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AQA A LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY > memory > Flashcards

memory Flashcards

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1
Q

what is the MSM

A

how information flows through the memory(through 3 stores)

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2
Q

who made the MSM

A

Atkinson and Shiffrin(1968)

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3
Q

sensory register

A

stimulus from the environment passes into SR, where it is stored according to our senses:
iconic memory- coded visually
echoic memory- coded acoustically
(+other sensory stores)

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4
Q

SR capacity

A

very high, i.e over 100 mil cells in your eye storing data —} passes on if you pay attention

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5
Q

SR duration

A

very short, little info passed on

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6
Q

STM coding

A

coded acoustically

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7
Q

Coding: Alan Baddeley(1966b)

A

gave different lists of words to four groups of ppts:
1) acoustically similar
2) acoustically dissimilar
3) semantically similar
4) semantically dissimilar
-ppts tended to do worse with acoustically similar words in the STM -> info overload
after 20 mins, they did worse with semantically similar words in the LTM

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8
Q

Evaluating Baddeley(1966b)

A

-uses artificial stimuli, so caution on generalising the findings
-for example the words list had no personal meaning to ppts so might not tell us much abt coding in everyday life
-low mundane realism

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9
Q

Evaluating Baddeley(1966b)

A

One strength:
-identified a clear difference between 2 memory stores
-idea that STM uses mostly acoustic coding and LTM mostly semantic is still relevant
-led to understanding of MSM

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10
Q

STM capacity

A

limited capacity store before forgetting things, 5 to 9 items
(maintenance rehearsal keeps it in STM and prolonged rehearsal passes it into LTM)

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11
Q

capacity of STM: Jacobs(1887) + Miller(1956)

A

-gives set number i.e 4 digits to ppt to repeat from memory, then 5 and then 6 etc until they cannot recall the order correctly (verbal recall)
-found that mean span for digits was 9.3 and for letters 7.3
MILLER: -noted that everyday things come in 7’s i.e days of the week and came up with magic number 7+/-2
-chunking groups of similar info helps increase capacity i.e group of 5 words and group of 5 digits

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12
Q

Evaluating Jacobs(1887) and miller(1956)

A

-lacks temporal validity(early research lacked adequate control/confounding variables uncontrolled)
-BUT replications show similar findings
MILLER: may have overestimated his findings -cowan(2001) suggested STM limited to about 4 chunks (low reliability)

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13
Q

Duration of STM

A

around 30 secs without rehearsal

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14
Q

Peterson&Peterson(1959)

A

-24 undergrads each took part in 8 trials. given a consonant syllable and 3 digit number, had to count back from that number to prevent maintenance rehearsal and they were all told to stop at different times. after 3 secs, average recall was around 80% and after 18 secs it was around 3%.
(retention interval)
concluded that STM duration is around 18 seconds without maintenance rehearsal

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15
Q

Evaluating Peterson&Peterson(1959)

A

-artificial stimuli, lacks external validity(but phone numbers,bank code..)
-recalling consonant syllables do not reflect everyday memory activities remembering something meaningful
-STM’s memory trace disappears(spontaneous decay) if not rehearsed/replaced by other info in capacity(not to do w duration but more about overload)

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16
Q

LTM coding

A

semantically

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17
Q

LTM capacity

A

very large
possibly unlimited

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18
Q

LTM duration

A

many years/lifetime

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19
Q

LTM duration: Henry Bahrick et al(1975)

A

-tested 400 ppts from US aged 17-74 on memory of classmates from yearbook:
1)photo recognition of 50 photos, some from yearbook
2)free recall
-within 15 years, 90% accurate in test 1
and 60% in test 2
-after 47 years 70% for test 1 and 30% for test 2

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20
Q

Evaluation of Bahrick et al(1975)

A

-high external validity due to meaningful memories, recall rates lower with meaningless pics(shepard 1967)
-confounding variables uncontrolled i.e if they studied the pics before hand

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21
Q

Evaluating MSM

more than one type of STM(weakness)

A

-Shallice&Warrington(1970) studied KF who had amnesia.
-STM for digits was poor when read out but much better when read himself
-suggests auditory and visual info may be stored differently and decreases reliability(findings are inconsistent)

