Memory

Question 1

Introduction

Answer 1

Memory refers to the mental process (linked to the cognitive approach) involved in retaining information
Any act of remembering implies success at 3 aspects of the monomers process
If we fail any of these, we will not remember
Encoding (creating a memory trace/engram) -> Storage (holding information in our memory) -> Retrieval (accessing the stored information)

Question 2

The Importance of Memory

Answer 2

“Without memory, there would be no then, but only a now. There would be no ability to employ skills, no recall of names or recognition of faces, no reference to past days or hours or even seconds. We would be condemned to live in a narrowly circumscribed present, but this present would not even seem to be our own, for there can be no sense of self without memory. Each individual wakes up every morning and never doubts that he is a he or she is a she. This feeling of personal identity is necessarily based upon a continuity of memories that links our yesterdays to our todays.”

Question 3

Duration of the STM

Answer 3

By definition, short term memory has a brief duration (it is measures in seconds)
It is a temporary store and anything we need to remember for longer needs to be transferred to our LTM
If someone is giving you their phone number but you don’t have your phone or a piece of paper that you can write it down on, at best your will remember it for a few seconds, unless you transfer it to your long term memory

Question 4

Duration of STM Study

Answer 4

Peterson & Peterson (1959) - or Brown. Peterson Technique
AIM - to investigate how long STM lasts when rehearsal is prevented
PROCEDURE - participants (Ps) were briefly shown in a consonant trigram (i.e. three letters such as CPW or NGV)
- Ps were asked to count backwards in 3s from a specific number to stop them rehearsing the letters
- after intervals of 3, 6, 9, 12 ,15 or 18 seconds, Ps were asked to recall the original trigram
- the procedure was repeated several times, using different trigrams
FINDINGS - Ps were able to recall about 80% of trigrams after a 3 second interval
- progressively fewer trigrams were recalled as the time intervals lengthened
- after 18 seconds, fewer than 10% of the Trigrams were recalled correctly
CONCLUSION - it has been concluded, that STM, without rehearsal, is around 18-30 seconds in duration

Question 5

Peterson & Peterson Details

Answer 5

The Peterson and Peterson was a controlled lab experiment
- the IV is manipulated by the researcher and the DV is measured while the EVs are being controlled
In this experiment, the operationalised IV is the time, in seconds, the distractor task of counting backwards in 3s, was carried out for
In this experiment, the operationalised DV was the % of correctly recalled trigrams, following the distractor task

Question 6

Research into STM Duration Strength

Answer 6

One strength is thar lab experiments, like the Peterson & Peterson study, hallows for control over EVs
For example, other distractions, such as background noise or other distractions in the room, that mighty affect performance Jon the trigram task can be controlled for
This is a strength because it increases the internal validity of the Peterson & Peterson research. The duration of STM rather than the impact of EVs on memory
It also allows for replication of the study and allows to check the accuracy of the results

Question 7

Research into STM Duration Limitation

Answer 7

One limitation is that controlled lab experiments, like Peterson & Peterson, are artificial situations
For example, in every day to day life, you are not going to be instructed to remember trigrams and then count back in 3s. We are also very rarely asked to remember a certain piece of information and then repeat it back very quickly. We are also likely to have multiple distractors at once, rather than just the one
This is a limitations because it lowers the external validity of the research, as you are bot going to encounter this situation in the real world

Question 8

Duration of LTM

Answer 8

The fact that people can have very vivid, detailed and accurate memories of their childhood stereotypes this age, even when they are very elderly, suggests that our LTM can last a lifetime
This was shown in a study by Bahrick et al (1975) (also known as the yearbook study), in which he aimed to establish the existence of very long-term memory (vLTM) and to see whether there was any difference between recognition and recall
Recognition - given dome sort of prompt (or cue) - “Do you remember this?”
Recall - no prompts or cues given - “Tell me what you remember”

Question 9

LTM Research - The Bahrick Study Procedure

Answer 9

Bahrick used 392 people who had graduated from an American High School over a 50 year period
They were split into 2 groups (independent measures design)
One group was the recognition group
- they were given 50 photographs, some from their high school year books, and asked to state whether or not they recognised them from high school or not
The second group was the recall group
- they were simply asked to name all the people in their graduating class

Question 10

LTM Research - The Bahrick Study Findings

Answer 10

Recognition Group:
- 1-5 years since graduation = 90% accurate at identifying people
- 25 years since graduation = 80% accurate
- 34 years since graduation = 75% accurate
- 48 years since graduation = 70% accurate
Recall Group:
- 15 years since graduation = 60% accurate
- 48 years since graduation = 30% accurate
Recognition is higher because they had a prompt to remind them (and prevent retrieval failure)
It also makes sense that accuracy decreased with age because they will have had a lot more things to remember since then, and they are likely more important than people who were in your year at school
From these findings, we can conclude they very LTM (vLTM) can be measured in decades
- however it does decrease over time, potentially due to cognitive abilities decreasing with age
We can also conclude that memory can be present/stored, yet still can be forgotten if you don’t have a trigger/store

Question 11

Year Book Study Strength - External Validity

Answer 11

One strength is that Bahrick’s research has high external validity
For example, his willingness to use materials other than sterile, artificial and unrealistic list of words, numbers or (even worse) nonsense syllables and trigrams, and instead use high school yearbooks and class mates, meant her investigated meaningful memories (i.e. of people’s names and faces)
This is a strength because it suggests that Bahrick’s research gives us a more ‘real’ (valid) estimate of the duration of LTM

Question 12

Year Book Study Strength - Supporting Research

Answer 12

One strength is that Bahrick’s research into VLTM is supported by other research
For example, in a more recent study, Bahrick et al. (2008) investigated VLTMs for exam grades achieved at college. This was another appropriate choice because - like names and faces from high school year books - these memories can be checked against an objective record of the grades. The participants were 267 people who had graduated from an American university between 1 and 54 years previously. While omission errors increased with the retention interval, overall 3,025 of 3,967 college grades were correctly remembered (76.3% to 1 dp - about 3/4)
This is a strength because it suggests that Bahrick’s original research has both reliability (consistency) and validity (accuracy) as other similar research h has found similar things

Question 13

Year Book Study Limitation - EV’s

Answer 13

One limitation is that there may be EV’s affecting the results of the Bahrick study
For example, some people would still be in contact with some of their graduating class, whereas others may not be in contact with any of them (and some people may be in contact with many more people that others)
This is a limitation because the study may lack some internal validity because it may measure keeping in touch with old school mates rather than the duration of LTM

Question 14

Capacity of STM

Answer 14

(How much information your STM can hold)
When studying the STM, the capacity is usually measured using a simple technique known as the digit span technique
This digit span technique involves being presented with a sequence of numbers and recalling them in the order in which they are presented
If the participant gets the numbers right, another is added to the sit and the process continues until a mistake is made
The point at which the participant can no longer correctly recall the sequence is the point at which the STM is full (i.e it has reached its capacity)

