Memory

Question 1

state what the response-bias explanation suggests could be the reason for why leading questions affect eye witnesses testimony

Answer 1

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

Question 2

Give an example of a situation that could support the response-bias explanation

hint: what would a leading word like ‘smashed’ change a participant’s answer when describing speed estimates

Answer 2

When a participant gets a leading question using the word smashed, this encourages them to choose a higher speed estimate

Question 3

What does the substitution explanation propose?

Answer 3

the wording of a leading question changes the participant’s memory .

Question 4

what evidence could be used to support the substitution explanation bias?

hint: think Loftus and Palmer

Answer 4

in their (L&P’s) second experiment, participants who initially heard ‘smashed’ were later more likely to report seeing broken glass (there was none) than those who heard ‘hit’. the critical verb altered their memory of the incident.

Question 5

Outline the procedure of Loftus and Palmer’s study

Answer 5

-45 participants (students) watched film clips of car accidents and then were asked questions abt the accident.
-5 groups of participants were given a different verb in the critical question “how fast were the cars going when they each other?”
-the verb used was either hit, contacted, bumped, collided or smashed.

Question 6

what did loftus and palmer find in their study?

Answer 6

the verb ‘contacted’ resulted in a mean estimated speed of 31.8 mph. for the verb ‘smashed’, the mean was 40.5mph

Question 7

what can be concluded from loftus and palmer’s study? (1 thing)

Answer 7

that leading questions do have an impact an eyewitness’s recall of an event

Question 8

outline gabbert et al’s study on how post event discussion can affect eyewitness testimony

Answer 8

-participants were studied in pairs.
-each participant watched a video of the same crime , but it was filmed from different points of view.
-meaning tht each participant could see elements in the event tht the other couldnt.
-both participants then discussed wht theyd seen before individually completing a test of recall

Question 9

what did gabbert et al find in their study?

Answer 9

researchers had found evidence of memory conformity as 71% of participants mistakenly recalled aspects of the even that they didn’t see in the video but had picked up in the discussion. the corresponding figure in a control group, where their was no discussion, was 0%.

Question 10

what does the memory contamination explanation suggest could be the reason for why post event discussion affects eye witness testimony?

Answer 10

when a co-witnesses to a crime discuss it w/ each other, their eyewitness testimonies may become altered or distorted. Bc they combine (mis)information from others with their own memories.

Question 11

-define wht’s meant by the memory conformity explanation?

-who also came to conclusion that this was an explanation for post event discussion?

Answer 11

-witnesses often go along w/ each other, either to win social approval or bc they believe the other witnesses are right and they are wrong. However, the original memory never changes.
-Gabbert et al

Question 12

Whats a strength of research into misleading info?
(think real world application)
PEE

Answer 12

P- findings can be used by criminal justice system
E-consequences of EWT are detrimental. Loftus found tht leading questions can distort memory.
E-this can help police officers to be more careful about how they phrase questions during interviews w/ eye witnesses.

Question 13

how does anxiety have a negative effect on recall?

Answer 13

it creates physiological arousal in body which prevents us paying attention to important cues, so recall is worse

Question 14

Outline Johnson and Scott’s procedure used to research the effect of the presence of a weapon on memory

-also mention what happened in the low and high anxiety condition

Answer 14

-participants believed they were taking part in a lab study.
-IN THE LOW ANXIETY CONDITION: seated in a waiting room ,participants heard a casual convo in the next room and then saw a man walk past them carrying a pen and grease on his hands.
-IN HIGH ANXIETY CONDITION: participants overheard a heated argument, heard breaking of glass, and then saw a man walk out of the room holding a knife covered in blood

Question 15

a) -what was found by johnson and scott? (2 things)

b)-what was concluded?

