Memory

Question 1

What is coding

Answer 1

how we process the information - changing it to a suitable form so it can be stored e.g. the STM codes acoustically

Question 2

What is capacity

Answer 2

This is the amount of information that can be held in memory e.g. the capacity of STM is 5-9 items

Question 3

What is duration

Answer 3

is how long the information lasts in memory e.g. information lasts 18-30 seconds in STM

Question 4

the coding of the sensory register

Answer 4

Modality specific e.g. visual/iconic

Question 5

the capacity of the sensory register

Answer 5

unlimited

Question 6

the duration of the sensory register

Answer 6

limited- less than 0.5 seconds

Question 7

the coding of the STM

Answer 7

acoustic

Question 8

the capacity of the STM

Answer 8

5-9 items

Question 9

the duration of the STM

Answer 9

limited- 18-30 seconds

Question 10

the coding of the LTM

Answer 10

semantic

Question 11

the capacity of the LTM

Answer 11

unlimited

Question 12

the duration of the LTM

Answer 12

potentially forever/ unlimited

Question 13

who studied the coding of the STM

Answer 13

-Baddeley
-STM codes acoustically as there was better recall with acoustically dissimilar words

Question 14

who studied the capacity of the STM

Answer 14

-Miller
-Limited 5 to 9 items were recalled using the digit-span technique

Question 15

who studied the duration of the STM

Answer 15

-peterson & peterson
–18-30 seconds, however maintenance rehearsal will increase duration

Question 16

who studied coding in the LTM

Answer 16

-Baddeley
-LTM codes semantically, as there was better recall with semantically dissimilar words, after 20-minute prevention task

Question 17

Who studied the capacity of the LTM

Answer 17

nobody

Question 18

Who studied the duration of the LTM

Answer 18

-Bahrick
-Potentially a lifetime. Recall of classmates remained accurate after 47 years, improved with the use of correct cues

Question 19

Research on coding of STM/LTM

Answer 19

-Baddeley
-showed ppt a list of words in 4 categories:
1. acoustically similar
2. acoustically dissimilar
3. semantically similar
4. semantically dissimilar

STM= Immediately after each presentation, ppt were asked to recall the lists in the correct order
LTM= 20 minutes after each presentation, ppt were asked to recall the lists in the correct order

STM findings = More mistakes made on the acoustically similar list
LTM findings = More mistakes made on the semantically similar list

Question 20

Research on capacity

Answer 20

-Miller

Procedure:-
-digit span technique
-ppt given strings of unrelated digits
-that increased by one digit every time
-The ppts digit span was measured until the point where they could no longer recall the digits in the correct sequence

Findings:-
-ppts could recall 5-9 items
-more could be recalled if items were “chunked”
e.g. ppt can remember 5 words just as well as 5 letters

Conclusion:-
-Capacity of STM is limited 5-9
-Our digit span can be increased by putting several items into a meaningful chunk

Question 21

Research on duration of STM

Answer 21

• Peterson & Peterson

Sample:- 24 Undergraduate students

Procedure:-
-ppts were briefly presented with a consonant trigram (HDF) to remember
-They were then given a three digit number and asked to count backwards from this number to prevent rehearsal
-They were stopped at different intervals (3,6,9,12,15,18 seconds) and asked to recall the consonant trigram

Findings:-
-After 3 seconds only 80% recalled the trigram correctly
-After 18 seconds fewer than 10% recalled correctly

Conclusion:-
-Information in the STM lasts 18 – 30 seconds unless it is rehearsed

Question 22

Research on duration of LTM

Answer 22

-Bahrick

Procedure:-
-tested 392 American high school graduates aged between 17 and 74 on their memory of their former classmates
-In Condition 1 they had to recall the names of classmates using a photo yearbook
-In condition 2 they had to recall the names of their class with no photo cue

Findings:-
-In condition one 70% of participants recalled accurately after 48 years
-In condition two 30% of participants recalled accurately after 48 years

Conclusion:-
This shows certain types of information can potentially last a lifetime especially with the correct cues

