memory

Question 1

what are they three ways of encoding information to be used by our memory system?

Answer 1

acoustic encoding, visual encoding, semantic encoding

Question 2

acoustic encoding

Answer 2

holding sound information

Question 3

visual encoding

Answer 3

holding images

Question 4

semantic encoding

Answer 4

holding the meaning of information

Question 5

retrieval

Answer 5

the recall of stored memories

Question 6

output (memory)

Answer 6

for memory, this refers to the memory we recall

Question 7

encoding

Answer 7

turning sensory information into a form that can be used and stored by the brain

Question 8

storage

Answer 8

keeping memory in our memory system

Question 9

processing

Answer 9

the operations we perform on sensory information in the brain

Question 10

processing

Answer 10

the operations we perform on sensory information in the brain

Question 11

short term memory

Answer 11

our initial memory store that is temporary and limited

Question 12

long-term memory

Answer 12

a memory store that holds potentially limitless amounts of information for up to a lifetime

Question 13

duration

Answer 13

the length of time information can be stored in short-term and long-term memory

Question 14

capacity

Answer 14

the amount of information that can be stored in short-term and long-term memory

Question 15

rehearse

Answer 15

when we repeat information over and over again to make it stick

Question 16

displacement

Answer 16

when the short term memory becomes ‘full’ and new information pushes out older information

Question 17

interference

Answer 17

when new information overwrites older information, for example when a new phone number takes place of an old phone number in your memory

Question 18

amnesia

Answer 18

memory loss, often through an accident, disease or injury

Question 19

anterograde amnesia

Answer 19

a memory condition that means new long-term memories cannot be made; this is typically caused by injury to the brain

Question 20

retrograde amnesia

Answer 20

a memory condition that affects recall of memories prior to an injury to the brain

Question 21

active reconstruction

Answer 21

memory is not an exact copy of what we experienced, but an interpretation or reconstruction of events that are influences by our schema when we remember them again

Question 22

schema (memory)

Answer 22

a packet of knowledge about an event, person or place that influences how we perceive and remember

Question 23

omission

Answer 23

when we leave out unfamiliar, irrelevant or unpleasant details when remembering something

Question 24

transformation

Answer 24

when details are changed to make them more familiar and rational

Question 25

familiarisation

Answer 25

when unfamiliar details are changed to align with our own schema

Question 26

rationalisation

Answer 26

when we add details into our recall to give a reason for something that may not have originally fitted with a schema

Question 27

cognitive interview

Answer 27

a police interview designed to ensure a witness to a crime does not actively reconstruct their memory

Question 28

strengths of Barlett's theory (2)

Answer 28

it has real-world practical applications and helps us understand why memory can become distorted

Question 29

ways memory can be actively reconstructed (4)

Answer 29

omission, transformation, familiarisation, rationalisation

Question 30

ecological validity

Answer 30

the extent to which the findings still explain the behaviour in different situations

Question 31

subjective

Answer 31

based on personal opinion or feelings

Question 32

Barlett's (1932) Theory of Reconstructive memory

Answer 32

suggests memory is not an exact copy of what we experienced

Question 33

sensory register

Answer 33

our immediate memory of sensory information

Question 34

attention

Answer 34

focus on certain sensory information

Question 35

trigram

Answer 35

a set of three letters such as GPX that makes a meaningless string of letters rather than a world

Question 36

iconic memory

Answer 36

the sensory register of visual information

Question 37

echoic memory

Answer 37

the sensory register for auditory information

Question 38

modality free

Answer 38

not linked to a specific type of sensory information

Question 39

primacy

Answer 39

the tendency to recall words at the beginning of a list when asked to remember it

Question 40

recency

Answer 40

the tendency to recall words at the end of a list when asked to remember it

Question 41

strengths of the Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) multi-store memory

Answer 41

there is a lot of evidence to support the theory of separate memory stores

Question 42

weaknesses of the Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) multi-store memory

Answer 42

1. it has been criticised for overstating the role of rehearsal as a means of transferring information into long term storage 2. it is unlikely that we only have one type of long-term memory

Question 43

what does Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) multi-store memory suggest?

Answer 43

proposed that memory consisted of three stores: a sensory register, short-term memory (STM) and long-term memory (LTM).

Question 44

how was 'The War Of Ghosts' story changed when it was remembered?

Answer 44

1. participants tried to make sense of the story with rationalisation e.g. some patients recalled the original sentence of 'something black came out of his mouth' to 'foaming at the mouth'. 2. they tended to leave out unfamiliar or unpleasant parts of the story e.g. 'canoe' became 'boat' after being familiarised and simplified

Question 45

serial reproduction

Answer 45

a technique where participants retell something to another participant to form a chain; this is how folk stories are passes down through cultures

Question 46

repeated reproduction

Answer 46

a technique where participants are asked to recall something again and again

Question 47

strengths of Bartlett (1932) War of the Ghosts

Answer 47

1. the use of the story as recall material was better than trigrams or lists of digits 2. the procedure was replicated with various stories and the same findings have been found across other studies. The findings are reliable 3. the results were gathered using qualitative alysis so the real nature of reconstructive memory can be understood through its meaning

Question 48

disadvantages of Bartlett (1932) War of the Ghosts

Answer 48

1. the use of a story as recall material because it was illogical and contained strange words and concepts so it isn't a realistic use of memory 2. some regard qualitative analysis as unscientific because Barlett could have interpreted the participants' recalled stories in the light of his own theory and ideas of reconstructive memory 3. criticised for for lacking good controls (the participants recalled different time intervals and he allowed each participant to read the story at their own reading pace)

Question 49

reliable

Answer 49

when the outcomes of a study are consistent

Question 50

statistical analysis

Answer 50

mathematical calculations performed on data to see whether the findings could be due to chance

Question 51

standardised procedure

Answer 51

where the procedure of a study is the same across all conditions

Question 52

Peterson and Peterson (1959) short-term retention of individual verbal items

Answer 52

to test the true duration of short-term memory. Students were less able to accurately recall the trigram the longer they were asked to count backwards. Petersons concluded that short-term memory fades rapidly and only 10% could be recalled after 18 seconds.

Question 53

strengths of the Peterson and Peterson procedure (1959) short-term retention of individual verbal items

Answer 53

1. the researchers used fixed timings for participants to count backwards from 2. they eliminated noise and other factors that could have affected memory 3. study can be replicated to check if the findings were not a one-off result because they used standardised procedures to make sure all participants experienced the same process

Question 54

weaknesses of the Peterson and Peterson procedure (1959) short-term retention of individual verbal items

Answer 54

it is not how we would typically use our memory in everyday situations. The procedure lacked mundane realism

Question 55

extraneous variables

Answer 55

variables that could affects the results of a study

Question 56

mundane realism

Answer 56

a realistic, everyday task

Question 57

reductionism

Answer 57

the theory of explaining something according to its basic constituent (being a part of a whole) parts

Question 58

reductionist

Answer 58

the practice of reductionism

Question 59

how can Bartlett's work not be considered reductionist?

Answer 59

1. he used qualitative analysis to explore the reconstructive nature of memory by understanding how each individual's schemas influenced their recall of stories and pictures. 2. He spent a considerable amount of time establishing the character backgrounds of his participants in order to understand how their schemas were formed e.g. he found out what jobs they had