Discuss the coding, capacity and duration of the sensory register, short-term memory and long-term memory.

Revision Notes

Aug 27

11 min read

Updated: Oct 7

Question 10 Mark Scheme

Discuss the coding, capacity and duration of the sensory register, short-term memory and long-term memory.

[16 marks]

What is expected in the answer?

The command word “discuss” requires students to demonstrate accurate knowledge of the coding, capacity and duration of all three memory stores, and then evaluate the evidence used to establish these features. For 16 marks, students need an extended response that covers the sensory register, short-term memory (STM) and long-term memory (LTM) and includes developed discussion rather than simply listing their characteristics.

This content maps directly onto the current AQA specification, which requires knowledge of the sensory register, STM and LTM and the coding, capacity and duration of each store.

Marks for this question: AO1 = 6, AO3 = 10

As this is an original question rather than an existing AQA examination question, this is an AQA-style allocation. AQA typically allocates AO1 = 6 and AO3 = 10 to a 16-mark discussion question without a scenario or application requirement.

Level	Marks	Description
4	13-16	Knowledge of coding, capacity and duration across the three memory stores is accurate and generally well detailed. Discussion is thorough and effective. Research evidence is used effectively to support, challenge or qualify conclusions about the stores. The answer is clear, coherent and focused, with effective use of specialist terminology. Minor detail or expansion may occasionally be lacking.
3	9-12	Knowledge of the features of the memory stores is evident, although there may be occasional inaccuracies or omissions. Discussion is mostly effective and relevant evidence is used appropriately. The answer is generally clear and organised but may lack focus or development in places.
2	5-8	Limited knowledge of coding, capacity and duration is present. One or more stores or features may receive insufficient coverage. The response is mainly descriptive and discussion is only partly effective. Research may be described without explaining what it demonstrates about memory.
1	1-4	Knowledge of the features of memory is very limited or muddled. Coverage may be restricted to one store or feature. Discussion is limited, poorly focused or absent. Specialist terminology is absent or used inaccurately.
0	0	No relevant content.

Indicative content

Key terms

Credit accurate explanation of:

Coding, the form in which information is represented or stored in memory.
Capacity, the amount of information that can be held in a memory store.
Duration, the length of time information can remain in the store.

Students should then distinguish the three stores.

Summary of the memory stores

AQA's specimen materials give the following values for the features of the multi-store model.

Memory store	Coding	Capacity	Duration
Sensory register	Modality-specific	Unlimited	Approximately 250 milliseconds
Short-term memory	Mainly acoustic/phonetic	Approximately 7 ± 2 items	Approximately 18-30 seconds
Long-term memory	Mainly semantic	Unlimited	Potentially forever

These figures should be treated as general estimates, rather than suggesting that every person's memory operates at an identical fixed limit.

AO1: Sensory register

Credit relevant knowledge such as:

The sensory register is the first store through which incoming sensory information passes.
Coding is modality-specific, meaning information is represented according to the sensory modality in which it is received.
Its capacity is very large, described as unlimited in AQA's specimen material.
Its duration is extremely brief, approximately 250 milliseconds in the specimen material.
Information that receives attention can pass into STM, while unattended information is rapidly lost.

Students do not need to give lengthy detail about the processes of the multi-store model because the question specifically focuses on coding, capacity and duration.