Memory

Question 1

theory of reconstructive memory (bartlett)

Answer 1

memories are not exact copies of events but interpretations (schemas)

Question 2

barlett: war of the ghosts (1932)

Answer 2

aim: testing the nature of reconstructive memory using an unfamiliar story
procedure: 20 participants asked to read a story twice and then recall later on
results: participants tended to add meaning to story, left unpleasant parts out
conclusion: evidence for reconstructive memory. participants didn’t recall accurately or fully

Question 3

evaluation of bartlett (1932)

Answer 3

strength: real life application, eye-witness may misremember information, validity
weakness: used his own interpretation, interpretated each participants recall, lack reliablity

Question 4

peterson & peterson (1959)

Answer 4

aim: to test the true duration of STM
procedure: participants were asked to recall 3 digit numbers, then 3 letters, then count backwards on 3/4s
results: longer each student had to count backwards, less likely to accurately recall 3 letters
conclusion: STM fades rapidly. only 10% could be recalled after 18 seconds

Question 5

evaluation of peterson & peterson (1959)

Answer 5

strength: highly controlled, lab experiment of a university, controlled extraneous variables, valid
weakness: only used 24 psychology students, memory of psychology students may be different, may know ways to improve memory, ungeneralisable to others.

Question 6

reductionism v holistic

Answer 6

reductionism: describing something into its basic parts, used in lab experiments to isolate factors and for high control. e.g. MSM of memory
holistic: looking at different variables in relation to something happening e.g. barlett

Question 7

strengths & weakness: MSM of memory

Answer 7

s: real life application, rehearsal can be needed for eye witnesses , tells us how to improve memory
w: lack ecological validity, e.g peterson, unrealistic

Question 8

anterograde amnesia

Answer 8

only remember things before brain damage

Question 9

retrograde amnesia

Answer 9

only remember things after the event

Question 10

short term memory

Answer 10

18 seconds without rehearsal, 7+-2 items, acoustic, forgetting: displacement and decay

Question 11

long term memory

Answer 11

a few seconds to a lifetime, semantic coding, forgetting: decay, interference and retrieval failure

Question 12

accommodation

Answer 12

schema changed due to a new experience

Question 13

assimilation

Answer 13

incorporating new ideas into existing schemas

Question 14

adaptation

Answer 14

use of both assimilation and accommodation

Question 15

evaluation of reductionism

Answer 15

s:

Question 16

evaluation of holism

Answer 16

s:reflects real experiences, as it takes multiple different measures, ecological validity
w:lacks scientific nature, relies on subjective accounts, low in reliability