Memory

Question 1

Multi-Store Model of Memory

Answer 1

The MSM was put through by Shiffin and Atkinson and consists of 3 memory stores: the sensory memory store, the short-term memory store and the long term memory store. Each store has different characteristics. The SM has unlimited capacity and a duration of 0.5 to 2 seconds. The STM is encoded acoustically, has a capacity of 7+/-2 pieces of information and a duration of 18 to 30 seconds. The LTM is encoded semantically has unlimited capacity and an infinite duration which can last a lifetime.

In order for information to move from SM to STM, you must pay attention to it. Maintenance rehearsal must occur in order to keep it in your STM, but elaborative rehearsal is needed to move it to your LTM. Any information which is not rehearsed is either displaced or decayed (forgotten).

Question 2

Coding

1. Definition
2. coding in STM + LTM
3. Baddley research - similar words / mistakes

Answer 2

= Coding refers to the format or ‘type’ of information which is stored in each memory store.
Coding is acoustic in short-term memory, and semantic in long-term memory, as demonstrated by Baddeley
(1966), who found that more mistakes are made when recalling acoustically-similar words straight
after learning them, whilst more mistakes are made when recalling semantically-similar words 20
minutes after learning them (LTM recall).

Question 3

Capacity

Answer 3

= Capacity refers to the volume of information/data which can be kept in any memory store at any one
time.
For example, the capacity of STM is thought to be 7 +/- 2 items (Miller), whilst the capacity of
LTM is unlimited. This is based on Miller’s idea that things come in groups of 7 (e.g. 7 days of the
week), suggesting that we are predisposed to remembering this quantity and that such a ‘chunking’
the method can help us recall information. Jacobs also demonstrated that the mean letter span was 7.3
and the mean digit span was 9.3 (i.e. the number of letters or digits we can recall after increasing
intervals).

Question 4

Duration

Answer 4

= Duration refers to the amount of time that information can be stored in each memory store.
The duration of STM is 18-30 seconds, as demonstrated by Petersen et al (1959), who found that
increasing retention intervals decreased the accuracy of recall of consonant syllables in 24
undergraduates, when counting down from a 3 digit number (preventing mental rehearsal). The
duration of LTM is unlimited, as shown by Bahrick et al (1975), who found that photo recognition of
graduating classmates of the 396 participants decreased from 90% to 70% between 15 years and
46 years of graduating

Question 5

Short-term memory

Answer 5

The duration of STM seems to be between 15 and 30 seconds and the capacity is about 7 items.
1. limited capacity (only about 7 items can be stored at a time)
2. limited duration (storage is very fragile and information can be lost with distraction or passage of time)
3. encoding (primarily acoustic, even translating visual information into sounds).

Question 6

3 main types of encoding

Answer 6

• Acoustic coding - sound
  Visual coding - a visual representation
  semantic coding - the meaning of a stimulus

Question 7

HM case

Answer 7

It supports the MSM as he could not encode into his LTM because his hippocampus was removed, but his STM was unaffected. This proves that STM and LTM are 2 separate stores located in different areas of the brain. This proves that maintenance rehearsal is important in the transfer of information from STM to LTM memory to enable retrieval. This case furthers our understanding into how the memory works according to the MSM

Question 8

Long term Memory

Answer 8

• LTM is the part of our memory system that stores information for extended periods of time.
• It is typically divided into two main categories: explicit memory and implicit memory.

Question 9

Explicit memory/declarative memory

Answer 9

• is the conscious recollection of facts and events. It is the type of memory that we can consciously recall and describe, such as remembering the capital of France or the name of a friend.
• Explicit memory is further divided into two subcategories: semantic memory, which is our general knowledge about the world, and episodic memory, which is our memory of specific events and experiences.

Question 10

Implicit memory/Procedural memory/non-declarative memory

Answer 10

is the unconscious recollection of skills and habits. It is the type of memory that allows us to perform tasks automatically, such as riding a bike or tying our shoes. Implicit memory is not consciously controlled, and we are typically not aware of the information stored in this type of memory.

Question 11

Episodic memory

Autobiographical memory

Answer 11

• recalling events that happened in a specfic point in time
• Episodic memory refers to any events that can be reported from a person’s life.
• memories are time stamped
  Episodic memories also store information about how events relate to each other in time. A single episode will include people, places, objects and behaviours.
• you have to make a conscious effect to recall episodic memories.

Question 12

Semantic memory

Answer 12

• memory of facts and knowledge about the world and requires conscious effect may also include meaning of words
• these memories are not stamped.

