Topic 2 - Memory (complete!!!!) Flashcards

Question

Describe the STM in terms of : - Capacity - Duration - Coding

Answer 1

Capacity = 7+-2 items Duration = 18-30 seconds (max 18 without rehearsal) Coding = Mainly acoustic

Answer 2

STRENGTH Research support from Baddeley (1966) - see previous flashcard for study details Found that we tended to mix up acoustically similar words when recalling from STM and semantically similar words when recalling from LTM Can also use research support on capacity + duration (see previous flashcards) Large amount of research support show that STM + LTM are separate stores as MSM claimed - increases VALIDITY of theory as expl. for memory

Answer 3

WEAKNESS (counterpoint to supporting research point) Studies often lab setting - artificial tasks often trivial and meaningless to ppts e.g. Baddeley's study = memorising word lists Lack any semblance to real life where we try to memorise useful info e.g. people's names + faces Supporting studies lack ecological validity so MSM may not be a valid model of how memory works irl

Answer 4

AGAINST (Weakness for MSM) Found that there may be more that one type of STM store KF's STM for digits very poor when read aloud to him, but when he recall much better when he read them to himself Research from other psychologists even suggest there's another STM store for non verbal sounds e.g. noises Suggests that MSM incorrect in stating that STM was just one store - compromises reliability of model when applied to real memory

Answer 5

WEAKNESS Fails to reflect complexity of human memory - assumes there is a single STM and LTM Case studies on KF show that there might be more than one type of STM store (Shallice + Warrington - 1970) Tulving also argued that there is more than on type of LTM - procedural, episodic, semantic MSM is outdated - not a relevant model when in line with current research and evidence HOWEVER arguably set up a foundation for newer, more accurate models of memory - value in its concept rather than its accuracy

Answer 6

Our ability to recall event (i.e. episodes) from our lives Memories are TIME-STAMPED - we remember when they happened as well as what happened Also stores info about how events relate to each other over time Memory of single episode consists of several elements - all interwoven to create single memory Have to make conscious effort to recall - done quickly but still aware you're searching for memory Most prone to decay + distortion

Answer 7

Our knowledge of the world e.g. facts Contains large number of concepts e.g. love Memories not time-stamped - usually don't remember when we got the info Less personal - more about facts we share Constantly being added to Less vulnerable to distortion + forgetting than episodic

Answer 8

WEAKNESS - COUNTERPOINT to case study support strength (HM + Clive Wearing) Case studies of men only started when they became injured - researcher had no way of controlling or knowing what happened to ppts before the injury Due to nature of case studies researcher had no idea that two men were going to get brain damage (random occurrence) - would have no knowledge of memory of ppts memory before the damage - difficult to judge exactly how worse it became afterwards Case studies lack RETROSPECTION + CONTROL - limits what clinical studies can tell us about types of LTM - support for theory may not be as credible as initially thought

Answer 9

WEAKNESS Bucker + Peterson (1996) - reviewed evidence for location of semantic + episodic memory in brain Semantic = left side of prefrontal cortex Episodic = right side of prefrontal cortex However other research links left prefrontal cortex with encoding and right side with episodic retrieval (Tulving 1994) Challenges any neurophysiological evidence to support types of LTM as there is poor agreement on where each type might be located

Answer 10

Procedural, Semantic, Episodic Proposed by Tulving (1985) - argued that MSM too simplistic and that there is more than one type of LTM

Answer 11

STRENGTH As people age experience memory loss - research has shown that this seems to be specific to episodic memory Becomes harder to recall relatively recent events compared to past episodic memories which remain intact Belleville (2006) created intervention to improve episodic memories in older people - trained ppts. performed better than control group So distinguishing between different types of LTM enables specific treatments to be developed (REAL LIFE APPLICATION)

Answer 12

WEAKNESS Most recently Tulving taken view that episodic memory = specialised subcategory of semantic memory - essentially the same store Tulving research = people with amnesia have functioning semantic memory alongside damaged episodic memory However concluded that it is not possible to have functioning episodic memory with a damaged semantic memory COUNTERPOINT (Hodges + Patterson) found that some people with amnesia could form new episodic memories but not semantic Perhaps Tulving initially incorrect with theory that episodic + semantic separate and instead they're interlinked. However so much conflicting evidence that its extremely difficult to evaluate which parts of the theory is actually VALID

