Memory Flashcards

1
Q

What is coding?

A

How you store and retrieve memories

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What is capacity?

A

How much information you can store

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What is duration?

A

How long you can store information

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

How does STM code?

A

Acoustically

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

How does LTM code?

A

Semantically

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What was Baddeley’s experiment in coding?

A

Tested immediate recall and recall after 20 minutes

Using acoustically and semantically similar and dissimilar words

Immediate recall was worse with acoustically similar - STM codes acoustically

Recall after 20 minutes was worse with semantically similar - LTM codes semantically

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What is the capacity of STM?

A

7 +/- 2 chunks of information

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What is the capacity of LTM?

A

Unlimited

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What was Jacob’s experiment into the capacity of STM?

A

Researcher reads digits and increases until participant cannot recall order correctly

Final number = digit span

Numbers = 9

Letters = 7

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What is the duration of STM?

A

18-30 seconds

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What is the duration of LTM?

A

Unlimited

48+ years

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What was Peterson and Peterson’s experiment into duration

A

24 students given consonant syllable (e.g. YCG) to recall and 3-digit number to count backwards from

Retention interval varied (3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18)

After 3 seconds = average recall 80%

After 18 seconds = average recall 3%

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

What are the three types of LTM?

A

Semantic

Procedural

Episodic

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What is semantic LTM?

A

Memories of facts and knowledge

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Is there effort needed to remember semantic memory?

A

Yes

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Is there time stamping in semantic memory?

A

No

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

What detail is included in semantic memory?

A

Some will have context (remember when you learnt it) but mainly don’t

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

What brain area is semantic LTM in?

A

Frontal lobe

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

What is procedural LTM?

A

Memory of skills and actions

Muscle memory

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Is there effort needed to remember procedural LTM?

A

No

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Is there time stamping in procedural LTM?

A

No

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

What detail is included in procedural LTM?

A

Step by step instructions of personal experience

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

What brain area is procedural LTM in?

A

Cerebellum

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

What is episodic LTM?

