Memory - Paper 1 Flashcards
Paper 1
1
Q
What is coding?
A
The format in which information is stored
2
Q
Who did research on coding?
A
Baddely
3
Q
What is the procedure of Baddely’s experiment on coding?
A
Group 1 - Acoustically similar
Group 2 - Acoustically dissimilar
Group 3 - Semantically similar
Group 4 - Semantically dissimilar
Given a list of original words in wrong order, had to recall in correct order (LTM 20 Min interval, STM recall straight away)
4
Q
What was the result of Baddley’s experiment for coding (STM)?
A
Confusion between acoustically similar words because of similar sounds
5
Q
What was the result of Baddley’s experiment for coding (LTM)?
A
Confsusion between semantically similar words because of similar meanings
6
Q
What was the conclusion for Baddley’s experiment on coding?
A
STM - Acoustic confusion, coded acoustically
LTM - Semantic confusion, coded semantically
7
Q
What are the positive evaluation points for Baddley’s experiment on coding?
A
Lab study so allowed for manipulation of type of words presented and allowed for control of extraneous variables such as noise and has high internal validity. Cause an effect is shown, replicable
8
Q
What are the negative evaluation points for Baddley’s experiment on coding?
A
May not have tested LTM: not clear how long we need to wait to test LTM. Should have waited longer than 20 mins as much longer gaps between learning and recall in life, questions whetehr coding of LTM is semantic.
Artificial Stimuli - cautious about generalising
9
Q
What is capacity?
A
Amount of information that can be held
10
Q
Who did research on capacity?
A
Jacobs and Miller (two separate people who did two separate studies)
11
Q
What was Jacob’s method for his study on capacity?
A
Aim - to see how much info the STM can hold at one time
He developed a technique to measure digit span.
Researcher read out 4 digits. Pps attempt to recall in order. If correct, research reads out 5 and so on until cannot recall order correctly. This determines digit span
12
Q
What were the findings of Jacob’s study on capacity?
A
Mean digit span: 9.3 items. This decreased to 7.3 when letters were used instead of numbers
13
Q
What are the positive evaluation points of Jacob’s study?
A
Individual differences and effects of age acknowledged. He tested a range of ages and found digit span increases with age as memory becomes more complex. Strength because estimate of capacity of STM accounts for all ages.What are the positive evaluation points of Jacob’s study?
14
Q
What are the negative evaluation points of Jacob’s study?
A
Lacks mundane realism, not something which would occur in real life so lacks ecological validity
15
Q
What did Miller suggest about capacity?
A
Capacity of STM is 7+/-2 (5-9 chunks). People expand this capacity by chunking sets of digits or letters into chunks e.g., 05082015 –> 05/08/2015
Info held in STM in fragile state will disappear if not rehearsed. Maintenance rehearsal occurs when we repeat material, if we rehearse long enough, passes to LTM
16
Q
What is Miller’s magic number?
A
7 +/- 2 (5-9 chunks)
17
Q
What are the negative evaluation points for Miller’s study?
A
Miller may have overestimated STM capacity. Cowan reviewed the research and found it was only 4 chunks
18
Q
What are the negative evaluation points of research on capacity?
A
Results are often based on case studies. Wagenaar used his own memories to measure his LTM. Memories are not representative of the general population so lacks population validity also subjective and difficult to apply to others
19
Q
What is duration?
A
The length of time information can be held
20
Q
How much time can information last in the STM?
A
18-30 seconds
21
Q
How much time can information last in the LTM?
A
up to a lifetime
22
Q
Who conducted research on the duration of the STM?
A
Peterson and Peterson
23
Q
What was Peterson’s and Peterson’s procedure?
A
24 student Ps took part in 8 trials. On each trial the student was given a trigram and a 3 digit number to remember. Students then asked to count backward from 3 digit number to prevent rehearsal of trigram. On each trial they were told to stop counting after 3,6,9,12,15 or 18s
24
Q
What were Peterson and Peterson’s findings?
