Memory Flashcards
(90 cards)
1
Q
What is cognitive psychology?
A
Concerned with people’s thought processes and these affect the way they behave.
2
Q
What is memory?
A
The process of retaining learned information and accessing it when it’s needed.
3
Q
What are the processes in memory?
A
- Coding
- Storage
- Retrieval
4
Q
What are the memory stores?
A
- Sensory Register
- Short Term Memory
- Long Term Memory
5
Q
What is the sensory register?
A
A short duration store which retains unprocessed impressions of information received through the senses and has a separate sensory store for each input.
6
Q
What is short term memory?
A
It is a temporary store received from the sensory register.
7
Q
What is the long term memory?
A
It is a permanent store that holds a limitless amount of information for long periods of time.
8
Q
What is capacity?
A
The amount of information that can be held before it is displaced or pushed out by new information.
9
Q
What is duration?
A
How long information can be held before it decays or fades away.
10
Q
What is coding?
A
The way information is changed to be stored.
11
Q
What is storage?
A
Keeping information within memory until it is needed.
12
Q
What is retrieval?
A
This is recovering information when it is needed.
13
Q
What is coding in the sensory register?
A
Coding is modality specific, so each sensory store codes differently.
14
Q
How is information coded into short term memory and how was this discovered?
A
A psychologist gave four lists of words to recall; list A where the words sounded similar, list B where the words sounded dissimilar, list C where the words had similar meanings and list D where the words sounded dissimilar. Performance was worse with list A and B and there was no difference between C and D so information is coded acoustically into STM.
15
Q
How is information coded into long term memory and how was this discovered?
A
The word recall test with the four lists of words was repeated but this time the participants had to recall after a 20 mins test. Recall if C was worse than D and there was no difference between list A and B. This means that information is coded semantically into LTM.
16
Q
What is the capacity of sensory register?
A
Unlimited
17
Q
What is the capacity of short term memory and how was this discovered?
A
The digit span test is where there are several sequences of digits or letters and the participants are asked to repeat the sequence in the right order immediately after. The sequence got longer by one item each time and it was found that on average STM can hold 9.3 digits and 7.3 letters. This was reviewed by another psychologist and it was decided that the capacity of STM is 7+/-2.
18
Q
What is chunking?
A
This is grouping large amounts of information into smaller groups which helps us remember more.
19
Q
What is the capacity of long term memory?
A
The capacity is unlimited but there is no way to accurately measure.
20
Q
What is the duration of sensory register?
A
250 milliseconds
21
Q
What is the duration of short term memory and how was this discovered?
A
The nonsense trigrams test is where random three consonants were given to recall. The participants had to count backwards from 100 in threes to prevent rehearsal. After 3 seconds they were 90% accurate, after 9 seconds they were 20% accurate and after 18 seconds they were 2% accurate. This means that STM only lasts from 18-30 seconds before it is lost to decay.
22
Q
What is the duration of long term memory and how was this discovered?
A
The photo recognition test is where 400 people were shown 50 photos and had to decide if they were class mates or not. They were then asked to list the names of the people they could remember which is free recall. They were 90% accurate at identifying faces 15 years after leaving school and 70% after 48 years. They were 60% accurate at the free recall of names after 15 years and 30% after 48 years. This means the duration of LTM is a lifetime but retrieval failure could occur and retrieval cues are needed.
23
Q
Who constructed the Multi-Store Model of Memory?
A
Atkinson and Schiffrin
24
Q
What is the Multi-Store Model of Memory?
A
It was designed to show the way information flows from one store to another. It includes the three stores and they all differ in capacity, coding, duration and how information is lost.
25
What happens in the sensory register in the Multi-Store Model of Memory?
The capacity is unlimited however the duration is 250 milliseconds. Only a small fraction is attended to and selected for further processing. Information is lost due to decay.
26
How is information kept in and lost from short term memory in the Multi-Store Model of Memory?
It is kept using maintenance rehearsal, which is verbalising and thinking repeatedly. Elaborative rehearsal, organising information in a meaningful way, allows information to be transferred into LTM. Information is lost through decay and displacement.
27
How is information lost from long term memory in the Multi-Store Model of Memory?
