Cognitive Flashcards
Encoding
Format in which info is stored in the various memory stores
Transforming sensory experience into a form that can be held/used by the memory system
Retrieval
transfer info from the LTM to STM
Capacity
amount of info that can be held in memory store
Who devised MSM?
Atkinson and Shiffrin 1968
Recency effect
recall last items better than middle as they are still in the STM
Primacy effect
Items at the beginning remembered better as earlier items have been rehearsed longer
STM duration capacity encoding retrieval
15-30 seconds
5-8 items
mainly acoustic
rehearsal
LTM duration capacity encoding retrieval
lifetime
infinite
mainly semantic (knowledge)
not stored as memory trace
who devised WMM?
Baddeley and Hitch (1974)
Central executive
limited capacity component
- decides how the 2 slave systems should function
- modality free
modality free
able to process different forms of info
phonological loop
temporary storage of verbal info
2 components of phonological loop
- articulatory rehearsal system
2. phonological store
phonological store
only able to hold limited amount of verbal info but can be extended using ARS
Visuospatial sketchpad
temporary hold of visual code
- maintain visual and spatial info using visual code
Episodic buffer
store to account for things that we use both visual and acoustic info
(added later)
phonological similarity effect
similar sounding words harder to recall
who devised long term memory?
Tulving 1972
Episodic memory
long term memory system for personal events
- time stamped
- experiences
- includes several elements (people, places)
- temporal/ spatial referencing
- cued retrieval
Semantic memory
Long term memory system of our knowledge of world
- facts
- less vulnerable to forgetting
- detached from any temporal link
- less personal
- not encoded with temporal/spatial referencing
Evaluation of LTM
S - HM’s episodic m impaired as due to brain damage. couldn’t remember stroking a dog but knew the concept
C- weakness in clinical studies is they lack control variables + researcher had no knowledge of patients memory before
U- help patients with memory loss remember relationships
Issue and debate = socially sensitive research
Conclusion for LTM
- lots of supporting evidence
- however, doubts as S+E may be stored together with E being a sub system of S
Who devised reconstructive memory?
Bartlett 1932
what is reconstructive memory?
Idea that we alter info stored as memory. It is not perfectly encoded or retrieved
Schema
framework of beliefs that influence cognitive processing
War of ghosts story
- British puts recall story from native american culture
- story transformed over time
- became shorter
- phrases were altered to match pots own culture
- story became more MEANINGFUL to ppts
2 main ways schemas influence memory
- What you encode/store (new knowledge conflicting with existing schema will fail to be encoded)
- What you retrieve (when recalling only recall elements that fit with relevant schema)
Evaluation of reconstructive memory (SCOUTS)
S - Bartletts ghost story
C- study didn’t control variables and lacked objectivity, instructions differed
O- MSM is better explanation as memories made through rehearsal and not fill in blanks
U- Led to police changing interview techniques (EWT)
T- hard to test whether info has entered STM-LTM or using schema
S- doesn’t talk about how info is remembered but how incorrect info is filled in
I+D= knowledge overtime
Conclusion for reconstructive memory
- good to draw attention to problems of human memory
- however, can’t assume memory is always reconstructed
Individual differences
- different processing speeds which affect how info is stored and encoded
- schema built through experience
- Dyslexics have poor auditory WM is hard to keep multiple sounds active
- Digit span increases with age
Classic study
Baddely 1966b
Classic study Aim and sample
Aim: investigate influence of acoustic and semantic word similarity on learning and recall in short and long term memory
Sample: 72 ppts assigned to 1 of 4 conditions
classic study procedure
lab experiment to test recall of acoustically and semantic similar word list
List A: 10 acoustically similar (man, can, cat)
List B: 10 acoustically dissimilar
List C: 10 semantically similar (great, large)
List D: 10 semantically dissimilar
- list of 10 words presented via a projector at a rate of 1 word every 3 secs
- after ppts asked to complete 6 tasks involving memory for digits
- then asked to recall the word list in 1 min by writing down in correct order
- repeated over 4 learning trials
- after trials groups were given 15 mins interference task involving copying 8 digit sequences at own pace
- ppts given re-test on word list sequences at own pace
cognitive key question
is EWT reliable?
intro: memories can be tampered with
MSM: unlikely to rehearse info
WMW: different systems focus on different aspects of crime
Reconstructive mem: recall is different due to schema
info stored as memory is altered as it is not perfectly encoded or retrieved
define EWT
amount given by people of a crime or an even they have witnesses which may be used in a court of law
loftus and palmer exp 1
1974
A: see whether leading questions would influence estimates of speed of vehicle among EWT
P: 45 students 5 groups saw 7 short film clips of a traffic accident
How fast were the cars going when they HIT, SMASHED, COLLIDED, BUMPED, CONTACTED?
