memory Flashcards
(56 cards)
1
Q
what is capacity
A
how much info the store can hold
2
Q
what is duration
A
how long it can be hold for
3
Q
what is coding
A
allows info from the outside world to be sensed in the form in of chemical/ physical stimuli
4
Q
what is research into the capacity of STM
A
- miller
- digit span technique
- reading a series of digits that get progressivley longer
- ppt asked to immediatley repeat the digit set back in the right order
- ppts could call on average 7+/-2 digits ( 5-9 items )
- STM has a limited capacity
- capacity can be increased with chunking
5
Q
what is the research into the capacity of the LTM
A
- anokhin
- estimated that the number of possible neuron connections in the human brain is 1 followed by 10.5 million km of noughts
- no human yet exists who can use all the potential of their brain
- LTM is limtless
6
Q
what is the research into duration of the STM
A
- peterson and peterson
- consonant trigram ( random string of 3 letters i.e WRT )
- immediately after hearing trigram they heard a random 3 digit number and they were asked to count backwards in 3s from this number
- this prevents rehearsal of trigram
- asked to recall trigram 3,6,9,12,15 and 18 secs after
- highest level of recall was after 3 secs
- decreased rapidly as duration increased until there was only 2% recalledafter 18 secs
7
Q
research into duration of LTM
A
- Bahrick
- 392 ppts aged 17-74
- name old classmates from their high school
-free recall test - given 50 pics from school yearbook and asked if they could recognise their classmates
- after 15 years after graduation, free recall was 60% accurate
- after 48 yrs dropped to 30%
- recognition was 90% after 15 years
- recognition was 70% after 48 years
- potentially limtless
8
Q
what is the research into coding of STM
A
- baddeley
- when ppts were presented with a word list of acoustically similar words ( e.g. cat, cab, can ) and asked for immediate recall then they made more errors than they did when presented with a list of acoustically different words
- STM codes acoustically
9
Q
what is the research into the coding of LTM
A
- baddeley
- ppts presented with semantically similar words ( e.g. great, large, big )
- asked to recall 20 mins later
- made more errors than they did when presented with a list of semantically different words
- more confusion based on the meaning of words
- LTM is semantically coded
10
Q
what are the features of the multi store model of memory
A
1) sensory imput
2) sensory register
if attention was paid it will be sent to STM
3) short term memory
remains here with maintance rehearsal
info forgotten due to displacement or decay
sent to LTM if there is elaborative rehearsal
4) long term memory
info forgotten due to retreival failure or interference
11
Q
what is the description of the multi store model of memory
A
- atkinson and shifrin
- memory is made up of 3 stores
- sensory register is where info is held at the senses
- they are constanlty recieving and coding modality specifc info but most of this recieves no attention
- info remains in the sensory registers for while as it has large capacity and limted duration
- if the perons attention is focused on the sensory register yhen the data will be encoded and transferred to STM
- if info is rehearsed and understood it will be transfererd to LTM
12
Q
positive evaluation of the multi store model of memory
A
+ research supports memory is made up of different stores. KF who suffered brain damage in a motorcycle incident. His STM was damaged for verbal STM but mostly unaffected for visual STM whilst LTM remained completely intact. They are different stores.
+ Murdocks serial position research found that no matter how many words a person is shown and then asked to recal, items at the beginning of the list have a greater recall than those in the middle ( primacy effect) and words at the end have a greater recall than those in the middle too (recency effect ). Supports rehearsed info passes into LTM. Recalling more words at the end of the list supports that there is a seperate STM as they have not had time to decay unlike words in the middle.
+ sensory register. sperling. letter chart for 50 milliseconds, and asked to recall as many letters as possible they could only remember 3 letters on average. When a high, medium or low tone was played immediatley after the chart to indicate the top, middle or bottom row of letters, ppts could report 3 letters from any row. Supports the idea that the sensory register has a large capacity and short duration.
13
Q
what are the negatives of the multi store model of memory
A
- STM is not unitary. Only one type of STM but research shows this might be false. Evidence for this comes from KF. STM was damaged for verbal STM for but mostly unaffected for visual short term memory. Goes against the view that STM is one unitary store otherwise damage to KFs STM would have affected all his STM equally.
- LTM is not unitary. MSM argues that there is only one type of LTM but research shows this might be false. Clive wearing. Highly talaneted muscision who has brain damage. lost his episodic memory but still has use of his procedural. goes againts view that LTM is one unitary store.
