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memory Flashcards

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1
Q

What is STM?

A

The limited capacity memory store. Coding is acoustic. Capacity is between 5 and 9 items. Duration is 18 secs.

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2
Q

What is LTM?

A

The permanent memory store? Coding is semantic, has unlimited capacity and can store memories for a lifetime.

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3
Q

What is coding?

A

The format in which information is stored.

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4
Q

Coding STM (Alan Baddeley)

A

Mainly acoustic.

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5
Q

Coding LTM ( Alan Baddeley)

A

Semantic.

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6
Q

Evaluation for coding

A

+ Separate memory stores (STM is mainly acoustic and LTM is mostly semantic)

  • Artificial stimuli
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7
Q

What is capacity?

A

The amount of information that can be held.

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8
Q

Jacobs digit span ( capacity STM)

A

7.3 mean span letters
9.3 mean span digits

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9
Q

Miller (capacity LTM)

A

Things come in groups of 7
Span of STM is 7 items (plus or minus 2)
People can recall 5 letters and words by chunking.

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10
Q

Evaluation for capacity

A

+ A valid study (been replicated and findings confirmed)

  • Not so many chunks (Miller may have overestimated STM capacity as Nelson Cowan (2001) concluded it was 4+_1 chunks.
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11
Q

What is duration?

A

The length of time information can be held.

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12
Q

Duration STM (Peterson and Peterson)

A

Increasing retention intervals decreased the accuracy of recall of consonant syllables in 24 undergraduates, when counting down from a 3 digit number (preventing mental rehearsal). STM has a short duration.

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13
Q

Duration LTM (Bahrick)

A

Investigated the duration of long-term memory using American university graduates who were shown photographs from their high-school yearbook and for each photograph participants were given a group of names and asked to select the name that matched the photographs.
90% of participants were accurate when tested within 15 years. After 48 years 70% were accurate.
LTM has a lifetime duration.

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14
Q

Evaluation for duration?

A

+ (LTM) High external validity (findings reflect a more real estimate of the duration of LTM)

  • (STM) stimulus material was artificial (repeating consonant syllables)
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15
Q

What is the sensory register?

A

All stimuli from the environment passes into the sensory register which comprises of several memory stores. Coding in each store is modality-specific. Duration is less then half a second. Capacity is high.
Visual (iconic)
Sound (echoic)
Tactile (touch)
Olfactory (smell)
Gustatory (taste)

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16
Q

What is attention?

A

Information passes further into the memory system only if you pay attention to it.

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17
Q

H.M case study

A

Had brain surgery in 1953 to cure his epilepsy. When his hippocampus was removed he was unable to make new memories. He has memories from before his surgery which shows he still possessed LTM.

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18
Q

Positive evaluation of the Multi-Store Model of Memory

A

+Support from studies which shows LTM and STM are different

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19
Q

Negative evaluation of the MSM

A

-Many studies that support the MSM use artificial materials such as words (Baddeley) ,instead of meaningful information. The MSM may not be an accurate model of how memory works in our everyday lives.

-More then one STM store.
Tim Shallice and Elizabeth Warrington (1970)
Client, KF, with amnesia had poor STM when digits were read out to him but recall was better when he read it to himself. Evidence for more then one STM store processing information.

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20
Q

Endel Tulving (1985)

A

He saw the MSM’s view of LTM as simplistic and inflexible. He proposed 3 LTM stores
episodic
semantic
procedural

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21
Q

What is episodic memory?

A

An LTM store for our personal events. Memories from this store have to be retrieved consciously and with effort. Memories hold contextual detail plus the emotional tone. Memories are time-stamped. It’s also easy to forget.

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22
Q

What is semantic memory?

A

An LTM store for our knowledge of the world. Includes facts and our knowledges of what words and concepts mean. Memories need to be recalled deliberately. Not time-stamped. Begins as episodic memories because we acquire knowledge based on personal experiences.

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23
Q

What is procedural memory?

A

An LTM store for our knowledge of how to do things. Can recall these memories without making a conscious effort. Automatic as a result of repeated practise. ‘Muscle memory’.
If you think too much about procedural memories it may prevent you from acting them out as attention disrupts the automatic process.