Answer 13

Central executive, episodic buffer, visuospatial sketchpad + phonological loop (made up of articulatory process + phonological store) Baddeley + Hitch (1974) - focused on STM + believed that it isn't just one unitary store

Answer 14

Actions and skills we perform Can recall these without conscious awareness or much effort (when repeated enough times) - do them automatically Ability to do this becomes automatic through practice Type of skills we might find quite hard to explain to someone else e.g. breathing

Answer 15

Has supervisory role Monitors incoming data + divides our attention to allocated subsystems for tasks Has very limited processing capacity Does not store info - only involved in reasoning + decision making tasks

Answer 16

Deals with auditory info + preserves order in which the info arrives Subdivided into : Articulatory process Phonological store Phonological store - stores words you hear Articulatory process - allows MAINTENANCE REHEARSAL ( holds words heard/seen and silently repeats them like an inner ear to keep info in STM) ; capacity = 2 seconds worth of what you can say (limited capacity)

Answer 17

STRENGTH Episodic memory of both men severely impaired (from operation and infection respectively) Semantic memories of men unaffected - HM couldn't recall stroking a dog earlier but still remembered the concept of dog Both still new how to walk and talk so procedural memories also unaffected - Wearing (a musician) could still play the piano Evidence supports idea that there are different independent stores in LTM - one store can be damaged but others can be unaffected. Increases the CREDIBILITY of the theory

Answer 18

Stores visual and spatial info e.g. if you're asked how many windows are in your house you begin to visualise it in your head Limited capacity - about 3 or 4 objects Logie (1995) divided VSS into : visual cache - stores visual data inner scribe - records arrangement of objects in a visual field (spatial data)

Answer 19

Temporary store for info - integrates the visual, spatial and verbal info processed by other slave systems + maintains sense of time sequencing Can be seen as the storage component of the central executive Limited capacity of 4 chunks Is the link to LTM and wider cognitive process e.g. perception More general store

Answer 20

STRENGTH Clinical evidence support from Shallice + Warrington (1970) case study on KF After brain injury KF had poor STM for auditory info but could recall visual info normally - immediate recall of letters and digits better when he read them (visual) than when they were read to him (acoustic) So his phonological loop damaged but visuo-spatial sketchpad still intact Findings support existence of separate visual + acoustic STM stores like WMM suggests

Answer 21

WEAKNESS - COUNTERPOINT to KF supporting research Case studies generally lack CONTROL and RETROSPECTION - brain damage KF suffered may have also affected his cognitive performance in ways the researchers are unable to assess as they do not know what his memory was like before the accident So additional, unknown brain damage may have affected his performance on memory tasks instead of his supposed damage to phonological loop Challenges evidence from clinical case studies - lack control so VALIDITY of this supporting research questionable ; decreases CREDIBILITY of theory

Answer 22

STRENGTH Can be used in teaching environments Students with learning difficulties e.g. damaged phonological loop can be given alternative revision techniques based on different slave systems in STM e.g. instead of repeating info to yourself ( articulatory process) you could make flashcards or diagrams (visuospatial sketchpad) Theory has meaningful, practical applications that could help the disadvantaged (useful real life application)

Answer 23

STRENGTH Baddeley asked ppts to carry out a visual and verbal task at same time (dual task) - performance similar when performing both tasks together and both tasks separately - no competition for same subsystem However when both tasks were visual (or both verbal) performance on both declined substantially - tasks had to compete for the same subsystem e.g. visuospatial sketchpad Shows there must at least be a separate subsystem that processes visual and auditory info ( phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad) = RESEARCH SUPPORT (ADDITIONAL - can counterpoint by stating that study lacks ECOLOGICAL VALIDITY due to artificial task and setting)

Answer 24

WEAKNESS Baddeley himself recognised how vague central executive described in theory CE needs to be more clearly specified than simply 'attention' - other psychologists believe it may consist of separate subcomponents Means that CE = unsatisfactory component - challenges INTEGRITY of the WMM

Answer 25

A form of forgetting when one piece of info disrupts the other, causing one or both memories to be distorted or forgotten

Answer 26

No Info in LTM more or less permanent (duration = up to a lifetime) so any forgetting most likely because we cant get ACESS to them even though they're AVAILABLE

Answer 27

Proactive interference = when OLDER memory interferes with new memory you're trying to store e.g. teacher has learnt so many names in the past she cant remember names of her new class Retroactive interference = when a NEWER memory interferes with older one e.g. teacher has learnt the names of her new class, causing her to find it difficult to recall the names of the students she had in the past

