(BRB) cognitive p2 Flashcards
how does the MSM describe memory as a computer
- there are memory stores (computer hardware) and control processes (computer software)
what 3 stores does the MSM model have
- sensory
- short term memory
- long term memory
what is the phonological similarity effect
- similar sounds are more difficult to recall than those that sound different
- this suggests that encoding in the STM in primarily acoustic
describe the components of sensory memory in the MSM
encoding- through the 5 senses
capacity- up to 3-4 items
duration- half a second
retrieval- we scan through to retrieve
forgetting- decays after half a second unless attention is paid and it will move to STM
describe the components of STM in the MSM
encoding- acoustic and auditory forms
capacity- 5-9 items (7+or-2) george miller
duration- up to 30 secs
retrieval- through sequential search
forgetting- must be rehearsed to move to LTM
describe the components of LTM in the MSM
encoding- semantically and temporally (baddeley
capacity- potential limitless capacity
duration- potentially stored for lifetime
retrieval- do semantic or temporal search
forgetting- due to interference or failure when retrieving
what were the conclusions of Peterson and Peterson
- decay occurs in the STM over a period of 15 seconds
- shows that rehearsal is important for transferal to LTM
what did george miller find
people remember 7 chunks of info at a time, can be individual number or chunks of numbers
what are the 4 strengths of Atkinson and Schifrin’s MSM
- supporting evidence
- methodology
- applications
- alternate theory
what are the 2 weaknesses of Atkinson and Schifrin’s MSM
- evidence against
- methodology
how is supporting evidence a strength of Atkinson and Schifrin’s MSM
- case studies of brain damaged patients supports the model
- HM was unable to transfer new info from his STM to LTM suggesting 2 separate stores which back up model
- the primacy recency effect by Glanzer and cunitz
- we remember things at start and end of a list but forget middle
- suggests 2 separate stores as start LTM and repeating and end due to STM
how is methodology a strength of Atkinson and Schifrin’s MSM
- lab experiments used to provide supporting evidence
- standardised procedures used meaning they can be replicated in diff circumstances
- researcher is also able to manipulate the variables allowing cause and effect links to be established
- this increases the scientific credibility
how are applications a strength of Atkinson and Schifrin’s MSM
- practical applications
- e.g the idea that rehearsal helps memory has been widely accepted and used in educational practises such as revising for exams
- helps understand how to help people with dyslexia
how is an alternate theory a strength of Atkinson and Schifrin’s MSM
- the working memory model builds on the MSMs ideas
how is evidence against a weakness of Atkinson and Schifrin’s MSM
- research has shown that rehearsal does not necessarily transfer info to LTM
- e.g bakerian and baddeley found that people didnt know the radio wavelength was changing even though they heard it over 1000 times
- model may over emphasise rehearsal and there may be other processes invloved
- people also use their prior knowledge(LTM) to help their STM
how is methodology a weakness of Atkinson and Schifrin’s MSM
- use of lab experiments
- peterson and peterson study on the effect of interference to prevent rehearsal used artificial tasks of trigrams
- weakness as artificial nature of tasks and setting may not reflect how memory works in everyday life
- can also be described to be reductionist in its view of memory
what is working memory
- a system for holding things in the mind while you are thinking about them and doing something with them
what is the key issue to do with the WMM
- change in psychological understanding over time
what is the role of working memory and give a use
- temporarily store and manipulate information
- remembering phone numbers
why was the WMM created
- baddeley and hitch saw the MSM as too simplistic and the emphasis on rehearsal was incorrect and STM is not unitary
- they suggested that STM was a complex and active working memory
what things can go wrong with the working memory model
- distraction
- overload
- overwork
what are the 3 systems of the WMM
- central executive
- phonological loop
- visuospatial sketchpad
what is the central executive
- the most important component of the WMM and deals with the running of the memory system
what is the phonological loop
- slave system that stores and processes spoken and written information in the WMM
- two parts are phonological store and articulatory rehearsal system
what is the visuospatial sketchpad
- slave system in the WMM that deals with visual and spatial information
- helps us with navigation and observation
how is high supporting evidence a strength of the WMM
- research supports the model which is shown in dual task experiments, these involve using one or more of the slave systems in the WMM simultaniously
- baddeley (1975) found that when participants performed a visual and verbal task together their performance was no different that separately
- baddeley and hitch (1976) also carried out dual task experiments but used the VSSP, their performance was impaired
- they were asked to track a light on a screen while imagining the letter F
what are the 3 strengths of the WMM
- high evidence supporting
- methodology
- applications
what are the 2 weaknesses of the WMM
- methodology
- evidence against
