What's covered
Key facts
Processes and types of memory
Acoustic encoding stores information as sound, e.g. repeating a phone number.
Reconstructive memory: Bartlett's War of the Ghosts
Bartlett's study aimed to test whether memory is reconstructed using schemas rather than recalled exactly.
The multi-store model: Murdock's serial position
A delay or counting task before recall removes the recency effect but leaves primacy intact, showing recency relies on STM.
Processes and types of memory
A practical application is revision: encoding by meaning (semantic) gives deeper, longer-lasting long-term memory than rote repetition by sound (acoustic).
Reconstructive memory: Bartlett's War of the Ghosts
Bartlett concluded that memory is reconstructive: people change recall to fit their own schemas and beliefs.
The multi-store model: Murdock's serial position
Long-term memory has an unlimited capacity and can last a lifetime.
Processes and types of memory
Clive Wearing lost his episodic memory but kept his procedural memory (he can still play the piano), supporting the idea that there are separate types of long-term memory.
Reconstructive memory: Bartlett's War of the Ghosts
Bartlett conducted the War of the Ghosts study in 1932.
The multi-store model: Murdock's serial position
Long-term memory mainly codes information semantically (by meaning).
Processes and types of memory
Encoding is converting (inputting) information into a form that can be held in memory.
Practice questions with answers
A taste of the 58 questions in this topic, answers marked. Sign up to practise the full set with spaced repetition.
Which memory process converts information into a form that can be held in memory?
- ✓Encoding
- •Rehearsal
- •Retrieval
- •Storage
In which year did Bartlett conduct the War of the Ghosts study?
- •1914
- ✓1932
- •1956
- •1968
What research method did Wilson, Kopelman and Kapur (2008) use with Clive Wearing?
- •A cross-sectional survey
- •A field experiment
- •A laboratory experiment
- ✓A longitudinal case study
Which of these is one of the three types of encoding?
- •Episodic encoding
- •Procedural encoding
- ✓Semantic encoding
- •Sensory encoding
What did Bartlett's study aim to test about memory recall?
- •How quickly forgetting happens after first learning something
- •Whether memory capacity is limited to about seven items
- ✓Whether memory is reconstructed using schemas rather than recalled exactly
- •Whether rehearsal moves memories into long-term storage
What are the three stores in the multi-store model of memory?
- •Encoding store, retrieval store, storage store
- •Iconic store, echoic store, semantic store
- ✓Sensory register, short-term memory, long-term memory
- •Sensory register, working memory, episodic memory
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