MEMORY Flashcards

Question

How can things from STM pass to LTM?

Answer 1

MAINTENANCE- repeating info ELABORATIVE- linking to info already in LTM

Answer 2

DISPLACEMENT (new info) DECAY (lost over time)

Answer 3

• Glanzer and Cunitz 1966 • Asked participants to free recall word list in any order • Found recall was much stringer for words at the start and at end of list. • Results suggest thee are separate short + long term memory stores, with the words first heard entering LTM and being recalled (primary effect) and the most recent words being held by STM and being recalled (recency effect) • Struggled to recall middle words (displaced)

Answer 4

• The MSM states that STM is a unitary store (only 1 type of STM) • However, evidence from people suffering from AMNESIA shows that this CANNOT BE TRUE • Example: • Patient studied KF, patient with amnesia • found that KF’s STM for digits was very poor when they read them out loud to him • But recall was much better when he was able to read digits himself. • Further studies of KF and other people with amnesia showed that there could be another STM store for non verbal sounds (such as noises) • The unitary STM is a limitation of MSM because research shows that at the very least there must be 1 STM store to process visual info and another to process auditory info

Answer 5

• Acorfing to MSM, what matters is rehearsal is the amount of it that you do. • So more rehearsal of info, the more likely you transfer it to LTM. • HOWEVER: CRAIK+WATKINS 1973- found that his prediction = wrong • What really matter sis rehearsal type. • Discovered 2 types of rehearsal • MAINTENANCE REHEARSAL = type described in MSM • But this type does not transfer info to LTM • Just maintains it in STM • ELABORATIVE REHEARSAL- needed for long-term storage • Occurs when toy link the info to your existing knowledge, or you think about what it means • very serious limitation of MSM as it is another research finding that cannot be explained by model.

Answer 6

- highly artificial - lacks external validity - low ecological validity, results collected in lab environment may not be generalisable to other naturalistic situations like school and work - also lack of mundane realism, experimental tasks testing the MSM are unlike how people use their memory in real life scenarios

Answer 7

Episodic- episodes in our lives E.G a gig you went to last week Semantic- knowledge of the world E.G knowledge of things like animals Procedural- actions/ skills/ how we do things E.G driving a car

Answer 8

Consciously recalled and can be put into words

Answer 9

Can’t be consciously recalled and is difficult to put into words E.g how to actually walk/ride a bike

Answer 10

DECLARATIVE= episodic and semantic NON DECLARATIVE= procedural

Answer 11

- declarative - time stamped (stored with reference to time + place) - recalled consciously - autobiographical (you are part of the memory) - easiest memories to forget - level of emotion felt at time, influences strength of memory - first coding in prefrontal cortex, stored across the brain connected by hippocampus

Answer 12

- declarative - may not recall when learnt/encoded (not time stamped) - recalled consciously - not autobiographical (nit in semantic memory) - resistant to forgetting - how deeply processed influences strength - parahippocampal cortex

Answer 13

- non declarative - often learnt in childhood -not timestamped - not recalled consciously - very resistant to forgetting - not autobiographical - how many times practiced influences strength of memory - motor cortex and cerebellum

Answer 14

- both severely impaired due to amnesia - episodic memory severely impaired - semantic memories relatively unaffected - procedural memories also intact - Clive could still play piano (was world class musician) - but couldn’t remember musical education - knows he has kids but not their names - knows wife but everytime he sees her he thinks its the fist time in ages. - evidence supports Tulvings view that there are different memory stores in LTM - one store can be damaged, others unaffected - clear evidence that not only these types of memory different but also stored different places in brain.

Answer 15

• Evidence from brain scans studying that different types of memory are stored in different parts of brain. • EXAMPLE: • Tulving 1994- got participants to perform various memory tasks while their brains were scanned using PET scanner. Found episodic + semantic memories both recalled in prefrontal cortex • Left prefrontal cortex= recalling semantic memories • Right pre frontal cortex = episodic memories • strength of these findings is it supports view that there is physical reality to different types of LTM in brain.

Answer 16

• Cohen + Squire 1980, disagreed with Tulving’s division of LTM into 3 types. • They accept that prodedural memories represent one type of LTM. • But argue episodic and semantic memories stored together in one LTM store that they call DECLARITAVE MEMORY i.e memories that can be consciously recalled. • In contrast to procedural memories that are non declarative.

Answer 17

• the use of ideographic research e.g Clive wearing allows researchers to study memory in way that would be impossible experimentally. • Problems with generalising the findings of these clinical case studies with 1 or fewer individuals, to explaining how memory works in the wider population • There could be other unknown issues unique to that individual that can explain the behaviour.