A

Personal memories of events

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Is there effort needed to recall episodic LTM?
Yes
26
Is there time stamping in episodic LTM?
Yes
27
What detail is included in episodic LTM?
Context and emotion
28
What brain area is episodic LTM in?
Frontal and temporal lobe
29
What type of LTM is the hardest to forget?
Procedural
30
What type of LTM is easiest to forget?
Semantic
31
Strength of types of LTM - research support
Got participants to perform various memory tasks while having their brains scanned by PET scanner Semantic and episodic memories in pre-frontal cortex Episodic memories in frontal and temporal lobe Semantic in frontal lobe Procedural in cerebellum
32
Limitation of types of LTM - only two types
Cohen and Squire Procedural is separate but episodic and semantic stored together in one LTM store Episodic and semantic = declarative memory Procedural = non-declarative memory
33
Strength of types of LTM - practical application
Episodic memories could be improved in older people who had mild cognitive impairment Benefits of being able to distinguish between types of LTM Enables specific treatment to be developed
34
Strength of types of LTM - Clive Wearing
Cannot convert STM to LTM Episodic LTM damaged Procedural LTM in tact
35
Strength of types of LTM - HM case study
Had hippocampus removed due to epileptic fits LTM significantly impaired Semantic and procedural in tact Episodic severely impaired
36
Counterpoint types of LTM - HM case studies
HM had brain damage which means it's difficult to know exact parts which had been affected Damage may not be exact cause of memory loss Unable to conclude causal relationship between brain area and type of LTM
37
What does MSM stand for?
Multi-Store Model of Memory
38
What is the MSM?
Describes how information flows through the memory system
39
What does the MSM look like
Stimulus from environment ↓ Sensory register ↓ attention STM ↓ maintenance rehearsal ↑ retrieval LTM
40
What is the sensory register?
All stimuli from the environment pass into the SR Part of memory is not one store but five, one for each sense (iconic, echoic)
41
How does the sensory register code?
Modularity specific, depends on the sense Iconic = visual, echoic = acoustic
42
What is the duration of the sensory register?
Very brief Less than half a second (250ms)
43
What is the capacity of the sensory register?
Very high (over one hundred million cells in one eye, each strong data)
44
How does information transfer from SR to STM?
Information passes further into memory only if ATTENTION is paid to it
45
What are the three characteristics of STM?
Coding = acoustic Duration = 18 seconds unless information rehearsed Capacity = 7 +/- 2 times before some forgetting occurs
46
What is the transfer from STM to LTM?
Maintenance rehearsal
47
What is maintenance rehearsal?
Occurs when we repeat (rehearse) material to ourselves Can keep information in STM as long as we rehearse it If rehearse it for long enough, passes into LTM
48
What are the three characteristics of LTM?
Coding = semantic Duration = potentially unlimited Capacity = potentially unlimited
49
What is the transfer from LTM to STM?
Retrieval
50
What is retrieval?
When we want to recall information stored in LTM, has to be transferred back to STM by a process called retrieval
51
Limitation of MSM - different types of LTM
Only includes one type of LTM Semantic, procedural, episodic Clive Wearing - episodic damaged - semantic and procedural in tact
52
Limitation of MSM - more than one type of rehearsal
Elaborative rehearsal Add meaning to it, which allows information to be stored in LTM
53
Strength of MSM - research support
Baddeley Mix up words that sound similar using STM (acoustic) Mix up words that have similar meanings using LTM (semantic) STM and LTM separate
54
Limitation of MSM - more than one STM
KF case study Amnesia after motorcycle accident STM recall for digits poor when heard but better when read Separate STM for visual and auditory
55
What does WMM stand for?
Working Memory Model
56
What is the WMM?
Central Executive ↓ Phonological loop, Episodic buffer, Visuo-spatial sketchpad ↓ LTM
57
What is the central execute?
In charge of WMM Takes in incoming information Decides which STM system is going to code the information
58
What is the capacity of the central executive?
Very limited
59
How does the central executive?
Visual and auditory
60
What is the phonological loop?
Preserves the order in which information arrives Deals with auditory information (what you hear) Allows for maintenance rehearsal
61
How does the phonological loop code?
Auditory
62
What is the capacity of phonological loop?
2 seconds of what you say
63
What is the visuo-spatial sketchpad?
Records arrangement of objects in visual field
64
What is the visuo-spatial sketchpad?
Records arrangement of objects in visual field
65
How does the visuo-spatial sketchpad code?
Stores visual information
66
What is the capacity of the visuo-spatial sketchpad?
3-4 objects
67
What is the episodic buffer?
Temporary store for information
68
How does the episodic buffer code?
Visual and auditory
69
What is the capacity of the episodic buffer?
4 chunks of information
70
Strength of WMM - KF case study
Suffered brain damage after motorbike accident Had poor STM for verbal information but could process visual information normally Verbal information = phonological loop Visual information = visuo-spatial sketchpad
71
Strength of WMM - practical application
Create diagnostic tools for neurodivergent conditions such as ADHD Help in educational settings, creating support/resources to ensure people with ADHD have full access to education
