memory Flashcards
(97 cards)
1
Q
What is the multi-store model?
A
It is a representation of how memory works.
It also describes how information is transferred between stores, how it’s remembered and how it’s forgotten.
2
Q
What makes up the multi-store model?
A
3 unitary stores (memory).
- Sensory register (memory)
- Short term memory
- Long term memory
3
Q
What is the sensory register?
A
The first store of the MSM.
Sensory information is taken from the environment before being transferred into STM or LTM.
4
Q
What is iconic and echoic memory?
A
Iconic = visual sensing
huge capacity but declines rapidly (1/2 a second)
Echoic = sound information
duration of a few seconds
5
Q
What does coding/encoding mean?
A
Transforming information into a format that can be stored and retrieved from memory.
6
Q
What does duration mean?
A
How long a piece of information can last in a memory store.
7
Q
What does capacity mean?
A
The amount of memory information that can be retained in each memory store.
8
Q
What is the coding of the sensory register?
A
The 5 senses.
Visually or acoustically.
9
Q
What is the duration of the sensory register?
A
0-2 seconds.
10
Q
What is the capacity of the sensory register?
A
A lot but not for long.
11
Q
Who studied the duration of short term memory?
and what was the study.
A
Peterson and Peterson.
They tested 24 students in 8 trials. On each trial the student was given a consonant syllable (e.g. YCG) to remember. They were also given a 3-digit number. The student was asked to count backwards from the 3-digit number until told to stop. By counting backwards, it prevented any mental rehearsal of the consonant syllable, which would have increased the duration for the 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). After 3 seconds, average recall was about 80%, after 18 seconds recall was around 3%. Therefore, their findings suggested that STM duration may be about 18 seconds, unless we repeat the information over and over (verbal rehearsal).
12
Q
Who studied the capacity for short term memory?
and what was the study.
A
Miller.
Miller proposed that the capacity of STM is limited to about 7 items, give or take 2.
- Chunking: He discovered that people could increase the amount of information they remember by grouping individual items into larger, meaningful units called “chunks”. For example, the sequence “4,7,2,9,3,8,5,1” can be chunked into “472, 938, 51”, making it easier to remember.
- Miller’s work suggests that short term memory can hold around 7 chunks of information, rather than 7 individual pieces of information.
13
Q
How can Millers findings about the duration of STM be applied to real life?
A
- Understanding the capacity of STM helps explain why phone numbers, license plates, and other important information are often formatted in chunks.
- Teachers and students can use chunking techniques to improve memory retention and recall of information.
14
Q
What was Jacobs’ study in the capacity of short term memory?
A
He gave people a 7 digit number and asked them to remember it. Then they had to choose the correct one.
Chunking the information increases capacity of short term memory.
This supports Millers research.
15
Q
Who studied the coding for short term memory?
and what was the study.
A
Baddeley.
He gave different lists of words to four groups of participants to remember.
Group 1 - acoustically similar (cat,cab,can)
Group 2 - acoustically dissimilar (pit,few,cow)
Group 3 - semantically similar (great,large,big)
Group 4 - semantically dissimilar (good,huge,hot)
Participants were shown the original words and asked to recall them in the correct order. When they did this task immediately, recalling from short term memory, they tended to do worse with acoustically similar words. When they recalled the word list after a time interval of 20 minutes, recalling from long term memory, they did worse with the semantically similar words. These findings suggest that information is coded acoustically in short term memory and semantically in long term memory.
16
Q
What is the duration of short term memory?
A
18 seconds.
(15 - 30 seconds)
17
Q
What is the capacity of short term memory?
A
5 - 9 chunks
(7 at average)
18
Q
What is the coding of short term memory?
A
acoustically.
19
Q
Evaluation of Peterson and Peterson’s study on duration of STM.
A
Strengths:
- Standardised procedure (same).
- Replicable = reliable.
Weaknesses:
- Artificial stimuli (made up) = lack external validity.
20
Q
Evaluation of Miller’s study on capacity of STM.
A
Strengths:
- Supported by Jacobs = both found that capacity was 7 chunks.
Weaknesses:
- Ignores participant variables = learning disability = extraneous variables.
