Memory: Key Terms Flashcards

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1
Q

Duration

A

the length of time information remains in storage within memory (how long a memory lasts)

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2
Q

Sensory Register

A

a memory store that holds impressions of info received by th five senses
- short duration and a large capacity

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3
Q

Short-term Memory

A

a temporary memory store for events in the present or immediate past
- short duration + small capacity

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4
Q

Long-term Memory

A

a more permanent memory store for events that have happened in the more distant past
- long duration and large capacity

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5
Q

Capacity

A

the amount of info that can be stored in memory at a given time

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6
Q

Coding

A

The way in which information is changed so that it can be stored in memory

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7
Q

Miller’s Magic Number

A
  • Miller (1956) reviewed research into capacity of STM
  • found people can remember about 7 items
  • argues capacity of STM is 7, plus or minus 2
  • found people can recall 5 words as well as 5 letters - we chunk things together and then can remember more
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8
Q

Ionic Store (Sensory Register)

A

visual info

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9
Q

Echoic Store (Sensory Register)

A

auditory info

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10
Q

Haptic Store (Sensory Register)

A

physical info eg touch

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11
Q

Coded Acoustically (STM and LTM)

A

coded in terms of how it sounds

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12
Q

Coded Semantically (STM and LTM)

A

coded in terms of meaning

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13
Q

Coded Visually (STM and LTM)

A

coded in terms of the image

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14
Q

Duration of SR

A

Sperling (1960):
- 0.5 seconds
- decays rapidly

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15
Q

Duration of STM

A

Peterson + Peterson (1959)
- 18 seconds
- could recall 80% of trigrams after 3 seconds but fewer than 10% after 18 seconds

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16
Q

Duration of LTM

A

Bahrick et al (1975)
- long (>30 seconds)
- recognition is better than recall

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17
Q

Capacity of SR

A

Sperling (1960)
- large capacity
- managed to recall when didn’t know which row so assume all was held

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18
Q

Capacity of STM

A

Jacobs (1887)
- 5-9 items
Miller (1956)
- 7 items plus or minus 2
- increases with age
- chunk things together

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19
Q

Capacity of LTM

A

Linton (1975)
- large capacity
- memory for real life events decreased at rate of 5% a year

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20
Q

Coding of SR

A

Crowder (2003)
- different depending on store
- few milliseconds in ionic
- 2-3 seconds in echoic

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21
Q

Coding of STM

A

Baddeley (1966)
- acoustic
- acoustic confusion in STM as List A recalled least efficiently

22
Q

Coding in LTM

A

Baddeley (1966)
- semantic
- semantic confusion in LTM as List C recalled least efficiently

23
Q

Multi-Store Memory Model

A
  • Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968)
  • theoretical model that explains how info flows from one storage system to another
  • unitary: different units to it
  • structural: areas arranged in a certain way
  • linear: in a line, flowing in one way
24
Q

Process of Multi-Store Memory Model

A

1) the sensory store is constantly receiving info from our environment
2) if you pay attention to it data is transferred to STM if not it will disappear (decay)
3) rehearsal maintains info in STM
4) info will disappear if it isn’t rehearsed or if new info enters the STM pushing out (displacing) original info
5) the more something is rehearsed by rote repetition the more lasting the memory will be
6) loss of info from LTM is due to decay, interference or problems in retrieval

25
Q

2 types of LTM

A

Implicit: actions/behaviours, no experience of recall, no conscious attention
Explicit: events or facts, recall, conscious attention

26
Q

Type of Implicit Memory

A

procedural: memory for how to do things, automatic and result of repeated practice

27
Q

2 Types of Explicit Memory

A

Semantic: memories about the world that are shared by everyone in terms of facts and knowledge
Episodic: personal memories of events, includes contextual details and an emotional tone

28
Q

Central Executive

A
  • monitors and coordinates all other mental functions in working memory
  • directs attention to particular tasks and has limited capacity
29
Q

Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad

A

codes visual info in terms of separate objects as well as the arrangement of those objects in visual field

30
Q

2 Stores in Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad

A

visual cache: stores info about visual items
inner scribe: stores arrangement of objects

31
Q

Episodic Buffer

A

receives input from many sources, temporarily stores this info then integrates it in order to construct a mental episode of what is being experienced

32
Q

Phonological Loop

A
  • codes speech sounds in working memory typically involving maintenance rehearsal
  • limited capacity
33
Q