A
Amount recalled correctly: 3 seconds - 90%, 18 seconds - 5% (significant difference
25
What was Peterson and Peterson's conclusion about duration?
STM has very short duration unless rehearsed
26
What are the positive evaluation points of Peterson and Peterson's study?
They controlled for confounding variables by have ps count backwards. It also has relevance to real-life as people do try and remember phone numbers
27
What are the negative evaluation points of Peterson and Peterson's study?
It is an artificial situation so findings may not be able to be applied to real life.
Issues with methodology - different trigrams were used in each trial which could have caused interference
28
What are positive evaluation points of research into duration in the STM?
There is high external validity because findings are generalisable to other times, populations and situations. Bahrick asked about yearbook photos which are personal. This is a strength because everyday memories were represented, suggesting that the study has high external validity and results can be generalised to real-life memories
29
What are negative evaluation points of research into duration in the STM?
Often makes use of artificial stimuli. Peterson and Peterson asked ps to remember nonsense trigrams. Stimuli lacked external validity as it didn't reflect most real-life memory activities.
30
Who did a study on long term duration?
Bahrick et al
31
What was the method for Bahrick et al's study?
Investigated VLTM. 392 ps from America between 17-74.
1. Photo recognition test - name as many individuals from yearbook without cues
2. Free recall test - recall all names of individuals from yearbook without cues.
32
What were the results of Bahrick's study?
Photo recognition: 90% accurate after 15 years, 70% after 48
Free recall: 60% accurate after 15 and 30% after 48
33
What was the conclusion of Bahrick's study?
LTM can last a very long time, potentially a lifetime
34
What are the positive evaluation points of Bahrick's study?
High ecological validity because it used real life memories
35
What are the negative evaluation points of Bahrick's study?
Confounding variables were not controlled for - people could have looked at the year book (rehearsal)
36
What was the procedure for Sperling's research on duration?
Demonstrated the very brief duration of the sensory register. Ps shown grid of numbers and words for 50 milliseconds. Ps divided into groups
Group 1 - Ps asked to recall all 12
Group 2 - Ps asked to recall one row. Ps heard a tone that indicated which row they need to recall
37
What were Sperling's findings?
Group 1 - 42% (4 out of 12) items recalled correctly
Group 2 - 75% (3 out of 4) items recalled correctly
Group 1 recall is poor as the image of the items fades so rapidly that a person can only report about 3 or 4 of them before the remaining disappearing
38
Who devised the Multi-store model of memory?
Atkinson and Shiffrin
39
What is the multi-store model?
An explanation of how the memory works with the sensory register, STM and LTM. For info to be retained as a memory, processes of attention and rehearsal are required
40
What is the sensory register?
Short duration store that holds info we gain through the 5 senses. Transferred to STM if person pays attention
41
How is the sensory register mainly coded?
Each of the 5 senses has its own sensory register. Research mostly focuses on visual (iconic) and echoic (auditory) senses
42
What is the duration of the sensory register?
Very brief usually only 1-2 seconds
43
What is the capacity of the sensory register?
Very large as it includes material from all 5 senses
44
What is the STM?
For events in the present or immediate past.
45
How is the STM coded?
Coded acoustically (proved by Baddely), visual information is transformed to its acoustic codes
46
What is the capacity of the STM?
7(+/-)2 items or chunks (proved by Jacobs and Miller)
47
What is the duration of the STM?
18-30 seconds (Proved by Peterson and Peterson)
48
How is the LTM coded?
Info coded semantically (Proved by Baddely)
49
What is the capacity of the LTM?
Unlimited
50
What is the duration of the LTM?
Up to a lifetime (Proved by Bahrick)
51
Which case study supports the MSM?
Case of HM: Man underwent surgery, hippocampus removed. When his memory was assessed, he thought it was 4 years ago. LTM was damaged but STM performed well (Indicates separate store)
52
What are positive evaluation points of the MSM?
Research support from Glanzer and Cunitz provide clear support for the existence of STM and LTM as distinct memory stores.
