4.1.2 Explanations For Forgetting Flashcards
What is interference theory?
This theory assumes that one set of learning interferes with another set of learning and prevents the ability to recall it from the LTM.
This is more likely to occur if the memories are similar, making it harder for us to locate and access memories from the LTM.
What is proactive interference?
When an older memory interferes with your ability to remember a newer one.
What is retroactive interference?
When a newer memory interferes with your ability to remember an older one.
What did McGeoch and McDonald discover?
Interference is worse when memories are similar.
Participants had worse memory of word lists of synonyms compared to word lists of antonyms.
This shows interference is the strongest when memories are similar for two possible reasons…
Proactive interference makes new info that is similar to old info more difficult to store, or retroactive interference makes new information override previous similar memories because of the similarity.
What is retrieval failure theory?
The theory that forgetting occurs when a memory is available but not accessible due to a lack of necessary cues needed to access it.
What is a cue?
A trigger that allows us to access a memory, which are encoded at the time of learning. They can be internal (state) or external (context).
What is state-dependent forgetting?
Occurs when recall depends on internal cues eg. Mood, emotions, so psychological and emotional cues are not present.
What is context dependent forgetting?
When recall depends on external cues eg. Location, weather, so environmental or situational cues are not present.
Who proposed Encoding specificity principle?
Tulving (by reviewing research into retrieval failure)
What is encoding specificity principle?
If the cues available at encoding and retrieval are different, forgetting will occur, whereas recall is more likely when cues available at encoding and retrieval are the same or similar.
What is an eyewitness testimony?
A witnesses recall of the details of events, such as accidents or crimes, that they have witnessed.
What misleading information can affect the accuracy of eyewitness testimony?
Leading questions or post-event discussions
What is a leading question?
A question which is phrased in a way as to suggest a certain answer.
Describe Loftus and Palmers’ experiment?
Investigated the impact of leading questions on car speed estimates.
45 American students watched a video of a car crash.
In each condition the verb in the critical question was changed (contacted, hit, bumped, collided or smashed).
The mean speed estimate for the contacted group was 31.8mph, and 40.5mph for the smashed group.
In part 2, they were asked if they had seen any broken glass, despite there being no broken glass in the accident.
32% from the smashed group reported broken glass, compared to 14% from the hit group.
Concludes that leading questions can affect the accuracy of eyewitness testimony
What is the response bias explanation?
Explanation for the effect of leading questions on EWT that says that the wording of the leading questions affects how participants choose to answer, but not their memories.
What is the substitution explanation?
Explanation for the effect of leading questions on EWT that says that the wording of the leading questions affects the participants memory of the event.
What is post-event discussion?
Discussion between multiple witnesses of the event that may influence the accuracy of each individuals recall.
Describe Gabbert et al’s study?
Investigated the impact of post-event discussion on the accuracy of EWT.
A sample of students and older people watched a video of a girl stealing money.
Participants in a co-witness group were told they had seen the same crime and discussed it together (they had seen different clips).
71% of participants in the co-witness group recalled details that they had not actually seen, that were not in the clip they watched.
Concluded that post event discussion affects the accuracy of EWT.
What is the memory contamination explanation?
An explanation for the effects of post event discussion on EWT that says that post-event discussion leads witnesses to combine misinformation from other witnesses with their own memories.
What is the memory conformity explanation?
An explanation for the effects of post event discussion on EWT that states that witnesses go along with each other to win social approval (normative social influence) or because they believe other witnesses are correct (informational social influence).
What is anxiety?
A state of emotional and physical arousal.
Emotions include stressful thoughts and tension, and physical changes include increased heart rate and sweatiness.
How can anxiety negatively affect EWT?
Can create physiological arousal in the body which prevents us paying attention to important cues, so recall is worse.
A stressful event creates anxiety, which can impact the accuracy of EWT.
Weapon-focus effect: when the presence of a weapon can create anxiety leading to a focus on the weapon, reducing ability to recall other details of the event.
Describe Johnson and Scott’s experiment?
Investigated the effects of the presence of a weapon on the accuracy of EWT.
Participants believed they were taking part in a lab study but whilst in the waiting room, they witnessed a ‘crime’.
Participants in the low anxiety condition saw a man with a pen and grease on his hands having a casual conversation.
In the high anxiety condition, they saw a man with a knife and blood on his hands having a heated argument.
They were asked to pick the man they had seen out of 50 photos.
49% of the participants in the low anxiety condition identified the man, compared to only 33% in high anxiety.
They concluded that participants in the high anxiety condition focused their attention on the weapon, which hindered their ability to identify a suspect.
How can anxiety have a positive effect on EWT?
Witnessing a stressful event creates anxiety through physiological arousal in the body, which triggers the fight or flight response and increases alertness.
This may improve memory of the event, as we are more alert and aware of our surroundings.
Describe Yuille and Cutshalls experiment?
Investigated the effects of anxiety on eyewitnesses to a real life event.
Witnesses to a real life shooting at a gas station in Canada were interviewed 4-5 months after the event.
These were compared to the original police interviews at the time of the shooting, and witnesses rated stress at the time on a scale.
Witnesses who reported the highest levels of stress during the incident were found to be the most accurate in their EWT.
Concludes that in a real life setting anxiety does not have a negative effect on the accuracy of EWT, but may even enhance it.
What is the Yerkes-Dodson law?
Suggests the relationship between emotional arousal and performance looks like an inverted U
Describe what Daffenbacher found?
Reviewed 21 studies of eyewitness testimony, noting contradictory findings on anxiety.
When eyewitness anxiety is too high or very low, the level of accuracy tends to be low.
There is an optimal, moderate level of anxiety which is the point of maximum accuracy.
What is the cognitive interview technique?
A method of interviewing eyewitnesses to help them retrieve more accurate information from their memories of an event.
Who developed the cognitive interview?
Fisher and geiselman
Why was the CI developed?
Research studies indicated that EWT lacks accuracy due to factors such as anxiety, leading questions and post event discussion.
Fisher identified the following factors as needing improvement from the standard interview…
-witnesses given many quick, direct and closed questions in a short time
-order of questions not asked in a way that matched witnesses mental representation
-not able to talk freely and were interrupted
What are the 4 elements of the cognitive interview?
Report everything
Recall from changed perspective
Recall in reverse order
Context reinstatement
What is report everything and why is it used?
All details, even if they seem irrelevant, should be mentioned.
Reporting minor and insignificant details might trigger (be a cue for) recall of any potential details that have been forgotten.
What is context reinstatement and why is it used?
Mentally returning to the scene of the crime, including physical environment and emotional state.
Reinstates context and emotional state to prevent context and state dependant forgetting.
What is recall from a changed perspective and why is it used?
Consider and mentally recreate how the crime would be recalled from the perspective of other witnesses or the perpetrator.
Disrupts the witnesses schema to prevent them adding details based on what they would have personally expected to happen, preventing personal bias.
What is recall in reverse order and why is it used?
Recall is switched to different chronology or timelines.
Disrupts schema by not allowing witnesses to rely on what they would have expected to happen in the story.
What is the enhanced cognitive interview?
Developed later to focus on the social dynamics of the interview
-interviewer should not distract the witness
-witness controls flow of information through open questions
-reminded not to guess
-reduce witnesses anxiety by getting them to relax