Answer 18

A representation of STM - it suggests that STM is dynamic processor of different types of info using sub-units coordinated by a central executive.

Answer 19

BADDELEY + HITCH 1974 - to replace the STM store of the MSM sue to criticisms of the STM. - STM must be more complex than just 1 singular unitary store that only exists to pass info on to LTM.

Answer 20

Central executive Phonological loop: - primary acoustic store - articulatory process Visual spatial sketchpad: - visual cache - inner scribe Episodic buffer

Answer 21

- head of model - controls attention - receives sense info + filters before passing on to sub system - limited capacity (4 items) - works in one type of info at time - but can switch attention between different inputs

Answer 22

Phonological loop: - deals with auditory info - limited capcity (about 2 seconds of words) Primary acoustic store: - words you hear - holds info via sub vocal repetition Articulatory process: - allows maintenance rehearsal (repeating sounds or words)

Answer 23

Visual spatial sketchpad: - processes visual + spatially coded info - limited cavity about 3-4 objects Visual cache: - passive store in form of colour Inner scribe: - active store holding the relationship between objects in 3D shapes

Answer 24

Episodic buffer: • added to WMM in 2000 • As model needed a general store to hold the integrate into from VSS, PL, CE and LTM • as a response to criticism of model

Answer 25

• Support for WMM comes from Shallice + Warringtons 1970 case study KF • After damage happened to KF, had poor STM ability for verbal info but could process visual info • I.e he had difficulty with sounds but could recall letters and digits. • This suggests that just his phonological loop had been damaged leaving other areas of memory intact. • Supports the existence of a separate visual and acoustic store. • However evidence from brain-damaged patients may not be reliable because it concerns unique cases with patients who have had traumatic experiences.

Answer 26

• BADDELEY 1975 • Particpants asked to perform 2 visual taks, tracking racing moving lights at the same time as describing the angles og letter F. • Or a visual and verbal task. • FOUND: • That performances were much better when the tasks were not using the same processing • it’s suggest s that the VSS and the PL exist as separate systems and the capacity of VSS can be overwhelmed with visual info.

Answer 27

• Cognitive psychologists suggest that this component of WMM is unsatisfactory and doesn’t really explain anything. • BADDELEY himself recognised this when he said ‘it’s the most important but least understood part of working memory’. • The central executive needs to be more clearly specified than just ‘attention’ • So psychologists believe it may consist of separate components • This means WMM hasn’t fully been expanded.

Answer 28

- therefore highly controlled with string internal validity - however issues with external validity in most studies n memory task lack mundane realism - therefore may not be generalised to how we use memory in day to day life

Answer 29

Forgetting because 1 memory blocks another, causing 1 or both memories to be distorted/ forgotten

Answer 30

Forgetting occurs when older memories (already stored) disrupt the recall of newer memories - degree of forgetting is greater when memories are similar

Answer 31

Forgetting occurs when newer memories disrupt the recall of older memories already stored. - degree of forgetting greater when memories are similar

Answer 32

Interference more likely to occur when 2 pieces of info are similar - this is due to RESPONSE COMPETITION

Answer 33

Interference is less likely to occur when there is a large gap between the instances of learning.

Answer 34

- particpants learn list of 10 words and then learn new list and recall original list after Interfering material (stopped rehearsal of original list): - synonyms - antonyms - unrelated to original words - constant syllables - 3 digit numbers - no new list (control group)

Answer 35

- When participants then recalled original list of words, their performance depended on nature of second list. - most similar material (synonyms) produced worse recall - shows that interference is strongest when the memories are similar

Answer 36

- asked participants to learn 10 paired word lists - then gave participants 48hrs before recall - repeated 4 times

Answer 37

- found the number of correctly recalled word pairs decreased the more word pairs had been learnt previously. - this provides evidence for pro-active interference, as previously learnt word combos caused confusion in the coding of the later lists, interfering with the accurate recall of later learnt word lists.

Answer 38

- form of forgetting - occurs when we don’t have the necessary cues to assess memory - memory is available but cannot access it

Answer 39

- states that if a cue is to help us recall information, it has to be present at encoding (learn material) and at retrieval (when recalling it).

Answer 40

- Carried out study of deep divers working underwater - divers learnt list of words either underwater or on land - then asked to recall words either underwater or on land 4 conditions: LEARN ON LAND- RECALL ON LAND LEARN ON LAND- RECALL ON LAND LEARN UNDERWATER- RECALL ON LAND LEARN UNDERWATER - RECALL UNDERWATER

Answer 41

- accurate recall was 40% LOWER in the non- matching conditions - external cues available were different from the ones at recall and this led to retrieval failure

Answer 42

- gave anti histamine drugs to particpants - anti histamine had mild sedative effects, making participants slightly drowsy. - creates an internal physiological state different from ‘normal’ state of being awake and alert - participants has to learn list of words and passages and the recall it. 4 conditions: • learn on drug- recall when on it • Learn on drug- recall not on it • Learn not on drug- recall when on it • Learn not on drug- recall when not on drug.