53
What happened in Glanzer and Cunitz' study?
Ps heard a list of words and had to recall them immediately in order.
Findings: Ps had good recall for 2st part of list (Primacy effect) and the last part of the list (Recency effect). Words in middle had poorest recall. Supports MSM suggests STM and LTM are distinct stores
54
What are negative evaluation points of the MSM?
STM is too simplistic: Evidence from amnesia patients suggests the STM isn't one unitary store. Shallice and Warrington studied patient KF. KF's memory for verbal material was poor, his memory for visual information was unaffected. Suggests verbal and visual store
Overemphasise importance of rehearsal: according to MSM more rehearsal more likely to transfer to LTM. Very often we recall info we didn't rehearse e.g., swimming and are unable to re call info we rehearsed e.g., reading notes so rehearsal isn't as important as model claims
55
Who suggested there were 3 stores in the LMT?
Tulving
56
What are the 3 types of long term memory?
Episodic, semantic and procedural
57
What does the episodic memory do?
This is our ability to recall events, they are complex memories which are timestamped, single memories which include several elements e.g., places, people and we have to make a conscious effort to recall them
58
What does the semantic memory do?
Our knowledge of the world, may include facts such as what fruit tasted like, not time stamped and are less personal because they are constantly being added to
59
What does the procedural memory do?
This is our memory of actions and skills which can be recalled without conscious effort e.g., riding a bike
60
What are the positive evaluation points for the types of long term memory?
Clinical evidence from case studies on HM and Clive Wearing. Episodic memory of both men severely impaired because of amnesia. Their semantic and procedural memories were relatively unaffected. Supports different stores
Neuroimaging evidence from brain scans give evidence for different stores. Tulving et al got Ps to perform memory tasks whilst brains were PET scanned. Episodic and semantic were recalled from prefrontal cortex. Procedural linked to cerebellum. Increases scientific validity
61
What are the negative evaluation points against the types of long term memory?
Cohen and Squire argue the episodic and semantic memories are stored together in one store called Declarative memory. Procedural are non-declarative. Reduces validity of Tulving's theory
62
Who devised the working memory model?
Baddley and Hitch
63
What is the Working Memory Model?
Explanation of the STM as an active store that holds different information in sub-units
64
What are the 4 main components in the WMM?
Central executive, episodic buffer, visuo-spatial sketchpad and phonological loop
65
What is the central executive?
Decides what we pay attention to, makes decisions and allocates tasks to the slave systems. Can only pay attention to limited number of stimuli
Coding: Flexible
Capacity: limited
66
What are the evaluation points of the central executive?
Little is known about it - it is the most important but least understood
Better understood as attention rather than a memory store
67
What is the phonological loop?
Deals with auditory info and preserves order info arrives. Coded acoustically and plays key role in learning of vocab.
2 parts: phonological store and articulatory process
Coding: Acoustic
Capacity: 2s of what you can say
68
What is the phonological store? (Inner ear)
Holds speech based info such as words for 1-2 seconds
69
What is the articulatory control process? (Inner voice)
Allows for maintenance rehearsal to prevent decay. Capacity is about 2 seconds and is linked to speech production
70
What is the Visuo-spatial sketchpad?
Stores visual or spatial info from the eyes or LTM. If you imagine an object and then picture it rotating you are using the VSS. Has two parts: Visual cache and inner scribe
Coding: Visual
Capacity: 3-4 objects
71
Who said that the VSS was sub-divided?
Logie
72
What is the visual cache?
Stores visual information e.g, shape and colour
73
What is the inner scribe?
Deals with spatial and movement information e.g., how far or close
74
What are the evaluation points of the VSS?
Dual task performance supports the existence of it. Ps had difficulty doing 2 visual tasks but not one visual and one verbal (different slave systems)
PET scans show them as separate stores
75
What is the episodic buffer?
