Memory

Question 1

Outline research into coding of stm

Answer 1

Baddeley
Showed participants a list of words in four categories
Acoustically similar
Acoustically dissimilar
Semantically similar
Semantically dissimilar
After presentation ppt asked to recal words
More mistakes made in the acoustically similar list showing coding in stm is acoustic

Question 2

Outline research into the coding of ltm

Answer 2

Baddeley
Showed participants a list of words in four categories
Acoustically similar
Acoustically dissimilar
Semantically similar
Semantically dissimilar
Participants were asked to recall words in the correct order after twenty min of the presentation
Most mistakes made in semantically similar list
Suggests ltm codes semantically

Question 3

Outline research into capacity of three stm

Answer 3

Miller
Used digit span technique
Participants were given a string of unrelated digits so do not have a pattern eg 2 4 6 8
These increased by one digit each time
Participants digit span was measured until they could no longer recall the digits in the correct sequence
Participants could recal 5-9 items more could be recalled if the items were chunked

Question 4

Outline research of duration of stm

Answer 4

Peterson and Peterson
24 students
Participants were shown a consonant trigram eg HGF to remember
They were then given a three digit number and asked to count backwards to prevent rehearsal
They were stopped at random intervals and asked to recall the trigram
After 3 seconds only 80% recalled the trigram correctly after 18 seconds fewer than 10% recalled correctly
Concluded information lasts 18-30 seconds in the stm unless rehearsal occurs

Question 5

Outline research into duration of ltm

Answer 5

Bahrick
Tested 392 American high school graduates aged between 17-74 on their memory of their former classmates
Condition 1 had to recall names of classmates using a photo yearbook
Condition 2 they had to recall names of classmates with no photo cue
They found that in
Condition 1 70% recalled correctly after 48 years
Condition 2 30% recalled correctly after 48 years
Shows certain types of information can last potentially up to a life time with the correct cues

Question 6

Overall AO3 for evaluating coding duration and capacity

Answer 6

Lacks mundane realism
High control of extraneous variables
High reliability

Question 7

PEEL: capacity duration or coding
Lacks mundane realism

Answer 7

Research into ….. lacks mundane realism
As the task of …… is artificial
Difficult to generalise the findings of ….. to real life examples of …… as research does not reflect most real life memory activities where we are trying to remember something meaningful
Lowers external validity

Question 8

PEEL: coding capacity or duration
High control over extraneous variables

Answer 8

High control of extraneous variables
Conducted in a controlled setting for example ( list of words would be matched on their difficulty and each word would be shown for the same amount of time- coding of ltm)
More likely to establish cause and effect between iv ….. and dv …….
Increasing internal validity

Question 9

PEEL: coding capacity or duration
High reliability

Answer 9

High reliability
Research was conducted in a controlled environment
Therefore research can be repeated in the same conditions for example ……
Can check for consistent results in

Question 10

Evaluation points of research into duration of ltm

Answer 10

High in mundane realism
Low control over extraneous variables

Question 11

PEEL: duration ltm
High in mundane realism

Answer 11

High in mundane realism
Research assessed real life memories of the individuals classmates
Strength because that might be something you find yourself doing in everyday life for example trying to find an old friend on social media
Easier to generalise the research findings of the duration of ltm to other real life applications
Increase external validity

Question 12

PEEL: duration of ltm
Low control over extraneous variables

Answer 12

Low control over extraneous variables
Research did not take place in a controlled variable
For example how much contact the participants had after leaving school was not controlled
Cause and effect can not clearly be established between iv of length of time passed and the dv of accurate recall of classmates
So firm conclusions can not be made regarding duration of ltm
Reduces internal validity

Question 13

Intro for multi-storey model of memory

Answer 13

Atkinson and shiffron’s multi-storey model of memory model describes how information flows through memory. It is a structural model stating that sensory register stm and ltm are all separate unitary stores and that information flows through the system in a linear way

