Memory

Question 1

Cognitive interview (CI) and Enhanced cognitive interview (ECI) AO1

Answer 1

Cognitive Interview:
- The witness should; report everything, reinstate the context, reverse the order and change perspective.
The enhanced cognitive interview:
- Focuses on social dynamics of the interactions.
- Minimising distractions, getting witness to speak slowly and asking open ended questions.

Question 2

Episodic Memory (EM)

Answer 2

• Autobiographical record of personal experiences.
• Strength influences by emotions present at the time and the degree of processing at coding.
• Initial coding = prefrontal cortex
• Consolidation and storage = neocortex

Question 3

Semantic Memory (SM)

Answer 3

• Contains all the knowledge an individual has learnt.
• Strength of SM positively associated with degree of processing occurring during coding.
• SM’s linked to EM’s.
• Hippocampus and related areas involved.

Question 4

Procedural Memory (PM)

Answer 4

• Performance of particular types of actions.
• Non-declarative
• Associated with neocortex areas
• Doesn’t require the hippocampus to function

Question 5

What research proves the different ways LTM and STM are coded?

Answer 5

Baddeley (1966)
- Immediate recall (STM) participants recalled fewer acoustically similar words (acoustic confusion)
- Recall after delay (LTM) participants recalled less semantically similar words (semantic confusion)
Proves STM is acoustic and LTM is semantic.

Question 6

Positive evaluation of the Working Memory Model (WMM)

Answer 6

• Research to support capacity of phenological loop being 2 seconds (Baddeley et al, 1975 - Mono-syllabic words vs Multi-syllabic words).
• Research support for separate stores (Baddeley dual tasks).

Question 7

Interference Theory AO1

Answer 7

• Forgetting due to interference and confusion of other pieces of information.
• Proactive interference (older memory interferes with new similar one).
• Retroactive interference (new memory interferes with old similar one)

Question 8

Evaluation of interference theory

Answer 8

• Research to support interference causing forgetfulness more than the passage of time (Baddeley and Hitch - Rugby players who played more games face more interference of team names).
• Mcgeogh and McDonald support for retroactive interference (recall of first list depended on nature of second list).
• All experiments to support were labs.

Question 9

Multi-Store Model (MSM) AO1

Answer 9

• Emphasises the structure of memory
• 3 separate stores; sensory register, STM and LTM.
• Info in STM lost after 30 seconds.
• If info is rehearsed a memory trace is created which transfers to LTM.
• At each stage info can be lost through decay.
• STM can be lost via displacement.
• LTM can be lost via retrieval failure and interference.

Question 10

Positive evaluation points of MSM

Answer 10

• First cognitive explanation, formed basis of WMMM, increased our understanding of how memory works.
• Case studies of HM and Clive Wearing support existence of different memory stores.
• Murdock (1962) support for memory having different stores (serial position effect).
• Baddeley’s list proves 2 memory stores (one encodes acoustically and one encodes semantically).

Question 11

Capacity

Answer 11

The amount of info that can be stored in a memory store.

Question 12

What is the capacity of STM?

Answer 12

5-9 items.

Question 13

How are STM and LTM stored?

Answer 13

• STM is acoustically stored.

- LTM is semantically stored.

Question 14

LTM (Long-term memory)

Answer 14

A permanent memory store with unlimited capacity which can hold info for potentially a lifetime.

Question 15

Encoding

Answer 15

Changing a stimulus into a different form so it can be stored and used.

Question 16

STM (short-term memory)

Answer 16

A temporary store with limited capacity that can only store info for a short amount of time.

Question 17

Working Memory Model (WMM) AO1

Answer 17

• Systems involved have a limited capacity and it is an attentional process.
• Central executive monitors and coordinates all function in working memory + allocates info to sub-stores.
• Phenological loop = articulatory process (speech production) and phenological store (speech perception).
• Visuo-spatial sketchpad = visual cache (form and colour) and inner scribe (spatial and movement`).

