Memory Flashcards

Question

Explanations of Forgetting - Interference Study

Answer 1

All groups: Adjective list 1 Group 2: Numbers list 1 Group 3: Adjective list 2 Group 1 = Learn adjective list one until they can recall perfectly, 10m rest, recall list. Group 2 = Learn adjective list one, then learn number list, 10m rest then recall list one. Group 3 = Learn adjective one, then learn list two, 10m rest then recall list one. Supports idea of retroactive inferference. Group C showed signs of interfernce. Numbers not as similar, better recall.

Answer 2

Underwater Divers Experiement: 18 diving club participants, repeated measures design. Learning on land - recalling on land, learning on land - recalling underwater, learning underwater - recalling undewater, learning underwater - recalling underwater. 38 unrelated words heard twice during learnig stage. 24 hours between conditions. 50% better recall when learning and recall environment are the same.

Answer 3

Aids eyewitnesses in recalling information more accruately. Based on belief of serveral recall paths. - Report everything: recollection of one small memory may act as rertrieval cue to other important memories. - Recreate the context: encouraged to mentally recreate envrionment and psychological state. May trigger contextual or emtional cues. - Change order: recall in reverse or at different stages, reduces chance of expectations or schemas of how event unfolded. - Change perspective: recall from different persons perspective, to reduce influence of individuals schemas.

Answer 4

Supporting Evidence: Fisher et al. MIAD - effective in gaining more inforamtion but also found to increase amount of incorrect information. Major limitation - doesn't guarantee accruacy. Potentiall socially sensitive: Asking victims or witnesses of crime to recall the event and psychological states in detail may lead anxiety or becoming distressed. Study has high ecological validity and external validity. Used real police officers and witnessess.

Answer 5

Fisher et al. 16 experienced police officers interviewed 47 witnesses or victims of crime. All first interviews were standard police interviews. 7 officers were trained in cognitive interview technique, other 9 would continue using standard method and form a control group. Victims were interviewed again. Findings: Overwhelming support for cognitve interview. 47% more facts about the crime compared to no increase to second standard interview.

Answer 6

Incorrect information given to eyewitness that may aklter memory of event. (broken glass)

Answer 7

Questions that make it likely for the person's schema to influence answer. (bumped, contacted, smashed)

Answer 8

Misleading conversation after the event has occured may alter eyewitness memory. E.g with other witnesses.

Answer 9

Loftus + Palmer (1974) 45 students shown short films involving car acidents. After each film they were given a questionaire where there was one critical question: estmation of the speed the cars were travlling at. Different groupds had different conditions, different verbs (hit, smashed, collied, bumped and contacted. Findings: Smashed have highest average speed estmate (40.8mph). Contacted gave lowest (31.8mph). More extreme verb, higher estimation, concludes leading questions do affect recall accruacy.

Answer 10

Loftus + Palmer (1975) New participants watched video of car accident and were ashed similar speed estimation questions. Week later some participants were also asked if they saw any broken glass. There was no broken glass but participants in the 'smashed' conditon reported seeing some. Conclusion: Led to believe the car was travelling faster and therefore more likely to report seeing broken glass shows influence of misleading information on recall.

Answer 11

Leading questions Study: Loftus + Palmer. Misleading information study: Loftus + Palmer. Lab experiment - may lack ecological validity and therefore external validty. Use of students may have been a confouding variable, not representative. Younger children found to be more susceptible to leading questions. MIAD - lab experiement allowed for reduction of extraneous variables, highly controlled.

Answer 12

The high levels of anxeity that crimes tend to cause can in turn cause memories to distort. The Yerkes-Dodson Inverted-U Hypothesis: Shows anxiety has negative effect on the accuracy of eye witness recall when it is at very low (low attention) or very high levels (sensory shutdown). But moderate levels are actually beneficial to accuracy of recall as adrenaline can sharpen our senses and create clearer memories.

Answer 13

Johnson + Scott - Weapon Effect Experiement(1976): Participants were waiting outside a laboratory overhearing a exchange between two people in the adjacent room. In one condition man with greasys hand storms out the room with a pen (low anxiety). In the other condition a man emerged holding a knife covered in blood (high anxiety). Participants were later asked to identify the person out of a set of photos. Findings: Pen conditions more accruate at recognising the man (49% vs 33%). Believed anxiety elicited by weapon narrowed the focus of attention, reducing amount of detail beyond the weapon, therefore reducing accuracy of eye-witness testimony.

Answer 14

Yuille + Cutshall Case study of real life crime (1986): Investigation into real life shooting between gun owner and theif in middle of busy street in Vancover, Canada. 21 witnesses, 13 agreed to a research interview 4-5 months later. Findings: Found to be highky accurate in their accounts and little change in amount or accuracy of recall over a 5 month period. Leading questions, misleading information and post-event discussion was found to have no effect suggesting right level of anxeity can lead to highly accurate recall.