Memory - quizlet Flashcards
1
Q
What are the two memory stores called?
A
- Short term - Long term
2
Q
What are the three features of memory stores?
A
- Capacity - Duration - Coding
3
Q
What is capacity?
A
The amount of information that can be held in a memory store
4
Q
What is duration?
A
How long information can be held in a memory store
5
Q
What is coding?
A
The way in which information is held in a memory store
6
Q
What is the duration of the short term memory?
A
18 - 30 seconds
7
Q
Name the psychological study that is relevant to the duration of the short term memory
A
Peterson and Peterson (1959)
8
Q
Outline Peterson and Peterson’s 1959 study methodology
A
- They showed participants a trigram (3 letter nonsense word) - Participants had to recall the trigram after counting backwards in 3s from 300. The length of time they had to count for varied from 3 seconds to 18 seconds to see how long it was until participants forgot the word
9
Q
What were the findings of Peterson and Peterson’s 1959 study?
A
The longer the interval delay, the less trigrams were recalled (80% after 3 seconds, 10% after 18 seconds)
10
Q
What is the duration of the long term memory?
A
Lifetime
11
Q
What psychological study relates to the duration of the long term memory?
A
Bahrick et al (1975)
12
Q
Outline Barick (et al)’s psychological study of 1975
A
- He had 400 participants from age 17 to 74 - Participants were split into two conditions 1. This group was asked to free recall names of their class members from high school 2. This group was asked to match the names of students from their high school with their class pictures
13
Q
What were the findings of Bahrick et al’s 1975 study?
A
- (free recall): - Younger students recalled 60% of student’s names - Older students recalled 30% of student’s names 2. (photo assisted recall) - Younger students recalled 90% of student’s names - Older students recalled 70% of student’s names He showed that most information is held in the long term memory but the problem lies in accessing it.
14
Q
What is the capacity of the short term memory?
A
7 +/- 2
15
Q
What study relates the capacity of the short term memory?
A
Miller (1956)
16
Q
Outline Miller’s 1956 psychological study
A
- Participants were shown a list of 4 letters - If they successfully recalled this list, the were shown a list of 5 different letters, then 6, and so on - Their score was the number of letters in the last list they correctly recalled
17
Q
What were the findings of Miller’s 1956 study?
A
Participants remembered 7 digits on average, but there was some variation
18
Q
What is the capacity of the long term memory?
A
Unlimited
19
Q
What is the study relating to the capacity of the long term memory?
A
There isn’t one
20
Q
How is the short term memory coded?
A
Acoustically
21
Q
What psychological study relates to the coding of the short term memory?
A
Baddeley et al (1966)
22
Q
Outline Baddeley et al’s 1966 study relating to the short term memory
A
- 2 groups of participants were shown different lists of words and asked to immediately recall them Condition 1: the words sounded the same (eg: cat, hat, bat) Condition 2: the words did not sound the same (eg: jump, happy, spoon) - The two groups’ performances were compared
23
Q
What were the findings of Baddeley et al’s 1966 study relating to the short term memory
A
Participants had better recall for the random words compared to the acoustically similar ones. This means that the short term memory is coded by sound.
24
Q
How is the long term memory coded?
A
Semantically
25
What psychological study relates to the coding of the long term memory?
Baddeley et al (1966)
26
Outline Baddeley et al's 1966 study relating to the long term memory
- 2 groups of participants were shown different lists of words - They were asked to recall the words after a timed delay - Condition 1: the words had similar meanings (eg: fat, wide, large) - Condition 2: the words had different meanings (eg: spoon, dog, yellow) - The performance of the two groups was compared
27
What were the findings of Baddeley et al's 1966 study relating to the long term memory?
Participants found it easier to recall words that had distinct and different meanings. Long term memories are coded semantically.
28
What are two limitations of Peterson and Peterson's 1959 study relating to the duration of short term memory?
The stimulus material was artificial. Memorising random trigrams doesn't reflect real life memory activity (we normally have to remember meaningful things) so it lacks external validity. Their study may not measure what they intended it to. The backwards counting in 3s may have entered the participants' limited short term memories, pushing out other information such as the trigrams. This means they could have been measuring short term capacity rather than duration.
29
What is a strength of Bahrick et al's study relating to the duration of the long term memory?
It has a high external validity as real life meaningful memories were studied.
30
What is a weakness of Bahrick et al's study relating to the duration of the long term memory?
Confounding variables were not controlled. (Eg: participants could have looked at their yearbooks and rehearsed their memories over the years.)
31
What is a weakness of Miller's 1956 study relating to the capacity of the short term memory?
He may have overestimated the capacity of the short term memory. Later research suggests that that the capacity is in fact only about four chunks rather than seven.
32
What is a weakness of studies carried out a long time ago?
They were often not carried out in a controlled manner (eg: participants may have been distracted during testing). This means the experiment would lack internal validity as the results are not a true reflection of the study's purpose.
33
What is a weakness of Baddeley et al's 1966 studies relating to the coding of memory?
It used quite artificial stimuli as the word lists had no personal meaning to the participants. This means they may not be generalisable to different kinds of memory tasks.
34
Who created the multi-store model theory?
Atkinson and Shiffrin
35
The multistore model is a (1) model in which short term memory and long term memory are (2) stores. Information flows in a (3) fashion through each store. Each store has a different (4), information is held for a different (5) and (6) differs.