72
Strength of WMM - research support
Baddeley's dual task study Must be separate components processing visual and verbal information Found it hard to carry out two visual tasks at the same time than to do a visual and verbal task Both visual tasks compete for same subsystem
73
Limitation of WMM - reductionist
MSM detailed about process of how information moves to each store whereas WMM isn't
74
Limitation of WMM - lack of clarity
Baddeley Central executive is most important but the least understood component of working memory Must be more to central executive than 'attention' Unsatisfactory component and challenges integrity of WMM
75
What does EWT stand for?
Eye Witness Testimony
76
What is EWT?
A retelling of something that happened by someone who witnessed it
77
What are the factors affecting EWT?
Anxiety Leading questions Post-event discussion
78
What is Yerkes-Dodson law?
Low anxiety means you won't pay attention High anxiety means you're overwhelmed
79
What effect did Johnson and Scott believe anxiety had?
Negative
80
What was the procedure of Johnson and Scott's experiment?
Participants sat in waiting room, believing they were going to take part in lab study Participants then asked to pick man from set of 50 photos (STM) Low-anxiety = casual conversation, man walked through with pen and grease on hands High-anxiety = heated argument, man walked through with knife and blood on hands
81
What were the results of Johnson and Scott's experiment?
49% identified in low anxiety 33% identified in high anxiety Tunnel theory of memory argues people have enhanced memory for central events Weapon focus as a result of anxiety can have this effect
82
What is weapon focus?
Tunnel theory of memory where individual focuses on weapon and ignores other details
83
What effect did Yuille and Cutshall believe anxiety had?
Positive
84
What was the procedure of Yuille and Cutshall's experiment?
In an actual crime, gun-shop owner shot a thief dead (natural experiment) 13/21 witnesses participated in experiment Interviewed 5 months after incident and information recalled compared to police interviews at the time (LTM) Witnesses rated how stressed they were at time of incident
85
What were the results of Yuille and Cutshall's experiment?
Witnesses very accurate in what they recalled and there was little change after 5 months (age/weight/height less accurate) Participants with highest level of stress were more accurate (88% - 75% in less-stressed group) Anxiety doesn't appear to reduce accuracy of EWT in real-world event and may enhance it
86
Strength of anxiety in EWT - practical application
Enhanced cognitive interviews
87
Limitation of anxiety in EWT - alternative explanations
Pickel et al Unusualness rather than anxiety caused poor recall Participants had poor recall of a hairdresser's video when raw chicken and gun shown
88
What are leading questions?
A question phrased in a certain way to lead you to a certain answer Closed questions
89
Do leading questions increase or decrease the accuracy of EWT?
Decrease
90
What was the procedure of Loftus and Palmer's experiment?
Participants individually watched the same value Each participant asked a question with a critical word - verb Verbs: smashed, contacted, hit, collided, bumped
91
What were the results of Loftus and Palmer's experiment?
Smashed had highest speed estimate in mph (40.5) Contacted had lowest speed estimate in mph (31.8)
92
Strengths of Loftus and Palmer experiment
Reduced demand characteristics - distractor questions, independent groups design Standardised - same car crash video
93
Limitations of Loftus and Palmer experiment
No protection from harm - cannot replicate to check validity Low confidence sample - most students didn't drive, driving experience = confounding variables
94
Strength of leading questions - research support
Participants came back a week later and asked a series of questions Critical leading question was "Did you see any broken glass?" 32% who had "smashed" as verb reported seeing broken glass 14% of who "hit" reported seeing broken glass
95
What is post-event discussion?
A conversation after an event
96
Does post-event discussion increase or decrease the accuracy of EWT?
Decrease
97
What type of experiment did Gabbert conduct?
Lab
98
What was the procedure of Gabbert's experiment?
Paired participants watched a video of the same crime but from different perspectives so they could see elements the other couldn't Participants discussed what they'd seen on the video before individually completing a test of recall Control group - no discussion and no errors
99
What was the sample of Gabbert's experiment?
60 students and 60 older adults
100
What were the results of Gabbert's experiment?
71% of participants wrongly recalled aspects of the event they didn't see but heard in the discussion 60% of people said someone had committed the crime even though they didn't see it Evidence of memory conformity
101
What is memory contamination?
When eye witnesses have influence each other
102
Strength of post-event discussion - Gabbert's experiment
Lab experiment High control of variables
103
Limitation of post-event discussion - Gabbert's experiment
Lacks ecological validity Not prepared to see a crime in real-life Can't dictate how long a discussion it
104
Strength of post-event discussion - practical application
Advise police officers to separate witnesses as soon as possible and educate witnesses Bodna's research - educate eye-witnesses about post-event discussion and its negative impact - reduces memory conformity and increases accuracy of eye-witnesses