2 Stores in Phonological Loop

A

phonological store: holds words you hear
articulatory process: holds words that are heard or seen

34
Q

Interference

A
  • an explanation for forgetting in terms of one memory disrupting the ability to recall another
  • most likely to occur when two memories have some similarity
  • occurs from LTM as we can’t access memories even though they are available
35
Q

2 Types of Interference

A

pro-active: when past learning (old memories) interfere with current attempts to learn (new information), because previously stored info makes new info difficult to store
retro-active: when current attempts to learn (new information) interferes with past learning (old memories), because new info overwrites previous memories that are similar

36
Q

Retrieval Failure

A
  • occurs due to absence of cues
  • an explanation for forgetting based on the idea that the issue relates to being able to retrieve a memory that is there but not accessible
  • retrieval depends on using cues
37
Q

Retrieval Cues and 2 Types

A
  • serve as a reminder
  • context dependent: environmental factors
  • state dependent: persons mental state
38
Q

Endel Tulving (1973)

A
  • “memory is effective if info that was present at encoding (when we learn material) is also available at time of retrieval”
  • “if cues that are available at retrieval and encoding are different then there will be some forgetting”
  • cues don’t have to be exactly the same but closer to original more useful
39
Q

Eye Witness Testimony

A

a legal term referring to the use of eye witnesses (or ear witnesses) to give evidence in court concerning the identity of someone who has committed a crime

40
Q

Misleading Information and 2 Types

A
  • EWT is affected by experiences which occur after witnesses observe the critical event
  • leading qs: qs that either by their form or content influence a person’s schemes in order for them to give a desired answer
  • post-event discussion: a conversation between cowitnesses after a crime takes place in which critical info is discussed and leads to contaminated memory
41
Q

Leading Questions: Loftus

A
  • week later: ps questioned again about accident with new critical q: did you see any broken glass?
  • ps who had been asked the ‘smashed’ version of question more likely to report having seen broken glass at scene even though there was none
42
Q

Post Event Discussion

A
  • when cowitnesses to a crime discuss event with each other their EWT could become contaminated
  • individuals remember misinformation from others and combine that with their own memory
  • also known as conformity effect
43
Q

The Weapon-Focus Effect

A

in violent crimes, arousal may focus the witness on more central details of the attack than the more peripheral details, sometimes called “Tunnel Theory”

44
Q

Yerkes-Dodson Law

A
  • states that memory improves with increases in arousal up to an optimal point and then declines with further increases
  • this means that small to medium increases in arousal may increases the accuracy of memory, but high levels interfere with accuracy
45
Q

4 Steps of Cognitive Interview

A

1) report everything
2) mental reinstatement of original context
3) changing the order
4) changing the perspective

46
Q

Cognitive Interview: Report Everything

A
  • interviewer encourages the reporting of every single detail of the event even though some of it may seen insignificant or irrelevant
  • this is because trivial details may be important and may act as a cue and trigger other important memories
  • stops witnesses, victims and suspects withholding information
  • gets the maximum quantitiy of detail
47
Q

Cognitive Interview: Mental Reinstatement of Originial Context

A
  • interviewer encourages the interviewee to mentally recreate the environmental (place, weather) and emotional content (feelings) of the crime scene
  • aim is to make memories accessible by using appropriate cues to retrieve memories
  • gets people to slow down and think about the scene and create a picture in their head
48
Q

Cognitive Interview: Changing the Order

A
  • the interviewer may try alternative ways through the timeline of the interval eg reversing the order in which events happened
  • the rationale behind this is that our recollections are influenced by schemas. by recalling events in different order, it prevents pre-existing schemas from influencing what you recall.
  • can detect deceit
  • remember what happened on specific day instead of normal routine
49
Q

Cognitive Interview: Changing the Perspective

A
  • interviewee is asked to recall the incident from multiple perspectives eg by imagining how it would have appeared to other witnesses present at the time
  • again this is also done to disrupt the effect that schemas have on recall
  • think about the bigger picture instead of just them and role of other people
50
Q

Enhanced Cognitive Interview

A
  • Fisher (1987) developed some additional elements of the cognitive interview to focus on the social dynamics of the interaction
  • for example, the interviewer should know when to establish and relinquish eye contact
  • the enhanced CI also includes techniques to reduce eye witness anxiety, minimise distractions, getting the witness to speak slowly and asking open-ended questions