Memory overview: how to study the AQA GCSE Psychology memory topic

This overview maps the AQA GCSE Psychology memory topic (3.1), examined in Paper 1, Cognition and behaviour. Memory is one of the most testable topics because so much of it is precise, factual content: the stores, their capacity, duration and encoding, the types of long-term memory, and the named study by Bartlett.

What the memory topic covers

AQA breaks memory into four connected areas, each with its own answer page on this site.

• The multi-store model. Atkinson and Shiffrin's model of three separate stores (sensory register, short-term and long-term memory), their capacity, duration and encoding, and how attention and rehearsal move information between them.
• Types of memory. The three types of long-term memory (episodic, semantic and procedural), with examples and how they are distinguished.
• Encoding and retrieval. Acoustic and semantic encoding, the reconstructive nature of memory shown by Bartlett's War of the Ghosts, and how cues and context aid retrieval.
• Factors affecting memory. Interference, context and false memories, plus the two explanations of forgetting: interference and retrieval failure.

The facts examiners reward

Memory questions reward precise figures and named evidence, so learn these exactly.

1. Capacity, duration and encoding of each store. Sensory register: large capacity, under a second. Short-term memory: about 7 plus or minus 2 items, 18 to 30 seconds, acoustic. Long-term memory: unlimited, up to a lifetime, semantic.
2. The named study. Bartlett's War of the Ghosts (1932) and what it showed about reconstructive memory.
3. The two processes in the model. Attention moves information from the sensory register to short-term memory; rehearsal moves it to long-term memory.

How to study memory

Memory rewards exact recall combined with the ability to evaluate.

1. Learn the figures by heart. The capacity, duration and encoding of each store are guaranteed marks if you state them precisely.
2. Tie every claim to evidence. Use Bartlett for reconstruction and case studies of brain-damaged patients to support separate stores and separate types of memory.
3. Practise evaluation. Longer questions ask you to weigh strengths and weaknesses of the multi-store model, so prepare a balanced paragraph.
4. Apply forgetting to scenarios. Be ready to identify interference or retrieval failure in an unfamiliar situation.

The dot points in this topic

Each area has a dot-point answer page and a quiz. Browse the full set at /gcse-aqa/psychology/syllabus.

For the official specification

AQA publishes the full specification (8182), past papers and mark schemes at aqa.org.uk. Always revise from the current specification and AQA's own past papers, because question style is board-specific.