Memory

Question 1

Name and outline the study which investigated the capacity of STM

Answer 1

Jacobs 1887
Read out 4 digits to participants who had to recall them out loud in the correct order. If recalled correctly, the researcher reads out 5 digits and so on until the participants cannot recall the order correctly - this is the individuals digit span.
Mean span for digits is 9.3 and for letters its 7.3

Question 2

What is coding? Coding for STM and LTM?

Answer 2

The format in which information is stored.
STM - Acoustic, LTM - Semantic

Question 3

What is duration Duration for STM and LTM?

Answer 3

The length of time for which information can be stored.
STM - 18 seconds, LTM - Lifetime

Question 4

Strength and limitation on research on coding

Answer 4

Consistent evidence. Baddeley’s finding that STM is coded acoustically and LTM semantically has stood the test of time. Been an important step in our understanding of memory that led to the MSM
Artificial materials. Not meaningful to participant and doesn’t reflect most everyday memory activities. It may not tell us much about coding in different memory tasks in everyday life. When processing more meaningful information people may use semantic coding for STM tasks. Limited application.

Question 5

Limitation and counter for research on duration

Answer 5

Artificial stimuli. Peter and Peterson used artificial nonsense syllables which doesn’t reflect everyday memory activities where we are trying to remember meaningful info. Lacks external validity.
However, Bahrick et al 1975 has high external validity as researchers investigated meaningful memories (names and faces)Reflect a more “real” estimate of the duration of LTM.

Question 6

Strength and limitation of research on capacity

Answer 6

Consistent over time. Jacobs finding have been replicated and confirmed by other better controlled studies. Valid test of digit span.
Overestimated capacity. Cowan 2001 reviewed other STM capacity research and concluded that capacity of STM is only 4 +-1

Question 7

What is capacity. Capacity of STM and LTM

Answer 7

The amount of information a memory store can hold.
STM - 5-9, LTM - Unlimited

Question 8

Name and outline the procedure which investigated the duration of STM

Answer 8

Peterson and Peterson (1959) Participants were given nonsense trigrams (e.g. ZFB) · Had to count backwards in threes from a large three-digit number (to prevent mental rehearsal) for varying periods of times ·
Correct recall of trigrams after 3 seconds= 80% · Correct recall of trigrams after 18 seconds= 3% · Suggests STM duration= about 18 seconds

Question 9

Name and outline the study which investigated the duration of LTM

Answer 9

Bahrick et al. (1979) 400 participants aged between 17 and 74 years were shown a set of photos and names (some random and some from old yearbooks) and were asked to identify ex-school friends.
Those who’s left high school in last 15 years identified 90% of faces and names. Those who’d left 48 years previously identified 80% of names and 70% of faces · Suggest that memory for faces is long lasting

Question 10

Name and outline the study which investigated the coding of STM and LTM

Answer 10

Baddeley 1966. Gave different lists of words to 4 groups of participants to remember:
Group 1 – words sounded similar (e.g. cat, cab, can)
Group 2 – words sounded different (e.g. pit, few, cow)
Group 3 – words with similar meanings (great, large, big)
Group 4 – words with different meanings (e.g. good, huge, hot) Participants were shown original words and asked to recall them in correct order ·
When recalled immediately (recall from STM), they did worse with acoustically similar words. Info with similar sounds conflicted with each other.
When recalling list after 20 minutes (recall from LTM), they did worse with semantically similar words. Words with similar meanings conflicted with each other.
Suggest that information is coded acoustically in STM and semantically in LTM/

Question 11

Explicit and implicit meaning. Types of LTM that are each.

Answer 11

Conscious “knowing that” knowledge - semantic and episodic
Unconscious “knowing how” knowledge - procedural

Question 12

Coding, capacity and duration of sensory register

Answer 12

Sensory specific, very large, very limited (milliseconds)

Question 13

Define attention

Answer 13

Information from the environment that we notice is transferred from the sensory register to the STM

Question 14

Define maintenance rehearsal

Answer 14

Repeating information over and over in order to keep it in your STM

Question 15

Define prolonged rehearsal

Answer 15

Rehearsing information for long enough that it transfers from our STM into our LTM

Question 16

Define retrieval

Answer 16

The process by which we transfer material back into our STM from our LTM so that we can recall it