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24
Q

Clive Wearing case study

A

Had amnesia from a viral infection that attacked his brain damaging his hippocampus and other areas. He could play a piano and conduct a choir but not remember his music education. Recognised his wife but even if she left the room he thought he hadn’t seen her in years.

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25
Q

Positive evaluation for 3 types of LTM

A

+Clinical evidence
HM and Clive Wearing
Episodic memory impaired but semantic and procedural still intact.
Shows diff memory stores in LTM.
+ Real world application
understanding types of LTM allows physiologists to help people with memory problems and develop specific treatments. As people age they experience memory loss but research has shown this is specific to episodic memory. Sylvie Belleville devised an intervention to improve episodic memories in older people.

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26
Q

Negative evaluation for 3 types of LTM

A
  • Clinical studies like these lack control of variables. There’s no knowledge of the individuals memory before the injury so it’s difficult to judge how much the memory worsens.

-Tulving (2022)
Episodic memory is a ‘specialised category’ of semantic memory. Research showed that some people with amnesia have functioning semantic but damaged episodic memory. He concluded it’s not possible the other way round.
John Hodges and Karalyn Patterson (2007)
Some people with ahlzeimers can form new episodic memories but not semantic.

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27
Q

What’s the central executive?

A

Coordinates the activities of the 3 subsystems in memory. Also allocates processing resources to those activities.
Has a ‘supervisory’ role where it monitors data, focuses and divides out limited attention and allocates subsystems to tasks. Limited processing capacity. Flexible coding.

28
Q

What’s the phonological loop?

A

processes info in terms of sound. subdivided into phonological store (inner ear) and articulatory process (inner voice). coding is acoustic.

29
Q

What’s the visuo- spatial sketchpad?

A

Coding is visual and spatial. Limited capacity (3 to 4 objects). Subdivided into visual cache (stores visual data) and inner scribe ( records arrangement of objects in the visual field).

30
Q

What’s the episodic buffer?

A

Brings together material from other subsystems in a single memory. Temporary store for information, integrating the visual, spatial and verbal info processed by the other stores and maintaining a sense of time sequencing. Limited capacity of 4 chunks. Coding is flexible.

31
Q

What are the 2 predictions the working memory model makes?

A
  1. If 2 tasks make use of the SAME component they CANNOT perform together due to limited capacity.
  2. If 2 tasks consist of DIFFERENT components it’s possible to perform them together.
32
Q

Evaluation of the WMM

A

+ Clinical Evidence
Case study of K.F. After his brain injury his phonological loop was damaged but his VSS was intact. This supports existence of separate acoustic and visual memory stores.

-Counterpoint
It is unclear whether KF had other cognitive impairments which may have affected his performance of memory tasks. His trauma from the motorcycle accident could have affected his behaviour.

+Dual task performance
Baddeley et al. (1975)
When participants carried out a visual and verbal task at the same time their performance was similar when they carried them out separately. When tasks were both visual and verbal performance declined. HOWEVER it uses tasks unlike ones we perform in our everyday life.

-Nature of central executive
Baddeley (2003) ‘The CE is the most important but least understood component of the working memory’. Some phycologists believe it may consist of separate subcomponents. It’s unsatisfactory.

33
Q

What’s forgetting?

A

Loss of ability to recall info learned earlier.

34
Q

What are explanations for forgetting?

A

Interference and retrieval failure

35
Q

What is interference?

A

When two pieces of info disrupt each other, resulting in forgetting one or both, or in some distortion of memory.

36
Q

proactive interference (PI)

A

When past learning makes learning something new in the future more difficult.

eg. Changing a password but being unable to remember the new one as you keep using the old one.

37
Q

retroactive interference (RI)

A

When newer memories disrupt the recall of older memories already stored.

eg. Learning a new language, Spanish, may affect your memory of French vocabulary.

38
Q

John McGeoch and John Mcdonald (1931)

A

In PI and RI interference is worse when memories are similar.

PROCEDURE- They studied RI by changing the amount of similarity between 2 sets of materials. Participants had to learn a list of words until they remembered them. They then learnt a second list. There was 6 groups of participants who had to learn different types of new lists:

1.Synonyms 2. Antonyms 3. Unrelated words 4. Consonant syllables 5. 3-digit numbers 6. No new list (control condition)

FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION- the most similar material (synonyms) produced the worst recall. Interference is strongest when memories are similar.

