Memory Flashcards
(15 cards)
Short term memory store (WMM)
Holds things for 18-30 seconds without rehearsal.
Displacement
Decay
Verbal rehearsal
Evaluation of MSM
+ Baddeley found that we tend to mix up similar sounding words in STM which shows it codes acoustically
- More than one type of LTM
- Craik and Watkins - elaborative rehearsal is needed for LTM
- Shallice and Warrington - patient KF had poor STM for digits read to him but recall was better when he read them himself
Evaluation of LTM
+ Belleville et al (2006) demonstrated that episodic memories could be improved in the elderly who have mild cognitive impairment
+ Tulving et al (1994) episodic memories come from right prefrontal cortex and semantic come from left
+ Clive Wearing had poor episodic memory but semantic and procedural were intact
- Cohen and Squire combine episodic and semantic into declarative memories
Evaluation of WMM
+ Dual task experiment
+ Braver et al gave people tasks to engage the central executive and found it caused activity in the prefrontal cortex which increased with difficulty of task
+ Patient KF struggled to take in verbal information but could process visual information
- Lack of clarity over the central executive
Evaluation of interference
+ Burke and Skrull found evidence for interference when adverts were similar
+ Baddeley and Hitch found rugby players memory of who they played 3 weeks ago was better if they had not played since
- Tulving and Psotka gave 5 lists of 24 words, all words were categorised and each time they learned a new list it was more challenging to remember them accurately. If cued on the word category, accuracy = 70%
- Artificial stimuli
Evaluation of retrieval failure
+ Goodwin got people drunk and had them learn things, then had them recall it (basically Carter and Cassaday). Supports state dependent
- Baddeley argues context effects aren’t very strong in real life
- ESP can’t be tested
- Godden and Baddeley also did a recognition test, and found there were no context effects, suggesting it only applies to memory in a certain way
Response bias
Influences how the participant chooses to answer, rather than changing what they remember
Substitution
The wording of the question actually changes their memory of the incident
Evaluation of misleading information
+ Loftus argues police officers must be careful because their questions may distort memory
- Film clips are different to witnessing a real life event
- Anastasi and Rhodes found people between 18-45 were more accurate than 55+
- Demand characteristics
Evaluation of Yuille and Cutshall
+ Links to real emotions and feelings as opposed to artificial tasks
+ Not causing stress as event has already occurred, so more ethical
- Not replicable because it only applies to a specific event and conditions
Evaluation of Johnson and Scott
+ Controlled study so can therefore be replicated
- Artificial tasks
- Unethical
Evaluation of anxiety
+ Yerkes-Dodson law
- Research is unethical because it deliberately causes psychological harm
- Pickel tested Johnson and Scott but in a hairdresser with a variety of handheld items - found EWT testimony was less accurate with surprising items (surprise rather than anxiety)
- Field studies lack control
Cognitive interview
Fisher and Geiselman (1992) argued EWT can be improved by changing the police’s techniques when interviewing the eye witnesses. They suggest the techniques should be more psychological, using insight into how memory works to aid people in reporting accurate memories.
Enhanced cognitive interview
Fisher et al developed some additional elements to focus on social dynamics of the interactions. Includes ideas of establishing eye contact, minimising distraction and asking open-ended questions.
Evaluation of cognitive interview
+ Kohnken’s meta-analysis of 50 studies - found enhanced CI consistently provided more correct information than the standard interview
- Takes longer because of needed rapport
- Milne and Bull found each to be of equal value but reporting everything and reinstating the context were better
- Kohnken et al found 61% increase of incorrect information with enhanced CI