Chapter 10 Suggested Answers
Review 10.1
1 The three processes involved in memory:
a. Encoding: process of converting information into a form that can be stored
in memory.
b. Storage: process of keeping information in the brain so that it can be
accessed for use at a later time;
c. Retrieval: process of getting information back from our memory storage for
use.
2 An analogy for ‘retrieval’ can be opening a Word document file on a computer, and
getting the details of the document up on the screen.
Review 10.2
1. The Atkinson-Schiffrin multi-store model of memory:
2. Information not attended to in sensory memory is lost (not transferred to STM).
3. Memories in LTM are considered relatively permanent–they remain there but we
may not always be able to access them.
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Investigate 10.1
Student activity
Investigate 10.2
1. The three experimental hypotheses for Sperling’s experiment:
i. Subjects exposed to brief visual images using a tachistoscope will be able to
store them in iconic memory for a brief duration for recall.
ii. Subjects exposed to symbols for one twentieth of a second using a
tachistoscope will be able to recall a limited number.
iii. The longer the delay between presentation of symbols, the more symbols
will be forgotten.
2. IV:
DV:
sensory images (symbols) flashed on screen using tachistoscope
recall of symbols
3. The DV was operationalised to the mean number of symbols recalled.
4. Experimental design used was a repeated measures design.
5. Limitation of repeated measures:
practice effect (or fatigue/boredom)
Advantage of repeated measures: participant variables controlled (same participants for
each part of the experiment)
6. Potential confounding variables: participants did not fully understand the instructions or
correctly remember the instructions
7. If Sperling’s subjects were shown pictures instead of symbols, the results are likely to have
been quite different. It may have taken more time to identify and name a picture, hence
reduced the number of items recalled before the image began to decay. Symbols are faster to
identify.
Investigate 10.3
Student activities
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Investigate 10.4
PART 1: Miller’s Study (1956)
1
Miller’s study:
IV: chunking items to be remembered into groups of items
DV: number of items recalled
2
Operational DV: mean number of items recalled
3
Subjects using the method of ‘chunking’ to place items into groups will increase the mean
number of individual items recalled.
4
Repeated measures design would be the most effective method to use, as it eliminates any
individual participant variables regarding memory ability.
5
Extraneous variables that might need to be controlled:
6

distractions to enable focus (because distraction will reduce memory storage and
therefore recall) – hold experiment in a sound-proofed room with no visual or
auditory distractions

items familiar to subjects (for comparable fairness to all subjects) – use common
items or numbers or letters for stimuli

participants screened for poorly functioning or exceptional memory ability, which
may bias the results

participants screened for hearing/vision ability – ensures this is not going to hinder
ability to register information in sensory memory to STM
Potential confounding variables:

time of day for conducting experiment: may affect concentration of subjects

number of hours sleep subjects had night before task: may affect concentration of
subjects

items chosen for study: meaningfulness of different items will vary for each subject
(and therefore impact upon ease of grouping items together)
7
Chunking items into ‘7 plus/minus 2’ groups will improve the number of individual items
able to be recalled.
8
Ethical issues: Subjects may not have been debriefed properly, and left feeling inadequate
about their memory ability. In 1956 the ethical issues that need to be addressed today would
not have been in place, so it was unlikely that there was informed consent, etc.
PART 2: Student activity
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Investigate 10.5
1
Peterson & Peterson’s (1959) study:
i. Experiment 1:
IV: period of delay for recall of trigram (3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18 sec)
DV: percentage recall of trigrams
ii. Experiment 2:
IV: period of time for filled delay for recall of trigram
DV: percentage recall of trigrams
2
Repeated measures design
3
Limitation of repeated measures:
4
Extraneous variables to be controlled:
5
practice effect (or fatigue/ boredom)

distractions – use a sound-proofed room to minimise distractions

time of day – all subjects tested at same time of day

concentration ability – screen subjects for adequate sleep, medication, drugs, etc.,
that may influence concentration
Conclusions:
i. Experiment 1: recall for a trigram declines following an increasing period of
delay
ii. Experiment 2: recall for a trigram is poor following periods of filled delay
Investigate 10.6
1
Conrad’s (1964) study:
IV: rhyming or non-rhyming letters
DV: rate of recall of letters
2
Experimental hypotheses:
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i. Presentation of rhyming letters will have a lower rate of recall as compared
to non-rhyming letters.
ii. Visual presentation of rhyming letters will have a lower rate of recall as
compared to visual presentation of non-rhyming letters.
3
A suitable experimental design for this study would be: repeated measures. This will
eliminate the participant variables that may impact upon the DV.
4
There are potential confounding variables: distractions, time of day conducted, and factors
that may influence subject concentration.
Investigate 10.7
PART 1: Student activity
PART 2: Bahrick et al, 1975
1
Bahrick et al, (1975) study: This study demonstrates that researching the capacity of LTM
can be difficult because it shows that different means of measuring memory can produce
very different results. For example, providing cues for recall can increase memory retrieval,
whereas free recall can produce poorer recall. This means that memories not recalled may be
as much about how they are recalled rather than having been forgotten.
2
IV: method of recall
DV: recall of names
3
Experimental hypotheses: Subjects using cues will have a higher rate of recall for names of
high school classmates as compared to those using no cues (free recall).
4
Independent groups would be a useful experimental design. Different subjects would be
required for each measure of recall to ensure there is no ‘practice’ effect or recent recall of
names.
Investigate 10.8
Student activity
Investigate 10.9
1
Baddeley’s (1966) study:
IV: type of word list
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DV: recall of words
2
IV (operational): type of word list (acoustically similar or different, semantically similar or
different)
DV (operational): percentage recall of words
3
Experimental conditions: sound of words and meaning of words
4
Experimental hypothesis: Words stored according to sound will have a higher immediate
recall, whereas words stored according to meaning will be better recalled after a 20 minute
delay.
5
Experimental design: repeated measures
6
Potential confounding variables:

