Memory

Question 1

What is Cognitive Psychology?

Answer 1

Cognitive Psychology refers to people’s thought processes and how it affects the way they behave.

Question 2

What is memory?

Answer 2

Memory is the process of retaining learned information and accessing this information whenver it is needed.

Question 3

What is coding?

Answer 3

Coding is a process in memory. It refers to the way information is changed so that it can be stored in memory.

Question 4

What is storage?

Answer 4

Storage is a process in memory. It refers to the idea of keeping information within the memory system until it is needed.

Question 5

What is retrieval?

Answer 5

Retrieval is a process in memory. It refers to the idea of recovering information stored in the memory system when it is required.

Question 6

What is the sensory register and its two components?

Answer 6

The sensory register is one of the three memory stores. This contains unprocessed impressions of information recieved through the senses.
The sensory register contains an iconic store for visual information and the echoic store for auditory information.

Question 7

What is short-term memory?

Answer 7

Short-term memory is one of the three memory stores. This is a temporary store for information recieved from the sensory register.

Question 8

What is long-term memory?

Answer 8

Long-term memory is one of the three memory stores. This is a permanent store, holding limitless information for long periods of time, potentially a lifetime.

Question 9

What is meant by capacity?

Answer 9

Capacity refers to the amount of information that can be held in memory before new incoming information displaces and ‘pushes out’ the old information.

Question 10

What is meant by duration?

Answer 10

Duration refers to the amount of time information can be held in a memory store before it is lost due to decay, where the information ‘fades away’.

Question 11

How is information coded in the Sensory Register?

Answer 11

Coding in the Sensory Register is modality specific, meaning each store codes information differently.

Question 12

How did Baddeley investgate coding in Short-Term Memory?

Answer 12

Baddely gave participants four lists of words to recall:

List A and B: words that sounded similar and dissimlar
List C and D: words with similar meaning and dissimilar meanings.

He found that participants performed worse with List A than List B, but there was no difference between List C and D.

Therefore, he concluded that Short-Term Memory must be coded acoustically, as similar sounding words can become muddled.

Question 13

How did Baddeley investgate coding in Long-Term Memory?

Answer 13

Baddely gave participants four lists of words to recall after a 20 minute delay:

List A and B: words that sounded similar and dissimlar
List C and D: words with similar meaning and dissimilar meanings.

He found that participants performed worse with List C than List D, but there was no difference between List A and B.

Therefore, he concluded that Long-Term Memory must be coded semantically, as words with similar meanings can be confused.

Question 14

What is a strength and weakness of Baddely’s study into coding?

Answer 14

Strength:
- Labratory experiment, therefore it is reliable and easy to replicate.
Weakness:
- Low ecological validity, as the material which participants needed to recall and the laboratory setting were artificial.

Question 15

What is the capacity of the Sensory Register?

Answer 15

The capacity of the Sensory Register is unlimited.

Question 16

What was Jacob’s digit span test to determine the capacity of Short-Term Memory?

What did Miller conclude the capacity of Short-Term Memory to be?

What happens if we learn more than this amount, and what how may we remember more information?

Answer 16

Jacobs gave participants several sequences of digits or letters and asked them to repeat each sequence immediately after he had given it, in the correct order. The sequences got one longer each time.

He found that on average we can hold 9.3 digits and 7.3 letters. Miller, after reviewing psychological research, concluded that the capacity of Short-Term Memory is 7(+/-)2.

If we try to recall more information than we have the capacity for, the new information displaces old information. Chunking (grouping large amounts of information into smaller groups) can help us to remember more information.

Question 17

What is one strength and one weakness of Jacob’s study into the capacity of Short-Term Memory?

Answer 17

Strength:
- Jacob’s study was the first to acknowledge that STM capacity improves with age.

Weakness:
- The study was conducted in 1887, therefore may lack temporal validity.

Question 18

What is the capacity of Long-Term Memory?

Answer 18

The capacity of Long-Term Memory is unlimited.