Temporary store which integrates visual, spatial and verbal info from different slave systems into single unit of info. Is a bridge between working memory and LTM
Coding: Flexible
Capacity: 3-4 chunks
76
What are the positive evaluation points for the WMM?
Supporting research from Baddely: Ps performed dual tasks. Condition 1: 2 visual (tracking a light and describing angles on a hollow letter F). Condition 2: Ps tracked the light whilst performing a verbal task at the same time. More difficult to do two visual tasks so supports STM having more than one component
Shallice and Warrington: studied KF verbal material poor visual unaffected. Damage to articulatory loop but VSS intact
Practical applications to help children with impaired working memory/ Methods developed to improve WM in children with ADHD e.g., breaking instructions down. Increased validity
77
What are the negative evaluation points against the WMM?
CE is too vague/ Eslinger and Damasio argue notion of the CE is wrong and there are several components within it/ Case study of EVR, performed well on test requiring reasoning but showed poor judgement implying it isn't a unitary store so is too simplistic
78
What are the three theories of forgetting?
Proactive interference, retroactive interference and retrieval failure
79
What is interference theory?
Forgetting because one memory blocks another, causing one or both to be distorted or forgotten
80
What is proactive interference?
Older memories interfere with new
81
What is retroactive interference?
New memories interfere with old
82
When is interference worse?
When the memories are similar
83
Who studied the effects of similarities in memories?
McGeoch and McDonald
84
What happened in McGeoch and McDonald's study?
Ps learnt a list of 10 words until they could remember it with 100% accuracy. Then learned a new list. 6 groups learnt different types of lists e.g., synonyms, antonyms etc/
85
What was McGeoch and McDonald's conclusion?
Interference is strongest when the memories are similar
86
What are the positive evaluation points of interference as a theory of forgetting?
Supporting evidence consistently demonstrated findings/ Thousands of lab studies used the research. These controlled extraneous variables so give us confidence it is a valid explanation
Real-life research support from Baddely and Hitch
87
What are the negative evaluation points of interference as a theory of forgetting?
Materials used in research are artificial. Greater chance of interference because lab studies involve lists. Tasks given to Ps in short period of time. In real world, learning of new material is more spaced out. Can't be generalised to forgetting situations
Limited scope as it only explains forgetting similar material. Many types of forgetting not explained. Tulving and Psotka gave Ps 5 lists of words to learn/ Recall high for 1st list 70% fell as Ps were given more lists. At end Ps given cues, recall rose to 70% suggesting retrieval failure was forgetting not interference
88
What was Baddeley and Hitch's study?
Rugby players asked to remember names of teams they had played so far in that season week by week.
89
What were Baddeley and Hitch's results?
Accurate recall didn't depend on how long ago the match took place. Number of games they played in the meantime was more important. A player's recall of a team from 3 weeks ago was better if they had played no matches since then.
Shows interference can apply to real-life situations
90
What is retrieval failure?
When we don't have necessary cues to access memory
91
What are the two types of retrieval failure?
Context-dependent forgetting
State-dependent forgetting
92
What is the encoding specificity principle?
Tulving reviewed research into retrieval failure, discovered a consistent pattern. Summarised this pattern in what he called the ESP. This states that if a cue is to help us recall info then it must be present at encoding and retrieval.
93
What is context-dependent forgetting?
Provided the right external cues, we can quickly recover memories as demonstrated by many experimental studies. The context in which we experience or learn something is crucial.
94
Who did research into context-dependent forgetting?
Godden and Baddely
95
What was Godden and Baddeley's procedure?
Divers learnt list of words and recalled either on land or in water, then recalled on land or in water
1. Learn on land, recall on land
2. Learn underwater, recall on land
3. Learn on land, recall underwater
4. Learn underwater, recall underwater
96
What were Godden and Baddeley's findings?
Recall 40% lower in non-matching conditions. Ps recalled between in place they'd orginally learnt demonstrating usefulness of environmental cues
97
What is state-dependent forgetting?
Recall impaired if we try to remember something when we are in a different mental or physical state
98
What was Goodwin's study into state-dependent forgetting?
