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Memory Flashcards

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1
Q

Definition of Short Term Memory

A

The limited capacity memory store

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2
Q

Definition of Long Term Memory

A

The permanent memory store

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3
Q

Definition of Coding

A

The format in which information is stored in the various memory stores

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4
Q

Definition of Capacity

A

The amount of information that can be held in a memory store

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4
Q

Definition of Duration

A

The length of time information can be held in memory

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5
Q

What were the 4 Word Groups that were Used in Baddley’s Research into Coding?

A

Acoustically similar
Acoustically dissimilar
Semantically similar
Semantically dissimilar

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6
Q

Baddley - Method - 2 Points

A
  • Gave lists of different words to 4 groups of participants to remember
  • After hearing word lists, participants were asked to recall them in the correct order either immediately or after a 20 minute interval
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7
Q

Baddley - Results - 2 Points

A
  • STM recall was worse on acoustically similar words
  • LTM recall was worse on semantically similar words
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8
Q

Baddley - Conclusion

A

Information is coded acoustically in STM and semantically in LTM

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9
Q

What is Jacob’s Digit Span Task?

A

A participant has to immediately recall a sequence of letters or numbers which increased by one letter or number with each trial

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10
Q

What is Jacob’s Mean for Digits?

A

9.3

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11
Q

What is Jacob’s Mean for Letters?

A

7.3

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12
Q

What is Miller’s Theory of STM Capacity?

A

The capacity of the STM is 7 (+/- 2)

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13
Q

Definition of Chunking

A

A method which increases STM capacity by grouping together pieces of information

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14
Q

Peterson and Peterson - Method - 2 Points

A
  • Gave participants nonsense trigram and a 3 digit number to count back from
  • Amount of time spent counting backwards (retention interval) varied from 3 -18 seconds in 3 second intervals
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15
Q

Peterson and Peterson - Results - 3 Points

A
  • 80% recall after 3 seconds
  • 50% recall after 6 seconds
  • > 10% recall after 18 seconds
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16
Q

Peterson and Peterson - Conclusion

A

STM has a very short duration of no more than >18 seconds, unless we keep repeating things (verbal rehearsal)

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17
Q

Bahrick et al - Method - 4 Points

A
  • Studied 392 people between 17 and 74
  • High school yearbook obtained and participants tested in either of the two conditions
  • Condition 1 - photo recognition test consisting of 50 phots, some from participant’s yearbook
  • Condition 2 - unprompted free recall test where participants recalled the names of their graduating class
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18
Q

Bahrick et al - Results - 4 Points

A
  • 90% accurate in photo recognition within 15 years of graduation
  • 70% accurate in photo recognition after 48 years of graduation
  • 60% accurate in free recall after 15 years of graduation
  • 30% accurate in free recall after 48 years of graduation
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19
Q

Bahrick et al - Conclusion

A

LTM can last a very long time

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20
Q

Research into Coding - Use of Artificial Materials in Baddeley’s Research - 4 Points 3

A
  • Word lists had no personal meaning to participants
  • Means that Baddley’s findings may not tell us much about coding in different kinds of memory tasks, especially in everyday life
  • When processing more meaningful information, people may use semantic coding even for STM tasks
  • Suggests that the findings from this study have limited application
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21
Q

Research into Capacity - Lack of Validity in Jacob’s Research, But Many Subsequent Replications - 4 Points

A
  • Conducted a long time ago
  • Early studies lacked adequate control
  • Extraneous variables not being controlled
  • Other studies have confirmed the results of this research
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22
Q

Research into Capacity - Miller’s Overestimation - 3 Points

A
  • May have overestimated capacity of STM
  • Cowan - reviewed other research and concluded that the capacity of the STM was only about 4 chunks
  • Suggests the lower end of Miller’s estimate is more appropriate than upper end
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23
Q

Research into Duration - High External Validity in Bahrick et al’s Research - 3 Points

A
  • Researchers investigated meaningful memories
  • Shepard - study on LTM was conducted with meaningless pictures to be remembered, and found recall rates were lower
  • Suggests Bahrick et al’s findings reflect a more real estimate of the duration of LTM
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24
Q

