Factors that affect the duration of LTM.

Experimental techniques - People seem to be able to remember things from a distant past much better if they are given certain cues instead of being asked to recall from scratch.

Depth of learning - People are likely to remember things for longer if they learned it well in the first place. Bahrick and Hall (1991) tested long-term memory for algebra and geomatry. People who took it to high education courses showed higher recall rates than those who stopped in secondary school.

Pattern of learning - Bahrick (1987) looked at people who had learned Spanish and found that vocabulary items learned over spaced sessions were retained for longer than vocabulary learned in intensive sessions.

Nature of material to be learned - some types of material are retained for longer than others. Conway et al (1991) tested open university psychology students and found that certain subject topics were recalled more accurately over time.