Memory Flashcards
(46 cards)
1
Q
Memory
A
Process by which we retain information about events that happened in the past
2
Q
Definition of Short term memory
A
Memory for events in the present or immediate past
3
Q
Definition of Long term memory
A
Memory of events in the more distant past
4
Q
Draw the multi- store model
A
Sensory register:
- Large capacity
- Duration- less than a second
- Coding- by the sensory register, sound, visually
STM:
- Limited capacity 7 +- 2 (5-9)
- Duration- 18 seconds
- Coded acoustically
LTM:
- Potentially unlimited capacity
- Potentially unlimited duration
- Coded semantically
5
Q
Limitation of MSM
A
- Evidence of more than one STM store
- Shallice and Warrington studied KF who had amnesia
- KF’s STM- digits were poor when they were read out loud to him, but recall was much better when he read the digits himself
- Could be another short- term store for non- verbal sounds
- Suggests MSM is wrong in claiming that there is just 1 STM store processing different types of information
6
Q
Outline a criticism of a study into short- term memory
Peterson and Peterson
A
- A criticism into short- term memory is Peterson and Peterson’s nonsense trigrams
- Supported the idea of a limited duration of STM
- This is a weakness because it is not realistic in real life so short term memory may be better as they also used students who have better memories
7
Q
Outline a criticism of a study into short- term memory
External validity
A
- A criticism is that the research exploring the multi-store model of memory often lacks external validity
- This is due to the artificial nature of research conducted in a lab-based setting
- Therefore, the findings may not be FULLY representative of everyday memory.
8
Q
Coding, capacity and duration of SHORT term memory
A
- Coding is mainly acoustic (sounds)
- Limited- capacity memory store. Capacity is between 5 and 9 items on average
- Duration is about 18 seconds (Up to 30 seconds)
9
Q
Coding, capacity and duration of LONG term memory
A
- Coding is mainly semantic (meaning)
- Permanent memory store- potentially unlimited capacity
- Store memories for up to a lifetime
10
Q
Coding
A
Format in which information is stored in the various memory stores
11
Q
Capacity
A
Amount of information that can be held in a memory store
12
Q
Duration
A
Length of time information can be held in memory
13
Q
Draw the working memory model
A
14
Q
Discuss the role of the Central Executive (4)
A
- Main component of WMM
- Data arrives from senses or LTM, acts as a conductor
- Direct attention to particular tasks + allocates data to different subsystems
- Limited capacity
15
Q
Discuss the role of the Phonological loop
A
Subdivided into 2 parts
Phonological store:
- Holds information in a speech form
- Allows acoustically encoded items to be held for a brief period of time
Articulatory Process:
- Allows sub- vocal repetition of items stored in phonological store- form of maintenance rehearsal
- Limited capacity
16
Q
Discuss the role of the Visuo- spatial sketchpad
A
- Used when you have to mentally plan a special task
- Stores visual and spatial information
- Responsible for setting up and manipulating mental images
- Has limited capacity
Subdivided into 2 parts:
Inner scribe:
- Acts as a rehearsal mechanism- controls spatial awareness
Visual cache:
- Deals with storage of information- stores visual data
17
Q
Discuss the role of the Episodic buffer
A
- Limited capacity
- Integrates information from all components of WMM and LTM
- Store that can deal with different types of information
- Baddeley added Episodic buffer as the model needed a general store
18
Q
Episodic memory
A
- Explicit
- Time- stamped
- Refers to our ability to recall events
19
Q
Semantic memory
A
- Explicit
- Not time- stamped (Can remember when something happened- but don’t put a time against it)
- All our knowledge about the world
20
Q
Procedural memory
A
- Implicit- non- declarative- can’t describe them
- Concerned with how to do things/ skills
- Acquired through experience and practice
- Less aware of these memories as they become automatic with practice- IMPORTANT as it focuses our attention on other tasks
21
Q
Evidence from brain damaged patients (Strength- Dual- task performance)- (6 points to be made)
A
- Support the separate existence of the visuo- spatial sketchpad
- Baddeley’s participants carried out a visual and verbal task at the same time
- Their performance on each was similar to when they carried out the tasks separately
- When both tasks were either visual or verbal, performance on both declined substantially
- Because both visual tasks compete for the same subsystem → VSS, whereas there is not competition when performing verbal and visual task together
- Shows there must be a separate subsystem one that processes visual input (VSS) and one for verbal processing (PL)
22
Q
Evidence from brain damaged patients (Weakness- Central Executive criticism) (4)
Essentially weakness of WMM
A
- Lack of clarity over nature of the C.E
- C.E needs to be more clearly specified
- Psychologists believe the C.E may consist of separate subcomponents
- Means C.E is an unsatisfactory component and challenges integrity of WMM
23
Q
When does Interference occur?/ What is Interference?
