Memory Flashcards
Outline the features of short term memory?
Coding is mainly acoustic (sounds) and recall duration is usually 18 seconds
Outline the features of Long-term memory?
Coding is mainly semantic (meaning) with an unlimited capacity
Define coding
the way in which information is stored in various memory stores
What does capacity mean in terms of memory?
the amount of information that can be held in a memory store
Who made the multi-store model of memory?
Atkinson and Shiffrin
What are the three stores in the multi-store memory model?
Sensory register
Short term memory
Long term memory
What is the sensory register (in the multi-store memory model)?
Memory store for our five senses
How can patient KF be used as a strength for the working memory model?
He shows that there may be multiple STM as his memory of digits read aloud to him was poor but was much better when he read the digits to himself
What are the three types of long-term memory?
Episodic
Procedural
Semantic
What is episodic memory?
memory of personal events/episodes such as a wedding
What is procedural memory?
our knowledge of how to do things such as the skills we have learnt such as swimming
What is semantic memory?
our knowledge of the world such as what words mean
Who proposed the working memory model?
Baddeley and Hitch
What are the four features of the Working memory model?
Central executive
Phonological loop
Visio-spatial sketchpad
Episodic buffer
What is the central executive?
monitors the incoming data and sends it to the necessary component of the WMM
What is the phonological loop?
processes sound information including both written and spoken material
What is the phonological loop divided into?
Phonological store
Articulatory process
What is the Visio-spatial sketchpad?
responsible for processing visual and spatial information
What does the episodic buffer do?
Brings together material from all components of the WMM and puts them into one memory store as well as connects them to the LTM
What are the two explanations for forgetting?
Interference theory
Retrieval failure
What are the two types of interference?
Proactive and Retroactive
What is proactive interference?
when old memories disrupt the recall of new memories
What is retroactive interference?
when new memories disrupt the recall of old memories
What is retrieval failure?
we forget things when we don’t have the necessary cues to access the memory
What is a cue in reference to memory?
a “trigger” of information that allows us to access a memory
What are two types of forgetting proposed by retrieval failure?
Context dependent forgetting
State dependent forgetting
What is context dependent forgetting?
the cue needed to trigger the memory is based on external factors such as the whether or a place
What is state dependent forgetting?
the cue needed to trigger a memory is internal such as how we feeling upset or being drunk
What research supports context-dependent forgetting?
Divers where told to learn words either on land or under water and then recall them in the same or different conditions. Recall of the words were better when the conditions where the same when the words were being learnt
What research supports state-dependent forgetting?
Participants were given a drug that made them drowsy before being told to remember a list of words. Recall of the words was better when the participants where on the drug when recalling the words
What two factors affect the accuracy of eyewitness testimony?
Misleading information
Anxiety
What is misleading information in terms of eyewitness testimony?
incorrect information given to an eyewitness usually after the event
What is a leading question?
A question which is phrased to produce a certain answer
What research offers support for leading questions by Loftus and Palmer?
Two groups where shown a video of the same car crash and were asked to estimate the speed of either the “hit” or the “crash”. The groups who had a question that suggested a crash estimated higher speeds
What is post event discussion?
multiple witnesses may discuss what they have seen and alter there eyewitness account to add things they haven’t seen
What research offers support for post event discussion by Gabbert?
participants watched videos in pairs at different angles and some where allowed to discuss what they had seen with each other. 71% of the participants that spoke to each other recalled features of the video that they had not seen
what are the two features of misleading information?
Post event discussion
Leading questions
How can anxiety have a negative effect on recall?
Through the weapon effect
Outline research into anxiety and the weapon effect on eyewitness testimony
Two groups of participants in a waiting room overheard either a casual conversation or an argument followed by either a man leaving with a pen in his hand or a bloody knife. Those who had seen the bloody knife preformed poorer when recalling the situation
How can anxiety have a positive effect on recall?
Fight or flight can increase alertness
What research supports that anxiety has a positive effect on recall?
13 witnesses to a real life shooting involving a gunman in a shop where able to accurately identify the man months after. The most stressed participants where the most accurate in their recollection
How can you improve eyewitness testimony?
Cognitive interview
What are the four stages of the cognitive interview?
Report everything
Reinstate the context
Reverse the order
Change perspective
Which study using rugby players shows real world application of interference?
Rugby players were asked to recall teams they had played against in a season. Those who played the most matches preformed worse than those who played less due to injury suggesting proactive interference as those with most matches stored performed worse recall
Who was Henry Molasion and what does his case study support?
Supports different types of long term memory as he could not remember petting a dog but he knew what a dog was
Who was patient KF and what does he support?
Supports the working memory model as, when recalling digits, he could process the digits visually but not when they were read out to him (auditory) showing that different information is stored differently
How did Valentine and Mesout use the London dungeon to show negative anxiety effect on recall?
PPs were split into a high and low anxiety group before going through the London dungeon. The high anxiety group had poorer recall of an actor in the dungeon than the low anxiety group