39
Q

Evaluation for Explanations for forgetting: Interference

A

+Real world interference
Alan Baddeley and Graham Hitch (1977)
Rugby players recalled the names of teams they had played against. The number of games they each played varied as some players missed matches.
Players who played the most games had the worst recall.

-Counterpoint
Interference is unusual in everyday situations as two memories have to be similar in order to interfere with eachother.

  • Interference can be overcome by using cues.
    Endel Tulving and Joseph Psotka (1971)
    Gave participants 5 lists of 24 words, each organised into 6 categories which were obvious.
    Recall averaged 70% for the first list but became worse as they learnt each additional list (PI). When they were given a cued recall test, recall rose again to 70%.
    Interference causes a temporary loss of memory.

+Support from Drug Studies
Anton Coenen and Gilles Van Luijtelaar (1997)
Gave participants a list of words and later asked them to recall the list.
When the list was learned under the use of diazepam recall one week later was poor.
When a list was learned before the drug was taken, recall was better then placebo.

Reduce interference and you can reduce forgetting.

-Artificial materials used and lab-based studies so variables are controlled.

40
Q

retrieval failure

A

information is available but not accessible due to a lack of appropriate cues

41
Q

cues

A

info that allows us to directly access a memory

42
Q

encoding specificity principle

A

Endel Tulving (1983)
Our memory is at it’s best when info that was present when we encoded the memory is available at the time of retrieval.
A helpful cue has to be present at encoding and retrieval.

43
Q

Non-Meaningful cues

A

Context-dependent forgetting where recall depends on external cues such as weather or place.

State-dependent forgetting where recall depends on internal cues such as being drunk.

44
Q

research on context dependent forgetting

A

Duncan Gooden Alan Baddeley (1975)
studied deep sea divers to see if training on land or underwater. They learnt a list of words either underwater or on land and were asked to recall it either underwater or or on land which created 4 conditions.
Accurate recall was 40% less in non-matching conditions.

45
Q

research on state dependent forgetting

A

Sara Carter and Helen Cassaday (1998)
Gave antihistamine drugs to participants and made them drowsy. They had to learn a list of words and passages of prose and created 4 conditions.

In the conditions where there was a mismatch between internal state at learning and recall, performance on the memory test was worse.

46
Q

evaluation on explanations for forgetting: retrieval failure

A

+ Retrieval cues can help to overcome forgetting in everyday situations. When we have trouble remembering something it’s worth making the effort to recall the environment where you learnt it.

+Research support
Michael Eysneck and Mark Keane (2010)
retrieval failure is the main reason for forgetting LTM

-Baddeley (1997)
Context effects aren’t very strong especially in everyday life. Diff contexts have to be very diff before an effect is seen.
Retrieval failure due to a lack of contextual cues may not actually explain much everyday forgetting.

-Baddeley (1997
Criticized the ESP as impossible to test and verify. Is it possible to establish whether a cue has been encoded? If a cue aids retrieval then it could be encoded but if it doesn’t then it isn’t encoded.
Issue of interferences.

47
Q

Eyewitness testimony (EWT)

A

The ability to remember details of events which they observed.
Accuracy of it can be affected by factors such as misleading info and anxiety.

48
Q

Misleading info

A

Incorrect info given to an eyewitness usually after the event. It takes forms such as post-event discussion (PED) and leading questions.

49
Q

leading questions

A

a question which because of the way it is phrased suggests a certain answer.

50
Q

Research on leading questions

A

Elizabeth Loftus and John Palmer (1974)
45 participants watched film clips of car accidents and then asked them questions about it. In the critical question each of the 5 groups was given a diff verb
contacted-31.8 mph
hit- 34 mph
bumped- 38.1 mph
collided- 39.3 mph
smashed- 40.5 mph
The speed the eyewitnesses reported was affected by the verb they were given as it affected their memory. EWT could be biased by the way questions are asked after the crime is committed.

51
Q

Why do leading questions affect EWT?

