4.1.2 Memory 🧠 ADVANCED INFO

Question 1

define memory

Answer 1

memory refers to the process by which we retain information about events that have happened in the past .

Question 2

define duration of memory

Answer 2

Duration is the amount of time information can be held in memory.

Question 3

what is duration like in STM (short term memory)

Answer 3

Limited duration memories last for a short amount of time and disappear unless they are rehearsed.

Question 4

what is duration like in LTM (long term memory)

Answer 4

Duration of LTM lasts anywhere from 2 minutes to 100 years . A potentially unlimited duration and capacity

Question 5

outline the procedure of Peterson and Peterson (1959) that supports DURATION OF STM

Answer 5

24 participants (PSYCHOLOGY STUDENTS)- lab experiment -artificial setting

The students had to recall meaningless three-letter trigrams (for example, THG, XWV) at different intervals (3, 6, 9, 12, 15 or 18 seconds). To prevent rehearsal (practice) the students had to count backwards in threes or fours from a specific number, until they were asked to recall the letters.

Question 6

outline the procedure of Bahrick et al (1975) that supports DURATION OF LTM

Answer 6

392 participants ages 17-74

recall was tested of year books:

• photo recognition - 50 photos some of which were from the participants year book - they had to identify them
• free recall test- participants had to recall all the names of their graduating class

Question 7

outline the results and conclusion of Peterson and Peterson (1959) that supports DURATION OF STM

Answer 7

the longer the interval the less accurate the recall. At 3 seconds, around 80% of the trigrams were correctly recalled, whereas at 18 seconds only 10% were correctly recalled.

Short-term memory has a limited duration (of about 18 seconds) when rehearsal is prevented. It is thought that this information is lost from short-term memory from trace decay.Furthermore, the results show that if we are unable to rehearse information, it will not be passed to long-term memory, providing further support for the multi-store model and the idea of discrete components.

Question 8

outline the findings and conclusion of Bahrick et al (1975) that supports DURATION OF LTM

Answer 8

participants tested within 15 years of graduation - around 90% accurate - recognition

after 48 years - recall declined - 70% - photo recognition

free recall worse than recognition

after 15 years - free recall - 60% accurate

after 48 years - free recall - 40% accurate

LTM CAN LAST A LONG TIME POTENTIALLY A LIFE TIME

Question 9

give a limitation of peterson’s and peterson’s study into Duration of STM

Answer 9

• stimulus material was artificial
• Doesn’t reflect real life memory tasks where what we are trying to remember is meaningful.
• This lacks ecological validity as there are no consequences if letters are forgotten.
• Task has no meaning- lacks mundane realism

Question 10

What confounding variables may of effected Bahrick et als study into the duration of LTM

Answer 10

we don’t know how often somebody looks at their yearbook

Question 11

define capacity of memory

Answer 11

capacity is how much information can be held in a memory store

Question 12

what is capacity like in long term memory LTM

Answer 12

potentially unlimited capacity

Question 13

what is capacity like in short term memory STM according to Jacobs digit span

Answer 13

Jacobs (1887) found mean span for digits was 9.3 items whereas for letters it is 7.3

Question 14

what is capacity like in short term memory STM according to Miller

Answer 14

he concluded that the span of immediate span of memory the number 7 , plus 2 or minus 2

we can recall 5 words as well as recalling 5 letters - chunking - sets of digits or letters together into meaningful units to enhance capacity of STM.

Question 15

evaluation of research into capacity of STM

Answer 15

jacobs digit span - old experiment with confounding variables - not controlled

Miller- might have overestimated the capacity of STM

Question 16

define coding

Answer 16

coding the format in which information is stored in the various memory stores.

Question 17

how are memories coded in STM

Answer 17

accoustically information is represented as sounds

Question 18

how are memories coded in LTM

Answer 18

semantically information is represented by its meaning

Question 19

outline procedure into coding of memory

Baddeley

Answer 19

Baddeleys research
4 groups of words acoustically similar / accoustically dissimilar
semantically similar/semantically dissimilar
participants were shown worda and asked toi recall in correct order

Question 20

results of research into coding of memory

Answer 20

when asked to recall immediately (STM) tend to do worse with accoustically similar words - showing STM is coded accoustically

when asked to recall word lists after an interval of 20 minutes (LTM recall) they did worse with semantically similar words - suggesting LTM is coded semantically

Question 21

what is the multi store memory model

Answer 21

developed by atkinson and shiffrin and it describes the flow between three permanent storage systems of memory: the sensory register (SR), short-term memory (STM) and long-term memory (LTM).

Question 22

how does the multi store memory model work

Answer 22

1) stimulus from the environment reaches the sensory register , most info is lost immediately.
2) we select what we pay attention to , this moves to the STM
3) sensory information moves into the STM for temporary storage, which will be encoded visually (as an image), acoustically (as a sound) .the rehersal loop maintains the information in the STM for long enough to retain it and for a LTM to form.
4) rehearsing information via the rehearsal loop helps to retain information in the STM, and consolidate it to LTM, which is predominantly encoded semantically. Information can be stored and retrieved for up to any duration

Question 23

one strength of the multi store model of memory - supporting laboratory evidence

Answer 23

there is controlled lab studies on capacity , duration and coding that support the existence of STM and LTM
baddely found words that sound similar get mixed up in STM and wors that have similar meaning get mixed up in LTM-supoorts the idea of seperate STM and LTM stores.

