Memory Flashcards
What is the definition of memory?
A label used to refer to the storage of information that can be used later in a large number of different cognitive processes
What is the definition of capacity?
The amount of information that can be stored
What is the definition of duration?
The length of time the information can be stored
What is the definition of encoding?
The way in which the information is stored
Information that we store has to be ‘written’ in a memory of some form
How can information can be encoded?
Acoustically, visually or semantically
Sounds, image or meaning
Who conducted the study into the capacity of the STM? When was it conducted?
George Miller in 1956
What was the name of the study into the capacity of the STM?
Magic number 7
What did the study into the capacity of the STM propose?
Miller concluded that the span of immediate memory us about 7, plus or minus 2
He also found that you are able to remember more if the information is chunked into groups
What factors increase the capacity of the STM?
Reading aloud
Pronunciation time
Rhythmic grouping
Who conducted the study into the duration of the STM?
When was it conducted?
Peterson and Peterson in 1959
What was the aim of the study into the duration of the STM?
To test how long short term memory lasts when rehearsal is prevented
Who were the ppts in the study into the duration of the STM?
24 ppts were used
What was the procedure of the study into the duration of the STM?
The 24 ppts were shown a trigram (random 3 letters) and then asked to count backwards in threes from a specified number- this prevented rehearsal
After the internal, the ppts were asked were asked to recall the trigrams
What were the findings of the study into the duration of the STM?
Progressively fewer trigrams were recalled as time intervals lengthened
After 18 seconds, fewer than 10% of the trigrams were correctly recalled
This suggests that the STM has a very short duration of less than 18 seconds if verbal rehearsal is prevented
What factor affects the duration of the STM?
Maintenance rehearsal
How does maintenance rehearsal affect the duration of the STM?
The items decay from the STM only when the rehearsal opportunity is removed. Without rehearsal, the duration of the STM is very brief
Who conducted the study into encoding?
When was this study conducted?
Alan Baddeley in 1966
What was the aim of the study into encoding?
To investigate how the STM and LTM encode- either acoustically or semantically
Who were the ppts used in the study into encoding?
72 males and females from the ‘Applied Psychology Research Unit’ in Cambridge
What was the procedure of the study into encoding?
72 ppts were split into different conditions
In one condition, ppts learned a list of 10 acoustically similar words e.g. man, can
In the second condition, ppts learned a list of 10 semantically similar words, that meant the same but sounds different e.g. large, big
All ppts were then asked to complete tasks related to remembering the lists, including recalling the words 20 minutes later to test the LTM
What were the findings of the study into encoding?
Finings showed that the STM encodes acoustically and the LTM encodes semantically
What is a limitation of the study into encoding?
Small sample size
The small sample size of 72 ppts from Cambridge means the results may be biased by age, culture or individual differences
Also small group size means results are affected by anomalies and individual differences
This means the results cannot be generalised to the wider population
What is a limitation of the study into encoding?
Issue with the testing of the LTM
As the LTM was tested only 20 minutes after the word lists were learned, this can be considered too short a period of time to be considered the LTM
What is a limitation of the study into encoding?
Further research by Frost
Further research by Frost (1972) showed that long term recall was related to visual as well as semantic categories
Therefore, the results of the study are not completely accurate as the STM and LTM may encode in a variety of ways, according to the circumstances
What is the capacity of the STM?
7, plus or minus 2
What affects the capacity of the STM?
Reading aloud
Pronunciation time
Rhythmic grouping
What is the duration of the STM?
18-30 seconds without rehearsal
What affects the duration of the STM?
Chunking/ grouping
Maintenance rehearsal
How does the STM encode?
Acoustically
What is the role of the LTM?
Plans for the future
Holds knowledge and skills
What is the capacity of the LTM?
Unlimited
What is the duration of the LTM?
Unlimited
What affects the duration of the LTM?
Brain damage Amnesia Illness Tiredness Lack of attention
How does the LTM encode?
Semantically (by meaning)
What is the sensory memory?
Allows you to process and recall the sensations you take in
What is the capacity of the sensory memory?
Very large, but attention is only paid to a very small amount of items
What is the duration of the sensory memory?
Very small, at around a nanosecond
How does the sensory memory encode?
By modality, meaning it encores dependent on what information its given
This could be sound (acoustic), images (visual) or smell (olfactory)
Who created the multi-store model of memory?
