

Baddeley and Hitch (1974): STM is more important than Atkinson and Shiffrin's (1968) MSM gives it credit for

MSM ignores other factors affecting retention (e.g. effort, memory-retaining strategies

under-emphasises interaction between memory stores

describe MSM (Atkinson and Shiffrin, 1968): encoding, duration, retrieval

include background info/reasons for every point

give your own judgment and opinion supported by evidence

discussing strengths and limitations

make clear comments about MSM's significance, usefulness (e.g. how applicable it is, its usefulness in explaining sth), accuracy

discuss the extent to which the theory can be universally applied – are the explanations culturally- or gender-specific?

evaluate strengths and limitations of methodology

judge validity and reliability

discuss sampling method and relate to the issue of generalizability of findings