Research into Duration - Meaningless Stimuli in Peterson and Peterson’s Study - 4 Points

A
  • Stimulus material was artificial
  • Study is not completely irrelevant because we do sometimes try to remember family meaningless material, such as phone numbers
  • Recalling constant syllables doesn’t reflect most everyday memory activities where what we are trying to remember is more meaningful
  • Means the study lacked external validity
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25
Q

Multi Store Model

A

-> 2 A C
1-> 3 -> 5 - > 6
-> 4 D V ^ < -
l B
E l_ _ l

1 - Sensory Registers
2 - Iconic Store
3 - Echoic Store
4 - Other memory stores
5 - STM
6 - LTM
A - Attention
B - Prolonged Rehearsal
C - Retrieval
D - Response (remembering)
E - Maintenance Rehearsal (maintenance rehearsal)

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26
Q

Sensory Registers - 3 Points

A
  • Sense specific coding (modality free)
  • High capacity because it contains all sensory experience
  • Lasts 0.25 - 0.5 seconds
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27
Q

MSM STM - 3 Points

A
  • Limited capacity
  • Coded acoustically
  • Lasts 30 seconds
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28
Q

MSM LTM - 3 Points

A
  • Potentially permanent memory store
  • Unlimited capacity
  • Coded semantically
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29
Q

HM Case Study (MSM) - 3 Points

A
  • Had severely impaired episodic memory but his semantic memory was relatively unaffected
  • Could not remember stroking a dog half an hour ago or if he had a dog in the past (episodic) but could understand the concept of a dog (semantic)
  • Both sides of hippocampus removed
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30
Q

Multi Store Model A03 - Supporting Evidence (Murdock’s Research) - 4 Points

A
  • Participants were given a word list of 24 words, and each word was shown for 2 seconds, and then asked to free recall
  • Words recalled best were at start of list (primacy effect) and the end of the list (recency effect)
  • Primacy effect occurs because words rehearsed most make it to LTM
  • Recency effect occurs because words are still fresh in STM
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31
Q

Multi Store Model A03 - More Than One Type of STM (KF) - 4 Points

A
  • Lost of amnesia cases show that STM and LTM cannot be unitary stores
  • Shallice and Warrington - studied patient ‘KF’
  • Found that KF’s STM for digits was very poor when they were read aloud to him, but his recall was much better when he was able to read the digits himself
  • Shows that there must be at least one STM store to process visual information and one to process auditory information
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32
Q

Multi Store Model A03 - Elaborative Rehearsal is Not Accounted for - 3 Points

A
  • MSM says that rehearsal in terms of quantity not quality
  • Craik and Watkins - found maintenance rehearsal does not transfer information into the LTM but just keeps it in the STM
  • Say elaborative rehearsal is needed to transfer information into LTM (occurs when you link the information to your existing knowledge)
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33
Q

Multi Store Model A03 - Research Support - 4 Points

A
  • Baddley - found that we tend to mix up words that sound similar when we are using our STM, and words that have similar meanings when using our LTM
  • Further support comes from the studies of capacity and duration
  • Includes Murdock’s research
  • Clearly show that STM and LTM are separate independent memory stores
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34
Q

Multi Store Model A03 - LTM May Not Be a Unitary Store - 3 Points

A
  • Atkinson and Shiffrin based the MSM on the research evidence at the time that showed STM and LTM to be single memory stores that are separate and independent from each other
  • Lots of research evidence that the LTM is not a single memory store, such as semantic, episodic, and procedural LTM
  • Combined with research showing there is more than one the of STM and rehearsal, the MSM is an oversimplified model of memory
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35
Q

Who Proposed the Different Types of LTM?

A

Tulving

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36
Q

What are the 3 Types of LTM?

A

Episodic
Semantic
Procedural

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37
Q

What is Episodic Memory?

A

LTM store for personal events

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38
Q

2 Examples of Episodic Memory

A
  • Last holiday you went on
  • What you had for breakfast this morning
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39
Q

Episodic Memory - 3 Points

A
  • Time stamped
  • Memory of single episode includes several elements (i.e. people, places, objects, behaviours)
  • Have to make conscious effort to recall
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40
Q

What is Semantic Memory?