Question 14

Outline the multi store model of memory

Answer 14

Stimulus from the environment will first arrive at the sensory register which has many store within it and coding within each store is modality specific two main stores are echoic, encoded acoustically, and iconic, encoded visually. Information lasts in this store for less than a second then decays unless attention is payed to it then it is transferred to stm.
Stm has limited capacity of 7-9 items and encodes acoustically. It has a durqtion of 18-30 seconds however if maintenance rehearsal occurs then the information can last longer. If prolonged rehearsal occurs then information is transferred to ltm
Ltm has unlimited capacity and encodes semantically. Information can last for potentially a lifetime. To recall information it must be transferred from the ltm to the stm this is known as retrieval

Question 15

Evaluation points for multi store model of memory

Answer 15

Baddeley
Clive wearing
Low population validity

Question 16

PEEL: multi-store model of memory
Baddeley

Answer 16

Rts stm and ltm are separate unitary stores was conducted by Baddeley
He found that ppl made more mistakes in acoustically similar words when using their stm and more mistakes in semantically similar words when using ltm
Suggests coding in stm is acoustic and coding in ltm is semantic
Supports multi store model bc supports the view that stm and ltm are separate stores

Question 17

PEEL: multi-storey model
Clive wearing

Answer 17

Case study on Clive wearing
Suffered form of amnesia where he was unable to transfer information from stm to ltm
Evident in how he would greet his wife , whom he had seen just 30 seconds earlier, as though he sang seen her in years
Supports bc shows stm and ltm are separate stores and that information must flow in a linear way as multi-store model of memory suggests

Question 18

PPEL: multi store model of memory
Low population validity

Answer 18

MSM flawed bc research supporting it has low population validity
Research was done on just one person Clive wearing who suffered from an unusual illness involving damage to the brain
Difficult to generalise the findings to the general population as their memory may operate differently
Limits research for msm

Question 19

Intro to ltm

Answer 19

Tulving believed the msm to be too simplistic he proposed there are three types of long term memory: procedural episodic and semantic long term memory

Question 20

Outline types of long term memory

Answer 20

Procedural memory- no declarative so does not involve conscious recall
Located in cerebellum and motor cortext
Not time stamped
Type of memory that is responsible for knowing how to do things, for example, memory of motor skills, such as riding a bike

Semantic memory- declarative, as it does involve conscious recall
Not time, stamped
Located in the temporal lobe
Type of long-term memory responsible for storing general knowledge and facts, such as Paris is the capital of France

Episodic memory- declarative, as it does involve conscious recall
Time stamped
Located in the hippocampus
Type of memory, which is responsible for storing information about events that we have experienced in our lives at specific time, for example, 1st day of school

Question 21

Evaluation points for types of long-term memory

Answer 21

Neuro imaging evidence
Clive wearing
Low population validity

Question 22

PEEL: LTM
neuro imaging evidence

Answer 22

Neuro imaging evidence to support different types of long-term memory
Participants were asked to perform various memory tasks, while their brains were scanned using a pet scanner.
It was found that episodic memories were associated with the hippocampus, whereas procedural memory was associated with the cerebellum and motor cortex.
Supports types of long-term memory because three different types of long-term memory were found in different areas of the brain indicating they are separate

Question 23

PEEL: LTM
Clive wearing

Answer 23

Clive wearing
Suffers from amnesia where his episodic memory was damaged, so he could not remember events from his past for example, his musical education
However, his procedural memory was still working as he knew how to play the piano
Supports different types of long-term memory bc only certain parts of his long-term memory damaged this indicates they are separate

Question 24

PEEL: ltm
Low population validity

Answer 24

Low population validity
Research was a case study, using only Clive who suffered an unusual illness involving damage to his brain
Difficult to generalise the findings of different types of long-term memory to the wider population as their long-term memory may operate differently
Limiting research into

Question 25

Intro for working memory model

Answer 25

Baddeley and hitch proposed the working memory model as an explanation of how the short-term memory works.