105
Strength of post-event discussion - research support
Paterson and Kemp Asked participants to watch a crime and then were given 1 or 4 pieces of information Leading questions, media report, third party post-event discussion, co-witness post event discussion Post-event discussion more influential than the media report or leading questions
106
What are the types of cognitive interview?
Report everything Reinstate the context Change perspective Reverse order
107
What is a report everything cognitive interview?
The eyewitness must state all information even if they think it is INSIGNIFICANT OR IRRELEVANT
108
How does a report everything cognitive interview improve EWT?
Recall all information even if it seems insignificant Trigger further memories
109
What is a reinstate the context cognitive interview?
Eye witnesses MENTALLY go back to the scene of the crime
110
How does a reinstate the context cognitive interview improve EWT?
Adds cues to help the witness retrieve information
111
What is a change perspective cognitive interview?
Ask the eye-witness to report the crime from another person's perspective, i.e. VICTIM OR CRIMINAL
112
How does a change perspective cognitive interview improve EWT?
To help the witness add detail to their statement
113
What is a reverse order cognitive interview?
Ask the eyewitness to state the crime in a NON-CHRONOLOGICAL order, i.e. from the end of the crime to the beginning
114
How does a reverse order cognitive interview improve EWT?
Reduces the likelihood of false information being stated STOPS SCHEMAS
115
What is an enhanced cognitive interview?
Usually for victims Informal Reduce anxiety Open questions Build trust/rapport
116
Strength of cognitive interviews - ethical to use
Research into effectiveness of CI technique has been useful in improving the interview techniques in Brazil where people traditionally use interrogation, torture and ill treatment Findings suggest CI technique could be used to develop new approach in interviewing witnesses in Brazil Lead to reduction in amount of miscarriages of justice
117
Limitation of cognitive interviews - practicality
Takes longer than standard police interview Eyewitnesses may have to wait longer to give their report Money = costs to train police officers and costs more in terms of working hours
118
Limitation of cognitive interviews - different procedures
Thames Valley Police don't use "changing perspectives" Others tend to use only "reinstate the context" and "report everything"
119
What is the encoding specificity principle?
If a cue is to help us to recall information it has to be present at encoding and retrieval We need the cue to find a memory
120
What are the types of cue?
Context-dependent State-dependent
121
What is a context-dependent cue?
Location If location is different to when you learnt it and when you are trying to retrieve it, you will forget
122
What was Godden and Baddeley's research?
Group 1 = learn on land, recall on land Group 2 = learn underwater, recall on land Group 3 = learn on land, recall underwater Group 4 = learn underwater, recall underwater Groups 2 and 3 forgot more information than 1 and 4
123
What is a state-dependent cue?
How you feel If the state you are in when you retrieve information is different to when you learn, you will forget
124
What was Carter and Cassidy's research?
Gave participants anti-histamine tablets which makes them drowsy Group 1 = learn on drug, recall on drug Group 2 = learn not on drug, recall on drug Group 3 = learn on drug, recall not on drug Group 4 = learn not on drug, recall not on drug Groups 2 and 3 forgot more information than 1 and 4
125
Limitation of retrieval failure - ecological validity
In the real world, location differences aren't that extreme Real world application Lacks ecological validity
126
Strength of retrieval failure - research support
Baker et al Students randomly placed in 4 groups Group 1 = learn chewing gum, recall chewing gum Group 2 = learn chewing gum, recall not chewing gum Group 3 = learn not chewing gum, recall chewing gum Group 4 = learn not chewing gum, recall not chewing gum Immediate recall showed little differences After 24 hours - group 1 = 11 words - group 2 = 8 words - group 3 = 7 words group 4 = 8.5 words
127
What is interference?
One memory blocking access to another memory
128
What are the types of interference?
Retroactive Proactive
129
What is retroactive interference?
When a new memory interferes with an old memory
130
What is proactive interference?
When an old memory interferes with a new memory
131
When is interference worse?
When information is similar
132
Strength of interference - research support
Baddeley and Hitch Asked rugby players to recall names of teams they'd played against during rugby season More games they'd played (more interference), poorer the recall Shows interference operates in same everyday solutions, increasing validity
133
Limitation of interference - alternative explanation
Tulving and Psotka Gave participants list of words organised into categories (not told what they were) Recall of first list was 70% but fell with each new list (interference) When given a cued recall list (names of categories), recall rose again to 70% Interference causes just a temporary loss of access to material still in LTM - retrieval failure
134
Strength of interference - drug studies support
Material learnt just before taking diazepam recalled better than a placebo group a week later (retrograde facilitation) Drug stopped new information reaching brain areas that process memories so it could not retroactively interfere with stored information