14
Q
what is the description of the working memory model
A
- baddeley and hitch
- central executive = supervisory component, direct attention, codes info from any modality . limited storage but delegates info to its slave systems
- phonological loop = acts as temporary storage for holding acoustic info and deals with written and spoken. has limited capacity.
phonological store ( inner ear, rehearses sounds )
articulatory process ( inner voice, silently repeats words we are preparing to - visio spatial sketchpad
- episodic buffer
15
Q
who came up with the working model of memory
A
Baddeley and hitch
model of STM
16
Q
what is the function of the central executive in the WMM
A
- supervisory component
- directs attention
- can code info from any modality
- limited storage
- delegate info to slave systems
- coordinates activity needed to carry out more than one task at a time using different slave systems
17
Q
what is the function of the phonological loop in the WMM
A
- codes and acts as temporary storage for holding acoustic info
- limited capacity
- phonological store - “inner ear” rehearses sounds you hear
- articulatory process - “inner voice” holds and silently repeats words we are preparing to speak
18
Q
what is the function of the Visio spatial sketchpad WMM
A
- codes visual info ( objects form and colour), inner eye
- codes spatial info ( physical relationship between objects )
- limited capacity
19
Q
what is the function of the episodic buffer in the WMM
A
- added in 2000
- storage for CE that integrates info from other slave systems and links memory to LTM
- limited capacity
- code from any modality
- maintains sense of time in memories
- records events happening as a single memory rather than separate strands
20
Q
positive evaluation of the WMM
A
+ supports the view that STM is not unitary. research shows there are separate stores within STM. KF whose STM was damaged for verbal but visual remained in tact.
+ dual task research. explains why ppts struggle to process 2 similar tasks at once but can process 2 different tasks because it is using different slave systems. ppts couldnt do two visual tasks but could do a visual and a verbal.
+ brain scan research. different areas of the brain are used for different tasks.
+ real life applications. target certain kinds of memory. memory training to improve verbal memory to help improve learning. improves lives
21
Q
negative evaluation of WMM
A
- little known about central executive. unsure of its capacity and some argue it is used as an umbrella store to cover all the functions that cant be fully explained by the slave systems. WMM cant explain all aspects of STM.
- fails to account for musical memory. pple are able to process music differently to other sounds. ppts could listen to instrumental music without impairing performance on other acoustic tasks. suggests there is more than one acoustic store. STM is more complicated than WMM suggests
22
Q
what are the three types of long term memory
A
- episodic
- semantic
- procedural
23
Q
what is episodic memory
A
- personal experiences
- events/ episodes from a certain time
- autobiographical memories/ mental diary
- stored to reference with context and emotion - where it happened, who with, how you felt at the time etc
- conscious effort needed to recall
- e.g. your first day at school
24
Q
what is semantic memory
A
- factual knowledge
- meaningful info about the world which is shared by everyone
- facts such as the capital of england
- or abstract knowledge e.g. maths or language
- what a word means, what an orange tastes like etc
- conscious effort needed to recall
- not remembered when and where we learnt them
25
what is procedural memory
- skills, actions, how things are done
- muscle based memories
- implicit , cant be easily stated out loud
- automatic as a result of repeated practise
- riding a bike
- no conscious effort
26
positive evaluation of types of LTM
+ finke et al. case study of PM. 68yr old cellist who suffered brain damage resulting in amnesia. episodic and semantic affected but he could still play music. different types of LTM
+ case studies. Clive wearing. lost episodic memory but still can use procedural memory and play the piano. separate otherwise all memory would be damaged
+brain scans. different areas of the brain active when ppts used differnt types of memory. episodic and semantic were recalled from different sides of the prefrontal cortex than procedural which is associated with cerebellum.
+ prac apps. memory training to improve episodic memory. helped improve memory in older people.
27
negative evaluation of types of LTM
- brain damaged patients are rare. may not represent the way memory functions for everyone. may not be generalisable. reduced population validity.