When information is needed it is retrieved by STM to be recalled. Retrieval failure could occur where there is no access to certain information and retrieval cues are needed.
28
Advantages of the Multi-Store Model of Memory. (3)
- HM
- KF
- serial position
- an attempt to treat an epilepsy patient called HM meant that several parts of his brain had to be removed including the hippocampus. He was unable to code new long term memories but his STM was unaffected. This shows that there is a distinct and separate STM and LTM.
- a patient called KF had a motorbike accident which meant his STM was reduced to a capacity of 1 or 2 digits. His LTM was normal showing STM and LTM are separate stores.
- participants were presented with a long list of words to be recalled in any order (free recall). The words at the beginning and the end were recalled better than the middle. This is because of the serial position effect. The words at the beginning were constantly rehearsed then transferred int LTM, which is the primacy effect and the words at the end were still in the STM, which is the decency effect.
29
Disadvantages of the Multi-Store Model of Memory. (4)
- types
- retrieve
- oversimplified
- multi-tasking
- KF had a Poor STM for verbal tasks not visual which shows there is more than one type of STM
- long term memories are retrieved by the STM. If the STM is damaged then retrieval shouldn’t be possible but KF could do this.
- it is oversimplified as there are several types of STM, for visual and verbal task. There are several types of LTM too.
- it fails to explain multi-tasking
30
What are the three types of long term memory?
Episodic, Semantic and Procedural memory.
31
What are episodic memories and where are they stored?
These are memories of events and are stored in the hippocampus.
32
What are the three elements to episodic memories?
The specific elements of the event, the context of the event and the emotions felt at the time of the event.
33
What are semantic memories and where are they stored?
These are our memories of facts and general knowledge about the world. They may relate to things like function of an object or appropriate behaviour or abstract ideas like maths and language. They are stored in the temporal lobe.
34
What are procedural memories and where are they stored?
These are automatic memories concerned with motor skills and actions that are acquired through practise and repetition. They are stored in the cerebellum.
35
Advantages of types of long term memory. (4)
- scan
- HM
- Clive
- brain scans showed the hippocampus was active when episodic memories were accessed, semantic memories relied on the temporal lobe and procedural memories were associated with the cerebellum
- HM could form new procedural memories but not others because his hippocampus was destroyed
- Clive Wearing could play the piano (procedural memory) but couldn’t remember memories with his wife (episodic memories)
36
Disadvantages of types of long term memory. (2)
- priming
- amnesia
- priming is how implicit memories can influence people’s responses/behaviours and is controlled by a brain system separate from systems involved with the LTM. This shows that there is a fourth type of LTM called the perpetual-representation system.
- for 147 amnesia patients had their procedural and perceptual-representation systems intact but episodic and semantic weren’t. This shows that there are four types of long term memory.
37
Who constructed the Working Memory Model?
Baddeley and Hitch
40
What is the Working Memory Model?
It argues that there is more than one type of short term memory and that it is far more complex.
41
What is short term memory, according to the Working Memory Model?
An active store holding several pieces of information while they are being worked on.
42
What is long term memory, according to the Working Memory Model?
A passive store that holds previously learned information that is used by STM when needed.
43
What is the central executive in the Working Memory Model?
This drives the whole working memory system and allocates data to the slave system. It deals with cognitive tasks and helps attain balance between tasks when attention needs to be divided.
44
What are the sub components of the phonological loop in the Working Memory Model and what do they do?
The phonological store, which is linked to speech perception and hold speech based information for 1-2 seconds, and the articulary loop, which is linked to speech production and is used to rehearse and store verbal information in the phonological store allowing maintenance rehearsal.
46
What are the sub components of the visuo-spatial sketchpad in the Working Memory Model and what do they do?
The visual cache, which stores visual material about form and colour, and the inner scribe, which handles spatial relationships.
47
What does the phonological loop do?
It deals with spoken and written material.
48
What is the episodic buffer?
This is another component added by Baddeley in 2000, which is a general storage component. It integrates information from the central executive, the phonological loop, the visuo-spatial sketchpad and LTM.
49
What is the interference theory?
Forgetting occurs when two lots of information get confused especially if they are similar.
