Memory (AQA A-Level Psychology) Questions
with verified correct detailed answers latest
update 2025
1. How are STM and LTM distinguished?--- correct answers --- STM
and LTM are often distinguished in terms of their coding, capacity and
duration.
2. STM and LTM are often distinguished in terms of their coding,
what does this refer to?--- correct answers --- Coding refers to the
format in which information is stored in the various memory stores.
- Information enters the brain via the senses (e.g. eyes and ears)
and then is changed to another form so that it can be stored in
memory. It can be stored in the form of sounds (acoustic), images
(visual) or meaning (semantic)
3. STM and LTM are often distinguished in terms of their capacity,
what does this refer to?--- correct answers --- Capacity refers to the
amount of information that can be held in a memory.
4. STM and LTM are often distinguished in terms of their duration,
what does this refer to?--- correct answers --- Duration refers to the
length of time that information can be held in memory
5. What is the Sensory Register? (Sensory Store)
,- how it works--- correct answers --- - environmental stimuli ( the
sound of someone talking) enter the sensory register, comprising five
separate stores for each sense
- the primary stores are iconic (for visual information, initially
encoded visually) and echoic (for sound-based information, initially
encoded acoustically).
6. sensory store coding--- correct answers --- depending on the
sense that is picked up - e.g. visual, auditory or tactile. (modality
specific)
7. sensory store duration--- correct answers --- less than half a
second
8. sensory store capacity--- correct answers --- huge processing
capacity (millions or receptors)
9. What is Short-term memory (STM)?--- correct answers --- Short
term memory is your memory for immediate events. It temporarily
stores information received from the sensory register.
10. How is information transferred from the sensory register to
Short term memory?--- correct answers --- attention
11. What happens if information is not attended to when it enters
the sensory register?--- correct answers --- leads to spontaneous
decay
12. STM coding--- correct answers --- acoustically (Baddely 1966)
,13. STM capacity--- correct answers --- between 5 and 9 items
(Miller 1946)
14. STM duration--- correct answers --- 18-30 seconds unless it is
rehearsed (Peterson and Peterson 1959)
15. How is information transferred from STM to LTM?--- correct
answers --- prolonged rehearsal e.g verbally repeating a telephone
number
16. How is information transferred from LTM to STM?--- correct
answers --- retrieval
17. What is Long-term memory (LTM)?--- correct answers ---
memory for events that have happened in the more distant past
18. LTM coding--- correct answers --- semantically (Baddeley 1966)
19. LTM capacity--- correct answers --- potentially unlimited
20. LTM duration--- correct answers --- lifetime (Bahrick 1975)
21. Baddely (1966) on coding in STM and LTM
- procedure--- correct answers --- LABORATORY EXPERIMENT
- participants were given four sets of words to learn
- acoustically similar words (cat, cap, can) or dissimilar (pit, few,
cow)
- semantically similar (great, large, big) or dissimilar (good, huge,
hot).
, - they were required to recall the words in the original order
either immediately (testing STM) or after a 20-minute delay (testing
LTM)
22. Baddely (1966) on coding in STM and LTM
- findings--- correct answers --- - immediate recall worse with
acoustically similar words -> indicates acoustic coding in short-term
memory (STM)
- recall after 20 minutes worse with semantically similar words ->
suggests semantic encoding in long-term memory (LTM)
23. Why was immediate recall worse with acoustically similar
words?--- correct answers --- STM causing acoustic confusion and
becoming distracted by sounds of words thus not recalling in order
24. Why was prolonged recall worse with semantically similar
words?--- correct answers --- LTM causing semantic confusion and
becoming distracted by meaning of words thus not recalling in order
25. What is a strength of Baddeley's 1966 study on coding in STM
and LTM? Showed differences between stores--- correct answers --- •
showed differences between stores.
• Later research showed that there are some exceptions to
Baddeley's findings, e.g. types of coding.