They propose that the short-term memory was not a unitary store like the multi store model products, but several different stores which are all connected but work independently

Question 26

Outline the working memory model

Answer 26

Central executive- monitors incoming data and decides what needs to be done and when
Delegate tasks, accordingly to sleep systems and can code any type of information
Takes over the most demanding task when necessary for example, new task or tasks that require concentration will overload the central executive as it has a very limited capacity

Phonological loop - processes, auditory information from the central executive
Is further divided into:
phonological store -stores words we hear like an inner ear
The articulatory loop- silently repeats/rehearses words that are seen or heard to keep them in memory (maintenance rehearsal)
Phonological loop has limited capacity and codes acoustically

Visuo-spatial sketchpad- responsible for setting up mental images and is what you use if you must plan a special task e.g. giving directions. Temporarily stores visual( what things look like) spatial (the physical relationships between things) information
Divided into :
The visual cache- stores visual data
The inner scribe - records the arrangement of objects in the visual field
The visuo-spacial sketch pad has limited capacity and codes visually.

The episodic buffer - a general store later added in, collects and combines information from the social executive, the phonological loop and visuo-spatial sketchpad to record an event. The episodic buffer transfers information to the ltm and is used to achieve information from the ltm to the stm.
Episodic buffer has limited capacity and can code any type of information

Question 27

Evaluation points for the working memory model

Answer 27

Shallice and Warrington- patient KF
Baddeley et al
lack of clarity over the role of the central executive

Question 28

PEEL: working memory model
Shallice and Warrington
Patient KF

Answer 28

Shallice and Warrington- patient KF
Suffered with amnesia
His stm recall was poor when the digits were read aloud to him
Recall was better when he read the digits himself
Supports WMM must be different stores within the stm one to process visual information(VSS) and want to process auditory information(PL)
As his phonological loop was damaged buT his Visio-spatial sketchpad was intact

Question 29

PEEL: working memory model
Baddeley et al

Answer 29

Studies into dual task performance was conducted by Baddeley et al
Found that participants had more difficulty when performing to visual tasks at the same time than when performing one visual task alone, or one visual task with a verbal task
Supports WMM bc suggests both visual tasks are competing for a limited capacity of the same slave system(VSS) whereas when, doing a verbal and visual task simultaneously they are delegated to separate slave systems (PL AND VSS)
so performance is not reduced as there is no competition for capacity
Increases credibility of WMM

Question 30

PEEL: Working memory model
Lack of clarity over the role of central executive

Answer 30

Despite empirical research to support WMM most of the research is into slave systems such as PL and VSS
So there is a lack of clarity over the role of the central executive
It’s is said to be the single component of attention that delegates to slave systems
However, some psychologists suggest that the central executive may have several components within it
Thus casts doubt on WMM

Question 31

State, the two explanations of forgetting

Answer 31

Interference theory
Retrieval failure due to absence of cues

Question 32

Interference theory
intro

Answer 32

Interference Theory suggests that forgetting occurs due to 2 lots of information coded at different times becoming confused in the ltm. one memory disrupts the ability to recall another memory. This is most likely to occur when the information is similar.
There are two types of interference : proactive interference and retroactive interference

Question 33

Proactive interference

Answer 33

Forgetting occurs when past information stored disrupts the recall of new information stored
For example, the memory of an old phone number means you forget your new phone number

Question 34

Retroactive interference

Answer 34

Forgetting occurs when recent information stored disrupts the recall of past information stored
For example, memory of a new car, registration number means you forget your previous registration number

Question 35

Evaluation points for interference theory

Answer 35

McGoech and McDonald
High in reliability
Lacks mundane realism

Question 36

PEEL: interference theory
McGeoch and McDonald

Answer 36

McGeoch and McDonald
Give participants a list of 10 words to learn these were learnt till 100% accuracy
Participants then had to learn a second list of words, which acted as the interference
Participants were then asked to recall list a
They found that if list B was a list of similar meaning words to list A recall was poor -12%
But if list B was different to list A recall was higher- 26%
Supports bc it demonstrates that interference is strongest the most similar that items are as the theory predicts

Question 37

PEEL: interference theory
High in reliability

Answer 37

High in reliability
Conducted in a controlled lab setting, so can be repeated in the same conditions
For example, give each participant the same time to learn the word list to gain consistent results into the effects of interference theory on forgetting
Strengthens research provided for