1) Structural 2) Unitary 3) Linear 4) Capacity 5) Duration 6) Coding
36
Use the multi-store model image linked in the set description to answer the questions about the MSM components
:)
37
What is the sensory register?
The memory stores for each of the five senses
38
What is the iconic store for?
Vision
39
What is the echoic store for?
Hearing
40
What is the capacity of the sensory register?
Potentially unlimited, but this depends on what is being paid attention to
41
What is the capacity of the short term memory store?
7 +/- 2 chunks
42
What is the capacity of the long term memory store?
Unlimited
43
What is the duration of the sensory register?
Up to half a second
44
What is the duration of the short term memory store?
18 - 30 seconds
45
What is the duration of the long term memory store?
Lifetime
46
How is the sensory register coded?
Raw (ie: the senses are stored in the same format they are experienced)
47
How is the short term memory store coded?
Mainly acoustically
48
How is the long term memory store coded?
Mainly semantically
49
How much of the sensory register passes further into the memory?
The sensory register involves everything our senses experience, so only the small portion that we pay attention to passes further into the memory.
50
What is maintenance rehearsal?
When we rehearse material to ourselves over and over again. This allows us to keep it in our short term memories until it passes into the long term memory (if we practice it enough times)
51
What is retrieval?
When we want to access material stored in the long term memory it has to be transferred back to the short term memory
52
How is information coded into the short term memory store?
acoustically
53
Briefly name the two strengths of the multi-store model
- Baddeley's research - Primacy/recency effect
54
How does Baddeley's research add validity to the multi-store model?
- One study by Baddeley showed that short term memory is coded acoustically. Participants were more easily able to immediately remember words that sound different. - Another study by Baddeley showed that long term memory is coded semantically. Participants were able to more easily recall words with different meanings. - This shows that there are differences between short term and long term memories, suggesting they have different stores.
55
Describe the primacy/recency effect
When remembering lists of words we often remember the first chunk of around 7, forget the middle words and then recall the last chunk with more ease.
56
Explain why the primary/recency effect occurs
- We rehearse the first chunk of words so they semantically transfer to the long term memory - We don't properly focus on the second chunk of words (due to rehearsing the first ones) - The last chunk of words push the second chunk of words from the short term memory due to its limited capacity
57
How does the primary/recency effect add validity to the multi-store model
- It clearly demonstrates how information flows through the multi-store memory - It supports the idea that the short term memory and long term memory are different in terms of capacity and coding
58
Briefly name the two weaknesses of the multi-store model
- The idea of rehearsal is flawed - Evidence that there is more than one type of short term memory store (KF)
59
Name the two studies that provide evidence that the multi-store model's idea of rehearsal is flawed.
- Craik and Watkins (1973) - Morris et al (1977)
60
What did Craik and Watkins discover that provides evidence for more than one type of rehearsal?
- There are two types of rehearsal - Maintenance rehearsal that simply maintains information in the short term memory (it doesn't transfer it to the long term memory) - Elaborative rehearsal is needed to store information in the long term memory. It occurs when you link the information to your existing knowledge or think about what it means. - The multi-store memory does not account for two types of rehearsal
61
What evidence did Morris et al provide for there being more ways of transferring information into the long term memory?
Morris et al's 1977 study showed that if a topic is interesting then it is more likely to be recalled, regardless of whether is was rehearsed or not. This means that information can be immediately coded semantically if it is interesting.
62
How does Morris et al's 1977 research contradict the multi-store model?
It provides evidence for information being able to pass straight from the short term memory into the long term memory without rehearsal, which contradicts this model.
63
What evidence suggests that the short term memory is much more complex that the multi-store memory details?
Shallice and Warrington's 1970 study of KF: a patient who had a motorcycle accident. KF was more easily able to use his short term memory to recall digits he read rather than digits read out to him. He was just as easily able to recall visual information but his capacity for verbal information was reduced.
64
How does the case study of KF reduce the validity of the multi-store model?
It indicates that there is at least one short term memory store to process visual information and another to process auditory. This is more complex than the multi-store model suggests.
65
Who put forward the idea that there are 3 long term memory stores?
Tulving (1985)
66
What 3 long term memory store types did Tulving put forward?
- Episodic - Semantic - Procedural
67
What is the episodic memory?
The long term memory store for personal life events (episodes), similar to a diary
68
What does an episodic memory include?
- Specific details of the event - Context of the event - Emotions involved
69
Give an example of episodic memories
- A recent dentist visit - Your breakfast from this morning
70
What are the features of episodic memory?
- The memories are 'time stamped' - A single episode will include several elements (ie: people, places, objects, behaviours) - Recalling them is a conscious effort - Declarative
71
What does declarative mean?
It can be explained
72
Where is the episodic memory store located?
The hippocampus
73
What is semantic memory?
A long term memory store for our knowledge of the world: broad facts and concepts. Similar to a dictionary and encyclopaedia combined.
74
Give an example of semantic memories
- The taste of an orange - Word meanings - How to apply to university
75
What does a semantic memory include?
Impersonal facts that we all could share
76
What are the features of a semantic memory?
- Are not 'time stamped' - It is less personal - It contains a massive collection of material that is constantly being added to - Has to be consciously recalled - Declarative
77
Where is the semantic memory store located?
The temporal lobe
78
What is the procedural memory?
A long term memory store for skills, actions and how we do things.
79
Give examples of procedural memories
- Driving a car - Walking
80
What are the features of procedural memories?
- Able to be recalled without conscious awareness or much awareness - Non-declarative (often become harder to do when explaining to others) - Not time/location stamped - Are automatic
81
Where is the procedural memory store located?