Answer 28

Investigated if interference is worse if memories are similar (for RETROACTIVE interference) Ppts had to learn list of 10 words to 100% accuracy, then had to learn a new list of words 6 Groups = - Group 1 : synonym word list - Group 2 : antonym word list - Group 3 : words unrelated to original ones - Group 4 : nonsense syllables - Group 5 : three - digit numbers - Group 5 : no new list - ppts just rested

Answer 29

when ppts recalled original list of words, accuracy of recall depended on nature of second word list Most similar words (synonyms) produced worst recall - shows that interference is strongest when memories are similar EXTRA: Reason why similarity effects recall may be one of two reasons - Proactive - previously stored info makes new similar info more difficult to store Retroactive - new info overwrites previous similar memories because they're so alike

Answer 30

WEAKNESS Tulving + Psotka (1971) gave ppts. list of words organised into categories, one list at a time Recall averaged around 70% for first list, but got progressively worse as ppts learnt each additional list (retroactive) However word lists hadn't actually disappeared from LTM - at end of procedure ppts given a CUED RECALL test (given names of list categories) After cued recall accuracy rose to 70% again Shows that interference causes only temporary loss of access to material still in LTM - a finding that is not predicted in original theory but touched in RETRIEVAL FAILURE Perhaps other theories better suited than interference to explain forgetting in LTM e.g. retrieval failure

Answer 31

STENGTH Baddeley + Hitch (1977) asked rugby players to recall names of teams they had played so far in that season, week by week Most players had missed some games (due to injuries) so intervals between each game varied e.g. last team they played could've been one or two weeks ago depending on player Found that accurate recall did not depend on how long ago matches took place - depended on how many interfering games they played More games played = most interference for memory = poorest recall Shows that interference can operate in at least some real life situations - increases VALIDITY of theory

Answer 32

WEAKNESS (can be used as COUNTERPOINT to Baddeley + Hitch rugby player study) Conditions required for interference to occur relatively rare in real life Supporting research often skewed - often lab studies where high degree of control measures can create ideal conditions for interference e.g. McGeoch + McDonald - two memories have to be relatively similar in order for interference - may happen in everyday life (like revising similar subjects close in time) but this is not often Suggests that most forgetting may be better explained by other theories e.g. retrieval failure Interference theory can only be applied in extremely specific circumstances - not exactly relevant to normal every day life (limited application even if it could be done)

Answer 33

STRENGTH Retrograde facilitation = Observation of memory enhancement for events that preceded the administration of certain drugs (i.e. testing how good memory is after taking drugs) Coenen + Luijtelaar (1997) gave ppts list of words and later asked them to recall list - assumed intervening experiences would act as interference Found that when list of words learnt under influence of drug DIAZEPAM, recall one week later was poor compared to PLACEBO control group When list of words learnt before the drug was taken, recall better than the placebo - drug FACILITATED recall of material learnt beforehand Wixted (2004) suggested that drug prevents new info experienced after taking drug from reaching parts of brain involved in processing memory - so memory cannot retroactively interfere with info already stores Shows that forgetting can be due to interference - reduce this interference i.e. by using drugs and you reduce the forgetting

Answer 34

Form or forgetting - usually occurs when we don't have the necessary cues available Leads to inaccessibility of available memories

Answer 35

Reviewed research into retrieval failure and found consistent pattern : Helpful cues have to be present at both: - Encoding (when we learn the info) - Retrieval (when we recall the info) If cues available at encoding and retrieval different (or if cues entirely absent) - will be some forgetting) Some cues encoded at time of learning in meaningful way e.g. cue 'STM' may help you recall info about short term memory - such cues using in MNEMONIC TECHNIQUES Other cues also encoded at time of learning but not in meaningful way - two types: - Context-dependant forgetting - State-dependant forgetting

Answer 36

Recall depending on external cue e.g. weather or place

Answer 37

Recall depending on internal cue e.g. feeling upset, being drunk

Answer 38

Studied deep sea divers to see if training in different environmental contexts helped or hindered memory Divers learnt list of words either underwater or on land and recalled words either underwater or on land - created 4 conditions : 1. Learn on land - recall on land 2. Learn on land - recall underwater 3. Learn underwater - recall on land 4. Learn underwater - recall underwater