Question 15

The Digit Span Technique Study - Procedure and Findings

Answer 15

The digit span technique is a very old psychological experiment
In 1887, it was used by Jacobs to calculate the capacity of the STM
Jacobs used a sample of 443 female students (aged 8-19) from the North London Collegiate School
Participants had to repeat back a string of digits in the same or see and the number of digits was gradually increased, until the participants could no longer recall the sequence
He also did a variation of the study where he substituted the digits for letters
He found that the digits were recalled better than the letters (9.3 digits vs 7.3 letters), but on average moist people could recall between 5 to 9 items
Miller (1956) carried out a meta-analysis on the digit span technique
He came to the same same conclusion
- the capacity of our STM is ‘the magical number of 7+/-2’

Question 16

Research into STM Strength - Similar Results

Answer 16

The fact that Miller found similar results to Jacobs is a strength because the findings have been replicated under better controlled conditions
For example, early research into psychology often lack adequate controls, such as a lack of control for distractions when completing a study such as the digit span technique. But Jacobs’ findings have been confirmed by other, better controlled studies
This is a strength becasue it suggests that Jacobs’ study is a valid test of digit span in STM

Question 17

Capacity of STM - Chunks

Answer 17

Miller felt that the magic number of 7+/-2 did not only apply to letters and numbers, but also to what he referred to as chunks
A chunk is simply a combination of individual letters or numbers into a meaningful unit
Examples of chunks include:
- GCSE
- BBC / CBBC
- CSI
- DVD
- MRI
- 1066
- 999/111/911/101
- IVT
- NHS
- FBI
- CIA
- DEA
- 666
Chunking therefore allows us to store more in our STM
- instead of taking up 4 of out STM ‘spaces’, GCSE now only takes up one, leaving us with 6 more ‘spaces’ we can fill

Question 18

Capacity of STM Strength - Use of Digits

Answer 18

One strength of the use of digits in the digit span technique in the digit span technique is that it increases external validity, as you are more likely to store digits in your STM in day to day life
For example, we are likely to have to store phone numbers in our STM until we can write them down or put them in our phones, or verification codes that we have emailed to us when setting up a new account. These are things we are much more likely to encounter in our day to day life and random letters, that we see in studies using trigrams
This is a strength because it means the findings can be applied outside the study and generalised to the real world

Question 19

Capacity of STM Limitation - Overestimates

Answer 19

One limitation of Miller’s research is that he may have overestimated the capacity of the STM
For example, Cowan (2001) concluded that the capacity of the STM is only about 4+/-1 chunks, compared to Miller saying that the capacity for chunks is that same as single digits at letters, at 7+/-2
This is a limitation because it shows lack of reliability due to the difference in results. This causes Miller’s research to lack internal validity

Question 20

Capacity of STM Limitation - Chunk Size

Answer 20

One limitation of Miller’s research into STM is that Miller didn’t specify how long each chunk of information could be
For example, one chunk that is often recognised is the abbreviation GCSE, as well as BBC. However, these are very short and there is a lack of evidence to suggest that we could remember longer terms
This is a limitation because it lacks specific important information, leaving ambiguity within his work and theory

Question 21

Capacity of STM Limitation - Use of Letters

Answer 21

One limitation is the use of letters in the digit span technique
For example, in the real world it is unlikely that we would be asked to remember letters, and instead are more likely to be asked to remember numbers, such as phone numbers, emergency service numbers and card numbers
This is a limitation because it lacks external validity

Question 22

Capacity of STM Limitation - EVs

Answer 22

One limitation is that the digit span technique doesn’t take EVs into account
For example, in his research, Jacobs used a sample of 8-19 year olds, but this doesn’t take into account that the short term memory decreases and gets worse as age decreases. His sample was also only females, which doesn’t take into account that there may be a difference in memory between males ad females
This is a limitation because these important EVs were ignored and not taken into account, and therefore not controlled, meaning the data obtained might not be as reliable

Question 23

Capacity of LTM

Answer 23

It is not possible to quantify the exact capacity of our LTM
While there must theoretically be an upper limit, psychologists agree that for all practical purposes, the capacity of our LTM can be seen as unlimited
- we are always capable of learning more

Question 24

Coding in the STM & LTM

Answer 24

We can represent information in our memory store in different way
We can store information visually, i.e. according to how it looks
- this type of coding that allows us to recognise a friend’s face
Or we can store information acoustically, i.e. according to how it sounds
- this type of coding that allows us to recognise when your favourite song comes on
Or we can store information acoustically, i.e. according to how it sounds
- this type of coding allows us to recognise when your favourite song come on the radio
Or we can store information semantically, i.e. according to its meaning
- this type of coding that allows you to explain to somebody what a book or film was about

Question 25

Coding of STM & LTM - Substitution Error Study

Answer 25

Baddeley (1966) carried out a type of study that are known as substitution error study
Here, we ask people to remember letters or words and we focus on the mistakes they make when they are asked to recall the letters or words:
- if they confuse things that look the same this suggests that they are encoding the material visually
- if they confuse things that sound the same this suggests that they are encoding then material acoustically
- if they confuse things that have the same meaning this suggests that they are encoding the material semantically

Question 26

Coding of STM & LTM - Substitution Error Study - Procedure and Findings

Answer 26

Baddeley (1966) gave different lists of words of 4 groups of participants for them to remember:
- Group 1 - acoustically similar - words sounded similar - e.g. cat,cab,can
- Group 2 - acoustically dissimilar - words sounded different - e.g. pen, cow, lip
- Group 3 - semantically similar - words with similar meanings - e.g. great, large, big
- Group 4 - semantically dissimilar - words with different meanings - e.g. good, plate, cloud
Participants were shown words and asked to recall them in the correct order
When they did this task immediately (so recalling from STM), they did worse with the words that were acoustically similar
When this did this task after 20 minutes (so recalling from LTM(, they did worse with the words that were semantically similar
So, we can conclude that the STM stores information acoustically, and the LTM stores it semantically

Question 27

Coding of STM & LTM Strengths

Question 28

Coding of STM & LTM Limitations

Question 29

The Mutli-Store Model of Memory - Sensory Register

Answer 29

All stimuli from the environment (e.g. the sound of someone talking) pass into the sensory register
This part of the memory comprises of several registers (sensory memory stores), one for each of the 5 senses (visuals, auditory, smell, taste, touch)
Coding in each store is modality-specific (it depends on the sense)
For example, the store coding for visual information is iconic and the store coding acoustically is echoic memory
Duration of material in the sensory registers is very brief, typically less than half a second
The sensory registers have a very high capacity
- for example, over 100 million cells in 1 eye storing visual data
Information passes further into the memory system only if you pay attention to it
- if you don’t pay attention to it, you will forget it

Question 30

The MSM - STM

Answer 30

Information in the STM is coded mainly acoustically and lasts about 18 seconds unless it is rehearsed, so STM is temporary store of memory
STM is a limited-capacity store, because it can only remember a certain number of ‘things’ before forgetting occurs
Maintenance rehearsal occurs when new repeat (rehearse) material to ourselves over and over again
We can also keep information in our STM as long as we rehearse it
- if we rehearse it long enough (prolonged rehearsal, it passes into LTM

