memory Flashcards
define sensory register
- the memory store for each of our five senses
- this part of the multi-store model of memory is not one but several store, one for each of the five senses
- the two main ones are iconic and echoic
- has a high capacity
- material only lasts very briefly, duration only 1/2 a second
- very little of this material is passed on further, but it will if you pay attention to it - the key is attention
what is the iconic store
visual information is coded visually
what is the echoic store
sound or auditory information is coded for acoustically
what makes up the multi-store model
the sensory register, the short term memory and long term memory
what Is the short term memory
the ‘limited capacity’ as can only contain a certain amount of things before forgetting takes place
what is the capacity of short term memory
7 + or - 2, though research suggests its closer to 5 things
how is information in the STM coded for
acoustically - lasts about 30 seconds unless rehearsed
what is maintenance rehearsal in the multi-store model
when we repeat material over again and again
after its rehearsed long enough, it passes into the Long term memory
define long term memory
potentially permanent memory store after it has been rehearsed after a long time
the capacity is unlimited and the duration can potentially be life-long
LTM tends to be coded for semantically
when we want to retrieve memories from the LTM, it has to be passed back through the STM, according to the multi-store model no information directly from the LTM
what is the capacity of LTM
unlimited
what is the duration of LTM
potentially be life time
Bahrick et al (1975) found many are able to recognise the faces of their classmates almost 50 years after graduating
what is the coding of LTM
semantically, in terms of meaning
what is the duration of STM
material lasts very briefly , only 1/2 a second
what is the coding of STM
iconic - visual info coded visually
echoic - auditory info coded acoustically
evaluation of multi-store model
supporting evidence
supporting research that LTM and STM are qualitatively different.
e.g. Baddeley discovered we tend to mix up words that sound similar in the STM but we mix up words with similar meanings when we use our LTM.
Shows STM is coded for acoustically and LTM is coded semantically - shows they are different
agrees with the multi store model LTM and STM is separate and independent
evaluation of multi-store model
more than one type of rehearsal
According to the MSM what matters is the amount you rehearse something
so the more you rehearse something, its more likely it will transfer to the LTM
Craik and Watkins 1973, found this was wrong and its more about the rehearsal type.
Two types of rehearsal - maintenance rehearsal as described in the multi-store model but this doesnt transfer information into the LTM just stays in the STM.
Elaborative rehearsal is whats needed for long-term storage. this is where you link information to your existing knowledge and think about what it means
evaluation of multi-store model
more than one type of STM
MSM, states that the STM is a unitary store
however evidence from people suffering from amnesia suggests this cannot be true.
Shallice and Warrington 1970 studied amnesia patient KF, they found his recall of digits that were read aloud to him was very poor but improved if he could read them outsell himself
Further research into amnesia patients suggests there could even be a STM for non verbal sounds
this is a limitation of MSM as research suggests there must be one STM to process visual information and another to process auditory, the WMM includes these stores
MSM case study - patient HM
underwent brain surgery to relieve his epilepsy, unfortunately the procedure was still in its infancy and not fully understood.
the hippocampus was wrongly removed from both sides fo his brain which is central to memory function
when his memory was assessed he though it was 1953 when it was 1955
very little memory of the operation and couldn’t remember speaking to someone an hour before
LTM could never improve despite practice however he did perform well on tests of immediate memory span, the STM tests
define MSM
a representation of how memory works in term of 3 memory stores - sensory register , STM and LTM
describes how information flows through this store
define the working-memory model WMM
a representation of STM.
suggests STM is a dynamic processor of different types of information using sub-units coordinated by a central decision making system
what are the four components of the WMM
central executive
phonological loop
visuo-spatial sketchpad
episodic buffer
what is the central executive
this coordinates the 3 subsystems of memory - an attention process that makes decisions and allocates ‘slave systems’ to tasks
the capacity of the centra executive
very limited
what is the phonological loop
deals with auditory information and preserves the order in which information arrives
-divided into 2 subsystems:
phonological store, words that you hear
articulatory store, allows maintenance rehearsal to keep them in the working model where they are needed
the capacity of this is believed to be 2 seconds
Logie 1995 subdivided this
visual cache which stores visual information
inner scribe which records the arrangement of objects in the visual field
what is the visuospatial sketchpad
stores visual and/or spatial information when required
what is the capacity of the visuospatial sketchpad
Baddeley 2003 suggests the capacity is limited, is about 3-4 objects
what is the episodic buffer
added by baddeley 2000
its a temporary store of information, integrating the verbal spatial and visual information processed by the other systems
maintains a sense of time sequence, basically recording what is happening
Baddeley 2012 suggests the capacity is about 4 chunks
it links the WMM to the LTM and wider cognitive processes such as perception
evaluation of the WMM
clinical evidence
Shallice and Warrington 1970 case study of patient KF who suffered brain damage
KF had poor STM ability for verbal information but could process visual information normally
shows is phonological loop was damage but the rest was in tact
supports separate visual and acoustic store
evaluation of the WMM
dual task performance
dual task performance support the separate existence of the visuospatial sketchpad
Baddeley et al 1975 shows participants had more difficulty doing 2 visual tasks than doing a visual and verbal task at the same time
because the increased difficult of using the same system, VSS, rather than two
evaluation of the WMM
lack of clarity over the central executive
CE is unsatisfactory as it doesnt really explain anything
The central executive needs to be more specified than just being simply ‘attention’
therefore the WMM hasn’t been fully explained
what is the cognitive interview
a method of interviewing eyewitnesses to help them retrieve more accurate memories
who suggested that cognitive interviews could be improved and how
Fisher and Geiselman 1992 argued eyewitnesses could be improved if the police used better techniques 1 - report everything 2 - reinstate the context 3 - reverse the order 4 - change perspective
cognitive interview 1st stage
report everything
witnesses are encouraged to include every single detail even though it may seem irrelevant
this may trigger other memories or turn out to be significant
cognitive interview 2nd stage
reinstate context
witness should return to the crime scene ‘in their mind; and imagine the environment and their emotions
this is related to context-dependent forgetting
cognitive interview 3rd stage
events should be recalled in a different order than chronological
to prevent the person reporting their expectations of how the event must have happened rather than what happened
prevents dishonesty its harder to produce an untruthful account if you have to reverse it
cognitive interview 4th stage
change perspective
recalling the incident from the perspective of someone else e.g. to the perpetrator
to disrupt the expectations of schema recall
what is the enhanced cognitive interview and who proposed it
Fisher et al 1987
developed additional elements to focus on the social dynamics of the interaction
e.g. when to establish eye contact and when to relinquish it
suggests ideas such as reducing witness anxiety and asking open ended questions
evaluation of cognitive interviews
it is time consuming
takes much more time than standard police interviews so the police may be reluctant to use it
e.g. more time is needed to establish a rapport
it also requires special training which requires even more time and many forces may not be able to provide more than a few hours
means the proper version of this is actually used which may explain why people haven’t been impressed by it
evaluation of cognitive interviews
some elements may be more valuable than others
Milne and Bull 2002 found each individual element was equally important - each technique used alone provided more information than a standard police interview
However found that using a combination of report everything and context reinstatement produced better recall than any of the conditions
a strength as these two elements should be used to improve police interviewing of eyewitnesses even if it isn’t fully used increasing its credibility
evaluation of cognitive interviews
support for the effectiveness of ECI
ECI may offer special benefits
For example meta-analysis by Kohnken et al 1990 combined data from 50 studies - ECI consistently provided more correct information than the standard interview
shows there are real benefits to the process
