cognitive Flashcards
multi-store model
Strength
HM couldn’t remember new information, make new memories, prevented from encoding any info.
Ability to remember old memories but inability to make new - shows 2 stores.
Weakness
Cannot explain memories formed without rehearsal.
Brown and Kulik - highly traumatic or emotionally intense could be recalled in a lot of detail with no rehearsal.
SR: unlimited capacity.
Duration: 1-2 seconds.
STM: 5-9 items.
Duration: up to 30 seconds.
LTM: unlimited capacity.
Duration: forever if rehearsed.
working memory sw
Strength
Baddeley-made participants do visual and verbal task combined which they performed no worse than if they did the tasks separately
- when asked to do 2 visual or verbal they struggled
Shows there are 2 processing systems
Weakness
Task was given was isolated and separate. Everyday examples include memory working with different modalities an they hardly ever separate
TMT Baddeleys findings on the capacity and duration limitation may not give a clear pic on how memory works
tulving
Procedure
Semantic: general knowledge and facts that you just know.
Episodic: recollection of personal experiences.
Strength
KC -motorbike accident and was unable to remember episodic memories (past events), but could remember semantic information (facts).
This supports Tulving’s model that there is an episodic and semantic store.
Weakness
Clive Wearing - couldn’t remember past events (episodic) but could remember how to play the piano (neither store).
Suggests there is a third type of memory store (procedural).
Reconstructive Memory
Procedure
Schemas- packets of info based on past experiences.
Confabulation- gaps filled with own cultural experiences.
Levelling: story is shorter as only omits info they think is necessary.
Rationalisation: change order of story to make it make sense - uses more familiar terms.
Strength
Bartlett - 20 participants recall unfamiliar American story. Changed details to fit British culture (canoe → boat).
Shows schemas and expectations affect our memory
Weakness
Wynn and logie - tested memory of 1st year psych students, asked to recall the events of their 1st week at uni.
Fewer changes in the students memories as they had schemas for uni events.
Easier to remember real life situations without schemas affecting it.
cognitive key question
Allows guilty people to go free, so justice will not be served.
Will allow repeats of crimes.
Reconstructive memory - rely on schemas to fill in gaps.
E.g. negative view on police officers due to previous encounter, when giving testimony may exaggerate the amount of times he shot Michael Brown to make the officer seem worse.
MSM - attention. Witnesses paid attention to different things so can only remember what they transferred to short term memory. May not have performed maintenance rehearsal to retain the info as time may have passed form when they witnessed the crime to when they are called for EWT.
Baddeley procedure
Aim: To find out if LTM is encoded acoustically (based on sound) or semantically (based on meaning).
Procedure:
1. Participants were assigned to one of the four word lists
- Participants are shown 10 words on a slideshow. With each word appearing on the board for 3 seconds
- After seeing the words, they were given 8 random numbers to write down three times. The participants then practised writing down the word sin order
- Step 2-4 would be repeated four times. This is considered the “Learning Phase”
- The participants are given a 15-20 minute break doing another interference task. This task was unexpected for the participants.
- The participants then have to recall the word order after the 15 minute task. This final recall is also unexpected for the participants
- Participants have the words in front of them throughout the study. They though the words are not in order (again, the dependent variable of this task was to put the words back together in order)
baddeley s w
strength
Internal validity is high in this study
(Study has many controls, findings not due to methodological errors)
The words participants had to learn were matched based on how common the frequency those words occur in the english language.
This means the results couldn’t be explained by the participants being able to recall more familiar (frequent) words - no extraneous
weakness
Mundane realism is low in this study
(The memory tasks in this study do not represent real life memory tasks well)
Real life long term memories do not only consist of remembering word lists in order. Contextual cues and other factors also impact recall of memory. Baddeley excluded such recalls as his procedure was highly controlled.
baddeley s w
strength
Internal validity is high in this study
(Study has many controls, findings not due to methodological errors)
The words participants had to learn were matched based on how common the frequency those words occur in the english language.
This means the results couldn’t be explained by the participants being able to recall more familiar (frequent) words - no extraneous
weakness
Mundane realism is low in this study
(The memory tasks in this study do not represent real life memory tasks well)
Real life long term memories do not only consist of remembering word lists in order. Contextual cues and other factors also impact recall of memory. Baddeley excluded such recalls as his procedure was highly controlled.
schmolk procedure
Aim: To look at the relationship between semantic knowledge tests and the extent of lateral temporal lobe damage
Procedure:
-Participants were put through a series of tests (also known as a battery of tests)
Pointing/naming tasks: Participants had to name or point at the object the best fit a description that was given to them.
Category sorting task.
Participants were told to think of objects in categories and give as many examples as possible:
E.g Dog breeds and food. Living things and man made
Nouns and verbs test:
Participants were given fill in the gaps tasks designed to test knowledge on regular and irregular verbs. Including tenses. E.g “A hoof is hard, in fact most _______ are hard”
schmolk s w
strength
Internal validity is high in this study
(Study has many controls, findings not due to methodological errors)
weakness
Internal validity is high in this study
(Study has many controls, findings not due to methodological errors)