Question 38

PEEL: Interference theory
Lacks mundane realism

Answer 38

Lacks mundane realism
Artificial tasks, such as a learning lists of words are used
Difficult to generalise the findings to real life. Examples of forgetting as the research does not reflect what we will try to remember in every day life such as birthdays and peoples faces.
Maybe these memories are less likely to be contaminated by interference as they are more meaningful to us
Limiting the research for

Question 39

Retrieval failure due to absence of cues
Intro

Answer 39

Retrieval failure due to absence of cues suggests forgetting occurs when information is still in the long-term memory but cannot be accessed due to a lack of memory cues

Question 40

Two types of retrieval failure due to absence of cues

Answer 40

Context dependent forgetting
State dependent forgetting

Question 41

Context dependent forgetting

Answer 41

Forgetting occurs due to a lack of external cues to trigger recalled
Because environment is different at recall to when the information was coded meaning forgetting is more likely
For example, a person may forget information when sitting in an exam in a different classroom to when they learned the information

Question 42

State dependent forgetting

Answer 42

Forgetting occurs due to a lack of internal cues to trigger recall
Persons, internal physical, or emotional state is different at recall to when the information was coded, meaning forgetting is more likely
For example, a person may forget a dance routine on stage, because when they learned a routine they may have been calm but on stage they are anxious

Question 43

Evaluation points for retrieval failure due to absence of cues

Answer 43

Goodwin Et al
Lacks mundane realism
Practical applications

Question 44

PEEL: retrieval failure due to absence of cues
Goodwin Et al

Answer 44

Goodwin Et al
Participants were asked to learn a list of words, either drunk or sober
Then asked to be called the words, 24 hours later, either in the same state or opposite state
Found participants were more likely to forget the words, if tested in the opposite state to which they had learned the words
Supports state dependent forgetting as it demonstrates when there is a lack of internal memory cues, forgetting is more likely as the theory suggests

Question 45

PEEL: retrieval failure, due to absence of cues
Lacks mundane realism

Answer 45

Lacks mundane realism
Artificial tasks, such as learning lists of words are often used
Difficult to generalise the findings to every day cases of forgetting, as in real life. We may be learning much more complex information, such as psychological theories that may not be easily accessed with an internal or external cue
Reduces external validity
Questions theory

Question 46

PEEL: retrieval failure due to absence of cues
Practical applications

Answer 46

Practical applications so can be applied to every day life
The idea that forgetting occurs due to a lack of memory cues has been used to create a technique used by the police in cognitive interview known as context reinstatement
Witnesses to the crime, asked to imagine them selves at the scene of the crime and to imagine how they were feeling when recalling the events
This has been found to be effective in triggering memories as they access internal and external memory cues
important part of applied psychology bc it’s helps to provide more accurate, eyewitness testimonies

Question 47

Leading questions
Intro

Answer 47

A question that wrongly implies something about an events or crime, such as ‘ what colour was the youths jacket’ implies the perpetrator was a youth
Affects accuracy of eyewitness testimony as the information that is implied in the question, contaminate the witnesses, memory, and therefore the witness recalls inaccurate information

Question 48

Leading questions
AO1 Loftus and Palmer

Answer 48

Aimed to investigate whether the phrasing of a question can affect participants memory of an event
Participants were shown a video of a car crash, and each group were asked a leading question with a different verb either
Smashed hit collided bumped or contacted
“ how fast with a car is travelling when they…… each other?”
The car speed estimates were measured in MPH
Found participants guessed a higher mean speed when they had use the word smashed -40.5 mph
Compared to contacted- 31.8mph
They concluded the phrasing of a question can influence of participants memory of an event