Question 24

one strength of the multi store memory model - supported by clinical case studies

Answer 24

case of HM supports it - hippocampus removed - his LTm was tested over and over again but never improved , howeverr he performed well on tests of immediat memory span STM-shows he was unable to transfer info from STM to LTM but was able to retrieve info from before the study, supports different processes in MSM

Question 25

one limitation of the multistore memory model - methodological issues

Answer 25

in real life we form memeories related to a range of useful things , e.g peoples faces. MSM used none of these and used digits. they have no meaning attached therefore harder to remember.

Question 26

one limitation of the multistore memory model - overly simplistic

Answer 26

case of KF shows there is more than one type of STM , KF had poor recall when digits were read to him but had much better recall when he read them to himself there are also three types of LTM - episodic-semantic - procedural
this shows MSM providea a simplistic memory model and doesnt take into account the different types of STM and LTM

Question 27

how is information coded in the sensory register

Answer 27

info is coded by the nervous system as action potentials stimulating different parts of the brain.
each sensory input has a seperate sensory store -
echoic- sound
iconic-vision
haptic-touch

Question 28

what is the capacity like in the sensory register

Answer 28

each sensory memory store has a large capacity

Question 29

what is the duration like in the sensory register

Answer 29

different sensory memory stores appear to hav edifferent durations however almost all decay quickly because the brain needs to respond to the live stimulation constantly.

Question 30

wha is the working memory model

Answer 30

the working memory is developed by baddeley and hitch to explain the STM in more detail

Question 31

how does the working memory model work

Answer 31

1) sense information is receieved at the central executive before being passed on to sub systems .
2) subsystems recieve info - the phonological loop processes auditory coded info. visuo-spatial sketchpad processes visual and spatial coded info. Episodic buffer is a temporary and general store for info - both accoustic and visual info.

Question 32

what is the role of the visuo-spatial sketchpad

Answer 32

it is used for the planning of spatial tasks and the temporary storage of visual and spatial info.
it is subdivided;
-visual cache- stores info about visual items
-inner scribe- deals with spatial relationships and the arrangements of objects in a visual field.

Question 33

what is the phonological loop

Answer 33

the phonological loop deals with aiditor information and it preserves the order in which the info arrives
it is subdivided;
-phonological store-holds the words you hear
-articulatory process-allows for maintenance rehersal of accoustic info

Question 34

what is the chief executive

Answer 34

the function of the chief exedcutive is to direct the brains resources to one of the three slave systems - there is very limited storage capacity.

Question 35

what is the episodic buffer

Answer 35

the episodic buffer is a general store for both accoustic and visual information. its temporary. it maintains a sense of time sequencing and sends info to the LTM>

Question 36

how is performance effected when using different areas in the working memory model

Answer 36

two tasks that require the use of different stores can be perfromed simultaneously but performing tasks that involve the same store will impair performance.

Question 37

one strength of the working memory model - dual task studies support it

Answer 37

dual task studies support the WMM- baddeley showed participants have more difficulty doing 2 visual taska rather than a visual and spatial at the same time. shows difficulty increases when two tasks require the same slave system , there is competition.. Therefore must be seperate slave systems.

Question 38

one strength of the working memory model- word length effect supports it

Answer 38

studies into word length by baddeley support the phonological loop , people had more trouble remembering alist of long words than short words. this shows limited space for rehersal . This effect dissappears if person is given a repetitive task to tie up their articulatory process which shows we use this store

Question 39

one strength of the working memory model- case studies support it

Answer 39

case study of KF supports it , he suffered brain damage , poor short term memory for verbal info but he could process visual info normally. this suggests just his phonological loop was damaged . supports visual and accoustic stores being seperate

counter howeverr its a case study - generalisability? and brain damage causes trauma to brain may not be reliable to draw conclusions from

Question 40

one limitation of the working memory model- lack of clarity over central executive

Answer 40

cognitive scientists say there is lack of clarity over the CE and it doesnt rwally explain anything, baddeley said himself “it is the most important and least understood component of working memory”. some psychologists believe it may be made up of several components.
this means working memory model hasnt been explained fully

Question 41

what is the cognitive interview

Answer 41

the cognitive interview is a method of interviewing eyewitnesses to help them retrieve more accurate memories. It uses four main technique , all based on well established psychological knowledge.

Question 42

what are the four main stages/components of the cognitive interview to improve EWT

Answer 42

1- report everything
2-reinstate the context
3-reverse the order
4- change the perspective

Question 43

what is report everything in the cognitive interview and how does it help improve EWT.

Answer 43

report everything is when witnesses are encouraged to include every single detail of the event even if they deem it as irrelevant .
The seemingly trivial details may be important and they may trigger other important memories by providing a cue.

