Cognitive Psychology (Memory)

Question 1

Explain what is meant by the term encoding in memory. (2 marks)

Answer 1

Encoding refers to the way that material is changed so it can be stored in memory e.g. information is encoded acoustically for storage in STM.

Question 2

Describe a research study that has investigated encoding in memory (4 marks)

Answer 2

Baddely (1966) carriede out an experiment to test the effect of acoustic and semantic similarity on the ability to recall from STM and LTM. The IV was whether the words were similar or dissimilar semantically and acoustically. The DV was the accuracy of recalling words from the STM and LTM. He found that acoustically similar words (e.g. glass, grass) created problems with recall from STM and semantically similar words (e.g. grass, lawn) created problems with recall from the LTM.

Question 3

Outline and evaluate research on encoding and/or capacity in memory (12 marks)

Answer 3

(A01) Miller/ STM capacity 7+/-2 items/ he also found that people could remember the same of ‘chunks’ of material e.g. they could remember 7 words just as easily as 7 letters. Bahrick, capacity of LTM

(A02) Cowan/ more recent study/ concluded that capacity is actually just four. This also supported by Vogel et al/ confirmed that the capacity of STM was limited to about four chunks of info.

(A01) Baddely tested the effect of acoustic and semantically similarity on the ability to recall words encoded in STM and LTM. Found PPs had more difficulties recalling acoustically similar words from the STM and semantically similar from the LTM.

(A02) The finding that STM relies on acoustic coding has been challenged by research that suggests that STM may also rely on visual codes (e.g. Brandimote et al.) Similarly, research has also suggesting that encoding in LTM may use visual codes and even acoustic encoding for some memories. This suggests that although encoding in STM is primarily acoustic, and encoding in LTM primarily semantic, it not exclusively so.

Question 4

Describe Glanzer and Cunitz’s primacy recency effect

Answer 4

They gave PPs a list of 20 words, presented one word at a time then asked them to recall any of the words they could remember. Two groups of PP were used in the study. Group A were tested immediately after being presented with the words. Group B had to perform a distraction task (so they couldn’t rehearse the words) and then recall the words after 30 seconds. In Group A PPs were most likely to remember words at the start of the list (the primacy effect) and at the end of the list (the recency effect). The recency effect disappeared in group B.

This support the MSM because the first words have been able to be rehearsed and transferred to LTM in Group A but not B. The recency effect is evidence of STM as Group A PPs were able to recall words from their limited duration STM.

Question 5

Advantages of the MSM

Answer 5

• -1st model of memory so highly influential
• -supported by lab experiments e.g. Glanzer and Cunitz’s primacy recency effect
• -supported by case study KF, a man/ woman who was in a motorcycle accident, and had a damaged STM and digit span which was just 2, but his LTM was fully intact. This shows STM and LTM are separate.
• -Also supported by Peterson’s and Bahrick’s research.
• -Real world applications

Question 6

Disadvantages of MSM

Answer 6

• -doesn’t consider the fact that we are more likely to remember important information, i.e in flash bulb memories. In flash-bulb memories no rehearsal is needed. (Non-deliberate storage).
• -over simplistic, suggests STM has just one store, unlike the WMW.

Question 7

Outline Bahrick’s research into the duration of LTM (1975)

Answer 7

Bahrick et al (1975) investigated what they called very long term memory (VLTM). Nearly 400 participants aged 17 – 74 were tested. There were various tests including: A free recall test, where participants tried to remember names of people in a graduate class. A photo recognition test, consisting of 50 pictures. A name recognition test for ex-school friends.

Results of the study showed that participants who were tested within 15 years of graduation were about 90% accurate in identifying names and faces. After 48 years they were accurate 80% for verbal and 70% visual. Free recall was worse. After 15 years it was 60% and after 48 years it was 30% accurate.

Shows duration of LTM is potentially unlimited.

Question 8

Name some memory improvement strategies, differentiate verbal and visual.

Answer 8

Mnemonics-any structured memory technique

Verbal

• -Acronyms e.g. ROYGBIV
• -Acrostics e.g. My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Noodles

Visual

• -Methods of loci
• -Mind maps

Chunking

Question 9

Describe Baddelly and Hitch’s Dual Task Technique (1976)

Answer 9

Procedure: PPs were asked were asked to perform two tasks at the same time- a digit span task which required them to repeat a list of numbers, and a verbal reasoning task which required them to answer true or false to various questions.

Results: As the number of digits increased in the digit span, PPs only took fractions of a second longer to answer the reasoning questions.

Con: The verbal reasoning task made use of the central executive and the digit span task made use of the phonological loop.