Cerebellum
82
Briefly name the strengths of the notion that there are three long term memory stores
- Case study of Clive Wearing - Brain scan studies
83
Explain why the case study of Clive Wearing adds validity to the notion of separate long term memory stores
- Clive experienced a severe form of amnesia after a viral infection - He could remember how to play the piano but couldn't remember his children's names or his wife leaving him - This shows that his episodic (his wife leaving) and semantic (his children's names) long term memory stores were damaged. - This also means that his procedural memory (piano playing) remained intact - This supports the existence of several types of long term memory
84
What brain scan research supports the notion that there are 3 long term memory stores?
Tulving et al (1994) - Used PET scans while participants carried out different memory tasks to see which part of the brain was active - The right prefrontal cortex was involved in recalling episodic memories - The left prefrontal cortex was involved in recalling semantic memories - The cerebellum was involved in recalling procedural memories
85
How does Tulving's 1994 research support the notion that there are 3 long term memory stores?
The stores are located in physically separate places in the brain, confirming the theory that there are separate long term memory stores.
86
What is a benefit of being able to distinguish between long term memory stores?
It allows psychologists to target certain kinds of memory in order to better people's lives.
87
Give a specific example of when it was beneficial to be able to distinguish between the different long term memory stores
Belleville et al (2006) - Demonstrated that episodic memories could be improved in older people who had mild cognitive impairment - Trained participants performed better on a test of episodic memory than a control group - The episodic memory is the type of memory most often affected by mild cognitive impairment, so specific treatments can be developed for this single store
88
Briefly name the weaknesses of the notion that there are three types of long term memory store
- The suggestion that there are different numbers of stores - Problems with clinical evidence that supports the theory
89
How many long term stores has it been suggested there actually are (2 answers)
2 and 4
90
Who suggested that there are actually 2 long term memory stores?
Cohen and Squire (1980)
91
What was Cohen and Squire's theory?
There are two long term memory stores - Declarative (includes episodic and semantic) - Non-declarative (includes procedural)
92
What evidence is there for Cohen and Squire's 1980s theory?
- Clive Wearing's non-declarative memory was unaffected but his declarative was - Tulving's study showed that declarative memory is located in the prefrontal cortex whilst non-declarative is located in the cerebellum
93
What is the potential fourth long term memory store that has been suggested to exist?
The perceptual representation system
94
What is the perceptual representation system responsible for?
Priming
95
What is priming?
The idea of association where exposure to one stimulus (eg: the colour yellow) influences the response to another stimulus (eg: you may name a yellow fruit)
96
What does the suggestion that there is a different number of long term memory stores suggest about the theory?
- The long term memory is much more complex than this theory implies - More research is needed to fully understand and establish how many stores there are - This model does not account for some ideas
97
What is the problem with the Clive Wearing case study? (or indeed the majority of case studies)
There is lack of control as it is studying real life, so there may be many extraneous variables.
98
What element of the memory is the working memory model concerned with?
The short term memory
99
The working memory model shows that the short term memory is not (1) and much more (2) than previously thought
1) Unitary 2) Active
100
Use the link in the set description box to answer the labelling questions next
:)
101
What goes in box A?
Central executive
102
What goes in box B?
Phonological loop
103
What goes in box C?
Articulatory process
104
What goes in box D?
Phonological store
105
What goes in box E?
Visuo spatial sketchpad
106
What goes in box F?
Inner scribe
107
What goes in box G?
Visual cache
108
What goes in box H?
Episodic buffer
109
What goes in box I?
Long term memory
110
What is the central executive?
The supervisory component that monitors incoming data, makes complex decisions and allocates slave systems to tasks. It can process information from any sensory modality but but has a limited capacity.
111
What is the phonological loop?
The component of the working memory model that deals with auditory information and is responsible for listening and speaking. It preserves the order in which the information is received. It is split into the articulatory process and phonological store. It has a capacity of 2 seconds.
112
What is the articulatory process?
The inner voice. Part of the phonological loop that deals with speech production. It allows for maintenance rehearsal (repeating sounds or words in a loop to keep them in the working memory whilst they are needed.) The duration/capacity of this loop is for around 2 seconds worth of what you can say.
113
What is the phonological store?
The inner ear. Part of the phonological loop that holds information in speech based form. It has a duration of 1 to 2 seconds.
114
What is the visuo spatial sketchpad?
The component of the working memory model that processes visual and spatial information in a mental space often referred to as the 'inner eye'. It is split into the inner scribe and visual cache. It stores information by organising it in a visual way like a mental map. Its capacity is 3 - 4 objects.
115
What is the inner scribe?
A component of the visuo spatial sketchpad that deals with spatial and movement relations.
116
What is the visual cache?
A component of the visuo spatial sketchpad that deals with form and colour.
117
What is the long term memory?
Not part of the working memory but shows where information goes after processing.
118
What is the episodic buffer?
It brings together material from all the subsystems into a single memory rather than separate strands. It also provides a bridge between the working memory and long term memory. This was added by Baddeley in 2000 to address some criticisms of the model. It has a limited capacity of around 4 chunks.
119
Briefly name the strengths of the working memory model
- The case study of KF - Robbins' chess research - Brain scan studies - Studies of the word length effect
120
How does the case study of KF add validity to the working memory model?
- KF suffered due to a motorcycle accident - He had trouble using his short term memory for verbal information but was able to normally process visual information - This supports the idea that the acoustic store (phonological loop) and visual store (visuo spatial sketchpad) are separate
121
What did Robbins' research into chess find?
