Key terms Flashcards
What is anxiety?
Unpleasant state of emotional arousal
Physical- increased heart rate & sweatiness
Normal reaction to a stressful situation
What does capacity mean?
The amount of information that can be held in a memory store - can be represented in terms or digits
What is the central executive?
It monitors and coordinates all mental functions in working memory
What is coding?
The way information is changed so it can be held in memory. Information enters via senses and is stored in forms such as visual, acoustic and semantic codes
What is the cognitive interview?
Interviewing eyewitnesses by asking them to recreate the original crime to help them retrieve more accurate memories.
What is a cue?
They help us remember certain things. They may be meaningful or they may not be meaningfully linked to the material. There is environmental cues and mental state cues
What is duration?
How long a memory lasts before it is no longer available
What is the episodic buffer?
Receives information from different sources, temporarily stores the information and then integrates it in order to construct a mental episode of what is being experienced. It is mainly consisted of the phonological loop and the visuo-spatial sketchpad
What is episodic memory?
Information about events we have personally experienced
What is an eyewitness testimony?
Evidence in court from a person who witnessed the crime
What are the features of memory?
Coding (visual, acoustic, semantic), capacity (how much is stored) and duration (how long it is stored for)
What is interference?
One memory disturbs the ability to recall another, mostly occurs when two memories have similarity
What is a leading question?
A question which, because of the way it is phrased, suggests a certain answer.
What is LTM?
Memory of events which have happened in the past, can last from 2 minutes to forever, it has potentially a unlimited duration and capacity although it tends to be coded semantically
What is memory?
Ability to retain information from the past it is based on the process of learning and retention, there is also retrieval and reactivation of old memories
What is the models of memory?
Shows how memory works in the brain, e.g. the MSM has three stores which shows how memory flows to each store in a linear fashion
What does misleading information mean?
It is information which may lead a witness’ memory of a crime to be changed
What is the multi-store model?
Explanation for how memory is stored between three different stores and how the information is transferred between these stores
What is the phonological loop?
It codes speech sounds and involves maintenance rehearsal (repeating words over and over), this is why it is referred as a ‘loop’
What is pro-active interference?
Past learning interferes with current attempts to learn something new
What is post-event discussion?
A conversation between co-witnesses or an interviewer and an eyewitness after a crime has taken place which may contaminate a witness’ memory for the event
What is procedural memory?
Memory on how to do things, e.g. riding a bike or learning how to read, these memories are automatic and repeated practice
What is retrieval failure?
Happens because there is a failure of retrieval cues, being able to retrieve a memory which is there but not accessible
What is retroactive interference?
Attempts to learn something interferes with past learning
What is semantic memory?
Shared memories of facts and knowledge e.g. concrete (ice is made out of water) or abstract (math equations)
What is the sensory register?
Information collected from your senses e.g. eyes, ears, nose, fingers. This information is only held for a brief time. The capacity is very large and coding depends on the organ involved
What is STM?
This is immediate events and is measured in seconds and minutes. STM’s disappear unless they are rehearsed and also has a limited capacity of about 4 items. It is normally coded acoustically and is sometimes referred to as the working memory.
What is the VSS?
Codes visual information as separate objects and the arrangement in one field
What is the WMM?
Explanation of the memory used when working on a task, each store is qualitatively different
