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Memory Flashcards

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1
Q

Memory is studied by psychologists from which approach?

A

Cognitive

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2
Q

Why do we use models to study memory?

A

To understand it, because it’s not an ‘observable phenomenon’ (we can’t see memory – it’s a mental process)

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3
Q

Give the encoding, capacity and duration of STM

A

Acoustic, 7+/-2, 18 seconds

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4
Q

Name one method to improve the capacity of STM

A

Chunking information together (Miller said we can hold 7+/-2 chunks)

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5
Q

What did Miller find?

A

Miller said we can hold 7+/-2 chunks of information (magical number 7)

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6
Q

Give the encoding, capacity and duration of LTM

A

Bahrick (1975) High school yearbook – people could remember Semantic, unlimited, a lifetime

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7
Q

What does the term ‘coding’ mean?

A

The format in which memory is stored.

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8
Q

What did Peterson and Peterson investigate?

A

The duration of STM (they found it was 18 seconds)

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9
Q

What is the Brown-Peterson technique?

A

Counting backwards to prevent rehearsal (so we can study the duration of STM without rehearsal)

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10
Q

What does MSM stand for?

A

Multistore model of memory

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11
Q

Give the three stores of the MSM

A

Sensory store, short term memory, long term memory

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12
Q

How is information passed from STM to LTM according to the MSM?

A

Prolonged rehearsal (just rehearsing over and over)

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13
Q

Identify the two types of rehearsal in the MSM

A

Maintenance (keeps info in STM) AND Prolonged (moves info from STM to LTM)

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14
Q

How does info pass from Sensory memory to STM according to the MSM?

A

Attention

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15
Q

Give 2 ways information is lost from LTM according to the MSM

A

Retrieval failure AND interference

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16
Q

How is information recalled from LTM according to the MSM?

A

It passes back into STM by a process called retrieval, and is then recalled

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17
Q

One criticism of the MSM was that it is too simple. Give one way it’s too simple.

A

STM is not a unitary store – there is verbal and visual components – it’s more a working memory, AND LTM is not a unitary store –semantic, procedural, episodic AND Prolonged rehearsal is too simple – it’s elaborative rehearsal that passes info to LTM (linking info to other things in LTM)

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18
Q

Give one case study to support the MSM

A

HM or Clive Wearing - both show distinction between LTM and STM

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19
Q

Who was HM?

A

Henry Molaison - A brain damaged patient who had surgery to remove hippocampus to cure epilepsy.

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20
Q

Who came up with the MSM?

A

Atkinson and Shiffrin

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21
Q

Give the three types of long term memory

A

Semantic, procedural, episodic

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22
Q

Give two differences between semantic and episodic memory

A

Semantic is for facts WHEREAS episodic is for events, AND Semantic is related to an encyclopedia WHEREAS episodic is related to a diary AND Semantic is related to an encyclopedia WHEREAS episodic is related to a diary

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23
Q

How is procedural memory different from both semantic and episodic?

A

It’s unavailable for conscious inspection (it’s unconsciously recalled)

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24
Q

Which type of long term memory is ‘unavailable for conscious inspection’?

A

Procedural

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25
Q

The smell of a bonfire is an example of what type of LTM?

A

Semantic (recalling a time at a bonfire would be episodic)

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26
Q

One weakness of the types of LTM is that they are too complex. Give one way we could simplify them.

A

Declarative (episodic and semantic) and non declarative (procedural)

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27
Q

How did Tulving support the three types of LTM?

A

PET scans to show activity in different areas of the brain when doing tasks using different types of LTM.

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28
Q

Which part of the brain is used for episodic memories?

A

Right pre frontal cortex

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29
Q

Which part of the brain is used for semantic memories?

A

Left pre frontal cortex

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30
Q

Give one real life application of the types of LTM

A

Helping patients with ‘mild cognitive impairments’ = better people’s lives. They often have poor episodic memory so we can target that and train/improve it.

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31
Q

What did Cohen and Squire say about the types of LTM

A

There were only two, not three. They are declarative (episodic and semantic) and non declarative (procedural)

32
Q

Name all parts of the working memory model

A

Central executive, episodic buffer, phonolgoical loop, phonological store, articulatory control system, visuo-spatial sketchpad, visual cache, inner scribe

33
Q

Which part of the WMM is in charge? What does it do?

A

Central executive – it has slave systems and allocates resources to them.

34
Q

What is the different between working memory and short term memory?

A

Working memory is an active process - it is an explanation of how STM functions whereas STM is a temporary store.

35
Q

Who came up with the working memory model?

A

Baddeley and Hitch

36
Q

What is the articulatory process for?

A

Repeating information inside your head (to keep them in STM whilst you use them)

37
Q

How big is the capacity of the articulatory system?

A

However much you can say in 2 seconds

38
Q

Give one case study to support the WMM

A

KF – could remember words he read (VSS) but not those read aloud to him (PL)

39
Q

How did Baddeley ‘damage’ his participant’s brains in order to study the working memory processes separately?

A

He made them do tasks which used up certain sections of the WM. For example saying a word over and over, uses the phonological loop.

40
Q

Give one evaluation point about the central executive.

A

It is not fully understood or explained in the WMM research. ‘It’s the most important but the least understood component of working memory’.

41
Q

Give two theories of forgetting

A

Interference and Retrieval failure

42
Q

Identify and explain the two types of interference

A

Proactive – Where old prevents the learning of new info and Retroactive – where new info prevents the recall of old info

43
Q

When is memory interference most likely to occur?

