Inaccurate Memory

Question 1

What is interference?

Answer 1

When two memories compete with each other. One memory prevents the access of the other memory. This is likely if two memories are quite similar.

Question 2

What is the aim of McGeoch and McDonald’s study

Answer 2

To investigate the effect of doing a second activity after leaving a list of words has on the accuracy of memory

Question 3

What is the method of McGeoch and McDonald’s study

Answer 3

Twelve participants had to learn a list of ten words until they could remember them with 100% accuracy. They were then shown a new list. There were five different kinds of lists.

Question 4

What were the lists?

Answer 4

List 1 - synonyms
List 2 - antonyms
List 3 - words unrelated to the original ones
List 4 - nonsense syllables
List 5 - three digit numbers

Question 5

What is the results of McGeoch and McDonald’s study

Answer 5

List 1 - confused
List 2 - confused
List 3 - slightly less confused
List 4 - possibly confused
List 5 - less confused

Question 6

What is the conclusion of McGeoch and McDonald’s study

Answer 6

The results show that interference is stronger when an intervening activity is smaller.

Question 7

What is proactive interference?

Answer 7

Forgetting occurs when older memories, already stored, disrupt the recall of newer memories.

Question 8

What is Retroactive interference.

Answer 8

Forgetting occurs when newer memories disrupt the recall of older memories already stored. The degree of forgetting is greater when the memories are similar.

Question 9

What is context?

Answer 9

The situation in which something happens.

Question 10

What is the aim of Godden and Baddeley’s study?

Answer 10

To see if they could demonstrate that recall for things learned underwater is more accurate recalled also underwater

Question 11

What is the method of Godden and Baddeley’s study?

Answer 11

Eighteen participants were recruited who were all members of the same diving club. The divers had to learn a list of 36 words either on the beach or under water

Question 12

What were the conditions?

Answer 12

Dry, dry
Dry, wet
Wet, dry
Wet, wet

Question 13

What is the results of Godden and Baddeley’s study?

Answer 13

Those that learned and recalled in the same place recalled more words.

Question 14

What is the conclution of Godden and Baddeley’s study?

Answer 14

This suggests that the context of learning acts as a trigger or cue when trying to remember the information.

Question 15

What is the aim of Loftus and Pickrell’s study?

Answer 15

To see if false memories could be created in participants through suggestion in order to test the existence of repressed and false memories.

Question 16

What is the method of Loftus and Pickrell’s study?

Answer 16

24 participants, they were given four short stories about their childhood. The false memory was about getting lost in a shopping mall in their childhood.

Question 17

What is the results of Loftus and Pickrell’s study

Answer 17

68% of the 72 episodes participants remembered. 6 participants recalled the false one fully. 19 out of 24 participants correctly chose the lost in a mall memory as false.

Question 18

What is the conclution of Loftus and Pickrell’s study

Answer 18

The mere act of imagining an event had the potential of creating and implanting a false memory in a person