- Participants who were given a secondary task involving the visuo spatial sketchpad or the central executive whilst playing chess were negatively affected - Those given a phonological loop task experienced no ill effects
122
How does Robbins' chess research add validity to the working memory model?
Chess involves the central executive and the visuo spatial sketchpad which is why participants doing these secondary tasks struggled. You cannot multitask within components. His study also shows that the central executive is involved in making complex decisions.
123
Who completed brain scanning studies that support the working memory model?
Braver et al (1997)
124
Outline the experiment Braver et al carried out in 1997
Participants were given tasks that involved their central executive while they had a brain scan
125
How do Braver et al's brain scans support the working memory model?
- Researchers found greater activity in the prefrontal cortex - Activity in this area increased as the task got trickier - As demands on the central executive increased it had to work harder to fulfil its function
126
Who carried out the studies of the word length effect?
Baddeley et al (1975)
127
Explain the word length effect
People find it more difficult to remember a list of long words rather than short ones. This is because there is finite space for rehearsal in the articulatory process (around 2 seconds worth)
128
How does the word length effect support the working memory model?
It proves that the phonological loop has a duration/capacity of 1 to 2 seconds
129
Briefly name weaknesses of the working memory model
- The central executive is so vague - The case study of EVR
130
Why is knowing so little about the central executive a weakness?
- It is the most important component but there is so little evidence to support it - The central executive is only difficult to falsify because it is difficult to know whether the slave components is carrying out the task or if the central executive has taken over - It is difficult to determine whether the central executive even exists
131
Outline the case study of EVR
- Carried out by Eslinger and Damasio in 1985 - EVR developed a cerebral tumour at the age of 35. The tumour was removed but he experienced behaviour changes - He became unable to maintain relationships with others and was extremely disorganised - He made very rash and unwise decisions - His IQ was unaffected
132
What does the study of EVR suggest about the working memory model?
- EVR's central executive was damaged as decision making was impaired - EVR's central executive was still functioning somewhat as he performed well in intelligence tests - The central executive is clearly more complex than the working memory model suggests
133
When memories enter our long term memory they are more or less (a) . Forgetting occurs due to (b) rather than it having (c) .
a) permanent b) problems accessing information c) decayed
134
What is it called when old memories interfere with new memories?
Proactive interference
135
What is it called when new memories interfere with old memories?
Retroactive interference
136
Give an example of proactive interference
I learned French in year 7. When I try to learn Italian in year 9 I keep mixing up the vocabulary with French words.
137
Give an example of retroactive interference
I learned French in year 7. I learn Italian in year 9. When I go to France in the summer I speak to people in Italian by mistake.
138
Who conducted research into interference theory?
Postman (1960)
139
Outline the procedure of Postman's 1960 study into proactive interference
Participants were split into two groups - Group A had to learn 1 list of words pairs followed by another list of word pairs - Group B had to learn the second word list only Participants had to recall the second list only
140
What were the findings of Postman's 1960 study into proactive interference?
Group B's recall of the second list of words was more accurate than group A's. Previously learned information interfered with the learning of new information.
141
Outline the procedure of Postman's 1960 study into retroactive interference
Participants were divided into 2 groups - Group A had to learn a list of word pairs and then another list of word pairs afterwards - Group B had to learn the first word pair list only All participants had to recall the first word list only
142
What were the findings of Postman's 1960 study into retroactive interference?
Group B's recall of the first list was much more accurate than group A's. New information interfered with old information.
143
Writing the date as 1st of Jan 2020 when it's actually the first of Jan 2021
Proactive
144
Giving out your old phone number instead of your new one when you've changed it
Proactive
145
In school you learn netball, at university you learn basketball. When playing a netball match you dribble the ball
Retroactive
146
Not being able to think of any other songs apart from the one stuck in your head
Proactive
147
Forgetting how to do long division manually as you've just learned how to do it with a calculator
Retroactive
148
You rearrange your bedroom. One night you trip over a chair in the dark as you forgot you moved it to a new location
Proactive
149
You change your email password and few days later can't understand why you can't log in as you type your new password
Proactive
150
I can remember everything I learned in GCSE history in year 11 but hardly anything from year 9
Retroactive
151
What has been found to make interference worse?
Similarity
152
Who discovered that interference is made worse by memories or learning being similar?
John McGeoch and William McDonald (1931)
153
Outline the procedure of McGeoch and McDonald's experiment
They studied retroactive interference by changing the amount of similarity between two sets of materials. Participants had to learn a list of 10 words until they could remember them with 100% accuracy. They then learned a new list. There were 6 different groups who learned different types of second word lists.
154
What different list types did the 6 groups featured in McGeoch and McDonalds study have to learn?
Group 1: synonyms of the original word list Group 2: antonyms of the original word list Group 3: words unrelated to the original ones Group 4: consonant syllables Group 5: three digit numbers Group 6: no new list, participants just rested
155
What were the findings of McGeoch and McDonald's study into retroactive interference?
When the participants recalled the original list of words, their performance depended on the nature of the second list. The most similar material (synonyms) produced the worst recall. This shows that interference is strongest when the memories are similar.
156
Who did a study that showed competitive interference?
Burke and Skrull (1988)
157
Outline Burke and Skrull's 1988 study
They presented a series of magazine adverts to their participants, who were asked to recall the details of what they had seen (Eg: brand names)
158
What were the findings of Burke and Skrull's 1988 study?
