Memory-A03 (AS Paper 1)

Question 1

One strength of the study of duration of STM conduced by Peterson and Peterson

Answer 1

One strength is that it’s a lab experiment. For example other distractions such as unwanted noises could be reduced and avoiding extraneous variables. This is a strength because, it increases the internal validity and we are actually measuring what we are claiming to measure.

Question 2

One strength of the study of duration of the LTM

Answer 2

One strength is that this research investigates meaningful memories. For example, instead of using lists of unrealistic words, numbers and trigrams, he used a high school yearbook and classmates. This is a strength because, it increases external validity and gives us a realistic time line of LTM duration

Question 3

One strength of the study of the capacity of STM

Answer 3

One strength of this study was the real world applications. For example, this is similar to remembering phone numbers which might be required in certain professions. This is a strength because it suggests that the use of digest span technique can be useful when accurately determine the capacity of the STM.

Question 4

One strength of the MSM (multi-store memory) model

Answer 4

One strength if this study was the supporting evidence provided with other case studies. For example, a number of individuals suffer with damage to the hippocampus, which means that there STM works as good as any body else’s, however after the brain damage, memories can no longer enter the LTM. This is a strength because there is a case study suggesting that the STM store and the LTM store are completely different which is what the msm model suggests.

Question 5

One strength of proactive/retroactive interference.

Answer 5

One strength of this study, is it being a lab study therefore it was in a controlled environment. For example, extraneous variables can be restricted and psychologists have control over factors such as, rehearsal time and the task environment. This is a strength because, we can stabling differences between cause and effect.

Question 6

One strength of the retrieval failure theory

Answer 6

One strength of this theory is that there is supporting evidence that agrees with the golden and baddeley study. For example, further research has been constructed by other psychologists and it suggests that you dint have to physically be in the same environment but can imagine it mentally and it will have the same effect. This is a strength because it has practical applications

Question 7

One strength of leading questions

Answer 7

One strength is that it has supporting research to back up this study. For example, other psychologists conducted a study about a car crash and asked “did you see A broken headlight” or “did you see THE broken headlight”. Results showed that more people said “i did see the broken headlight” to second question and this is because it’s a leading question. This is a strength because it agrees with the research Palmer discovered.

Question 8

One strength on the study that anxiety has a negative effect on recall

Answer 8

One strength if this study is that there is supporting evidence to back up this study. For example, other psychologists conducted a study where they measured participants heart-rate to divide participants into high and low anxiety groups and it was proven that anxiety did have a positive effect on recall. This is a strength because results showed that those in the lower amount of anxiety group overall had a better recall of the event.

Question 9

One limitation of the anxiety having a negative effect on recall study

Answer 9

One limitation of this study was that it lacked internal validity. For example, this study might not actually measure what it claims to measure and this is because some participants weren’t scared when they saw the weapon, they were surprised. This is a limitation because the focusing on the weapon could be due to unexpectedness rather then anxiety.

Question 10

One limitation of the duration of STM

Answer 10

One limitation is that it’s very artificial. For example, learning and recalling a trigram, while counting backwards in threes isn’t a day to day task and therefore it’s not required for our STM to be able to do so. This is a limitation because, this research lacks external validity, therefore it’s not giving us a realistic duration within a real life situation.

Question 11

One limitation of the study of the duration of LTM

Answer 11

One limitation of this is that there are extraneous variables that might affect this research. For example, the results may affect how well people keep in touch with people from high school. This is a limitation because, this research lacks internal validity as we can’t avoid those EVs.

Question 12

One limitation of the study of the capacity of the STM

Answer 12

One limitation if this study is the lack of population validity. For example, this study only includes school kids. There are factors that can develop in older generations such as Alzheimer’s and dementia which will impact the capacity of there STM store. This is a limitation because it doesn’t include all age ranges therefore doesn’t fully answer what the capacity of the STM is.

Question 13

One limitation of the MSM model

Answer 13

One limitation of this study is that the role of prolonged rehearsal is over emphasised. For example, psychologists conducted a study where participants where asked to read a list of words over and over again, however he didn’t find that the more they read the words the easier they were to recall, compared to other words, this is a limitation because it suggests that we don’t fully understand how information gets into the LTM and that the model needs to be updated.

Question 14

One limitation of proactive/retroactive interference

Answer 14

One limitation of this study being a lab study is the mundane realism involved. For example, learning a list on constant syllables/a list of 10 words is not required in day-to-day activities. This is a limitation because it lacks real world applications.

Question 15

One limitation of the retrieval failure theory

Answer 15

One limitation of this study is the drastic and unrealistic change in environment. For example, learning and recalling words underwater is not required in day-to-day tasks. This is a limitation because it leaves the question of if you learn things in similar rooms, does it still have the same effect.

Question 16

One limitation of leading questions

Answer 16

One limitation of this study was that not all memories were influenced by leading questions. For example, another study was conducted, which included a a man stealing a bright red purse. Later on Luftus tried to change the participants recall by saying leading questions, however all of them insisted that the purse was red. This is a limitation as it goes against the theory that leading questions can alter someone’s recall of the event.

Question 17

One strength of increased accuracy of EWT due to the cognitive interview

Answer 17

One strength is that there is a lot of supporting research to back up the theory. For example, another psychologist conducted a study where meta-analysis waswas carried out from 27 cognitive interviews and results showed that in all 27 cases the cognitive interview provided more accurate answers. This is a strength because, it has more evidence to support the study.

Question 18

One limitation of the cognitive interview

Answer 18

One limitation for this study was that it’s time consuming. For example, the police officers will need special training to be allow police officers to take the interview and the “recall everything” would be Tim,e consuming and might not even provide relevant information. This is a limitation as this interview still has its flaws.