Answer 15

a)-participants later picked out the man from a set of 50 photos, 49% who’d seen man carrying pen were able to identify him.
-33% of participants who’d seen a man carrying blood-covered knife were able to correctly identify man

b) the tunnel theory of memory: argues tht ppl have enhanced memory for central events. weapon focus as a result of anxiety can have this effect

Question 16

how does anxiety have a positive effect on recall?

Answer 16

-witnessing a stressful event creates anxiety through physiological arousal within the body.
-the fight or flight response is triggered, increasing alertness.
-this may improve memory for the event as we become more aware of cues in the situation.

Question 17

outline the procedure yuille and cutshall used to investigate the posive effect of anxiety on recall

Answer 17

-study was on an actual shooting in a gun shop in canada wher the shop owner shot a theif dead. there were 21 witnesses- 13 took part in the study.
-they were interviewed 4 to 5 months after the incident and these interviews were compared with the original police interviews at the time of the shooting.
-accuracy was determined by the number of details reported in each account and witnesses were also asked to rate how stressed they had felt at the time of the incident (on a 7 point scale) and whether they had any emotional problems since the event (eg sleeplessness)

Question 18

what did yullie and cutshall find when investigating the positive effects of anxiety on memory?

Answer 18

• the witnesses were very accurate in their accounts and there was little change in the amount recalled or accuracy after 5mnths- though some details were less accurate, such as recollection of the colour of items and age/height/weight estimates.
  -those participants who reported the highest levels of stress were most accurate (abt 88% compared to 75% for the less stress group)

Question 19

what did yullie and cutshall conclude when investigating the positive effects of anxiety on memory?

Answer 19

that anxiety doesnt have a detrimental effect on the accuracy of eyewitness memory in a rea world context and may even enhance it

Question 20

what shape does the relationship between emotional arousal and performance look like on a graph?

Answer 20

an inverted U

Question 21

say what the yerkes-dodson law/ the inverted U theory states

Answer 21

it states that performance will increase with stress, but only up to a certain point, where it decreases drastically

Question 22

what did deffenbacher do to explain the contradictory findings on the effects of anxiety

Answer 22

he reviewed 21 studies on EWT and used the yerkes-dodson law to explain the findings

Question 23

how did deffenbacher use yerkes-dodson law to explain the contradictory findings on the effects of anxiety?

Answer 23

-when a crime/accident is witnessed, emotional (anxiety) and physiological changes (fight or flight response) are experienced.
-lower levels of anxiety/arousal produce lower levels of recall accuracy
-then, memory becomes more accurate as the level of anxiety/arousal increases.
-however, theres an optimal level of anxiety, which is the point of max accuracy. if a person experiences any more arousal, then their recall suffers a drastic decline.

Question 24

whats a limitation of johnson and scott’s study regarding poor internal validity? (unusualness rather than anxiety)

(PEE)

Answer 24

P- it may not have tested for anxiety. participants may have focused on weapon bc it was surprising or unusual not bc it made them scared.
E- Pickel conducted an experiment using scissors , a handgun, a wallet or a raw chicken as the hand held items in a hair salon video (where scissors=high anxiety, low unusualness). it was found tht eyewitness accuracy was significantly poorer in the high unusualness conditions (chicken and handgun)
E- suggets tht the weapon focus effect is due to unusualness rather than anxiety/threat. therefore, tells us nothing specifically abt the effects of anxiety on EWT

Question 25

whats a strength of the view that anxiety has a negative effect on the accuracy of recall? (PEE)

Answer 25

P- theres evidence to support the view E- Valentine & Mesout’s study supports the research on weapon focus, finding negative effects on recall . researchers used an objective measure (heart rate) to divide participants into high and low anxiety groups. in this study anxiety clearly disrupted the participants’ ability to recall details abt the actor in london dungeon’s labyrinth. E- this suggests tht a high level of anxiety does have a negative effect on the immediate eyewitness recall of a stressful event

Question 26

whats a strength of the view that anxiety has a positive effect on the accuracy of recall? (PEE)

Answer 26

P- theres evidence to support this view E- christianson & hübinette interviewed 58 witnesses to actual bank robberies in sweden. some of the witnesses were directly and others were indirectly involved. researchers found tht recall was more than 75% accurate across all witnesses. the direct victims (most anxious) were even more accurate. E- these findings confirm tht anxiety doesnt reduce the accuracy of recall for eyewitnesses and may actually enhance it.