Some participants had trouble remembering earlier adverts but some had problems remembering later adverts. This was a greater issue when the adverts were similar (ie: ads for identical products by different brands). This is competitive interference.
159
Name the strengths of interference theory
- Lab experiments - Real life applications
160
Name the weaknesses of interference theory
- Artificial materials - Recall cues - Time participants are given to complete tasks
161
How do lab studies add validity to the interference theory?
Interference in memory has been demonstrated by thousands of lab experiments such as McDonald and McGeoch's. The studies mostly show that both types of interference are very likely to be common ways we forget information in the long term memory and add validity due to controlling extraneous variables.
162
Who found real life applications for the interference theory?
Baddeley and Hitch (1977)
163
Outline Baddeley and Hitch's 1977 procedure surrounding interference theory
They asked rugby players to try to remember the names of the teams they had played so far that season, week by week. Because most of the players had missed games, for some the last team they played might have been two weeks ago, or three weeks ago, or more.
164
What were the findings of Baddeley and Hitch's 1977 study
Accurate recall did not depend on how long ago the matches took place. What had more impact was the number of games they had played in the meantime. ie: a player's recall of a team from three weeks ago was better if they had played no matches since then.
165
Why is interference so often demonstrated in lab studies?
The stimulus materials used are most often word lists
166
Why does making participants learn word lists reduce the validity of interference theory?
Word lists are artificial stimuli that we would not normally have to learn and recall in real life. The lab studies proving interference theory lack mundane realism.
167
Why does the time between learning word lists decrease the validity of interference theory?
The time between learning the word lists is often relatively short so it does not reflect the reality of memory recall where long term memories can last for years.
168
Why is the time between learning word lists made to be so short?
For practical reasons. Participants may leave and not return to complete the second condition if the time difference is too long.
169
Who did an experiment relating to interference theory that involved recall cues?
Tulving and Psotka (1971)
170
Outline the methodology of Tulving and Psotka's 1971 experiment
Participants were given five lists of 24 words, each list organised into 6 categories. The categories were not explicit but it was presumed that they would be obvious to participants. Participants had to recall each word list and were then given a cued recall test at the end.
171
What were the results of Tulving and Psotka's 1971 experiment?
Recall was about 70% for the first word list but this fell as participants were given each additional list to learn (due to interference). In the cued recall at the end the participants were told the names of the categories as a cue and recall rose again to about 70%.
172
Briefly explain why retrieval failure occurs
When we create memories we create cues that go along with them. If the cues aren't present at the time of recall then we aren't able to retrieve the memory from the LTM store
173
What did Tulving (1983) discover when he looked into retrieval failure?
The encoding specificity principle
174
What is the encoding specificity principle?
A cue needs to be present at the time of encoding and retrieval in order to help us recall information. If the cue isn't present at encoding and retrieval then some forgetting will occur.
175
What are the two types of cues?
- Context-dependent - State-dependent
176
What is the cue in context-dependent retrieval?
The context in which you learn the information (external cues)
177
Give some examples of external cues
- Environment - Smells - Weather - Clothes
178
Who conducted an experiment into context-dependent retrieval?
Godden and Baddeley (1975)
179
Outline the procedure of Godden and Baddeley's 1975 study into context dependent retrieval
Their participants (divers) learned a word list either underwater or on land and then were asked to recall the words either underwater or on land. There were four conditions: - Learn on land, recall on land - Learn on land, recall underwater - Learn underwater, recall on land - Learn underwater, recall underwater
180
What were the findings of Godden and Baddeley's 1975 diver study?
Accurate recall was 40% lower in the non matching conditions (underwater combined with land) as the external cues available at learning were different from the ones at recall which led to retrieval failure.
181
What type of experiment was Godden and Baddeley's diver study?
Field
182
What is the cue in state-dependent recall?
The state you are in when you learn the information (internal cues)
183
Give some examples of internal cues
- Mood - Drunk/sober - Sick
184
Who conducted an experiment into state-dependent retrieval?
Carter and Cassaday (1998)
185
How did Carter and Cassaday (1998) manage to create different internal cues for their participants?
They gave anti-histamine drugs to their participants. They had a mild sedative effect that made the participants slightly drowsy. This created an internal physiological state different from the norm of being awake and alert.
186
Outline the procedure of Carter and Cassaday's study
Participants were given anti-histamines to make them drowsy. The participants had to learn word lists and passages of prose and then recall it. There were four conditions: - Learn on drug, recall on drug - Learn on drug, recall not on drug - Learn not on drug, recall on drug - Learn not on drug, recall not on drug
187
What were the findings of Carter and Cassaday's study?
Recall was worse in conditions that had a mismatch between the internal state at encoding and retrieval. Recall was at its highest when the participants learned and recalled whilst on drugs.
188
What type of experiment was Carter and Cassaday's?
Lab
189
Name the strengths of the retrieval failure theory
- Abundant supporting evidence - Real-life applications
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Name the weaknesses of the retrieval failure theory
- Lack of extremely different contexts - Testing recall vs recognition - Lack of falsifiability - Frequent use of word lists to prove the theory
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Why is the amount of supporting evidence for retrieval failure a strength?
The more research that proves a theory, the more validity it has. The fact that there are many different types of experiment that back up retrieval failure adds further validity. (eg: Godden and Baddeley 1975 was a field experiment, Carter and Cassaday 1998 was a lab)
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Explain why Godden and Baddeley's 1975 experiment was a field experiment
The independent variable (being on land or underwater) was manipulated, but the environment was still natural.