Question 23

Evaluate the studies into CCD of the STM/LTM AO3 limitation

Answer 23

-duration in the STM lacks mundane realism
-as the task of recalling consonant trigrams is artificial
-difficult to generalise the findings that information lasts 18-30 seconds to real life examples of the duration of STM
-as the research does not reflect most real life memory activities where what we are trying to remember is meaningful
-lowering the external validity of the research into the duration of STM

-however, some would argue that we do sometimes try to remember fairly meaningless things
-such as groups of digits (phone numbers)
-although the task is artificial it does have some relevance to everyday life

Question 24

Evaluate the studies into CCD of the STM/LTM AO3 strength

Answer 24

-the research into coding of the LTM has high control over extraneous variables
-as it was carried out in a controlled setting lab
-e.g. the lists of words would be matched on their difficulty and each words would be shown to participants for the same amount of time
-this means that we are more likely to establish cause and effect between the IV (the list of words) and the DV (accurate recall)
-increasing the internal validity of the research into the coding of the LTM

Question 25

Evaluate the studies into CCD of the STM/LTM AO3 strength

Answer 25

-Research into the capacity of STM is praised for having high reliability
-This is because the research was carried out in a controlled environment lab
-therefore the research could be repeated in the same conditions
-e.g. the same standardised instructions, the same digits given to participants and shown for the same amount of time
-in order to check for consistent results in to the capacity of STM

Question 26

Evaluate the study into Duration of the LTM AO3 strength

Answer 26

-high in mundane realism
-as the research assessed real life memories of the individual’s old classmates
-this is a strength because it is something you might find yourself doing in everyday life
-e.g. searching for an old friend on social media
-easier to generalise the research findings of the duration of LTM to other real life applications
-increasing the external validity of the research in to the duration of LTM

Question 27

Evaluate the study into Duration of the LTM AO3 limitation

Answer 27

-low control over extraneous variables
-as the research did not take place in a controlled environment
-e.g. how much contact the participants had with classmates after leaving school was not controlled
-cause and effect cannot be clearly established between the IV (length of time passed) and the DV (accurate recall of classmates)
-so firm conclusions cannot be drawn on the duration of LTM
-reducing the internal validity of the research findings

Question 28

Intro into the Multi-store model of memory

Answer 28

-Atkinson and Shiffrin’s multi-store model describes how info flows through memory
-It is a structural model stating that Sensory STM LTM are separate unitary stores, and that information flows through the system in a linear way

Question 29

3 features of the MSM of memory

Answer 29

structural
unitary
linear

Question 30

Process of the MSM of memory

Answer 30

-stimulus from the environment will pass in to the sensory register
-This part of memory has several stores (one for each of the five senses)
-coding in each store is modality specific
-The two main stores are:-
-echoic (sound/auditory information – coded acoustically)
-iconic (visual information – coded visually)

-info in the sensory register has a duration of less than a second
-the capacity of the sensory register is high

-Info passes from the sensory register to the STM only if attention is paid to it
-If it is not being paid attention to the information decays

-STM is a limited capacity store the capacity of information is 5-9 items –info in the STM is coded acoustically
-duration of info is 18-30 seconds unless it is rehearsed

-if maintenance rehearsal occurs (repeating the information to ourselves) it can increase the length of time the information is held in STM
-if the information is rehearsed enough it will pass to the LTM

-LTM is a potentially permanent store for information that has been rehearsed for a prolonged time
-capacity is potentially unlimited
-information can last a lifetime in the LTM
-the LTM codes information semantically

-to recall information it has to be transferred from LTM to STM in a process called retrieval

Question 31

Evaluate MSM of memory AO3 rts

Answer 31

-supported by research studies that show that STM and LTM are different unitary stores
-e.g. Baddeley found that ppt mixed up words that sound similar when using their STM but mixed up words that have similar meanings when using their LTM
-This study clearly suggests that coding in STM is acoustic and coding in LTM is semantic
-This supports the MSM because it supports the view that the STM and LTM are separate stores