Answer 39

Accurate recall 40% lower in non-environmentally matching contexts Concluded that external cues available at learning were different from ones available at recall which led to retrieval failure (note : could use this study as supporting research eval. point for retrieval failure theory)

Answer 40

Gave ANTIHISTAMINE drugs to their ppts - had a mild sedative effect, making ppts slightly drowsy Drowsiness - creates a different internal psychological state from the 'normal' state of being awake and alert Ppts had to learn list of words and then recall the info, creating 4 conditions: 1. Learn on drug - recall on drug 2. Learn on drug - recall when not on drug 3. Learn not on drug - recall on drug 4. Learn not on drug - recall not on drug

Answer 41

In conditions where there was a mismatch between internal state at learning and recall, performance on memory test significantly worse Concluded that when internal cues absent (e.g. being drowsy when recalling info where you had been alert when learning it) then there is more forgetting

Answer 42

STRENGTH Retrieval failure can help overcome some forgetting in everyday situations Baddeley believed cues important to pay attention to even if he argued they had seemingly weak affect on memory : e.g. common experience is walking into a room to get something but when you get there you forget what you were coming for - when you go back to the original room you immediately remember again ( evidence of context-dependant forgetting) So when we have trouble remembering something we can apply this theory to the situation and make and effort to recall the environment in which to remembered the info first Shows how research can remind us of strategies we use in the real world to improve our recall ( valuable applicability in everyday life)

Answer 43

STENGTH Studies by Godden + Baddeley (1975) and Cater and Cassidy (1998) are two examples that show a lack of relevant cues at recall can lead to context and state dependant forgetting Memory researchers Eysenck + Keane (2010) argue that retrieval failure perhaps the main reason for forgetting in LTM Evidence shows that retrieval failure occurs in real world situations as well as in highly controlled lab conditions ( increases theory VALIDITY)

Answer 44

WEAKNESS (can be used as a COUNTERPOINT to the supporting research argument) Different contexts have to be extremely different before an effect is seen - e.g. it would be hard to find an environment as different from land as underwater seen in Godden + Baddeley's (1975) research In contrast - learning something in one room and recalling it in another unlikely to result in forgetting as environments generally not different enough e.g. when you revise at home or learn at school and then do the exam in an exam hall (different environmental contexts) you don't immediately forget everything you've learnt Means that retrieval failure due to lack of contextual cues may not actually explain much everyday forgetting - rarely ever occurs in real life because of extraordinary conditions to do so More relevant theories (could argue interference) provide better expl. for everyday forgetting

Answer 45

WEAKNESS Godden + Baddeley (1980) repeated their diver study but used a recognition test instead of recall ppts had to say whether they recognised a word from the list instead of recalling it themselves When recognition tested found that there was no context-dependant effect - performance was the same in all 4 conditions Suggests that retrieval failure is a limited explanation for forgetting because it only applies when a person has to recall info rather than recognise it

Answer 46

WEAKNESS Lot of evidence that forgetting takes place when there is a mismatch (or absence) of encoding retrieval cues - however is it even possible to independently establish whether a cue has been encoded or not? Reasoning for ESP CIRCULAR and based on ASSUMPTION CIRCULAR REASONING - argument is validated by itself - reasoner begins with what they're trying to end with (same proposition occurs as both a premise + conclusion so argument validates itself) e.g. In an experiment, if cue did not produce recall we assume it wasn't encoded, if cue did produce recall we assume it must have been encoded ESP theory provides the premise and conclusion - it has been used to validate itself without any external input COMPROMISES theory VALIDITY

Answer 47

Wording of a question may lead, or mislead, a person to give a certain answer Issue for EWT - e.g. police questioning may direct a witness to give a particular answer

Answer 48

Arranged for 45 students to watch film clips of car accidents and then asked them questions on what they saw In the CRITICAL QUESTION (leading question - also called misleading info) ppts asked to describe how fast cars were travelling Ppts split into 5 groups - each group ppts were given a different verb in the critical question when asked how fast cars were travelling Verbs : hit, contacted, bumped, collided, smashed e.g. one group asked : "How fast were the cars travelling when they smashed into each other?"