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Give an example of using context-related cues to aid retrieval
You go upstairs to get something. Once upstairs, you forget what you were going to get, so you go back downstairs and remember.
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Explain the real life example of using context-related cues to aid retrieval
You encoded the information downstairs, but wanted to retrieve it upstairs. The differing contexts make retrieval harder, so going downstairs to make the contexts the same helps you remember.
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Why are real life applications of a theory a strength?
They show that retrieval failure doesn't only occur in a manipulated experimental environment, giving it more validity.
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Who argued that context effects aren't actually that strong?
Baddeley (1997)
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Why did Baddeley (1997) argue that context effects aren't actually that strong?
- Different contexts have to be extremely different before an effect is seen. Godden and Baddeley's use of underwater and land in their 1975 study lacks mundane realism as we are not likely to encounter such contrasting settings in real life. - Learning something in one room and recalling it in another isn't likely to result in much forgetting as the settings aren't that different.
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Why is the argument that context effects aren't that strong a weakness of the retrieval failure theory?
It means that the real life applications of this theory (going up and down the stairs) can't be explained by context change.
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What evidence is there for context effects only working for certain types of memory?
Godden and Baddeley (1980) replicated their underwater experiment but used a recognition test instead of recall. Participants had to say whether they recognised a word read to them from the list instead of retrieving it for themselves. When recognition was tested, no context dependent effect was found: performance was the same in all four conditions.
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Why is context effects only working for certain types of memory a weakness of the retrieval failure theory?
It means that cues only affect retrieval when used on a certain type of memory, meaning the theory cannot be applied as widely as first thought.
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Why is it hard to falsify the retrieval failure theory?
In an experiment where the cue produces the successful recall of a word, we assume that the cue was encoded at the time of learning. If a cue doesn't result in successful recall then we assume that the cue was not encoded at the time of learning.
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Why is the lack of falsifiability of the retrieval failure theory a problem?
It assumes that cues play a definitive part in memory. There is no way to test whether a cue has really been encoded or not, and a theory shouldn't be based on assumptions.
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What element of a lot of lab experiments that back up the retrieval failure theory is a problem?
The frequent use of word lists that participants must recall
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Why does the use of word lists in studies decrease the validity of the theory?
Learning lists isn't the most common type of memory recall that people engage in on a daily basis. This means that the experiments somewhat lack external validity and cannot be applied to many real life situations.
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What are the two forms of misleading information?
- Leading questions - Post event discussion
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What is a leading question?
A question which has information included in it that may prompt or encourage the witness. This can lead to inaccuracy in the eye witness testimony as witnesses are influenced by the question.
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What experiment looked into the effects of leading questions?
Loftus and Palmer (1974)
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Outline the procedure of Loftus and Palmer's 1974 experiment
45 students were divided into 5 equal groups. Each group was shown a video of a road traffic accident and were asked: 'About how fast were the cars going when they __________ each other?'. Each group had a different verb in the blank.
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Order the 5 verbs used in the Loftus and Palmer 1974 study from the group who estimated the car's speed highest on average to the group that estimated the car's speed lowest on average
Smashed Collided Bumped Hit Contacted
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What did the group who saw the verb smashed estimate the car's speed at? (on average)
41mph
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What did the group who saw the verb collided estimate the car's speed at? (on average)
39mph
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What did the group who saw the verb bumped estimate the car's speed at? (on average)
38mph
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What did the group who saw the verb hit estimate the car's speed at? (on average)
34mph
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What did the group who saw the verb contacted estimate the car's speed at? (on average)
32mph
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Explain why the question used in Loftus and Palmer's 1974 study was a leading question
It suggests how fast the car was going
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What conclusion can be drawn from Loftus and Palmer's 1974 study?
Eyewitness testimony can be influenced by the way a question is worded
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Name two possible theories as to why leading questions affect eyewitness testimony
- Response bias explanation - Substitution explanation
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How does response-bias explain leading questions affecting eyewitness testimony?
It suggests that the wording of a question has no real effect on the participants' memories, but just influences how they decide to answer.
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How does substitution explain leading questions affecting eyewitness testimony?
The wording of a leading question actually changes the participant's memory and they answer according to this new memory
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What evidence backs up the substitution explanation for why leading questions affect eyewitness testimony?
Loftus and Palmer carried out a second experiment. Participants who originally heard the verb 'smashed' were more likely to report seeing broken glass in the video (even though there was none) than those who heard the verb 'hit'.
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What is post event discussion?
Discussion that witnesses engage in after the crime which could result in contamination of the original recall as they combine their own recall with someone else's. This leads to inaccuracy in eyewitness testimony as witnesses' desire to conform allows them to be influenced by others.
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Who conducted an experiment looking into the effects of post event discussion on eyewitness testimony?
Gabbert et al (2003)
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Outline the procedure of Gabbert et al's 2003 experiment
Participants were studied in pairs. Each participant watched a video of the same crime, but filmed from different perspectives. This meant that each participant could see some elements of the event that the other could not. The participants discussed what they saw before taking a recall test.
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What were the findings of Gabbert et al's 2003 study?
71% of the participants recalled aspects of the event that they did not see in their video but picked up from the post event discussion. In the control group (in which there was no discussion) 0% of the participants did this.
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What conclusions can be drawn from Gabbert et al's 2003 study?