A

LTM store for knowledge of the world

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41
Q

2 Examples of Semantic Memory?

A
  • Meaning of words
  • Taste of an orange
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42
Q

Semantic Memory - 4 Points

A
  • Likened to a combination of an encyclopaedia and a dictionary
  • Knowledge of concepts
  • Not time stamped
  • Less personal - more about facts we all share
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43
Q

What is Procedural Memory?

A

LTM store for knowledge of how to do things

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44
Q

4 Examples of Procedural Memory?

A
  • Driving a car
  • Tying shoelaces
  • Swimming
  • Walking
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45
Q

Procedural Memory - 2 Points

A
  • Can recall without conscious effort/awareness
  • Skills we find hard to explain to someone else
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46
Q

Clive Wearing Case Study (LTM) - 3 Points

A
  • Damaged hippocampus
  • Can remember some aspects of his past, but not others
  • Can remember he has children from an earlier marriage but not their names
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47
Q

Types of LTM A03 - Clinical Evidence - 3 Points

A
  • HM and Clive Wearing
  • Supports Tulving’s view of separate stores - one can be damaged but the other stores can be unaffected
  • Evidence that the types of memory are different and stored in different parts of the brain
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48
Q

Types of LTM A03 - Neuroimaging Evidence - 4 Points

A
  • Brain scanning studies show different types of LTM are stored in different parts of the brain
  • Tulving et al - PET scanned participants whilst doing different memory tools
  • Found that episodic memories recalled from right pre-frontal cortex and semantic memories recalled from left pre-frontal cortex
  • This finding has been confirmed in many other research studies which suggests high internal validity
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49
Q

Types of LTM A03 - Real Life Applications - 2 Points

A
  • Belleville et al - demonstrated that episodic memories could be improved in older people with mild cognitive impairment - trained group on a test of memory
  • Being able to distinguish between types of LTM enables the development of specific treatments
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50
Q

Types of LTM A03 - 2 or 3 Types of LTM? - 3 Points

A
  • Cohen and Squire - disagree with Tulving and suggest there are only 2 types of LTM: declarative and non-declarative
  • Declarative memories - memories that can be subconsciously recalled (episodic and semantic)
  • Non-declarative memories - memories that cannot be consciously recalled (procedure)
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51
Q

Who Proposed the Working Memory Model?

A

Baddley and Hitch

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52
Q

What is the WMM?

A

Representation of STM which suggests STM is a dynamic processor of different types of information, using sub-units coordinated by a central decision-making system

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53
Q

Diagram of WMM

A
                • > Central Executive < - - - - - - - - - -
                  l ^ l
                  v v v
                  Visuo-spatial sketchpad Episodic Buffer Phonological loop
                  ^ ^ (Articulatory control
                  l l system and phonological
                  l l store)
                  l v ^
                                      • > Long Term Memory < ———- l
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54
Q

Central Executive - 3 Points

A
  • Attentional processes
  • Monitors incoming data, makes decisions and allocates tasks to slave systems
  • Very limited processing capacity
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55
Q

Phonological Loop - 3 Points

A
  • The slave system that deals with auditory information and preserves the order in which information arrives
  • Coding is acoustic
  • Divided into two parts - phonological store and articulatory control system
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56
Q

What is the Phonological Store?

A

Part of the PL that stores the words you hear

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57
Q

Articulatory Control System - 2 Points

A
  • Part of the PL that allows for maintenance rehearsal
  • Capacity is believed to be 2 seconds with of what you can say
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58
Q

Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad - 3 Points

A
  • Slave system which stores visual and/or spatial information
  • Limited capacity of 3 - 4 objects
  • Logie subdivided VSS into 2 parts - visual cache and inner scribe
59
Q

What is the Visual Cache?

A

Part of the VSS that stores visual data

60
Q

What is the Inner Scribe?