Question 27

what are the 4 techniques that make up the Cognitive Interview?

Answer 27

-report everything -reinstate the context -reverse the order -change perspective

Question 28

who introduced the cognitive review? (there are two ppl)

Answer 28

-fisher -& geiselman

Question 29

define what fisher+geiselman meant by ‘report everything’ (as a cognitive interview technique)

Answer 29

witnesses r encouraged to include every single detail of event, even if it seems trivial. seemingly small details may be important and may trigger other important memories

Question 30

define what fisher+geiselman meant by ‘reinstate the context’ (as a cognitive interview technique)

Answer 30

witness should return to the original scene by imagining the environment and their emotions at the time .

Question 31

define what fisher+geiselman meant by ‘reverse the order’ (as a cognitive interview technique)

Answer 31

events should be recalled in a different order from the original sequence e.g from final point to beginning. -this prevents ppl reporting their expectations if how the event must have happened rather than the actual events. -it prevents dishonesty as its harder to produce an untruthful acc if they have to reverse it

Question 32

define what fisher+geiselman meant by ‘change perspective’ (as a cognitive interview technique)

Answer 32

witness should recall the incident from the other ppl’s perspectives. eg how if would’ve appeared to the perpetrator. this is done to disrupt the effect of expectations.

Question 33

what does fisher et al's enhanced cognitive interview focus on as an addition to cognitive interview ?

Answer 33

the social dynamics of the interaction (between an eyewitness and the interviewer)

Question 34

wht are five aspects of the social dynamics of an interview/interaction tht the ehanced cognitive interview focus on?

Answer 34

-interviewer needs to know when to establish and relinquish eye contact -reducing eyewitness anxiety -minimising distractions -getting the witness to speak slower -ask open ended questions

Question 35

whats a strength of the cognitive interview (CI)? hint: think abt its effectivness (PEE)

Answer 35

P- there's evidence tht supports its effectiveness/ tht it works E- Eg a meta analysis by Kohnen et al combined data from 55 studies comparing the CI w/ the standard police interview. CI gave an avg 41% increase in accurate info compared w/ the standard interview. only 4 studies in the analysis showed no difference between the types of interview. E- shows tht CI is an effective technique in helping witnesses to recall info .

Question 36

whats a limitation of the cognitive interview (CI)? hint: think abt the fact tht some parts are more helpful than others (PEE)

Answer 36

P- not all of its elements are equally effective or useful E- Milne and Bull found tht each of the 4 techniques used ALONE produce more info than the standard police interview. but also found tht using 'report everything' and 'reinstate the context' produced better recall than any other techniques or combo of them. E- this confirmed police officers' suspicions tht some aspects of CI are more useful than others. this casts some doubt on the credibility of the overall CI.

Question 37

whats a limitation of the cognitive interview (CI)? hint: 'time-consuming', 'requires a lot of training' (PEE)

Answer 37

P- its time consuming and requires a lot of training so officers may be less willing to use CI instead of standard police interview E- e.g more time is needed 2 establish rapport w/ witness and allow them to relax. CI also requires special training and many forces don't have the resources to provide more than a few hours. E- suggests tht the complete CI as it exists isnt a realistic method 4 police officers 2.

