MEMORY

Question 1

short-term memory

Answer 1

Limited capacity
coding acoustically
capacity is between 5-9 secs on average
duration is 18 seconds

Question 2

Long-term memory

Answer 2

Permanent memory store
coding semantic
unlimited capacity

Question 3

coding

Answer 3

the way in which information is stored

Question 4

Research on coding

Answer 4

Baddelay have a different or words to four groups of people to remember:
1: Acoustically similar words - cat. cab, can
2: Acoustically dissimilar words- soil, blue, top
3: semantically similar words- great, large, big
4:semantically dissimilar words- good, bad, huge

Results: Participants were able to recall worse in acoustically similar words when asked immediately (STM). When using the LTM participants did worse semantically similar
Shows information coded acoustically in STM and semantically in LTM

Question 5

capacity

Answer 5

the amount of information that can be held in a memory store

Question 6

research on capacity

Answer 6

Digit Span:
- Joseph Jacobs conducted a study in which in was able to see the capacity of the STM
the researcher reads our 4 words and then the participants recalls this out loud if they get it correct the number of words increase
The mean span for digits was 9.3 items
Then mean for letter was 7.3

Question 7

duration

Answer 7

the length of time can be held in memory

Question 8

Research on duration

Answer 8

Duration of STM
Margaret and Peterson: tested 24 students in 8 trials each
Each trial the student was given a constant syllable to remember and a 3 digit number. They were also told to count backwards to prevent any mental rehearsal EG: 3,6,9,12,15,18

Findings: After 3 secs aver recall= 80%. After 18 secs aver recall = 3%
duration maybe arounds 18 seconds unless verbal rehearsal takes place

Duration of LTM:
Bahrick: studied 392 American participants aged 17-74 and were tested using their high school year books
1) Photo- recognition test - 50 photos were used, some from eh participants high schools photos
2) free recall test - where participants recalled all the names of their graduating class
Participants tested within 15 Years had 90% recall accuracy in photo recognition and 60% in free recall test
After 48 years photo recognition went to 70% and 30% in free recall test

Question 9

Evaluation: Separate memory stores (strength) + Artificial stimuli (weakness)

Answer 9

A Strength of Baddeley study is the clear difference between the two stores as it has later resect to back it up as the idea of STM uses mostly acoustically coded and the LTM uses semantically coded, thus helps our understanding go the memory system which led to the multi- store model

A weakness of Baddeley study was the artificial stimuli rather than the meaningful material as the words of the list had no personal meaning to the participants, so the findings doesn’t tell us much about coding in different memory tasks especially in everyday life as many people uses semantic coding for STM tasks, this shows that the study findings have limited application

Question 10

Evaluation: A valid study (strength) + Not so many chunks (weakness)

Answer 10

A strength of Jacob’s study is that it has been replicated, as many old study lack adequate controls as some of the participants digit spans might have been underestimated as they were distracted during the testing (confounding variables).
Jacob’s findings have been conferred in better controlled studies , this shows that it was a valid test of digit span in STM
A weakness of the Millar research is that he may have overestimated the STM capacity as Cowan reviewed other research and concluded that the capacity f the STM is only about 4 (plus or minus 1) chunks. This suggests that the lower end of Miller’s estimate ( 5 items) is more appropriate than 7 items

Question 11

Evaluation: High external validity (strength) + Meaningless stimuli in STM study (weakness)

Answer 11

One strength of Bahrick study has high external validity as researchers investigated meaningful memories as when studies on LTM were conducted with meaningfulness pictures to be remembered recall rates were lower. This suggests that Bahrick findings reflect a more “real” estimate of duration of LTM

Question 12

Episodic memory

Answer 12

A long term memory store for personal events, it includes memories of when the events occurred and of the people, objects, places and behaviours involved.
Memories from this store have to be retrieved consciously with effort
EG: what happened when you went to the dentist

Question 13

Semantic memory

Answer 13

A long term memory store for our knowledge of the world, this includes facts and our knowledge go that words and concepts means. These memories need to be recalled deliberately
EG: how to apply to university

Question 14

procedural memory

Answer 14

A long term memory store for our knowledge of how to do things, in which means the memories that we have learnt a skill. The recall of these memories are simultaneously quick and require no effort
EG: tying your shoes laces

Question 15

Evaluation: LTM

Answer 15

A strength is case studies like Clive wearing, and HM, in which both men have severally impaired their episodic memory but they semantic memory was intact as they understood the meaning of words
EG: As HM couldn’t recall stroking the dog but he knew what a dog was , as their procedural memory was intact as well. As they both knew how to walk, talk and speak and Clive Wearing could still read, sing and play the piano. This evidence supports Tulvings’s view as there are different memory stores in the LTM s on store can be damaged but the other are unaffected.

A strength is that the understanding of LTM allows psychologists to help people with memory problems, as when people age they lend to have memory loss. Research shows that it is specific to the episodic memory as it becomes harder to recall personal memories that occurred relatively recently though the past memories remain intact. Sylivie Belleville devised an intervention to improve episodic memories in older people as trained participants preformed better on a test of episodic memory after training than in a control group. This shows that distinguishing between the different types of LTM enable specific treatment to be developed.

A weakness is the conflicting research findings links types of LTM in areas of the brain, as Buckner and Peterson reviewed evidence regarding the location of the semantic and episodic memory, and found that the semantic memory is located in the left side of the prefrontal cortex and the episodic is on the right. Other research links to the left prefrontal cortex with encoding episodic memories and the right encoding episodic retrieval. This challenges any neurophysiological evidence to support the different types of LTM as there is poor agreement on where each type might be located

Question 16

Interference

Answer 16

forgetting because one memory blocks another causing on or both memories to be distorted or forgotten

Question 17

Interference theory

Answer 17

Used for the LTM as when information reaches the LTM the memories are harder to access and locate which makes “forgetting” occur

Question 18

Proactive interference

Answer 18

occurs when you cannot learn a new task because of an old task that had been learnt. When what we already know interferes with what we are currently learning – where old memories disrupt new memories.