A

Part of the VSS that records the arrangement of objects in the visual field

61
Q

Episodic Buffer - 5 Points

A
  • Slave system that was added to the model by Baddley later
  • Temporary store for information which integrates visual, spatial and verbal information processed by other stores
  • Maintains a sense of time sequencing
  • Storage component of the central executive
  • ## Limited capacity of 4 chunks
62
Q

WMM A03 - Clinical Evidence (KF Case Study) - 2 Points

A
  • KF suffered brain damage, leaving him with poor STM ability for verbal information by his STM for visual information was in tact
  • Suggests his phonological loop was damaged
63
Q

WMM A03 - Dual-Task Performance - 3 Points

A
  • Baddley et al - participants had more difficulty doing two visual tasks at once, then doing both a verbal and visual task at the same time
  • The two visual tasks were competing for the same slave system
  • Supports existence of the VSS
64
Q

WMM A03 - Lack of Clarity Over The Central Executive (Unfalsifiable) - 2 Points

A
  • Baddley - “the central executive is the most important but least understood component of working memory”
  • It needs to be more clearly specified than simply being attention
65
Q

WMM A03 - Word Length Effect Supports PL - 2 Points

A
  • Baddley et al - showed people find it harder to remember a list of long words than a list of short words (word length effect) because of finite space in the articulatory control system
  • Word Length Effect disappears when a person does an articulatory suppression task
66
Q

WMM A03 - Brain Scanning Studies Support the WMM - 3 Points

A
  • Braver et al - gave participants tasks that involved the central executive whilst having their brain scanned
  • They found greater activity in the left pre-frontal cortex which increased with task difficulty
  • Makes sense that as demands on the central executive increase, it has to work harder to fulfil its function
67
Q

Definition of Interference

A

When two pieces of information conflict with each other, which results in forgetting one or both pieces of information or some distortion of memory

68
Q

What are the Two Types of Interference?

A

Proactive and reactive interference

69
Q

Definition of Proactive Interference

A

Older memories interfere with newer ones

70
Q

Definition of Reactive Interference

A

Newer memories interfere with older ones

71
Q

McGeoch and McDonald - Aim

A

To investigate the effects of similarity on interference

72
Q

McGeoch and McDonald - Method - 2 Points

A
  • Participants learnt a list of 10 words until they could recall them with 100% accuracy, then learned one of six new words list before being retested with the original list
  • ## 6 lists were: synonyms, antonyms, unrelated words to original list, nonsense syllables, three digit numbers, or no new list (retest)
73
Q

McGeoch and McDonald - Results - 2 Points

A
  • When recalling original list, performance depended on the nature of the second list
  • Group who had learnt the most similar material (synonyms) recalled the least
74
Q

McGeoch and McDonald - Conclusion

A

Interference effects are strongest when the memories are similar

75
Q

Interference Theory A03 - Evidence from Lab Studies - 3 Points

A
  • Thousands of lab experiments have been carried out
  • Most of these studies show both types of interference are likely to be common ways we forget information from LTM
  • High levels of internal validity due to high level of control
76
Q

Interference Theory A03 - Use of Artificial Materials - 3 Points

A
  • Much greater chance of interference will be demonstrated in the lab rather than in real life situations because the stimulus materials used in most studies are word lists
  • Learning word lists is more realistic than learning lists of consonant syllables, but it is still quite different to the information we learn and try to remember in everyday life
  • May not be as likely an explanation for forgetting in everyday life, and has low external validity
77
Q

Interference Theory A03 - Use of Artificial Materials - 3 Points

A
  • Much greater chance of interference will be demonstrated in the lab rather than in real life situations because the stimulus materials used in most studies are word lists
  • Learning word lists is more realistic than learning lists of consonant syllables, but it is still quite different to the information we learn and try to remember in everyday life
  • May not be as likely an explanation for forgetting in everyday life, and has low external validity
78
Q

Interference Theory A03 - Experiment Set-Up Maximises the Potential for Interference Effects - 3 Points

A
  • E.g. time period between learning word lists and recalling them in experiment is usually very short
  • Uncommon for the whole experience of learning something and recalling it to be over within an hour
  • Very different to everyday life, and interference is more likely in a lab setting
79
Q

Interference Theory A03 - Interference Effects May be Overcome by Using Cues - 5 Points

A
  • Tulving and Psotka -gave participants 5 lists of 24 words - each list organised into 6 categories
  • Categories were not explicit but it was presumed they would be obvious to the participant
  • Recall was 70% for the first word list, but this fell as participants learnt each additional word list
  • At the end, they were given a cued recall test where they were told the names of the categories - recall rose to 70%
  • Shows recall interference effects exist but also shows that the memories do not disappear - they are still available and we just need a cue to access it
80
Q