Question 10

Advantages of the WMW

Answer 10

• -more detailed in explained the STM compared tot eh unitary stores the MSM.
• -supported by the dual task technique (central executive and phonological used at the same time).
• -supported by KF, damaged digit span only 2 (so phonological loop damaged) but visual memory fine.

Question 11

Disadvantaged of the WMW

Answer 11

• -only outline the STM, unlike the MSM whcih address the sensory, ST and LTM. This also means it has less practical applications.
• -description of central executive vague, or there 2? What is the capacity/ duration of the stores? The MSM has evidence of the duration and capacity.
• -Reductionist, suggests all spatial information must first be visualised in the visuo spatial sketch pad. However, Lieberman points out that blind people have excellent spatial awareness without having any visual information. This suggests there are multiple visual stores.

Question 12

4 stages of the CI

Answer 12

1. Report everything
2. Mental reinstatement
3. Changing the order
4. Changing the perspective

Question 13

Who created the CI?

Answer 13

Fisher and Geiselman

Question 14

Outline (and maybe evaluate) research into CIs

Answer 14

Kohnken: meta-analysis of 53 studies, found, on average, an increase of 34% in the amount of correct information generated in CIs compared to SIs. However most of these studies tested volunteered PP (usually college students) in the laboratory.

Milne and Bull: examined the effectiveness of all 4 components on undergraduate students and children were interviewed using just one component and compared to a control group (who were just asked simply ‘try again’) Recall across each component was mostly similar, and there was no sig. different compared to the control group. However when PPs were interviewed with a combo of the components ‘report everything’ and ‘mental reinstatement’ the recall was significantly higher.

Stein and Memon (2006) Tested CI in Brazil, first time it had been used in a developing country. Women recruited from the cleaning staff of a large university, they were required to watch a video of an abduction. Ci got more correct info than the SI. CI produced more forensically rich info e.g. a detailed description of the man holding the gun. This means CI could help reduce the incidence of miscarriage of justice in developing countries.

Mello and Fisher: Many old people are reluctant to report info due to stereotypes. Mello and Fisher compared older (mean 72 yrs old) and younger (mean 22 yrs old) adult’s memories of a filmed simulated crime using either an CI or an SI. CI produced more correct info, and the CI was greater for the older PPs than for the younger ones.

Question 15

Advantages of CIs

Answer 15

Effective-
Kohnken 34% increase meta analysis
Milne and Bull stages 1+2 combined produces significantly more correct info

Better for oldies
Mello and Fisher, compared older and younger PPs, found that the older people benefited more from the CI than the younger people.

Real World Applications
Stein and Memon
women in a uni, shown film of an abduction, CI produced more forensically rich information, could reduce miscarriage of justice.

Question 16

Disadvantages of CIs

Answer 16

Difficult to evaluate
Police forces do not always stick to the original procedure, most only tend to use stages 1+2 (Kebbell and Wagstaff)

Time
Kebbell and Wagstaff also report that CIs require more time than is available and produce lots of irrelevant information.

Training
The quantity and quantity of the CI training is critical to obtaining results. In an study by Memon, experienced detectives received a brief 4 hour training session, and there was no significant result. This shows more training is needed.

Question 17

Describe the Yerkes Dodson law

Answer 17

• shows how anxiety/arousal affects performance/ accuracy of eyewitness testimony
• Shows performance is best at medium arousal, too low or too high arousal leads to poor performance.

Question 18

Describe Deffenbacher’s experiment (EWT)

Answer 18

Meta analysis of 21 studies, concluded that high levels of stress reduced the accuracy of EWT. The practical applications of this is that interviewers must put interviewees in a relaxed state before questioning.

Question 19

Outline Riniolo’s Titanic study, relate it to anxiety and misleading information.

Answer 19

Questioned Titanic survivors, found high accuracy of recall, despite the anxiety they were experiencing during the event.
-this contradicts the Yerkes Dodson law, and supports the idea of flashbulb memories

Riniolo also used archival material of interviews with survivors form the sinking of the Titanic in 1912. They found that 75% of the witnesses maintaining their view that the titanic was breaking as it sank, despite the widespread belief expressed by the press and by naval experts that this could not happen (misleading information.
-ve–eyewitness were at different vantage points, small sample size, and an inability to interview the witnesses first hand.

Question 20

Describe Skebley’s study

Answer 20

investigated the weapon focus effect, found that high anxiety leads to poor recall. Supports the Yerkes Dodson Law and Loftus’ study. Skebley looked a real crimes with weapons and found low accuracy to recall, so this study has high ecological validity.

Question 21

Describe Parker and Caranzza’s study

Answer 21

use for how age affects accuracy of EWT

Compared primary school and college students in their ability to identify an individual following a mock crime.

