Memory Flashcards

Question

AO3 WMM - Dual task

Answer 1

Research suppor- Baddeley conducted a study in which he asked ppts to perform two visual tasks, tracking moving lights at the same time as describing the angles of the letter F. Or a verbal and visual task. It was found that performance was better when the tasks were not using the same processing. This suggests that the VSS and PL exist as separate systems and capacity of the VSS can be overwhelmed with visual info.

Answer 2

KF had selective impairment to his verbal short term memory but the visual functioning of his STM was not affected suggesting that the PL and VSS subsystems are separate stores located in seperate regions of the brain.

Answer 3

The CE has been criticised by other psychologists as a vague concept without a full explanation of its function and not fully open to testing despite its major role in the model.

Answer 4

The MSM sees STM as a passive store of information, while the WMM seems more accurate in describing how memory is used as an active processer.

Answer 5

Research in this area is generally lab based, therefore highly controlled with strong internal validity. However it lacks external validity as most studies on memory tasks lack mundane realism (use artificial/ unrealistic tasks, therefore may not be generalised to how we use memory on a daily basis.

Answer 6

It is impossible to directly observe the processes of memory described in models like the WMM. This means inferences must be made which are assumptions about cognitive processes which could be incorrect.

Answer 7

Interference (pro active and retro active) and retrieval failure ( due to absence of cues)

Answer 8

Forgetting as a result of our long term memories being disrupted by other information while it is coded

Answer 9

When old information disrupt new - interferes with someone recalling new info.

Answer 10

When new information disrupts old - interferes with someone recalling old info

Answer 11

Similarity: more likely to occur when two piece of info are similar due to response competition Time sensitivity: more likely to occur when there is no gap between the instances of learning the info

Answer 12

Investigated retroactive interference using the memory of childhood street names. 11-79 year olds were sent a questionnaire were sent a map of their area around their old school without the street names. It was found the more times and individual moved home, the fewer street names recalled. The negative correlation suggests retroactive interference, the process of remembering new streets make interference with previously stored LTM of the old street - making recall of older names harder.

Answer 13

In this study, participants were asked to remember a list of words until they could recall it perfectly. Then, participants had to learn a new, second list. There were six groups, and each learned a different set of words for the second list. Participants then had to recall the original list of words. The group who learned the list with the most similar material (synonyms), had the worst recall. The group who learned the most irrelevant material (numbers), had the best recall, apart from the control group. It was concluded that the more similar information is, the more likely it will interfere retroactively with older memories.

Answer 14

Forgetting occurs due to absence of appropriate cues

Answer 15

When we encode our memories other contexual info is also encoded e.g. environment feelings at the time.

Answer 16

Aspects of the external environment work as cues tom memory (surroundings). Being in a different place would inihibit recall as there is a lack of environmental cues

Answer 17

Asked divers to learn new material on dry land or underwater, then were tested on dry land or underwater. It was found recall was worse if in different context and best if in the same. This suggests being in the same environment for both learning and recall aids recall by providing context cues

Answer 18

Aspects of our internal environment (emotions). Being in a different emotional state would inihibit recall.

Answer 19

They examined the effects of antihistamine drugs on memory recall. They gave the drug to 100 ppts ( as it has mild sedative effects making one drowsy - creating an alternate internal state - not normal). There were four conditions - ppts either learnt normally or drowsy and recalled either normally or drowsy. The researchers found 40% higher rates of accurate recall in matching conditions compared to non-matching conditions.

Answer 20

It has practical applications such as helping students develop effective revision strategies and theories like context cues improving recall have been used in the development of an effective police technique - cognitive interview.

Answer 21

Interference and cue theory may only explain a temporary loss of info so may not be a true explanation of forgetting as this would be the permanent loss of info from the LTM.

Answer 22

Only explains forgetting when two sets of data are similar or learnt without gaps (time sensitivity). This means it fails to explain many day to day examples of forgetting such as forgetting someone's birthday.

Answer 23

Much of the evidence for interference and cues comes fro lab experiments which use artificial tasks so the external validity might be low. Interference might not occur to the sam extent in more real life settings and scenarios.

Answer 24

Misleading info: leading questions and post-event discussion and anxiety

Answer 25

Questions that imply a particular answer can influence how a memory is recalled.

Answer 26

Actual memory of an event changes and is substituted as a result of misleading information.

Answer 27

An emotional pressure to give a particular response

Answer 28

When recalling of events by one witness alters the accuracy of the recall by another witness - This could be memory conformity going along with other accounts for social approval.

Answer 29

Loftus and Palmer 45 ppts were shown clips of a traffic accidents. After watching the clip they were asked the following critical (leading question) How fast were the cars going when they ____ into each other? The missing verb was changed to smashed, collided, bumped, hit or contacted. It was found that the more extreme the verb the faster the estimation of MPH. Contacted = 31.8 Smashed = 40.8 This suggests that leading info in the form of leading questions can influence the recall of EWT.

Answer 30

150 ppts were shown a car accident clip without broken glass. After viewing they were asked how fast the cars were gowing with either the verb hit or smashed. After one week ppts completed a questionnaire - one question asked did you see broken glass. It was found ppts were twice as likely in the smashed condition to respond yes compared to the hit condition.

Answer 31

Gabbert et al. Videos of crimes shot at different perspectives were shown to pairs of ppts with unique info available in each film. It was found 71% of ppts allowed what they had discussed with their pair to influence their account of the crime thay had seen (which they had not seen in their own video) compared to 0% in pairs who were not allowed to discuss what they had seen. This suggests witnesses will change their account to match other witnesses testimonies.

Answer 32

Bodner et al carried out a study similar to Gabbert's but explicity discouraged ppts from sharing info from their testimony. It was found that these ppts shared significantly less info gained from other witnesses. This suggests if warned about the dangers of post-event discussion its effects can be reduced.

Answer 33

A mental state of arousal that includes feelings of extreme concern and tension.

Answer 34

High levels of anxiety reduces recall of the event. Weapon focus - weapons are a cause of anxiety, witness are distracted focusing attention on the weapon rather than the criminal.

Answer 35

The anxiety makes the witness more alert and aware of the situation and their surroundings - their strong emotions could improve encoding.

Answer 36

EWT accuracy increases as anxiety raises and the witness becomes alert. However, at a point anxiety becomes too high and more stress/distraction results in lower accuracy.

Answer 37

Johnson and Scott naive ppts were outside a lab listening to conversations. There were two conditions high and low anxiety. Low: ppts overheard a normal convo, followed by a man walking out with greasy hands and a pen. High: ppts overheard a heated convo and glass breaking, followed by a man walking out with a blood-stained knife. When ask to identify the man from 50 photos - ppts in the low anxiety condition had 49% accurate recognition compared to 33% Anxiety caused by knife = decreased focus on mans face

Memory Flashcards

(62 cards)