Found people who drank a lot forgot where they had put things when sober but could recall when drunk again
99
What was Miles and Hardman's study into state-dependent forgetting?
People who learned list of words whilst exercising on exercise bike recalled more words when exercising rather than resting
100
What are the positive evaluation points for retrieval failure?
There is supporting evidence from Eysenck who argued retrieval failure is the main reason for forgetting in the LTM. This increases the validity fo the explanations and shows that it occurs IRL
101
What are the negative evaluation points against retrieval failure?
Evidence to show that context only affects memory is very different at recall. Different contexts must be very different for an effect to be seen. Presence or absence of a cue only affects memory when you test it in a certain way
Effect of context might be related to the type of memory being tested. Godden and Baddely replicated their underwater experiment but used a recognition test instead of recall. Ps had to say whether they recognised a word read to them from a list instead of retrieving it themselves. When tests the context didn't have any affect on performance.
ESP is untestable. If a person can successfully recall a word, we presume that the cue triggered the memory must have been present when the person learnt the list of words. This is just an assumption, no way to establish where or no the cue was coded. Impossible to verify validity of ESP
102
What is eyewitness testimony?
The ability of people to remember the details of events like accidents/crimes
103
What can affect EWT?
Leading questions, post-event discussions, anxiety/stress and weapon focus
104
What are leading questions?
A question which because of the way it has been phrased suggests a certain answer
105
Who researched leading questions?
Loftus and Palmer
106
What was the procedure for Loftus and Palmer's study?
They arranged for 45 American pps to watch film clips of car accidents and then gave them questions about the accidents.
Critical Question - 'About how fast were the cars going when they hit each other?'
Each of 5 groups were given different verbs in the critical question.
Hit, Contacted, Bumped, Collided, Smashed
107
What were the findings for Loftus and Palmer's study?
Smashed - 40.8
Collided - 39.3
Bumped - 38.1
Hit - 34.0
Contacted - 31.8
Suggests wording can alter recall
108
Why do leading questions affect EWT? (Response Bias)
Wording of the question has no real effect on Ps memories but influences how they decide to answer. When a p gets a leading question using 'smashed' this encourages a higher speed estimate
109
Why do leading questions affect EWT? (Memory Altered)
Wording changes a person's memory of the clip. Those asked question with 'smashed' will remember it being more serious than someone asked using word 'hit'. Loftus and Palmer carried out a second experiment a week later asking if they'd seen broken glass/ Ps who heard smashed more likely to answer yes. Critical question altered memory
110
Who researched post-event discussion?
Fiona Gabbert
111
What happened in Fiona Gabbert's study>
71% of Ps mistakenly recalled aspects of the event they didn't see in the video but picked up in discussion. None of the Ps in a control group (no discussion) made the mistake. Suggest PED reduces the reliability of EWT because witnesses of along for NSI or ISI
112
What are the positive evaluation points for research into misleading information?
Practical uses in the real world. Possible applications could be adopted by legal profession - development of cognitive interview. Loftus claimed leading questions can destroy memory and therefore police are careful in phrasing questions
113
What are the negative evaluation points against research into misleading information?
Research uses artificial tasks. Loftus and Palmer - Ps watched videos so doesn't tell us how leading questions affect real-life EWT. Demand characteristics lower validity of research
Yuille and Cutshall's study may be more reliable as it used real witnesses: interviewed 13 ps who had witness armed robbery. Ps had been in real danger and shots were fired. Interviews took place 4 months after and used 2 leading qs. Witnesses were unaffected therefore suggesting misleading info might not affect real life situations
Individual differences ignored. Antasi and Rhodes found people 1-45 were more accurate than those 55-78. Research tends to use younger people in their sample so can't be generalised to older people kowing validity.
114
What is anxiety?
Unpleasant state of emotional arousal
Physical - increased heart rate and sweatiness. Prevents paying attention to important cues worsening recall
115
Who did research into negative effects of anxiety in EWT?