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22
Q

Evaluating MSM

supporting case studies

A

-HM(Henry Molaison) had his hippocampus removed on both sides of his brain after surgery and could not form LTM i.e what he just read or eaten but had very good STM i.e tests of immediate memory span.
-STM and LTM are different stores(damage to LTM does not affect retention is STM)
-generalised

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23
Q

Evaluating MSM

the use of artificial materials in research

A

-supporting research is mostly based on digits, letters and words(petersons used consonant syllables) rather than meaningful everyday things
-low mundane realism
HOWEVER
-research shows the clear difference between memory stores i.e Baddeley(1966) we mix up similar sounding words in STM and similar meaning words in LTM

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24
Q

Evaluating MSM

more than one type of rehearsal

A

-Craick and Watkins(1973) found that the type of rehearsal determines where info is transferred rather than the amount rehearsed(prolonged rehearsal)
-they suggest elaborative rehearsal is needed for LTM (linking new knowledge to existing knowledge)
-MSM’s reductionist approach is overly simple= weak methodology

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25
Q

Who made the types of LTM and why

A

-Tulving(1985) because of MSM’s view of LTM was too simplistic

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26
Q

Procedural memory

A

-knowing how to DO something
non-declarative(recalled without conscious effort)

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27
Q

Semantic memory

A

-general knowledge
-declarative
-not time-stamped and constantly being added to

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28
Q

Episodic memory

A

-personal recollections
-declarative

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29
Q

Evaluating LTM

clinical evidence

A

-Clive wearing has the worst case of amnesia ever known
-lost his episodic memory but semantic and procedural memory were relatively intact(could still play the piano)
one store can be damaged while the others are intact
-provides evidence that LTM stores are seperate
-external validity

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30
Q

Evaluating LTM

PET scans

A

-Tulving et al(1994) made ppts do memory tasks and found that:
right prefontal cortex=episodic
left pc=semantic
cerebellum and basal ganglia=procedural
-avoids subjectivity and more valid

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31
Q

Evaluating LTM

real life applications

A

-Belleville et al(2006) demonstrated that elderly’s episodic memory could be improved= the trained ppts did better on an episodic test than a control group.
-hugh mundane realism, episodic memory is most often affected by cognitive impairment so the types of LTM can help develop treatments.

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32
Q

What is the WMM?
(baddeley&hitch 1974)

A

-represents different parts of STM that are active/in use when you are working on a specific thing

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33
Q

Central executive

A

‘supervisory role’
-monitors and divides data to each subsystem
-limited capacity and cannot store info

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34
Q

Phonological loop

A

-deals with auditory info(acoustic coding) and preserves it in the order it was received
1)Phonological store=stores the words you hear
2)articulatory process=allows maintenance rehearsal for the capacity of 2 seconds worth of what you say.

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35
Q

VSS

A

-stores visual/spatial info when required i.e visualising the layout of ur room
Logie(1995) divided it into
1) visual cache=stores visual data
2)inner scribe=records the arrangement of objects in visual field
-Baddeley(2003) said capacity is about 3 or 4 objects

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36
Q

Episodic buffer
(Baddeley 2000)

A

-temp store for all info and maintains time sequencing(recording events as they happen)
-storage component of the CE and has limited capacity of 4 chunks(Baddeley 2012)

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37
Q

Evaluating WMM

KF(Shallice & Warrington)

A

-post brain injury, KF could process visual info normally but had poor STM ability for auditory info
-could recall letters/digits when he read them(intact VSS) rather than listening to them(damaged phonological loop)
-supports exitance of different STM stores HOWEVER they may be other cognitive impairments that happened during his accident that affect his performance(unreliable clinical studies)

38
Q

Evaluating WMM

Dual task performance

A

-Baddeley et al(1975) showed ppts had more difficulty doing 2 visual tasks at the same time than a visual+verbal task.
-both visual tasks compete for VSS but there is no competition when using different tasks
-supports idea of separate subsystems, high internal validity

39
Q

Evaluating WMM

unclear central executive

A

-cognitive psychologists suggest it doesn’t describe anything and is more complex i.e diff components, so needs more explanation
-Baddeley(2003): “least understood component of the working memory”
-weak methodology, challenges integrity of WMM

40
Q

Evaluating WMM

word length effect

A

Baddeley et al(1975) showed it is harder to remember a list of long words than short words.
-capacity of PF depends on length of time to say the word(polysyllabic words take the longest)
-supports capacity of PL

41
Q

What is interference?

