Memory Flashcards
1
Q
What is coding?
A
The format in which information is stored
2
Q
What is capacity?
A
The amount of information that can be held
3
Q
What is duration?
A
The length of time information can be held
4
Q
What does acoustic mean?
A
Sound
5
Q
What does semantic mean?
A
Meaning
6
Q
Briefly describe Baddelely’s (1966) research into coding
A
- gave different lists of words to 4 groups of participants to remember
- acoustically similar/dissimilar
- semantically similar/dissimilar
- when asked to recall immediately after, worse with acoustically similar words (info coded acoustically in STM)
- when asked to recall after 20 mins, worse with semantically similar words (info coded semantically in LTM)
7
Q
Briefly describe Jacobs’ (1887) research into capacity
A
- read out 4 digits and asked pp to recall immediately after these in correct order
- if done correctly, read out 5 digits and so on until pp couldn’t recall order correctly
- found the mean digit span was 9.3 items
- found the mean letter span was 7.3 items
8
Q
Briefly describe Bahrick’s (1975) research into duration
A
- 392 pp from Ohio, aged between 17 and 74
- photo-recognition test consisting of 50 photos, some from the pp’s yearbook
- free recall test, where pp recalled all the names of their graduating class
- those tested within 15 years of graduation were ~90% accurate in photo recognition and ~60% accurate with free recall
- after 48 years, recall decline to ~70% for photo recognition and ~30% for free recall
- shows LTM can last a very long time
9
Q
Who developed the multistore model of memory?
A
Atkinson and Shiffrin
10
Q
How does the sensory register work?
A
- environmental stimuli enter the sensory register, comprising of five separate stores for each sense
- primary stores are iconic (visual info) and echoic (sound based info)
11
Q
How is the sensory register coded?
A
Modality specific (specific to the sense that is picked up)
12
Q
What is the duration of the sensory register?
A
Less than half a second
13
Q
What is the capacity of the sensory register?
A
Over 100 million
14
Q
What is short term memory?
A
Your memory for immediate events, temporarily stores info received from sensory register
15
Q
How is info transferred from the sensory register to the STM?
A
Attention
16
Q
What happens if info is not attended to when it enters the sensory register?
A
Leads to spontaneous decay
17
Q
How is STM coded?
A
Acoustically
18
Q
What is the capacity of STM?
A
7+-2
19
Q
What is the duration of STM?
A
18-30 seconds
20
Q
How is information transferred from STM to LTM?
A
Prolonged rehearsal
21
Q
How is information transferred from LTM to STM?
A
Retrieval
22
Q
What is long term memory?
A
Memory for events that have occurred in the more distant past
23
Q
How is LTM coded?
A
Semantically
24
Q
What is the capacity of LTM?
A
Potentially unlimited
25
What is the duration of LTM?
Infinite
26
What is one strength of Baddeley’s 1966 study on coding in STM and LTM?
Showed differences between stores
27
What is a weakness of Baddeley’s 1966 study in coding in STM and LTM?
It didn’t use meaningful material
28
What is a strength if the multistore model of memory?
Research support from Baddeley
29
What is a limitation of the multistore model of memory?
Research studies supporting the MSM use artificial materials
30
What are the 3 types of LTM?
- episodic
- semantic
- procedural
31
Who proposed the 3 types of LTM?
Tulving (1986)
32
What is episodic memory?
Memories of life events e.g. birthdays or recent dentist visits
33
What is semantic memory?
Factual and general knowledge about the world e.g. capital cities and meaning of words and concepts
34
What is procedural memory?
Motor skills and learned actions
35
Who proposed the working memory model?
Baddeley and Hitch (1974)
36
What is the function of the central executive?
- takes information from the senses or from LTM
- allocates tasks to the slave systems
37
What is the capacity of the central executive?
Very limited
38
How is the central executive coded?
Modality free coding (manipulates info from all senses)
39
What is the phonological loop?
- deal with auditory information
- preserves the order of information
40
What is the capacity of the phonological loop?
Limited
41
How is phonological loop coded?
Acoustically
42
What with phonological loop divided into?
- phonological store
- articulatory process
43
What is the phonological store?
- AKA inner ear
- holds the words we hear
44
What is the articulatory process?
- AKA inner voice
- used for maintenance rehearsal
- words we read or hear silently repeated
45
What is the capacity of the articulatory process?
~ 2 seconds worth of words
46
What is the visuospatial sketchpad?
- deals with visual and spatial information
- holds static images and manipulates them
47
What is the capacity of the visuospatial sketchpad?
~ 3-4 objects
48
How is the visuospatial sketchpad coded?
Visually
49
What is the visuospatial sketchpad divided into?
- visual cache
- inner scribe
50
What is the visual cache?