A
When 2 pieces of information conflict with each other, causing one or both to be forgotten, or in some distortion of memory
24
Q
Proactive interference
A
Older memory interferes with a new memory
E.g when you can’t remember your new password but can only remember your old password
25
Retroactive interference
Newer memory interferes with an older memory
## Footnote
E.g- When you have learned a new mobile number, it is often very difficult to recall your old number.
26
Strength of interference
Generalising to real life:
- Interference we see in the **lab studies** is because the **memories are available** but we **cannot RETRIEVE them without cues**
- When cues are available in real life we remember information.
27
Retrieval failure
When the **memory may be there and available** but it is just **not accessible** however if you are given a **cue** you are **more likely to remember it**
Lack of external contextual cues- where evnvironment for learning and recall is different (e.g different room)
Lack of internal contextual cues- where physical state for learning and recall is different (e.g mood)
28
Research on context- dependent forgetting (Retrieval Failure)
Godden + Baddeley studied deep sea divers who **work underwater** to see if **training** on **land** **helped or hindered their work underwater**.
The divers **learned a list of words** either **underwater or on land** and then were asked to **recall** the words either **underwater or on land**
4 conditions created:
- Learn on land- recall on land
- Learn on land- recall underwater
- Learn underwater - recall underwater
- Lean underwater - recall on land
**Accurate recall was 40% lower in the non- matching conditions**. They concluded that the **EXTERNAL CUES available** at **LEARNING** were **DIFFERENT** from the **ones available at RECALL** and this led to retrieval failure
29
Eyewitness testimony
When you witness a crime you give an eyewitness testimony, they're important in criminal trials however they can be unreliable and wrongful convictions may result
30
Leading question
Question suggests the answer- trying to get the witness to say something particular
31
Misleading information: Leading question- experiment
Loftus & Palmer
Sutdied- 45 students
- Participants were **shown film clips of automobile accidents**.
After each clip the participants had to **write an account of what they had seen**
- They also had to answer **some questions**, some of which were **filler questions** → so they **don't work out the aim**
- The critical question was '**About how fast were the cars going when they hit each other?'**
- There were 5 conditions: smashed (suggests they were going fast), collided, bumped, hit, contacted (suggests they were going slow)- (5 groups of participants getting a different question.)
**Verbs** used **had an effect** on their **estimate of speed**- this could be due to either their **memories were distorted** or they were **responding to demand characteristics**
32
Strength of misleading information (3 points)
- Has important practical uses in criminal justice system (CJS)
- Loftus believes that **leading questions** can have such a distorting effect on memory that police officers need to be careful about how they phrase their questions when interviewing eyewitnesses
- Psychologists can help to improve the way the legal system works, by protecting innocent people from faulty convictions
33
Weakness of misleading information
- Practical **appliances** of eyewitness testimonies **may be** affected by **issues with research**
- Loftus and Palmer's participants watched film clips in a lab which is a different **experience** to real life- less stressful
- Researchers like Loftus are too pessimistic about effects of misleading information
34
Post- event discussion (PED)
When EYEWITNESSES may discuss their experiences and memories with each other
35
Research on Post- event discussion (PED)
Gabbert studied **participants in pairs**. **Each participant** watched a **VIDEO** of the **same crime**, but **filmed** from **DIFFERENT points of views**.
