Memory Flashcards
Define Capacity
a measure of the amount of information that can be stored in memory
define coding
refers to the way that information is modified so it can be stored in memory. information can be stored in the form of visual, acoustic or semantic codes
define duration
a measure of how long a memory can be stored before it is no longer available
describe Peterson and Peterson’s study on STM duration
- given a non sense consonant triad and a three digit number
- participants then had to countdown in threes from their three digit number during a retention period, after which they had to recall the triad they were given
describe Baddley’s study on coding in LTM and STM
- gave participants word lists to learn: one semantically similar, acoustically different, etc.
- participants struggled short term with list 2 and long term with list 1
- concluded that LTM is encoded semantically and STM acoustically
define proactive interference
when past learning interferes with attempts to learn something new
retroactive interference
when current attempts at learning interference with the recollection of past learning
describe Goodwin’s study on state dependent forgetting
researched state dependent forgetting.
- participants had to learn a word list either drunk or sober.
- recall of the words was when they were drunk during encoding and recalling or sober during both
briefly explain the case of HM
his hippocampus removed to treat his epilepsy. he was unable to form new LTMs but could form STMs
Describe Abernathy’s study on context dependent forgetting
students were tested in different conditions
results were best when tested in their usual room by their usual instructor
list components of cognitive interview
- mental reinstatement of events
- report everything
- change the order
- change perspective
describe Johnson and Scott’s study on the effects of anxiety on the accuracy of EWT
participate heard an argument and then saw a man run past holding a grease covered pen (low anxiety) or knife covered in blood (high anxiety)
identification of the man was higher when low anxiety
list two types of declarative memory
semantic memory
define procedural memory
this is memory that is concerned with knowing how to do things which eventually, through repetition become automatic
who conducted research on the effects of misleading information on EWT
Loftus and Palmer 1974
Describe research related to retrieval failure
Tulving and Pearlstone gave participants a list of 48 words from 12 different categories
recall was 40% accurate without retrieval cues
recall was 60% accurate when the category was given as retrieval cue
define cues in regards to memory
these are things that serve as triggers to a memory. they may be things about the memory like the category a word belonged to, or the room in which you learned it
define semantic memory
this is memory that is concerned with knowledge of facts
define episodic memory
this is memory that is concerned with knowledge of life events
define eye witness testimony
the refers to the ability to remember events they have witness usually with the effect that they have to testify about what they have seen in court, or identify the perpetrator of the crime
Joseph Jacobs study on capacity
procedure: reads out four digits and participants recall these out loud, if they are correct the researcher reads more amounts of numbers until they can’t recall
findings: mean span for digits- 9.3 items
mean span for letters- 7.3 letters
Barhrick et al - LTM duration
photo recognition of previous high school students from their year
free recall test of names of students without pictures
recall was more accurate when pictures were show even with the higher age
therefore LTM duration is lifetime
multi store model
- describes the flow through memory system
- sensory register = large capacity, short duration, info processes into STM if we pay attention
- STM
-LTM
the working memory model
- a representation of how the STM organises and functions
- central executive= co ordinates the activities of the three sub systems in memory. allocates tasks to the slave systems and has limited processing capacity
- phonological loop= auditory information is stored here. subdivided into phonological store (words you hear) and articulatory process (allows maintenance rehearsal of words and sounds)
- visuo spatial sketchpad= visual and spatial information subdivided into visual cache (visual data) and inner scribe (the arrangement of object in the visual field)
- episodic buffer = brigs together material from other slave systems into a single memory and provides bridge to LTM
KF study
suffered brain damage
he could remember words better if he read them out loud rather than just reading them in his head suggesting visual and auditory information are stored separately
McGeoch and McDonald- retroactive study
- changing the amount of similarity o two lists of words given to participants
- found that the participants recall depended on the nature of the original and second list, if they were too similar the list produced the worst recall
encoding specificity principle
if there is a cue that helps us access a memory it has to be present at encoding and at retrieval
two types- context dependent forgetting and state dependent forgetting
Golden and Baddeley- context dependent
- studied deep sea divers recall when learning a list of words either in water/ land and retrieval either in water/ land
- they found those that learnt and retrieved the words in the same location recalled better
Carter and Cassada- state dependent
- gave antihistamine drug to some during recall or retrieval
- those that recalled and retrieved on drugs and those that recalled off drugs and retrieved on drugs did significantly better at recalling
post event discussion
when a witness discusses what they have seen with another witness, resulting in the accuracy of their testimony to become contaminated.