Question 31

The MSM - LTM

Answer 31

This is the potentially permanent store form information that has been rehearsed forma prolonged time
We have already seen that LTMs are coded semantically (i.e. in the terms of meaning)
Psychologists believe that its duration may be up to a lifetime
For example, Bahrick et al. (1975) found that many of their participants were able to recognise names and faces of their school classmates almost 50 years after graduating
The capacity of the LTM is considered to be unlimited
According to the MSM, when we recall information from the LTM, it has to be transferred back into the STM by a process called retrieval

Question 32

MSM Case Study

Answer 32

There are individuals who suffer from am condition known as anterograde amnesia as a result of the damage to the hippocampus
Patients often retain their LTM for events leading up until the brain damage, and their STM after the brain damage still works as well as before hand
But they are incapable of transferring new information from the STM to their LTM
This therefore suggests that the STM and LTM are 2 separate memory stores, which supports what the STM says
An example of someone who has anterograde amnesia is HM (Henry Molaison) who suffered brain damage following surgery for epilepsy, but due to the surgery not being fully understood, his hippocampus was removed from both sides of his brain, which we now know is crucial in memory
He was unable to recognise any new faces that he met after his surgery, no matter how many times he met them, but he could still recognise people from before his surgery
He couldn’t find his way to his parents’ new house
His Uncle also died after his surgery, and he would repeatedly ask when he would be coming to family events, and had to be told about his death every time, because there was no way for him to remember that he had died - and his grief was always as intense as the first time he was told

Question 33

Free Recall Experiments

Answer 33

In free recall experiments, participants are given a number of words in succession to remember and are then asked to recall them in any order (“free recall’”)
The results reliably fall into a astern as the free recall serial position curve
- and the curve is the shape that is predicted by the MSM
Primary effect - participants remember the first words in the list
- this is because these words can be rehearsed (maintain rehearsal will keep them in the STM)
Recency effect - participants remember the last words on the list
- this because you gave just heard them so they are still present in your STM because they haven’t:
- decayed yet - they haven’t been in your STM for 18-30 seconds
- been displaced yet - they haven’t been “pushed” our of your STM by other words
Asymptote effect - the middle portion items of the list are remembered far less well
- they have been displaced by new items and/or have decayed because they were in the middle of the list (and it is harder to rehearse them)
- these items are lost

Question 34

The MSM Strength - Case Studies

Answer 34

One strength of the MSM is that it I supported by case studies of brain damaged patients.
For example, the case of HM, who has anterograde amnesia, who was left with severe memory impairment after surgery on his brain to resolve epilepsy. HM was able to remember everything that happened in his life leading up to his surgery, and his STM still worked as usual after it, but he was unable to remember anything long-term, and would forget anything he was told or saw 18-30 seconds after it happened. This shows that the STM and LTM are in fact different memory stores
This is a strength because it supports the MSM’s idea that STM and LTM are different stores of memory, which gives the model validity

Question 35

The MSM Strength - Free Recall Experiments

Answer 35

One strength of the MSM is that it is supported by experimental research
For example, the free recall experiment curve, the primary effect (remembering the first words that were said due to rehearsal being possible), the recency effect (remembering the most recent words because they haven’t been replaced or decayed) and the asymptote (forgetting the words said in the middle due to rehearsal not being possible with that many words and displacement and decay occurring), is what the MSM would predict to happen in these experiments
This is a strength because it supports the MSM and provides research that backs it up. The experimental results fit into the predictions of the MSM, giving the model validity

Question 36

The MSM Limitation - Reductionist

Answer 36

One limitation is that Atkinson and Shiffrin assume that the STM and LTM are unitary stores. However, evidence suggests that there are different sub-systems within both the STM and LTM, which are not considered in the original MSM
For example, another case study of a brain damaged individual is that case of KF. KF suffered brain damage, which severely impaired his STM but left his LTM intact. He could still form new memories, even though his STM was ‘broken’
However, this shouldn’t be possible according to the MSM because it has a fixed, linear information processing sequence and to reach the LTM, information must be be processed by the STM
Further investigation revealed that KF’s STM impairment was mainly for verbal material. His STM for visual material was largely unaffected
This is a limitation because it suggests that there are sub-systems in our STM and it is not a single, unitary store as the MASM seems to be staying

Question 37

The MSM Limitation - Rehearsal Amount

Answer 37

One limitation is that the MSM says that what matters about rehearsal is the amount of it. The more you rehearse something, the more likely it is to transfer to the LTM (the idea of prolonged rehearsal). However, this might not be the case
For example, Tulving (1967) carried out a study where participants were asked to read an list of words over and over again. However, he did not find that this rehearsal meant that these words were recalled more frequently or easily than words that had not been rehearsed
This is a limitation because it suggests the role of rehearsal is overemphasised in the MSM
Craik and Watkins (1973) found that the type now rehearsal is more important than the amount of it. Elaborating rehearsal is needed for long-terms storage, which is when you link the information to your existing knowledge/think about what it means/make it distinct or unique in a way
This is a limitation because it suggests that the MSM does not fully explain how long-term storage is obtained

Question 38

Tulving

Answer 38

Tulving (1985) was one of the first cognitive psychologists to realise that the MSM’s view of the LTM was too simplistic and inflexible
Instead, he proposed that there are, in fact, 3 LTM stores, each containing quite different types of information
He called them episodic memory, semantic memory and procedural memory

Question 39

Episodic Memory

Answer 39

Episodic memory refers to our ability to recall events (episodes) from our lives
- think of unit as our memory’s “diary”
These memories are complex:
They are time stamped
- you remember when they happened as well as what happened and how events relate to each other in time
They include several elements, such as people, places, objects and behaviours
- all of these elements are interwoven to produce a single memory
They require conscious effort to recall
- this can be done quickly but we are still actively reaching for a memory and you are aware that you are doing so

Question 40

Semantic Memory

Answer 40

Semantic memory refers to our knowledge of the world
- think of it as your memory’s encyclopaedia-dictionary combo
Semantic memories are not time stamped
- we don’t remember the first time we learnt this
They are less personal and more about facts that we all share
Given the nature of semantic memory, it is constantly being added to
Tulving argued that semantic memory is much less vulnerable to distortion or forgetting compared to episodic memory

Question 41

Procedural Memory

Answer 41

Procedural memory refers to our memory for actions or skills
- think of it as your memory’s instruction manual
We can, after practise, recall these memories without conscious awareness or effort
- a good example is driving a car - after time, this becomes automatic and you can change gear without having to consciously recall how to do thus
Procedural memories are difficult to describe to someone else
- for example, it is quite hard to describe trying shoelaces to someone without showing them how to do it

Question 42

Types of LTM - Case Studies

Answer 42

One strength of the theory that there are different types of LTM comes from case studies of individuals with brain damage such as HM and Clive Wearing
For example, these people can no longer create new episodic memories or new semantic memories. However, their procedural LTM was relatively unaffected. Clive Wearing, for example, was still able to learn new pieces of music on the piano, even after his LTM was damaged, even if he couldn’t remember the event of actually learning him
This is a strength because it supports Tulving’s views that there are different memory stores in the LTM. One store can be damaged but other stores are unaffected
This is further supported by more recent research by Hodges & Patterson (2007), who found that some people with Alzheimer’s disease (a type of dementia and can be considered another form of brain damage) could form new episodic memories but not semantic memories. This suggests that episodic memory must be separate from semantic memory, as Tulving (1985) suggested
However, there is a lack of control variables when studying people with brain damage. As the damage experienced is usually unexpected, the researcher has no knowledge of the individual’s memory before the damage. This is a problem when using clinical case studies to help us find out more about different types of LTM because it is difficult to judge how much worse different types of memory have become