Holds information about colours, shapes and quantities
51
What is the inner scribe?
Deals with spatial information (where objects are in relation to others)
52
What is the episodic buffer?
- temporary overspill for info received by CE
- maintains sense of time sequencing
- links LTM to wider processes such as perception
53
What is the capacity of the episodic buffer?
~ 4 chunks
54
How is the episodic buffer coded?
Modality free coding
55
What are the 2 types of interference?
- proactive
- retroactive
56
What is proactive interference?
When an older memory interferes with a newer one
57
What is retroactive interference?
When a newer memory interferes with an older one
58
Who did research into interference?
McGeoch and McDonald
59
Briefly describe McGeoch and McDonald’s research into interference
- measured retroactive interference by changing the amount of similarity between two sets of materials
- pp had to learn a set of words until they could remember all of them, then they learned a new list
- 6 groups, in which the IV was the second list they were asked to remember
60
What were the findings from McGeoch and McDonald’s research into interference?
Recall was worse when the two lists were similar in meaning, shows interference is strongest when memories are similar
61
What is retrieval failure?
The inability to recall long-term memories because of missing retrieval cues (may appear the information is forgotten but the info is still there but it cannot be accessed temporarily)
62
What is a cue?
Any stimulus that triggers a memory
63
What is the encoding specificity principle?
- Tulving (1983) said if a cue is to help recall it must be present at encoding and retrieval
- some cues are linked in a meaningful way e.g. mnemonics or not linked in a meaningful way e.g. context and state-dependent cues
64
What is state-dependent forgetting?
Being in a different mood/state of arousal which may inhibit memory
65
What is context-dependent forgetting?
Being in a different place which may inhibit memory
66
Describe Godden and Baddeley’s study into context-dependent forgetting
- deep sea divers had to learn and recall lists of words underwater or on land
- 4 conditions: learn and recall on land, learn on land and recall underwater, learn and recall underwater, learn underwater and recall on land
67
What were Godden and Baddeley’s findings from their research into context-dependent forgetting?
- recall was 40% less accurate when the context of learning and recall did not match
- if external cues at encoding and recall are different, this may lead to retrieval failure
68
Describe Carter and Cassaday’s research into state-dependent forgetting
- gave pp antihistamines producing a mild sedative effect
- pp had to learn a list of words
- 4 conditions: learn and recall when on drug, learn on drug but recall when not, learn and recall when not on drug, learn when not on drug but recall when on drug
69
What were Carter and Cassaday’s findings from their research into state-dependent cues?
- in conditions where there was a mismatch between internal state at learning and recall performance was significantly worse
- the absence of internal cues is a factor in forgetting
70
What are leading questions?
A question, which, because of the way it is phrased, suggests a certain answer
70
What is misleading information?
Incorrect information given to the eyewitness usually after the event
71
Describe Loftus and Palmer’s research into misleading information
- students watched film clips of a car accident
- asked 1 of 5 questions (contacted, hit, bumped, collided, smashed)
72
What is eyewitness testimony?
The ability of people to remember the details of events, such as accidents and crimes, which they themselves have observed
73
What did Loftus and Palmer find in their research into misleading information?
The response-bias explanation suggests that the wording of a question has no real effect on the participants’ memories, but just influences how they decide to answer
74
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 co-witnesses or with other people. This may influence the accuracy of each witness’s recall of the event
75
Who devised the inverted U theory?
Yerkes and Dodson (1908)
76
Explain the inverted U theory
Lower levels of anxiety produce lower levels of recall accuracy. Memory becomes more accurate as the level of anxiety experience increases. There comes a point where the optimal level of anxiety is reached, and if an eyewitness experiences any more stress than this, then their recall of the event suffers a drastic decline
77
What is the report everything technique used in the cognitive interview?
Witnesses are encouraged to recall every single detail of the event, even if it seems irrelevant. These trivial details may actually be important and may act as a trigger for other important memories
78
What is the reinstate the context technique used in the cognitive interview?
Witnesses should return to the crime scene ‘in their mind’ and imagine the environment and their emotions (related to context-dependent forgetting)
79
What is the reverse the order technique used in the cognitive interview?
Events recalled in a different order to the original sequence. Prevents people reporting their expectations of how the event must have happened. Prevents dishonesty
80
What is the reverse the order technique used in the cognitive interview?ooe
81
What is the change perspective technique used in the cognitive interview?
Witnesses should recall an incident from other people’s perspectives. This disrupts the effect of expectations and schema on recall
82
Who proposed the enhanced cognitive interview?
Fisher et al.
83
What are 3 features of the ECI?
- reducing eyewitness anxiety
- minimising distractions
- getting the witness to speak slowly