Question 13

Procedural memory

* motor/action/muscle -based memory of how to do something

Answer 13

• motor/action/muscle -based memory of how to do something /perform an activity
  Procedural memory describes our implicit knowledge of tasks that usually do not require conscious recall to perform them. One example would be riding a bike –you might struggle to consciously recall how to manage the task, but we can [unconsciously] perform it with relative ease.

Question 14

is a cognitive model that describes the STM

Working Memory Model

4 components

Answer 14

• Central exceutive is a control center, controls information from 3 slave systems
• it directs attention to particular tasks
• does not store any information and has limited capaciity
• Phonological loop- temporary storage of auditory information
• phonological store (‘inner ear’),- which holds the words we hear
• articutory control process (‘inner voice’) - holds the worlds we are about to say
• visuospatial Sketchpad – this temporarily retains visual and spatial information
• It helps tasks like remembering shapes, coloursor the location of objects
• Episodic Buffer - Baddeley added this in 2000
• It acts as a back up store which communicates with LTM and the componets of WMM

Question 15

Maintenance rehearsal

Answer 15

The process of repeating information to hold it in our STM

Question 16

Dual task performance

Answer 16

we do tasks at the same time as long they use different processing systems

Question 17

Strengths of WMM

Answer 17

1. A strength of the working memory model is that clinical research evidence that there is a separate visual and acoustic store-KF case study
2. Another strength is that studies of dual-task performance support the separate existence of the visuo-spatial sketchpad- Baddeley
3. However, one limitation of the WMM is that most of the research for the model comes from laboratory experiments.
4. here is solid evidence for the phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad, Baddeley and Hitch’s idea of the central executive has been criticised for lacking falsifiability.

Question 18

Weaknesses of WMM

Answer 18

Despite providing more detail of STM than the multi-store model, the WMM has been criticized for being too simplistic and vague, e.g. it is unclear what the central executive is, or its exact role in attention.

• Results from laboratory experiments researching the WMM will often have low ecological validity (i.e. may not relate to real life), as tasks such as repeating ‘the the the’ are arguably not representative of our everyday activities.

Question 19

The central executive

Answer 19

The central executive has been described as an ‘attentional process’ with a very limited processing
capacity, and whose role is to allocate tasks to the 3 slave systems

Question 20

The phonological loop

Answer 20

The phonological loop processes auditory information and allows for maintenance rehearsal by being made up of the articulatory process

whilst the articulatory process acts as an “inner voice” and repeats the series of words (or other speech elements) on a loop to prevent them from decaying.

Question 21

The visuo-spatial sketchpad

Answer 21

• The visuo-spatial sketchpad combines the visual and spatial information processed by other stores,
  giving us a ‘complete picture’ e.g. when recalling the architecture of a famous landmark.
• The VSSus divided into the inner scribe and visual cache. The capacity of the VSS is around 4-5 chunks (Baddeley).
• The visual cache, which stores information about form and color. The inner scribe, which deals with spatial and movement information

Question 22

episodic buffer

Answer 22

The episodic buffer integrates all types of data processed by the other stores (e.g. auditory, visual,
spatial) and
* so is described as the storage component of the central executive,
* as well as being crucial for linking STM to LTM.

Question 23

Baddeley

The research aimed to see whether LTM and STM encoding is semantic or acoustic.
findings
strenghts and weaknesses

Answer 23

The study found that:
LTMs are encoded semantically.
STMs are encoded acoustically.
The strengths of the study are that it has high reliability and internal validity and research theories applications.
The weaknesses of the study are that it is ethnocentric, non-generalisable, and has low ecological validity.

Question 24

Meta Analysis

Answer 24

combines the results of multiple studies to provide a more precise estimate of the effect of an intervention or exposure on a particular outcome

Question 25

Proactive interference

Answer 25

• occurs when previously learned information disrupts or interferes with the ability to learn new information.
• This can occur when the new information is similar to the old information, or when the old information is still actively being used.
• Proactive interference can be a challenge when trying to learn or remember new information, particularly when the old and new information are related in some way.

Question 26

Retroactive interference

Answer 26

• occurs when new learning interferes with the ability to retain or recall previously learned information.
• This can occur when the new information is similar to the old information, or when the new information overwrites or replaces the old information.
• Retroactive interference can be a challenge when trying to remember previously learned information, particularly when the old and new information are related in some way.

Question 27

Retrieval failure

Answer 27

Retrieval failure occurs when we do not have the necessary cues to access memory. The memory is available but not accessible unless a suitable cue is provided.

Question 28

Context-dependent forgetting

Answer 28

recall depends on external cue e.g weather or a place.

Question 29

State-dependent failure

Answer 29

recall depends on internal cue e.g feeling upset or feeling drunk

Question 30

Encoding specificity principle ESP - Tulving 1983

cues need to be present _ and _ and if they are different …

Answer 30

• If a cue is to help us recall information, it must be present at encoding and retrieval.
• If cues at encoding and retrieval are different, there will be some forgetting.