A

-when two pieces of info conflict with each other, making LTMs hard to access even though the capacity on long-lasting.
-more likely to occur when two pieces of info are similar

42
Q

Proactive interference?

A

-When a similar older memory interferes with a newer one

43
Q

Retroactive interference?

A

-When a similar newer memory interferes with an older one

44
Q

McGeoch and Mcdonald(1931)

effect of similarity on interference

A

-studied retroactive interference by giving ppts a list of words to learn, then a new list:
1)synonym list
2)antonym list
3)unrelated to OG list
4)nonsense syllable list
5)3 digit numbers list
6)control group=no new list
-most similar material ppts had the worst recall(group 1)
-concluded that interference is strongest when memories are similar

45
Q

Evaluating interference

Effects in everyday situations

A

-Baddeley and Hitch(1977) asked rugby players to recall opponent team names and players who played the most games found it the most difficult to recall
-can operate in real world situations
-increases external validity

46
Q

Evaluating interference

Artificial materials

A

-stimulus materials used are mostly lists of words and do not represent everyday acts of memory
-conditions for interference are rare and unusual and is more likely in a lab where there is a high degree of control
-may be better explained by retrieval failure

47
Q

Evaluating interference

can be overcome by cues

A

-Tulving and Psotka(1971) gave ppts lists of words one list at a time and recall worsened as lists(at first 70%)
at the end, ppts were given cued recall tests and recall rose back up to 70%
-temporary loss of accessibility and contradicts the theory

48
Q

Evaluating Interference

Time between learning

A

-ppts often learn lists of words back to back and recalling experience ends when study ends
-not representative of retroactive interference
low mundane realism

49
Q

Evaluating interference
support from drug studies
(coenen&van Luijtelaar(1997)

A

-gave a group ppts a list of words to memorise under the influence of diazepam and their recall one week later was worse than placebo group but when ppts recalled before taking diazepam recall was better than placebo (supposedly because the drug prevented new memories forming and interfering)
-shows that reducing interference reduces forgetting
-internal validity

50
Q

What is retrieval failure?

A

not being able to access existing memories due to lack of cues

51
Q

What is the encoding specificity principle(ESP)?

A

-Tulving(1983) suggested a cue has to be present at learning and recall to reduce chances of forgetting

52
Q

Meaningful cues

A

-encoded at the time of learning in a meaningful way to trigger memories i.e mneumonics

53
Q

Non-meaningful cues

A

-relate to external environment(context dependent cues) or internal environment(state dependent cues) e.g the room u learned something or whether you were tired

54
Q

Godden and Baddeley(1975)
context dependent

A

-deep sea divers learned and recalled list of words either underwater or on land
-recall was 40% lower when recall was not done where info was learned as there was a lack of external cues

55
Q

Carter and Cassaday(1998)
state dependent

A

-ppts learned and recalled list of words either on anti-histamines(made them drowsy) or nothing
-recall best when the conditions were the same(learned and recalled on drugs or vice versa)

56
Q

Evaluating retrieval failure

support from psychologists and CP

A

-lack of relevant cues at recall can lead to context-dependant and state dependant forgetting in everyday life
-Eysenck and Keane(2010) argue retrieval failure is the main reason for forgetting LTM
HOWEVER
Baddeley(1997) argues that context effects are not very strong in real life as it would be hard to find drastically different environments(limitation)

57
Q

Evaluating Retrieval failure

not applicable to all types of memory

A

-when Godden and Baddeley(1980) replicated the underwater test as a recognition test where ppts had to recognise words from the OG list, no context-dependent effect
-absence of cues only exist subjectively and does not apply to all types of memory

58
Q

Evaluating retrieval failure

help overcome forgetting in real-world situations

A

-Baddeley suggests cues are worth paying attention to.
-having to ‘retrace your steps’ to remember where you left something you misplaced
-attempting to recall the environment where you left something helps
-research reminds us of strategies to use in everyday life

59
Q

Evaluating retrieval failure

problems with ESP

A

-not testable and leads to circular reasoning with no clear examples
-the encoding of cues is assumed and there is no way to establish the truth in that
-low internal validity(cause and effect)

60
Q

what is EWT?