Question 19

What is the duration of the Sensory Register?

Answer 19

The duration of the Sensory Register is 250 milliseconds.

Question 20

How did Peterson and Peterson (1959) investigate the duration of Short-Term Memory?

Answer 20

Peterson and Peterson asked participants to recall nonsense trigams (3 random consanants) whilst counting backwards from 100 in threes. They found that recall was accurate 90% of the time after 3 seconds, but was accurate 20% of the time after 9 seconds.

Therefore, they concluded that information remains in short-term memory for 18-30 seconds without rehearsal before it is lost due to decay.

Question 21

What is a strength and weakness of Peterson and Peterson’s research into the duration of Short-Term Memory?

Answer 21

Strength:
- The research contained standardised procedures, ensuring all participants experienced the same process, increasing reliability.

Weakness:
- The findings of the study may have been caused by interference instead of Short-Term Memory having a short duration, as earlier learnt trigams may have been confused with new ones.

Question 22

How did Bahrick (1979) investigate the duration of Long-Term Memory?

Answer 22

Bahrick tested 400 people of various ages (17-74) on the memory of their classmates. The test consisted of participants being shown 50 photos and determining if it belonged to their classmates or not. They were also asked to list the names they could remember from their graduating class.

• Within 15 years of leaving school, there was a 90% accuracy for identifying faces and a 60% accuracy for recalling names.
• Within 48 years of leaving school, there was a 70% accuracy for identifying faces and a 30% accuracy for recalling names.

Therefore, Bahrick concluded that the duration of Long-Term Memory is potentially a lifetime, however, we fail to retrieve the information.

Question 23

What is a strength and weakness of Bahrick’s study on the duration of Long-Term Memory?

Answer 23

Strength:
- High ecological validity, as the material was meaningful to everyday life.

Weaknesses:
- Cannot control for extraneous variables such as people staying in touch or looking at their yearbooks.

Question 24

What is the multi-store model of memory?

Answer 24

The multi-store model of memory, developed by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968), attempts to explain how information flows between the Sensory Register, Short-Term Memory and Long-Term Memory.

Question 25

What happens to information in the Sensory Register?

Answer 25

A small fraction of the information found in the sensory register is attended to and selected for further processing in Short-Term Memory through acoustic coding.

Information from the sensory register that is not attended to is lost due to decay.

Question 26

What are the two types of rehearsal?

Answer 26

• Maintenance rehearsal - this is when information in short-term memory remains there because it is repeatedly being verablised or thought about.
• Elaborative rehearsal - this is when information in short-term memory is organised in a meaningful way, and therefore semantically coded into Long-Term Memory.

Question 27

How is information transferred from Long-Term to Short-Term memory?

What is it called when this process fails?

Answer 27

When information in Long-Term Memory is needed it is retrieved by Short-Term Memory and then recalled.

Sometimes we cannot access information from Long-Term Memory because of retrieval failure, therefore, we may need cues to help us access it.

Question 28

What is the case study of HM and how does this support the multi-store model of memory?

Answer 28

Scoville (1957) attempted to treat a patient known as HM (who had epilepsy) by removing several brain areas, including the hippocampus. HM was unable to code new Long-Term Memories, however, his Short-Term Memory was unaffected.

This supports the multi-store model of memory’s idea that there are distinct stores for Short-Term Memory and Long-Term Memory.

Question 29

What was the free recall experiment that supported the multi-store model of memory?

Answer 29

Murdock (1962) presented a free recall experiment, where participants recalled a long list of words in any order.

The serial position effect occured: words at the beginning and the end of the list were recalled better:

Words at the beginning were recalled as it was constantly rehearsed and transferred to Long-Term Memory - The Primacy Effect
Words at the end were recalled because they were still in Short-Term Memory - The Recency Effect.

This supports the multi-store model of memory as there are distinct stores for Short-Term Memory and Long-Term Memory.

Question 30

What are two weaknesses of the multi-store model of memory?