Question 17

Outline the case study which shows support for the MSM

Answer 17

Patient HM (Scoville and Milner, 1957):
HM suffered from epilepsy and had his hippocampus removed during surgery.
After surgery, his LTM was damaged - he could read the same magazine repeatedly without remembering it and couldn’t recall what he had eaten earlier the same day
His STM was still intact - he performed well on tests of immediate span
Supports the central feature of the MSM - That there are two separate and independent memory stores (STM and LTM)

Question 18

State the components of the MSM and the researchers who developed it

Answer 18

Sensory register, STM, LTM
Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968)

Question 19

2 Strengths of the MSM

Answer 19

Scientific research support from controlled lab studies- Baddeley 1966 found that we mix up words that sound similar when using STM and words with similar meanings when using our STM . Supports the idea that these 2 memory stores are independent. - Artificial
Case study of HM. - Generalising.

Question 20

2 Limitations of the MSM

Answer 20

Idea of unitary stores too simple - STM varies in the kind of memory stored there. Shallice and Warrington Case Study of KF who had amnesia. STM for digits was very poor when read aloud to him, but recall was much better when he could read the digits to himself. Suggests there must be one STM store to process visual info and another to process auditory info - WMM has this.
LTM involves more that prologues rehearsal - Craik and Tulving found that what maters is the type of processing when rehearsing rather than the amount. They gave participants a list of nouns and asked a question that asked shallow or deep processing. Shallow ( Whether a word was printed in capital letters. Deep ( Whether the word fitted in a sentence). Participants remembered more worlds in the task involving deep rehearsal. Suggests another type of rehearsal not considered by the MSM - elaborative rehearsal where you think and consider what information means.

Question 21

Define Semantic memory and example

Answer 21

Memory for facts and knowledge shared by everyone. London is the capital of the UK. You need a sharpener to sharpen a pencil.

Question 22

Define episodic memory and an example

Answer 22

Memory for personal events in an individual’s life. Recalling the first time you rode a bike.

Question 23

Define procedural memory and example

Answer 23

Memory for actions, tasks and skills. driving a car or surfing

Question 24

Case study for different types of LTM

Answer 24

Clive Wearing was a world class musicisn
Contracted a viral infection which attacked his central nervous system and led to total amnesia due to damage to his hippocampus and associated areas
He is unable to store new memories. He lost his episodic memory so he has no memory of his wedding, cannot remember his musical education but his procedural memory is still intact as he can still play the piano

Question 25

2 strengths for types of LTM

Answer 25

Evidence from case studies support separate types of LTM. In both the case studies of HM and Clive Wearing, their episodic memory was impaired but procedural still in tact. Clive Wearing lost his episodic memory so he has no memory of his wedding, cannot remember his musical education but his procedural memory is still intact as he can still play the piano. Patient HM he could read the same magazine repeatedly without remembering it and couldn’t recall what he had eaten earlier the same day but he was able to do procedures such as talking and walking.
Real life applications. Identification of different types of LTM allow psychologists to develop specific treatments to target certain types of memory. (Belleville et al 2006) found episodic memories can be improved in older people with mild cognitive impairment. Participants performed better on a test of episodic memory after intervention.

Question 26

2 limitations for types of LTM

Answer 26

Conflicting neuroimaging research linking types of LTM to areas of the brain. Buckner and Peterson (1996) reviewed evidence regarding the location of semantic and episodic memory. Concluded that semantic memory is located in the left side of the prefrontal cortex and episodic memory is on the right. However, other research links left prefrontal cortex with encoding of specific memories and the right prefrontal cortex with episodic retrieval.
Evidence has suggested that semantic and episodic memories are stored together. Cohen and Squire (1980) found procedural memories represent one type of LTM but that semantic and episodic memories are stored together in one memory store called declarative memory (memories that can be consciously recalled)

Question 27

What is the Working Memory Model and who developed it?

Answer 27

Proposed by Baddeley and Hitch (1974). A representation of STM concerned with the part of the mind that is active when we are temporarily storing and manipulating information.

Question 28

Name the 4 main parts of the WMM

Answer 28

Central executive, Episodic buffer, Visuo-spatial sketchpad, Phonological loop.