Question 32

Evaluate the MSM of memory AO3 RTS

Answer 32

-case study of Clive Wearing
-he suffers from amnesia in which he cannot transfer info from his STM to his LTM
-this is evident as when his wife re-enters the room after leaving just seconds before, he greets her as if it is the first time he has seen her in years
-this supports the MSM because it shows that STM and LTM are separate stores and that information must flow through in a linear way, first to STM then to LTM

Question 33

Evaluate the MSM of memory AO3 RTS limitation

Answer 33

-low population validity
-case study of just one person, Clive Wearing, who has an unusual illness involving damage to the brain
-Therefore, it is difficult to generalise the findings to the wider pop. as their memory may operate differently
-thus limiting the support that the research provides for the multistore model of memory

Question 34

Evaluate the MSM of memory AO3 limitation

Answer 34

-MSM could be too simplistic in stating that STM and LTM are unitary stores
-Shallice and Warrington’s research in to the STM conducted on patient KF, who suffered from amnesia
-found that KF’s recall in STM for digits was very poor when the digits were read aloud to him, but recall was much better when KF could read the digits himself
-This suggests that there must be different stores within the STM, one to process visual and one to process auditory information
-casting doubt on the theories assumption that the STM is unitary

Question 35

Types of LTM

Answer 35

procedural

semantic

episodic

Question 36

What is procedural LTM

Answer 36

-knowing how to do things
-e.g. memory of motor skills such as riding a bike
-non-declarative as they do not involve conscious thought
-Cerebellum and Motor Cortex

Question 37

What is semantic LTM

Answer 37

-storing knowledge about the world
-e.g. knowledge about the meaning of words, such as “love” as well as general knowledge such as facts e.g. London is the capital of England
-declarative as they do not involve conscious thought
-not time stamped
-Temporal Lobe

Question 38

What is episodic LTM

Answer 38

-storing information about events
-that we have experienced in our lives at a specific time e.g. our first day of school
-declarative as they require conscious thought
-time stamped
-Hippocampus

Question 39

Evaluate the types of LTM AO3 strength

Answer 39

-neuroimaging evidence to support the notion that there are different types of LTM
-e.g. ppts were asked to perform various memory tasks whilst their brains were scanned using a PET scanner
-it was found that episodic memories were associated with the hippocampus
-whereas procedural memory was associated with the cerebellum and motor cortex
-therefore, this supports the different types of LTM because the three different types of LTM were found in different areas of the brain
-indicating that they are separate

Question 40

Evaluate the types of LTM AO3 strength

Answer 40

-scientific methods
-Objective and empirical techniques such as brain scans, which are used in order to identify the different parts of the brain that become active when completing different types of LTM tasks
-e.g. the cerebellum and motor cortex being active when carrying a procedural task
-therefore, it could be argued that this increases the overall internal validity of the research into types of long term memory
-thus raising Psychology’s scientific status

Question 41

Evaluate the types of LTM AO3 RTS

Answer 41

-real life evidence from a case study of Clive Wearing
-he suffers from amnesia in which his episodic memory was damaged as he could not remember some events from his past
-e.g. his musical education
-however, Clive’s procedural memory was still working as he can remember how to play the piano
-therefore if only certain areas of his LTM are damaged it supports that there are different types of long term memory

-Moreover, Clive Wearing’s amnesia was caused by a virus that damaged his hippocampus
-further supporting the idea that the episodic memory is located in this area of the brain

Question 42

Evaluate the types of LTM AO3 RTS limitation

Answer 42

-low population validity
-case study, using only Clive as a participant who suffers from an unusual illness involving damage to the brain
-therefore, it is difficult to generalise the findings of the different types of LTM to the wider population as their LTM may operate differently
-thus limiting the support that the research provides for the different types of LTM

Question 43

Intro into the Working memory model

Answer 43

-Baddeley and Hitch proposed the Working Memory Model as an explanation of how the STM works
-they proposed that the STM was not a unitary store (like the MSM predicts)
-but a number of different stores, which are all connected but work independently