This meant that **each participant could see elements in the EVENT that the other could not**.
(E. g only 1 of the participants could see the title of the book being carried by a young woman)
- **Both participants** then **discussed** what they had **seen** before **individually** completing a **recall test**
Findings:
- Researchers found that **71%** of the participants **MISTAKENLY recalled aspects of the event that they did not see in the video** but had **picked up in the discussion**
36
Why does PED affect eyewitness testimony?
1. Memory Contamination:
- **Co- witnesses** to a crime **discuss** it with each other
- Their **eyewitness testimonies** may become **altered or distorted**
- They **combine misinformation** from **other witnesses' memories** with their **own memories**.
2. Memory Conformity:
- Gabbert concluded that witnesses often go along with each other
- Either to win social approval or because they believe the other witnesses are right and they are wrong
37
Cognitive interview
Psychological insights into how memory work, there are 4 techniques
38
1st technique of cognitive interview
REPORT EVERYTHING:
- Witnesses are encouraged to include every single detail of the event, even if it's irrelevant.
(E.g Can you tell us everything that you witnessed even if you think they are irrelevant?)
39
2nd technique of cognitive interview
REINSTATE THE CONTEXT:
- Witness should return to original crime scene in mind and imagine environment and emotions
(E.g What was the weather like? How were you feeling?)
40
3rd technique of cognitive interview
REVERSE THE ORDER:
- Events should be recalled in a different order from original sequence
- Prevent dishonesty- harder to produce an untruthful account if they have to rehearse it
(E.g Can you describe what you saw from when you first called the police to when you saw the offender?)
41
4th technique of cognitive interview
CHANGE PERSPECTIVE:
- Witness should recall incident from other people's perspectives
(E.g Imagine you're the victim can you describe everything you saw)
42
Enhanced Cognitive Interview ideas (ECI)
- Eyewitness anxiety
- Minimising distractions
- Getting witness to speak slowly
- Asking open- ended questions
43
Strength of Cognitive Interview (CI)- Support for Effectiveness of CI
- CI **works**
- Köhnken **combined data from 55 studies** **comparing the CI and the ECI with the standard police interview**. CI gave an **average 41% increase** in **accurate information**
- CI is an **effective technique** in **helping witnesses** to **recall information** that is **stored in memory**
44
Weakness of Cognitive Interview- Counterpoint
- Köhnken found an **INCREASE** in the **amount of inaccurate information** *recalled by participants*
- Particular **issue** in the **ECI**, produced **MORE incorrect details than the CI**
- Police officers should **treat *eyewitness evidence* from CIs/ ECIs with caution**
45
Research of anxiety on accuracy of eyewitness testimonies- Deffenbacher study
Deffenbacher study:
- Carried out **meta- analysis on 18 studies** that looked at EFFECTS of **HIGHTENED ANXIETY** on **EYEWITNESS RECALL**
- High levels of **stress** have a **negative impact** on **accuracy** of eyewitness recall
WEAKNESS:
- Many **witnesses** are **recalling traumatic events**.
- Criminal Justice System (CJS) should be aware that this MAY have a **negative impact on the *accuracy* of their memories**
46
Research of anxiety on accuracy of eyewitness testimonies- Christianson & Hubinette study
Christianson & Hubinette study:
- **Questioned real witnesses to bank robberies**
- Found that those who had been **threatened** in some way were **more accurate in their recall and remembered more details and were less emotionally aroused**.
WEAKNESS:
- Real- life scenario- anxiety may **increase** memory for an event
- Lack of **control** of **extraneous variables**
- (Those who had been threatened may have discussed their ordeal more or read more newspaper reports -> Post- event discussion?