Question 38

define what is meant by the term ‘coding’

Answer 38

its the format in which info is stored in the various memory stores

Question 39

define what is meant by the term ‘capacity’

Answer 39

the amount of info that can be held in a memory store

Question 40

define what is meant by ‘duration’

Answer 40

the length of time info can be held in memory

Question 41

what is short term memory

Answer 41

the limited-capacity memory store. coding is mainly acoustic (sounds), capacity is bet

Question 42

list 3 things about STM (short term memory) regarding the coding of info in this store, its capacity and the duration of info in the store

Answer 42

-coding is mainly acoustic (sounds) -capacity is between 5 and 9 items on average -duration is between about 18 and 30 seconds

Question 43

what is the long term memory store?

Answer 43

the permanent memory store

Question 44

list 3 things about LTM (long term memory) regarding the coding of info in this store, its capacity and the duration of info in the store

Answer 44

-coding is mainly semantic (the meaning of the information) -has unlimited capacity -can store memories for up to a lifetime

Question 45

explain how coding works

Answer 45

its a process where info is converted from one form to another

Question 46

outline baddeley’s research on coding

Answer 46

-4 groups were given different lists of words to remember. -group 1 got acoustically similar words, group 2 got acoustically dissimilar words, group 3- semantically similar words (synonymous words) and group 4- semantically dissimilar words e.g good, huge, hot -participants were shown the words from their list and asked to recall them in the correct order

Question 47

what was found in baddeley’s research on coding and what could be suggested?

Answer 47

-when recalling info from STM, participants tended to do worse with acoustically similar words -when recalling from LTM, participants did worse recalling semantically similar words -it suggests tht info is coded acoustically in STM and semantically in LTM

Question 48

how did Jacobs investigate how much information STM can hold at one time?

Answer 48

by measuring digit span.

Question 49

how did jacobs measure digit span (2 things to mention) and what was found?

Answer 49

-the researcher reads out 4 digits and participants recall these out loud in the correct order. -if this is correct the researcher reads out 5 digits and so on until the participant can’t recall the order correctly. this indicates the individual’s digit span -the mean span for digits across all participants was 9.3 items. the mean span for letters was 7.3

Question 50

outline the research that Peterson and Peterson conducted on the duration of STM (3 things to mention) - mention what the findings and conclusions/suggestions were

Answer 50

-24 students in 8 trials each were tested and in each trial, student was given a consonant syllable ( eg. YCH) to remember. they were also given a 3 digit number. -students counted back form that number until told to stop. this was to prevent any mental rehearsal of the consonant syllable. -on each trial, they were told to stop after varying periods of time; 3,6,9,12,15 or 18 seconds (the retention interval). The findings were similar -after 3 secs, avg recall was about 80%, after 18 secs it was abut 3%. suggesting that STM duration may be about 18 secs, unless info is repeated over and over (eg thru verbal rehearsal)

Question 51

outline the research that Bahrick et al conducted on the duration of LTM (2 things to mention) - mention what the findings (2 key things) -and conclusion/suggestion were

Answer 51

-392 american participants aged between 17-74 were studied and high skl year books were obtained from participants or directly from some skills. -recall was tested in various ways, including: 1) photo recognition test consisting of 50 photos, some from the participants’ high skl yearbooks 2) free recall test where participants recalled all the names of their graduating class -participants tested within 15 yrs of graduation were abt 90% accurate in photo recognition. after 48 years, recall declined to abt 70% for photo recognition. -free recall was less accurate than recognition- abt 60% after 15 years, dropping to 30% after 48 years. -suggested/showed tht LTM may last up to a lifetime for some material

Question 52

what’s a strength of baddeley’s research regarding separates memory stores? (STM)

Answer 52

P: it identified a clear difference between two memory stores E: although later research has shown exceptions to baddeley’s research, the idea that STM uses mostly acoustic coding and LTM uses mostly semantic is still agreed with. E: this research was an important step in understanding the memory system, which led to the multi-store model

Question 53

what’s a weakness of baddeley’s research regarding artificial stimuli? (STM)

Answer 53

P: it used quite artificial stimuli rather than meaningful material E: eg. words had no personal meaning to participants. so the findings can’t explain much about coding in different kinds of memory tasks, especially in daily life. for instance, when processing more meaningful info,ppl may use semantic coding even for STM tasks. E: suggests tht the findings from this study have limited application

Question 54

what’s a strength of Jacobs’ study regarding its replicablity? (STM)

Answer 54

P: it has been replicated. E: despite this study being very old and early research often lacked adequate controls , Jacobs’ findings have been confirmed by other, better controlled studies since then (eg. Bopp et al) E: Suggest that Jacobs’ study is a valid test of digit span in STM

Question 55

what’s a (the) limitation of Miller’s research on STM?