Atkinson and Shriffin
What is the MSM?
The multi-store model of memory
An explanation of how memory processes work, based on the idea that there are 3 separate stores
What 3 stores are in the MSM?
Sensory memory, short term memory and long term memory
Draw the MSM
Environmental stimuli Sensory memory Decay Attention STM Decay Maintenance rehearsal Elaborate rehearsal LTM Retrieval
What is a strength of the MSM?
Research support
There is research support, such as studies into capacity (Miller), duration (Petersons) and encoding (Baddeley)
What is a strength of the MSM?
Simple
It presents a simple and understandable explanation of the processes of memory
Matches common sense perception of memory
What is a limitation of the MSM?
Oversimplified
IT is oversimplified, as the model doesn’t distinguish between different STM and LTM stores
e.g. woking memory model and the episodic and procedural memories
What is a limitation of the MSM?
Flashbob
Doesn’t explain flashbob memory
This is when something very bad happens and we don’t have to rehires to to remember it
What did Glanzer and Cuntis propose and when?
The serial position effect
What is the serial position effect?
Occurs because the first words in a list are best rehearsed and transferred to the LTM, and the last words are in the STM when you start recalling them
What was the procedure and findings of the study into the serial position effect?
Ppts read a list and were asked to recall words
They best remembered words from the start (primary effect) and end (recency) of the list
What is the name of the model showing processes within the STM?
The working memory model
Who created the working memory model and when?
Baddeley and Hitch in 1974
What is the purpose of the central executive?
Has a supervisory role
Determines how resources (slave systems) are allocated and decides tasks
What is the capacity of the central executive?
Has a limited capacity
What is the purpose of the visuospatial sketchpad?
Visual and spacial information is stored here
Visual- what things look like
Spacial- Relationship between things
Who suggested subdivisions of the visuospatial sketchpad and when? What were these subdivisions?
Logie in 1995
Visual cashe (store)
Inner scribe for spacial relations
Who added the episodic buffer and when?
Baddeley added the episodic buffer in 2000
What is the purpose of the episodic buffer?
Store that integrates information from the other components and maintains a sense of time so events occur in a continuing order
What is the purpose of the phonological loop?
Deals with auditory information and preserves word order
What did Baddeley subdivide the phonological loop into?
Phonological store- stores the sound of words
Articulatory process- words are silent repeated/ looped like an inner voice
What is a strength of the WMM?
Subsystems
Researchers today generally agree there is multiple subsystems in the STM which are described in the WMM.
These divisions also explain in detail many memory processes
What is a limitation of the WMM?
Central executive
The exact purpose of the central executive is very unclear as not much research has gone into it. We are still unaware of its capacity and specific role.
Who proposed the dual task performance and when?
Baddeley in 1966
What were the procedure and findings of the study into the dual task performance?
Ppts performed two tasks simultaneously (dual tasks) rather than one after the other (single task)
Ppts performed better on 1 visual and 1 acoustic task than 2 visual or 2 acoustic tasks
This is because the central executive directs information to 2 separate components
What are the 3 types of LTM?
Semantic, episodic and procedural
What are semantic memories?
Refer to the knowledge and knowing WHAT
Knowledge that is shared universally
They generally begin as an episodic memory
e.g. 2+2=4
What are episodic memories? How many parts are they made up of?
Made up of 3 parts The context (where you were) details about the event Emotions e.g. your first day of school
What are procedural memories?
Refer to skills and HOW to do something
Unconscious memory that is acquired through repetition and practise
e.g. riding a bike
Where in the brain are semantic memories stored?
Temporal lobe
Where in the brain are episodic memories stored?
Involved with the hippocampus and temporal lobe
Where in the brain are procedural memories stored?
Cerebellum
How can we know where the types of LTM are stored in the brain? Why is this a strength?
Brain scans
Very objective an unbiased
List 3 reasons why we forget
- Lack of interest or attention
- No maintenance rehearsal
- Amnesia or other illness
- Tiredness/ fatigue
- Retrieval failure
- Trauma
What is interference?
An explanation for forgetting in terms of one memory that is disrupting the ability to recall another
This is most likely to happen when the two memories are quite similar
What is proactive interference?
Past learning interferes with current attempts to learn something new
e.g. trying to learn a new pin code but keep entering the old one
What is retroactive interference?