• However, the idea that STM uses mostly acoustic coding and
LTM mostly semantic has stood the test of time.
with verified correct detailed answers latest
update 2025
1. How are STM and LTM distinguished?--- correct answers --- STM
and LTM are often distinguished in terms of their coding, capacity and
duration.
2. STM and LTM are often distinguished in terms of their coding,
what does this refer to?--- correct answers --- Coding refers to the
format in which information is stored in the various memory stores.
- Information enters the brain via the senses (e.g. eyes and ears)
and then is changed to another form so that it can be stored in
memory. It can be stored in the form of sounds (acoustic), images
(visual) or meaning (semantic)
3. STM and LTM are often distinguished in terms of their capacity,
what does this refer to?--- correct answers --- Capacity refers to the
amount of information that can be held in a memory.
4. STM and LTM are often distinguished in terms of their duration,
what does this refer to?--- correct answers --- Duration refers to the
length of time that information can be held in memory
5. What is the Sensory Register? (Sensory Store)
,- how it works--- correct answers --- - environmental stimuli ( the
sound of someone talking) enter the sensory register, comprising five
separate stores for each sense
- the primary stores are iconic (for visual information, initially
encoded visually) and echoic (for sound-based information, initially
encoded acoustically).
6. sensory store coding--- correct answers --- depending on the
sense that is picked up - e.g. visual, auditory or tactile. (modality
specific)
7. sensory store duration--- correct answers --- less than half a
second
8. sensory store capacity--- correct answers --- huge processing
capacity (millions or receptors)
9. What is Short-term memory (STM)?--- correct answers --- Short
term memory is your memory for immediate events. It temporarily
stores information received from the sensory register.
10. How is information transferred from the sensory register to
Short term memory?--- correct answers --- attention
11. What happens if information is not attended to when it enters
the sensory register?--- correct answers --- leads to spontaneous
decay
12. STM coding--- correct answers --- acoustically (Baddely 1966)
,13. STM capacity--- correct answers --- between 5 and 9 items
(Miller 1946)
14. STM duration--- correct answers --- 18-30 seconds unless it is
rehearsed (Peterson and Peterson 1959)
15. How is information transferred from STM to LTM?--- correct
answers --- prolonged rehearsal e.g verbally repeating a telephone
number
16. How is information transferred from LTM to STM?--- correct
answers --- retrieval
17. What is Long-term memory (LTM)?--- correct answers ---
memory for events that have happened in the more distant past
18. LTM coding--- correct answers --- semantically (Baddeley 1966)
19. LTM capacity--- correct answers --- potentially unlimited
20. LTM duration--- correct answers --- lifetime (Bahrick 1975)
21. Baddely (1966) on coding in STM and LTM
- procedure--- correct answers --- LABORATORY EXPERIMENT
- participants were given four sets of words to learn
- acoustically similar words (cat, cap, can) or dissimilar (pit, few,
cow)
- semantically similar (great, large, big) or dissimilar (good, huge,
hot).
, - they were required to recall the words in the original order
either immediately (testing STM) or after a 20-minute delay (testing
LTM)
22. Baddely (1966) on coding in STM and LTM
- findings--- correct answers --- - immediate recall worse with
acoustically similar words -> indicates acoustic coding in short-term
memory (STM)
- recall after 20 minutes worse with semantically similar words ->
suggests semantic encoding in long-term memory (LTM)
23. Why was immediate recall worse with acoustically similar
words?--- correct answers --- STM causing acoustic confusion and
becoming distracted by sounds of words thus not recalling in order
24. Why was prolonged recall worse with semantically similar
words?--- correct answers --- LTM causing semantic confusion and
becoming distracted by meaning of words thus not recalling in order
25. What is a strength of Baddeley's 1966 study on coding in STM
and LTM? Showed differences between stores--- correct answers --- •
showed differences between stores.
• Later research showed that there are some exceptions to
Baddeley's findings, e.g. types of coding.
• However, the idea that STM uses mostly acoustic coding and
LTM mostly semantic has stood the test of time.
