Key Terms

Question 1

Capacity (2)

Answer 1

• The measure of how much informationn can be held in memory
• STM has a capacity of 7 +- 2 items

Question 2

Phonological Loop (2)

Answer 2

• Codes speech sounds in working memory
• Typically involving maintainence rehersal

Question 3

Episodic Buffer (4)

Answer 3

• An extra storage system with limited capacity
• That temporarily holds information
• That relates to both visual and acoustic information
• Before sending the info to LTM

Question 4

Key Term

Episodic Memory (3)

Answer 4

• Personal memories of events
• E.g. a teacher you liked/an old birthday party
• Specific details, context and emotion make up an episodic memory

Question 5

Anxiety (3)

Answer 5

• An unpleasant emotional state of arousal
• That is often accompanied by increased heart rate
• And rapid breathing

Question 6

Key Term

Procedural Memory (3)

Answer 6

• Memory of how to do things
• E.g. riding a bike/tying shoelaces
• Such memories are automatic as a result of repeated practice

Question 7

Visuo-spatial Sketchpad (4)

Answer 7

• Codes visual information
• In terms of seperate objects
• As well as the arrangement of these objects
• In one’s vision field

Question 8

Leading Questions (3)

Answer 8

• A question that, either by form or content
• Suggests to the witness what answer is desired
• Or leads him/her to the desired answer

Question 9

Interference (3)

Answer 9

• An explaination for forgetting
• In terms of one memory disrupting the ability to recall another
• Most likely to occur when the two memories have some similarity

Question 10

Eyewitness Testemony (3)

Answer 10

• The evidence provided in court
• By a person who witnessed a crime
• With a view to identifying the perpetrator

Question 11

Key Term

Semantic Memory (3)

Answer 11

• Shared memories for facts and knowledge
• May be concrete, e.g. Paris = Capital of France
• Or abstract, e.g. Language

Question 12

Sensory Register (5)

Answer 12

• The place where information from the senses is held
• This info is either discarded or moved to short term memory (through attention)
• Coding is modality specific
• Duration is very short (milliseconds)
• Capacity is very large

Question 13

Retroactive Interference (2)

Answer 13

• When current attempts to learn something
• Interfere with past learning

Question 14

Duration (3)

Answer 14

• How long a memory lasts
• Before it is no longer avaliable
• LTM has a potentially unlimited duration

Question 15

Retrieval Failure (3)

Answer 15

• An explaination for forgetting
• Whereby an absence of cues
• Means a memory is available but not accesible

Question 16

Coding (2)

Answer 16

• The way information is stored in memory
• SR coding is modality specific while STM is primarily acoustic coding

Question 17

Multi-Store Model (4)

Answer 17

• An explaination of memory
• Developed by Atkinson and Shiffrin
• Based on 3 seperate memory stores (SR, STM, LTM)
• And how information is transferred between them

Question 18

Long Term Memory (5)

Answer 18

• The place where information ends up
• This info is either held or moved back to short term memory (through retrieval)
• Coding is semantic
• Duration is unlimited
• Capacity is unlimited

Question 19

Short Term Memory (5)

Answer 19

• The place where information is held to do immediate tasks
• This info is either discarded or moved to long term memory (through rehearsal)
• Coding is primarily acoustic
• Duration is short (18-30s)
• Capacity is limited (7 +/-2)

Question 20

Proactive Interference (2)

Answer 20

• When past learning
• Interferes with current attempts to learn something

Question 21

Central Executive (2)

Answer 21

• The monitor and co-ordinator
• Of all other mental functions in working memory

Question 22

Post-event discussion (3)

Answer 22

• Conversations
• Which may contaminate a witness’ memory of a crime
• As they contain different information & POV

Question 23

Misleading Information (2)

Answer 23

• Supplying information
• That may lead a witness’ memory of a crime to be altered

Question 24

Cues (3)

Answer 24

• A reminder
• Which may or may not be meaningfully linked to the material to be remembered
• E.g. environmental cues (e.g. a room) / mental state cue (e.g. drunk)

Question 25

Working Memory Model (3)

Answer 25

• A model of the short term memory
• Created by Baddeley and Hitch
• Consisting of the phonological loop, visio spatial sketchpad, episodic buffer and central executive