Current attempts to learn something new interferes with the recall of past learning
e.g. Trying to go back to your old pin code but keep entering the newer one
Who conducted the study into the effects of interference?
Baddeley and Hitch
For Hitch, think rugby pitch
What was the aim of the study into interference?
To investigate effects of interference in an everyday setting
Who were the ppts in the study into interference?
Two conditions:
- Rugby players that had played ALL the games in the season
- Rugby players who had played less games in the season due to injury
What was the procedure of the study into interference?
The ppts (rugby players) in both conditions were asked to recall the teams played in earlier games
What were the findings of the study into interference?
The rugby players who had played more games remembered less team names due to RETROactive (think Rugby) interference
The number of recently played teams interfered with the recall of the earlier teams names
What is a strength of the study into interference?
Real life study
It was a real life study (real rugby players, real team names etc) so has high ecological validity
Less likely to be affected by demand characteristics
What is a limitation of the study into interference?
Sample size
Small sized study so findings cannot be generalised to the wider population
Only you males were used (beta bias)
Factors like individual differences would have been involved
What did Danahers suggest in reference to interference?
This acts as a strength
Danahers stated that real- life application of interference can be found through methods used in advertising
Interference can be seen with the use of similar colours, names and packaging, prompting people to buy based on advertising by another company
e.g. Ariel spent lots on advertising, and Persil designed packaging to look similar
What is retrieval failure?
When the information is stored in the LTM, but cannot be accessed as the retrieval cues are not present
What is an example of retrieval failure?
Needing a pen from your room, going to your room, forgetting what you needed
What are retrieval cues?
A clue or prompt that is used to trigger the retrieval of long-term memory
When we learn information, what do we also encode?
In reference to retrieval failure/ forgetting
The context and state
What is context dependent forgetting?
Can occur when the environment during recall is different from the environment you were in when learning
External cues
What is an example of an external cue in context dependent forgetting?
Location
What is state dependent forgetting?
Mental state dependent forgetting occurs when your mood or physiological state during recall is different from the mood you were in when learning
Internal cues
What is an example of an internal cue in state dependent forgetting?
Emotions
Sober/ intoxicated
Who theorised the encoding specificity principle?
Tulving and Thompson
What does the encoding specificity principle propose?
This proposes that memory is most effective if information that is present at encoding is also available at the time of recall
It doesn’t have to be exactly the same, but similar- to act as a prompt
Who conducted the study into context dependent forgetting?
Godden and Baddeley
What was the aim of the study into context dependent forgetting?
To investigate the effect of environment on recall
Who were the ppts of the study into context dependent forgetting?
18 divers from a Scotland diving club
What was the procedure of the study into context dependent forgetting?
The 18 divers were asked to learn and recall a list of 36 unrelated words of 2-3 syllables (e.g. rosetip)
They did this in 4 conditions
What were the 4 conditions of the study into context dependent forgetting?
- Learn on beach, recall on beach
- Learn on beach, recall underwater
- Learn underwater, recall underwater
- Learn underwater, recall on beach
What were the results (statistics) of the study into context dependent forgetting?
- Learn on beach, recall on beach = 13.5%
- Learn on beach, recall underwater = 8.6%
- Learn underwater, recall underwater = 11.4%
- Learn underwater, recall on beach = 8.5%
What were the findings (conclusion) of the study into context dependent forgetting?
The results show that the context acted as a cue to recall, as the ppts recalled more words when they learnt and recalled in the same environment then when they learnt and recalled in different environments
What is a strength of the study into context dependent forgetting?
Abernathy
In 1940, Abernathy found that students performed better in tests if the tests took place in the same room as the learning, and were administered by the same instructor who had taught the material
What is a strength of the study into context dependent forgetting?
Real life application
This has real life application
Eye witnesses are asked to describe the context in which the incident took place to help them remember what had happened
What is a strength of the study into context dependent forgetting?
Controlled
This was a controlled experiment
So can be replicated and reliability can be tested
What is a limitation of the study into context dependent forgetting?
Artificial
The tasks were artificial, as the divers learnt lists of meaningless words
Has no relevance to tasks in everyday life
Divers would not have had motivation to remember the words as they were insignificant
Limited ecological validity
Not generalisable to wider population
What is a limitation of the study into context dependent forgetting?
Sample size
Very limited sample size of 18 divers
Not representative of wider population due to gender and cultural bias
Who conducted the study into state dependent forgetting?