Answer 43

- in conditions where there was a mismatch between internal state at learning + recall, performance on memory test was significantly worse - so when cues are absent, there is some forgetting

Answer 44

EVIDENCE FROM LAB STUDIES • Lots of lab experiments have been carried out into this explanation into forgetting. • McGeoch + McDonald’s research • Most of the studies show that both types of interference are very likely to be common ways we forget info from LTM. • Strength as lab experiments control the effects of irrelevant influences so give us confidence that interference is a valid explanation for at least some forgetting.

Answer 45

• Much greater chance that interference will be demonstrated in the lab than real-life situations for one good reason. • The stimulus materials used inmost studies= list of words • Learning lots of actual words is def more realistic than learnig lists of consonant syllables. • But this is still distant from things we learn and try to remember in everyday life e.g peoples faces, birthdays ect. • Limitation because use of artificial tasks makes interference much more likely in lab • Interference may not be as likely an explanation for forgetting in everyday life as is in lab.

Answer 46

• Some research studies have considered interference effects in more everyday situations. • BADDELEY + Hitch 1977- wanted to find out if interference was a better explanation for forgetting than the passage of time. • Asked rugby players to try to remember names of teams they had played so far in the season, week by week. • Because most of the players had missed games, for some the ‘last team’ they played might have been 2 weeks ago, or 3 or more. • Results very clearly showed that accurate recall did not depend on how long ago matches took place. • Much more important was the number of games they played in the meantime. • So a players recall of a team from 3 weeks ago was better if they had played no matches since then. • Study shows interference explanations can apply to at least some everyday situations.

Answer 47

• The studies by GODDEN + Baddleey and Carter + Cassaday= 2 examples of research. • Eysenck 2010- goes so far as to argue that retrival failure is perhaps the main reason for forgetting from LTM • STRENGTH because supporting evidence increases the validity of an explanation. • Especially true when the evidence shows that retrival failtire occurs in real-life situations as well as in the highly controlled conditions of the lab.

Answer 48

• BADDELEY 1997- argues that context effects are actually not very strong, especially in real life. • Different contexts have to be very different indeed before an effect is seen. • Example: • It would be hard to find an enviroment as different from land as underwater. • Contrast, learning something in one room and recalling in another unlikely to result in much forgetting because these environments generally not diffferent enough. • limitation as it means that the real-life applications of retrival failure due to contextual cues don’t actually explain much forgetting.

Answer 49

• The contextual effect may be related to the kind of memory being tested. • GODDEN + BADDELEY 1980- replicated their underwater experiment but used a recognition test instead of recall- particpants had to say whether they recognised a word read to the from the list, instead of retrieving it for themselves. • When recognition was tested there was no context- dependent effect; performance was same in all 4 conditions • further limitation of context effects because it means that the presence or absence of cues only affects memory when you test it in a certain way.

Answer 50

Ability of people to remember details of events - can be affected by factors like misleading info, leading questions and anxiety

Answer 51

Question which, because of way it is phrased, suggests a certain answer. Example: ‘ was he knife in the accused left hand?’- suggests answer is ‘left hand’.

Answer 52

- particpants (students) watch film clips of car accident then answer questions about accident - in critical question (leading question) particpants asked hoe fast cars were travelling ‘ about how fast were the cars going when they hit each other?’ - leading question because verb ‘hit’ suggests the speed car was travelling. - there were 5 groups of participants asked to say how fast cars travelling - VERBS: hit, contacted, bumped, collided and smashed

Answer 53

- mean estimated speed was calculated for each group of particpants. - Verb CONTACTED- mean estimated speed= 31.8 mph - Verb SMASHED- mean estimated speed= 40.5 mph - leading question biased the EW recall of event.

Answer 54

Suggests that the wording of the question has no real effect on participants memories, but just influences how they decide to answer

Answer 55

The wording of a leading question actually changes the participants memory of film clip

Answer 56

Loftus and palmer 1974- conducted 2nd experiment that supported the sub- situation explanation- the wording of a leading question actually changes the participants memory of film clip. - particpants who originally heard ‘smashed’ later ere more likely to report seeing broken glass (there was none)than those who heard ‘hit’ - critical verb altered their memory of incident.

Answer 57

When co-witnesses to crime discuss it with each other, their EWT may become contaminated. - this is because they combine (mis)info of other witnesses with their own memories.