Interference Theory A03 - Research Support from ‘Real Life Studies’ - 5 Points

A
  • Baddley and Hitch - asked rugby players to try remember the names of the teams they had played so far that season, week by week
  • Results showed accurate recall did not depend on how long ago the matches had taken place, but the number of matches played since then
  • Shows interference explanations apply to at least some everyday situations
  • Burke and Skull - presented a series of magazine adverts to participants and asked them to recall the details of what they had seen
  • Interference effect was greater when the adverts were similar
81
Q

Definition of Retrieval Failure

A

When the information is in LTM but cannot be accessed, because the cues are not present

82
Q

Definition of Cue

A

A trigger of information that allows us to access a memory - these cues may be meaningful or indirectly linked by being encoded at the time of learning

83
Q

ESP - 3 Points

A
  • If cues available at encoding and retrieval are different or entirely absent, there will be some forgetting
  • Some cues are linked to the material in a meaningful way
  • Other cues are also encoded when learning but not in a meaningful way
84
Q

Carter and Cassidy (State-Dependent Forgetting) - Method - 5 Points

A
  • Gave antihistamines to their participants and they had to learn list of words and passages of prose and then recall the information
  • Condition 1 - learn on drug, recall on drug
  • Condition 2 - learn on drug, recall not on drug
  • Condition 3 - learn not on drug, recall on drug
  • Condition 4 - lean not on drug, recall not on drug
85
Q

Carter and Cassidy (State-Dependent Forgetting) - Results - 2 Points

A
  • Mismatched conditions had worse performance on memory
  • Matching conditions had better performance on memory
86
Q

Carter and Cassidy (State-Dependent Forgetting) - Conclusion

A

When the internal cues are absent, there is more forgetting

87
Q

Godden and Badley (Context-Dependent Forgetting) - Method - 5 Points

A
  • Divers learned a list of words either underwater or on land and were then asked to recall either underwater or on land
  • Condition 1 - learn on land, recall on land
  • Condition 2 - learn on land, recall underwater
  • Condition 3 - learn underwater, recall on land
  • Condition 4 - learn underwater, recall underwater
88
Q

Godden and Badley (Context-Dependent Forgetting) - Results

A

Non-matching conditions had 40% lower recall than matching conditions

89
Q

Godden and Badley (Context-Dependent Forgetting) - Conclusion

A

When the external cues available at learning are different than the ones at recall, it led to retrieval failure

90
Q

Retrieval Failure A03 - Supporting Evidence - 3 Points

A
  • Godden and Badley, and Carter and Cassidy
  • Eysenck - suggests retrieval failure is the main reason for forgetting in LTM
  • Evidence also shows retrieval failure occurs in real life situations as well as in controlled lab conditions
91
Q

Retrieval Failure A03 - Strength of Context Effects - 2 Points

A
  • Baddley - argues contact effects aren’t as strong in real life - two contexts would have to be extremely different before we could see an effect
  • Godden and Baddley compared land to being underwater - we are unlikely to see such a large effect when switching between two similar cues
92
Q

Retrieval Failure A03 - Recall Vs Recognition - 3 Points

A
  • Context effect may be related to the kind of memory being tested
  • When Godden and Baddley’s experiment was replicated using a word recognition test rather than having to retrieve the words themselves, there was no context-dependent effect
  • Presence or absence of cues only affects emory when you test it in a certain way
93
Q

Retrieval Failure A03 - Problems with Encoding Specificity Principle (Unfalsifiable) - 3 Points

A
  • The ESP cannot be tested - when a cue leads to successful recall, we assume that cue must have been encoded at the time of learning
  • And the a cues does not result in successful recall, we assume the cue was not encoded at the time of learning
  • These are just assumptions - there is no way to test whether the cues has really been encoded
94
Q

Retrieval Failure A03 - Real Life Application - 4 Points

A
  • Although context-related cues appear not to have a very strong effect on forgetting
  • Baddley still thinks they’re worth paying attention to
  • When we are struggling to remember something, it is worth making the effort to try and recall the environment you first learned it in
  • Basic principle of cognitive interview
95
Q

Definition of Eyewitness Testimony

A

An account providing details of an event which the person has observed.