Question 31

Research on context-dependent forgetting

1. godden and baddeley study
2. findings

Answer 31

Duncan Godden and Alan Baddeley 1975 studied deep-sea divers who work underwater to see if training helped or hindered their work underwater. The divers learned a list of words either on land and then were asked to recall their words either underwater or on land

Findings and Conclusions
- In 2 of these conditions the environmental contexts of learning and recall matched, whereas, in the other 2, they did not. The accurate recall was 40% lower in the non-ones available at recall and this led to retrieval failure.

Question 32

Eyewitness testimony

Answer 32

The ability of people to remember the details of events, such as accidents and crimes, which they have observed

Question 33

Misleading Information

Answer 33

Incorrect information given to the eye witness after an event

Question 34

Leading question

Answer 34

A question because of the way it is phrased suggests a certain answer

Question 35

Post-event discussion

Answer 35

when there is more than one witness to an event, witnesses may discuss with co-witnesses. This may influence the accuracy of each witness recall of the event.

Question 36

Loftus and Palmer (1974)

Answer 36

• Loftus and Palmer manipulated the verb used in the question: “How fast was the cars going when they smashed/collided/bumped / hit / contacted with each other?
• The results clearly show that the accuracy of eyewitness testimony is affected by leading questions and that a single word in a question can significantly affect the accuracy of our judgements.

Question 37

Evaluation of Loftus and Palmer’s research

• lab experiment - highly controlled - variables, valdity, replication - standarised proecdure
• supporting evidence from loftus and palmer
• video is not a reflection of a real incident findings are not reflective- lacks ecological validity
• methological limitations - artficial stimulus
• population validity - sample may have not been experinced drivers - difficult to generalise

Answer 37

Loftus and Palmer’s research took place in a laboratory of Washington University and was therefore highly controlled - This high degree of control reduces the chance of extraneous variable, increasing the validity of the results. Furthermore, it is easy for psychologists to replicate their research, to see if the same results are achieved with a different population.
1. There is supporting evidence for the role of leading questions on the accuracy of EWT, Loftus and Palmer found that leading questions lead to misinformation acceptance and that Ps accepted that information due to the wording of the question.
2. A limitation of Loftus and Palmer’s experiments we can’t confidently conclude that these findings are reflective of a real incident.
3. However, there are methological issues with Loftus and Palmer’s study an artificial stimulus was used to investigate effects of leading questions on EWT.
* A second weakness of Loftus and Palmer’s research is that their study lacks population validity. Their two experiments consisted of 45 and 150 American students.
* It is reasonable to argue that the students in their experiment were less experienced drivers, who may be less accurate at estimating speeds.
* Consequently, we are unable to generalise the results to other populations, for example, older and more experience drivers, who may be more accurate in their judgement of speeds and therefore not as susceptible to leading questions.

Question 38

Why does post-event discussion affect EWT?

memory contaimination
memory conformity

Answer 38

One explanation is memory contamination. When co-witnesses discuss a crime with each other, their eye witness may have become altered or distorted. This is because they combine (misinformation) from other witnesses with their own memories.

Another explanation is memory conformity. Gabbert et al, concluded that witnesses often go along with other witnesses, either to win social approval or because they believe the other witnesses are right and they are wrong. Unlike memory contamination, the actual memory is unchanged.

Question 39

Johnson and Scott (1976) demonstrated that anxiety has a negative effect on the accuracy of EWT

Answer 39

The high-anxiety condition overheard a heated argument in the neighbouring room, with the sound
of smashing glass and a man walking through the waiting room with a bloody paper knife, as
opposed to a greasy pen in the low-anxiety condition. When asked to identify the man, participants
in the high-anxiety condition experienced 16% lower rates of accurate recall, compared to the low anxiety condition. This may be explained by the tunnel theory of memory and the weapon focus
effect, where our attention is drawn towards the weapon as a source of anxiety

Question 40

The positive effect of anxiety on the accuracy of EWT was demonstrated by Yuille and Cutshall
(1986), who followed up 13 eyewitnesses, 5 months after a real-life shooting at a shop in Canada

Answer 40

The researchers found that eyewitness accuracy was still high after this period, with an 11% higher
accuracy of recall for those eyewitnesses who ranked their anxiety as ‘high’ (compared to ‘low’) at
the time of the shooting and using a 7-point anxiety scale. There were, however, small discrepancies
overestimates of height, weight and clothing. This supports the idea that heightened anxiety draws
our attention to external cues through the ‘fight or flight’ response, where such attention may have
given us an evolutionary advantage by increasing our chances of escaping and survival.

