Memory Flashcards

Question

Results and conclusion of Sperling (1960) experiment

Answer 1

When participants were asked to recall a particular row, participants could recall an average of 3 out of 4 items. Participants did not know what row was going to be selected but still managed to recall most of the items suggesting almost the whole grid was in their sensory register showing capacity is very large but duration is short.

Answer 2

1) as it was a lab experiment, it was highly scientific and variables would be controlled. 2) it is also easy to replicate the study allowing scientists today to find a change 3) as it is in an articifical setting means it lacks ecological validity 4) it is an artificial task as remembering random letters is not a common task so lacks ecological validity

Answer 3

Capacity - 5-9 items Duration - 30s Coding - acoustic

Answer 4

Capacity - unlimited Duration - lifetime Coding - semantic

Answer 5

1) research evidence from Murdoch’s study found that when participants were given a list of 10-40 words, the serial position effect occurred. He found that they could recall words at the beginning and end but not in the middle. The words at the beginning have gone into the LTM due to rehearsal (primacy effect) and the words at the end have gone into our STM (recency effect) 2)Beardsley (1977) used brain scanning to investigate brain activity and found that the different parts of the brain active during STM and LTM tasks. For example the pre frontal cortex was active during STM task but not LTM tasks. He also found the hippocampus was active during LTM. This suggests that the STM and LTM are seperate stores due to brain scans.

Answer 6

1) it lacks ecological validity. This is because in most supporting studies , participants were asked to complete unrealistic tasks which didn’t test their memories relatable to every day life eg random lists and trigrams. In real life, we tend to form memories related to meaningful information suggesting MSM lacks external validity. 2) it is believed that the STM can be divided into at least 2 stores, one for visual information and one for auditory information. In support patient K.F sustained brain damage after a motorcycle accident which left him impaired for verbal information but his visual STM showed no impairment . This suggests that K.F has damaged just part of his STM and therefore that it is not a unitary store like the MSM argued.

Answer 7

1) episodic memory 2) semantic memory 3) procedural memory

Answer 8

1) it’s the memory that is a record of personal experiences such as when their birthday is. 2) the strength of episodic memories is influenced by emotions present at the time for example traumatic experiences are well recalled due to high e emotional content. It also affected by degree of processing. 3) pre frontal cortex is associated with initial coding, with consolidation associated in the neo cortex however connecting together to make a full memory is in the hippocampus.

Answer 9

1) this type of memory contains all knowledge (facts, concepts and meanings) an individual has learned. 2) the strength of semantic memories is dependant on the degree of processing occuring during coding. 3) coding is mainly associated with the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain . Semantic memory is stored in the hippocampus

Answer 10

1) a type of memory associated with skills eg how to drive, how to ride a bike etc. Procedurak memory does not require conscious thought, it allows people to multi task with other tasks that require cognitive attention 2) Procedural LTM is associated mainly with the neocortex brain areas of primary motor cortex, cerebellum and pre frontal cortex. It doesn’t need the hippocampus to function.

Answer 11

1) One difference between the different types of LTMs is that both episodic and semantic memories are conscious but procedural is unconscious. 2) semantic and episodic memories tend to be stored in the hippocampus whilst procedural memories are stored in the cerebellum and motor cortex. 3) we do not know when we learnt semantic or procedural memories but episodic memories are stored with reference to time and place.

Answer 12

1) Tulving (1989) did an experiment where he asked participants to take part in some memory tasks which required them to use semantic and procedural memories whilst have PET scans. He found when the task required the use of semantic memory then there was more brain activation in the frontal and temporal lobes whereas when the memory was episodic, then the prefrontal cortex was used suggesting that different LTMS use different parts of the brain. 2) Finke (2012) reported the case of PM, a 68 year old professional cellist who suffered brain damage leading to severe episodic and semantic memory difficulties. However, even though he could not recall musical facts, he could still read and play music suggesting procedural memory was unaffected. 3) types of LTMs can be used in real life applications- as being able to identify different LTM stores has positive applications. Knowing episodic is a distinct store means it can be targeted in people with specific episodic memory difficulties. Belleville (2006) showed that it is possible to improve episodic memories in elderly people with impairments. It allows specific treatments to be developed.