Answer 30

• It is oversimplified in assuming there is one type of Short-Term Memory and Long-Term Memory, as research suggests there are more types of STM and LTM.
• Baddely and Hitch (1974) claimed that the multi-store model of memory could not explain the ability to multi-task, as there is only one type of STM.

Question 31

What is the working memory model?

Answer 31

Baddely and Hitch (1974) questioned the multi-store model of memory’s idea that people only have one type of short-term memory.

They saw STM as an active store holding several pieces of information, where the LTM is the passive store that only holds previously learnt material to be used by STM when needed. This is what they called the working memory model

Question 32

What is the Central Executive?

Answer 32

The Central Executive is a component in the working memory model. It drives the whole system and allocates data to the slave systems (the other components).

It also deals with cognitive tasks, such as decision making, reasoning and problem solving.

Question 33

What is the Phonological Loop?

Answer 33

The Phonological Loop is a component in the working memory model. It is one of the slave systems, and it deals with spoken and written material. It consists of:

• The phonological store, which is linked to speech perception and holds information in speech based form for 1-2 seconds.
• The articulatory loop, which is linked to speech production, and is used to rehearse and store verbal information from the phonological store, allowing for maintenance rehearsal.

Question 34

What is the Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad?

Answer 34

The Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad is a component in the working memory model. It is one of the slave systems, and it deals with information in a visual or spatial form. It consists of:

• The visual cache, which stores visual material about form and colour.
• The inner scribe, which handles spatial relationships.

Question 35

What is the Episodic Buffer?

Answer 35

The Episodic Buffer is a component in the working memory model that Baddely (2000) added later. It is one of the slave systems, and it integrates information from all other components of the working memory model as well as Long-Term Memory.

Question 36

What is the case study of KF and how does this support the working memory model?

Answer 36

Shallice and Warrington (1970) reported the case study of KF, who was in a motorcycle accident and had poor short-term memory for words presented verbally but not for words presented visually. This suggests that there is more than one type of Short-Term Memory, as the working memory model suggests.

Question 37

What is a strength and a weakness of the working memory model?

Answer 37

Strength:
- It has practical applications, as it has improved understanding of how people learn to read, allowing for psychologists to assist those with Dyslexia.

Weaknesses:
- The idea of the central executive is vague and untestable, as presented by Damasio (1985) who reported on EVR, who had a tumour removed. He had good reasoning skills, suggesting a healthy central executive, but bad decision making skills, suggesting a damaged central executive.

Question 38

What is episodic memory?

What part of the brain is episodic memory stored in?

Answer 38

Episodic memory is a type of long term memory which refers to your memory for events. This consists of details of the event, context of the event and feelings at the time of the event.

These memories are stored in the hippocampus.

Question 39

What is semantic memory?

What part of the brain is semantic memory stored in?

Answer 39

Semantic memory is a type of long term memory which refers to memory for facts and general knowledge of the world. It may refer to thing such as 2+2=4, functions of an object, what behaviour is appropriate, etc.

These memories begin as episodic memories before they lose their association to particlar events and become generalised.

Semantic memories are stored in the temporal lobe.

Question 40

What is procedural memory?

What part of the brain is procedural memory stored in?

Answer 40

Procedural memory, also known as muscle memory, is a type of long term memory which is concerned with motor skills and functions. These are acquired through practice and are more resistant to forgetting than other types of long term memory.

These memories are automatic and unavailable for conscious inspection. This is so that we can focus our attention on other tasks whilst performing these skills.

Procedural memory is stored in the cerebellum.

Question 41

What case study supports the idea of different types of Long-Term Memory?

What is one weakness of this case study?

Answer 41

Clive Wearing was a man who suffered an infection and damaged his hippocampus. He has no episodic memory and cannot form new semantic memories, however, his procedural memory is still intact (he can play the piano). This suggests that there are different types of long-term memory.

One weakness of this study is that it is based on the experiences of a single person; we may not be able to generalise this to everyone.