Question 29

2 components of the phonological loop

Answer 29

Articulatory control system
Phonological store

Question 30

2 components of the visuospatial sketchpad

Answer 30

Inner scribe
Visual cache

Question 31

What is the role of the Central executive

Answer 31

It has a supervisory function and directs attention to the slave systems

Question 32

What is the role of the episodic buffer

Answer 32

Binds and integrates information from all of the slave systems and sub-components and sends the information to the LTM

Question 33

What is the central role of the phonological loop

Answer 33

Processes auditory information (both written and spoken material).

Question 34

What is the central role of the visuospatial sketchpad

Answer 34

Processes visual and spatial information in a mental space (‘inner eye’)

Question 35

Role of the two subcomponents of the PL

Answer 35

Articulatory control system (‘inner voice’) – keeps info in PL through vocal repetition and is linked to speech production
Phonological store (‘inner ear’) – stores words recently heard for a short period of time

Question 36

Role of the two subcomponents of the visuospatial sketchpad

Answer 36

Inner scribe – handles spatial relationships between objects
Visual cache – processes visual info about form and colour of an object

Question 37

WMM Predictions on dual task performance

Answer 37

If two tasks make use of the same component, they cannot be successfully performed together. If two tasks make use of different components, it should be possible to complete them together at the same level as if done separately.

Question 38

Outline a study that supports the WMM through dual task performance

Answer 38

Baddeley et al. (1975):
Participants had to carry out two tasks simultaneously
First, they were asked to track a dot of light whilst describing letter ‘F’ (undertaking two visual tasks). Then they were asked to carry out visual and verbal task simultaneously
Performance was worse when completing two visual tasks, compared to completing visual and verbal task. When completing two visual tasks they compete for limited resources of visuo-spatial sketchpad= support for WMM

Question 39

Outline a strength of the WMM (not dual task performance)

Answer 39

Evidence from brain damaged patients. Some patients have shown damage in ability to process verbal info but not visual. Shallice and Warrington (1970) - Patient KF after brain damage had difficulty processing sounds (verbal) but could recall digits and letters (visual). Suggests PL damaged but other components in tact.

Question 40

2 limitations of WMM

Answer 40

Central executive is too vague. Eslinger and Damasio (1985) studied patient EVR who had a cerebral tumour removed. He performed well on tests requiring reasoning, which suggested his CE was intact. However, he had very poor decision making skills which suggests it’s not wholly intact. He could spend hours deciding what to eat).
The use of brain damaged patients as evidence. The process of brain injury is traumatic and may have effects on the behaviour individuals leading them to performing worse on certain tasks. May have other difficulties such as paying attention which could affect their scores.

Question 41

What is interference? When is it most likely to occur?

Answer 41

When one memory disrupts your ability to recall another memory. More likely to happen when memories are similar

Question 42

What are the two types of interference?

Answer 42

Retroactive and proactive

Question 43

Define proactive interference

Answer 43

Forgetting due to old memories disrupting our ability to recall new memories

Question 44

Define retroactive interference

Answer 44

Forgetting due to new memories disrupting our ability to recall old memories

Question 45

Name a real life study of interference

Answer 45

Baddeley and Hitch (1977)
Asked rugby players to remember names of teams they’d played in that season week by week. Not all players played in every match. Those players who had played the most matches forgot the most opponent teams as the matches had interfered with their memory. This supports interference theory as it would predict those who played the most games would recall the least.

Question 46

Research support for interference.

Answer 46

McGeoch and McDonald (1931)
Three groups given word list A to learn, then had a 10 minute interval where they had to memorise a new list
Group 1 – list of synonyms to words in list A
Group 2 – list of nonsense syllables
Group 3 – list of numbers Participants then had to recall words in list A · Group 1 had worst recall (12%) compared to most effective recall in group 3 (37%)
Shows that more similar memories are more likely to interfere with our recall.

Question 47

Strength of interference theory

Answer 47

Can help advertisers to maximise the effectiveness of their campaign.
Danaher et al. (2008) found that recall and recognition of an advertised message was impaired when participants were exposed to two competing adverts in a week. In order to enhance memory, companies should run multiple exposures on one day rather than spread out across a week - educed interference from competitors advertisements.

