Long-term Memory In Practice

Question 1

What is a schema?

Answer 1

a cognitive structure that represents knowledge about a concept or event, organizing information based on our experiences and expectations

Question 2

What functions do schemas serve in memory?

Answer 2

help organize memories, focus limited cognitive resources, reduce memory load, and make inferences about new information

Question 3

What is a script?

Answer 3

a type of schema that provides a framework for understanding the sequence of events in a particular context

Question 4

Give an example of a schema.

Answer 4

A “cat” schema may include knowledge of characteristics like “four legs,” “whiskers,” and “meows,” allowing individuals to identify a cat even if they encounter an unfamiliar breed

Question 5

What is the purpose of a schema?

Answer 5

it can act as a heuristic (rule of thumb) that tell us what we should expect

Question 6

What is reconstructive memory?

Answer 6

the process of recalling memories that can be altered or influenced by existing schemas and scripts

Question 7

What is Bartlett’s repeated reproduction technique?

Answer 7

• a method used to study memory where participants are shown an item (such as a story or image) and then asked to reproduce it from memory after a delay
• this is repeated multiple times without the participants seeing the original item again

Question 8

What did Bartlett discover through his repeated reproduction technique?

Answer 8

memory is not a perfect reproduction of past events; instead, it is reconstructive. Over time, details of the original item are often lost or altered to fit the participant’s existing schemas and expectations.

Question 9

What are some implications of Bartlett’s findings for eyewitness testimony?

Answer 9

suggest that eyewitness memories can be unreliable, as they may be reconstructed based on schemas and expectations rather than accurate recall of the event

Question 10

What is reconsolidation in relation to memory?

Answer 10

• when a memory is retrieved and then stored again
• During this, memories can be altered or updated with new information, making them susceptible to change

Question 11

What is the Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) procedure?

Answer 11

• a psychological paradigm used to study false memory
• presenting participants with a list of semantically related words, leading them to falsely remember a critical lure word that was not actually presented.

Question 12

What is a “critical lure” in the DRM paradigm?

Answer 12

• a word that is semantically related to the presented list but is not included in the list itself
• For example, if the words “bed,” “rest,” “pillow,” “slumber,” and “awake” are shown, the critical lure would be “sleep.”

Question 13

What theory explains why participants might falsely remember the critical lure?

Answer 13

when participants hear related words, they activate a semantic schema and may mistakenly attribute the critical lure to their episodic memory of the event

Question 14

What percentage of participants typically falsely remember the critical lure in DRM studies?

Answer 14

participants report seeing the critical lure about 40% of the time

Question 15

How does the DRM procedure relate to source monitoring errors?

Answer 15

• DRM exemplifies source monitoring errors
• individuals misattribute the source of their memories, leading them to believe they have seen or heard the critical lure when they have not

Question 16

What is retroactive interference in the context of the DRM paradigm?

Answer 16

occurs when new information (the related words) interferes with the memory of actual events (the list of words presented)

Question 17

What implications does the DRM procedure have for real-life situations, such as eyewitness testimony?

Answer 17

highlights the fallibility of memory, suggesting that eyewitnesses may confidently recall details that are actually false or influenced by suggestive questioning

Question 18

What is the misinformation effect?

Answer 18

the phenomenon where a person’s memory of an event can be altered by the introduction of incorrect information after the event has occurred

Question 19

Who conducted key research on the misinformation effect?

Answer 19

Elizabeth Loftus

Question 20

Describe the Loftus and Palmer (1974) study.

Answer 20

• participants watched video clips of car accidents
• later asked about the speed of the cars using different verbs (e.g., “smashed,” “hit”)
• the verb used influenced participants’ speed estimates, with “smashed” leading to higher speed estimates compared to “hit”

Question 21

What was the follow-up study by Loftus and Palmer about?

Answer 21

• examined whether participants would falsely remember seeing broken glass after being asked leading questions
• heard the verb “smashed” were more likely to incorrectly recall seeing glass

Question 22

In the Loftus and Palmer study, what was the first misleading and non misleading question and what were the results?

Answer 22

Misleading: Did another car pass the red car when it was stopped at the yield sign? (41% correctly recognized seeing the car at the stop sign)
Non-misleading: Did another car pass the red car when it was stopped at the stop sign? (75% correctly recognized seeing the car at the stop sign)

Question 23

What is an implanted memory?

Answer 23

a false memory that has been created or suggested by external information or suggestion

Question 24

Who conducted a significant study on implanted memories, and what was the name of the study?

Answer 24

Elizabeth Loftus conducted a study known as the “Lost in the Mall” study

Question 25

What was the methodology used in Loftus and Pickrell’s (1995) “Lost in the Mall” study?

Answer 25

• Participants were provided with four stories from their childhood
• three of which were true and one false (about being lost in a mall)
• They were then asked to recall details about each story in subsequent interviews

Question 26

What percentage of participants in the “Lost in the Mall” study created a memory of the false event?

Answer 26

25% of participants created a memory of the false event

Question 27

What was the main objective of Wade et al. (2002)?

Answer 27

investigate the creation of false memories through the use of digitally altered photographs

Question 28

What percentage of participants falsely remembered the implanted memory in the Wade (2002) study?

Answer 28

50% of participants created a false memory

Question 29

What are the implications of the findings from Wade et al. (2002)?

Answer 29

that memories can be easily manipulated and that individuals can confidently recall detailed memories of events that never occurred

Question 30

What is the weapons focus effect?

Answer 30

the phenomenon where a witness’s attention is drawn to a weapon during a crime, impairing their ability to remember other details

Question 31

How does change blindness affect eyewitness testimony?

Answer 31

the failure to notice significant changes in a visual scene, which can lead witnesses to overlook critical details during an event

Question 32

How does confidence affect the perceived accuracy of eyewitness testimony?

Answer 32

Witnesses may be highly confident in their recollections, but research shows that confidence does not correlate with accuracy

Question 33

What is confirmation bias in the context of eyewitness testimony?

Answer 33

when investigators or witnesses focus on information that confirms their pre-existing beliefs

Question 33

What are cognitive interview techniques?

Answer 33

methods used to enhance the retrieval of accurate memories from witnesses by minimizing leading questions and encouraging open-ended responses

Question 34

Why are innocent bystanders problematic in eyewitness testimony?

Answer 34

Innocent bystanders can be mistakenly identified as perpetrators due to familiarity or proximity during the event this is due to the source monitoring error