96
Q

Definition of Leading Question

A

A question which is phrased in a way that suggests a certain answer

97
Q

Loftus and Palmer - Method - 3 Points

A
  • Students watched films of car accidents and then answered questions about them
  • Asked to estimate how fast the cars were going but the verb was changed between questions
  • Verbs - hit, contacted, bumped, collided or smashed
98
Q

Loftus and Palmer - Results - 2 Points

A
  • Estimated mean speed for ‘contacted’ was 31.8 mph
  • Estimated mean speed for ‘smashed’ was 40.5 mph
99
Q

What are the 2 Explanations for Why Leading Questions Affect EWT?

A
  • Response bias explanation
  • Substitution explanation
100
Q

What is the Response Bias Explanation for Why Leading Questions Affect EWT?

A

Wording of the question has no real effect on participants memories, but influences how they choose to answer the question, e.g. when the participants heard ‘smashed’ it encourages them to estimate a higher speed

101
Q

What is the Substitution Explanation for Why Leading Questions Affect EWT?

A

Wording of question alters participants memory e.g. in a second study, participants were more likely to report seeing seeing broken glass even thought there was none

102
Q

Definition of Post-Event Discussion

A

When co-witnesses of a crime discuss the crime with one another which means their memories may be contaminated because they combine information from other witness with their own memories

103
Q

Gabbert et al - Method - 3 Points

A
  • Studied participants in pairs
  • Each watched the same crime but different viewpoints
  • Discussed what they had seen before completing a recall test
104
Q

Gabbert et al - Results

A

71% of participants mistakenly recalled something they had not seen in the video

105
Q

Gabbert et al - Conclusion

A

Witnesses often go along with one another, either to win social approval or because they believe other witnesses are right and they are wrong (memory conformity)

106
Q

Effects of Misleading Information on EWT A03 - Real Life Application - 2 Points

A
  • Consequences of inaccurate EWT can be very serious in real life
  • Loftus believes that leading questions can have such distorting effects on memory that police officers need to be careful with how they phrase questions when interviewing eyewitnesses
107
Q

Effects of Misleading Information on EWT A03 - Tasks are Artificial - 3 Points

A
  • Decreased external validity
  • In Loftus and Palmer’s research, participants watched film clips of car accidents, which is very different to witnessing one in real life
  • Artificial stimuli and tasks may tell us very little about how leading questions could affect EWT for real accidents/crimes
108
Q

Effects of Misleading Information on EWT A03 - Individual Differences - 3 Points

A
  • Anastasi and Rhodes - found that people in the 18-25 and 35-45 age groups were more accurate in their eyewitness reports than people in the 55-78 age group
  • But all groups were more accurate when identifying people of their own age group (own age bias)
  • ## Research studies often use younger people as the target to identify, which could falsely make some age groups look less accurate
109
Q

Effects of Misleading Information on EWT A03 - Warnings Can Reduce Effects of Post-Event Discussion (Bodner et al)

A

Bodner et al - found that recall was more accurate when participants were warned that anything they hear from co-witness is secondhand information and may not be true, so they should forget it and recall only their memory of the event

110
Q

Effects of Misleading Information on EWT A03 - Demand Characteristics - 3 Points

A
  • Zaragossa and McCloskey - argue many answers participants give in lab studies of EWT are due to demand characteristics
  • Participants want to be useful and not let the researcher down
  • When they are asked a question they don’t know the answer to, they are more likely to guess
111
Q

Effects of Misleading Information on EWT A03 - Consequences of EWT in Research Studies is Not Comparable (Foster et al)

A

Foster et al - point out that memory of an eyewitness in real life can have important consequences, but this is not the same in research studies

112
Q

What Study Suggests that Anxiety has a Negative Effect on Recall?

A

Johnson and Scott

113
Q

What Study Suggests that Anxiety has a Positive Effect on Recall?