Goodwin et al
What was the aim of the study into state dependent forgetting?
To investigate the effect of state on recall
Who were the ppts in the study into state dependent forgetting?
48 male medical students
What was the procedure of the study into state dependent forgetting?
The ppts allocated to 4 conditions
Performed a variety of tests over a period of 2 days
What were the 4 condition in the study into state dependent forgetting?
SS- sober on both days
AA- intoxicated on both days
AS- intoxicated on day 1 and sober on day 2
SA- sober on day 1 and intoxicated on day 2
How much alcohol did the intoxicated group have in their blood?
100ml
Showed signs of intoxication
What were the findings of the study into state dependent forgetting?
Performance was best in ppts who were sober or intoxicated on both days
This supports state dependent forgetting, as mental and physiological state has an impact on memory
What is a strength of the study into state dependent forgetting?
Overton
Supportive study by Overton
In 1964, Overton experimented with 2 groups of rats
The first was given a mild drug, and the second was not
They were then placed in a simple maze and taught to escape an electric shock
The rats were later placed into the same maze and it was found they could not solve it unless in the same state (with or without drug) as when learning occurred
What is a strength of the study into state dependent forgetting?
Real life applications
Eye- witnesses too. crime are asked to describe their mood and emotions when the incident took place
This helps to increase memory accuracy
What is a strength of the study into state dependent forgetting?
Controlled
It was a controlled experiment
So can be replicated to test for reliability
What is a limitation of the study into state dependent forgetting?
Artificial
The tasks were artificial, so wouldn’t reflect the way people do things in their everyday lives
Limited ecological validity and not generalisable to entire population
Could be resolved by using tasks that the wide population relate to, increasing real- life application
What is a limitation of the study into state dependent forgetting?
Sample
Th sample consisted of 48 male medical students, so the results may have been effected by gender or cultural bias
Cannot be generated to wider population
Study could be expanded to include a variety of ethnicities and genders, so there wouldn’t be as significant individual differences and bias in the results
What is a limitation of the study into state dependent forgetting?
Demand characteristics
The ppts may have subconsciously changed their behaviour as they know there being tested
What is a leading question?
A question that either by form or content suggests a desired answer or leads a witness to believe a desired answer
They contain misleading pieces of information or wording and are usually closed
What is an eye witness?
Someone who has seen or witnessed a crime
What is an eye witness testimony?
The evidence provide in court by an eye witness, with an aim to identifying the perpetrator
Who conducted the studies into leading questions?
Loftus and Palmer
What was the aim the studies into leading questions?
post- event info
To investigate the effects of post- event information on ppts memory of a car crash
Who were the ppts in the first study into leading questions?
45 students
What was the procedure of the first study into leading questions?
The 45 students were shown a film of a traffic accident
The students were then split into groups and asked to complete a questionnaire
In the questionnaire, there was 1 critical question about how fast the cars were going-each with a different verb
What was the critical question in the first study into leading questions?
How fast were the cars going when they _ each other?
What were the 5 verbs used in the critical question in the first experiment into leading questions?
Hit Bumped Collided Contacted Smashed
What were the results (statistics) of the first study into leading questions?
# Hit- 34mph # Bumped- 38mph Collided- 39mph Contacted- 31mph # Smashed- 40mph
What were the findings (conclusion) of the first study into leading questions?
The critical questions containing verbs with connotations of increased speed led to higher speed estimates
Who were the ppts in the second study into leading questions?
150 students
What was the procedure of the second study into leading questions?
The 150 students were shown a short film that showed a car accident
They were split into 3 groups (one group was a control)
They were then asked questions about how fast the cars were going- each with a different verb
They returned a week later and asked: ‘Did you see any broken glass?’ (there was none in the film)
What were the 3 groups asked in the second study into leading questions?
How fast were the cars going when they hit each other?
How fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other?
Control- Asked nothing about the speed
What were the results of the second study into leading questions?
Smashed: YES: 16 NO: 34
Hit: YES: 7 NO: 43
Control: YES: 6 NO: 44
What is a strength of the studies into leading questions?
Lab
Occurred in a lab setting, meaning there was a standardised procedure
Can be replicated to check for consistent and reliable results
Also higher controls over extraneous variables
Increases internal validity
What is a strength of the studies into leading questions?