50
What does the Visio-Spatial Sketchpad do?
It stores and processes information in visual or spatial form and is used for navigation. It is sometimes referred to as the inner eye.
51
Advantages of the Working Memory Model. (4)
- KF
- dual
- visual
- dyslexia
- KF had a motorbike accident and had a Poor STM for words presented verbally not visually. This shows there is more than one type of STM.
- dual tasks involving a reasoning task which uses the central executive and a reading aloud task which uses the phonological loop was given to participants. They could do both simultaneously which shows that there are separate components in STM
- a brief visual presentation of words of either long or short words was given to participants. They had to be recalled immediately in order and they recalled more short than long words because of the word length effect. This supports the fact that the phonological loop can hold as many items as can be said in 1.5-2 seconds.
- it has practical applications as it has improved our understanding of learning to read. This could help with Dyslexia.
52
Disadvantages of the Working Memory Model. (2)
- senses
- vague
- it doesn’t explain how we deal with information from the smell and touch senses
- the idea of the central executive is simplistic and vague. EVR had a cerebral tumour removed and he had good reasoning skills, which means the central executive should be intact, but he couldn’t make decisions, which means his central executive should be damaged. So the central executive is more complicated.
53
What does forgetting mean?
A persons loss of ability to recall or recognise something they have previously learned.
54
What is retroactive interference?
When currents attempts to learn something interfere with past learning.
55
What is retrieval failure?
The idea that forgetting occurs in the absence of appropriate cues.
56
What is proactive interference?
When past learning interference affects current attempts to learn something.
57
Advantages of the interference theory. (3)
- proactive
- retroactive
- students
- findings were analysed and it was found that when a series of words have to be learnt, people do not learn words encountered later in the study as well as those encountered before. When participants learned 10 or more lists of words and then had to recall the next day. They could only recall 20% but when they learned one list they recalled 70%.
- participants were given a list of words they had to learn until they could remember it 100%. Then they had to learn a new list made up of synonyms/antonyms/nonsense syllables/three-digit numbers and some were not given a list. The synonym lists had the worst recall and having no list to recall was the best, showing that two listens with the same meaning cause interference.
- helps students know that when revising they should revise subjects or content that are similar at the same time
58
Disadvantage of the interference theory. (2)
- divers
- forgetting
- retrieval failure needs to be explained better. A study was done where divers had to learn and recall lists of words on dry land and underwater. It was found that words learnt and recalled in the same context were better remembered and cues helped.
- not a true explanation for forgetting. Loss of information during interference is temporary. Information is not overwritten and is still in LTM
60
What is context dependent forgetting?
The idea that if you recall in the same place you learned it, recall is better; the physical environment acts as a cue.
61
What is state dependent forgetting?
The idea that recall is better if people are in a similar physiological state at recall as when coding.
62
Advantages of the retrieval failure theory. (4)
- context
- state
- divers
- students
- participants had to recall with a mixture of familiar and unfamiliar teaching instructors in teaching rooms and it was found that familiar instructors in familiar rooms had the best performance.
- participants hid money in a large warehouse when high on cannabis and they were more likely if recall the hiding place when they were in the same state.
- a study was done where divers had to learn and recall lists of words on dry land and underwater. It was found that words learnt and recalled in the same context were better remembered and cues helped.
- students now knows to learn or revise information in the same room they will take their final exams in.
63
Disadvantage of the retrieval failure theory. (1)
| - influence
- the way the influence if cues us presented is not clear and in real life people always recall in different contexts e.g GCSE exams are learnt in class and done in other places.
64
What are leading questions?
Questions phrased in such a way as to lead a witness to gibe a certain answer.
65
What is response bias in leading questions?
When leading questions affect the answer a person chooses to give.
66
What is substitution bias in leading questions?
When leading questions distort memories because they contain misleading information
67
Who conducted the estimating speed experiment on leading questions?
Loftus and Palmer
67
How many and who were the participants used in the Loftus and Palmer study?
45 American students
68
What verbs were used in the Loftus and Palmer study?
Contacted, hit, bumped, smashed and collided.
69
What the estimated speed for the ‘contacted’ condition in the Loftus and Palmer study?