Question 44

what is reinstate the context in the cognitive interview and how does it help improve EWT

Answer 44

reinstate the context is when the witness should return to the original crime scene in their mind and imagine the environment. this aims to overcome the effects of context dependent forgetting (retrieval failiure).

Question 45

what reverse the order in the cognitive interview and how does it help improve EWT

Answer 45

reverse the order event should be recalled in a different chronological order to the original sequence . this is done to prevent people from reporting their expectations of how the event might of happened rather than how it actually happened. its also harder for people to lie when reversing the order

Question 46

what does change perspective in the cognitive interview and how does it help improve EWT.

Answer 46

change perspective is when witnesses should recall the incident from another persons perspective, this is done to disrupt the effect of expectations and schema on recall.

Question 47

what is the enhanced cognitive interview

Answer 47

fisher et al developed some additional elements of the cognitive interview that focus on social dynamics of the interaction. e.g interviewer needs to know when to establish eye contact. it also includes open questions, reducing witness anxiety , minimising distractions and getting witness to speak slowly.

Question 48

one strength of the cognitive interview as a way of improving EWT-some elements are valuable

Answer 48

some componenets are more valuable tha others - milne and bull found combination of context reinstatement and and recall everything produced bettere recall than any of the other conditions. - shows that it is effective to use even 2 techniques of the CI even if all is not used.

Question 49

one strength of the cognitive interview as a way of improving EWT- supporting evidence and its useful in real life

Answer 49

supporting evidence for the ECI , konken et al combined over 50 studies and found that ECI consistently provided more correct info than a standard police interview- shows there are practical benefits. counter argument-however it also creates a 61% increase in false positives - innacurate info

Question 50

one limitation of the cognitive interview as a way of improving EWT - time consuming

Answer 50

CI is time consuming meaning police may prefer to use standard police may prefer to use standard police interviews . CI also requires special training , not everyone will get it , some people may be using the improper CI techniques .

Question 51

one limitation of the cognitive interview as a way of improving EWT - variations used

Answer 51

difficult to establish the effectiveness of the CI because different variations are used e.g police developing their own methods. it makes it difficult to compare the ways it used and evaluate how effective.

Question 52

Outline one strength of peterson and petersons study into duration of STM - scientific and replicability

Answer 52

the researchers used fixed timings for participants to count backwards from. They also eliminated noise and other factors that could have had an influence on memory.
The research has good control, using standardised procedures to make sure all participants experienced the same process. the study is therefore scientific because it can be replicated and the reliability of the findings can be checked to make sure they were not a one-off result.

Question 53

outline one strength of peterson and petersons study into duration of STM- practical application

Answer 53

One important practical application of this study is that it demonstrates how interference in the form of verbal distractions can affect our ability to retain information.
This implies that when we are revising for an exam or trying to memorise a shopping list before we pop to the shop, we should take care to avoid distractions.

Question 54

outline one limitation of peterson and petersons study into duration of STM- low ecological validity

Answer 54

Peterson & Peterson’s study has low levels of ecological validity. In this study participants were asked to recall three letter trigrams, which is unlike anything people would want to memorise in their everyday lives. As a result we are unable to apply these results to everyday examples of memory and are unable to conclude if the duration of short-term memory may be longer for more important information i.e. memorising a phone number.

Question 55

outline one limitation of peterson and petersons study into duration of STM- sample used

Answer 55

Peterson & Peterson used a sample of 24 psychology students. the psychology students may have encountered the multi-store model of memory previously and therefore may have demonstrated demand characteristics by changing their behaviour to assist the experimenter.
also the memory of psychology students may be different to that of other people, especially if they had previously studied strategies for memory improvement. As a result we are unable to generalise the results of this study to non-psychology students. it is also an extremely small sample size which vastly reduces the generaliseability

Question 56

outline one strength of bahrick et al study into duration of LTM - ecological validity

Answer 56

Bahrick’s study has high levels of ecological validity as the study used real life memories. In this study participants recalled real life information by matching pictures of classmates with their names. Therefore, these results reflect our memory for real-life events and can be applied to everyday human memory.

Question 57

outline one limitation of bahrick et.al study into duration of LTM- sample used and generaliseability

Answer 57

Bahrick’s research used a sample of 392 American university graduates and therefore lacks population validity. Psychologists are unable to generalise the results of Bahrick’s research to other populations, for example students from the UK or Europe. As a result, we are unable to conclude whether other populations would demonstrate the same ability to recall names and faces after 47 years.

Question 58

outline one limitation of bahrick et al study into duration of LTM - ignores importance of things such as age

Answer 58

Bahrick found that the accuracy of long-term memory was 90% after 14 years and 60% after 47 years. His research is unable to explain whether long-term memory becomes less accurate overtime because of a limited duration, or whether long-term memory simply gets worse with age. This is important because psychologists are unable to determine whether our long-term memory has an unlimited duration (like the multi-store model suggests), which is affected by other factors, such as getting old, or whether our long-term memory has a limited duration.