Memory

Question 1

Describe Baddeleys coding study

Answer 1

• Used acoustically similar words- e.g. Cat, Cab, Can and semantically similar words- e.g. great, large and big.
• When recalled immediately (STM) did worse with acoustically similar and when recalled after 20 mins did worse with semantically similar.
• This shows that the way we encode affects our applicability.
  -Identified clear difference between stores.

Question 3

Describe the characteristics of each store of memory

Answer 3

Sensory register= Coding- Iconic and echoic, Capacity- Infinite, Duration- Very brief 250ms

STM= Coding- Acoustic, Capacity- 5-9 items, Duration- 18 seconds.

LTM= Coding- Semantic, Capacity- Infinite, Duration- Infinite.

Info transferred to LTM from STM by rehearsal and from LTM to STM by retrieval.

Question 4

Describe the multi-store model of memory

Answer 4

Sensory Register→ attention → STM→ rehearsal→ LTM
Info lost Info lost Info lost

LTM with retrieval→ STM Maintained rehearsal stays in STM

Question 5

What is evidence for the Multi Store Model

Answer 5

• Case of HM supports the MSM because it supports the central feature of the model- that there are two separate and independent memory stores STM and LTM.
• Case of HM shows that it is possible to sustain damage to one of the stores with the other remaining relatively unaffected.
• However this is only one or few people and lacks control also.

Question 6

Describe Glazner and Cunitz (1966)

Answer 6

• Asked p’s to free recall word lists (any order), was found that recall was much stronger for words at start and end of list.
• This suggests there are separate short term and long term memory stores, with words at start of list entering LTM and being recalled (primary effect) and most recent words held by STM and being recalled (recency effect), middle words displaced.

Question 7

Evaluate evidence for the MMM (Artificiality)

Answer 7

• One weakness is that cognitive experiments testing aspects of the MSM are often highly artificial, lacking external validity.
• Low ecological validity→ Results collected in lab may not be generalisable to other naturalistic situations like school and work.
• Also, lack of mundane realism→ Experimental tasks testing MSM unlikely to how memory is used.

Question 8

However point (Only way)

Answer 8

• However, artificial nature of design experimental studies may be only way of clearly measuring memory and its limits.
• This approach may ultimately uncover underlying mental structure of memory.

Question 9

Describe The Working Memory Model

Answer 9

Composed of:
- Central Executive
- Phonological loop (contains phonological store and articulatory
process).
- Visuo-spatial sketchpad (VSS) (Contains visual cache and inner
scribe).
- Episodic buffer

Question 10

Explain these components

Answer 10

CE- Controls working memory by monitoring incoming data, allocating limited attentional resources and subsystems to task.

PL- Subsystem processing auditory/verbal material
Subdivided into:
Phonological store- Temporary store of verbal material.
Articulatory process- Maintenance rehearsal of verbal material.

VSS- Processes visual and spatial information by storing (visual cache) and manipulating it (inner scribe).

Episodic buffer- Integrates information processed in the other subsystems and links with LTM.

Question 11

6 step thing about Baddely and Hitch

Question 12

Diagram of WMM

Question 13

Evaluate WMM (Dual task performance)

Answer 13

• One strength is that dual task performance supports the WMM.
• Baddeley et al (1975) p’s found harder to carry out two visual tasks at same time than one visual one verbal same time.
• Because visual tasks compete for the same subsystem (VSS)
• No competition with verbal and visual task.
• Therefore, must be separate slave systems that processes visual input (VSS) and verbal input (PL).

Question 14

Another strength (Case study KF- clinical evidence)

Answer 14

• Strength is model has support from clinical evidence.
• E.g. Shallice and Warrington (1970) studied patient KF who had brain injury.
• His STM for auditory info was poor (damaged PL) but he could process visual info normally (intact VSS)
• Therefore, this supports the WMM view that there are separate visual and acoustic memory stores.

Question 15

One limitation (Central executive is vague)

Answer 15

• One limitation is the lack of clarity over the central executive.
• Baddeley (2003) said the CE was most important but least understood component of working memory.
• Must be more to the CE than just attention e.g. made up of separate subcomponents.
• Therefore, the CE is unsatisfactory component and this challenges validity of model.

Question 16

What are the different types of long term memory?

Answer 16

• Episodic (Declarative)
• Semantic (Declarative)
• Procedural (Non-Declarative)

Question 17

Explain these

Answer 17

-Episodic= Memory of events and experiences in our lives, time stamped, consciously recalled, can put into words.

-Semantic= LTM’s of our knowledge of the world, not time stamped more complex than just facts.

-Procedural= LTM’s of skilled behaviours such as driving a car. Trying to explain them may make task more difficult.

