EWT Flashcards
What is encoding?
How information is stored in memory, but not all information gets stored
Based on limited attentional resources
What are other factors which may affect the encoding of a memory?
Prior knowledge of the event
Duration of the event
Repetition of the event
Stress (cortisol) levels at the time of the event affecting successful encoding of memory
What is storage?
Encoded items go into STM
If they survive limited capacity, rehearsal, repetition and intervening experiences they will pass into LTM
What is retrieval?
Motivation to recall
Desire to cooperate with questioner
Understanding what is important to recall
Both enhance and inhibit recall
What is recognition?
The ability to identify, after witnessing an event, or learning a list of items, any details or items that were present during the event on in the list. Doesn’t require retrieval or details of items from memory because they are provided
What is recall?
After witnessing an event, or learning a list of items, a PP is asked to describe the event or list all study items that they can remember
What is semantic memory?
General knowledge, e.g. facts, places, names, words
What is episodic memory?
Where personal events are stored
Outline the importance of retrieval cues
They are important for accessing the memory trace of episodes as these were present during the encoding of the memory of the event
More effective the closer they are to the encoded information
What are scripts?
Generalised event representations
There is a ‘slot’ for each expectation in an event
Leads to automatic expectation for slots to be filled when recalling an event
When asked to recall an event with a weak memory trace we may use a script as a template to remember the event and fill in the gaps in our memory
What is congruity and mismatch?
If your journey is highly congruent with your script-based knowledge, you are likely to retrieve it accurately
If there is a mismatch between expectations and actual events, this may be resolved by expectation being used to guide your memory of the event, preventing accurate recall
What is the relationship between age and scripted knowledge?
Script develops with age
Preschool age children are more vulnerable to the negative effects of script-based knowledge than elementary school age children
As children get older they are able to identify special events
Outline some strategies for memory
Rehearsal - repetition
Organisation - chunking
Elaboration - visual or verbal connections between words
Why can children’s EWT be false?
- Lying - intentionally changing the truth due to an inability to remember events
- Conforming - unintentionally distorting the truth about an event they do remember
What is suggestibility?
The influence of social and cognitive factors on encoding, storage and retrieval of memories
Suggestibility could be counted as a trait that we lose as we get older