A

Yuille and Cutshall

114
Q

Johnson and Scott - Method - 3 Points

A
  • Participants were seated in a waiting room and heard an argument in the next room
  • In low anxiety condition, a man walked from the room carrying a pen and covered in grease
  • In high anxiety condition, they also heard the sound of breaking glass, and the man was covered in blood and carrying a knife
115
Q

Johnson and Scott - Results - 2 Points

A
  • 49% of participants in the low anxiety condition were able to identify him
  • 33% of participants in the high anxiety condition were able to identify him
116
Q

Johnson and Scott - Conclusion

A

The tunnel theory of memory argues that an eyewitness’ attention narrows to focus on a weapon as they are a source of anxiety, meaning they cannot attend to other important cues

117
Q

Yuille and Cutshall - Method - 3 Points

A
  • Real event with 21 witnesses, with 13 agreeing to take part in the study
  • Interviewed 4 - 5 months after the incident and were compared with official police interviews made at the time of the shooting
  • Accuracy was determined by the number of details reported
118
Q

Yuille and Cutshall - Results

A

Witnesses gave very accurate accounts and there was little change in accuracy after 5 months

119
Q

Yuille and Cutshall - Conclusion

A

The participants who rated their stress the highest were the most accurate in their recall

120
Q

Yerkes and Dodson Law (Inverted U) - Graph

A

Performance l /\ B
l / \
l / \
l / \
l / \
l A C
l________________
Arousal
A = comfort zone
B = high performance zone
C = panic zone

121
Q

Yerkes and Dodson Law (Inverted U) - 4 Points

A
  • Low levels of anxiety/arousal produce lower levels of recall accuracy
  • Memory becomes more accurate as anxiety increases
  • Reaches an optimal level which is the point of maximum accuracy
  • If the eyewitness experiences more stress than this, their recall accuracy drastically declines
122
Q

Effects of Anxiety on EWT A03 - More Evidence - 5 Points

A
  • Valentine and Meson - carried out study of the Horror Labyrinth at London Dungeon, which is designed to be frightening
  • Visitors were offered a reduced fee if they agreed to take part in questionnaires at the end to assess their level of self-reported anxiety and wore wireless heart monitors to confirm they were experiencing anxiety
  • Participants had to describe a person encountered in the Labyrinth
  • Researchers found that the high anxiety participants recalled the fewest correct details about the actor and made more mistakes
  • Also found 17% of the high anxiety group correctly identified the actor in a line-up compared to 75% of low anxiety group
123
Q

Effects of Anxiety on EWT A03 - Lack of Control in Field Studies - 4 Points

A
  • Researchers usually interview real-life eyewitnesses sometime after the event
  • Plenty of things will happen between this time
  • Extraneous variables may not lead to accurate recall
  • Could be reports or post-event discussion
124
Q

Effects of Anxiety on EWT A03 - Weapon Focus Effect May not be Relevant - 3 Points

A
  • Pickel - conducted an experiment using scissors, a handgun, a wallet or a raw chicken as handheld items in a hairdressing salon video
  • Eyewitness accuracy was significantly poorer in the high anxiety conditions (raw chicken and handgun)
  • Weapon focus effect may actually be due to unusualness rather than anxiety/threat
124
Q

Effects of Anxiety on EWT A03 - Weapon Focus Effect May not be Relevant - 3 Points

A
  • Pickel - conducted an experiment using scissors, a handgun, a wallet or a raw chicken as handheld items in a hairdressing salon video
  • Eyewitness accuracy was significantly poorer in the high anxiety conditions (raw chicken and handgun)
  • Weapon focus effect may actually be due to unusualness rather than anxiety/threat
125
Q

Effects of Anxiety on EWT A03 - Use of Self Report Methods - 3 Points

A
  • Yuille and Cutshall asked participants to rate their stress at the time of the incident on a 7-point scale
  • Very subjective and a lot of time has passed between the event and the research
  • May not answer honestly (social desirability bias)
126
Q

Effects of Anxiety on EWT A03 - Inverted U is too Simplistic - 3 Points

A
  • Anxiety is very hard to define and measure because there are many aspects involved including, cognitive, emotional, behavioural, and physical
  • Inverted U explanation only assumes that one of these is linked with poor performance - psychological arousal (physical)
  • Means that the explanation is incomplete
126
Q

Effects of Anxiety on EWT A03 - Inverted U is too Simplistic - 3 Points

A
  • Anxiety is very hard to define and measure because there are many aspects involved including, cognitive, emotional, behavioural, and physical
  • Inverted U explanation only assumes that one of these is linked with poor performance - psychological arousal (physical)
  • Means that the explanation is incomplete
127
Q

Definition of Cognitive Interview

A

A method of interviewing eyewitnesses to help them retrieve more accurate memories

128
Q

What are the 4 Techniques Used in a Cognitive?