Question 49

Evaluation points for leading questions

Answer 49

Practical applications
Lacks mundane realism

Question 50

PEEL: Leading questions
Practical applications

Answer 50

Practical applications
The principles of the theory that leading questions can influence the accuracy of eyewitness testimony has led to improvements in the criminal justice system, and the development of the cognitive interview
The cognitive interview avoids the use of leading questions, and uses a variety of techniques to increase the accuracy of eyewitness testimony
For example, it uses open questions such as “ recall everything about the event” trigger as many details about the event as possible and increase accuracy of eyewitness testimony without it being affected by misleading information
Important part of applied psychology as it leads to more accurate testimony thus improving the lives of people affected by crime

Question 51

PEEL: leading questions
Lacks mundane realism

Answer 51

Lacks mundane realism
Uses artificial task of watching a video of a car crash
Difficult to generalise the findings of the research that leading questions affect accuracy of eyewitness testimony
As Foster Et al found that eyewitnesses of a real events, understand the important consequences of giving inaccurate information, however, participants watching a video do not have the same motivation to give accurate testimonies
Lois external validity

Question 52

Post event discussion
Intro

Answer 52

Where witnesses of an event to discuss their accounts with each other

Question 53

Post event discussion
AO1

Answer 53

This can affect the accuracy of eyewitness testimony into Ways: memory, contamination and memory conformity
Memory contamination is where, when they discuss the event with each other, their own memory becomes distorted as they combine misinformation from other witnesses with their own memories, and so their memories of the events have changed
Memory conformity is, were witnesses, go along with each other, either to win social approval (NSI) or because they think the other witness is right and they are wrong(isi) however, the memory remains unchanged but the accuracy of recall has been affected

Question 54

Evaluation points for post event discussion

Answer 54

Skagerberg and wright
Demand characteristics

Question 55

PEEL: Post event discussion
Skagerberg and wright

Answer 55

Skagerberg and wright
Participants were showed two versions of a film clip of a mugging
In one the muggers hair was dark brown and in the other their was light brown
Participants discussed the clips in pairs each having seen different versions
It was found, they did not report what they had heard from the co witness, but rather it was a blend of the two suggesting the mugger had medium brown hair, rather than dark or light
Supports bc It suggests that memory contamination during post event discussion does occur distorting the witnesses, eyewitness testimony, rather than just conforming to the co-witnesses response.

Question 56

PEEL- postevent discussion
Demand characteristics

Answer 56

Demand characteristics
Controlled environment with unrealistic tasks, such as watching a video clip of a crime
Participants may want to be helpful and not let the researcher down, so the participant may have picked up on clues from the task and experimenter and change their response to the aims of the research
For example, changing their response to match that of the co-witness after discussing the clip
Lowers Internet validity

Question 57

Anxiety
Intro

Answer 57

Anxiety is a strong, emotional and physical state that affects eyewitness testimony
As extreme anxiety has been found to negatively affect eyewitness testimony as witnesses only focus on certain aspects of the events so their recall is limited

Question 58

Anxiety
Johnson and Scott

Answer 58

Aimed to investigate the effect of anxiety on accuracy of eyewitness testimony
Participants were placed in either a high anxiety weapon Focus condition or low anxiety condition.
All participants were told to wait outside the room before the experiment began
In the high anxiety condition, participants had an argument and the Sound of breaking Glass from within the room. A man then walked out of the room, carrying a knife covered in blood.
In the low anxiety condition, participants had the argument from within the room, and then a man walked out with grease on their hands and a pen
Participants then had to identify the person who left the room from 50 photographs
They found that participants in the low anxiety condition correctly identified the man leaving the room 49% of the time whereas participants in a high anxiety condition quickly identified the man live in the room with 33% of the time
Concluded that anxiety caused weapon, focus as the witness concentrates on the weapon, not the person because the fear of the situation reducing accuracy of recall

Question 59

Evaluation points for anxiety

Answer 59

Christianson and hubinette
Interviewed participants several months after the event
Not truly measuring anxiety

Question 60

PEEL: anxiety
Christianson and hubinette

Answer 60

Christianson and hubinette
Interviewed 58 real-life witnesses of a bank robbery where some have been directly threatened (high anxiety) and others were bystanders( low anxiety)
Found that recall was more than 75% accurate across all witnesses, but those who had been directly threatened her even more accurate accounts
Contradicting current research that shows anxiety reduces the accuracy of eyewitness testimony
Bc compared to real life cases of those who had high anxiety they were able to focus on key aspects of the events that were successful in the perpetrator been caught