Question 48

2 limitations of interference theory

Answer 48

Interference and cues:
Interference is temporary and can be overcome by using cues. Tulving and Psotka (1971) gave participants list of words organised into categories, one list at a time. Recall avergaed about 70% for the first list but became progressively worse as participants were given additional lists (proactive interference). However, at the end of the procedure participants were given a cued recall test. Recall rose to 70% again. Interference causes a temporary loss but material is still in the LTM and can be accessed by cues - not predicted by interference theory.

Doesn’t take into account individual differences:
Some people less affected by proactive interference. Kane and Engle (2000) found those with a greater working memory span are less likely to experience proactive interference. They gave participants 3 word lists to learn and those with low working memory spans showed greater interference when recalling second and third lists.

Question 49

Limitation of research on interference theory

Answer 49

Artificial research - Most research of interference, such as that by McGeoch and McDonald was carried out in labs using artificial materials (word lists are not meaningful). May not relate to everyday use of memory as they are not reflecting real life situation. Baddeley and Hitch used a more realistic setting but research gender biased as they only used male participants and population validity issue as only used rugby players.

Question 50

Define retrieval failure

Answer 50

Forgetting information due to the absence of cues; the information is available but not accessible

Question 51

Define the encoding specificity principle

Answer 51

Cues at learning must be present at retrieval to aid memory

Question 52

2 types of retrieval failure forgetting

Answer 52

State-dependent forgetting.
Context-dependent forgetting.

Question 53

What is context-dependent forgetting?

Answer 53

Forgetting due to external cues. Memory is more effective if the external environment is the same at learning and recall

Question 54

What is state-dependent forgetting?

Answer 54

Forgetting due to internal cues. Memory is more effective if internal state is the same at learning and recall.

Question 55

Outline research support for context-dependent forgetting

Answer 55

Godden and Baddeley (1975)
Deep sea divers learned a list of words either underwater or on land and then asked to recall the words either underwater or on land, creating four conditions:
1. Learn on land - recall on land
2. Learn on land - recall underwater
3. Learn underwater - recall underwater
4. Learn underwater - recall on land
Recall was 40% lower in non-matching conditions as the external cues available at learning were different from the ones at recall = retrieval failure

Question 56

Outline research support for state-dependent forgetting

Answer 56

Carter and Cassaday (1998)
Participants were given anti-histamine drugs making them drowsy. They then had to learn lists of words and passages of prose and then recall info, creating four conditions:
1. Learn on drug - recall on drug
2. Learn not on drug - recall when not on it
3. Learn on drug - recall when not on it
4. Learn not on drug - recall when on it
Recall was significantly worse in conditions where there was a mismatch between internal state at learning and recall

Question 57

Research support for encoding specificity principle

Answer 57

Tulving and Pearlstone (1966):
Participants had to learn a list of 48 words belonging to categories
Asked to recall the words in one of 2 conditions:
Free recall – not given categories
Cued recall – given categories
Participants in free recall condition recalled 40% of words, whereas participants in cued recall recalled 60% of words

Question 58

2 strengths of retrieval failure

Answer 58

Research support:
- Tulving and Pearlstone (cued recall)
- Godden and Baddeley (deep sea divers - context dependent forgetting)
- Carter and Cassaday (antihistamine drugs - state dependent forgetting)

Real-life application:
Can be used to increase recall in real life situations such as taking exams. Abernathy found students performed better on a test when they took it in the same room with the same teacher as when they learnt the information. Although this may be unrealistic, it has been found just thinking of the room where you revised was as effective as actually being in the same room at the time of retrieval.

Question 59

2 Limitations of retrieval failure

Answer 59

Recall v recognition:
Context effect may not apply to all types of memory. Godden and Baddeley (1980) replicated their underwater study but used a recognition test instead of recall. Participants had to say whether they had recognise a word read out to them instead of retrieving it themselves. They found there was no context-dependent effect in recognition test as performance was the same across all conditions.
Problems with encoding specificity principle:
Relationship between encoding cues and later retrieval is a correlation rather than a cause. Cues do not cause retrieval, they are just associated with it.

Question 60

Describe Eye Witness Testimony

Answer 60

The evidence provided in court by a person who witnessed a crime, with the aim of identifying the perpetrator

Question 61

What is misleading info?

