PSY1002 SEMESTER 2 - WEEK 4

Question 1

what are Schachters 7 sins of memory

Answer 1

transience, absentmindedness, blocking, misattribution, suggestibility, bias, persistence

Question 2

define transience- 7 sins of memory

Answer 2

decreasing accessibility of memories over time

Question 3

what is transience because of

Answer 3

decay (forgetting due to passage of time) and interference (forgetting due to competing memories)

Question 4

name 2 types of interference

Answer 4

proactive: old memory in STM impair retrieval and storage for new memories
retroactive: new memories impair retrieval of older memories

Question 5

explain what rate of forgetting is like immediately following encoding, and later

Answer 5

very high immediately post encoding, slow down as time gone by increases
less consolidation (strengthening of memory thorugh neural cell process)

Question 6

explain Ebbinghaus study for transience

Answer 6

looked into causes for forgetting, how long, using consonant-vowel-consonant trigrams (LUP, DES etc), found Ebbinghaus curve

Question 7

outline Ebbinghaus’ curve

Answer 7

forgetting initially occurs sharply, and then continue at slower pace

Question 8

whats law of disuse (and an opposing theory)

Answer 8

more time elapsed without using memory, more memory decays until its entirely forgotten
McGeoch believed passage of time causes nothing by itself- time is correlated with processes that cause forgetting

Question 9

outline Brown-Peterson paradigms for transience studies

Answer 9

1. learn list of memoranda (trigram)
2. complete distracting task
3. recall memoranda
   as time passes, greater forgetting but unsure if is because of passage of time or interference

Question 10

how to test for proactive interference

Answer 10

1. learn list of 3 memoranda (trigram)
2. complete distracting task
3. recall memoranda
   better memory with less proactive interference with old info

Question 11

how to test for retroactive interference

Answer 11

1. study trigram
2. stay awake/sleep
3. recall after 1, 2, 4, 8 hours
   better memory with less retroactive interference from new info, when we aren’t taking new info (due to being asleep)

Question 12

define absentmindedness - 7 sins of memory

Answer 12

lapses of attention that affect memory and learning due to a lack of attention during retrieval or encoding

Question 13

explain research into absentmindedness - 7 sins of memory (Kane et al, 2017)

Answer 13

1. stats test pre-lecture
2. lecture
3. stats test post-lecture
   mind-wandering prompts during lecture
   found more off-task mind wandering performed worse, with multitasking habits having indirect effect on learning

Question 14

define blocking - 7 sins of memory

Answer 14

info present but temporarily inaccessible
“tip of tongue”- unable to retrieve info fully without cue

Question 15

define misattribution - 7 sins of memory

Answer 15

attributing memories to an incorrect source

Question 16

what is source monitoring as a component of misattribution

Answer 16

where do memories come from?

Question 17

explain internal/external, as components of misattribution

Answer 17

internal= did I do this or did I just imagine it
external= who told me about this

Question 18

what is reality as a component of misattribution

Answer 18

did I really see this or did someone mention it = flashbulb memories

Question 19

what is crytomnesia (links to misattribution)

Answer 19

unconscious plagiarism

Question 20

explain 4 types of source info when making memory error due to misattribution

Answer 20

perceptual: details higher for memory actually experienced than from other sources. taste, touch, smell
contextual: context where memories acquired, is consistent with expected source
affective: emotional reaction in context of info
cognitive: mental processing of info

Question 21

why is misattributions important in EWT

Answer 21

identifying individual as criminal when actually met them in a different situation

Question 22

explain DRM procedure for research into misattribution (Roediger & McDermot, 1995)

Answer 22

1. study words
2. recall
3. shown words, asked if part of old or new lists
   found new words reported being in an old list if semantically related - falsely recalled related concepts never presented = false memories

Question 23

what is fuzzy trace theory for misattribution, when studied in DRM

Answer 23

when lists with themes presented, gist for list is created and stored, matching themed items closely. when item later retrieved, gist easily available but specific detail is lost

Question 24

define suggestibility - 7 sins of memory

Answer 24

implanted memories that never occurred, by altering actual memories or create new

Question 25

explain lost in mall study - suggestibility (Loftus & Pickrell, 1995)

Answer 25

1. booklet of 3 true, 1 false childhood memory
2. interviewed 1-2 week later
3. interviewed another 1-2 week later
   25% ppts falsely remember being lost in mall = false memory

Question 26

explain hot air balloon study for suggestibility (Wade et al, 2002)

Answer 26

showed edited image of ppts in hot air balloon, and asked abot experience
50% showed false memories implanted, with false evidence contributing to false memory formation

Question 27

outline research study into suggestibility (Zaragoza et al, 2001)

Answer 27

watched video, then answered questions with guessing enforced or discouraged, recognition task a week later, recall task 5-6 weeks after
“fell of chair, where is he bleeding” (no bleeding in film)
false recognition of fake event at 1 week, even if guessing discouraged
free recall later on, recalled 20% false event

Question 28

define bias - 7 sins of memory

Answer 28

distorting memories on past based on current knowledge, beliefs

Question 29

explain research study if bias for prediction of German elections (Blank et al, 2003)

Answer 29

asked to predict elections outcome
after election, asked to recall predictions
hindsight bias: misremember memories as being more similar to our current knowledge states

Question 30

define persistence - 7 sins of memory

Answer 30

unwanted recollections that cannot be forgotten
PTSD

Question 31

why does reconstructive memory result in a false memories

Answer 31

we encode and store pieces of experience, attempt to reconstruct when retrieving, meaning pieces missing or incorrect piece replace
rely on schemata when reconstructing

Question 32

explain Loftus & Palmer (1974) EWT car accident

Answer 32

ppts watch video of car crash, recall
asked smashed/hit/collided
asked if saw broken glass = more likely if heard smashed

Question 33

define misinformation effect

Answer 33

misleading suggestive info changes memory of event, creating retrieval error

Question 34

explain study into impact of exposure to incorrect info post-event

Answer 34

ppts saw photo of man stealing wallet, next day heard description of crime with incorrect info and answered series of questions. if heard inaccurate info more likely to answer questions wrongly

Question 35

how long can memory errors as result of misinformation last

Answer 35

over a year

Question 36

EWT application - explain cognitive interviewing technique

Answer 36

1. reinstating original context
2. report everything (allows retrieval of less confidently perceived info which still may be of importance)
3. taking different POV
4. retrieve events in different temporal order

Question 37

define amnesia

Answer 37

a deficit in memory caused by brain damage, disease, or trauma

Question 38

explain retrograde amnesia, when it can occur

Answer 38

loss of ability to access memories prior to event, most common post-head injuries (from brain tissue swelling - short-term)

Question 39

explain anterograde amnesia and case study

Answer 39

loss of ability to store new memories after event (HM- hippocampus )