Answer 49

Mean estimated speed calculated for each group Verb 'contacted' : 31.8 mph Verb 'smashed' : 40.5 mph Leading question biased eyewitness' recall of an event

Answer 50

Response-bias explanation = - wording of question has no real effect on ppts memories but just influences how they decide the answer - e.g. when ppts get leading question using word smashed, this encourages them to choose a higher speed estimate (Loftus + Palmer - 1945)

Answer 51

Substitution explanation = - Wording of the question changes the ppts. memory itself - Loftus + Palmer (1974) conducted second experiment to support substitution explanation : After asking the various critical questions, asked ppts to recall what they saw in the film ppts who were given verb 'smashed' later more likely to report seeing broken glass (even though there wasn't any) than those given verb 'hit' Critical verb altered memory of incident

Answer 52

Occurs when there is more than one witness to an event - witness may discuss what they've seen with other co-witnesses May influence accuracy of EWT

Answer 53

Studied ppts in pairs Each ppts watched video of same crime but filmed at different points of view - meant each ppts could see elements of event that others could not Both ppts. then discussed what they had seen before individually completing a test of recall

Answer 54

Found that 71% of ppts mistakenly recalled aspects of the event they did not see in the video but had picked up in discussion Corresponding figure in control group where there was no discussion = 0% Post-event discussion clearly had negative effect on accuracy of EWT

Answer 55

Memory contamination = - When co-witnesses to crime discuss with each other, their EWT's may become altered or distorted - This is because they combine misinformation from other witnesses with their own memories

Answer 56

Memory conformity = - Gabbert (2003) believed that witnesses often go along with each other to win social approval or because they believe that the other witnesses are right and they are wrong (NSI + ISI) - Unlike memory contamination, the actual memory is unchanged

Answer 57

STRENGTH Consequences of inaccurate EWT can be very serious Loftus (1975) believes that leading questions can have such a distorting effect on memory that police officers advised to be very careful about how they phrase their questions during witness interviews Psychologists sometimes asked to act as expert witnesses in court trials to explain the limits of EWT to juries Shows that psychologists can help to improve the way the legal system works, especially by protecting the innocent from faulty convictions due to unreliable EWT Theory has valuable, real life APPLICATION which can positively contribute to society

Answer 58

WEAKNESS (COUNTERPOINT to real life application point) e.g. Loftus + Palmer's (1945) ppts watched film clips in a lab, very different experience from witnessing real event - less stressful Lab setting - artificial environment, lacks ECOLOGICAL VALIDITY Foster (1994) pointed out that what eyewitnesses remember has important consequences in real world, but ppts. responses in artificial research does not matter in the same way (no real consequence if ppts do not accurately recall info) So in research ppts = less motivated to be accurate - task TRIVIAL to ppts Suggests that researchers like Loftus + Palmer are too pessimistic about effects of misleading info - EWT may be more dependable that studies suggest

Answer 59

WEAKNESS EWT more accurate for some aspects of an event than for others e.g. Sutherland + Hayne (2001) showed ppts a video clip - when ppts asked misleading questions their recall more accurate for central details of event that peripheral ones ppts attention presumably focused on central details of event - these memories relatively resistant to misleading info Suggests that original memories for central details survived and were not distorted, outcome not predicted by substitution explanation

Answer 60

WEAKNESS Evidence that post-event discussion actually alters EWT - memory contamination may be a more VALID explanation Skagerberg + Wright (2008) showed ppts film clips: - two versions :mugger's hair was dark brown in one and light brown in the other - ppts then discussed clips in pairs - each seeing a different version - instead of reporting what they had heard from co-witnesses (this would've been memory conformity) often recalled a blend of the two e.g. common answer when asked what colour the mugger's hair was 'medium brown' (blend between light + dark brown seen in the two clips) Suggests that memory itself is distorted through contamination by misleading post-event discussion, rather than result of memory contamination

Answer 61

WEAKNESS Zaragoza + McCloskey (1989) argue that many answers given by ppts in the lab studies are due to DEMAND CHARACTERISTICS Artificial setting in lab experiments = more likely to display demand characteristics Ppts often want to be helpful to researcher - often guess when asked a question even if they don't know the answer This compromises validity of theory itself as supporting studies lack INTERNAL VALIDITY

Answer 62

Anxiety -----> creates physiological arousal in body which prevents us paying attention to important cues Presence of weapon causes anxiety - leads to focus on weapon which decreases recall for other details of the event

Answer 63

Lab study Two conditions: - High anxiety condition = ppts overheard argument, accompanied by sound of breaking glass. Man then walked out room holding knife covered in blood - Low anxiety condition = ppts heard a casual conversation in next room, then saw man walk out carrying a pen + grease on his hands ppts later picked out man from set of 50 photos