- focusing on 3 types of LTM may ignore a 4th . research found a 4th, "priming". implicit memories we haven't consciously recalled influence the responses a person makes to a stimulus . if ppts shown word list including yellow and later asked to name a fruit they will probably say lemon. LTM is more complex
28
what are the two types of explanations for forgetting
- interference theory- when one memory disrupts another or interferes with our ability to recall another
- retrieval failure
29
what is retroactive interference
- newly learned info disrupts our ability to recall older memories
- learning the spanish word for thankyou and then learning the italian word for thankyou, and struggling to recall the spanish word you learnt first
30
what is proactive interference
- older memories disrupt our ability to learn and recall new info
- original word interferes with the formation of a new word
- learning the spanish word for thankyou, then learning the italian word for thankyou and struggling to recall the italian word you learned later
31
positive evaluation of interference as an explanation of forgetting
+ retroactive. postman. lab experiment ppts had to remember a list of paired words e.g. cat- tree, jelly - moss. experimental group had to learn another list of words where the second paired word was different e.g cat- glass. control group not given a second list. all ppts asked to recall words on first list. recall iin control was more accurate. learning lists in the second list interfered with ppts ability to recall the original list.
+ ppts had learned a word list with 100% accuracy and were then given one of a range of new lists to memorise, the more similar the word list was, the poorer their recall of the original list. supports retroactive interference.
+ 211 ppts from a Dutch elementary school ranging from 11-79. given a map of the molenburg neighbourhood with all 48 street names replaced with numbers and asked to recall as many as possible. other details collected via questionnaire - how many times they had moved house. positive correlation between number of times ppts had moved house and the number of street names forgotten. learning new patterns of street names when moving house makes recalling older street names harder.
+ meta analysis. when ppts had to learn a series of word lists they do not learn the lists given later on in the series as well as the lists given earlier on in the series. earlier words were disrupting the learning of new material in the later word lists. supports proactive
32
negative evaluation of interference as an explanation of forgetting
- research uses materials which are meaningless. large number of highly controlled lab studies showing clear evidence of RI and PI, the materials they use do not reflect how we use memory in real life. e.g. remembering nonsense word lists. not representative of real life.
33
what is retrieval failure
- a memory is available but we cant access it because we do not have the necessary cues
- when memory is initially encoded we code the context ( where we were ) or the state we were in ( how we felt )
- we will forget info when these cues are not present at the time of retrieval
34
what is state dependant forgetting
- inability to retrieve a memory due to being in a different mental state at the time of retrieval to when the memory was initially coded
- learning new info whilst upset and struggling to remember it when feeling happier
35
what is context dependant forgetting
- inabillity to retrieve a memory due to an absence of environmental cues at the time of retrieval
- learning a fact in one classroom and struggling to recall it when in a different classroom
36
positive evaluation of retrieval failure
+ context dependant forgetting. ppts learned info from an instructer in one room and then they were tested, they forgot more when the were tested in a different room by a different imstructor.
+ godden and baddeley. scuba divers who learned a word list either on land or in the water. forgot most when the learning conetxt did not match the retreival context.
+ real world applications. can be used to reduce forgetting in the real world. ppts shown a room where you did the original learning ( context reiinstatement ) was as effective as actually being in the same room at the time of retrieval.
+ state dependant. male volunteers learnt a list of words drunk or sober. forgot most when their learning state did not match their state of retrieval. state dependant applies to intoxication as well as emotion
+ ppts hid money high on marijuana were less able to recall where the money was when they were not high than when they were high again
37
negative evaluation of retreival failure
- meta anlaysis that retreival failure only occured when the info being memorised and recalled was word lists and that when more meaningful info was used the influence of context was elimnated. does not explain all of forgetting. more complex than RF suggests.
38
what is eyewitness testimony
evidence provided in court by a person who was present at the time a crime took place.
39
what are the factors affecting EWT
- misleading info
- leading questions
- post event discussions
- anxiety
40
what is misleading information
incorrect info given to the eyewitness usually after the event has taken place.
includes leading questions and post event discussion between two witnesses
41
what are leading questions
questions that suggest an answer
e.g. did u see the red car
42
what is post event discussion
two witnesses have a conversation after a crime has taken place
adds information that wasnt there based on what a witness says
43
what is research into the effects of leading questions on the accuracy of EWT
- lab, 45 student, shown 7 films of different car accidents.