Answer 61

Your memory of an event can be corrupted by later info

Question 62

Outline the two types of misleading info

Answer 62

Leading questions – the way a question is worded can influence your recall
Post event discussion – when witnesses discuss an event and their memory can get contaminated by things that other people say

Question 63

Evidence for leading questions - first study

Answer 63

Loftus and Palmer (1974)
45 students were asked to watch video of car crash · Asked a question (‘how fast were the cars going when they….. each other?’) and the verb used in the question was changed for each group. The verbs used were contacted, bumped, collided, hit, smashed and varied in their degree of ‘charge’ · It was found the more charge behind the verb resulted in a higher speed estimate as their memories were distorted.

Question 64

Evidence for leading questions - second study

Answer 64

Loftus and Palmer (1974)
They carried out another experiment whereby they got participants to watch the video of the car crash and asked the same question - How fast were the cars going when they “contacted, bumped, collided, hit, smashed” A week later they were asked whether they saw any broken glass, even though there was no broken glass in the video · Participants who were given the more charged verbs= more likely to report seeing broken glass as their memory of original event was distorted due to one word in a sentence

Question 65

Evidence for post-event discussion

Answer 65

Gabbert et al (2003)
Pairs of participants watched a video of a crime which was filmed from different points of view – each participant could see elements in the event that the other couldn’t. Pairs then discussed what they had seen before completing a recall test.
71% of participants mistakenly recalled aspects of event they did not see but had picked up in discussion.
In a control group where there was no discussion, this figure was 0%

Question 66

1 Strength of misleading info on EWT

Answer 66

Real-life application:
Has huge implications on the criminal justice system which relies on EWT for prosecuting crimes. Loftus’ research reveals the need for the police to be careful in the phrasing of their questions so as not to distort memory.

Question 67

3 Limitations of misleading info on EWT

Answer 67

Artificial tasks:
lacks ecological validity as they were carried out in labs and therefore do not represent real life. This may lead to participants not taking them seriously and/or they are not emotionally aroused in the way that they would be in a real accident. Yuille and Cutshall (1986) found that witnesses to an armed robbery in Canada gave very accurate reports of the crime for four months after the event despite initially being given two misleading questions. This suggests that misleading information may have less influence on real-life EWT than Loftus’ research suggests.

Individual differences:
older people are less accurate than younger people when giving eyewitness reports. Many studies have found that, compared to younger subjects, elderly people have difficulty remembering the source of their information, even though their memory for the information itself is unimpaired. As a result, they become more prone to the effect of misleading information when giving testimony.

Demand characteristics:
Studies in a lab setting. May want to appear helpful and attentive. And such when they are asked a question they don’t know the answer to, they guess, especially if it’s a yes/no question.

Question 68

What is anxiety?

Answer 68

A state of emotional/physical arousal

Question 69

What is the Yerkes-Dodson law?

Answer 69

States that extreme anxiety (too high or too low) reduces EWT accuracy and moderate anxiety enhances EWT accuracy

Question 70

What is the weapon focus effect?

Answer 70

A weapon in a criminal’s hand distracts attention from other features (because of the anxiety it creates) and therefore reduces the accuracy of identification of the perpetrator in a crime

Question 71

Name 2 studies that suggest anxiety has a positive impact on EWT

Answer 71

Yuille and Cutshall (1986) - Canadian robbery
Christianson and Hubinette (1993) - Swedish Bank robbery

Question 72

Outline the study that shows positive effect of anxiety (banks)

Answer 72

Christianson and Hubinette (1993):
Questioned 58 real witnesses to Swedish bank robberies. Witnesses were either victims (bank teller= high anxiety) or bystanders (employee/customer= low anxiety). Interviews were conducted 4-5 months after robberies. It was found that all witnesses had good memories for details of robbery and the most anxious witnesses (victims) has the best recall

Question 73

Outline the study that shows positive effect of anxiety (gun)

Answer 73

Yuille and Cutshall (1986):
Real-life shooting in a Canadian gun shop where shop owner shot thief dead. Witnesses were interviewed 3-5 months later and compared with the original police interview made at the time of shooting. Witnesses were asked to rate how stressed they had felt at time of incident.
It was found that witnesses accounts were very accurate and there was little change in accuracy after 5 months. Participants with highest stress were most accurate (about 88% compared to 75% for less-stressed group)