Answer 55

P: The capacity of STM may have been overestimated E: research has shown and concluded tht the capacity of STM is only at 4 (plus or minus 1) chunks.. E: suggests tht the lower end of miller’ estimate (5 items) is more accurate than (7 items)

Question 56

What’s a limitation of Peterson et el’s study regarding the type of stimuli used?

Answer 56

P: the stimulus material was artificial E: recalling consonant syllables doesn’t reflect most everyday memory ctivies where important info is trying to be remembered. E: suggests tht study lacks external validity

Question 57

what’s a strength of Bahrick et al’s study regarding its external validity?

Answer 57

P: it has high external validity E: bc the researchers investigated meaningful memories (ie ppl’s names and faces). when research was conducted on LTM using meaningless images, recall was much lower E: suggests tht bahrick et al’s findings reflect a more ‘real’ estimate of the duration of LTM.

Question 58

who created the multi store model?

Answer 58

Atkinson and Shiffrin

Question 59

what does the multi store model do? (2 things)

Answer 59

-it represents how memory works in terms of 3 stores called the sensory register , short term memory and long term memory. -it describes how info is transferred from one store to another, what makes some memories last and some disappear

Question 60

according to the multi store model, all stimuli from the environment passes into the wht?

Answer 60

sensory register

Question 61

what type of information does the iconic memory store (multi store model)

Answer 61

visual info

Question 62

what type of information does the echoic memory store (multi store model)

Answer 62

acoustic/ audial info

Question 63

TRUE OR FALSE: there are NO other sensory stores other than iconic and echoic (multi store model)

Answer 63

FALSE- there are other stores and they are for touch, taste and smell information

Question 64

how long is the duration of material in the sensory registers? (multi store model)

Answer 64

less than half a second

Question 65

(multi store model) complete the sentence and give an example of evidence that would support the statement: "the sensory registers have a very _____ capacity"

Answer 65

"the sensory registers have a very HIGH capacity" -each eye has millions of cells which all store visual data

Question 66

what does attention allow information to do? (multi store model)

Answer 66

allows it to pass further into the memory system

Question 67

how is the majority of info in short term memory coded and how long does it last for?

Answer 67

-acoustically -abt 18 secs (unless info is rehearsed)

Question 68

what is maintenance rehearsal?

Answer 68

when material/info is repeated/rehearsed continuously

Question 69

finish the sentence: "short term memory is more of a ______ store"

Answer 69

short term memory is more of a TEMPORARY store

Question 70

"long term memory is a potentially ______ store for information that has been ______ for a _____ time"

Answer 70

long term memory is a potentially PERMANENT store for information that has been REHEARESED for a PROLONGED time

Question 71

how are long term memories coded ?

Answer 71

semantically

Question 72

what is the a) duration and b) capacity of LTM thought to be?

Answer 72

a) a lifetime b) unlimited

Question 73

according to the multi store model how is information recalled from long term memory?

Answer 73

by it being transferred back to short term memory by retrieval

Question 74

what's a strength of the multi store model (MSM) regarding research that supports it suggestion about short and long term memory stores ?