Question 44

Central executive AO1

Answer 44

-attentional process
-that monitors incoming data and decides what needs to be done and when
-delegates tasks accordingly to the slave systems
-it can code any type of information
-keeps an eye on what is happening in the slave systems and takes over the most demanding task where necessary
-Any task that is new/requires concentration (attention) will overload the central executive as it has a very limited capacity

Question 45

Phonological loop AO1

Answer 45

-auditory info is passed from the CE to the phonological loop
-limited capacity
-codes acoustically
-Baddeley further subdivided the PL into 2 parts:-
-PL store= which stores the words we hear, like an inner ear
-articulary loop= silently repeats words that are seen/heard, to keep
them in memory, like an inner voice

Question 46

Visuo-spatial sketchpad AO1

Answer 46

-visual info is passed from the CE to the VSS, like an inner eye
-limited capacity
-codes visually
-responsible for setting up mental images
-use if you have to plan a spatial task e.g. giving directions
-temporarily stores visual and spatial (the physical relationship between things) info
-Logie subdivided the VSS into:-
-The visual cache= which stores visual data
-The inner scribe= which records the arrangement of objects in the visual field

Question 47

Episodic buffer AO1

Answer 47

-general store later added by Baddeley and Hitch in 2000
-limited capacity
-codes any type of info
-EB collects and combines info from the CE, PL and VSS to record an event
-EB transfers information to the LTM and is used to retrieve information from the LTM to the STM

Question 48

Evaluate WMM AO3 RTS

Answer 48

-Shallice and Warrington on patient KF
-who suffered with amnesia
-they found that KF’s recall in STM for digits was very poor when the digits were read aloud to him, but recall was much better when KF could read the digits himself
-this supports the WMM because it suggests that there must be different stores within the STM
-one to process visual information (VSS) and one to process auditory information (PL)
-as the PL was damaged but the VVS intact

Question 49

Evaluate WMM AO3 RTS limitation

Answer 49

-low population validity
-the research was a case study of just one person, patient KF, who has an unusual illness involving damage to the brain
-therefore, it is difficult to generalise the findings to the wider population as their STM may operate differently
-thus limiting the support that the research provides for the working memory model of memory

Question 50

Evaluate WMM AO3 strength

Answer 50

-Studies of dual task performance support the notion that there are separate components within the STM
-and that they have a limited capacity

-e.g. Baddeley et al found that ppts had more difficulty when performing two visual tasks at the same time
- (using a pointer to track a light moving around a screen and
imagining a capital letter ‘F’ and mentally moving the letter)
-than when performing one of the visual tasks alone or one of the
visual tasks with a verbal task (such as saying ‘the’ repeatedly)

-this supports the WMM assumptions because it suggests that both visual tasks are competing for limited capacity of the same slave system (VSS) whereas when doing a verbal and visual task simultaneously
-they are delegated to separate slave systems (VSS and PL) and performance is not reduced as there is no competition for capacity
-Therefore, the credibility of the WMM as a model of memory is increased

Question 51

Evaluate WMM AO3 limitation

Answer 51

-Despite the empirical research to support the WMM
-opponents argue that much of this research is conducted on the slave systems such as the PL and VSS
-that there is a lack of clarity over the role of the CE
-the CE is said to be a single component of ‘attention’ that delegates to slave systems
-however some psychologists suggest that the central executive may have several components within it
-therefore, this casts doubt on the WMM as an explanation of STM

Question 52

What are the two explanations of forgetting

Answer 52

Interference theory
Retrieval failure due to absence of cues

Question 53

Intro to interference theory

Answer 53

-Interference theory suggests that forgetting occurs due to two lots of information
-coded at different times becoming confused in the LTM
-one memory disrupts the ability to recall another memory
-this is most likely to occur when the information is similar
There are two types of interference:-
-proactive interference
-retroactive interference

Question 54

Proactive interference AO1

Answer 54

-forgetting occurs when past information stored disrupts the recall of new info stored
-e.g. the memory of an old phone number means you forget your new phone number