Question 74

Evidence for anxiety decreasing accuracy of EWT

Answer 74

Johnson and Scott (1976):
Participants were asked to wait in a reception area of a lab where they overheard an argument in the next room before a man leaves the room. There were two conditions:
- Low anxiety condition. participants overheard argument in lab and man walks out holding a pen, with hands covered in grease
- High anxiety condition. participants overheard heated argument, sound of breaking glass and crashing chairs before a man runs out holding bloodied letter opener
Both groups were shown 50 photos and asked to identify the man they saw leaving the room. Findings showed 49% accuracy in the low anxiety condition and 33% accuracy in high anxiety condition

Question 75

1 Strength of anxiety on EWT and counter

Answer 75

Support from real-life studies:
Yuille and Cutshall and Christianson and Hubinette (1993) both carried out in the context of a real crime. This creates the real levels of anxiety experienced by an eye witness during a real crime. High external validity. COUNTER - Lower internal validity. Researcher loses control in those three months and participants could by influenced by the media or post-event discussion.

Question 76

2 Limitations of anxiety on EWT

Answer 76

Focus on weapon not caused by anxiety:
Pickel (1986) arranged participants to watch a thief enter a hair salon with either scissors (high threat, low surprise), a handgun (high threat, high surprise), a wallet (low threat, low surprise) or raw chicken (low threat, high surprise). Identification of man least accurate in high surprise rather than high threat.

Problems with the Yerkes Dodson law:
However, it ignores the fact that anxiety has many elements – cognitive, behavioural, emotional and physical. It focuses solely on the idea of physical arousal and assumes this is the only aspect linked to EWT, but the interconnection of the elements of anxiety is likely to cumulatively cause anxiety, not just the physical element alone.

Question 77

What is the cognitive interview and who developed it?

Answer 77

A method of interviewing witnesses for a crime to help them retrieve more accurate memories.
Geiselman et al. (1984)

Question 78

4 components of the cognitive interview

Answer 78

1. Recall everything
2. Context reinstatement
3. Reverse the order
4. Change perspective

Question 79

Describe recall everything

Answer 79

Witness asked to report all details of event, even those that may seem trivial or irrelevant

Question 80

Describe context reinstatement

Answer 80

Involves the witness mentally re-creating the situation in their mind, such as details of environment (e.g. weather, time etc.) and emotions (e.g. what they were feeling)

Question 81

Describe Reverse the order

Answer 81

Witnesses are asked to describe the event in a different chronological order

Question 82

Describe change perspective

Answer 82

Witness is asked to mentally recreate the situation from another person’s point of view

Question 83

How does context reinstatement improve accuracy of memory?

Answer 83

Makes memories accessible through contextual and emotional cues – helps to retrieve memories

Question 84

How does Change Perspective improve accuracy of memory

Answer 84

Disrupts effects of schemas on recall as schemas generate expectations of what would have happened and therefore it could be the schema that is recalled rather than what actually happened

Question 85

How does Reverse The Order improve accuracy of memory

Answer 85

Prevents people from reporting expectations of how event happened rather than the actual events and prevents dishonesty as it’s harder to produce untruthful account if have to reverse it

Question 86

How does recall everything improve accuracy of memory

Answer 86

Memories are interconnected and such recollection of trivial details may cue other important memories

Question 87

1 Strength and Counter for the Cognitive Interview

Answer 87

Supporting Research evidence:
Kohnken et al (1999) meta-analysis. Found an average increase of 41% correct info generated by Cognitive Interview vs standard interview.
Milne and Bull (2002) found using a combination of report everything and context reinstatement significantly higher than using one or no components.
COUNTER - However, Kohnken also found a 61% increase in incorrect info.

Question 88

2 Limitations of the Cognitive Interview

Answer 88

Time consuming:
Requires a lot of time and training. Kebbell and Wagstaff (1999) reported significant problems with the Cognitive Interview in practice. Takes more time as must establish rapport and allow them to relax. Also requires special training which many forces are not able to provide adequate time for.

Comparisons are difficult:
Thames Valley police use a version that does not include “Change Perspective” component. Other forces use only “Context Reinstatement” and “Report everything”. Hard to evaluate its overall effectiveness as in the real world it is not just one procedure but a collection of related techniques.