how is supporting evidence from case studies and neurological sources a strength of the WMM
- neurological evidence supports the model
- e.g PET scans have shown that different areas of the brain are active while undertaking visual and verbal tasks
- this gives the WMM validity
- case studies supports WMM
- shown by KF, he suffered impaired STM after a motorcycle crash which damaged his parietal lobe
- he had a digit span of 1 suggesting damage to his phonological store but his visual store was intact
- this supports the idea of 2 stores
how are applications a strength of the WMM
- practical applications
- it suggests strategies to improve memory, like not using the same slave system to do 2 tasks
- it has helped understanding of Alzheimer’s and dyslexia
- baddeley argued that Alzheimer’s affects the central executive in the WMM so the person cant allocate tasks
how is methodology a strength of the WMM
- lab experiments used to provide supporting evidence
- standardised procedures used meaning results can be replicated in different circumstances
- researcher is also able to manipulate IV to see the effect on the DV so cause & effect links can be inferred
- this increases the scientific credibility
how is methodology a weakness of the WMM
- use of lab experiments
- dual task experiments use artificial tasks of tracing F while tracking light
- artificial nature and setting means memory may not occur like this in everyday life
- can also be described as reductionist as it gives a limited understanding of memory
what is a major weakness of the WMM
it has been criticised for being incomplete
- as there is little evidence for how the central executive works,
- the model also does not explain sensory or long term memory
- additions were made to the study in 2000, meaning the original study lacks validity
what was the aim of baddeleys classic study (1966B)
- to investigate the influence of acoustic and semantic word similarity on learning and recall in short term and long term memory
why did baddeley make his study
- wanted to find out if LTM and STM wee different or if memory was more of a continuum
- previous research used different research techniques for STM and LTM which made it impossible to tell if they were the same or different
what was the sample of baddeleys classic study (1966B)
- 72 men and women recruited from the applied psychology panel at cambridge university
what was the procedure for baddeleys classic study (1966B)
- 4 word lists used
- acoustic and semantically similar and dissimilar
- 15 p’s in A, 20 p’s in B, 16 p’s in C and 21 in D
- each condition the 10 words were presented on a projector for 3s each
- then there was a STM task for 6 sequences of 8 digits, p’s were given 8s to write each sequence out
- then allowed 1m to write out the 10 word list
- repeat 4x
- then interference task of 15 minutes of coppying 8 digit sequences at there own pace
- this was to minimise the effect of STM
how was the p’s LTM tested in baddeleys classic study (1966B)
- they attempted to recall the word list in ORDER
- this was a surprise retest
what were the results for acoustic similarity in baddeleys classic study (1966B)
- the similar list was harder during early learning
- neither group showed any evidence of forgetting between test 4 and retest
what were the results for semantic similarity in baddeleys classic study (1966B)
- semantically similar list showed slower learning, as by trial 4 scores were significantly higher on list D than list C
- neither list showed any signs of forgetting
- on the retest, performance on the semantically similar list was poorer than the control list
- basically learning of word sequences was impaired by semantic similarity
in all groups how long was the info that was leanred retained for in baddeleys classic study (1966B)
- at least 15 mins
what are the conclusions of baddeleys classic study (1966B)
- short term memory is largely acoustic
- long term memory is largely semantic
- the difference between the 2 stores needs further research
how is the ecological weakness of baddeleys classic study (1966B)
- main criticism is the lack of mundane realism
- because remembering the sequence of word lists is artificial and not an everyday task
- this means the ecological validity is low
- also thought to be reductionist as it reduces memory recall to a list of 10 words
what are the strengths of baddeleys classic study (1966B)
- methodology
- reliability
- applications
- internal validity
how are the applications a strength of baddeleys classic study (1966B)
- findings helped other researchers investigate LTM in greater depth
- use of interference tasks to control STM has been used in other research which helped develop the WMM and support the MSM
how does the methodology of baddeleys classic study (1966B) lead to high reliability
- standardised procedures used such as same word list in each condition,
- this means that the procedure can be replicated and produce consistent results
- same equipment also used which reduces situational variables
what are the weaknesses of baddeleys classic study (1966B)
- generalisability
- ecological validity
how is the generalisability a weakness of baddeleys classic study (1966B)
- all p’s of the same age, education level and class
how is internal validity a strength of baddeleys classic study (1966B)
- it is a well controlled lab experiment
- means extraneous variables are controlled and allows for isolation of IV to see effects on DV
- means that cause and effect links can be inferred