Answer 64

49% in low anxiety condition able to identify man 33% in high anxiety condition able to identify man Concluded that this is due to the TUNNEL THEORY of memory Tunnel theory = argues people may have enhanced memory for central events (e.g. the bloody knife in high anxiety condition) whilst the peripheral events aren't paid as much attention to Weapon focus as a result of anxiety can have a 'tunnelling' effect

Answer 65

Witnessing stressful event ----> creates anxiety through physiological arousal within body Fight or flight response triggered - increases alertness Alertness - may improve memory for event as we become more aware of cues in the situation, we pay more attention

Answer 66

Conducted study of real life shooting (natural experiment) in Canada Shop owner shot thief dead 21 witnesses - 13 took part in the study Interviewed 4 to 5 months after incident and interviews compared with original police interviews at time of shooting Accuracy determined by number of details reported in each account Witnesses also asked to rate how stressed they had felt during shooting on 7 point scale + whether they had any emotional problems since event e.g. sleeplessness

Answer 67

Witnesses very accurate in their accounts - little change in amount recalled after 5 months Though some details less accurate e.g. recollection of item colours + age/height/weight estimates - however not significant enough to declare recollection totally inaccurate Ppts who reported highest levels of stress were the most accurate - 88% accuracy compared to 75% from less stressed group Suggests anxiety does not have a detrimental effect on accuracy of EWT in real world contexts + may even enhance it Ppts may have entered fight or flight mode during shooting so paid more attention to surroundings + produced more accurate EWT

Answer 68

Yerkes + Dodson (1908) described relationship between emotional arousal + performance looks like an 'inverted U' Deffenbacher (1983) reviewed 21 studies of EWT + noted contradictory findings on the effect of anxiety - Yerkes Dodson's Law (inverted U) used to explain this

Answer 69

Used to explain contradictory findings on the effects of anxiety (as there is evidence for both positive and negative effects)

Answer 70

Also known as inverted U theory - states that recall will increase with anxiety, but only to certain extent, pass this point recall falls drastically When put into graph form looks like an 'inverted U' When we witness crime we become emotionally + physiologically aroused so we experience both anxiety + the fight or flight response Lower levels of anxiety/arousal = produces lower levels of recall accuracy Memory becomes more accurate as levels of anxiety/arousal increases However there is an optimal level of anxiety - the point of maximum accuracy (this is around medium levels of anxiety) If person experiences any more anxiety (e.g. very high levels of anxiety) recall suffers a drastic decline

Answer 71

WEAKNESS Study may lack INTERNAL VALIDITY Reason ppts may have focused on weapon may be because they we surprised at what they saw rather than scared - study may have investigated unusualness rather than anxiety Pickel (1998) conducted similar experiment using scissors, handgun, wallet + raw chicken as hand held items in hair dressing salon In theory, scissors would be a high anxiety, low unusualness weapon Eyewitness accuracy significantly poorer in high unusualness conditions (chicken + handgun) - scissors did not inhibit recall even though it was a high anxiety weapon Suggests that weapon focus effect may be due to unusualness rather than anxiety/threat ( as chicken low in threat but still produced poor recall) Compromises VALIDITY of weapon focus effect - seemingly tells us nothing about effect of anxiety on EWT

Answer 72

STRENGTH (Can mention Johnson + Scott's weapon focus experiment) Valentine + Mesout carried out study in real world setting of a horror labyrinth: - Used an OBJECTIVE MEASURE (heart rate) to divide ppts into high + low anxiety groups - ppts asked to describe a person encountered in labyrinth (played by actor) - Found that high anxiety ppts recalled the fewest correct details and made the most mistakes - 17% of high anxiety group correctly identified actor in a line-up compared to 75% in low-anxiety group Suggests that a high level of anxiety does have a negative effect on the accuracy of recall of a stressful event from supporting research

Answer 73

STRENGTH (Can use Yuille and Cutshall's study here as well) Christian + Hubinette (1993) interviewed 58 witnesses to real bank robberies in Sweden Some witnesses directly involved (bank workers) + some indirectly involved (bystanders) Researchers assumed those directly involved experienced the highest levels of anxiety Recall 75% accurate across all witnesses - though the direct victims (and the most anxious) were the most accurate Findings from real crimes conform anxiety does not reduce accuracy of EWT and may even enhance it - theory has EXTERNAL VALIDITY

