CA ERQs Flashcards
(49 cards)
Evalluate one theory relevant to: Reconstructive memory
Introduce+ discuss reconstructive memory
- Theory of mental recall proposed by Bartlett
- Our memories are not like fotographs, they are constantly rebuilt.
- Remembering a past event is infuelnced by leading words, (questions that are suggestive in some way), misleading information (when facts are added which may not be true)
- The misinformation effect: explains when someone is provided with wrongful information, altering their memories.
- Our memories are filtered out by our schemas each time we remember something.
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Reconstructive memory
Study 1
- proposed by Loftus and Palmer
- Aim: Investigate the influence of leading words on eye mean estimation speed.
- IV: The different leading words (smash, collided, hit, contracted) to make reference to the crash.
- DV: A memoery which was measured by mean estimation speed of participants
- Participants were given 7 short films to watch
- asked to fill a questionaire that cocnisted in them estiamting the speed of the crash.
- Had a critical question –>asked same question but the verb changed ‘‘How fast were the cars going when they… each other’’
- Results: Participants had a higher estimation of 40.8 with the highest intensity verb (smahed), while a lower estimation when the word was contracted (31.8).
- Link—-> each verb activated different mental schemas.
Evaluation of study 1
- low ecological validity–> it was not a real crash (less emotional impact)
- precise control of variables–> used same video, age in order to identify a relationship.
Study 2:Yulli and Cutshall
- aim: investigate if leading questions would affect eyewitness of a real crime
- done under natural conditions
- procedure: In a gun shop in vancouver a thief tied the owner before stealing guns. Owner escaped, thief shot him twice, then he was killed.
- 4-5 months later, 13 participants agreed to take part on experiment
- asked to recall event +were asked questions.
- 2 leading Q—>if they recalled a broken headlight in geatway car, 2) yelloe panel on car (which was blue)
- asked about their stress levels
- Results: eyewitness were a reliable sourced as they were not affected by the misninformation effect.
- most participants aswred that there was no broken headlight, and that panel was blue.
Evaluation of study 2
- high ecological validity–> naturalistic setting
- in depth anaalysis (quantitative data)
- low reliaiblity–Z cant be replicated.
Applicability
- See extent that legal system relied on eyewitnesses
- applicable to legal system because eyewitnesses can give out false memories in court
- ensure of what they saw–> inclined to follow leading Q.
- In legal reprots police should not only focus on eyewitness (DNA, videos etc)
Evaluation of theory
- S–> many studies clearly show that our memories are reconstructed.–Z also falsified by Yulli and Cutshall.
- S–> theory is highly applicable
- L—> does not consider the role of emotions
- L–> in some cases people do have relaible memories.
SCHEMA THEORY
introduce mental schemas
- explains how we organise information in order to make sense of the world.
- mental representation that helps individuals arrange ideas, expectations based on past events.
- we process information by basing it on past knowlege and experiences.
Describe mental schemas
- infleunces how individuals make sense of the world
- Types of schema: Script, self, social
- Script schemas–> how individuals behave in order to fit their cultures.
- Social schemas—> how we interpret others behaviours in different scenarious
- Self–> how we perceive ourselves
- when information gets filtered by schemas there are processses happening\
- Assimilation–> words are replaced with words with similar meaning to fit our schemas.
- Levelling–> removing information that does not make sense.
- Sharpening–> info being added to make sense.
Describe study 1
- investigate if recalling a native american story would affect the details that participants would recall.
- IV: time that passed until they were told to recall the information.
- DV: details recalled.
- participants–> english males
- asked to read the native american story ‘‘war of ghosts’’
- one person read it and recalled it aftter and relied on another person to recall the information.
- After 2 weeks results showed that the story was sharpening–> adding information. Also, assimilation as they changed the menaing od words (ie canoe–> boat). Also, levelling, where particiants removed information.
Evaluation study 1
- low ecological validity–> artificial to memorize a story
- no stamdarized instriction–> performed in the 1930s(was not controlled)
Describe study 2
- performed by BREWER AND TREYES ‘‘The picnic basket’’
- aim: investigate if the steryotipical schema of an office would affect memory recall.
- participants–> uni students
- left in office for 30s, taken to experimental room where they were asked to recall as many details they could remember of the office.
