Short Term Memory as a Function of Retention Interval

Problem

To demonstrate experimentally short term memory as a function of retention interval.

Introduction

Remembering refers to the process by which the already learnt materials are brought back
to the present consciousness through various methods. The items or materials learnt are
stored in the brain in the form of neural traces or brain traces. There are two types of storage
mechanisms involved in remembering.

(i) Remembering of the events experienced or learnt in the immediate past.

The existance of these two different memory systems has been recognised by the
psychologists and these are labelled as short term memory (STM) and long term memory
(LTM) respectively. Long term memory (LTM) exists for a longer period. It is also known
as secondary memory. In such a memory materials are stored for hours, days, months and
even years together. LTM has unlimited storing capacity. Informations, knowledges and
skills stored in the LTM are relatively permanent compared to STM. The new information
must undergo a period of consolidation to enter long term storage. Through the process of
rehearsal, repetition and practice the STM may be at any time converted to LTM. A poem
learnt during school years can be recalled even when one is 70 years because it has been
repeated and rehearsed several times during these years. This is LTM. In the view of
Kimbel and Germazy (1980) "one way of looking at it is to say that immediate and short
term memory supply the code that we use to store materials in more lasting memory and
later on to retrieve them". Atkinson and Shiffrin (1971) have provided a flow chart for this
two process theory of memory.

Short term memory otherwise known as Primary Memory controls memory for short
periods i.e. remembering for a few seconds or minutes. It is synonymous with span of
attention, span of apprehension and span of memory. In a free recall test the E reads or
exposes a list of words to the 'S' and asks the 'S' to recall, usually the 'S' recalls the first and
last words correctly than the words located in the middle area because of the operation of
law of primary and recency respectively. But instead of taking immediate recall if the
retention test is delayed for say 10-15 seconds, the recency effect almost disappears and
after 30 seconds it completely disappears. Hence, the last items are no more recalled
correctly. This has been found by Glanzer and Cunitz (1966) in hundreds of laboratory
experiments on memory conducted on college students.

The reasons of such forgetting is attributed to the fact that the last items were in short term
memory and so were lost. In our day to day life we meet several such experiences. Some
one gives you a number to dial after 30 seconds. Though you seemed to remember it then
and hence did not feel the need to record it, after half a minute you find that you have
forgotten the number. A new attendant has jointed to help you in domestic work. He tells
you his name but after a minute you cannot recall his name, so you again ask him. This is
because of short term memory. In our daily life we often find STM lasing for 15 to 30
seconds. These short term memories become permanent and long term because of repeated
practice and rehearsal day by day.

In a classic experiment Peterson and Peterson (1959) studied short term memory in a
different way. The SS were asked to recall three lettered sequences after extremely short
periods of time (i.e., after a single exposure to a stimulus). They gave the following
instruction to the S. I will speak some letters and then a number. You are to repeat the
number immediately after I say it and begin counting backwards by 3S from that number
in time with the ticking you hear.. I might say ABC-309. Then you say 309, 306, 303 etc.,
until I say stop. When I say stop, you should stop counting and say the letters that you
heard in the beginning of the trials". The counting was done to prevent rehearsal. The
intervals between presentation and signal of recall were 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18 seconds. The
experimenter found that after 18 seconds complete forgetting occurred, percentage of
retention being zero. This happened because of decay theory of forgetting. Particularly
when nonsense combination of consonants or trigrams are used there is forgetting with the
lapse of each second because of lack of meaningful associations.

In another study of STM, Contrad (1964) found that errors made in reporting "Sounds
alike" letters were four times more frequent than confusion of letters that did not sound
alike. Although STM is more often experienced in verbal materials because of their
pronunciations even in learning through similar sense modalities like seeing a picture
(Visual), smell of Jasmine (Olfactory), taste of sugar (Gustatory) and touch of balm
(Tactual), STMS are also evident. In such cases after 15-20 seconds one may not be able
to recall the exact sensations and experiences.

The most significant feature of short term memory is its limited capacity. Thus the memory
span for a single repetition of list of number is by and large about 6 to 7 items. As Miller
(1956) has pointed out, without regrouping or reorganising the information as it is received,
most people can not hold in their memory more than seven items after one exposure.
However if the items are organised in groups the range of short term memory would
obviously become higher.

According to Morgan and King (1978) the limited capacity of short term memory has an
important implication. The greater the load on short term memory the more likely it is that
new information coming in will be lost and will never make it in to long term memory.
From the fore going discussion the following differences between LTM & STM can be
indicated.

1. Capacity : STM has a limited capacity and with practice the capacity increases. LTM
has a greater capacity and its persistence is longer.
2. Rehearsal : With rehearsal and practice STM becomes LTM
3. In STM there is brief presentation of stimuli and immediate recall is taken. In LTM recall
may be delayed and may be taken after a long period.
Hypothesis

As retention interval increases, short term retention decreases.

Method of study

Note. A list of 40 single trigrams (10 in each list) is to be prepared for auditory presentation
to the 'S'. There are to be four retention intervals of different durations like 3, 9, 15 ad 18
seconds.

At start, one trigram is to be read out to the 'S' and a 3-digit number is to follow.
Immediately the 'S' is to start counting backwards by 3's until stop is said. Immediately
after, 'S' is to recall the trigrams within 10 seconds. A rest of 10 seconds is to be given after
each trial and one minute after every 5th trial.

Subject- An undergraduate college student.

(a) Preparation- Preparation of materials should be made as per the preplanned design.
The 'S' is to asked to sit comfortably and relax in front of the E. Then the following
instruction is to be given to the 'S.

(b) Instructions- "After you hear "start" I will speak some letters and then a number. You
are to repeat the number immediately after I say it and begin counting backwards by 3 s
from that number. For instance I might say MZP-309. Then you say 309, 306,303 etc. until
you hear "Stop". Now stop counting immediately and say the letters that were read to you
in the beginning of the trials.

(c) Conduction- The experiment is to be conducted as per the preplanned design. Data is
to be recorded in the Raw Data Table and the introspective report is to be recorded
immediately after the experiment is over.

Introspective Report

Reply to the following questions to be obtained from the 'S'

(i) What difficulty did you face in recalling the three lettered trigrams read to you?
(ii) In which retention interval you could feel comfortable to recall correctly?
(iii) Did you find any difficulty to recall the material when the length of rest interval
increased? If so, why?
(iv) Was it easier to remember the trigrams when the retention interval was short, if so,
why?
(v) Any other comments.
Result table

Condition Retention No. of Total no. of items % retained % of

Graph to be plotted

Bar diagram are to be prepared to compare the amount of retention after different amount
of rest intervals.

Interpretation and Conclusion

State the amount of forgetting for each retention interval and show the difference between
them.

Finally, the hypothesis in the present experiment is accepted as the results clearly indicate
that the amount of short term retention is invariably related to the length of the retention
interval.