A

When information is similar

44
Q

Give the method by which McGeoch an Mcdonald studied interference

A

They gave participants a list of 10 adjectives (list A). There was then a resting interval of 10 minutes during which they learnt list B, followed by recall of list A. and List B was either: Synonyms, antonyms, unrelated words, nonsense syllables, 3 digit numbers, nothing.

45
Q

What did the results ofMcGeoch and Mcdonalds study on the effects of similarityof material demonstrate?

A

That the more similar the items are the stronger interference is. Ony interference, rather than decay, can explain such effects

46
Q

How did Baddeley and Hitch study interference in real life?

A

Rugby players recalling the names of teams they had played

47
Q

Define retrieval failure

A

When you forget due to the absence of cues. When you try to retrieve a memory that is there in LTM, but not accessible.

48
Q

What is the encoding specificity principle?

A

The rule that the same cues need to be there at encoding and retrieval for info to be remembered.

49
Q

If you can’t recall your exam material in the hall because you didn’t revise there, it’s an example of what?

A

Context dependent forgetting

50
Q

If you can’t recall your exam material because you are too nervous now, but when you learned the info you were calm, it’s an example of what?

A

State dependent forgetting

51
Q

Carter and Cassidy studied retrieval failure, what did they find?

A

People recalled more info when they had taken antihistamine at encoding and retrieval, or when they had not taken it at both, than when there was a mismatch.

52
Q

What is the main study to support retrieval failure?

A

Godden and Baddeley (1975) Underwater diver study

53
Q

Give a finding of Godden and Baddeleys study (use a figure if possible)

A

Recall was 40% worse when learning and recalling environment was different, than when it was the same.

54
Q

Give one weakness of Godden and Baddeley’s study on retrieval failure.

A

The contexts were too different – not ecologically valid, and Lacks mundane realism – learning words, and learning them underwater!

55
Q

Give a real life application of research into retrieval failure

A

Police interviews and eyewitness testimony, Revising for exams

56
Q

What are leading questions?

A

A question that, either by its form content, suggest to the witnesses what answer is desired or leads him or her to the desired answer.

57
Q

What is post even discussion?

A

A conversation between co-witnesses or an interviewer and an eyewitness after a crime has taken place which may contaminate a witnesses memory for the event.

58
Q

Give two ways post even discussion can alter EWT

A

Memory conformity – report the memories that everyone else say (but memory not affected), and Memory contamination – get confused between actual memory and what others have said, so memory changes (source confusion)

59
Q

What did Gabbert do to study EWT and misleading info?

A

Participants were put into pairs where each partner watched a different video of the same event so that they both saw unique items. Pairs in one condition discussed the event before each partner was asked to recall the event they had just watched.

60
Q

What were Gabbert’s findings into EWT and misleading info?

A

71% of participants who had discussed the event with their partner mistakenly recalled items discussed by the other partner of which they did not see in there video

61
Q

What is the substitution explanation, relating to EWT?

A

When the wording of a leading questions causes an eyewitnesses’ memory to actually change

62
Q

Explain the inverted U theory?

A

Inverted U theory states that at low levels of anxiety cognitive performance (in this case memory accuracy) will be at a relatively low level, but as anxiety increases then so does cognitive performance until it reaches an optimal level after which any further increase in anxiety level leads to a rapid drop in cognitive performance.

63
Q

What is the Yerkes Dodson Law?

A

At low levels of anxiety cognitive performance (in this case memory accuracy) will be at a relatively low level, but as anxiety increases then so does cognitive performance until it reaches an optimal level after which any further increase in anxiety level leads to a rapid drop in cognitive performance.

64
Q

What is the evolutionary reason why our memories should be better when we are anxious?

A

More aware of surroundings due to heightened senses from fight or flight

65
Q

Explain the weapon focus effect

A

We recall less peripheral details of an event because we have ‘tunnel vision’ where we focus on the weapon in a scene, not the surroundings.

66
Q

Who studied the weapon focus effect?

A

Johnson and Scott (1976) knife and pen study

67
Q

What did Yuille and Cutshall study?

A

The effect of anxiety on memory

68
Q

How did Pickel (1998) criticise the weapon focus effect as an explanation of forgetting?

A

Pickel said that it’s surprise, not anxiety that causes us to get ‘tunnel vision’ and forget details of an event. Eg we look at the weapon in a scene because it’s odd, not because it causes anxiety. (raw chicken in a hairdresser study).

69
Q

Give one ethical issue when studying the effect of anxiety on EWT.

A

Can’t always protect from harm – have to make participants anxious to get the results.

70
Q

Identify the 4 parts of the cognitive interview

A

Report Everything, Change Perspective, Reverse/Change Order, Reinstate the Context

71
Q

Who developed the Cognitive Interview

A

Fisher and Geiselman

72
Q

Who developed the enhanced cognitive interview?

A

Fisher

73
Q

What does the enhanced cognitive interview add to the regular cognitive interview?

A

Social cues, body language, eye contact, non-leading questions, open ended questions, speaking slowly.

74
Q

Which part of the cognitive interview is based on the encoding specificity principle?

A

Reinstate the context (to give the same cues that were present at encoding)

75
Q

Which part of the cognitive interview is based on the idea of reducing schemas?

A

Change perspective, Reverse the order

76
Q

Why do they ask people to reverse the order of events, in the cognitive interview?

A

To reduce the impact of schemas on recall.

77
Q

Give one weakness of the cognitive interview

A

Time consuming, Police need extra training, expensive, Some sections are more valuable than others, It can increase the recall of incorrect information as well as correct information!

Psychology (11 decks)

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