Question 55

Retroactive interference AO1

Answer 55

-forgetting occurs when recent information stored disrupts the recall of past information stored
-e.g. the memory of a new car registration number means you forget your previous registration

Question 56

Evaluate interference theory AO3 RTS

Answer 56

-conducted by McGeoch & McDonald
-gave ppts a list of 10 words to learn (List A)
-ppts had to learn this list of 10 words until they could remember them with 100% accuracy
-ppts then had to learn a second list of words (List B)
-this is the interference
-ppts were then asked to recall List A
-it was found that if List B was a list of similar meaning words (synonyms) to List A recall was poor (12%)
-however, if the words in List B were different to List A recall was higher (26%)
-this supports the interference theory as an explanation for forgetting because it demonstrates that interference is strongest the more similar the items are, which is what the theory predicts

Question 57

Evaluate interference theory AO3 RTS strength

Answer 57

-high in reliability
-it is conducted in a controlled, lab setting
-therefore can be repeated in the same conditions eg. give each ppt the same time to learn the wordlist
-in order to gain consistent results into the effects of interference on forgetting
-Interference is one of the most consistently demonstrated findings in the whole of Psychology
-with most studies showing that both types of interference are very likely to be common ways that we forget information in the LTM
-this therefore strengthens the support the research provides for interference theory as an explanation of forgetting

Question 58

Evaluate interference theory AO3 RTS limitation

Answer 58

-much greater chance of interference demonstrated in research studies than in real life situations
-due to mundane realism
-artificial tasks such as learning lists of words are often used
-difficult to generalise the findings to real life examples of forgetting, as the research does not reflect what we would try to remember in everyday life such as birthdays
-maybe these memories are less likely to be contaminated by interference as they are more meaningful to us
-thus limiting the support the research provides for interference as an explanation for forgetting

Question 59

Retrieval failure due to an absence of cues as an explanation of forgetting intro

Answer 59

Retrieval failure due to absence of cues suggests that forgetting occurs when info is still in the LTM but can’t be accessed due to a lack of memory cues
There are two types:-
-Context dependent forgetting
-State dependent forgetting

Question 60

Context dependent forgetting AO1

Answer 60

-forgetting occurs due to a lack of external cues to trigger recall
-because the environment is different at recall to when the info was coded
-e.g. a person may forget info when sitting an exam in a different classroom which they learned the info

Question 61

State dependent forgetting AO1

Answer 61

-forgetting occurs due to a lack of internal cues to trigger recall
-because a person’s internal physical and/or emotional state is different at recall to when the information was coded
-e.g. a person may forget a dance routine on stage because when they learned the routine they may have been calm, but on stage they are anxious

Question 62

Evaluate Retrieval failure due to the absence of cues AO3 RTS CDF

Answer 62

-Godden & Baddeley
-Scuba divers were given a list of words to learn either on land or underwater
-they were then asked to recall the list in either the same setting they learned, or the opposite
-t was found that the participants were more likely to forget the words (40% less accuracy) if tested in the opposite location to where they had learned the words
-this gives support to context dependent forgetting because it demonstrates that when there is a lack of external memory cues in a different environment forgetting is more likely

Question 63

Evaluate Retrieval failure due to the absence of cues AO3 RTS CDF limitation

Answer 63

-Baddeley argues that context effects are actually not very strong especially in everyday life
-contexts have to be very different before an effect is seen
-e.g. it would be difficult to find an environment as different from land as underwater
-inn contrast, learning something in one room and recalling it in another is unlikely to result in much forgetting because these environments are generally not that different enough
-this means that retrieval failure due to a lack of contextual cues may not actually explain much forgetting in everyday life

Question 64

Evaluate Retrieval failure due to the absence of cues AO3 RTS SDF

Answer 64

-Goodwin et al
-Male volunteers were asked to learn a list of words when either drunk or sober
-they were then asked to recall the words, 24 hours later, in either same state or opposite state
-it was found that ppts were more likely to forget the words if tested in the opposite state to which they had learned the words
-this gives support to state dependent forgetting because it demonstrates that when there is a lack of internal memory cues such as different physical/emotional state, forgetting is more likely