Question 42

What is forgetting?

Answer 42

Forgetting refers to someones loss of ability to recall or remember something they have previously learnt.

Question 43

What is interference theory?

What are the two types of interference?

Answer 43

Interference theory states that forgetting occurs when two lots of information become confused in memory: this is more likely to occur when the two lots of information are similar to each other. The two types of interference are:

• Retroactive interference, when new learning affects the recall of old information.
• Proactive interference, when old learning affects the recall of new information.

Question 44

What research evidence supports proactive interference?

Answer 44

Keppel and Underwood (1962) presented participants with meaningless three-letter consanant trigrams at different intervals. The participants were also made to count backwards in threes to prevent interference.

They found that the participants remembered the trigrams that were presented first better. This shows proactive interference, as the older memories interfered with the newer memories.

Question 45

What research evidence supports retroactive interference?

Answer 45

McGeoch and McDonald (1931) gave participants lists of words to learn until they could be recalled with 100% accuracy. The participants were then given a list of words which were either synonyms or antonyms to the original list, and then asked to remember the original list.

Participants with the synonyms had the worst recall of the original list. This supports the idea of new learning interfering with similar old learning.

Question 46

What is a weakness of interference theory?

Answer 46

One weakness of interference theory is that the lost of information through interference may only be temporary, therefore, it is not a true explanation of forgetting, as the information is still in Long-Term Memory.

Question 47

What is retrieval failure?

Answer 47

Retrieval failure states that forgetting occurs in the absence of appropriate retrieval cues, which is data associated with the information when it is placed in memory. Examples of retrieval cues include:

• Context cues: the environment in which the information is learned in - recalling information in the same environment it is learned in is easier.
• State cues: the physical state of a person in which the information was learned - recalling information in the same physical state it was learned in is easier.

Question 48

What are 3 strengths of retrieval failure theory?

Answer 48

• Abernethy (1940) tested participants recall using familiar and unfamiliar instructors and teaching rooms, and found that participants tested by a familiar instructor in a familiar room performed the best.
• Godden and Baddely (1975) asked divers to recall word lists on either dry land or underwater, and found that recall was best when in the same environment the words were learned in.
• Darley et al. (1973) found that participants who hid money whilst under the influence of cannabis were able to recall the hiding place when in a similarly drugged state.

Question 49

What is a weakness of retrieval failure theory?

Answer 49

Baddely (1997) argued that in real life, we learn something in a different context to where we learnt it, and retrieval is perfectly fine.

Question 50

What is meant by eyewitness testimony?

Answer 50

Eyewitness testimony refers to evidence supplied to a court by people who have seen a crime based on their memory of the incident.

Question 51

What are leading questions?

Answer 51

Leading questions are questions that are phrased in such a way to encourage a witness to give a certain answer.

The response-bias explanation states that leading questions do not affect memory.

The substitution-bias explanation states that leading questions can distort memory.

Question 52

What was Loftus and Palmer’s (1974) research into leading questions?

Answer 52

Loftus and Palmer showed 45 American students a film of a car crash and asked them estimate the cars’ speed, however, they were asked using different verbs.

Participants who heard the word ‘contacted’ estimated the speed around 31mph. When asked a week later if they had seen any broken glass, 32% of the participants said yes.

Participants who heard the word ‘smashed’ estimated the speed around 41mph. When asked a week later if they had seen any broken glass, 12% of the participants said yes.

This shows the effect leading questions can have on eyewitness testimony.

Question 53

What are 2 strengths and 2 weaknesses of Loftus and Palmer’s research into leading questions?

Answer 53

Strengths:
- It is a laboratory experiment, therefore highly controlled and reducing the chance of extraneous variables.
- It is easy to replicate, therefore it is reliable.

Weaknesses:
- May lack ecological validity, as participants watched a video of a car crash; their answers may be different if they had witnessed it first hand.
- May lack population validity, as the study was done on students, who may be less competent drivers and less accurate and estimating speeds.