A

the ability to remember the details of events, such as accidents and crime

61
Q

what is misleading info?

A

-when info is provided that can affect how someone answers a question/recalls an event

62
Q

Why do leading questions affect EWT?

A

-response-bias= doesn’t affect actual memory but influences how someone answers(‘smashed’ makes them think cars were faster)
-substitution= the wording of the question changes memory of an event.(‘smashed’ made ppts believe there was broken glass a week later)

63
Q

Loftus&Palmer(1975) Leading questions

A

-after ppts watched a video of a car crash, they had to fill out a survey, with one of the questions being ‘how fast were the cars going when they..’
-different verbs were used for each group i.e smashed, hit, bumped, collided, contacted
-mean estimate was higher for the groups with more aggressive verbs= contacted was 31.8 whereas smashed was 40.5

64
Q

What is post-event discussion?

A

-when co-witnesses discuss an event with each other, their testimonies become contaminated as they combine their (mis)info

65
Q

source monitoring theory

A

memories are genuinely distorted, witnesses cannot remember the source from where they retrieved their info(source confusion)

66
Q

conformity theory

A

-memories are not distorted but they change their recall to go along with co-witnesses due to NSI or ISI

67
Q

Gabbert et al(2003)

supports conformity theory

A

-two groups of paired ppts
-each pair watched a video of the same crime in diff POVs
-one group could discuss and one couldn’t(control grp)
-71% of those who discussed, recalled aspects they didn’t see and 0% of the control grp.
Gabbert concluded witnesses go along to win social approval/they believe the other witness is right

68
Q

Evaluating Misleading information

real-life application

A

Loftus (1975) suggests leading questions may have a distorting effect on EW’s recall, so police officers must be careful of the wording of their questions
-research can have a positive impact on improving legal systems and preventing faulty convictions
-high external validity(reflects an immeasurable concept)

69
Q

Evaluating Misleading information

loftus&palmer(1975) supporting research

A

-found that leading questions biased recall of an event HOWEVER foster et al(1994) suggested its unrealistic nature meant ppts may have been less accurate as there is no real life consequence.

70
Q

Evaluating Misleading information

Sutherland&Hayne(2001) alternative explanations

A

-ppts recall when asked leading questions was more accurate for central details rather than peripheral ones as they payed more attention and were resistant to misleading info.
-Misleading info may be subjective to attention rather than substitution, reduces reliability

71
Q

Evaluating Misleading information

Zaragoza &McCloskey(1989)
confounding variables

A

-answer ppts gave in lab studies were due to demand characteristics as they want to appear helpful
-may guess yes/no questions
-results may have been obtained due to demand characteristics =low validity

72
Q

How might anxiety be a factor that affect EWT?

A

creates physiological arousal i.e increased heart rate which prevents us paying attention to important cues and lowers the accuracy of recall

73
Q

What is weapon focus?

A

a weapon being present will centralise all of the witness’ focus and result in tunnel vision, where full attention is payed to the source of anxiety and all other details are peripheral.

74
Q

Johnson&Scott(1976)
finding out whether anxiety affects accuracy

A

ppts are put in a waiting room for a ‘study’ and are either
-overhear casual discussion about equipment failure and see a person come out of the room with a pen and greasy hands OR overhear a heated argument and the breaking of glass+chairs then see a man come out with a bloody knife.
-pen group identified the man 49% of the time but knife group only 33%
-due to the ‘weapon focus phenomenon’

75
Q

How might anxiety have a positive effect on recall?

A

trigger a ‘fight or flight response’ which increases alertness and awareness of cues and therefore improves memory

76
Q

Yuille and Cutshall(1986)

finding out if EWTs are reliable and cannot be influenced by leading questions

A

-13 witnesses to robbery and murder were re-interviewed 5 months after the crime.
-The interviewer asked 2 leading questions but it had no effect on their recall, it was reliable and accurate.
-most distressed EWTs had the best recall
-high external validity

77
Q

The yerkes-donson law(1908) & Deffenbacher(1983)

A

‘inverted U’ suggests that that stress improves recall until maximum accuracy point where the stress causes recall to suffer decline
-D proposed that effect on EWT follows this pattern

78
Q

Limitation of inverted U theory

A

Ignores that anxiety has many elements: cognitive, behavioural, emotional & physical.
-Focused on physical & assumes that’s the only aspect linked to EWT. But cognitive thinking is also important.