- after each film the ppts were given a questionaire which asked them to describe the accidnet and then answer a series of specific questions
- how fast were the cars going when they ( hit, smashed, collided, bumped, contacted )
- calculated mean speed estimate
- smashed = 40.5 mph
- collided = 39.3 mph
- bumped = 38.1 mph
- hit = 34 mph
- contacted = 31.8 mph
44
evaluation of research into leading questions on the accuracy of EWT
+ practical applications. used to warn criminal justice system about potential problems with eyewitness evidence. e.g. juries could be warned against fully trusting evidence given by an eyewitness and to take into account more of a range of evidence. may help to avoid inaccurate judjement being made in court
- 4 months after a real life robbery in canada, 13 eyewitnesses, were not affected by two leading questions and gave the same responses they gave in their initial reports straight after the robery. does not affect real life EWT, possibly due to anxiety and emotion. results dont generalise to the real world
45
what was gabberts research into the effects of post event discussion on the accuracy of EWT
- 120 ppts
- put into pairs
- shown a video of the same event ( a girl returning a borrowed book to an empty uni office ) but shown from diff pov
- one partner could read the title of the book only one partner could see the girl steal £10 out of a wallet
- both ppts discussed what they had seen before individually completing a test of recall
46
what were the findings from gabberts research into the effects of post event discussion on the accuracy of EWT
- 71% of ppts mistakenly recalled aspects of the event they did not see in the video but had picked up in the discussion
- control group with no discussion was 0%
- 60% who could not see the crime reported she was guilty
- ppts go along with each other due to memory conformity - going along with the testimony of others either to win social approval or because they beleieve the other witnesses are right and they are wrong
47
evaluation of research into the effects of post event discussion on the accuracy of EWT
+ similarily string effects of post event discussion on the accuracy of EWT.
however, they also found that these effects could be reduced if ppts are warned about the negative effects of listening to 2cnd hand info from other witnesses. supports the idea that memory conformity has a strong influence on EWT accuracy.
- research involving in mock crimes is that they lack consequences of real life crimes. ppts are aware that the info they give does not have such serious consequences as it would for an eyewitness in real life where the info they give can lead to people being wrongly sent to prison or set free. findings may not accurately represent real life.
48
what is anxiety
a state of emotional and physial arousal
49
what is anxiety and the weapon focus effect
- the presence of a weapon increases anxiety
- focus on central details rather than peripheral details
- this means the eyewitness may struggle to recall key details of what they saw as they are so focused on the weapon, making EWT less accurate
50
what was johnsons and scotts research into the effects of anxiety on the accuracy of EWT
- lab experiment
- ppts split into two conditions and instructed to wait outside the toom before the began
- ppts heard discussions in a neighbouring room
- condition 1 = a man came out holding a pen and with grease on his hands
- condition 2 = discussion was more heated and man cam out holding a paperknife covered in blood
- later asked to identify the man from 50 pics
51
what were the findings from johnsons and scotts research into the effects of anxiety on the accuracy of EWT
- ppts in condition 1 were 49% accurate
- ppts in condition 2 were 33% accurate
- anxiety caused by the weapon narrowed the focus of attention making their recall less detailed and accurate which may explain why eyewitness sometimes have poor recall for certain violent crimes
52
evaluation of research ito effets of anxiety on accuracy of EWT
+ the presence of a weapon causes eye movements to be drawn towards the weapon itself and away from other things such as a persons face. anxiety caused by a weapon can therefore affect the focus of attention.
+ yerkes dodsons law. anxiety can help improve the accuracy of ewt up to an optimal point and after this too much anxiety can reduce ewt. weapons focus reduced accuracy as the anxiety was too high.
- 58 real witnesses to bank robberies, those witnesses who had been directly threatened in some way during the robbery, were more accurate in their recall and remembered more details than those who has simply been onlookers and therefore less emotionally aroused.
53
what is the cognitive interview
interveiwing eyewitnesses which aims to help them provide more accurate ewt. Uses 4 main techniques based on the findings of pyschological research into memory and ewt
- context reinstatement
- report everything
- change the perspective
- reverse the order
54
background of the cognitive interview
- in police interviews witnesses are often interupted and not allowed to talk freely about their experiances which breaks their concentration.
- used closed questions rather than open
- needed to improve standard interview technique to help eyewitness to improve recall
55
positive evaluation of the cognitive interview
+ meta analysis of 53 studies, cognitive interview generated on average 34% more correct info than standard interviewing techniques. concluded the cognitive interview was more effectove interview technique than the older methods
+ positive effect on the economy. improves efficiency of the legal system, helps identify criminals sooner by maximisng info ewt can give.
56
negative evaluation of the cognitive interview
- ethical issues. mentally relove often traumatic experiances might well lead to a lack of protection from harm. goes against ethical code of conduct.
- time consuming. police couldnt conduct a whole cognitive interview due to a lack of time and th eeneed for the key details rather than great detail. not all techniques are useful.
- increase inacurrate recall. increases amount of incorrect info recalled. found 81% increase in correct info but also 61% increase in incorrect info when the ci was compared to a standard interview.