Answer 58

- studied participants in pairs. - each participant watched a video of same crime, but filmed from different points of view - meant each participant could see elements in event others couldn’t - both participants then discussed what they had seen before individually completing test of recall.

Answer 59

- found 71% of particpants mistakenly recalled aspects of the event they did not see in video but picked up on in discussion - corresponding figure in control group (no discussion) 0% - Gabbert el al concluded witnesses often go along with each other, either to win social approval or because they believe other witnesses are right or wrong - called MEMORY CONFORMITY

Answer 60

• Strength of all research into misleading info is that it has hugely important practical uses in real world. • Where consequences of inaccurate EWT can be very serious. • EXAMPLE: • Loftus believes that leading questions can have such a distorting effect on memory that police officers need to be very careful about how they phrase their questions when interviewing eyewitnesses. • research into EWT is one area in psychology that psychologists believe they can make an important positive difference to lies of real people • For instance improving way legal system works and by appearing in court trials as expert witnesses.

Answer 61

• Limitation of Loftus + Plamer’s study= their particpants watched film clips of car incidents.\ • very different experience from witnessing real accident (mainly as they lack stress) • Somme evidence that emotions can have influence on memory. • Limitation as studies that use such artificial tasks may tell us little about how leading questions affect EWT in cases of real accidents/ crimes. • could even be that researchers (such as Loftus) are too pessimistic about the accuracy of EWT

Answer 62

• Evidence that older people less accurate than younger people when giving eyewitness reports. • Example: • Anastasi + Rhodes 2006- found that people in age group 18-25 and 35-45 were more accurate than people in age group 55-78 yrs. • However, all age groups were more accurate when identifying people of their own age group (OWN AGE BIAS) • Research studies often use younger people as the target to identify + this may mean that some age groups appear less accurate but in fact this is not true.

Answer 63

Method of interviewing eyewitnesses to help them retrieve more accurate memories - uses 4 main techniques, all based on well- established psychological knowledge of human memory.

Answer 64

FISHER + GEISELMAN 1992 - Argued EWT could be improved if police used better techniques when interviewing witnesses. - recommended such techniques should be based on psychological insights into how memory works

Answer 65

1. REPORT EVERYTHING • Witnesses encouraged to include every single detail of event even if it may seem irrelevant • Seemingly trivial details may be important and may trigger other important memories. 2. REINSTATE THE CONTEXT • Witness should return to original crime scene ‘in mind’ and imagine the enviroment (e.g weather) and her emotions (e.g what were they feeling) • This is related to CONTEXT- DEPENDENT FORGETTING. 3. REVERSE THE OLDER • Event should be recalled in different chronological order to original sequence (e.g from final point back to beginning, or from middle to beginning). • Done to prevent people reporting their expectations of how event must have happened rather than the actual events, • Also prevents dishonesty. 4. CHANGE PERSPECTIVE • Witnesses should recall incident from others people perspectives • Example: how it would have appeared to other witnesses or to perpetrator. • Done to disrupt the effect of expectations + schema on recall.

Answer 66

- FISHER ET AL- developed some addition element to cognitive interview to focus on the social dynamics of the interactions - e.g interviewer needs to know when to establish eye contact and when to get rid of it. - enhanced CI also includes ideas such as: - reducing eyewitness anxiety - minimising distractions - getting witnes to speak slowly - asking open- ended questions

Answer 67

• Police may be reluctant to use the CI as takes much more time than standard police interviews. • Example: • More time needed to establish rapport with witness and allow them to relax. • The CI also requires special training, many forces have not been able to provide more than a few hours. • Means it’s unlikely that the ‘proper’ version of the CI is actually used, which may explain why police have not been that impressed by it.

Answer 68

• Milne + Bull 2002- found each individual element was equally valuable. • Each technique used singly produced more info than the standard police interview. • HOWEVER: • Milne + Bull found that using a combination of REPORT EVERYTHING and CONTEXT REINSTATMENT produced better recall than any of other conditions. • This confirmed police officers suspicions that some aspects of CI are more useful than others. • this finding = strength as it suggests that at least these 2 elements should be used to improve police interviewing of eyewitnesses even if full CI isn’t used. • This in turn increases credibility of CI amongst those who use it- police officers.

Answer 69

• research suggests that enhanced CI may offer special benefits. • Example: • Meta analysis by Kohnken et al 1999 combined data from 50 studies • Enhanced CI consistently provided more correct info than the standard interview used by police. • strength as studies such as one indicate that there are real practical benefits to the police of using the enhanced version of CI. • The research shows that it gives the police a greater chance of catching + charging criminals, which is beneficial to society as a whole.

MEMORY Flashcards

(94 cards)