21
Q
Evaluation of Baddeley’s study on coding of STM.
A
Strengths:
- Large sample size (72) = generalised to population.
- Standardised procedure.
Weaknesses:
- Volunteer sample = bias.
- Artificial stimuli
22
Q
What is long term memory?
A
A storage system for memories and information which can be permanent.
Allows us to retain and retrieve information hours, days after it was learnt.
23
Q
Who studied the duration of long term memory?
and what was the study.
A
Bahrick et al.
They studied 392 American participants aged between 17 and 74. High school books were obtained from the participants or directly from the schools. Recall was tested in various ways, including:
- Photo recognition test consisting of 50 photos, some from the participants high school yearbooks.
- Free recall test where participants tried to recall all the names of their graduating class.
Participants tested within 15 years of graduation were about 90% accurate in photo recognition. After 48 years, recall declined to about 70% for photo recognition. Free recall was less accurate than recognition - about 60% after 15 years, dropping to 30% after 48 years. This shows that LTM may last up to a lifetime for some material.
24
Q
Who studied the capacity of long term memory?
and what was the study about.
A
Ramscar.
As adults age, their performance on many psychometric test’s changes systematically, a finding that is widely taken to reveal that cognitive information-processing capacities decline across adulthood.
Our results indicate that older adults’ performance on cognitive tests reflects the predictable consequences of learning on information-processing, and not cognitive decline. We consider the implications of this for our scientific and cultural understanding of aging.
- Older people take longer to sit through information.
- Older people do not have a large capacity
25
Who studied the coding of long term memory?
and what was the study.
Baddeley.
He conducted a study looking into how STM and LTM are encoded.
Participants were shown a string of words that are either:
- Semantically similar (small,tiny)
- Semantically dissimilar (small, yellow)
- Acoustically similar (hat,cat)
- Acoustically dissimilar (hat,shoe)
LTM is coded semantically as information is coded based on meaning.
26
What did Craik and Lockhart find about the coding of long term memory?
The deeper information processed the better it is remembered.
Semantic processing gives the deepest processing and best recall.
27
What is the duration of LTM?
Unlimited.
28
What is the capacity of LTM?
Up to a lifetime.
29
What is the coding of LTM?
Semantically.
30
What is the primary effect?
Able to recall the first few items of a list better than those in the middle.
The MSM explains this because earlier items have been rehearsed better and transferred into long term memory.
31
What is the secondary effect?
Remember the last few items better than those in the middle.
The words in the middle, if not rehearsed are displaced by the last words heard as these are still in short term memory.
32
Who found the 3 types of long term memory?
Tulving said the MSM was too simplistic for long term memory and there are actually 3 LTM stores.
33
What are the 3 types of long term memory?
- Episodic.
- Procedural.
- Semantic.
34
What is episodic memory?
Episodic memory refers to our ability to recall events (episodes)
from our lives. This has been likened to a diary as they are "time-stamped" as you remember when they have happened, e.g. day/year. Your episodic memory will also contain lots of elements within a single "episode", such as people,places and behaviours put together to produce a single memory. You need to make a conscious effort to remember these, as they are retrieved from the LTM into the STM whilst you are remembering them.
35
What is procedural memory?
Procedural memory is our memory of actions and skills (how we do things). We can recall these memories without conscious awareness or much effort (eventually). For example, driving a car, the ability to drive becomes automatic and doesn't take much effort to remember.
36
What is semantic memory?
Semantic memory contains our shared knowledge of the world. This can include facts such as what an orange tastes like. These memories are not "time-stamped" as we don't usually remember when we first learned about the taste of an orange. Semantic memory is less personal and more about the facts we share, as it is constantly being added to. According to Tulving it is less vulnerable to distortion and forgetting than episodic memory.
37
What part of the brain is responsible for recalling episodic memory?
Right prefrontal cortex.
38
What part of the brain is responsible for recalling procedural memory?
Basal ganglia.
39
What part of the brain is responsible for recalling semantic memory?
Left prefrontal cortex.
40
Who came up with the working memory model?
and what is it?
Baddeley and Hitch.