Johnson and Scott
116
What is weapon focus?
Where the witness focuses more on the weapon than the culprits face. This then negatively affects the ability to recall the event
117
What happened in Johnson and Scott's study?
Ps led to believe they were going to take part in a lab study. In waiting room, Ps heard heated argument in next room followed by man walking through area
Low anxiety condition: man walked through carrying pen and had grease on hands
High: knife and blood
118
What were Johnson and Scott's findings?
49% of Ps who had seen man carrying pen were able to identify him, 33% who saw kinfe could
119
What was Johnson and Scott's conclusion?
Anxiety can reduce the reliability of EWT. Loftus claimed that the Ps who saw the knife were less accurate because they focused their attention on the weapon rather than surroundings.
120
Who investigated anxiety saying it had a positive effect on EWT?
Yuille and Cutshall
121
What happened in Yuille and Cutshall's study?
Real life shooting in Canada. 13 witnesses interviewed 4 months after, these were compared to original police interviews. Witnesses asked to rate how stressed they felt at time of incident
122
What were Yuille and Cutshall's findings?
Witnesses very accurate in their accounts. Ps who reported highest levels of stress were most accurate (88% compared to 75% for the less stressed group)
123
What is the Yerk-Dodson inverted U hypothesis?
Explains how different level of anxiety can effect event recall. Performance will increase with stress, but only to a certain point, then it decreases drastically
124
What does the Yerk-Dodson inverted U hypothesis say about a moderate amount of anxiety?
It produces optimal performance, best accuracy of all
125
What are the positive evaluation points of anxiety affecting EWT?
lots of research to support - Johsnon and Scott, Yuille and Cutshall
126
What are the negative evaluation points of anxiety affecting EWT?
Problems with inverted U theory: only focuses on physical arousal. Ignores the fact that anxiety presents in many different forms. Inverted U oversimplifies relationship between anxiety and EWT accuracy
Ps who saw knife in Johnson and Scott study may have had poorer recall because they were surprised rather than scared or anxious. Pickel's study shows unusualness makes a difference
Field studies lack control (methodology): Yuille and Cutshall interviewed real-life witnesses many things could've happened to Ps before interview - may have seen TV report. Variables my affect accuracy reducing validity
However: more ethical than lab research were Ps deliberately made anxious
127
What happened in Pickel's study?
Ps shown clip of man walking up to hairdresser's receptionist with either pair of scissors, handgun, wallet or raw chicken. Accuracy significantly poorer in high unusualness conditions (chicken and gun). Suggested weapon focus is due to unusualness of object in situation rather than anxiety/threat
128
What is a cognitive interview?
Interview of eyewitnesses to help them retrieve more accurate memories
129
Who devised the cognitive interview?
Fisher and Geiselman
130
What are the four main techniques of the cognitive interview?
1. Report everything: every single thing, even trivial details
2. Reinstate the context: go back to place in mind report environment
3. Report in reverse order
4. Report in changed perspective
131
What did Geiselman et al find about CI?
Produced more accurate and detailed memories than standard police interview
132
What are the positive evaluation points of a cognitive interview?
CI supported by psychological research:
Geiselman - showed Ps film of violent crime. Later interviewed using CI or standard interview. CI led to better memory
Fisher - field experiment with actual interviews of real witnesses by serving police detectives. Used standard or CI, strong support obtained for effectiveness of CI
Kohnken et al - meta-analysis of 50 studies found enhanced CI provided more correct info than standard so offers real practical benefits
133
What are the negative evaluation points of a cognitive interview?
CI is time consuming: more time needed to establish a relationship with witness and to allow them to relax. Requires special training, many forces don't have funds
Produces an increase of inaccurate info: Kohnken although CI produced increase of correct info, also 61% increase in incorrect
Individual differences: CI doesn't improve memory in all cases. Geiselman reviewed many cases and found children under 6 recall was less accurate due to complexity of instructions
CI doesn't improve facial recognition
