Memory Flashcards
memory store
where information goes to
what are the 3 memory stores?
-sensory register
-short term memory
-long term memory
properties of memory stores
coding- format in which info is stored
capacity - how much
duration - how long
main categories of (en)coding
sensory coding-: store sensory information
coding is modality specific(depends on the sense)
acoustic- store info about sound
visual code - store info about images
semantic coding- : stores info according to its meaning
types of LTM
semantic - knowledge about the world
procedural - memory of actions and skills, how to do smth.
episodic - memory of specific episodes/persona experiences
episodic and semantic require conscious recall and are declarative
procedural–non-declarative
features of the sensory register
(coding, capacity, duration)
capacity—- large
duration—–1-2 secs
coding—– sensory codin
features of LTM
(coding, capacity, duration)
capacity—- unlimited
duration—- lifetime
coding—– semantic coding
features of STM
(coding, capacity, duration)
capacity—- 7+_ 2 items
duration—- 18-30 secs
coding—– acoustic encoding
what is the multi store model of memory?
-3 separate memory stores
-info is unidirectional
(sensory register–>STM—->LTM)
- memory transferred across memory stores
Steps for how MSM works
sensory register—->#STM—>#LTM
1) sensory info(sound, smell,sight) pass into sensory register
2) info is passed from sensory register to STM only if you PAY ATTENTION to it
3) info stays in STM by maintenance rehearsal(repeating info to yourself)
4)info passed from STM to LTM by prolonged rehearsal.
5) in order to recall info , retrieval must occur— passing info back into STM
evidence for coding (A01)
Baddeley
used acoustically similar and semantically similar words and tested the recall from pps.
immediate recall—acousticlly worse
recall after 20 min—-semantically worse
conc—
STM- acoustic
LTM- semantic
evidence for capacity(AO1)
Jacobs(STM)
-developed digit span
-participants had to recall digits in correct order which increased until they could no longer recall
digit span=9.3
Miller(STM)
7+-2 items
can be improved by chunking items into meaningful units
evidence for duration(A01)
Peterson and Peterson
participants shown a trigram of cosnonant syllables(KRF) and a 3 digit number while counting backwards.
after 18 seconds, 90% failed recall
STM without rehearsal is 18-30s
Barhick et al
tested free recall and photorecognition of participants with their high school yearbook
findings-
after 50 years, 70% recognised their classmates
30% could free recall
support for LTM
evaluate evidence for coding (A03)
Baddeley
s- founded two distinct memory stores
helped for the development of MSM
w- artificial stimuli, meaningless stimuli, limited application of findings
evaluate evidence for capacity(AO3)
-lacks internal validity
Jacob’s research conducted a long time ago and early reserach into psych lacks adequate control.
results may not be accurate
reliability and validity questioned
evaluate evidence for duration(A03)
Bahrick
s-high ecological validity
meaningful memories, real life event
Peterson and peterson
w- artificial stimuli, meaningless stimuli, does not reflect everyday life, lacks external validity
evaluation for types of LTM
(S)-case studies. Clive wearing had damage to his episodic memory but not his procedural memory. he still had semantic memory(understood the meaning of words) and walk. Clive, who was a professional musician still knew how to play and read music. Supports that there are diff types of LTM.
(W)- A weakness with this study is it is based on a single individual, therefore, making it difficult to generalise the findings to the wider population as deficits in memory may be unique to this one person.
(S)-Brain imaging studies shows that diff parts of brain are active when we ise 3 diff types of LTM. the hippocampus is active-epidisodic
temporal-semantic
cerebellum-procedural
(w)- squire and zola
people with damage to their temporal lobe had impairments in their semantic and episodic memories. They mayn’t be distinct memory stores.
alternative exp.—> semantic memories start as episodic memories
what is elaborative reherasal
linking information to existing knowledge
weakness of MSM
more than one STM store
KF study(clinical case)
KF had amnesia
KF’s short term memory was poor when he heard words
KF’s short term memory was better when he read words
there may be separate stores for auditory and visual information in STM=STM is not only acoustic coding
working memory model models….
short term memory
central executive
supervisory role
manages activity of slave systems
allocates the other memory stores tasks
limited storage and capacity(1-2 secs)
CE can become overloaded if you are somehow distracted, there is limited attention
what does the central executive NOT do?
store information
phonological loop
-acoustic coding
-phonological store—- stores words you hear
articulatory loop—– allows maintenance rehearsal (inner voice)
visuo-spatial sketchpad
visual cache- stores visual data
inner scribe- stores spatial data
capacity= 3-4 items
episodic buffer
temporary store.