Witnesses often go along with each other to win social approval or because they believe the other witnesses are correct. This is called memory conformity.
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What are the strengths of this research?
- Practical application - Clifasefi et al (2013)
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What are the weaknesses of the research?
- Artificial nature of lab experiments - Samples being unrepresentative
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What are the practical applications of research into how misleading information affects eyewitness testimony?
Police make sure to not ask leading questions and use the cognitive interview as a way of minimising the impact of misleading information. This hopefully reduces the number of people unjustly convicted or released.
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Outline the procedure of Clifasefi et al's 2013 study relating to misleading information
They gave participants a document they claimed to be a personalised food and drink profile that had been put together by a powerful computer software. For one group, their profiles included false information that they had once, under the age of 16, drunk so much alcohol that they were sick. The participants later completed a memory test in which a leading question asked when they had become sick from drinking too much alcohol.
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What were the findings of Clifasefi et al's 2013 study?
A significant number of the participants 'recalled' being sick due to drinking too much alcohol before they 16. Some of these participants also claimed that they now disliked certain alcoholic drinks because of this non-existent experience.
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How does Clifasefi et al's study add validity to misleading information theory?
It shows that misleading information can trick the brain into believing false events occurred. Substitution bias can explain the study's findings as false information rewrote the participants' actual memories.
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How was Loftus and Palmer's study articificial?
- It was a lab experiment - Participants watched film clips of an accident rather than actually witnessing one in real life
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Why does an experiment being artificial make it lose validity?
The emotions experienced from watching a video will not be as strong as those experienced when actually experiencing the event in real life. Stress is known to affect recall so these studies may not be accurately measuring the effects of misleading information.
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Why was Loftus and Palmer's study sample not representative?
It consisted of students
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Why are students not a representative sample?
- They tend to be younger or more intelligent so have better memory - They are less likely to drive so would have less knowledge for Loftus and Palmer's study estimating car speed
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What is own age bias?
All age groups are more accurate when identifying people of their own age group
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Why is it a problem that Loftus and Palmer studied an unrepresentative sample?
The results are not generalisable across other ages and groups in society so lack external validity
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What is anxiety?
A state of emotional and physical arousal. Emotions: worried thoughts, tension Physical: increased heart rate, sweatiness
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Why might anxiety have a negative effect on recall?
Anxiety increases physiological arousal in the body that prevents us from paying attention to important cues, so recall is worse.
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What is the weapon focus effect?
When witnesses focus on central details (ie: a weapon) while ignoring peripheral details
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Who conducted an experiment into the weapon focus effect?
Johnson and Scott (1976)
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Outline the procedure of Johnson and Scott's 1976 experiment
They led participants to believe they were going to take part in a lab study. While seated in a reception area, participants heard people talking in the next room. In condition 1, the participants overheard a conversation about equipment failure and the 'target' left the lab with grease covered hands holding a pen In condition 2, the participants overheard a heated exchange and crashes. The 'target' ran out of the lab with a bloodied letter opener
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What were the findings of Johnson and Scott's 1976 experiment?
Participants had to look through 50 faces and identify the 'target'. Those in the low anxiety condition (1) identified the 'target' 49% of the time. Those in the high anxiety condition (2) identified the 'target' 33% of the time.
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What conclusions can be drawn from Johnson and Scott's 1976 study?
High anxiety and weapon presence reduce recall accuracy. People are more likely to focus on central details rather than peripheral ones.
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Why might anxiety have a positive effect on recall?
The stress of witnessing a crime triggers the fight or flight response. This makes us more alert and widens the pupils so we can be more observant.
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Who conducted a study into the positive effects of anxiety on eyewitness testimony?
Yuille and Cutshall (1986)
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Outline the procedure of Yuille and Cutshall's 1986 study
They interviewed 13 witnesses of a real life shooting outside a gun shop 5 months after the event occurred. Their accuracy was determined by the number of details they reported and they were asked to rate how stressed they had felt at the time of the incident using a 7 point scale.
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What were the findings of Yuille and Cutshall's 1986 study?
The witnesses were still very accurate in their accounts and the only real discrepancies were recollections of the colour of items and age/height/weight estimates. Participants who reported the highest stress levels were the most accurate.
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What conclusions can be drawn from Yuille and Cutshall's 1986 study?
Situations of high anxiety can lead to better recall as people experiencing high arousal are more attentive.
250
What law explains the contradicting evidence into whether anxiety improves recall or not?
Yerkes-Dodson law
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What does the relationship between emotional arousal and performance look like?
an inverted U
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Explain the Yerkes-Dodson law
Lower levels of anxiety produce lower levels of recall accuracy, but memory becomes more accurate as the level of anxiety experienced increases. There comes a point when the optimal level of anxiety is reached, after which recall begins to suffer.
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What are the strengths of research into this theory?
- Practical application - Yuille and Cutshall's experiment type
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What are the weaknesses of research into this theory?
- Pickel's 1998 study - Lack of control - Ethical issues
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What are the practical applications of Johnson and Scott's 1976 study?
In real life, the likelihood of an eyewitness being exposed to anxiety is high, therefore police need to take this into account in their interviews to minimise its impact. The cognitive interview is used to do this.
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What type of experiment was Yuille and Cutshall 1986?
Natural
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Why was Yuille and Cutshall's experiment a natural one?
It took advantage of a real world change in variable (the shooting occuring)
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Why is it good that Yuille and Cutshall's 1986 study was natural?