- Results–> some recalled objects that were not there (eg stapler)–> connected it to an office, other did not recall some objects there (eg picnic basket)
Evaluation of study 2
- sample bias
- ethical concerns–> deception
Applicability
- DEPRESSION:
- BECK—> negative triad negattive thoughts about themselves, future and world
- influenced by negative self schemas–> cognitive biases
- peole are easily trapped in neg thoughts as ifnromation is filtered out by depression.
- STERYOTYPES:
- tend to categorize people based on similar chacrertics (social categorisation)
- we make generalizations about people in order to reduce cognitive demand.
- role of schemas on sterytpes is seen in gender roles—> attenied prevous knowledge about what is considered ‘‘appropiate for each gender.
SCHEMA THEORY
Limitations
- unclear how schemas are acquired
- theory is very abstract and braod
- reductionsist in relation to depression–> schemas are not enough to explain why people have depression as other factors play a role (eg biological).
Contrast two models of memory
Intro
- define memory: process of encoding (sensory info into memory), storing (consolidating encoded info into memory), retrieving (bringing memoris back to conciousness).
- TWO main models:
- multi-store model of memory (MSM)–> proposed by Atkinson and Shriflinn
- working memeory model (WMM)–> propsoed by Baddley and Hitch
Argument 1: Subsystems
- MSM–> assumes that memory has three separate stores that work uniformly in a single way and does NOT assume the presence of subsystems.
- WMM–> does consider the existance of subsystems in regards to the STM.
- Central executive–> in charge in the operations of the slave systems, order systems to focus on a single task or switch between them.
- Phonological loop–> auditory store and it is divided into two. (1) Phonological store–> retains info in speech-based form.
- (2) articulatory rehearsal component that converts visual stimuli to sound.
- Visuo-spatial sketchpad–> processes visual and spatial info for navigation.
Study 1: Subsystems
- proposed by shallice and warrrington.
- case study of KF
- man that lost his parietal occipital lobe because of a motorcycle accident.
- asked him to recall a list of words (he was unble to do so)
- asked to recall pictures (he was able to do so)
- struggled to transfer verbal info from STM but visual not.
- study suggested the existance of the different subsytems (1) phonological loop and 2) visuo spatial sketchpad.
- Part of brain with PL was affected while other part was not.
- propsoes existance of two different substems
Argument 2: Multitasking
- According to the WMM–> if two tasks are performed using the same subsystem, they will not be correctyly performed due to information overload.
- if distinct components are used it may be succesfull
- MSM–> does not establish multitasking as it fails to explain how info gets processed in each store.
Study 2: Multitasking
- proposed by Strayer and Jhonson
- aim: study inattention blindness while driving
- had to multitask while being in a computer simulation of traffic
- they recorded participants reaction time to unexpected events
- group 1–> listen to a book or radio tape
- grooup 2–> cell phone convo
Results: listening to radio did not affect participants reaction. - Cell phone convo decreases their reaction time.
- 1st group could multitask while the 2nd group had an overlaod of info. (much difficult to multitask)
Applicability: multitasking
- runnning and talkign you can do them at the same time becasue they require two seprate subsystems
- when studying and listenign tyo msuic this is much diffucult as you use the same slave system (overlaod of info).
Argument 3: Information displacement
- improtance of reheresal and how info gets lost between each store
- model proposes that sensory-memory store retains info for 4s and has unlimited capacity. Information may be forgotten if it is not rehersad and does not arrive to stm.
- STM: has a duration of 30s but without rehersal information is forgotten. LTM has unlimited capacity and stores information for a lifetime but info must be rehresed to provent displacement.
- WMM–> does not propose hoe information gets lost because it focuses on what happens in each subsystem.
Study 3: Info displacement
- propsoed by Glanzer and Cunitz
- aim: investigate if position of words alters recall
- participants: US army males
- presented with a list of 15 words which they had to recall
- three experimental condition
1. Inmediate recall
2. 10s delay (distraction task)
3. 30s delay (distraction task) - had to count from 100-0 bakwards.
- results: In IR they remebered more the first and last words (primacy recency effect), first words entered LTM and last words were in STM.
- In distraction task they remebred less words.
- Shows how words were dispalced as they were not rehreased.
Reserach methods to study one cognitive process:
Introduce research methods +cogntive process:
- RM–> study how humans process and understand info.
- Cognitive process–> memory: complex process of encoding storign and retriving
- RM–> Experiments +questionaires