intro
Phonological similarity effect
Trace decay
Interference
Leading questions > contamination
Wixted, 2018
Memory is malleable, conditions for memory to hold must me favourable in order for memory to be reliable, not realistic
Aim for Loftus and Palmer (1974)
To test the hypothesis that language used in eyewitness testimonies can alter memories
leading questions could distort eyewitness testimony accounts
procedure
Seven short films between 5 and 30 seconds were shown to the sample > all of crashed with other cars
After each film the participants were asked ‘About how fast were the cars going when they (smashed / collided / bumped / hit / contacted) each other?’
Results
Participants asked ‘smashed’ answered with higher estimated speed overall, and ‘contacted’ answered the lowest
It was suggested that the verb changed the perceived severity of the accident which altered the answers of the participants
McLeod, 2025
Triangulation
None > unreliable data
Temporary workspace
Baddeley 2014, when working memory allows for complex cognitive tasks like comprehension, learning and reasoning
working memory model
the collaboration of the viseo spatial sketchpad, phonological loop and central executive working through parallel transfer
Hitch 1974
Attractors
the neural networks which store information categorizing the stimuli, prevalence found in monkeys, Barak, 2014
Practical theory
items are embedded in long term memory via specific synaptic modifications, stimuli lead to the activation of stable activity patterns in these networks
Articulatory suppression
Murray 1967, when an act which uses the same component, this can impact the ability to remember
Study > Murray 1967
investigated how speaking while trying to remember an item affects short term memory
Murray 1967
articulatory supression reduces encoding strength leading to impaired recall and an inability to move STM into LTS
Murray procedure
12 participants where given a list of letters to remember, asked to wait 5 seconds before righting them down
repeated the task but during the 5 seconds they had to verbally repeat the numbers 1 and 2
HM 1968
Bilateral medial temporal lobe resection - to relieve epilepsy
profound forgetfulness - but no intellectual loss or perceptual disorders
Anterograde amnesia - couldn’t from new memories
Retrograde amnesia - couldn’t access some memories from before his surgery
Retention - he could retain 3 digits for 15 mins - working memory
Neurosci 2011