Answer 74

WEAKNESS (COUNTERPOINT to supporting evidence) Christian + Hubinette interviewed ppts several months after the event (4-5 months) Therefore researcher had no CONTROL over what happened to their ppts before the interviewing time e.g. there may have been some post-event discussion - factors that wouldn't have been considered in their findings Effects of anxiety may have been overwhelmed by these EXTRANEOUS VARIABLES which are impossible to assess by the time ppts. were interviewed So it is possible that lack of control over CONFOUNDING VARIABLES may be responsible for these findings - INVALIDATES any evidence this study has for this theory (Note : the same argument can be made for Yuille + Cutshall's study)

Answer 75

WEAKNESS Theory ignores the fact that anxiety has many elements - cognitive, behavioural, emotional + physical Theory only focuses on the last element - physical arousal + assumes that it is the only aspect of anxiety linked to EWT Therefore Yerkes-Dodson's Law may be too simplistic - may be other elements of anxiety not accounted for that could influence the accuracy of EWT

Answer 76

Cognitive interview = method of interviewing eyewitnesses to help them retrieve more accurate memories Created by Fisher + Geiselman (1992) - argued that EWT can be enhanced if the police used better techniques based on psychological insights when interviewing eyewitnesses

Answer 77

1. Report everything 2. Reinstate the context 3. Reverse the order 4. Change perspective

Answer 78

Witnesses encouraged to include every single detail of the event - even if its seems irrelevant or witness doesn't feel confident Seemingly trivial details may be important and may trigger other important memories (can act as cues)

Answer 79

Witness should return to original crime scene in their mind e.g. imagine the environment and their emotions link to context-dependant & state-dependant forgetting - remembering the context may re-establish cues which can trigger important memories

Answer 80

Events should be recalled in different order from original sequence Prevents people from reporting expectations of how event should happen rather than actual events Also prevents dishonesty - harder to give untruthful account if they have to reverse it

Answer 81

Witnesses should recall event from other perspectives e.g. the perpetrator or another witness Disrupts effects of expectations + the effect of a SCHEMA on recall Schema of particular setting could generate expectations of what would have happened - it is the schema that is recalled instead of actual events - changing perspective prevents this

Answer 82

Fisher et. al. developed additional element of cognitive interview to focus on social dynamics of interaction Elements of the ECI: - Interviewer needs to know when to establish eye contact and when to stop it - Reducing eye-witness anxiety - Minimising distractions - Getting witness to speak slowly - Asking open-ended questions

Answer 83

STRENGTH META ANALYSIS by Kohnken (1999) combined data from 55 studies comparing the CI + ECI with the standard police interview CI gave average of 41% increase of accurate info compared to standard interview Only 4 studies in analysis showed no difference between the types of interview - correlation unlikely due to chance Shows that CI is an effective technique in helping witnesses to recall info not immediately accessible REAL LIFE PRACTICAL APPLICATION

Answer 84

WEAKNESS (COUNTERPOINT to supporting research) Kohnken (1999) also found increase in inaccurate info being recalled in his META ANALYSIS Particular issue with the ECI - produced more inaccurate details than the CI Therefore cognitive interviews may sacrifice quality of EWT (i.e. the accuracy) in favour of quantity Means that police officers should treat eyewitness evidence from CI/ECI with caution - has LIMITED practical real life application

Answer 85

WEAKNESS Milne + Bull (2002) - found that each of the 4 techniques used alone produced more info than standard police interview However - also found that using a combo of 'report everything' + 'reinstate the context' produced better recall than any other element or combination of them Confirmed police officer suspicion that some aspects of CI more useful than other Casts some doubt on the CREDIBILITY of the overall CI - some parts of it seemingly useless

Answer 86

WEAKNESS Police officers may be reluctant to use CI because it takes more time + training than normal police interview More time needed to establish a rapport with witness + allow them to relax CI also requires special training - many forces do not have resources to provide more than a few hours ( Kebbell + Wagstaff - 1997) Suggests that complete CI is an unrealistic method for police force to use - might be better to focus on key elements instead of using all 4 techniques

Answer 87

arguably BOTH WEAKNESS - different variations of the CI means its difficult to compare the effectiveness of the different approaches in research studies STRENGTH - Being able to create multiple variations of the CI shows how incredibly flexible it is whilst still remaining relatively effective - individuals can develop their own approach based on what's best for them