A
  1. Response-bias explanation
    Wording of a question has no enduring effect of an eyewitness memory of an event but influences the answer given.
  2. Substitution explanation
    Wording of a question distorts the accuracy of the original memory.
    Loftus and Palmer (1974)
    Participants that originally heard smashed were later more likely to report seeing glass (there was none) then those who heard hit.
52
Q

PED

A

Witness discuss with co-witnesses. May influence accuracy of eye witness’ recall of the event.

53
Q

Fiona Gabbert et al (2003)

A

Studied participants in pairs. Each one watched a video of the same crime but from different points of view. Both then discussed what they saw before completing a test of recall.

71% mistakenly recalled aspects that they did not see in the video but picked up in discussions. It was 0% in the control group.

54
Q

Why does PED affect EWT?

A
  1. Memory conformity
    Gabbert et al concluded witnesses often go along with eachother to win social approval or because they believe the other witness is right. The actual memory is unchanged.
  2. Memory contamination
    When co-witnesses discuss a crime with eachother their EWT may become altered.
55
Q

Evaluation of misleading info

A

+Loftus (1975)
Leading questions can have such distorting effects on memory that police officers and jurors need to be aware of. Phycologists can help to improve the legal system

-Rachel Foster et al (1994)
Participants are less likely to be accurate as their is no important consequences compared to as in the real world. Researches could be too pessimistic.

-Maria Zaragoza and Michale MccCloskey (1989)
Many answers given by participants are due to demand characteristics. Participants guess when they do not know answers.

56
Q

anxiety

A

A state of emotional and physical arousal. Includes having worried thoughts and feelings of tension. Includes having an increased heart rate and sweatiness.

57
Q

weapon focus

A

the presence of a weapon creates anxiety which leads to focus on a weapon, reducing recall for other details.

58
Q

Research on the presence of the weapon

A

Craig Johnson and William Scott (1976)
Participants sat in a waiting room and were divided into 2 groups
1.(low-anxiety) heard a casual convo and saw a man walk past carrying a pen with grease on his hands
49% could identify man
2.(high-anxiety) heard a heated argument with sound of breaking glass and man walked out with bloody knife.
33% could identify man

Tunnel theory of memory argues that a witnesses attention is on the weapon because it is a source of danger and anxiety.

59
Q

How can anxiety have a positive effect on recall?

A

Triggers the fight or flight response which increases alertness. May improve memory of the event.

60
Q

Research on positive effect of anxiety

A

John Yuille and Judith Cutshall (1986)
Study on real shooting in gun shop in Vancouver. Shop owner shot a thief dead. 13 witnesses agreed to participate.
Pp’s were interviewed 4-5 months after the incident which were compared to the police ones.
Accuracy was determined by no of details reported in each account.
Asked to rate their stress.
Witnesses were very accurate and there was little change.
Pp’s with highest stress levels were more accurate.
Anxiety may enhance EWT.

61
Q

Explaining the contradictory findings

A
  1. Robert Yerkes and John Dodson (1908) the relationship between emotional arousal and performance looked like an inverted U so performance will increase with stress but only to an optimum point.
  2. Kenneth Deffebacher (1983) Reviewed 21 studies of EWT and noticed contradictory findings.
    Used the Yerkes-Dodson law to explain this.
62
Q

Evaluation of anxiety

A

-Unusualness not anxiety
Kerri Pickel (1998) scissors, handgun, a wallet or raw chicken in hairdressing video. Accuracy was poorer in the high unusualness conditions.

+Support for neg effects
Tim Valentine and Jan Mesout(2009)
London dungeon and ps wore wireless heart monitors and were divided into high and low anxiety groups.
High anxiety made the most mistakes.

63
Q

Cognitive interview

A

Method of interviewing witnesses to help them retrieve more accurate memories.
Includes
Reporting everything
Reinstating the context
Reversing the order
Changing the perspective

64
Q

What’s schema?

A

Patterns of thinking and behaviour people use to interpret the world.

65
Q

Enhanced cognitive interview

A

Reducing eyewitness anxiety
Getting the witness to speak slowly
Minimising distractions
Asking open ended questions

66
Q

Evaluation of the CI

A

+ police officers have taken a pick and mix approach so it’s hard to compare the effectiveness but this approach is more flexible
-timeconsuming

Psychology (8 decks)

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