Answer 74

P: there's research tht shows that LTM and STM are different E: eg Baddeley found tht similar sounding words tend to get mixed up when using STM and words with similar meanings tend to get mixed up when using LTM. E: studies such as this clearly show tht STM and LTM are separate, independent memory stores as suggested by the MSM

Question 75

What's a limitation of the Multi-Store Model of memory in explaining everyday memory use? (PEE)

Answer 75

P: It may not be a valid model of how memory works in daily life. E: Because, despite many studies supporting the Multi-Store Model (MSM), many of them did not use real-world materials such as people's faces, names, facts, and places. E: This suggests that the MSM may not be able to explain how memory is used to retain more practical, everyday information.

Question 76

What's a limitation of the Multi-Store Model of memory regarding the types of information it explains?

Answer 76

P: the MSM doesn't fully explain the encoding of different types of information. E:The model suggests that information is processed the same way, regardless of whether it's visual, auditory, or semantic. E: However, research shows that different types of information are encoded and retrieved in distinct ways, which the MSM fails to consider.

Question 77

who proposed that there where three types of long term memory because the MSM (multistore model) was too simplistic?

Answer 77

Tulving

Question 78

what does episodic memory refer to?

Answer 78

the ability to recall personal events

Question 79

what does episodic memory consists of/include?

Answer 79

-memories of how events occurred and the people, objects, places and behaviours involved.

Question 80

complete the sentence: " memories from this store have to be retrieved ________ and with _______"

Answer 80

memories from this store have to be retrieved CONSIOUSLY and with EFFORT

Question 81

-what does semantic memory contain? -what does it include? (2 things)

Answer 81

-shared knowledge of the world -facts and knowledge of what words and concepts mean

Question 82

do memories from the semantic memory store need to be recalled deliberately?

Answer 82

YES.

Question 83

-what does procedural memory store? -what does it include?

Answer 83

-one's knowledge on how to do things. -it includes memories of learned skills

Question 84

finish the sentence: "memories from procedural memory can be recalled..."

Answer 84

memories from procedural memory can be recalled WITHOUT MAKING A CONCIOUS/DELIBERATE EFFORT

Question 85

What's the difference between episodic and semantic memory?

Answer 85

Episodic memory stores personal events and experiences, while semantic memory stores general facts and knowledge.

Question 86

What's the difference between episodic memory and procedural memory?

Answer 86

Episodic memory stores personal experiences, while procedural memory stores learned skills and actions

Question 87

How does semantic memory differ from procedural memory?

Answer 87

Semantic memory stores facts and knowledge, while procedural memory stores skills and actions

Question 88

Give an example of an event stored in episodic memory.

Answer 88

my 16th birthday

Question 89

Give an example of knowledge stored in semantic memory- think Paris and France

Answer 89

knowing that Paris is the capital of France

Question 90

Give an example of a skill or action stored in procedural memory. think bikes

Answer 90

knowing how to ride a bike

Question 91

according to Miller, what is the capacity of STM?

Answer 91

7 +/- 2 items

Question 92

What is a strength of the three types of long term memory regarding a distinction that was made between episodic and semantic memories due to research ?

Answer 92

P: there’s neurological research/evidence to support it E: Peterson et al found they are recalled from different areas of the prefrontal cortex E: supports the idea that LTM types have distinct biological bases

Question 93

what a strength of the three types of long term memory regarding the fact that there are case studies supporting the existence of LTM

Answer 93

P: case studies supporting the existence of separate LTM stores. E: HM and Clive Wearing lost episodic memory but retained procedural and semantic memory E: shows that different types of LTM rely on distinct brain areas.

Question 94

what does the woking memory model (WMM) suggest abt wht the short term memory store is made up of?

Answer 94

-the central executive -the phonological loop -the visio-spatial sketchpad -the episodic buffer.

Question 95

what has the central executive been described as?

Answer 95

an ‘attentional process’ with a very limited processing capacity

Question 96

what is the role of the central executive?

Answer 96

to allocate tasks to the three slave systems

Question 97

what are the three slave systems?

Answer 97

-the phonological loop -the visio-spatial sketchpad -the episodic buffer