AQA PSYCHOLOGY, MEMORY EXAM QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS WITH COMPLETE SOLUTIONS
What is memory?
A cognitive process of coding, storing and retrieving information.
Define coding
The form in which information is stored in memory.
Coding can be.....
visual, auditory or semantic
Visual coding
coding in the mind in the form of a visual image
Auditory coding
coding in the mind in the form of a sound
Semantic coding
coding where you recall the meaning of the information
Define storage
Retaining the information from the mind
Define retrieval
,Recalling the information from memory
Define capacity
How much information can be held in memory
Define duration
The length of time information can be held in memory
Outline two advantages of using lab experiments to investigate memory
1. Lab experiments are easy to replicate which means they can be repeated in exactly the same way and
the reliability of findings can be assessed.
2. Lab experiments allow researchers to control extraneous variables (such as the environment and time
given to learn the numbers, letters or words) so we can conclude causal relationships between the
independent and dependent variables.
Explain why some people might criticise the use of lab experiments to investigate memory
Lab experiments may lack ecological validity as the environment of the study is often unfamiliar to
participants. This can mean their responses in a lab experiment may not be representative of the
participants' memory in everyday life. Furthermore, the way memory is assessed (giving participants lists
to remember) is different to memory in real life as we usually have some motivation or reason to learn
information in everyday life.
Name the two psychologists who proposed a theoretical model of memory and the year in which they
did so
Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968)
What is the theoretical model of memory?
,A simplified representation of memory
What is the purpose of the theoretical model of memory?
to summarise research findings on memory so far and stimulate further research to test the model
What is the central idea of the theoretical model of memory?
There is not a single store of memory but three
Name the three memory stores
- Sensory registers (SR)
- Short term memory (STM)
- Long term memory (LTM)
How long do sensory registers (SR) store information for?
The sensory registers (SR) store sensory information from the environment very briefly.
Describe the capacity of sensory registers (SR)
The sensory registers are believed to have a very large capacity but this is difficult to test because
information decays rapidly unless attention is paid to it.
Describe the duration of sensory registers (SR)
The sensory registers have a very limited duration of about 2 seconds.
What is the preferred coding form of the sensory registers (SR)?
There is no preferred form of coding in the SRs; information is stored in the form in which it enters.
Does each type of sensory information have the same store in the sensory registers (SR)?
, No, there are separate stores for each type of sensory information.
How is information lost from the sensory registers (SR)?
Information is lost through decay (the fading of the memory) if attention is not paid to it.
What is the short term memory (STM)?
Short term memory (STM) is a temporary information store.
When does information enter the short term memory (STM)?
When we pay attention to information in the sensory registers, information enters STM.
Describe the capacity of the short term memory (STM)
Short term memory has a limited capacity (of about 7 units of information).
Describe the duration of the short term memory (STM)
Short term memory has a limited duration (of about 30 seconds).
What is the preferred coding in the short term memory (STM)?
The preferred form of coding in STM is auditory; we hold information according to how it sounds.
How is information lost from the short term memory (STM)?
Information can be lost from short term memory through displacement (where information is pushed
out by new information).
How is information maintained in short term memory (STM)?
Maintenance rehearsal is repeating information to keep it from being displaced from STM.
Describe long term memory (LTM)
ANSWERS WITH COMPLETE SOLUTIONS
What is memory?
A cognitive process of coding, storing and retrieving information.
Define coding
The form in which information is stored in memory.
Coding can be.....
visual, auditory or semantic
Visual coding
coding in the mind in the form of a visual image
Auditory coding
coding in the mind in the form of a sound
Semantic coding
coding where you recall the meaning of the information
Define storage
Retaining the information from the mind
Define retrieval
,Recalling the information from memory
Define capacity
How much information can be held in memory
Define duration
The length of time information can be held in memory
Outline two advantages of using lab experiments to investigate memory
1. Lab experiments are easy to replicate which means they can be repeated in exactly the same way and
the reliability of findings can be assessed.
2. Lab experiments allow researchers to control extraneous variables (such as the environment and time
given to learn the numbers, letters or words) so we can conclude causal relationships between the
independent and dependent variables.
Explain why some people might criticise the use of lab experiments to investigate memory
Lab experiments may lack ecological validity as the environment of the study is often unfamiliar to
participants. This can mean their responses in a lab experiment may not be representative of the
participants' memory in everyday life. Furthermore, the way memory is assessed (giving participants lists
to remember) is different to memory in real life as we usually have some motivation or reason to learn
information in everyday life.
Name the two psychologists who proposed a theoretical model of memory and the year in which they
did so
Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968)
What is the theoretical model of memory?
,A simplified representation of memory
What is the purpose of the theoretical model of memory?
to summarise research findings on memory so far and stimulate further research to test the model
What is the central idea of the theoretical model of memory?
There is not a single store of memory but three
Name the three memory stores
- Sensory registers (SR)
- Short term memory (STM)
- Long term memory (LTM)
How long do sensory registers (SR) store information for?
The sensory registers (SR) store sensory information from the environment very briefly.
Describe the capacity of sensory registers (SR)
The sensory registers are believed to have a very large capacity but this is difficult to test because
information decays rapidly unless attention is paid to it.
Describe the duration of sensory registers (SR)
The sensory registers have a very limited duration of about 2 seconds.
What is the preferred coding form of the sensory registers (SR)?
There is no preferred form of coding in the SRs; information is stored in the form in which it enters.
Does each type of sensory information have the same store in the sensory registers (SR)?
, No, there are separate stores for each type of sensory information.
How is information lost from the sensory registers (SR)?
Information is lost through decay (the fading of the memory) if attention is not paid to it.
What is the short term memory (STM)?
Short term memory (STM) is a temporary information store.
When does information enter the short term memory (STM)?
When we pay attention to information in the sensory registers, information enters STM.
Describe the capacity of the short term memory (STM)
Short term memory has a limited capacity (of about 7 units of information).
Describe the duration of the short term memory (STM)
Short term memory has a limited duration (of about 30 seconds).
What is the preferred coding in the short term memory (STM)?
The preferred form of coding in STM is auditory; we hold information according to how it sounds.
How is information lost from the short term memory (STM)?
Information can be lost from short term memory through displacement (where information is pushed
out by new information).
How is information maintained in short term memory (STM)?
Maintenance rehearsal is repeating information to keep it from being displaced from STM.
Describe long term memory (LTM)