The WMM is an explanation of how one aspect of memory (STM) is organised and how it functions. The WMM is concerned with the "mental space" that is active when we are temporarily storing and manipulating information. For example, when working on an arithmetic problem or playing chess. The model consists of 4 components, each of which is different in terms of coding and capacity.
41
What are the four components?
- Central executive
- Phonological loop
- Visuo-spatial sketchpad
- Episodic buffer
42
What is the central executive?
and its capacity and coding.
Co-ordinates activities of these subsystems in a memory.
Allocates processing resources to those activities = monitor incoming stimuli from the environment.
(Baddeley believes that this is the most important part of WMM)
Capacity = very limited processing capacity.
Coding = Code information into a suitable format.
43
What is the phonological loop?
and its capacity and coding.
Processes information in terms of sound and language based information. Include written and spoken information.
(Auditory information)
Auditory control = "Inner voice"=repeat sounds or words in a loop to keep them in working memory whilst needed (maintenance rehearsal).
Phonological store = "Inner ear"=stores speech you hear.
Capacity = 2 seconds.
Coding = acoustically.
44
What is the visuo-spatial sketchpad?
and its capacity and coding.
Processes visual ans spatial information in a mental space.
("inner eye")
Visual cache = stores visual data.
Inner scribe = records the arrangement of objects in the visual/spatial field.
Capacity = limited.
Coding = Visually.
45
What is the episodic buffer?
and its capacity and coding.
Brings together material from all of the subsystems into a single memory. Provides a bridge between working memory (STM) and (LTM).
Added the episodic buffer in 2000 = acted as a storage component for the central executive.
Capacity = limited.
Coding = multi model=coded in multiple ways depending on the event.
46
Evaluation of the working memory model.
Dual-task performance.
Baddeley et al 1975 (strength)
- Supports the idea of the visuo-spatial sketchpad being a separate component.
- Participants asked to carry out a visual task, digit span test and a verbal reasoning task.
- Performance on both tasks were similar.
- If both tasks were the same, performance declined.
- Therefore, shows separate systems form visual and verbal tasks.
47
Evaluation of the working memory model.
Shallice and Warrington.
1970
- Case study of KF = Weakness
- Supportive evidence that there are separate systems for working memory as KF had poor STM for sound but could process visual information normally. = Strength
(Could counter argue in exam).
48
Evaluation of the working memory model.
Braver et al.
1997 (strength)
-Brain scans = scientific.
-Tasks involving the central executive found greater activity in the prefrontal cortex.
-Activity increased as the task got harder.
49
Evaluation of the working memory model.
Research method.
- Dual task performance.
- Artificial stimuli = digit span test.
- High control in lab conditions = reduces extraneous variables and is also replicable therefore reliable.
50
What is interference?
Forgetting because one memory blocks another causing one or both memories to become distorted or forgotten.
51
What are the two types of interference?
- Proactive interference.
- Retroactive interference.
52
What is proactive interference?
and an example.
Forgetting occurs when older information or memories disrupt the recall of newer memories.
E.g. difficulty remembering names of people in your new class because you remember the names from your old class.
53
What is retroactive interference?
and an example.
Forgetting occurs when newer memories disrupt the recall of older memories.
E.g. difficulty remembering your old phone number because you remember your new phone number.
54
What was Schmidt's (2000) study of interference?
was is supportive or not?
and what type of interference did they look at?
- 200 former students of a school were given a blank map of a schools local area.
- Asked to write down as many street names as they know.
- Personal details were asked such as how many times they had moved house or where they lived.
- The more times people had moved house, the more street names forgotten.
It was supportive evidence of interference.
And looked at retroactive interference.
55
What did McGeoch and McDonald (1931) study show about interference?
In both proactive and retroactive interference, the interference os worse when the memories (or learning) are similar. They studied retroactive interference by changing the amount of similarity between two sets of materials. Participants had to learn a list of 10 words until they could remember them with 100% accuracy. They then learned a new list. There were six groups of participants who had to learn different types of new lists.
Group 1 - synonyms
Group 2 - antonyms
Group 3 - words unrelated to the original ones
Group 4 - consonant syllables
Group 5 - three-digit numbers
Group 6 - no new list (control group)
When the participants were asked to recall the original list of words, the most similar material (synonyms) produced the worst recall. This shows that interference is strongest when the memories are similar.