distraction: subjects placed in a room where distractions are minimised

time of day: all subjects participate in experiment under the same conditions/timing

concentration ability of subjects: screened for factors affecting concentration (e.g.
sleep, medication, stimulants, drugs)
7
Conclusion: Information is more effectively stored in LTM if it is semantically encoded
(according to meaning).
8
This study has enabled us to understand how we encode information into STM and LTM,
and therefore utilise this for learning.
Investigate 10.10
1
Type of research method: case studies
2
Limitations: difficult to generalise findings from a case study to the general population
3
Potential for ethical issues: Patient’s best interests might come after quest for knowledge
about brain damage and memory; patient subjected to a lot of testing–time-consuming and
may cause discomfort.
4
These studies contribute to our understanding of memory because they enable us to learn
more about how intact or normal brains function. By comparing the brains and memory
abilities of both ‘brain damaged’ and ‘intact brain’ people, it is possible to determine the
roles that these parts play in memory.
Investigate 10.11
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Student activity
Review 10.3
1 The Craik & Lockart model of levels of processing suggests that the type of
encoding we use determines how well we store it and therefore retrieve it. The three
levels of processing are:
Type of encoding
Structural: relates to
encoding information
according to the physical
structure of the letters/
words (i.e. use of capital
letters, italics, long, short)
Level of
processing
Shallow
Example
Book (starts with capital; has
double letters)
apple (starts with lower case
letter; has double letters)
Hippopotamus (long word)
Pig (short word)
Phonemic: relates to
encoding of information
according to the way the
word sounds
Semantic: relates to the
meaning of words;
enables us to link into our
semantic network
Hamper sounds like Camper
Moderate
Deep
Link words into meaningful
sentence: The dog stole the apple
from the hamper.
2 Deep processing is more effective than shallow processing because it enables
information to be linked into our semantic network (i.e. information already stored
in LTM). This therefore increases our ability to be able to store it effectively and
recall it when needed.
3 Creating a MIND MAP of key terms and definitions relating to memory would assist
us to encode information more deeply. By linking the key terms together if they
relate or are connected, it links them into our semantic network–accessing one
term/definition will then increase the likelihood of being able to recall related words.
This should increase our ability to recall information accurately for the test.
Investigate 10.12
Student activity
Unscrambled words are: Complex – doctor, tomato, eraser; Simple – memory, minute, summer
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Complex words should be better recalled, because they are more deeply encoded.
Investigate 10.13
PART 1: Student activity
PART 2: Which type of LTM?
semantic, semantic, episodic, episodic, episodic, semantic, procedural, semantic, semantic
Investigate 10.14
Student activity
Investigate 10.15
1
Collins & Quillian’s (1969) study:
IV: type of statement (level in hierarchy)
DV: reaction time for agreement/disagreement
2
Experimental hypothesis: Subjects will take longer to agree/disagree with statements that are
higher up in the information hierarchy in LTM.
3
Repeated measures
4
Potential confounding variables:
5

distraction – subjects placed in a room where distractions are minimised

time of day – all subjects participate in experiment under the same conditions/timing

concentration ability of subjects – screened for factors affecting concentration (e.g.
sleep, medication, stimulants, drugs)
Conclusion: Subjects took longer to react to statements that needed information from nodes
higher up the hierarchy.
Test your Understanding
1
d
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2
b
3
a
4
c
5
d
6
a
7
d
8
b
9
c
10 b
11 d
12 a
13 a
14 c
15 b
16 Jan can use semantic encoding to help remember her shopping list by grouping
together items that are similar, or are found in the same area of the supermarket. For
example: vegetables, fruit, breakfast items, baking goods, freezer items, fridge items,
etc.
17 Deeper processing improves the ability to recall words, because it links items into
the existing knowledge in our semantic network. The deeper and more elaborately
information is encoded, the more links are created and the better it is remembered.
18
19
Serial position effect:
a.
SPE suggests that we organise information into LTM in the same order in
which we learn it.
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b.
20
A serial position curve will begin with a high rate of recall for the first few
items in the list, followed by poor recall for items in the middle of the list,
followed by superior recall for the final few items in the list.
Baddeley’s model of working memory:
a.
b. Badddeley’s working model of memory suggests that we have a system
within which we consciously work on information (e.g. as we are speaking or
thinking). The original idea of STM was that it was a location for storage of
information as it was processed into LTM.
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