79
Q

Evaluating Anxiety

alternative explanation(unusalness)

A

-weapon focus may be due to surprise rather than fear
-pickel(1998) showed ppts a hair salon incident with scissors, handgun, wallet or a raw chicken and EWT was the lowest in the gun AND the chicken
unusualness rather than threat and doesn’t explain effect of anxiety
reduces reliability

80
Q

Evaluating Anxiety

supporting evidence that anxiety had a negative affect on recall

A

-Valentine and Mesout used heart rate to divide ppts into high/low anxiety groups and found that high anxiety groups could only identify an actor in the ‘Labyrinth of Horror’ 17% whereas low anxiety group 75%
-immediate recall is reduced by anxiety
-quasi-experiment gives it external validity

81
Q

Evaluating Anxiety

supporting evidence that anxiety can have positive effects on recall

A

-Christianson&Hubinette questioned 100 witnesses of 22 genuine bank robberies between them
-victims that were directly involved were more accurate than indirect victims, even after 15 months
-highly stressful events may cause good recall IRL and enhance it`

82
Q

Evaluating Anxiety

lack of control in field studies

A

-when interviewing real-life witnesses i.e Yuille and Cutshall, researchers have no control over post-event discussion in media, police interviews etc
-limitation of field studies as extraneous variables may be responsible for accuracy of recall
-low validity, cause and effect

83
Q

Improving EWT: Cognitive interview

A

-developed Fisher & Geiselman(1992) reviewed memory literature and related it to the way interviews were carried out by the police in real life-} concluded that people recall better with retrieval clues(challenges schema for accurate info)

84
Q

Psychological principles used in cognitive interview

A

1) Report every detail even small/significant things(trigger more info through free recall)
2)Reinstate of context, go back to the scene ‘in your mind’(context-dependent clues)
3)Change order, i.e from end to start(challenges schema by thinking hard, more difficult to stick to a lie reversed)
4)Change perspectives, i.e think from another witness’ or criminal’s POV(less likely to rely on schema to fill in blanks)

85
Q

Why is the cognitive interview effective?

A

Retrieval failure theory = ppts must free recall which could trigger state-dependent cues and reinstate may provide state-dependent cues
Influence of leading questions = free recall is witness-led and questions asked are based on what the witness said during the recall

86
Q

The enhanced cognitive interview

A

Fisher (1987) developed additional elements of CI to focus on dynamics of the interactions.
E.g. Interviewer needs to know when to establish & relinquish eye contact.
Also includes reducing anxiety(small talk abt day etc) minimal distractions, open ended questions, getting witness to speak slowly

87
Q

Evaluating cognitive interview-
support for the effectiveness of the CI

A

-meta analysis by Kohnken et al(1999) combined data from 55 studies comparing the CI+ enhanced CI with the standard police interview -} CI gave average 41%
increase in accurate info compared to standard interview.
-Only 4/55 studies showed no diff in interviews.
Shows that CI is effective in helping witness recall info.

HOWEVER Köhnken also found increase in inaccurate info recalled. More so in ECI. Shows that CI interviews may sacrifice quality of EWT (accuracy) for quantity (amount).

88
Q

Evaluating cognitive interview- not all elements are equally useful

A

-Milne and Bull(2002) found that each of 4 techniques used alone produce more info than standard interview, but also found a combination of report everything & reinstate the context produced better recall than any other elements or combo of elements.
-Casts doubt on credibility of overall CI

89
Q

Evaluating cognitive interview- time consuming

A

-May be reluctant to use this as it can take hours(establish rapport & allow witness to relax)
-CI also requires special training and many forces may not have resources to provide more than a few hours(Kebbell and Wagstaff 1997)
-Suggests it’s unrealistic method to use the complete CI

90
Q

Evaluating cognitive interview- too many variations of CI

A

-police forces have taken a ‘pick and mix’ approach to CI techniques
-hard to compare the effectiveness of different approaches in research studies

AQA A LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY (7 decks)

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