Question 43

Types of LTM Strength - Practical Applications

Answer 43

One strength of the theory that there are different types of LTM is that understanding the different types of LTM allows psychologists to help people with memory problems
For example, as people age, they experience memory loss. But research has shown that this seems to be specific to episodic memory; it becomes harder to recall memories of personal events or experiences that occurred relatively recently, although past episodic memories remain intact. Belleville et al. (2006) devised an intervention to improve episodic memory in older people. The intervention focused on teaching episodic memory strategies and later participants were given 3 tasks of episodic memory (list recall, face-name association, text memory). Participants who received the strategy intervention did significantly better on 2 of 3 of these tasks (list recall and face-name association) compared to a control group who did not receive intervention
This is a strength because it shows that distinguishing between types of LTM enables specific treatments to be developed that can help improve people’s quality of life

Question 44

Types of LTM Strength - Areas of the Brain

Answer 44

One limitation is that there are conflicting research findings linking types of LTM to areas of the brain. If there are different types of LTM, we would expect to find agreed upon localisation of functions, i.e. each type of LTM is agreed to be located in specific areas of the brain
For example, Buckner and Peterson believe that semantic memory is located in the left prefrontal lobe. However, Tulving (1994) believes that this is where episodic memory is located, whereas Buckner and Peterson (1996) believe that episodic memory is located in the right prefrontal lobe
This is a limitation because there is poor reliability (agreement) on where each type of LTM might be located

Question 45

The Working Memory Model Introduction

Answer 45

The Working Memory Model (WMM) is a model of STM and was proposed by Baddeley and Hitch (1974) and updated more recently by Baddeley (2000)
- this is a more theoretical model of our STM
Baddeley and Hitch felt that the idea of a single unitary STM as outlined by the MSM was too simplistic, and this model considered our STM to be a multi-component, flexible system which actively processes and manipulates information (hence being referred to as working)
They came up with this model when they realised that if you do 2 tasks at once, and they are both visual, you perform less well than if you do them separately
However, if you do 2 things at the same time and 1 is visual and one involves sound, then there is no interference
You do them as well simultaneously as you would do them separately, which suggests that there is 1 store for visual processing and 1 for processing sound

Question 46

The Dual-Task Studies

Answer 46

Dual-Task Studies are studies that were created by Baddeley and Hitch to prove that there are different STM stores for visual information and audio information
In these, you complete true/false questions as a part of the visual task, while remembering a sequence of numbers for the sound task, and they found that their participants performed better on this task to ones where they asked participants to complete 2 visual tasks or 2 sounds tasks

Question 47

The WMM Components

Answer 47

The WMM consists of 4 main components, each of which is qualitatively different, especially in terms of coding and capacity
These are the:
- central executive
- phonological loop
- Visio-spatial sketchpad
- episodic buffer

Question 48

Central Executive

Answer 48

Main Purpose:
- key component to the working memory model
- it monitors incoming data, focuses and divides our limited attention and allocates subsystems to tasks
Capacity:
- does have some storage capacity but it is very limited
Coding:
- modality free
- it can deal with info in any sensory format
- flexible

Question 49

Phonological Loop

Answer 49

Main Purpose:
- it deals with auditory information and preserves the order in which the information arrives
- the PL is subdivided into:
~ the phonological store, which stores what you hear
~ the articulatory process, which allows maintenance rehearsal (repeating sounds or words in a “loop” to keep them in working memory while they are needed)
Capacity:
- the capacity of this “loop” is the equivalent of what you can say in 2 seconds
Coding:
- the coding is acoustic, ad the PL slave system deals with the auditory information

Question 50

Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad (Inner Eye)

Answer 50

Main Purpose:
- the inner eye
- the VSS stores visual and/or spatial information when required
- it is divided into the (divided into these by Robert Logic (1995))
~ visual cache (stores visual data)
~ the inner scribe (manipulates/arranges visual data)
Capacity:
- limited capacity
- Baddely (2003)n said this is about 3 or 4 objects
Coding:
- as the VVS stores visual and spatial information, it uses visual coding

Question 51

Episodic Buffer

Answer 51

Main Purpose:
- was added to the WMM by Baddeley in 2000
- it links the working memory to the LTM and wider cognitive processes such as perception
Capacity:
- limited capacity
- about 4 chunks
Coding:
- like the central executive (CE), is it modality free

Question 52

WMM Counting Windows Example

Answer 52

Baddeley stated that mentally counting the windows on a house is an example of the working memory model in Action:
- instruction to count the windows in your house is received by the central executive
- the CE allocates the tracks of visualising your house to the visuo-spatial sketchpad
- the episodic buffer is required to access the picture of your house from the LTM so the VSS can see it and the visual image is stored in your visual cache and we move around thge image of our house using the inner scribe
- the CE allocated the counting windows task to your phonological loop
- you “inner voice” (articulatory process) counts and your “inner ear” keeps much of your counting (phonological store)
- the CE keeps track of the task and its completion

Question 53

The WMM Strength - More Complete Explanation

Answer 53

One strength of the WMM is that it is a more complete explanation of memory than the MSM
For example, the WMM has much more explanatory power than the MSM. It can explain how we complete a range of tasks, including verbal reasoning, comprehension tasks, reading, problem-solving no visual processing. The MSM cannot fully explain how we can complete these tasks, especially if we are doing 2 tasks at the same time. As a result, most psychologists today agree that our STM is made up of a number of slave systems rather than the unitary store proposed by the MSM
This is a strength because it means that the WMM fills in many important gaps of information that were left in the MSM, meaning that psychologists now have a better understanding of memory

Question 54

The WMM Strength - Supporting Evidence

Answer 54

One strength of the WMM is that there is evidence to support it
For example, physiological evidence exists using studies involving brain scans. PET scans have shown that different areas of the brain area activate while completing verbal and verbal tasks. These areas may correspond to components of working memory
This is a strength because evidence lends credibility towards to the model

Question 55

The WMM Limitation - Still Unknowns

Answer 55

One limitation of the WMM is the fact that we don’t fully understand roles and parts of the WMM. There is not enough information
For example, in 2003, Baddeley wrote that ‘the central executive is the most important but the least understood component of working memory, “while the idea of the central executive as the “boss” and coordinator does make sense in the model, more research is needed in order to fully understand its role and how it works
This is a limitation because we don’t fully understand the WMM or know everything about it. We don’t have a full understanding, particularly the most important part

Question 56

The WMM Other Strengths

Question 57

LTM Forgetting Introduction

Answer 57

Forgetting in long term memory is due to a problem of accessibility
The information we are looking for is in our LTM still, so there is not a problem of availability
- we know this because of the capacity (unlimited) and duration (decades/a life time) of the LTM store
However, we can have trouble getting the information out of our LTM, and this is experienced as ‘forgetting’