Real life application
Real life application shows how leading questions have an effect on eye witness testimonies
This has led to changes in the way the police question witnesses
Now use the CIT
What is a limitation of the studies into leading questions?
Lab
The lab setting may cause the ppts to show unnatural behaviour
Increase demand characteristics
Decrease validity
What is a limitation of the studies into leading questions?
Artificial
The procedure used an artificial situation, as the students were asked to recall info from a film
If the ppts witnessed this in real life, it may have a different effect on their memories - anxiety and the Yerkes- Dodson law shows this
What is a limitation of the studies into leading questions?
Sample
The first study used a small sample of 45 students so the results were influenced by demand characteristics
Both studies used young Americans
Impacted by gender, age and cultural bias
Studies could be expanded to include a wider variety of ethnicities, ages and genders
Who conducted the study into the weapon- focus effect?
Johnson and Scott
What was the aim of the study into the weapon- focus effect?
To test the influence of anxiety on EW
What was the procedure the study into the weapon- focus effect?
Two groups of people were in waiting rooms
The ppts heard an argument from a nearby room, then someone enters the room holding either
C1. A pen covered in grease
C2. A paper knife covered in blood
The ppts were then asked to identify the man from 50 photos
What were the results (statistics) of the study into the weapon- focus effect?
When asked to identify the man from 50 photos, the ppts in condition 1 were 49% accurate, but the pmts in condition 2 were only 33% accurate
What were the findings (conclusion) of the study into the weapon- focus effect?
The results support that in violent crimes, arousal may focus the witness onto more central details of the attack (weapon) then more peripheral details (the person)
What is a strength of the study into the weapon- focus effect?
Controlled
The procedure was a controlled observation with standardised procedures that can be repeated to test for consistency and reliability
What is a strength of the study into the weapon- focus effect?
Real life application
Real life application as its evidence for how in violent crimes, the witnesses attention is drawn to the weapon rather than the person holding it
Explains why some EW recall of violent crimes is poor
What is a limitation of the study into the weapon- focus effect?
Ethical issues
The ppts in condition 2 were exposed to a bloody knife which may cause emotional harm, especially if they have experienced trauma in the past
What is a limitation of the study into the weapon- focus effect?
Pickel
A criticism of the study came from Pickel, who proposed that the weapons- focus effect was not due to anxiety, but rather surprise
To test this, she arranged a thief to enter a hairdressing salon in a variety of conditions, including holding scissors, a gun and a raw chicken
The chicken represented low threat but high surprise
The findings showed that accurate identification of the thief was worse in the high surprise condition
This supports that anxiety is not involved in the weapons-focus effect
What does the Yerkes- Dodson law propose?
There is a positive correlation between stress and performance (good stress) until an optimal point, where stress then decreases performance (bad stress)
What does the CIT stand for?
Cognitive interview technique
What is the CIT?
A questioning technique used by the police to produce retrieval cues and help jog the witnesses memory
How many techniques does the CIT consist of?
4
What are the 4 techniques of the CIT?
Mental reinstatement of original context
Report everything
Recall from changed perspective
Recall in reverse order
In the CIT, what is meant by mental reinstatement of original context?
Interviewer will ask the witness to recall the scene
e.g. weather, thoughts, feelings, location
This allows for retrieval cues which help the recall of memory
In the CIT, what is meant by report everything?
Interviewer will ask the witness to report every detail they can, even if it seems trivial (a small detail)
This allows for retrieval cues which help the recall of memory
It could also be the detail that ties other witnesses statements together
In the CIT, what is meant by recall from a changed perspective?
Try to describe the events as it would have been seen from different viewpoints
Breaks an individuals schema (mental framework) of the event
In the CIT, what is meant by recall in reverse order?
Repeat the events in several different temporal (time) orders, moving backwards and forwards in time
Breaks an individuals schema of the event
What is a strength of the CIT?
Real life application
The CIT has real life application as it is widely used within the criminal justice system to help witnesses recall information to help catch the perpetrator
What is a strength of the CIT?
Cues
Helps to produce retrieval cues which are used to jog the witnesses memory of an event and thus help to catch the perpetrator
What is a limitation of the CIT?
Training
It is expensive and time consuming to train the interviewees needed for the CIT
What is a limitation of the CIT?
Human error
Witnesses could be biased, inaccurate, lie or suffer from human error
Would not help the case and could slow down investigation
