Memory

Question 1

what is storage?

AO1

Answer 1

when information is kept in your brain for a period of time, even up to a lifetime.

Question 2

what is encoding (input)?

AO1

Answer 2

translating information into a form the brain can understand.

Question 3

what is retrieval (output)?

AO1

Answer 3

when information is located in the brain and brought back.

Question 4

list 3 ways to retrieve memories and what they mean.

AO1

Answer 4

1) recognition - remembering an item based on the fact that you have seen it before.
2) cued recall - when you are struggling to recall information and are given a ‘clue/cue’ which can help you retrieve information.
3) free recall - when you are able to retrieve information without any ‘clues/cues’.

Question 5

what are the 3 types of encoding?

AO1

Answer 5

visual encoding (appearance)
acoustic encoding (sound)
semantic encoding (meaning)

Question 6

summarise Baddeley’s research (4).

AO1

Answer 6

The aim in this investigation was to see if there was any difference between the type of encoding for STM and LTM. He used 4 groups of participants and gave each a list of words. The investigation was carried out in a laboratory (highly controlled) and each group of participants were read 12 sets of 5 words and had 1 second for each word; after every 5 words the participants were asked to recall the words. Group A and B volunteered for immediate recall, with group A recalling 10% of the acoustically similar words, and group B recalling 82% of the acoustically dissimilar words. Group C and D volunteered for delayed recall (participants spent 20 minutes doing another task before recalling the words), with group C recalling 57% of the semantically similar words, and group D recalling 85% of the semantically dissimilar words. In conclusion, Baddeley proved that we encode acoustically in our STM and semantically in our LTM.

Question 7

list the 3 types of long-term memory and what they mean/refer to.

AO1

Answer 7

1) episodic - based on our experiences in life (events), often remembered through who, what, when, why, where etc.
2) semantic - revolved around meaning, being based on knowledge that you share with others, or may not remember learning.
3) procedural - based on remembering how to do things (muscle memory); not much thought is required.

Question 8

draw and label the Multi Store Model of Memory (MSM).

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Answer 8

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fonline-learning-college.com%2Fknowledge-hub%2Fgcses%2Fgcse-psychology-help%2Fatkinson-and-shiffrin-theory%2F&psig=AOvVaw05jC4UrpQOnFQ00Yd3D3Qh&ust=1696429774154000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBEQjRxqFwoTCLCK58iL2oEDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD

Question 9

give one strength and one weakness of the MSM of memory (5).

AO3

Answer 9

strengths: it supports the existence if different memory stores.
weaknesses: the model is oversimplified (suggests we only have one store for STM and LTM), it is supported by Baddeley’s use of artificial materials.

further explain in an exam

Question 10

define the primacy effect and recency effect.

AO1

Answer 10

• primary effect: an individual’s tendency to better remember the first piece of information they encounter than the information they receive later on.
• recency effect: an individual’s tendency to better remember the most recent piece of information they encounter than the information they first receive.

Question 11

summarise the serial position curve

AO1

(on specification)

Answer 11

The aim was to provide evidence for the existence of the separate stores for memory (STM and LTM). It was conducted in a laboratory to control possible extraneous variables. Procedures were standardised to ensure the study could be replicated easily.

Question 12

what is (Bartlett’s) theory of reconstructive memory?

AO1

(on specification)

Answer 12

human memory is not a literal reproduction of the past, but instead relies on constructive processes that are sometimes prone to error or distortion (change).

Question 13

what is a schema?

AO1

Answer 13

a cognitive framework or (of a) concept that helps organise and interpret information

Question 14

what is meant by ‘effort after meaning’?

AO1

Answer 14

the effort to piece together fragments of memory - we try to fit what we remember with what we really know and understand about the world.

Question 15

give one strength and one weakness of Bartlett’s research (5).

AO3

Answer 15

strengths: research supported the schema theory and idea of reconstructive memory.
weaknesses: study was conducted rather casually with no set standards about where and how people recalled the informatiom, story was unusual to the participants; it may not reflect everyday memory processes

further explain in an exam

Question 16

ESQ: Describe the theory of reconstructive memory (4).

AO1

(exam-style question)

Answer 16

The information we store in our long-term memories is changed before it is ‘recorded’. We record small pieces of information and later, when recalling the event/concept, we recombine the pieces to tell the whole story. Each time you retell the story, the elements are combined slightly. Reconstructive memory can be affected by social and cultural expectations, as well as stereotypes we develop from movies, shows, the internet, and more. Therefore, the theory of reconstructive memory revolves around the shift of fragments of LTM.

(advanced)

Question 17

define the 3 factors that can affect memory.

AO1

Answer 17

• interference: a memory phenomenon in which some memories interfere with the retrieval of others, usually because they are similar
• context: the environment in which an event or memory happens - can act as a cue (trigger) to recall previously encoded memories
• false memory: when an individual remembers something that hasn’t actually happened, sometimes due to memory reconstruction.

Question 18

what is the difference between proactive and retroactive interference?

AO1

Answer 18

Proactive interference is when a past memory interferes with a new piece of information. Retroactive interference is when a recent/new memory interferes with an old piece of information.

proactive-past / retroactive-recent