capacity=4 chunks
it can pass info to LTM to form episodic memories
evaluation for WMM
strengths—clinical support
- KF study
-brain imaging studies shows that different parts of the brain are active during verbal and visual memory tasks- suggests separate memory stores
weaknesses— KF study
we dk if he had other cognitive impairments which may have affected his performance in the memory tasks
central executive is described as just attention. may also have many separated components( independent cognitive processes) but we dk.
it is not falsifiable
w- evidence relies on lab studies so it may not generalise(lacks mundane realism)
Factors that make our memories less accurate leading to false memories:
-schemas
incorrectly modify memories to be more consistent with our schema
-leading questions
wording of the question influences how participants answer
-post event discussion
when eyewitnesses talk about event with each other
-anxiety
negative effect of anxiety - accuracy worse
positive effect of anxiety- accuracy better
research support for leading questions (AO1)
loftus and palmer
how accurate can pps remember a video of a car crash?
Post-watch, they asked leading questions for how quickly the cars were going. They changed the intensity of the verb for when the cars hit
ie. contacted//smashed
contacted=lower mph
smashed -higher mph
implicit memory
information we unconsciously remember ie. procedural memories
explicit memory
information we have to consciously work to remember ie. semantic and episodic memories.
cognitive interview
questioning technique that improves an eyewitnesses’s testimony by aiming to retrieve accurate memories
name the 4 cognitive interview techniques and explain each one
-reinstate the context
mental reinstatement
witness describes thoughts, feelings and experiences at time of event
helps identify external and internal cues that triggers their memory
-report everything
report tiny details
triggers internal and external cues
gives important information
-change perspective
recall an event from someone else’s perspective—–> reduces the witness’ reliance on their own schema— stops them from misremembering memories
-reverse the order
remember event in a different chronological order. because ppl are more likely to remember what happened at the start/end than the events in the middle
define misleading information
before an eyewitness is asked to recall what happened, they are exposed to misleading information
loftus and palmer ‘glass’ finding
participants that were asked the question with’ smashed’ in it were more likely to report seeing broken glass when there wasn’t any broken glass
strength of Loftus and Palmer research
practical application for police and lawyers
lead to the development of the cognitive interview which avoids the use of leading questions
open ended questions are asked instead
more accurate information and prevents people from being charged for crimes they did not commit
what is post event discussion?
witnesses of the same event discuss the event after it has occurred
Gabbert et al research on post event discussion(AO1)
-participants were paired
-they watched the same crime but from different perspectives(angles)
-they discussed the (video)crime afterwards
-71% recalled information they had gathered form other witnesses
happens because of memory conformity— people go along with others to win social approval or they believe the other witness is right
define weapons focus
concentration of a witness’s attention on a weapon—- reduces their ability to remember other details of the crime(tunnel theory)
Johnson and Scott - negative effect of anxiety on eyewitness testimony study (AO1)
-Participants were in a waiting room for a study
low anxiety condition
argument next door. man walks out of room holding a pen
high anxiety condition
argument next door(with chairs crashing etc.)
man walks out holding a bloody knife
after, pps asked to identify the face of the man from a selection of 50 photos
49% in low anxiety group could do so compared to 33% in the high anxiety group
can be explained by weapons focus
Yuille and Cutshall- positive effects of anxiety
-natural experiment
-people who were eyewitnesses to a real life robbery
-13 witnesses interviewed
-4 months after incident
those who reported the most stress reported the most accurate accounts of the robbery 4 months later
fight or flight effect on memory
improves your alertness
improves your memory
Yerkes-Dodson law- explanation for effects of anxiety on eyewitness testimony
lower levels of anxiety produce lower levels of recall which improves with more anxiety, up to a certain point (maximum accuracy). After this point, any further stress will have a negative effect on recall.
like the effect of temperature on enzymes
-think about it.
evaluation of yuille and cutshall research
-high ecological validity
-lack of control of extraneous variables-pps could have been influenced by post event discussion
e.g. those who reported higher distress and more accurate accounts had a closer proximity to crime scene
proximity= extraneous variables
makes it harder to establish a cause and effect relationship between high anxiety and eyewitness testimony
limitation of johnson and scott study
ethical issues
what leads to interference
the more similar information is, the more it leads to interference
define interference
when 2 memories conflict each other and get mixed up
