Memory Flashcards
What are the different processes of memory?
Encoding , storage and retrieval
What is an episodic memory?
It’s linked to the hippocampus and is the ability to recall events that have happened in our lives eg. Birthdays
What are semantic memories?
It’s linked to the temporal lobe and is our knowledge of the world eg how an orange tastes like
What are procedural memories
It’s linked to the cerebellum and is our memory of functional skills such as riding a bike
Describe the multi store model
The multi-store model is a representation of how memory works.it describes how information moves from one store to another.
We in initially get information from our sensory receptors which goes into our sensory store which has limited capacity and duration of less that 0.5 seconds. however if attention isn’t paid that information is lost. If we pay attention the the information received, it goes into our short term memory story which has a capacity of 5-9 items and a duration of 30 seconds.information her is encoded acoustically and if not rehearsed the information will be forgotten finally the rehearsed information goes into our long term memory store which has an unlimited duration and capacity of a lifetime and is encoded semantically
Evaluate the multi-storey model
A strength of the multi store model is that it has real life application as it gives students an idea on how to revise efficiently and effectively as it suggests we remember information by rehearsing it.
A weakness is that it has contrasting evidence. It oversimplified the process of memory and fails to show how we can manipulate memory in our stm which another study has proven.
What is the primacy and recency effect
The idea that we tend to remember information that we heard of first or last
Describe Murdock serial position curve study
Murdock wanted to evaluate if the positioning of words on a list would affect how well people recalled if
He done this by getting 103 students to listen to 20 lists of 10-30 words. And asked them to recall the words to the experimenter. Results show that participants were able to recall words at the start and end of the list rather that the words in the middle showing that people recall more words at the start and end of a list.
Evaluate Murdock serial position curve study.
A weakness is that It was only tested on students therefore the findings are only specifically on students and we are not sure if others would also act this way so findings cannot be generalised to the rest of the population and be applied to real life
A weakness is that the experiment was done in a lab setting which creates an unnatural environment for participants which could lead to them being nervous and under pressure which could affect the results being taken therefore the experiment lacks validity.
What is the theory of reconstructive memories
The theory of reconstructive memories suggest that we tend to reconstruct memories on what we think probably or usually happens. Bartlett said we store fragments of information and when we need to recall it we piece them together and fill in gaps with schemas from our past experiences and memories which leads to an inaccurate memory
Evaluate the theory of reconstructive memories
A weakness is that the theory is backed up with bartletts own study he could’ve adjusted the results found to match his theory making it biased and unreliable.
A strength is that it has supporting evidence like bartletts war of the ghost study which does suggest that we do reconstruct memories which makes the study reliable.
Describe Bartlett’s war of the ghosts study
Bartlett wanted to see how memories are reconstructed when people are told to recall a story they have been told.
He done this by getting 20 people form a university in the uk and told them the wor of the ghost story. And 15 minutes later they had to tell the story to another participant and this then repeated like a game of Chinese whispers.participants were then told to recall the story after a few days, weeks months and years. Results show that the participants forgot some information and retold it with small changes based on what the expected to happen. The stories became more shorter and students altered it to their own experiences like some poeple said boats instead of of canoes. This shows that people remember fragments of information and reconstruct it based on what they think should happen.
Evaluate Bartletts war of the ghost study.
A weakness it that participants took part in several test and therefore causing order affects like becoming bored or tired which can alter the results that were found as it leads to inaccurate results. They could also guess the aim of the experiment erand show demand characteristics which would please or sabotage the experimenter.
Another weakness is that it was taken part in a lab which is an unnatural setting for the participants and could cause them to be nervous or under pressure and could affect the results therefore making it invalid.
What are the factors affecting memory
Interference, context, and false memories
Describe and evaluate the study of interference
The wanted to see what type of impact learning a second list of word has on the first list of words. Words
They done this by getting 12 participants to recall a list until they could with 100% accuracy.
They were then given another list to recall numbers and were testing for retoroactive and proactive interference.
Results show that synonyms had the strongest affect on recall and numbers affected recall the least.
Therefore, similar material produced the worst recall
Weakness only used 12 people so it’s difficult to generalise to population
Weakness repeated measures so participant could get bored or tired