56
What is retrieval failure?
A form of forgetting that occurs when we don't have the necessary cues to access a memory.
57
What is a cue?
A trigger of information that allows us to access a memory.
Direct/Indirect/Internal/External.
58
What did Tulving (1983) find out about retrieval failure?
He reviewed research into retrieval failure and discovered a consistent pattern to the findings. He summarised this pattern to the findings. He summarised this pattern in what he called the encoding specific principle. This states that a cue must be present when the memory is encoded and present at retrieval. If cues are different when encoding and retrieving this is when forgetting will occur. Some cues are encoded at the time of learning in a meaningful way. For example, the cue STM may lead you to recall all sorts of information about short term memory. Such cues are used in many mnemonic techniques.
59
What are mnemonic techniques?
A system such as a pattern of letters, ideas or associations to aid memory.
60
What are the two types of non-meaningful cues?
- Context dependent forgetting.
- State dependent forgetting.
61
What is context dependent forgetting?
Environment during recall is different from the environment it was learnt in.
62
What is state dependent forgetting?
Mood or physiological state during recall is different to the state you learnt in.
e.g. tired,hungry.
63
What was Godden and Baddeley's (1975) study about?
and what forgetting did they study?
They carried out an interesting study of deep-sea divers working underwater. In this it's crucial - a matter of life and death for divers to remember instructions given before diving about their work underwater. In this study divers learned a list of words with underwater or on land and then were asked to recall the words either underwater or on land. This, therefore, created four conditions:
Group 1 = learn on land - recall on land
Group 2 = learn on land - recall underwater
Group 3 = learn underwater - recall on land
Group 4 = learn underwater - recall underwater
In two of these conditions the environmental contexts of learning and recall were matched whereas in the other two they did not. Accurate recall was 40% lower in the non-matching conditions.
This study supports context-dependent forgetting.
64
How can Godden and Baddeley's (1975) study be evaluated?
List of words uses a standardised procedure = replicable=reliable.
65
What was Carter and Cassaday's (1975) study about?
and what forgetting did they study?
They looked at the effect of antihistamines. They gave antihistamines to their participants. They had a mild sedative effect making the participants slightly drowsy. This creates an internal physiological state different from the "normal" state of being awake and alert. The participants had to learn a list of words and passages of prose and then call the information again creating four conditions:
Group 1 = learn on drug - recall when on it
Group 2 = learn on drug - recall when not on it
Group 3 = learn not on drug - recall when on it
Group 4 = learn not on drug - recall when not on it
In the conditions where there was a mismatch between internal state at learning and recall, performance on the memory test was significantly worse. So, when the cues are absent (for example, you are drowsy when recalling information but been alert learning it) then there is more forgetting.
This study supports state-dependent forgetting.
66
How can Carter and Cassaday's (1975) study be evaluated?
- List of words uses a standardised procedure = replicable=reliable.
- There might be different effects of the antihistamines therefore there may be a difference in recall. This can act as an extraneous variable.
67
What is eyewitness testimony?
The ability of people to remember the details of events which they have observed.
They can then report this in different ways. - cognitive interview.
68
What is misleading information?
Incorrect information given to the eyewitness.
69
What was Loftus' and Palmer's (1974) study about eyewitness testimony about?
They aimed to test their hypothesis that the language in eyewitness testimony can alter memory. Thus aimed to show that leading questions could distort eyewitness testimony accounts.
Forty five American students were participants and were split into five groups. This was a laboratory experiment. Participants were shown a video of a car crash. After watching the video participants were asked to describe what had happened as if they were eyewitnesses. They were then asked specific questions, including the question "About how fast were the cars going when they (smashed, collided, bumped, hit, contacted) each other?"
The estimated speed was affected by the verb used. Participants who were asked the "smashed" question thought the cars were going faster than those who were asked the "hit" question. The participants in the "smashed" condition reported the highest speed estimate (40.8 mph), followed by "collided" (39.3 mph), "bumped" (38.1 mph), "hit" (34 mph), and "contacted" (31.8 mph) in descending order.
