individual differences

Question 1

intro

Answer 1

individual differences refer to the unique characteristics that distinguish one person from another

Question 2

A01.1

Answer 2

reconsructive memory model can demonstrate how peoples memory may differ.
schema are packages of information based on out beiefs, past experiences, expectations and personal stereotypes. different people will have experienced different events in life which will mean their schemas will differ
therefore when memories are recalled we may change the information based on our schema.
e.g. confabulation when we fill gaps in our memory with our schemas of what we expect or think should of happened, which may differ from the truth.
therefore leading do differing memories

Question 3

A03.1

Answer 3

strength: bartletts war of ghosts- Native American story, sample English students, ppts missed out parts that were unfamiliar and didn’t fit into their schema as they are unlikely to have been exposed or familiar with native American , beliefs, culture etc- confabulation, changed memories from ‘ canoes’ to boats ‘ seal hunting’ to fishing and missed out unfamiliar concepts, ghosts, this can be explained as ppts schemas are based on English culture …

weakness of war and ghosts study lacks val- bias and reliability

Question 4

A01.2

Answer 4

individual differences can also be explained by differences in STM capacity/ processing speed, some people may have slower/ faster processing speeds than others, its commonly suggested that indivduals with dyslexia have a slower processing speed meaning that It takes longer to process words in the phonoological loop meaning their capacity is smaller, average 7+/-2 although not everyones may be the same

Question 5

A03.3

Answer 5

baddeley found that people with a better WM memory were better at giving directions , spelling, higher IQ and better at mental arithmetic, therefore those with a worse WM capacity may find it difficult to give directions and spell- common symptoms of dyslexia.

weakness although the suggestion that individual differences in memory are due o cognitive reasons is reductionist. schmolckstudied HM compared to other brain damaged patients to their hippocampus, and a control and found that compared to others his language difficulties distinguished him from others, hey suggested his seizures in early life- bio cause and hisdisrupted education - learning and low socio-economic background- social were the main causes for this, demonstrating the impact of other factors leading to differences in memory.

Question 6

application

Answer 6

if we suggest that individual differences can lead to differences in memory recall of events ue t differing schemas It suggest that EWT is not 100% reliable- Devlin report cant be based on one single EWT protect innocent people wrongly convicted