Question 61

PEEL: anxiety
Interviewed participants after several months

Answer 61

Interviewed participants after several months after the events had happened and had no control over what happened to the participants in the intervening time.
For example whether participants had discussed the crime with each other.
Effects of anxiety may have been overwhelmed by all the factors, such as postevent discussion, and it is impossible to determine the effects of anxiety on eyewitness testimony At the time the participants were interviewed.
Lowering the extent in which the research can be used to criticise the findings that anxiety lowers the accuracy of eyewitness testimony

Question 62

PEEL: anxiety
not truly measuring anxiety

Answer 62

Not truly measuring anxiety
Reason participants focused on the weapon, maybe because they were surprised at what they saw rather than scared
Pickle(1998) conducted an experiment using scissors a handgun and a wallet or a RAW chicken as the handheld items in a hairdressing salon video (scissors are the high anxiety, but low unusualness)
Eyewitness testimony accuracy was significantly poorer in the high unusualness conditions(chicken and handgun)
Suggests weapon. Focus effect is due to surprise rather than anxiety and therefore does not explain the effects of anxiety and eyewitness testimony.

Question 63

Improving accuracy of eyewitness testimony-cognitive interview
Intro

Answer 63

Fisher and Gieselman developed the cognitive interview. It is used by the police to interview witnesses after they have seen a crime or an accident to help facilitate the most accurate and detailed memory Possible Lots of open questions are asked where the witness is not in interrupted and free to expand and their own answers.

Question 64

Improving accuracy
Cognitive interview
AO1

Answer 64

Recall everything- witness asked to reports all details of the events and environment, even if it seems trivial
“ start from the beginning, what happened in the morning of the robbery?”

Context reinstatement - witness asked to mentally place themselves back at the scene of the crime and imagine. This uses context and state dependent to use to help trigger memories of the event that may be forgotten due to retrieval failure.
“ Close your eyes, what do you see?”

Recall in reverse - witness asked to report what happened in a different chronological order. For example, from the end to the start of the crime this works by preventing witnesses reporting what they expected to happen rather than what happened. Also, it is harder to lie when having to reverse a story.
“ repeat what happened from the end to the start?”

Recall from a changed perspective- witness Ester recalled an incident from another persons perspective who witnessed a crime works to prevent witness reporting what they expected to happen rather than what happened
“ imagine you are the bank robber what do you see?”

Question 65

Evaluation points for cognitive interview

Answer 65

Koknken Et al
Although more information is remembered, more, incorrect items are also recalled
Not all techniques in the cognitive interview are equally effective

Question 66

PEEL: cognitive interview
Koknken Et al

Answer 66

Koknken Et al
Metanalysis of 55 studies comparing cognitive interview and standard interview
Cognitive interview had an increase of 41% in accurate information compared to standard interview
Only for studies showed no difference amongst the type of interviews
Supports cognitive interview is an effective technique in ….. bc witnesses, recall information that is stored in memory, but not easily accessible

Question 67

PEEL: cognitive interview
More information is remembered, but more incorrect items is also recalled

Answer 67

Koknken that, although more information is remembered compared to standard interview often more incorrect items are also recalled with a 61% increase of inaccurate information reported in a cognitive interview compared to a standard interview
This is called a false positive
Weakness, when using cognitive interview, as despite seeming like more information has been collected. If this is inaccurate, it could lead to false imprisonment and wasting police time leading to damage in the economy.
Reduces effectiveness of …..

Question 68

PEEL: cognitive interview
Not all techniques are equally as effective

Answer 68

Not all techniques in the cognitive interview are equally as effective
Milne and bull found that each of the four techniques used, alone produce more information than the standard interview
But they also found that using a combination of report, everything and context reinstatement produced a better record than any of the other elements
We close because it may mean that cognitive interview, it is not used effectively and only certain aspects of cognitive interview is useful in producing accurate information
Limiting, effectiveness of …..