Question 18

Negative evaluation of Working Memory Model (WMM)

Answer 18

• Nature of central executive still vague, yet is the most important component.
• Little evidence for central executive and episodic buffer.
• Psychologists have argued that the idea of one singular central processor is inaccurate.

Question 19

Retrieval failure AO1

Answer 19

• Encoding specificity principle (all cues must be present at coding and recall in order for us to be able to learn info, different cues = forgetting). - LTM cant be retrieved due to insufficient cues.
• Context dependent failure (when external cues are different at recall than at coding).
• State dependent failure (when internal cues are different at recall than at coding).

Question 20

What is the duration of STM and LTM?

Answer 20

STM = 18-30 seconds
LTM = potentially a lifetime

Question 21

Outline the case study of HM

Answer 21

• Hippocampus removed.
• Lost semantic knowledge.
• LTM never improved and couldn’t transfer info into LTM.
• Normal STM capacity.
• Normal procedural skills (couldn’t remember learning them).

Question 22

Coding

Answer 22

The format which info is stored and represented in memory.

Question 23

Outline the case study of Clive Wearing

Answer 23

• Damaged hippocampus and associated areas.
• Could still play piano (procedural skills).
• Only remembers some aspects of his life.
• STM duration less than 30 seconds.

Question 24

Evaluation of retrieval failure

Answer 24

• Godden and Baddeley (Divers and recall experiment supports context dependent failure).
• Overton 1972 (Drunk v Sober experiment support state dependent failure).
• Not testable, cant physically observe retrieval failure so all conclusions based on assumptions.

Question 25

Factors affecting eyewitness testimony AO1

Answer 25

- Misleading info (incorrect info given to eyewitness usually after the event). - Leading questions (a question phrased in a suggestive way so it strongly directs to a certain answer). - Post-event discussion (the accuracy of an eyewitness testimony may become contaminated as have discussed testimony with other witnesses or people). - Anxiety (one argument = anxiety creates physiological arousal in body which prevents us from paying attention to cues, so recall is worse but it is unclear if this is true, as is research to support both negative and positive impact). § Yerkes-Dodson Law

Question 26

Misleading info research, outline and evaluation

Answer 26

Loftus and Palmer (leading questions) - Vids of car crashes (found 'smashed' condition participants over 2x more likely to recall false memory of glass) - shows leading questions can affect memory recall. Eval: - Lab experiment (witnessing real car crashes = more emotion). - Demand characteristics.

Question 27

Anxiety has negative impact on recall research, outline and evaluation

Answer 27

Johnson and Scott (1976) - Two conditions; low anxiety (man with pen) and high anxiety (glass breaking sound and man with knife). - 49% recall in low anxiety condition and 33% recall in high anxiety condition. Eval: - Weapon focus may be due to surprise not anxiety. - Unethical.

Question 28

Anxiety has a positive impact on recall research, outline and evaluation

Answer 28

Yuille and Cutshall (1986) - Real-life shooting, interviewed 13 witnesses 4-5 months after and compared to original police interview. - Highest stressed = most accurate (80% compared to 75% for less stressed group). Eval: - Lack of control over variables.

Question 29

Evaluation of cognitive interview / enhanced cognitive interview

Answer 29

- Geiselman et al, 1985 (CI produced more accurate, detailed memories than SPI). - Fisher et al, 1989 (performance of police gathering facts using ECI more superior than SPI). - CI and ECI are time-consuming + techniques require special training therefore costly to implement.

Question 30

Duration

Answer 30

The length of time info can be held in a memory store.

Question 31

Negative evaluation of MSM

Answer 31

- Oversimplified as assumes only single STM and LM stores, research suggests there are several. - Capacity isn't just about amount of info (Cohen 1990) some things easier to remember regardless of amount of info learned. - Focuses too much on structure of memory and not enough on processes.

Question 32

Post-event discussion research AO1

Answer 32

Gabbert et al (2003) - participants individually saw vid of same crime from different perspective and then discussed with each other before completing a recall test. - 71% mistakenly recalled a detail they couldn't have seen. - EWT affected by PED as a result of memory conformity.