Question 54

What is memory contamination and memory conformity?

Answer 54

Memory contamination - the memory of an event may be contaminated through discussing them with others due to misinformation.

Memory conformity - a desire for social approval may lead co-witnesses into reaching an inaccurate consensus view on what happened.

Question 55

What was the research conducted into post-event discussion?

Answer 55

Gabbert et al. (2003) put participants in pairs to watch a different video of the same event. In one condition, the pairs discussed the event with one another. In the other condition, the pairs did not discuss what they had seen with one another.

They found that 71% of participants who had discussed the event went on to mistakenly recall details that they could not have seen themselves.

Question 56

What is a strength and weakness of the research conducted into post-event discussion?

Answer 56

Strength:
- Has population validity, as 2 different populations, students and adults, were compared and there were no significant differences between them, allowing us to conclude that post event discussion affects younger and older adults in a similar way.
Weakness:
- Lacks ecological validity, as the participants knew they were taking place in an experiment, and therefore does not reflect real life.

Question 57

What is the weapon focus effect?

Answer 57

The weapon focus effect is the idea that when witnessing a violent crime, an individual’s anxiety levels are at their highest, possibly imparing both physical and psychological functioning, and they will focus on the aspect of the situation posing the biggest threat to them, usually a weapon.

Question 58

What experiment did Loftus carry out on anxiety and memory?

Answer 58

Loftus arranged for participants to overhear two scenarios:

1. A hostile and heated argument with furniture being overturned and broken glass before a man would emerge carrying a bloody letter opener.
2. A conversation about laboratory equipment failure before a man with grease over his hands emerged carrying a pen.

Loftus found that in the 1st condition, 33% of the participants recognised a photo of the person carrying the letter opener, whilst in the 2nd condition, 49% of participants recognised a photo of the person carrying the pen.

Loftus argued that this had occured because people in the 1st condition focused on the letter opener and not the person carrying it, as the letter opener posed a threat to them.

Question 59

What are two weaknesses of Loftus’ study into anxiety and memory?

Answer 59

• Lacks ecological validity, as participants could have anticipated that something was going to happen.
• Violated ethical guidlines, as they were decieved and not protected from psychological harm, since they had believed they just witnessed a murder.

Question 60

What is the cognitive interview?

Answer 60

The cognitive interview is an attempt by Geiselman et al. (1985) to improve police interview techniques. It consists of four stages:

1. Context reinstatement - the witness attempts to mentally recreate an image of the situation, including details of the environment, weather conditions, emotional state, etc, as these may act as retrieval cues.
2. Report everything - the interviewer encourages the witness to recall all details, even unimportant, about the event, as it may highlight details that have been overlooked.
3. Recall from changed perspective - the witness tries to mentally recreate the situation from different points of view, providing a more holistic view unaffected by schemas.
4. Recall in reverse order - the witness recalls the situation in a different order as an attempt to verify the accuracy of the witness’ account and reduce the possibility of recall being influenced by schemas.

Question 61

What is the enhanced cognitive interview?

Answer 61

The enhanced cognitive interview is an updated version of the cognitive interview by Fisher (1987). This includes:

• Encouraging the witness to relax and speak slowly, reducing anxiety.
• Avoiding distractions
• Using open-ended questions
• Offer comments to help clarify witness statements.

Question 62

What are two strengths of the cognitive interview?

Answer 62

• Fisher et al trained real officers in Miami to use the enhanced cognitive interview: he found that there was a 46% increase in the amount of information witnesses gave, 90% of which could be verified was accurate.
• Gieselman et al. showed participants a video of a simulated crime and tested recall using the cognitive interview, discovering more information being recalled compared to a standard interview.

Question 63

What are two weaknesses of the cognitive interview?

Answer 63

• It is time consuming to implement and police officers often do not have the time, training or resources to implement.
• Memon et al. (1993) believed that the Recall from Changed Perspective stage of the cognitive interview misleads witnesses into speculating about the event rather than reporting what they actually saw.