Answer 13

1) there is gender differences in LTMs suggesting that research on LTMs cannot be generalised to the population. Herlitz et al (1997) assessed LTM abilities in 1,000 Swedish participants and found females consistently performed better on tasks requiring episodic memory however there were no differences in semantic LTM ability.

Answer 14

Baddeley and Hitch (1974)

Answer 15

Baddeley and Hitch argues that STM is not a unitary store- it has sub stores and each is responsible for processing different types of information. STM is renamed as working memory. The working memory is understood as an active processor.

Answer 16

1) central executive 2) phonological loop 3) visuo-spatial sketch pad 4) episodic buffer

Answer 17

1) it has overall control. It processes information in all sensory forms and decides which one if the slave systems are needed to complete them. 2) it is involved in problem solving /decision making 3) it has a limited capacity - it cannot make many decisions at the same time.

Answer 18

1) remembers word based information so it is active whenever you read, listen or speak words. 2) it is divided into 2 stores, phonological store and articulatory process 3) the phonological store acts as the inner ear and holds information in speech based form for 1-2 seconds. 4) articulatory process allows maintenance rehearsal of the word based information.

Answer 19

1) stores a limited amount of visual and spatial information for a brief period of time. 2) it is split into 2 stores, visual cache + inner scribe 3) visual cache stores visual data 4) inner scribe remembers arrangement of objects in space

Answer 20

1) it was added after the year 2000. It acts as a backup which integrates information processed by other stores. It also records the order in which events happen. 2) under the control of the central executive and sends information to the LTM

Answer 21

Central executive - limited capacity , modality free Phonological loop - two seconds capacity , acoustic coding Visuo spatial sketchpad - three to four objects capacity , visual coding Episodic buffer - 4 chunks capacity , stores visual, spatial and verbal info integrating it together

Answer 22

1)Baddeley and Hitch (1976) conducted an experiment in which participants were asked to perform two tasks at the same time (dual task technique). 2) one task was a digital span task (repeating numbers) and a verbal reasoning task (answer true or false questions) 3) as number of digits increased in digital span task, participants took longer to answer the reasoning questions (only by a fraction of a second) ans none of the answers were wrong. 4) verbal reasoning task used central executive ans digital span task used phonological loop.

Answer 23

1) one strength of the WMM is the brain scanning evidence to support the different components of the WMM. For example D’Esposito et al (1995) used fMRI scans to test this and found that the prefrontal cortex was activated when verbal and spatial tasks were performed together but not when performed seperately, suggesting this area is involved with central executive. 2) another strength of the working memory model is that it accounts for case studies like K.F (studied by shallice and Warrington 1970). Patient K.F was injured in a motorcycle accident. He could recall memories from LTM but not STM. He was able to remember visual images but not able to remember sounds suggesting there are at least 2 components within STM. This supports the idea of two slave systems (visuo spatial sketchpad and phonological loop).

Answer 24

1) one weakness is that many studies supporting WMM especially dual task studies tend to be lab experiments where participants are required to recall random letters or numbers. The findings from these studies may lack ecological validity and tells us nothing about how the WMM works in everyday life. Furthermore participants under highly controlled conditions tend to show demand characteristics. 2) another weakness of the WMM is that the exact role of the central executive remains unclear. It isn’t clear how it works and what it does. It has been argued that it sends information to certain slave systems to carry out a task but this is vague. Eslinger and Damasio studied EVR who had a cerebral tumour removed. He had poor decision making skills suggesting his central executive was damaged but he could still perform reasoning tasks suggesting the central executive could have sub components.