R; smashed = 40.5
collided = 39.3
bumped = 38.1
hit = 34
contacted = 31.8
C: 1. verb created bias and influenced decisions
2. word changes memory and they recall it differently
loftus and palmer exp 2
p: 150 students watched film showing a car accident
3 groups SMASHED HIT and NO SPEED QUESTION
week later.. did you see any glass
R: smashed = 32% yes
Hit = 14% yes
control = 12% yes
clive wearing
herpes damaged hippocampus
- unable to rehearse new info as he looses sentence he is in
- difficulty retrieving existing LTM as he is unable to distinguish between tastes of foods
- supports MSM as STM is more impaired than LTM
- able to remember procedural memories e.g. tying shoe lace
H.M
removing temporal lobe to correct epilepsy
- remember childhood name and family but not years leading up to surgery
- lost ability to form new memories and forgot in a matter or secs
- procedural memory as he learned how to play tennis
- shows hippocampus plays a vital role in transforming STM into LTM
- poor ability to identify smells
cognitive contemporary study
sebastian and hernandez gill 2012
contemporary study ASPRC
A: investigate development of phonological loop in 5-17 year olds using digit span
S: 570 ppts from schools in madrid (no impairments)
P: 5 groups
- tested individually were read increasing sequences of digits to recall in correct order
- digits read out at a rate of 1 per second and list increased 1 digit per time
digit span = max digit recalled in correct order without error
R: 5= 3.8
15-17= 5.8
demential= 4.20
practical aim and sample and procedure and results
investigate if digit span decreases in later adulthood compared to 16-18
36ppts 18:16-18 18:50+ nhhs and harrow opportunity sample
18 researchers asked 2 ppts to complete digit span test
16-18= 6.3
50 = 5.8
pratical hypothesis
digit span in 16-18 is higher than aged 50 + when doing a digit span test
practical evaluation GRAVE
G- only tested harrow and didn't test aged 19-59 R- standardised procedure A- understand reading age V- high ecological lacked task E- psychology harm if ppts score is low
classic study results
acoustically similar is worse than the dissimilar sounding words initial but overall no difference
Semantically similar words were more difficult to learn than the semantically dissimilar words
classic study conclusion
Participants found it more difficult to recall acoustically similar words which suggests that short term memory is largely acoustic.
The last recall of semantically similar words was impaired suggesting that long term memory is semantic.
serial position effect
recalling words at beginning and end is higher than middle
evaluation of MSM
s-serial position effect that LTM and STM are separate
c-rehearsal is not essential for permanent learning to take place e.g. imagery leaves strong memory trace
o- WMM better as multiple stores in STM
u- studies show that limited capacity of STM can be increased through chunking
t- testing for MSM lacks task validity e.g. digits
s-overly simplistic fails to address dual performance tasks in STM which assumes capacity is unaffected by this task
evaluation of WMM
s-williams syndrome normal language ability but impaired visual and spatial so evidence for separate sub-systems
s-KF amnesia had poor STM for auditory info but could process visual normally
c-however case studies unique
u-look at how phonological loop affects dyslexia
t-functions vague and hard to test e.g. CE limited capacity but hard to test independently
s-reductionistic as it doesn’t take into account other sense like touch and smell
describe reconstructive memory
Memories are reconstructed each time they are recalled
- The schema we possess alters the content of our memories which we recall to be consistent with our previous experiences
- Our existing schema affects our memory in line with our beliefs
- We use our schemas to fill in the gaps
how can you help care for brain damaged patients
- family photos provided around room
- important info written down
- history of patient documented
sebastian and hernandez gill aim and sample
A: investigate the development of phonological loop in 5-17year olds using digit span
S: 570 spanish children from madrid no impairments
evaluation for contemporary study
- large sample to can be generalised to whole of spanish population
- cultural differences as welsh have lower than england as they have longer words
- standardised procedure
- applied to understand cognitive skills = good reading
why would participants have inaccurate recall of a fairytale story 2 marks
Participants may have had a prior schema of a fairy tale about princesses (1) which would mean they replaced parts of the story with content from fairy tales they had previously read (1)
define objectivity
being neutral and unbiased when collecting and interpreting research data in psychology