Question 65

Evaluate Retrieval failure due to the absence of cues AO3 RTS SDF limitation

Answer 65

-lacks mundane realism
-this is because artificial tasks, such as learning lists of words are often used
-difficult to generalise the findings to every day cases of forgetting
-as in real life we may be learning much more complex info
-such as psychological theories, that may not be as easily accessed with an internal or external cue
-therefore, reducing the external validity of the research
-questioning retrieval failure due to an absence of cues as an explanation for forgetting

Question 66

What are the factors affecting eyewitness testimony

Answer 66

-misleading information
-anxiety

Question 67

Factors within Misleading information

Answer 67

Leading questions
Post-event discussion

Question 68

What is a leading question

Answer 68

-a question that wrongly implies something
-can affect the accuracy of EWT
-such as “ what colour was the youth’s jacket? “ implies the perpetrator was a youth

Question 69

Loftus and Palmer research AO1

Answer 69

Aim: To investigate whether the phrasing of a question can affect ppt memory of an event

Method: Lab experiment

Sample: 45 American students (split into 5 groups of 9)

Procedure:-
-ppts were shown a video of a car crash and each group was asked one of 5 critical questions
“About how fast were the cars travelling when they **** each other?”
Smashed, hit, collided, bumped or contacted
-Loftus and Palmer measured participants’ speed estimates

Findings:-
-They found ppts guessed a higher mean speed when they had ‘smashed’ (40.8mph) compared to contacted (31.8mph)

Conclusion:-
The phrasing of a question can influence a ppts memory of an event

Question 70

Evaluate leading questions AO3 strength

Answer 70

-practical applications
-the notion that leading questions can affect the accuracy of EWT has led to improvements in the legal system
-police officers need to be very careful about how they phrase their questions when interviewing witnesses and not use leading questions
-led to the development of cognitive interview
-important part of applied psychology
-because it could lead to more accurate testimonies and improve the lives of people affected by crime

-Moreover, the research could have a positive impact on the economy
-if witness statements are more accurate this could lead to a quicker conviction of the correct perpetrator
-meaning less tax payers’ money is spent on multiple police interviews or re-trials
-and this money could be used elsewhere to benefit society

Question 71

Evaluate leading questions AO3 limitation

Answer 71

-mundane realism
-artificial task of watching a video of a car crash
-difficult to generalise findings to real life cases of how leading questions can affect the accuracy of EWT
-as the video may have less of an emotional impact on the ppt than witnessing a real car crash
-studies have shown that anxiety can also affect how accurate an EWT is
-limiting the external validity of the research in to leading questions as a factor affecting EWT

Question 72

Evaluate leading questions AO3 limitation

Answer 72

-lacks ecological validity
-Loftus and Palmer conducted their research in an artificial environment
-difficult to generalise the findings to real life cases of how leading questions affect the accuracy of EWT
-because in real life an individual may be less influenced by the leading question due to the fact that there may be consequences of their answer such as the conviction of a person
-unlike in the artificial lab setting
-lowers the external validity of the research into the effects of leading questions on the accuracy of EWT

Question 73

What is post event discussion

Answer 73

-when witnesses of an event discuss it with one another their EWT may become contaminated
-This is because they combine (mis)information from other witnesses with their own memories

Question 74

Gabbert et al AO1

Answer 74

Aim:- To investigate whether post-event discussion can affect ppts memory of an event

Method:- Lab experiment

Procedure:-
- ppts watched a video of a girl stealing money from a wallet
-ppts were either tested individually (control group) or in pairs (co-witness group)
-ppts in the co-witness group were told that they had watched the same video, however they had in fact seen different perspectives of the same crime and only one person had actually witnessed the girl stealing
-ppts in the co-witness group discussed the crime together
-all of the ppts then completed a questionnaire, testing their memory of the event