Question 41

There are significant ethical issues associated with exposing participants to distressing images of a
car crash

Answer 41

• Johnson and Scott) and (Yuille and Cutshall). forcing them to recall traumatic crimes which have occurred in the
  past
• This breaches the BPS guideline of the right of the participant to be protected from psychological harm, thus meaning that a cost-benefit analysis would be needed to compare the associated ethical costs with the benefits of increased knowledge of the effects of
  anxiety on the accuracy of EWT.

Question 42

Real-life studies, particularly with the use of field studies, are particularly susceptible to the biasing
effects of extraneous variables which have not been controlled.

Answer 42

For example, Yuille and Cutshall could
not have controlled the influence of post-event discussions, which has been suggested to reduce the
accuracy of EWT, as demonstrated by Gabbert et al. This, alongside media influences in the form of
TV report, and the effects of individual schemas, means that field studies of EWT may be flawed in
that they lack reliability.

Question 43

Cognitive Interview

Answer 43

A method of interviewing eyewitnesses to help them retrieve more accurate memories

Question 44

Context reinstatement

Answer 44

The witness should return to the original crime scene “ in their mind and imagine the environment. This is related to context-dependent forgetting

Question 45

Report everything

Answer 45

Witnesses are encouraged to include every single detail of the event, even though it may seem irrelevant or the witness doesn’t feel confident about it. Trivial details may trigger important memories

Question 46

Recall from a changed perspective

Answer 46

Witnesses should recall the incident from other people’s perspectives. How would it have appeared yo other witnesses.

Question 47

Recall in reverse order

Answer 47

events should be recalled in reverse order. This is done to prevent people from reporting their expectations of how the event must have happened rather than reporting the actual events. It also prevents dishonesty ( Its harder to produce an untruthful account if they reverse it.

Question 48

Geiselman 1986

Answer 48

Tested the cognitive interview technique with standard policing interviewing techniques. The accuracy of the cognitive interview was 41.5% whereas the standard was 29.4%. Even though the accuracy increases, the amount of inaccurate info also increases from 6.1 to 7.3 %.

Question 49

Milne and Bull 2002

Answer 49

Found that each of the 4 techniques used alone produced more information than the standard police interview. But they also found that using a combination of reporting everything and reinstating the context produced better recall than any of the other elements. This confirmed police officers’ suspicions that some aspects of the CL are more useful than others. This casts some doubt on the credibility of the overall cognitive interview.

Question 50

Anxiety A01

1. Definition
2. Johnson and Scott’s 1976 experiment - Negative effect on recall
3. Yuille and Cutshall - postive effects on recall

Answer 50

• Anxiety is an emotional and physical state including emotions of feelling worried and tense in an anxiety induced situation. Physical changes may occur such as sweating and increased heart rate as the body may be in Fight or flight. The state of feeling may interfere with the act of recalling information.
• It is shown through reserach that anxiety has a negative and positive effect on recall, both of these are shown in experiments conducted by Johnson and Scott and Yuille and Cutshall.
• Johnson and Scott 1976 conducted a lab experiment to see the effect of a weapon on recall. There were two conditions one with weapon and one without weapon.
• In the no weapon condition condition, a man exited a room holding a pen with his hanss covered in grease.
• In the weapon condition, The Ps saw a man exit the room except he was holding a paper knife that was covered in blood.
• The Ps were asked to identify the man from a set of photographs and it was found that 49% were able to identify the correct man from the no weapons condition but in the weapons condition only 33% were able to identify.
• This showed how the use of a weapon can increase anxiety levels leading to a negative effect on recall.
• Whereas Yuille and Cutshall examined a real life crime. 13 ppl witnessed an event where a thief was holding a gun in a shop. The witnesses were re-interviewed 5 months later to see how much they could remember.
• They found that the witnesses who showed high levels of anxiety had an average of 88% of acurrate recall.
• This showed that the weapon, the thief was holding created high anxiety levels but it helped the Ps remember the events 5 months later which was helped by the cue of a weapon.

Question 51

Loftus and Palmer A01
misleading information

Answer 51

Eyewitness testimony is the process of interviewing witnesses to a crime to help gain evidence and facts on what happened. Misleading information is when the interviewer provides information during the interview that may lead witnesses towards an answer that may not be correct. One study into misleading information was performed by Loftus and Palmer 1974. They showed students, videos of a car crash and were asked to complete a questionaire about the accident. The questionaire included the leading question ‘About what speed were the cars going when they contacted/bumped/hit/collied/smashed? They found that the mean estimation of speed provided varied depending on what word was used. This therefore shows how the question can give some indication and lead witnesses in a certain decision which can have a huge influence on the details the eye witness supply, suggesting witnesses accounts may not be completely reliable due to interview techniques.