Controlled Laboratory studies are widely used in memory research. Evaluate the contribution made by two other approaches to memory research.

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Kirsty Nagle Y4035636        DSE212 TMA04                                17 Mar 2010

Controlled Laboratory studies are widely used in memory research. Evaluate the contribution made by two other approaches to memory research.

Psychologists have conceptualized the memory as having three key component processes; encoding, storage and retrieval.   Controlled laboratory studies are widely used to contribute to our understanding of these memory processes and to test the theories surrounding them. However, contributions from controlled laboratory experiments can be limited due to low ecological validity and its reliance upon the outsiders viewpoint. This paper aims to evaluate contributions to memory research made by two other approaches. The methods chosen for evaluation are Diary Studies and Neuropsychological case studies.  These methods are chosen due to the different levels of ecological validity and their ability to use an insiders viewpoint. A brief description of each method will be provided using findings from illustrative examples in order to identify and evaluate the contribution made to our understanding of the memory processes.  

In memory research, the information processing approach identifies memory as information passing through sub-systems. The sub-systems have limited capacity, and occur in a fixed sequence from sensory to short-term to long-term memory (Brace and Roth, 2007, p115). However, controlled laboratory studies used by psychologists such as Hermann Ebbinghaus who pioneered experimental study of memory (1885, found in Brace and Roth, 2007, p122) in order to understand coding, storing and retrieval of memories, overlooked any introspective meaning and the level of analysis lacked ecological value.  In a subject a s complex as understanding memory processes in relation to the mind and the brain, methodological diversity is very important. Naturally then, psychologists began to study the processes from different perspectives using introspection, and also at a biological level providing different levels of analysis.

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Psychologists such as Marigold Linton (1982) used a personal diary to record events in her own life in a pioneering study of autobiographical memory (found in Brace and Roth, 2007, p139).  The primary strength of a diary study methodology is that it allows for the collection of data from real people in real situations allowing for high ecological validity. Investigators are able to collect a large amount of very specific data about events or psychological states of interest over time, from and insider viewpoint.  Linton not only recorded the events but she also allocated specific meanings to the events, such ...

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