One week later, participants were asked another question about the car crash. They were asked "did you see any broken glass?", participants who had been asked the "smashed" version of the question were more likely to report seeing broken glass even though there were none.
70
What was the independent and dependent variable in Loftus' and Palmer's (1974) study?
IV = the verb used.
DV = the estimated speed of the car.
71
What was the conclusion about Loftus' and Palmer's (1974) study?
The results show that the verb conveyed an impression of the speed that the car was travelling, and this altered the participants' perceptions. In other words, eyewitness testimony might be biased by the way the questions are asked after a crime is committed. It appeared that the verb implied further things associated with the speed of the vehicle. This led Loftus and Palmer to conclude that eyewitness testimony could permanently alter memory.
72
What is an evaluation of Loftus' and Palmer's (1974) study?
It was an opportunity sample which is biased but is less time consuming.
It used American students = not representative.
73
What is response-bias explanation?
(eyewitness testimony)
Wording a question only effects the way a person decides to respond.
The word "smashed" encourages you to choose a higher speed estimate.
Biased towards the verb.
74
What is substitution explanation?
(eyewitness testimony)
Wording of a question alters the memory.
In the second experiment those who heard "smashed" were more likely to say they had seen broken glass.
The verb altered the memory.
75
What is a post event discussion?
Occurs when there is more than one witness to an event. Witnesses may discuss what they have seen with the other witnesses, which can influence the accuracy of recall and eyewitness testimony.
76
What did Gabbert et al (2003) study about post event discussion?
She investigated the effect of post event discussion on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony. Her sample consisted of 60 students and 60 adults recruited from a local community.
Participants watched a video of a girl stealing money from a wallet. The participants were either tested individually (control group) or in pairs (co-witness group). The participants 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 witnessed the girl stealing. Participants in the co-witness group discussed the crime together. All the participants then completed a questionnaire, testing their memory of the event.
- 71% of the witnesses in the co-witness group recalled information they had not actually seen.
- 60% said that the girl was guilty despite the fact they had not seen her commit a crime.
77
What is source monitoring theory?
(post event discussion)
Memories are already distorted.
Eyewitnesses can recall information but can't recall where it came from - source
Source confusion - is it their own memory or did they hear it.
78
What is conformity theory?
(post event discussion)
Eyewitnesses recall only changes because they go along with others.
They conform to the majority. (copy)
79
What did Bodner et al (2009) stufy about post event discussion?
Post event discussion can be reduced if participants are warned of the effects.
Recall was more accurate when participants were warned that if they hear anything from other witnesses it could be a false.
80
Does Bodner et al show conformity theory is occurring?
Bodner goes against conformity theory because they were warned that others may have lied so they used their own independence and therefore made their own opinion.
81
What is anxiety?
A state of emotional and physical arousal (body is hightened).
Anxiety is a normal reaction to stressful situations.
82
What did Yuille and Cutshall (1986) study about anxiety on eyewitness testimony?
Witnesses of a real life incident (a gun shooting outside a gun shop in Canada) had remarkable accurate memories of a stressful event involving weapons. A thief stole guns and money but was shot six times and died.
The police interviewed witnesses five months after the crime and compared them to what they'd said at the time.
The witnesses who were more stressed were 88% accurate compared to 75% who said they weren't stressed. One weakness of this study was that the witnesses who experienced the highest levels of stress where closer to the event, and this may have helped with the accuracy of their memory recall.
This has a positive effect on EWT.
83
What did Loftus (1987) study about anxiety on eyewitness testimony?
Two groups of people watched a video of a fast-food restaurant.
In one group, the customer hands the employee a check and she hands him some money (no money).
In the other group the customer pulls out a gun and the employee hands him some money.
When identifying the customer, 39% of the no weapon group identified correctly compared to 11% of people in the weapon group.
Those in the weapon condition focused on the item (the gun) more than those in the no weapon condition (check). The rate was 3.7 times on average they looked at the gun, compared to 2.4 times looking at the check.
This has a negative effect on EWT.
84
What did Christianson and Hubinette (1993) study about anxiety on eyewitness testimony?