A
  • Report Everything
  • Reinstate the Context
  • Reverse the Order
  • Change perspective
129
Q

How is the Report Everything Feature of a CI Implemented?

A

Witnesses are encouraged to include every detail of the event, even if it seems irrelevant or they don’t feel confident about it

130
Q

How is the Reinstate the Context Feature of a CI Implemented?

A

Witnesses should return to the original crime scene in their mind and imagine the environment as well as their emotions

131
Q

How is the Reverse the Order Feature of a CI Implemented?

A

Events should be recalled in a different chronological order to the original sequence

132
Q

How is the Change Perspective Feature of a CI Implemented?

A

Witnesses should recall the incident from another person’s point of view

133
Q

Why is the Report Everything Feature of a CI Used?

A

Trivial details may be important to, and may trigger other important memories

134
Q

Why is the Reinstate the Context Feature of a CI Used?

A

This is related to retrieval failure - by having cues available at recall that were encoded during the event, more information can be accessed from the memory (ESP)

135
Q

Why is the Reverse the Order Feature of a CI Used?

A

This prevents people reporting their expectation of how the event ‘must’ have happened and it prevents dishonesty as it is harder to produce an untruthful account of the eyewitness to reverse it

136
Q

Why is the Change Perspective Feature of a CI Used?

A

THis stops the effects of expectations and schema on recall - the schema you have a particular setting/incident generates expectations of what would have happened, so the schema may be recalled rather than what actually happened

137
Q

Enhanced Cognitive Interview - 3 Points

A
  • Fisher et al - developed some additional elements of the CI to focus on the social dynamics of the interaction
  • For example, the interviewer needs to know when to establish eye contact and when to relinquish it
  • Also includes ideas such as reducing eyewitness anxiety, minimising distractions, getting the witness to speak slowly, and asking open-ended questions
138
Q

CI as a Way of Improving the Accuracy of EWT A03 - Time - Consuming - 4 Points

A
  • Takes much more time than a standard police interview
  • More time is needed to establish rapport with the witness and allow them to relax
  • Special training is also needed, but many forces can only offer a few hours
  • Unlikely that the proper version is being used, which may explain why police have not been impressed by it
139
Q

CI as a Way of Improving the Accuracy of EWT A03 - Support for the ECI - 3 Points

A
  • May offer special benefits
  • Kohnken et al - meta-analysis of more than 50 studies found that ECI provided more correct information than the standard interview used by the police
  • There are practical benefits for the police using ECI, which also benefit society as a whole
140
Q

CI as a Way of Improving the Accuracy of EWT A03 - Some Elements are More Valuable than Others - 3 Points

A
  • Milne and Bull - initially found each individual element was equally valuable and when each technique was used alone, it led to more information than the standard police interview
  • They then found a combination of report everything and reinstate the context produced better real than an other conditions
  • Suggests some aspects are more useful than others and at least two features should be used together or even the full CI
141
Q

CI as a Way of Improving the Accuracy of EWT A03 - Variations of the CI are Used - 3 Points

A
  • Studies assessing the effectiveness of the CI often use slightly different techniques or use the ECI
  • Means we may be forming conclusions about the CI despite the research not being in the original CI
  • Also, police forces evolve their own methods, which may not be supported by evidence
142
Q

CI as a Way of Improving the Accuracy of EWT A03 - Leads to an Increase Reporting Inaccuracies - 2 Points

A
  • Techniques in the CI aim to increase the amount of correct information recalled but may also increase the recall of incorrect information
  • Kohnken et al - ECI produced 81% increase in correct information, but also a 61% increase in correct information compared to a standard interview

AQA Psychology (11 decks)

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