Question 58

Interference Theory

Answer 58

Interference theory argues that information (especially information of similar nature) gets ‘muddles up’ in our LTM
This disruption makes it harder for us to locate the memories, and then this is experienced as ‘forgetting’
Proactive Interference:
- this occurs when an older memory interferes with you remembering a newer memory
- for example, calling a new girlfriend by an old girlfriend’s name
Retroactive Interference:
- this occurs when a newer memory interferes with you remembering an older memory
- for example, not being able to remember a previous postcode

Question 59

Research on Proactive Interference

Answer 59

Underwood (1957)
Underwood asked some students to learn a list of nonsense syllables, and 24 hours later he asked them to recall them
He found that their level of recall was much lower than he would have expected
The students had not been asked to learn anymore nonsense syllables in the 24 hours, so he knew it wasn’t a case of retroactive interference, as there was now new information to interfere with the old
Underwood then realised that the forgetful students had in fact participated in a previous memory test that he had conducted
When he looked at their mistakes in detail, he discovered that they had actually given the nonsense syllables that the first memory test
This is therefore an example of proactive interference, as the old nonsense syllables got in the way of them remembering the new nonsense syllables

Question 60

Research on Retroactive Interference

Answer 60

McGeoch and McDonald asked participants to learn a list of 10 words until they could remember them with 100% accuracy
They were allocated to 1 of 6 groups and were asked to learn a new list
Group 1: words with the same meanings as the original words (synonyms)
Group 2: words with the opposite meaning as the original words (antonyms)
Group 3: words unrelated to the original list
Group 4: consonant syllables
Group 5: 3-digit numbers
Group 6: no new list - these participants just rested (control group)
Results (mean number of original words recalled)
Group 1: 1.3
Group 2: 1.9
Group 3: 2.1
Group 4: 2.6
Group 5: 3.7
Group 6: 4.5
The group who had no new information to learn did the best, and the highest score. The group who got the lowest score got this because synonyms are more likely to be muddled
From this, we can draw the conclusions that retroactive interference can occur, as shown by the fact that group 6 had the best recall of older information. Interference is most likely to occur when information is similar, as shown by group 1 doing the worst

Question 61

Interference Study - Support from Drug Studies

Answer 61

One strength of interference study is that it is supported by drug studies
For example, Conen et al carried out an experiment where he set his participants the task of being given a list of words, and they needed to remember them and recall them at a later point. It was assumed that experience between being given the list and being asked to recall it would act as interference. The control group were given a placebo drug, whereas the experimental group was given Valium before learning the list of words. Valium works by increasing GABA activity, which is a neurotransmitter, which reduces anxiety. The experimental group had better recall and less interference
This is a strength because these findings support interference theory because the Valium will presumably reduce the number of new memories made in between learning and recalling the list, so they have less retroactive interference

Question 62

Interference Theory Strength/Limitation - Lab Based Research

Answer 62

One strength of interference theory is that it uses lab based research
For example, in lab based studies, you are able to have a lot of control over relevant EVs that could otherwise influence the results, such as individual differences in memory, alcohol and drug consumption and noise.
This is a strength because it means that the internal validity of the research will be high
However, there are also limitations of using lab based research
For example, research into interference theory often uses artificial tasks, such as being asked to remember nonsense syllables or lists of random words, that you wouldn’t be asked to remember in the real world
This is a limitation because it means that the external validity of the research will be low and won’t show our real memory processes

Question 63

Interference Theory Strength - Real World Interference

Answer 63

One strength of interference theory is that there are real world cases of interference that support it
For example, Baddeley and Hitch carried out the “rugby study” in 1977. Rugby players were asked to recall the names of all of the teams they had played that season. This was the same length of time for all of the players, but not all players had played the same number of games, due to having to take games out due to injury. They found that the players who had played fewer games due to injury were able to remember more of the teams that their team had played
This is a strength because the ones who had played less games had less retroactive interference than those who had played more, showing that interference has an effect on memory with less artificial material than other studies

Question 64

Interference Theory Limitation - Incomplete Explanation

Answer 64

One limitation of interference theory is that it is not a complete explanation of LTM forgetting
For example, Tulving (1966) gave lists of words to participants to learn and test on. He then gave them a free recall test on them in 3 separate occasions. He found that, on average, participants recalled 50/80% of words each time, however they recalled different words each time
This is a limitation because it is difficult to link these results back to interference theory. How would words lost due to interference in trial one suddenly become available in trial 2 or 3?

Question 65

Retrieval Failure

Answer 65

(Most domination theory of forgetting in the LTM)
Tulving and Thompson (1973) proposed the encoding specificity principle
“Memory is most effective if the information that is present at learning is also present at the time of retrieval”
- the idea of cues (environmental/physical/psychological cues)
In other words, for a cue to be most helpful, it has to be north present at encoding (i.e at the time when we are learning the material) and present at retrieval (i.e. when we are recalling the information)
If the cues available at encoding and retrieval are different or absent, there will be some forgetting
- this suggests that the best place for us to sit our exams are in the classroom where we learn the information

Question 66

Context-Dependant Retrieval

Answer 66

Context-dependant retrieval refers to environmental cues
- i.e. being in the same same place when retrieving information as you were when you leasing it
One study into this was carried out by Godden and Baddeley (1975) using deep sea divers
They were asked to remember and recall a list of 36 words, and were split into 4 groups to do this:
- group 1 = underwater learning and underwater recall
- group 2 = underwater learning and land recall
- group 3 = land learning and land recall
- group 4 = land learning and underwater recall
The results for this were:
- group 1 = 32%
- group 2 = 23%
- group 3 = 38%
- group 4 = 24%
From these results, we can see that those who learnt and recalled the words in the same location did significantly better than those who recalled the words in a different place that they learnt them
If you are learning and recalling words in a different place, you are forgetting words due to a lack of cues

Question 67

State-Dependant Retrieval

Answer 67

State-dependant retrieval refers to physiological or psychological cues
- i.e. being in the same physical state or moods when when retrieving information as you were when you learnt it
One study into this was carried out by Cater & Cassidy (1998)
They gave participants antihistamines, which had a mild sedative effect and made the participants feel slightly drowsy
The participants had to learn a list of words and passages of prose and then recall the information in different conditions:
- group a = learn on drug - recall on drug
- group b = learn on drug - recall when not on drug
- group c = learn when not on drug - recall on drug
- group d = learn when not on drug - recall when not on drug
It was found that groups b and c did the least well on the recall task because there is a mismatch between their physical/psychological state when learning and recalling

Question 68

Retrieval Failure Strength - Further Research

Answer 68

One strength of retrieval failure is that further research had shown that you do not need to be in the same environment when recalling as you were when learning; simply imagining yourself to be back in the original place environment can significantly improve your retrieval
For example, Smith (1979) gave his participants a list of 80 words to learn while sitting in a distinctive basement room. The following day, he tested some participants in the same basement room, some participants in a ninth-floor room with complete different furnishings, and a third group who also in the ninth-floor room but who were told to imagine imagining themselves back in the basement room. He found that the recall for the first group was 18 items, the second group 12 items and the third group 17 items
This is a strength because not only do the findings from group 1 and 2 give additional support for context-dependent retrieval failure, but these findings also have some real world applications. If you are in a situation in which you need to remember information (such as an exam) you can improve your retrieval by imaging you were in the place in which you learnt the information (such as your classroom)

Question 69

Retrieval Failure Limitation - Weak Real Life Context

Answer 69

One limitation of retrieval failure is that it may be that the context effects are not actually very strong, especially in every day life
For example, different contexts would have to be very different indeed before an effect is seen, which was the case in the Godden and Baddeley study, as you would find it hard to find a context that is as different from land as underwater is. However, everyday life environments are more similar top each other, such as learning something in one room and trying to remember it in another room
This is a limitation because it shows that context dependant retrieval failure may not happen all that often, and only when environments at learning and recall are massively different

Question 70

Retrieval Failure Limitation - Repeat of Studies

Answer 70

One limitation of retrieval failure is that research studies that were vital in the support of the theory have been repeated and found different results
For example, Godden and Baddeley replicated their underwater experiment but used a recognition test instead of a retrieval test (recall involves having to to retrieve the word yourself. When recognition was tested, there was no context-dependant effect, performance was the same in all 4 conditions
This is a limitation because retrieval failure might not be a complete explanation for forgetting, it can explain forgetting in recall tasks only

Question 71

Retrieval Failure Strength - Different Physiological States

Answer 71

One strength of retrieval is that studies have been done into retrieval of people when they are different physiological states
For example, Goodwin et al. (1969) found that heavy drinkers who learn things in a drunken states are more likely to recall them when drunk than when sober. Eich (1980) has also shown that this effect is shown with a range of other drugs, such as marijuana
This is a strength because it is evidence for state-dependant retrieval, when regarding physical sate

Question 72

Retrieval Failure Strength(ish) - Different Moods

Answer 72

One strength of retrieval failure is that there has been research done into how mood effects retrieval
While the evidence for mood affecting is less conclusive, Ucros (1989) did find a moderately strong relationship between mood at the learning and retrieval stage. It appears to be that mood dependence is more likely if the information is real-life rather than artificially constructed material and adults are more likely to demonstrate mood dependence than children
This is a strength because, while the evidence is less conclusive, there is still some evidence for state-dependant retrieval, in regards to psychological state

Question 73

Why is it Important that We Ensure Eyewitnesses Testimony is Accurate?

Answer 73

Moral point of view - we don’t want innocent people to be punished
Safety/society point of view - we don’t want guilty people to be going free and put society in danger
Financial point of view - we want to avoid compensation, retrial and holding non-guilty people in prison

Question 74

Why Do We Need To Consider the Accuracy of EWT?

Answer 74

The reliability of EWT is of huge importance in legal proceedings
The Innocence Project, which works towards clearing the names of wrongly convicted prisoners, states that faulty EWT is the number one cause of wrongful convictions
When witnesses misremember, people go to prison, often for many years
- therefore it is vital that we understand how memory works, why at can alter it, and how memory works, what can alter it, and how we can prevent this from happening

Question 75

The Devlin Committee

Answer 75

The Devlin Committee was set up in 1973 to review the process of identification and prosecution of crimes
It was found that 447 cases where prosecution occurred when EWT was the only evidence
- 74 were prosecuted
- this shows the overwhelming weight that is given to EWT by juries
Subsequently, the Devlin Committee recommended that the trial judge be required to instruct the jury that it isn’t safe to convict on a single EWT alone

Question 76

Factors Effecting EWT

Answer 76

Our brains do not take pictures of events which are then later recalled with 100% accuracy
Many things can affect how we remember events
Our pre-existing biases and stereotypes can colour our memories, as can information that is received after the event, such as leading questions
Out memories for events are reconstructed from various sources
- things that happen at the time are combined with other information
This means that what we think we remember may not always be accurate
However juries, which are made up of 12 members of the general public, may be swayed by EWT, particularly if the eyewitnesses seem confident (Nolan and Markham, 1998)
2 factors that can affect EWT are:
- misleading information (leading questions and post-event discussion)
- anxiety

Question 77

Leading Questions

Answer 77

Loftus defined a leading question as “a question that by either form or content, suggest to the eyewitness what answer is desired, or leads him to the desired answer”
These leading questions may be inadvertently used by the police when interviewing witnessed after the event
Information received after an event can have a retroactive interfering effect on out recollection

Question 78

Leading Questions Experiment 1

Answer 78

Loftus and Palmer (1974)
To see if the speed estimates given by students upon watching a video of a car crash would be influenced by the wording of the question asked
They wanted to see if participants who were asked a question with the word “hit” in it would give a different estimate of speed than those who were asked to the same question but with the word “smashed”
- other words used were bumped, contacted and collided
Method:
45 students participated in groups of various sizes
7 films were shown, each depicting a traffic accident
- these films were segments from longer driver’s education films borrowed from the Evergreen Safety Council and the Seattle Police Department
The length of the film segments ranged from 5-30 seconds
Following each film, the subjects received a questionnaire asking them first to “give an account of the accident you have just seen” and then, answer a series of specific questions about the accident
The critical question was the one that interrogated the subject about the speed of the vehicles which were involved in the collisions
9 subjects were asked “about how fast were the cars going when they hit each other?”
Equal numbers of the remaining subjects were interrogated with the verbs smashed, collided, bumped and contacted in the place of hit
The entire experiment lasted about an hour and a half
A different ordering of the films was presented to each groups of subjects
Findings (in mean estimated speed in mph):
- smashed = 40.5
- collided = 39.3
- bumped = 38.1
- hit = 34.0
- contacted = 31.8
Conclusions:
Loftus and Palmer concluded that one reason for the differences in the mean estimates is the response-bias explanation, which suggests that the wording of the question does not alter the actual memory of the event, but instead alters how we answer the question about it
- as seen in experiment 1, being asked the leading question with the word “smashed” encourages us to choose a higher speed estimate
However, they also put forward a second possible reason
- the substitution explanation
This proposes that the wording of the leading question actually changes the participant’s memory of the event
- this was tested in experiment 2

Question 79

Leading Questions Experiment 2

Answer 79

Loftus and Palmer also wanted to see if the leading questions just changed the response given to the questions, or whether participant’s memories had actually altered as a result of the leading questions
Method:
150 students participated in this experiment, in groups of various sizes
A film depicting a multiple car accident was shown, followed by a questionnaire
The film lasted less than 1 minutes and the accident in the film lasted 4 seconds
At the end of the film, the subjects received a questionnaire asking them first to describe the accident in their own words and then answer a series of questions about the accident
The critical question was the one that interrogated the subject about the speed of the vehicles
- 50 subjects were asked “about how fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other?”
- 50 subjects were asked “about how fast were they going when they hit each other?”
- 50 subjects were not asked about the speed
One week later, the subjects returned and without viewing the film again, they answered a series of questions about the accident
The critical question here was “did you see any broken glass?” (Closed question, but there was no broken glass in the video) which the subjects answered by checking “yes” or “no”
This question was embedded in a list of 10 questions, and it appeared in a random position in the list
There was no broken glass in the accident, but, since broken glass is commensurate with accidents occurring at a high speed, we expected that the subjects who had been asked the smashed question might more often say “yes” to this critical question
Findings:
Hit - yes=7 (14%) no=43 (86%)
Smashed - yes=16 (32%) no=34 (68%)
Control - yes=6 (12%) no=44 (88%)
Conclusions:
Supports the substitution explanation
- there was a genuine memory change in 1/3 of the “smashed” group

Question 80

Research into Leading Questions Strength - Supporting Research

Answer 80

One strength us that research into the effect of leading questions is backed up by other research
For example, Loftus and Zanni (1975) showed participants a film of a car accident. Some participants were asked “Did you see a broken headlight?” Whereas others were asked “did you see the broken headlight?” 7% of those asked about a broken headlight reported seeing one, whereas 17% asked about the broken headlight reported once (they now had a changed memory)(there was not a broken headlight in the video)
This is a strength because the research demonstrates that leading questions can actually cause participants to remember something that was not there, which further supports the substitution explanation

Question 81

Research into Leading Questions Limitation - Not All Memories

Answer 81

One limitation is that not all memories seem for be able to be influenced by leading questions
For example, Loftus (1979) showed participants a series of pictures of a man stealing a large bright read wallet from a woman’s bag. 98% of participants were able to identify the colour correctly. Later, Loftus used leading questions (trying to lead them to say the wallet was brown) to try and alter the participants recall. However, they persisted in describing this purse as red
This is a limitation because this research contradicts Loftus and Palmer, as it suggest that in some circumstances (namely when attention is focused on the central event) leading questions have a limited effect on memory, not an outcome that would be predicted by either of Loftus and Plamer’s earlier conclusions

Question 82

Misleading Information Strength/Limitation - Lab Research

Answer 82

Many of the studies into memory have used lab experiments
This can be good into the effects of misleading information of EWT because:
- they’re is lots of control over EVs such as other distractions like visual, sensory, background noise, tone of voice, and participant variables such as eyesight
- you are more able to establish lush a cause and effect relationship (here it would be misleading information causes of EWT accuracy
- control over EVs also gives higher internal validity so they are actually measuring what they are actually aiming to test
However, this has negatives
Yullie and Custhall (1986) interviewed 13 people who had witnesses an actual armed robbery in Canada 4 months previously, in which the shop owner shot a thief dead
They found that participants were not led by the leading questions, and the accounts that they gave were similar to those in their initial witness statements
- lab studies have lower ecological validity as the research doesn’t reflect on real world EWT
- lab research lacks the emotion of real EWT (such as surprise and anxiety) and lacks the consequences (e.g. no one will go to prison)
- so lab research may tell very little about misleading questions into EWT

Question 83

Research into Misleading Questions - Practical Applications

Answer 83

We also need the remember that research into the effect of misleading information on EWT has had practical applications
- research has led to the development of the cognitive interview
- this is a special types of interview used by police which is constructed in a way as to avoid leading questions and PED, and to maintain the accuracy of EWT
This is a strength because we don’t want people going to prison and guilt people going free, so this research may have helped this being prevented

Question 84

Research into Post-Event Discussion

Question 85

Anxiety

Answer 85

When someone either witnesses or is the victim of a crime, they are liable to feel a great deal of intense emotions, anxiety being the main one
These high level of emotion may impede or maybe improve memory for the event
We might expect to find that crime where a witness is under a great deal of stress to lead to a poorer recall than lower stress crimes
- Deffenbacher et al. (2004) performed a meta-analysis on studies of EW recall and found that high stress had a negative impact on accuracy, supporting this theory
However, MacLeod et al. (1986) investigated real life EW reports of 379 physical assaults, and compared them to crime where no physical injury occurred
- they found that there was no overall difference in accuracy between 2 types of crime, suggesting that levels of emotion do not make a difference to recall
Other evidence suggests that recall can be improved by high levels of emotion
Odiniot et al. (2009) interviewed 14 witnesses to an armed robbery and checked their recall against security footage
- they found that 84% of the information recalled was correct, and that the witness who reported a higher level of emotional impact had the most accurate recall
So, we can see that research supports both possibilities, and anxiety can be a negative and positive effect on EWT

Question 86

Anxiety Has a Negative Effect on Recall (Weapon Focus)

Answer 86

Johnson and Scott (1976) carries out an experiment which demonstrates the powerful role that anxiety can play in undermining accuracy of EWT
Participants were told to come into an office to take part in an study and were told what happened wasn’t the actual experiment, just something that happened while they wre waiting, and were exposed to 1 of 2 conditions:
1 - they overheard a low-key discussion about equipment failure
- a person then emerged holding a pen with grease on his hands
2 - they overheard a heated and hostile exchange
- after the sound of breaking glass and crashing chairs, a man emerged holding a knife covered in blood
Participants were given 50 photographs and asked to identify (a recognition task) the man who has come out of the room
They found that those who had witnesses the man with the pen were able to accurately identify him 49% of the time whereas those who had seen the man with the bloody knife (so very anxious) were only able to accurately identify him 33% of the time (significantly different and lower)
This suggest that anxiety decreased the accuracy of EWT
It was concluded that this finding was due to a phenomenon known as tunnel theory (where people have enhanced memory for central events), specially that of weapon focus
- witnesses will concentrate on the weapon which in turn distracts attention from the appearance of the person holding the weapon
This does however have ethical issues as the study is exposing people to more psychological harm to participants than they would have done had they not been in the study and there was a lack of consent due to the deception of the fact that they weren’t aware that this was the actual study

Question 87

Weapon Focus Study Strength - Supported By Further Research

Answer 87

This study was supported by a later piece of research carried out by Loftus and Burns (1982)
Participants were asked to watch a video of a crime
Half of the participants watched a non-violent version and half watched a violent version, in which a young boy was shot in the face
Those who saw the violent version were less accurate in recalling information about the crime

Question 88

Weapon Focus Study Strength - Support From More Recent Research

Answer 88

It was also supported by a more recent piece of research by Valentine and Mesout (2009) which was conducted in London Dungeon (not weapon focus but anxiety)
People who visited London Dungeon were asked to take part in a study
They were fitted with a heart monitor, which was used to split them into low anxiety groups and high anxiety groups (higher heart beat shows higher anxiety)(very objective)
They were then asked questions about their experience, and those in the high anxiety group answered the questions less accurately than those in the low anxiety group
This supports the weapon focus study

Question 89

Weapon Focus Study Limitation - Lack of Internal Validity

Answer 89

However, one criticism that has been of the Johnson and Scott study is that it might be lack of internal validity
- i.e. it might not actually measure what it claims to measure, and may not have actually measures the effect of anxiety on EWT
For example, it may be that the reason the participants were focused on the weapon is because they were surprised at what they saw, rather than scared
Pickel (1998) conducted an experiment using scissors, a handgun, a wallet or a raw chicken as the hand-held items in a hairdressing salon
EWT was significantly poorer in the high unusualness conditions (gun and chicken) compared to scissor which, even though they could be a weapon, are not unusual
This is a limitation because it suggest that the weapon focus effect could be due to unusualness rather than anxiety, and therefore weapon focus research tells us nothing specifically about the effects of anxiety

Question 90

Anxiety Has a Positive Effect on Recall (Fight or Flight)

Answer 90

Witnessing a stressful event creates anxiety which triggered the fight or flight response
This increases alertness which may improve memory for the event as we come more aware of cues in the situation
Fight or flight response:
Stressor (seeing a crime) is perceived -> hypothalamus activates the pituitary gland -> this activates the sympathetic branch of the ANS -> send signal to adrenal glands which secret adrenaline -> adrenaline circulates through your body - causes perspiration, increased respiration, pupil dilation, blood pressure and most importantly, increased alertness

Question 91

Fight or Flight in Anxiety Strength - Yuille and Cutshall

Answer 91

We have already seen from the study by Yuille and Cutshall (1986) showed that witnesses to a real life crime were overall very accurate in their accounts of the event, even 4-5 months after the shooting
(Accuracy was measured by comparing then number of details reported in the original interviews at the time of the shooting and their later accounts)
In addition to this, when they were asked about the event 4 months later, the witnesses were also asked how stressed they felt at the time of the incident (measured on a 7 point scale), and also whether they had any emotional problems since (e.g. sleeplessness). Studying the results more closely showed that those participants who had reported the highest levels of stress more most accurate (88% accuracy vs 75% accuracy of those who were less stressed)
This further suggests that anxiety does not have a detrimental effect on the accuracy of EWT in a real-world context, and may even enhance it

Question 92

Fight or Flight in Anxiety Strength - Christianson and Hubinette

Answer 92

A similar piece of research was carried out by Christianson and Hubinette (1993)
They interviewed 58 witnesses of real bank robberies. Like Yuille and Cutshall, they found that victims were accurate in their recall and remembered details about what the robber wore, their behaviour and the weapon used, with recall more than 75% accurate even after up to a 15 month interval. The victim (bank workers) who were also presumably more anxious, also had better recall than bystanders
This also suggests that anxiety enhanced the accuracy of the EWT

Question 93

Fight or Flight in Anxiety Limitation - Lack of Control

Answer 93

Neither Yuille and Cutshall nor Christianson and Hubinette had control what happened to their participants in the intervening time between the original robbery and follow-up interviews
This means that anything, such as post-event discussion, could have occurred

Question 94

Anxiety Negative vs Positive

Answer 94

So the evidence as to whether emotion enhances or impedes memory is unclear
However, the Yerkes Dodson curve which shows the relationship between emotional arousal and performance on a task may provide an answer
It says that low and high arousal have the worse performance rate, but a medium level of arousal is optimum in remembering
This suggests that lower levels of anxiety produce lower level of recall accuracy and that our results will increase with anxiety - but only to a certain point, after which it decreases dramatically
This appears to be a reasonable explanation as to why research into the effects of anxiety on EWT has such different findings
However, we also need to remember that there are a great many ways in which people react to shocking events
- some get angry, some are scared, and others may feel no emotion until the event is over, remaining calm throughout
As there are such great individual differences between people, can we really come to any overall generalisations about the effect of emotion on memory?

Question 95

Improving the Accuracy of EWT

Answer 95

Research into the accuracy of EWT has had important applications for the way in which police question witnesses
The standard police interview consists of the witness free recalling why at they had seen, followed by the police asking the witness specific questions
As a result of research into factors affecting the accuracy of EWT, Fisher and Geiselman (1992) developed the cognitive interview designed to be used by police investigators to increase thr accuracy of EWT

Question 96

Cognitive Interview

Answer 96

1) Recreate (or reinstate) the context of the original incident - get witnesses to try and recall an image of the crime scene and details liken weather, lighting, smells etc (take the witness back to the crime scene or watch a reconstruction or imagine themselves there)
- this links back to retrieval failure and context-dependant forgetting
- putting the witness back in the same environment because it provides memory cues
- sometimes witnesses can asked their emotions (state-dependant retrieval)
2) get the witness to report every detail - anything they can remember even if it does not seem to have a bearing on the crime
- all information might be relevant so it is important that it gets reported
- might tell the police something new
- may trigger other memories of the event
3) get the witness to recall the event in different offers - in reverser, for example - for start at the most memorable event and work backwards or forwards from there
- helps identify a witness who is lying because if you have made up a scenario that you are telling police, it is harder to recall a fictional event backwards
- links to your working memory
~ if you are a real witness, you will use your VSS to envision the crime, and your PL to talk through it backwards
~ you can do this and use 2 separate sub stores
~ if you’re a fake witness or lying, you will only use the PL to do both, which will overwhelm the WM and they will struggle
4) get witnesses to change perspectives - ask them to try and describe the incident from the perspective of other people who were there at the time, e.g. bystanders or the criminal
- disrupts schemas
~ mental short cuts, so there can be errors as seen in the Allport and Postman subway study
- changing perspectives forces you to think harder which should reduce reliance on schemas

Question 97

Research into the Cognitive Interview

Answer 97

Geiselman et al tested the effectiveness of the cognitive interview by comparing it with standard police interviewing techniques
89 students were shown a video of violent crimes and 48 hours laters were questioned individually by American detectives, PIs or CIA investigators using either the cognitive interview technique or the standard police interviewing technique
Each interview was also taped and analysed for accuracy of recall
Participants were tested on:
The number of correct items recalled
The numbers of errors made, including
- the number of items that were incorrectly recalled - for example saying that the assailant had black hair instead of brown hair
- the number of confabulated items - the number of items described that were not actually shown in the video
Findings:
Cognitive interview - correct items=41.5 incorrect items=7.3 confabulated items=0.7
Standard interview - correct items=29.4 incorrect items=6.1 confabulated items=0.4
Conclusions:
The cognitive interview draws more correct results than the standard interview however it also draws more incorrect items, but not a significant amount

Question 98

Cognitive Interview Strengths *

Answer 98

• Fisher et al (1989) trained a group of detectives from Florida in the use of the cognitive interview and assessed their performance when interviewing genuine witnesses - they found that when compared to the pre-training levels, there was a 47% increase in the amount of information gained from witnesses
• Bekerian and Dennett (1993) carried out a meta-analysis of 27 cognitive interview studies and found that in all 27 cases, the cognitive interview provided more accurate information than any other interviewing technique
• Kohnken et al. (1999) carried out a meta-analysis of 55 studies comparing the CI (and enhanced CR) with the standard interview - the CI gave 41% increase in accurate information compared to the standard interview, with the CI showing an improvement in accurate information replaced in 51/55
• Holliday (2003) showed that the cognitive interview is also useful for interviewing children - he showed 2 groups of children, 1 aged 4-5 and 1 aged 9-10, a 5 minute video of a child’s birthday party - the next day, all of the children were interviewed about what they had seen on the video, using either a standard interview or a CI - once again, it was found that the of the CI resulted in more correct details being recalled

Question 99

Cognitive Interview Limitations

Answer 99

• Kohnken et al. (1999) also found an increase in the amount of inaccurate information recalled by participants, especially when using the enhance CI - police officers must therefore still treat EWT from CIs and enhanced CIs with caution
• some aspects of the CI are more effective - Milne and Bull (2002) found that a combination of “report everything” and “reinstate the context” produced better recall than any of then other elements or combinations of them - this shows that the original CI has its limitations as not all of its elements are equally effective or useful
• the CI is time-consuming - it takes more time (e.g. to establish a rapport with the witness and to allow them to relax) and training (special training is requires and many forces do not have resources to provide this)