In Sweden 110 witnesses of 22 real life bank robbers were interviewed 4-15 months after the crime. Some had been onlookers of customers, so their anxiety was low to none, and some had been banking employees who had been threatened and were at the centre of the crime indicating medium to high anxiety. The victims were 75% accurate in their recall of the robbers and accuracy was still evident 15 months later. There was no difference between rated degree of anxiety and number of details remembered.
This has a positive effect on EWT.
85
What is the Yerkes-Dodson Law?
The Yerkes-Dodson Law indicates that performance increases with anxiety, but only up to a point.
When levels of anxiety becomes too high, performance decreases.
86
What did Fisher et al (1987) find out about witnesses in real life interviews?
and what were the problems with this?
- They were bombarded with questions.
- They were interrupted and not allowed to talk freely.
The problem is that they were not able to expand on their answers, they might have forgotten what they were going to say and there is a possibility of leading questions.
87
What did Geiselman (1992) say about how eyewitness testimony can be improved?
Eyewitness testimony can be improved if the police used better techniques when interviewing witnesses.
88
What is a cognitive interview?
and who came up with it?
A method of interviewing eyewitnesses to help retrieve more accurate memories.
Geiselman (1985)
89
Who came up with enhanced cognitive interviews and why were they good?
Fisher et al (1987)
- Importance of eye contact.
- Reduce anxiety.
- Limit distractions.
90
What are the four stages of the cognitive interview?
- Report everything.
- Context reinstatement.
- Reverse the order.
- Recall from a changed perspective.
91
What is the report everything stage of the cognitive interview?
how does this improve accuracy and an example.
Witnesses are asked to recall all details even if it seems insignificant.
- This improves accuracy as minor memories may act as a cue/trigger to other important memories.
Examples:
- Sound.
- What people were wearing.
- Weather.
92
What is the context reinstatement stage of the cognitive interview?
how does this improve accuracy and an example.
Witnesses reinstates or repeats the environment and personal context.
Can be asked to use all 5 senses.
- This improves accuracy as it can enhance how much you remember by recalling both context and feelings.
Examples:
- Weather.
- Feelings.
- Hear/see/smell.
93
What is the reverse the order stage of the cognitive interview?
how does this improve accuracy and an example.
Witness is asked to recall the event backwards.
- This improves accuracy as it is harder to be dishonest when working backwards (more truthful accounts).
Examples:
- Say the crime first -> beginning/arrival at location.
94
What is the recall from a changes perspective stage of the cognitive interview?
how does this improve accuracy and an example.
Witness considers what another witness/ victim might have seen or felt.
- This improves accuracy as it disrupts the effects of the expectation of recall.
- Triggers own memories.
Examples:
- Victim.
- Witness.
- Criminal/perpetrator.
95
Does Geiselman et al's study support cognitive interviews an what was the study?
Participants viewed a film of a violent crime and, after 48 hours, they were interviewed by a policeman using one of three methods: the cognitive interview; a standard interview used by the Los Angeles Police; or an interview using hypnosis. The number of facts accurately recalled, and the number of errors made were recorded. The average number of correctly recalled facts for the cognitive interview was 41.2, for hypnosis it was 38 and for the standard interview it was 29.4. There was no significant difference in the number of errors.
- This supported cognitive interviews.
96
Does Fisher et al's study support cognitive interviews an what was the study?
Found that witnesses reported greater detail in their accounts of crimes when American detectives had been trained to use the cognitive interview.
The cognitive interview is more structured than the standard interview, and it seems appropriate for crime-related interviews to be very thorough to gather the detail required for a useful testimony.
- This supported cognitive interviews.
97
Does Koehnken et al's study support cognitive interviews an what was the study?
Found that witnesses recalled more incorrect information when interviewed with the cognitive interview compared to the standard interview technique, perhaps because more detailed recall increases the chances of making mistakes.
The fact that the cognitive interview leads to an increase in inaccurate recall is a good reason to find ways of improving it, not abandoning it. Also, the cognitive interview does produce more accurate recall as well, and in fact this outweighs any increase in inaccurate information.
- This does not support cognitive interviews.