Question 19

retroactive interference

Answer 19

occurs when you forget a previously learnt task due to the learning of a new task. In other words, later learning interferes with earlier learning – where new memories disrupt old memories.

Question 20

Research effects of similarity

Answer 20

McGeoch and McDonald studied retroactive interference by changing the amount of similarity between 2 sets of material
Participants had to learn a list of words until they had 100% accuracy
there were 6 groups:
1) Synonyms- words with the same meanings as the original
2) Antonyms- words that have opposite meanings as the originals
3) words unrelated to the original ones
4) constant syllables
5) three-digit numbers
6) no new list ( controlled conditions)

Findings:
Participants were asked to recall the original list of words the most similar materials produced the worst recall. This shows that the strongest interference is when memories are similar.
This can be explained uses interference as PI - previously stored information make new similar information more difficult to store
RI- new information overwrites previous similar memories because of the similarity

Question 21

Evaluation: Interference

Answer 21

A strength is the evidence of interference in everyday life, ad Baddeley and Hitch conducted a study using rugby players and asked them to recall all the opposition teams they have played in the season. Players who played in the majority of the games had the most interference and the poorest recall. This shows that interference can operate in the real world which increase the validity of the theory.

A strength is the evidence of retrograde facilitation.
Coenen and Luijtelaar have participant a list of wards than asked them later to recall the list, they found that when the list of words were learn under the influence of diazepam, recall a week later was poor compared to the group with the placebo. But when taking the drug before learning the list the recall was better than the placebo, the drug improved recall beforehand.
Findings shows that forgetting can br due to interference as reduce the interference and you reduce the forgetting

Wixted suggests that the drug prevents new information reaching parts of the Brian involved in processing memories so it can’t interfere retroactively with information that has already been stored

A weakness us that interference is temporary and it can be overcome by using cues and hints as Tulving and Psotka gave participants lists of words organised into categories, one list at a time. Recall aver was 70% for the first list but become progressively worse as participants learned additional information. At the end of the procedure participants were given a recall cue test, then recall rose to 70% this shows that interference causes temporary loss of accessibility to material that is still in the LTM, a finding nor predicted by interference theory.

Question 22

Retrieval Failure

Answer 22

It occurs when we don’t have the necessary cues to access memory, the memory is available but not accessible unless a less suitable cue is provided

Question 23

Context dependent forgetting: recall based on external cues (weather)
Research

Answer 23

Godden + Baddeley
Studied sea divers that worked underwater and tested to if training would be better or hindered underwater or land
1) Learn on land - recall on land
2) Learn underwater - recall underwater
3) Learn on land - recall underwater
4) Learn underwater - recall on land

Findings:
Accurate recall wad 40% lower in non matched conditions, to conclude that the external cues available at learning were different from the ones available at recall which lead to retrieval failure

Question 24

state dependent forgetting: recall based on internal cues (feelings)
Research

Answer 24

Carter + Cassady
Gave a drug to their participants for treating hay fever, this made the participants drowsy as this creates a internal psychological state different form “normal”
1) Learn on drug - recall on drug
2) Learn not on drug - recall not on drug
3) Learn on drug - recall not on drug
4) Learn not on drug - recall on drug

Findings
when their were mismatched conditions the memory test was significantly worse, so when the cues are absent there is more forgetting

Question 25

Evaluation: Retrieval Failure

Answer 25

A strength is that there is a lot of research that supports retrieval failure explanation. As both of the studies show the lack of relevant cues at recall that can lead to context and state dependent forgetting in everyday life. Memory resider argued that retrieval failure is possibly the main reason for forgetting in the LTM. The evidence shows that retrieval failure occurs in real situation as well as in highly controlled conditions in a lab

A limitation is that context effects nay depend substantially in the type if memory being tested. Godden and Badly replicated the study but read a recognition test instead of recall and participants has t say whether they recognised the words from the list, when recognition was tested here was no contact dependent forgetting and all the performance was the same in all conditions, this suggests that revival failure is limited for forgetting because it only applies when a person has to recall information rather than recognises it

Question 26

misleading information

Answer 26

Incorrect information form the witness to an eyewitness usually after the event

Question 27

leading question

Answer 27

a question in which the way it is phrased suggests a certain answer
EG: Was the knife in his left hand? leads a person to think that’s where the knife is

Question 28

Factors affecting the accuracy of eyewitness testimony: Misleading information
RESEARCH

Answer 28

Loftus + Palmer
45 participants were arrange to watch clips of a car accident and then asked questions about the accident. In the critical question participants were asked to describe how fast the cars were travelling about?
There were five groups of participants and each group was given a different verb in the critical question.

Findings:
The mean estimated speed was 31.8mph and the verb contacted. The verb smashed has a mean of 40.5mph, the leading question biased the eyewitness recall of event

Question 29

post-event discussion

Answer 29

when there is more than one witness to an event. Witnesses may discuss what they have seen with other people, the stay influence the accuracy of each witness’s recall of the event

Question 30

Research on post-event discussion

Answer 30

Gabbert:
studies participants in Paris abs each participant watched a video of the same crime but filmed form different positions, this meant that each participant could see elements of the event that the other could not. Both participants then discussed what they had seen before individually completing the test of recall

Findings:
That 71% of the participants mistakenly recalled aspects of the video that they hadn’t seen in the video but picked it out form the discussion, the corresponding figures in the control group was 0%, the evidence measures memory conformity

Question 31

Evalution: