Memory Flashcards

Question

What are the negatives of a case study on memory?

Answer 1

Generalising the findings of ideographic clinical case studies to explain how memory works in the wider population is problematic. Other unknown issues could be unique to that individual that can explain behaviour.

Answer 2

tulvings fMRI studies identified which types of LTM memory are associated with particular brain areas in healthy brain. This has allowed ideas gained by ideographic case studies to be studied via nomothetic methods

Answer 3

Types of long term memory may not be truly distinct. Episodic and semantic memories are both declarative; episodic become semantic over time, and we can produce automatic language (combining semantic and procedural)

Answer 4

Baddely and hitch (1974)

Answer 5

Created to replace the STM store in the multi store model of memory. The WMM is an active processor made of multiple stores whereas the STM is a passive and unitary store

Answer 6

Central executive Phonological loop Visuo-spatial sketchpad Episodic buffer

Answer 7

Head of the model, receives sense information, controls attention and filters info before passing on to the sub systems. Limited in capacity (four items) and capable of dealing with only strand of information at a time.

Answer 8

Processes sound information (acoustic coding). Contains: primary acoustic store (inner ear, storing words recently heard) and articulary process (inner voice, storing via sub-vocal repetition). Capacity of 2 seconds

Answer 9

Processes (codes) visual and spatial information. Contains: visual cache (a passive store of form and colour) and the inner scribe “inner eye” (active store of relationships in 3D space)

Answer 10

Added to the WMM in 2000, as the model needed a general store to hold and combine information from VSS, PL, CE and long- term memory

Answer 11

When asked to do two visual tasks (tracking and moving lights and describing the angles of the letter F). Or a visual and verbal task. It was found that performance was much better when the tasks were not using the same processing. This suggests that the VSS and PL are separate systems, and the capacity of the VSS can be overwhelmed the visual information.

Answer 12

After a brain injury, KF has a selective impairment to his verbal STM, but visual functioning was not affected. This suggests the PL and VSS subsystems are separate processes located in separate brain regions.

Answer 13

Participants in fMRI’s completed tasks with integrated or separate spatial and verbal information. More activation was found in the prefrontal cortex with information is integrated and in posterior brain regions when not integrated. This suggests the EB exists and is in the prefrontal cortex.

Answer 14

Found participants could recall more monosyllabic words (short) than polysyllabic words (long). This suggests the capacity PL is the time it takes to stay the words, approximately 2 seconds. Known as the word length effect.

Answer 15

The WMM seems more accurate than the STM component of the MSM in describing how memory is used as an active processor. Psychologists often now refer to working memory instead of short-term memory.

Answer 16

in most studies on memory tasks, there are issues with external validity, they lack mundane realism as the tasks are unrealistic/artificial, therefore, may not be generalised to how we use memory in day to day life Other psychologists have criticised the central executive as a concept that dose not have a full explanation of its function. Baddeley admits the concept needs development, and including the episodic buffer as part of this. It’s impossible to directly observe the processing of memory described in models like the WMM. This means inferences must be made, which are assumptions about cognitive processes; these assumptions could be incorrect.

Answer 17

We forget because our long term memory becomes confused (disrupted) by other information while it is coded.

Answer 18

Old information disrupts the new. Interference works forward in time when old information already stored interferes with recalling something new

Answer 19

New information disrupts the old. Interference works backwards in time; new information being stored interferes with recall of old info

Answer 20

Interference is more likely to occur when two pieces of information are similar due to response competition.

Answer 21

Interference is less likely to occur when there is a large gap between learning.

Answer 22

Information is in LTM but forgetting happens due to the absence of appropriate cues/prompts encoded at the same time (encoding specificity principle)

Answer 23

Aspects of our external environment work as cues to memory (sights, sounds, smells). Being in a different place inhibits memory as we lack environmental cues.

Answer 24

Providing cues that relate to the organisation/category of memory aids recall. The most effective cues gave fewer things associated with them. The lack of organisation/ category cues inhibits memory.

Answer 25

Schmidt: sent a questionnaire to 211 11-79 year olds. Included a map of the area around their old school without street names. Found the more times an individual moved home, the fewer street names could be recalled. Suggesting adding new street names to memory makes recalling old street names harder

Answer 26

Greenberg and underwood: participants were given a list of 10 word pairs to learn. Every 48 hours, given a new list. It was found the number of correctly recalled word pairs decreased the more word pairs had been learnt previously. This suggests the previously learn word combinations caused confusion in the coding of later word lists.

Answer 27

Only explains forgetting when two sets of information are similar and when learnt close together in time (time-sensitivity). This means the theory struggles to explain many day-today examples of forgetting.

Answer 28

Godden and Baddeley: material learnt underwater or on land. Found recall was best with divers if they learn in the same context/environment as tested. Suggesting environmental cues promote recall.

Answer 29

Overton: material learn drunk or sober. Found recall was best when in the same internal state. Suggests internal cues promote recall.

Answer 30

Tulving and pearlstone: participants either used free recall (answering in any order) to recall 48 words or were asked to recall to match twelve 4 word categories. It was found participants recalled significantly more in the category condition. This suggests the categories acted as cues and aided recall.

Answer 31

As interference and cue theory may only explain a temporary loss of information, not a permanent loss, they may not be a valid explanation for forgetting

Answer 32

Research into forgetting has practical applications; students can develop effective revision strategies and theories like “context cues improve recall” have been used in the development of an effective police training technique called the cognitive interview.

Answer 33

Memory is not an accurate recording of events: it is reconstructed in recalling (reconstructive memory) and may produce errors (confabulations) that the schemas influence

Answer 34

Leading questions imply an answer. This can influence how memory is recalled, either due to an actual change to the memory (substitution bias) or due to emotional pressure to give a response (response bias)

Answer 35

The recall of events by one witness alters the accuracy of another witnesses recollection. This could be memory conformity; the witnesses go along with others accounts for social approval.

Answer 36

A mental state of arousal that includes feelings of extreme concern and tension and physiological changes such as increased heart rate. High anxiety levels may decrease recall due to weapon effect/focus, with witnesses focusing their attention on the weapon rather than the criminal face. High anxiety levels may increase recall as it improves alertness and awareness of the situation and surroundings; additionally, the intense emotions felt could improve memory coding.

Answer 37

EWT accuracy increases as anxiety rises as the witness becomes alert. However, at a point, anxiety becomes too high and more stress/distraction results in lower accuracy.

Answer 38

After watching a clip of a car crash participants were asked how fast the cars where going when they ___ into eachother, with the verb either smashed, collided, bumped, hit or contacted. It was found the more extreme the verb the faster the estimation of MPH. Contacted = 31.8 and smashed = 40.8. This suggests leading questions influence recall.

Answer 39

Pairs of participants watched different videos on the same crime. It was found when pairs were able to discuss what they had seen, 71% included information that was not in their video in their EWT. This suggests that witnesses will change their accounts of crimes to match other witness testimony

Answer 40

Found when participants were warned about the danger of post event discussion, witnesses changed their EWT less

Answer 41

Violent crimes cause high anxiety in eyewitnesses. Lab based research in EWT that has no emotional impact on the participants can be argued to have low validity when applied to real EWT.

Answer 42

Naive participants overhead 1) normal conversation, a man walks out with greasy hands and a pen, or 2) hostile, breaking glass, furniture knocked over. A man walks out with a bloody knife. Found 49% identified a man from 50 photos with a pen 33% with a knife. This suggests participants were weapon focused due to anxiety caused by the knife.

Answer 43

Found when interviewed four months after witnessing a real-life deadly shooting, 13 witnesses resisted misleading information, and those with the most stress (closest to the shooter) produced the most accurate EWT.

Answer 44

Research on EWT has led to real- life applications. One example is the development of the cognitive interview. This technique is designed to reduce the influence of schemas on the accuracy of recall.

Answer 45

Lab based EWT/leading question research may suffer from demand characteristics. Participants pick up on the language used and feel social pressure to give an answer they think will help the researcher (response bias explanation) Research that deceives participants and causes anxiety breaks ethical guidelines. (Protection from harm/informed consent)

Answer 46

Numerous studies have indicated that EWT lacks accuracy due to factors such as anxiety, leading questions and post-event contamination

Answer 47

Defined the standard interview from observations of police interviews in Florida. Police asked quick, direct and closed questions. Police led the recall; witnesses couldn’t talk freely and interrupted

Answer 48

The cognitive interview as an improvement

Answer 49

Mentally returning to the crime scene. Triggers environmental/emotional contextual cues

Answer 50

All details even if they seem irrelevant should be mentioned

Answer 51

Consider the perspective from another witness/ the perpetrators to disrupt the schema

Answer 52

Switch to different chronology/timelines. To check the accuracy of recall and challenge expectations

Answer 53

Seven detectives trained in the cognitive interview were compared with nine detectives using the standard interview. Found CI detectives produced 47% more information in real interviews after training and 63% more information than the SI detectives. This suggests the CI effectively enhances the memory if witnesses in the real world.

Answer 54

A meta analysis of 42 CI studies, including over 2500 interviews, found a significant increase in the amount of correct information recalled. However a significant increase in the amount of incorrect information recalled resulted in a similarity accuracy rate of 85% CI and 82% SI. This suggests the CI may be of limited practical use due to increased errors.

Answer 55

Found each aspect of CI produced a similar level of recall; however the CR + RE conditions produced significantly more correct recall. This suggests no one aspect is more important in the CI, but the effect of the CI is cumulative

Answer 56

Time-consuming, requiring more time than officers have available. The CI also require significant training and investment, diverting officers from their normal work. The CI may not be adopted due to limited financial resources

Answer 57

cost benefit analysis may argue the CI is worth the additional resources invested in training to make a more effective police force, with CI ultimately reducing crime and its cost to broader society

Answer 58

CI is not effective in improving the recognition of suspects in identity parades and from photographs. This means the CI has limited usefulness in several everyday police activities involving EWT The CI is not effective with very young children as they are egocentric (can only see the world from their own perspective). Holliday created a modified cognitive interview adapted to the children developmental level.