Answer 25

The inability to access or recover information that has been previously stored in memory

Answer 26

1) interference including proactive and retroactive interference 2) retrieval failure due to absence of cues

Answer 27

1) forgetting occurs in LTM because two memories are in conflict. This is more likely to occur when memories are similar . Newer information may overwrite earlier information. There are two types of interference, proactive and retroactive. 2) proactive interference is when an old memory disrupts the recall of a new memory. 3) retroactive is when a new memory interferes with an old memory.

Answer 28

Conducted by Mcgeoch and Mcdonald (1931) 1) six groups of participants had to learn a list of words till 100% accurate 2) five of those groups had to learn a new list. The words in the new list varied in terms of how similar they were. 3) all participants were then required to recall the first original list Group 1- synonyms Group 2- antonyms Group 3- unrelated words Group 4- nonsense syllables Group 5- 3 digit numbers Group 6- no new lost (control)

Answer 29

1) the control group recalled the most number of words as they had no interference task 2) out of the 5 groups, given another list, those who had to learn numbers did the best recalling the initial list of words 3) the group that had synonyms had the lowest recall score. This can be explained as interference occurred because the second list of words was similar to the first set. This shows how interference is more likely to occur when two pieces of information are similar.

Answer 30

1) it is supported by many lab studies which have shown both types of interference lead to information in LTM being forgotten. For example, Mcgeoch and McDonald’s study supported interference theory. Also lab studies are well controlled and extraneous variables are minimised. 2) Baddeley and Hitch (1977) conducted a study where rugby union players who had played every match in the season and players who had missed some games due to injury were used to test interference in everyday life. Players were asked to recall the names of the teams they had played against earlier in the season. Players who had played more games, proportionally forgot more games than those who played less. Baddeley and hitch concluded this was due to retroactive interference as the new team names interfered with earlier team names.

Answer 31

1) one Limitation of the interference explanation is that most supporting evidence is gathered from lab studies and use unrealistic material (lists of words). In real life we rarely remember random words. Thus supporting studies lack ecological validity. 2) another limitation of interference research is that in lab experiments, the time period between learning lists of words and recalling them tends to be short eg 20 mins. In real life, there tends to be much longer gaps when we learn new information. Therefore, supporting research may lack validity and not reflect how interference works in real life.

Answer 32

This theory argues that the information stored in the LTM cannot be retrieved due to a lack of cues. Cues are often needed to trigger a memory

Answer 33

This principle (by tulving 1983) suggests that cues will help retrieval if the same cues are present during coding and retrieval. The closer the cue to the original cue, the more effective the cue is in the triggering the memory.

Answer 34

Tulving and pearlstone (1966) got participants to recall 48 words that belonged to 12 categories. As each word was presented, it was preceded by its category. If the cue was present at recall, then overall recall was 60%. If the cue was not present it fell to 40%. Retrieval of information is better when the cues trigger the memory.

Answer 35

This is when the environment during recall is different from the environment you were in when you were learning, leading to forgetting.

Answer 36

A study was conducted by Godden and Baddeley (1975). 18 divers were asked to learn a list of 36 unrelated words and then recall them Each diver had to participate in 4 conditions: -learn and recall on beach -learn and recall underwater -learn on beach, recall underwater and vice versa Recall was better when they recalled in the same environment they learned in.

Answer 37

This is when your mood or psychological state during recall is different from the mood you were in when you were learning, leading to forgetting

Answer 38

A study was conducted by Carter and Cassaday (1998). They gave participants antihistamines, making them slightly drowsy. Participants had to learn lists of words and then recall. They were in 2 groups, where internal state and recalling were same and in the other 2, internal state mismatched . Participants had recalled best when internal state matched learning and recall. This suggests that when internal cues are absent, forgetting is more likely.