Question 18

strength of memory, where it is located, etc

Question 19

Evaluate types of LTM (Case study evidence)

Answer 19

• One strength is case study evidence of different types of LTM.
• Clinical studies of amnesia (HM and Clive Wearing) showed both had difficulty recalling past events (episodic), but semantic unaffected. Procedural also intact.
• Therefore, this supports the view that there are different memory store in LTM because one store damaged but others unaffected.

Question 20

However point (Lack of control in case studies)

Answer 20

• However, researchers lack control in clinical case studies.
• They do not know anything about persons memory before brain damage.
• Therefore, clinical studies are limited in what they can tell us about different types of LTM.

Question 21

One limitation (Conflicting findings)

Answer 21

• One limitation is conflicting findings about types of LTM and brain areas.
• Buckner and Peterson (1996) reviewed research findings and concluded that semantic memory is located left prefrontal cortex and episodic in right.
• But other studies (Tulving 1994) found semantic memory associated with right prefrontal cortex and reverse for episodic.
• Therefore, this challenges any neuropsychological evidence to support types of memory as there is poor agreement on location.

Question 22

What are the theories of forgetting?

Answer 22

Interference- Two pieces of information conflict with each other.
Proactive- Older memories disrupt newer ones.
Retroactive- Newer memories disrupt older ones.
Similarity

Question 23

Evaluate interference theory of forgetting (Rugby player research RWA)

Answer 23

• Strength is research support
• Baddeley and Hitch (1977) asked Rugby players to recall the teams they had played against in a season.
• As players did not play same amount of games (injury/selection etc) they could look for differences.
• Those who played most games had poorest recall.
• Therefore, this shows that interference does operate in some real world situations, increasing validity.

Question 24

However point (RWA is rare)

Answer 24

-It is unusual-conditions necessary for interference to occur are relatively rare.
-In the lab studies the high degree of control means a researcher can create ideal conditions for interference.
-Two memories have to be fairly similar in order to interfere with each other. This may happen occasionally in everyday life but not often.
-Therefore, this suggests that most forgetting may be better explained by other theories such as retrieval failure due to lack of cues.

Question 25

Limitation (Research done in lab)

Answer 25

- Interference research done in lab. - Artificial tasks. - Low ecological validity. - Demand characteristics. - Reduces RWA.

Question 26

What is the retrieval failure explanation of forgetting?

Answer 26

Where memories are available but not accessible.

Question 27

What are cues?

Answer 27

A trigger that enables access to memory

Question 28

What is Tulving's Encoding specificity principle?

Answer 28

Forgetting occurs if cues at encoding and retrieval are different or absent. If the cue does not meet the criteria then the information may be forgotten Many cues have a meaningful link to the information forming the memory Other cues can be encoded at the time of learning that are not meaningful: Context-dependent forgetting State-dependent forgetting

Question 29

Define these other types of cues

Answer 29

CDF- When recall depends on an external cue e.g. the environment or surroundings. SDF- When recall depends on an internal cue e.g. feelings/emotions involved or persons psychological state.

Question 30

Explain Godden and Baddeley's diver study (1975)

Answer 30

- P's from a diving club at university asked to learn words either on land or underwater and then recall them on land or underwater, this was done for memory research in terms of context. There were four conditions to the independent variable: 1) learning words on land/recalling on land 2) learning words on land/recalling underwater 3) learning underwater/recalling underwater 4) learning underwater/recalling on land Accuracy 40% lower in condition 2-3. Mismatched context. Retrieval failure due to absence of context dependent cues at time of recall.

Question 31

Evaluate retrieval failure explanation (supporting evidence)

Answer 31

- One strength is impressive range of supporting evidence. - For example, Godden and Baddeley and Carter and Cassady (drug study of state dependent) show that a lack of cues at recall leads to everyday forgetting. - Therefore, this evidence shows that retrieval failure due to lack of cues occurs in everyday life as well as in highly controlled labs.

Question 32

However point (Contexts must be very different)

Answer 32

- However, Baddeley (1997) argues that different contexts have to be very different before an effect is seen. - Learning something in one room and recalling it in another is unlikely to result in much forgetting because the environments are not different enough. - This means that retrieval failure due to lack of contextual cues may not explain much everyday forgetting.

Question 33

One limitation (recall vs recognition)

Answer 33

- One limitation is that context varies in recall and recognition. - Godden and Baddeley (1980) replicated their underwater experiment using a recognition test instead of recall. - There was no context-dependent recall. - Findings all same in all 4 conditions, whether matched or not. - Therefore, suggests retrieval failure is a limited explanation for forgetting as it only applies to recall not recognition.