31 mph
70
What was the estimated speed for the ‘smashed’ condition in the Loftus and Palmer study?
41 mph
71
What percentage of participants said they saw broken glass in the control condition of the Loftus and Palmer condition?
12%
72
What percentage of participants said they saw broken glass in the ‘smashed’ condition of the Loftus and Palmer study?
32%
74
What is post-event discussion?
When memory becomes distorted when events are discussed.
74
Advantages of leading questions. (1)
| - laboratory
- laboratory experiment so the extraneous variables are highly controlled and don’t affect the IV. This increases the validity. Also the findings are replicable and this makes it reliable.
75
Disadvantages of leading questions. (2)
- ecological
- population
- it lacks ecological validity as a person would not be asked to guess the speed of a car when in an accident. So it is artificial.
- it lacks population validity as students were used and students are less experiences drivers. Having adults that are experienced drivers would make the study more valid.
76
Who conducted the study on post-event discussion?
Gabbert et al
77
What percentage of participants mistakenly recalled events after discussion in the Gabbert et al study on post-event discussion?
71%
77
Advantage of post event discussion. (1)
| - population
- adults and students were used and there were no significant differences found between them. So we know post event discussion affects both adults and students in a similar way.
78
Disadvantages of post event discussion. (1)
| - ecological
- this lacks ecological validity because it doesn’t reflect real life witness experiences and the participants know they are watching a video.
79
What is anxiety?
A state of apprehension, uncertainty and fear resulting from a threatening situation.
80
What is the weapon focus effect?
This when the person pays attention to the aspect posing a threat, this is usually the weapon.
81
Who conducted the weapon focus effect study and when?
Loftus in 1979
82
What percentage of people recognised the person in the bloody letter opener condition in the weapon focus effect study by Loftus?
33%
83
What percentage of people recognised the person in the pen condition in the weapon focus effect study by Loftus?
49%
84
Advantages of the weapon focus effect and anxiety. (1)
| - film
- one group was shown a violent short film where a boy is shot in the head and the other group watched a non violent short film. Recall was less accurate with the violent short film.
84
Disadvantages of the weapon focus effect and anxiety. (4)
- bank
- ecological
- ethics
- shooting
- 110 people who witnessed a real bank robbery in Sweden were surveyed and those with the most anxiety were more accurate than bystanders, showing that the relationship between anxiety and memory is not clear cut.
- it lacks ecological validity because the participants may have anticipated something to happen.
- ethics were violated as there was deceptions and the participants were not protected from psychological harm. What they saw caused them distress and caused them to become stressed.
- out of 22 witnesses of a real life shooting, where one person was killed and another was seriously injured, who were interviewed by police, 13 (aged 15-32) agreed to be interviewed 5 months later. They gave accurate recall and there was little change to their original testimony. They avoided leading questions and those who were severely distressed during the shooting gave the most accurate recall.
84
Who identified problems with standard police interviews?
Fisher et al
84
Who constructed the cognitive interview?
Geiselman et al
85
What are the four stages of the cognitive interview?
- Context Reinstatement
- Report Everything
- Recall from Changed Perspectives
- Recall in Reverse Order
85
Who added additional guidelines to the cognitive interview and constructed the enhanced cognitive interview?
Fisher
87
What are the additional guidelines in the enhanced cognitive interview? (4)
- encourage witness to relax and talk slowly
- avoid distractions
- ask open-ended questions
- offer comments to help clarify witness statement
89
Advantages of the cognitive interview. (2)
- hypnosis
- Miami
- participants were shown a video of a simulated crime and the cognitive interview, standard interview and hypnosis were used. The cognitive interview led to the most information being recalled.
- the enhanced cognitive interview was used for the first time in Miami to train police officers and on average there was a 46% increase in the amount of information. 90% of it was accurate.
90
Disadvantages of the cognitive interview. (3)
- incorrect
- time
- reluctant
- it has been found that the cognitive interview has produced more incorrect information than standard police interviews
- they are time consuming and officers don’t have the time, money or resources to use it
- the change in perspective component misleads witnesses into speculating about what they actually saw so police are reluctant to use it