Answer 39

1) there is a range of research that shows retrieval failure due to absence of cues is a major explanation for forgetting. For example Godden and Baddeley’s study shows that the context is an important cue when remembering information. The divers who had learned and recalled underwater remembered more than those whose contexts were mismatched. 2) the concept of context dependant cues has real life application. It suggest remembering the context or your internal state in which you encoded the memory may improve memory recall as shown in both carter and Cassaday’s study and Goddena and Baddeley’s study. Both these principles are used in the cognitive interview to help memory recall

Answer 40

1) retrieval cues do not always work since our learning is related to a lot more than just cues. Also many studies tend to focus on learning words which is not a task we do everyday. Therefore, many of the studies lack ecological validity and the overall picture of retrieval failure cannot be applied to real life 2) it is difficult to test the encoding specificity principle since we don’t know what cues are meaningful to individuals and how they are encoded during learning as we cannot prove exactly what cues enhanced learning.

Answer 41

This refers to the account given by people of an event they have witnessed.

Answer 42

1) leading questions 2) post event discussion

Answer 43

A leading question is a question that suggests to the witness what answer is desired.

Answer 44

It was conducted by Loftus and Zanni. Participants were shown a video of a car accident and then asked questions. When they were asked if they had seen “a” broken headlight, 7% of participants said yes. When asked if they had seen “the” broken headlight, 17%of participants said yes, even though there was no broken headlight.

Answer 45

When witnesses to an event discuss what they have experienced after the event. This leads to: Memory contamination: witnesses mix information from other witnesses into their own memory Memory conformity: witnesses pick up information from other witnesses because they want social approval or believe other witnesses are right and they are wrong

Answer 46

It was conducted by Gabbert et Al. 60 students and 60 adults watched a girl stealing money from a wallet. They were either tested individually or in pairs. With Participants in the pair, only one saw the girl stealing, the other saw an alternate perspective. The participants discussed the video then completed a questionare. 71% of witnesses recalled information they had not actually seen and 60% said the girl was guilty.

Answer 47

1) one strength of research into effect of misleading information is that they are mainly lab studies. Therefore extraneous variables are well controlled, making it easier to make a conclusion about the effect of misleading information. Also studies can be replicated easily to see if results are reliable. 2) research into misleading information on the accuracy of EWT has applications to real life. This is because leading questions can affect witness memory so police must be careful on how they phrase questions when interviewing witnesses.

Answer 48

1) watching a video of an event such as a car accident in loftus’ study is very different to watching a real event in real time. Watching a staged event does not create anxiety and studies have shown that a small amount of anxiety increases accuracy so we could say results from lab studies are not valid. 2) in lab studies into EWT, there is risk of demand characteristics as participants may guess the aim of the experiment and give answers they feel the experimenter wants to hear. This affects validity of EWT research as participants may be giving answers that don’t reflect true memory. Yuille and Cutshall did a study to show impact of real life including on accuracy during EWT and found no effect of leading questions.

Answer 49

It was conducted by Yuille and Cutshall(1986). There were 13 witnesses of a real crime (armed robbery) ans were interviewed 5 months after the event. Participants were asked 2 leading questions it see if it would affect accuracy. Recall was found to be accurate and the leading questions had no effect.

Answer 50

Deffenbacher (1983) applied the Yerkes-Dodson law to EWT. Lower levels of anxiety produce lower levels of recall accuracy. Memory becomes more accurate as level of anxiety increases. However there is an optimal amount of anxiety that produces maximum accuracy and after this point, recall of the event suffers a drastic decline.

Answer 51

A crime may be committed and eye witnesses will be watching the event. Suddenly the perpetrator may pull out a weapon. Suddenly, the anxiety levels of the observers beings to rise and their focus shifts from the crime to the weapon.

Answer 52

Johnson and Scott (1976) -participants sat outside a laboratory and heard one of 2 situations from inside. 1) a friendly conversation followed by a man emerging carry a pen with on his hands (low anxiety condition) 2) an argument with smashing glass and overturned furniture followed by a man emerging with a blood stained paper knife (high anxiety condition) All participants had to identify the man on the basis of 50 photos. Witnesses were 49% accurate in low anxiety condition and 33% accurate with the high anxiety condition.