• found that primary school children were more likely to identify ‘someone’ even if they’re uncertain, as they are more susceptible to social desirability bias and want to impress the adults.
• children are also more susceptible to gestures and have less knowledge of the moral obligations and the repercussions of giving false info.

Question 22

Describe Anastasi and Rhodes’ study

Answer 22

use of how age affect accuracy of EWT
-own-age bias
-more likely to remember someone who is your own age
-PPs had to look at a series of photos and rate them on attractiveness.
-Then the 24 photos where mixed with another 24 unseen photos, PPs had to identify the ones they’d already seen.
-used individuals from 3 age groups…
18-25 (young)
35-45 (middle aged)
55-78) (older)
-Found that all the PPs were more accurate in their own age group. They misidentified other age groups.

Question 23

Describe Brigham and Malpass’ differential experience hypothesis

Answer 23

Relates to Anastasi and Rhode’s one-age bias hypothesis.

-the more contact you have with members of a particular group/ age group with better our memory for them.

Question 24

Using your knowledge of psychology, describe how an interviewer should interview children

Answer 24

• refrain from using gestures or leading questions as they are easily led
• inform the child that they do not have to answer a question if they’re not sure, to stop them giving incorrect answer (like in Parker and Carazza’s study).

Question 25

Plan the essay: outline and evaluate 2 factors that influence EWT

Answer 25

A01-Anxiety, Yerkes Dodson Law, Deffenbacher
A02-Riniolo, Skebely, Yuille and Cutshall

A01-Age, Parker and Caranzza
A02-Riniolo, Anastasi and Rhodes, Brigham and Malpass.

Question 26

Describe Yuille and Cutshall’s study

Answer 26

They showed that witnesses of a real life incident (a gun shooting outside a gun shop in Canada) had remarkable accurate memories of a stressful event involving weapons. A thief stole guns and money, but was shot six times and died.

The police interviewed witnesses, and thirteen of them were re-interviewed five months later. Recall was found to be accurate, even after a long time, and two misleading questions inserted by the research team had no effect on recall accuracy.

One weakness of this study was that the witnesses who experienced the highest levels of stress where actually closer to the event, and this may have helped with the accuracy of their memory recall.

The Yuille and Cutshall study illustrates two important points:

1. There are cases of real-life recall where memory for an anxious / stressful event is accurate, even some months later.
2. Misleading questions need not have the same effect as has been found in laboratory studies (e.g. Loftus & Palmer)

Question 27

Describe Loftus and Palmer’s orginal car accident study

Answer 27

–45 students, 5 groups of 9. Independent measures. Shown a series of clips about traffic accidents.
–IV verb used, e.g ‘how fast was the car going when it (smashed/ contacted) the other car’. DV estimated speed of car
–results…fastest was ‘smashed’, average 40.8 mph
slowest was ‘contacted’ average 31.8 mph
–conclusion misleading information can make eyewitness testimony unreliable.

Question 28

Describe the other variations of Loftus’ car study

Answer 28

Broken glass
-different set of PPs, did the same experiment, many of the PPs in the ‘smashed’ group incorrectly said they’d seen broken glass when asked ‘did you see any broken glass’ one week later.

Headlight
-even the variation of ‘the’ and ‘a’ broken headlight caused a difference. Those asked in they’d seen ‘the’ broken headlight were much more likely to answer incorrectly that they had.

Question 29

Advantages of Loftus and Palmer’s car study

Answer 29

• Real world applications
• Supported by Skelbey’s study into accuracy of EWT with weapons involved.
• lab so high control of EVs and easily repeated

Question 30

Disadvantages of Loftus and Palmer’s car study

Answer 30

• restricted sample (students)
• artificial stimuli (slides, not real events) so less moral obligation
• demand characteristics?
• flaws of lab experiment, lacks ecological validity (contradicts with Skebley’s research.
• findings contradicted by Yuille and Cutshall’s study

Question 31

What is the weapon focus effect

Answer 31

• -weapon focus is a factor affecting the reliability of eyewitness testimony
• -victim more likely to focus on weapon so little attention is paid to other factors e.g. the appearance of the person. This can distort the person’s memory.

Question 32

Describe Loftus’ weapon focus study

Answer 32

Can use it for how anxiety affects accuracy of EWT

• 2 conditions, one with weapon one not
• condition 1, a man emerged holding a pen with grease on his hands
• condition 2, a man emerged holding a paper knife with blood on his hands
• when asked to identify the man 49% were accurate in condition 1 and only 33% were accurate in condition 2.
• this suggest that the weapon may have distracted the attention from the man’s face, or that the weapon caused the PPs to have higher anxiety.