It avoids the usual pitfalls of lab studies. If the crime was real then the stress experienced by the participants was real. The behaviour observed is more likely to be genuine rather than being influenced by demand characteristics or social desirability, and it therefore has high ecological validity.
259
Outline the procedure of Pickel's 1998 study
Johnson and Scott's 1976 study was basically replicated with different objects being held by the 'target'. Participants were split into four conditions, each of which saw the 'target' walk into a hair salon they were sat in carrying either scissors, a handgun, a wallet or a raw chicken.
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What were the findings of Pickel's 1998 study?
Participants in the chicken condition did just as badly as participants in the handgun condition in terms of eyewitness accuracy.
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Why does Pickel's 1998 study discredit the weapon anxiety theory?
It suggests that the weapon focus effect actually occurs due to unusualness rather than anxiety/threat. Participants focused on the chicken because it was unusual, but didn't focus on the scissors (even though they could be dangerous) because they are a normal object in a hair salon. This questions the internal validity of Johnson and Scott's 1976 experiment.
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What type of experiment was Yuille and Cutshall's 1986 study?
Natural
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Why is it a problem that Yuille and Cutshall's 1986 study was natural?
There are many uncontrolled extraneous variables. The participants were interviewed 5 months after the incident and post event discussion may have caused an improvement in participants' memory rather than anxiety.
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What are the ethical issues of studies into eyewitness anxiety?
They subject participants to psychological harm purely for the purposes of research. This is why it is more beneficial for researchers to study people who have already witnessed real crimes rather than causing more harm than necessary.
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Who created the cognitive interview technique?
Fisher and Geiselman (1992)
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Define the cognitive interview
A method of interviewing eyewitnesses to help them retrieve more accurate memories. It uses four main techniques, all based on well-established psychological knowledge of human memory.
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Name the four techniques used in the cognitive interview
- Report everything - Reinstate context - Reverse order - Change perspective
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What does 'report everything' mean?
The interviewer encourages the eyewitness to report every single detail they remember, even if it seems insignificant.
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How does asking the eyewitness to report everything contrast to the standard interview technique?
The standard interview only involves recalling details specifically about the event in question.
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How does asking the eyewitness to recall everything improve recall?
Trivial details that seem unimportant may help to trigger more important details
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What does 'reinstate context' mean?
The eyewitness is encouraged to mentally recreate the environment (ie: return to the crime scene in their mind) and imagine details such as sights, smells and sounds. They are also encouraged to think about the personal context (ie: what they were feeling)
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How is asking the eyewitness to reinstate context different from the standard interview?
The standard interview only involves trying to remember what happened in the past - not increasing recall cues
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How does asking the eyewitness to reinstate context aid recall?
- Allows for context/state dependent retrieval - Increases cues to trigger recall
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What does 'reverse order' mean?
The eyewitness is asked to recall events in a different chronological order to the original sequence (eg: reversed or from the middle)
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How does asking the eyewitness to recall events in reverse order differ from the standard interview technique?
The standard interview only requires information to be recalled in the regular chronological order
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How does asking the eyewitness to recall events in reverse order aid recall?
- Prevents people's expectations (schemas) of events affecting their recall - Reduces dishonesty - Opens up retrieval pathways
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What does 'change perspective' mean?
The eyewitness is asked to recall the incident from various perspectives (eg: from other witnesses)
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How is asking the eyewitness to change perspective different from the standard interview?
The standard interview only requires information to be recalled from the perspective which was originally seen.
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How does asking the eyewitness to change perspective aid recall?
- Prevents people's expectations (schemas) of events affecting their recall - Reduces dishonesty - Opens up retrieval pathways
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Who developed the enhanced cognitive interview?
Fisher et el
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Why was the enhanced cognitive interview created?
To focus on the social dynamics of the interaction that would make the interviewee feel comfortable.
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What are the features of the enhanced cognitive interview?
- Eye contact - Reducing eyewitness anxiety - Open ended questions - Ask witnesses to speak slowly - Minimising distractions
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Why is using eye contact correctly a feature of the enhanced cognitive interview?
It helps the witness trust the interviewer
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What are the strengths of the cognitive interview?
- Not all elements have to be used - Kohnken et al's research
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What are the weaknesses of the cognitive interview?
- Time constraints - Kohnken et al's research
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Who collected information about the effectiveness of the individual elements of the cognitive interview?
Milne and Bull (2002)
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What were Milne and Bull's findings?
- Each individual element of the cognitive interview was equally effective - Using a combination of 'report everything' and 'context reinstatement' produces the best recall
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Why are Milne and Bull's findings a strength of the cognitive interview?
- They show that all parts of the cognitive interview work - They give a simplified version of the cognitive interview that can be used where police forces are limited in resources and time
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Who conducted a meta-analysis of 50 studies comparing the enhanced cognitive interview with the standard interview?
Kohnken et al (1999)
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What strengths of the cognitive interview did Kohnken et al's 1999 study show?
The enhanced cognitive interview consistently provided more correct information that the standard interview. 81% more correct information was recalled. This gives a large volume of empirical evidence to show how effective the interview technique is.
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What weaknesses of the cognitive interview did Kohnken et al's 1999 study show?
There was a 61% increase in false information being recalled compared to the standard interview. This could cause people to be wrongfully convicted/acquitted in court.
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Why are time constraints a weakness of the cognitive interview?
Compared to the standard interview, more time is needed to establish rapport with the witness and to allow them to relax. The training for the cognitive interview is also time consuming, meaning that police forces are reluctant to use it or do not use it properly,
