Memory Flashcards
What is the multi store model of memory and what are its features?
Proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin 1968
Sensory Register -(attention)-> STM -(rehearsal)-> <-(retrieval)- LTM
What is the coding, capacity and duration of the sensory register in the MSM?
Coding - modality specific
Capacity - very large
Duration - very short
What is the coding,capacity and duration of the LTM in the MSM?
Coding - semantic
Capacity - unlimited
Duration - very long
What is the coding capacity and duration of the STM in the MSM?
Coding - acoustic
Capacity - 7+-2
Duration - 18s
What are some strengths of the MSM?
Jacobs - found the capacity of the STM is 7+-2
Glanzer and Cunitz - Found the STM and LTM are separated as words at the beginning and end of the list are easier to recall
Bahrick - Found the duration of the LTM is very long
What are some limitations of the MSM?
Cognitive tests of memory models are highly artificial - means they lack mundane realism and lack generalisability
There are different types of LTM which the MSM does not account for
The capacity of the STM can be altered
What are the different types of LTM?
Episodic
Semantic
Procedural
What is the episodic LTM?
‘Time stamped’ experiences and events which can be accessed consciously and are expressed in words
What are some limitations to the types of LTM?
Generalising studies to explain memory is problematic
Types of LTM may not truly be distinct (episodic becomes semantic overtime)
What is the procedural LTM?
Unconscious memories of skills often learnt in childhood which are NOT consciously recalled
What is the semantic LTM?
Facts, meanings and knowledge which can be accessed consciously and are expressed in words
Episodic becomes semantic overtime
What are some strengths of the types of LTM?
Clive Wearing - Has retrograde amnesia, so suffers from having no episodic memory
Varagha-Khadem - found children with damage to the hippocampus not parahippocampus corticles had episodic amnesia but were still able to learn semantic info
What is the working memory model and what are its features?
Founded by baddeley and Hitch 1974) which was created to replace the STM in the MSM
Central executive
Phonological loop
Viso-spatial sketchpad
Episodic buffer (not added until the 2000s)
What is the central executive in the WMM?
Receives sense information, controls the attention and filters information
Limited in capacity and capable of dealing with only one strand of info at a time
What is the phonological loop in the WMM?
Processes sound info - only has a capacity of 2 seconds
What is the visuospatial sketchpad in the WMM?
Processes visual codes and spatial information
What is the episodic buffer in the WMM
Acts as a general store
What are some strengths of the WMM?
Baddeley - when asked to do two visual or a visual and a verbal task it was found that performance was better when they were not using the same processor, suggests the VSS and PL are separate systems
Shallice and Warrington - After a brain injury KF had selective impairment to his STM but visual functioning was not affect, suggests the PL and VSS are seperate
WMM is more accurate than the STM component in the MSM
What are some limitations of the WMM?
Impossible to directly observe the processes of memory
There are issues with external factors in the studies, so therefore they lack mundane realism and cannot be generalised
Criticised the central executive as it does not have a full explanation of its function
What are the explanations for forgetting?
Interference - Proactive/Retroactive
Retrieval failure due to absence of cues - Stage dependent cues, Context dependent cues, Cue dependent forgetting
What is proactive interference?
Old information disrupts new - Interference works forward in time when old information is already stored it interferes with recalling something new
What is retroactive interference?
New info disrupts old - interferences works backwards in time
What is context dependent cues?
When aspects of our external environment works as cues to memory
What is stage dependent cues?
Aspects of our internal environment works as cues to memory
What is cue dependent forgetting?
Information is in the LTM but forgetting happens due to absence of appropriate cues encoded at the same time
What are some strengths of explanations for forgetting?
Schmidt - sent a questionnaire to 211 11-19 year olds, found the more times an individual moves homes the less names they could recall
Research into forgetting has practical applications
What are limitations to the explanations for forgetting?
Interference and cue theory may only explain a temporary loss of info not a permanent loss
Interference only explains forgetting when two sets of info are similar and learnt close together
What are factors affecting the accuracy of EWT?
Post event contamination
Leading questions
Anxiety
What is post event contamination?
The recall of events by one witness alters the accuracy of another witness’s recollection
What are leading questions?
Questions which imply a particular answer - causes substitution/response bias
How does anxiety affect the accuracy of EWT?
High anxiety may decrease recall due to the weapon effect
What does Bartlett argue about the factors affecting the accuracy of EWT?
Argued memory is not an accurate recording of events, it is reconstructed in recalling and may produce errors
What are some strengths of factors affecting the accuracy of EWT?
Loftus and Palmer - Car crash words + video clip
Bodner - found when participants were warned about the danger of post event discussion witnesses changed their EWT less
What are some limitations of factors affecting the accuracy of EWT?
Research that deceives participants and causes anxiety breaks ethical guidelines
Yuille + Cutshall - FOund when interviewed four months after a shooting, 13 witnesses resisted misleading info and those who had the most anxiety produced the most accurate EWT
How do you improve the accuracy of the EWT?
Fisher and Geiselman suggested the cognitive interview as an improvement
What are some factors of the cognitive interview in improving the accuracy of the EWT?
Report everything
Context reinstatement
Recall in reverse order
What are some strengths of improving the accuracy of EWT?
Cost benefit to using additional resources - CI reduces crime
What are some limitations of improving the accuracy of EWT?
CI is not effective in improving the recognition of success
CI are time consuming