Findings:-

-71%of witnesses who had discussed the crime mistakenly recalled info they had not seen but picked up in the discussion
-In a control group of ppts who had not discussed the video, this figure was 0%.
-60% of the witnesses who had not seen the actual crime had claimed the girl was guilty

Conclusion:-
-PED can affect a person’s’ memory of an event
-witnesses go along with each other
-either to win social approval
-or because they believe the other witnesses are right and they are wrong = Memory conformity

Question 75

Evaluate Post event discussion AO3 strength

Answer 75

-practical applications
-the notion that PED can affect the accuracy of EWT has led to improvements in the legal system
-e.g efforts are made to make sure witnesses do not discuss events with one another to reduce contamination of their memories
-important part of applied psychology because it could lead to more accurate testimonies and improve the lives of people affected by crime

-Moreover, the research could have a positive impact on the economy
-if witness statements are more accurate
-lead to a quicker conviction of the correct perpetrator
-meaning less tax payers’ money is spent on multiple police interviews
-this money could be used elsewhere to benefit society

Question 76

Evaluate Post event discussion AO3 limitation

Answer 76

-mundane realism
-artificial task of watching a video of a crime
-difficult to generalise findings to real life cases of how PED an affect the accuracy of EWT
-as the video may have less of an emotional impact on the ppt than witnessing a real crime

-studies have shown that anxiety can also affect how accurate an EWT is
-therefore limiting the external validity

Question 77

Evaluate Post event discussion AO3 limitation

Answer 77

-lacks ecological validity
-Gabbert et al conducted their research in an artificial environment
-difficult to generalise the findings to real life cases of how PED affects the accuracy of EWT
-because in real life an individual may be less influenced by the PED due to the fact that there may be consequences of their EWT such as the conviction of a person
-unlike in the artificial lab setting
-lowers the external validity

Question 78

Anxiety as a factor affecting EWT intro

Answer 78

-Anxiety has strong emotional and physical effects
-but it is not clear whether these effects make recall of EWT better or worse

Question 79

Johnson and Scott AO1

Answer 79

Aim:- To investigate the effects of anxiety on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony

Method:- Laboratory experiment

Procedure:-
-ppt were placed in one of two conditions either a high anxiety “weapon focus” condition or low anxiety condition
-ppts were told to wait outside a room before the experiment began
-in the high anxiety “weapon focus” condition ppts heard an argument and the sound of breaking glass from within the room, and a man walked out of the room carrying a knife covered with blood
-the low anxiety condition heard the argument from within the room before a man walked out with grease on their hands and a pen
-ppt then had to identify the person who left the room from 50 photographs

Findings:-
-found 49% accuracy for the low anxiety condition compared to 33% in the high anxiety “weapon focus” condition

Conclusion:-
-anxiety caused ‘weapon focus’ as the witness concentrates on the weapon not the person because of the fear of the situation, reducing accuracy of recall

Question 80

Christianson and Hubinette AO3 RTS

Answer 80

-Christianson and Hubinette interviewed 58 real life witnesses of a bank robbery
-Some had been directly threatened bank teller- high anxiety and others were bystanders customers – low anxiety
-It was found that those who had been directly threatened had significantly better memories than the bystanders
-Therefore, demonstrating that anxiety can increase the accuracy of EWT

Question 81

Evaluate Anxiety as a factor affecting EWT AO3 limitation

Answer 81

-not truly measuring anxiety
-the reason ppts focused on the weapon may be because they were surprised at what they saw rather than scared
-pickeln conducted an experiment using scissors, a handgun, a wallet or a raw chicken as the hand held items in a hairdressing salon video
-(where scissors would be high anxiety but low unusualness)
-EWT accuracy was significantly poorer in the high unusualness conditions (chicken and handgun)
-this suggests that the weapon focus effect is due to surprise rather than anxiety/threat
-therefore does not explain the effect of anxiety on EWT