Answer 53

A study was conducted by Christianson and Hubinette (1993). They questioned 58 real witnesses to a bank robbery in Sweden. The witnesses were either victims or bystanders. It showed that all witnesses has good memories for details of the robbery itself. The witnesses that were more anxious (victims) had the best recall of all suggesting that high anxiety enhanced accurate recall.

Answer 54

1) weapon focus effect may not be caused by anxiety. Pickel (1998) who proposed that the reduced accuracy was due to surprise rather than anxiety. She arranged participants to watch a thief enter the hairdressing salon carry scissors, handgun, wallet, or a whole raw chicken. Identification was least accurate with high surprise conditions (chicken) than the high threat condition. 2) field studies sometimes lack control. For example Christianson and hubinettes study may have been affected by extraneous variables such as post event discussion or information they read about the event afterwards. However, as it is a natural study it still have high ecological validity. 3) the Yerkes Dodson law explanation is too simplistic as anxiety is difficult to measure accurately therefore we cannot be sure what exactly improves accuracy of EWT and what level of anxiety gives maximum accuracy. 4) it could be that anxiety affecting a person’s accuracy in recalling an event, it could be their personality characteristics. Individual differences in anxiety levels and accuracy of recall may not affect everyone in the same way.

Answer 55

Geiselman et Al in 1984

Answer 56

1) context reinstatement 2) report everything 3) recall in changed order 4) recall from alternate perspective

Answer 57

This is where the interviewer encourages the interviewee to mentally recreate both physical and psychological environment of the original environment. The interviewer could say “recall the scene weather, how you were feeling etc” This is intenddd to trigger memory and is based on context dependant and state dependant recall

Answer 58

The interviewer encourages the interviewee to report every single detail of the event even if the details may be irrelevant. The idea is that the trivial information may aid in recall of more important details.

Answer 59

The interviewer may try to ask to interviewee to repeat the order of events in reverse order. Recalling the event backwards prevents your pre existing scheme influencing what you recall. Working backwards may also trigger extra memories and prevents dishonesty

Answer 60

The interviewee is asked to recall the incident from multiple perspectives, imagining how it would’ve appeared to other witnesses at the time. This disrupts the effects of schemas on recall.

Answer 61

Fisher developed the enhanced CI which has the following principles: 1) should actively listen 2) ask open ended questions 3) pause after each response 4) avoid interruption 5) encourage use of imagery 6) adapt their language to suit the witness 7) avoid any judgmental comments 8) minimise distractions

Answer 62

1)there is research evidence that CI generates from accurate information. Gieselman et Al (1986) created a staged situation where an intruder wearing a blue rucksack enters and steals a slide projector from a classroom. Participants are questioned using a standard interview or cognitive interview 2 days later. Participants were asked the misleading question “was the guy with the green backpack nervous”. Participants in the CI were less likely likely to recall the rucksack as green 2) a meta-analysis of 53 studies found an increase of 34% in the amount of correct information generated in the CI compared to a standard interview. Milne and Bull (2002) found that when participants were interviewed with a combination of report everything and “mental reinstatement” recall was much higher than just using “report everything” suggesting using multiple components of CI may be more beneficial.

Answer 63

1) the CI can be very time consuming, with the amount of time required not always available to the interviewer. 2) many of the studies testing the effectiveness of CI tested volunteer’s EWT in a lab, which may not generalise findings to everyday life. 3) the CI required that the interviewer receives a lot of training in order to see results. Memon et al(1994) reported that when experienced detectives received relatively little training (4 hours) , it did not produce any significant increases in amount of information generated. 4) the cognitive interview is said to be less effective for children and information is not too different using standard interview and cognitive interview.

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Memory Flashcards

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