Question 82

Evaluate Anxiety as a factor affecting EWT AO3 RTC

Answer 82

-Christianson and Hubinette contradicts Johnson and Scott’s findings
-they interviewed 58 real life witnesses of a bank robbery
-some had been directly threatened (bank teller- high anxiety) and others were bystanders (customers – low anxiety)
-it was found that those who had been directly threatened had significantly better memories than the bystanders
-therefore, contradicting the idea that anxiety reduces the accuracy of EWT
-demonstrating that anxiety can in fact increase the accuracy of EWT

Question 83

Evaluate Anxiety as a factor affecting EWT AO3 RTC limitation

Answer 83

-they interviewed their ppts several months after the event
-the researchers therefore had no control over what happened to their ppts in the intervening time
-ppts who witnessed the crime may have spoken to each other about the event
-the effects of anxiety may have been overwhelmed by these other factors, making it impossible to assess the effects of anxiety on eyewitness testimony by the time the ppts were interviewed
-therefore, this reduces the validity of Christianson and Hubinette findings on the impact of anxiety on EWT

Question 84

Cognitive interview intro

Answer 84

-standard police interviews often revolved around the interviewer, rather than the witness
-the interviewer did most of the talking and often asked short, closed questions and witnesses were discouraged from adding extra info
-Fisher and Geiselman developed the cognitive interview
-it is a technique used by police to interview witnesses after they have seen a crime or accident to help facilitate the most accurate and detailed memory possible,
-lots of ‘open’ questions are asked where the witness is not interrupted and free to expand on their own answers

Question 85

Recall everything

Answer 85

-the witness is asked to report all details of the event even if it seems trivial
-this may improve the accuracy of EWT because it might act as a trigger to a memory

Question 86

Context reinstatement

Answer 86

-the witness is asked to mentally place themselves back at the scene of the event
-imagine the environment, such as the weather and what they could see, and their emotions
-this could improve the accuracy of EWT because it may act as a trigger to a memory via context/state reinstatement

Question 87

Recall in reverse order

Answer 87

-the witness is asked to report what happened in a different chronological order
-e.g from the end of the crime to the start
-this is said to improve the accuracy of EWT as it may prevent witnesses reporting what they expected to happen (schema)
-rather than what actually happened
-moreover, it also prevents dishonesty, as it is harder to lie when having to reverse a story

Question 88

Recall from changed perspective

Answer 88

-witness is asked to recall the incident from another person’s perspective who witnessed the crime
-e.g. another witness or the perpetrator
-this is said to improve the accuracy of EWT as it may prevent witnesses reporting what they expected to happen (schema) rather than what actually happened

Question 89

Evaluate cognitive interview AO3 RTS

Answer 89

-conducted by Koehnken et al
-they combined data from 55 studies comparing the cognitive interview with the standard police interview
-the cognitive interview gave an average 41% increase in accurate information compared with the standard interview
-only four studies in the analysis showed no difference between the types of studies
-this supports that the cognitive interview is an effective technique because it helps witnesses recall information that is stored in memory but not immediately accessible

Question 90

Evaluate cognitive interview AO3 RTS limitation

Answer 90

-more accurate information is remembered
-often more incorrect items are also recalled
-with an increase of incorrect info reported in a cognitive interview compared to a standard interview
-these are known as false positives
-this is a weakness when using the cognitive interview as despite seeming like more info has been collected, the info could be incorrect
-suggesting that cognitive interviews may sacrifice quality of EWT in favour of quantity
-therefore, reducing the effectiveness of the cognitive interview in improving the accuracy of EWT

Question 91

Evaluate cognitive interview AO3 limitation

Answer 91

-it is time consuming to use
-this is because it requires specialist for police interviewers before they can conduct the CI
-Moreover, time is needed in order to establish a rapport with the witness and to allow them to relax
-this is a weakness because it may mean that the CI is not used effectively due to time constraints during training or the actual interview
-suggests that it may be more effective to focus on just a few key elements of the cognitive interview
-thus limiting the effectiveness of the CI in improving the accuracy of EWT