memory Flashcards
define encoding
how information is stored
define capacity
the amount of information you can remember
define duration
how long you can remember information for
what are the two models of memory
multi store model
working memory
what is the main idea behind the multi store model
it is made up of separate and unitary (singular) stores such as long term and short term
according to the multistore model, how does information process from environmental stimuli to the long term memory ( basically what are the stages for the MSM)
environmental stimuli enters the sensory memory, if attention is payed it reaches the short term memory. here maintenance rehearsal is used to maintain the memory in this store. elaborate rehearsal allows information to reach long term memory. retrieval is the process of restoring long term into short term
what is the duration, encoding and capacity of sensory memory
duration - 1/2 a second
encoding - sensory registers such as iconic register, echoic register and haptic register
capacity - unlimited
what research evidence is there to test the duration of sensory memory
Sperling
he asked participants to remember as many letters as they could from a four by three grid he displayed for half a second. they could only recall around 4 letters.
what is the duration, encoding and capacity of short term memory
duration - 18-30 seconds
encoding - acoustically
capacity - 7+/- 2
what research evidence is there to test the duration of short term memory
Peterson and Peterson
participants read nonsense trigrams to participants and then got them to count backwards in threes from a random 3 digit number. they found that after a 3 second, 80% of participants could recall the trigram. but after 18 seconds only 10% could
what research evidence is there to test the capacity of short term memory
Jacobs
used a digit span, where participants were showed a sequence of letters and had to recall the correct order, started with three items up until they couldn’t recall the whole sequence - found that participants averagely recalled between 5 and nine items
Miller - confirmed it was 7+/-2 and that capacity could be increased by chunking.
What research is there that tests the encoding of short term memory
Baddeley
Participants learnt a list of words with two conditions for STM
- they learnt words that sounded the same and were asked to recall immediately - words were forgotten
- they learnt words that meant the same and were asked to recall immediately- memory is fine
What is the duration, encoding and capacity of LTM
Duration - unlimited
Encoding - semantically
Capacity - unlimited
What research is there that tested the duration of long term memory
Bahrick
- used a sample of ex high school students between ages 17 and 74
- participants were tested by doing a photo recognition test, asked to identify their former classmates from 50 photos
- found that 90% of participants were from a different able to correctly match names and faces 14 years after graduation and 60% after 47 years
What research is there that tested the encoding of long term memory
Baddeley
- given two more conditions
- participants learnt words that sounded the same and asked to recall after 20 minutes - memory is fine
- participants asked to learn words that meant the same thing and asked to r call after 20 - gets forgotten
What research is there that tested the capacity of LTM
wagenaar
- created a diary of 2400 events over 6 years and tested himself on the recall of the events. He did really well
Give a strength of the multi store model
- There is a lot of evidence to suggest the existence of separate memory stores
- researchers showed participants a slideshow of words one at a time and then asked them to write down as many as they would. Participants were more likely to remember words from the beginning ( in LTM) and then end ( STM) and not the middle
- suggesting MSM is made of multiple stores as participants couldn’t recall information that wasn’t in long term or short term
Give a weakness of the MSM
-oversimplified especially about stores being singular
-this can be seen through further research into HM. It was found that HM lost any semantic and episodic memories in his long term memory however he still has procedural memories as he was able to learn to use a walking stick.
- This can suggest that the multi store model is reductionist as it simplifies down the idea that we may have more than one type of long term store and therefore they aren’t singular
Give another strength of the MSM
- there is real life application to provide evidence of there being separate stores through the case of HM.
- This is where a man’s hippocampus was removed and he could make any new or recall any old long term memories however he did have short term memory.
- This suggests how the short term and long term store must be separate as information could be stored and retrieved in one and not the other, increasing the reliability of the model as it can be applied to a real life scenario.
Give another weakness of the MSM
- there is a lot of the research into the duration, capacity and encoding of each of the stores is flawed.
- In the study into the duration of short term memory, Peterson and Peterson completed their research in a lab by having people recall nonsense trigrams after a specific period of time whilst counting backwards in threes.
-Due to this researching being completed in a lab, it lacks ecological validity as well as mundane realism as the task of remembering a trigram isn’t something that would be done in everyday life meaning it isn’t an accurate measure of duration and can’t be generalised outside a lab. This therefore impacts the generalisability of the model as a whole as the research cant be used to back up the theory.
What are the four sections of the Working memory model
Central executive
Phonological loop
Visuo-spatial sketch pad
Episodic buffer
what is the main idea behind the working memory model and what case study highlights this
focuses on the short term memory
- it was clear from the multi store model short term memory isn’t one singular separate store
- case study of KF - he had a digit span of two when the numbers were read out to him but it was normal when he saw them visually - suggesting how there must be multiple stores.
Give a description of the phonological loop and what two things it contains
- It is the “inner voice”
- is a temporary storage system for holding verbal information in a speech base form
- contains the phonological store and a he articulatory loop
What is the phonological store
Hold / stores spoken words - it is passive storage
What is the articulatory loop
Rehearses informed information from phonological stores via subvocal rehearsal - it is active
what is the capacity and encoding of the phonological loop
capacity - limited - 2 seconds
what evidence is there for the phonological loop
Baddeley
- gave participants brief visual exposure of 5 words and asked them to recall them in the same order
- condition one used single syllable
- condition two used polysyllabic
- he found that participants recalled more short words therefore concluding the capacity of the phonological loop is determined by word length not number of items
give a description of the visuo-spatial sketchpad and what are the two things it contains
referred to as the inner eye, it deals with visual and spatial information. visual cache and inner scribe
what is the visual cache and the inner scribe
cache - stores visual info
inner scribe - deals with spatial relationships
what is the episodic buffer
function is to provide a general storage facility, holding and combining information from the VS, PL, STM and LTM
what is the capacity of central executive
it is limited, you can only pay attention to one thing per store at any time, such as one visual and one verbal
what is the central executive responsible for
coordinating information from sensory, coordinating dual task performance and retrieval from long term memory
what evidence is there that backs up the idea of the central executive having limited capacity
there were two groups
one performed two visual tasks, one of which was following a light
the other had one visual task being the light and one verbal task.
group two did better due to the central executive only being able to pay attention to one thing per store as any time.
give a strength of the working memory model
- there is naturalistic evidence for the idea of separate stores in the short term memory
- the study of KF - a man had a digit span of two when numbers were read aloud however had normal digit span when saw them visually, this suggests how the stm isn’t singular and there must be multiple stores. this increases the reliability of the model as it can be applied to a real life scenario
give a weakness of the working memory model
give another strength of the working memory model
give another weakness of the working memory model
what are the two types of long term memory
declarative - knowing that/ being conscious
non declarative - knowing how/ being unconscious
what are procedural memories - give a brief description, it is declarative or not and give an example
- non declarative
- responsible for knowing how to do things
- memory of motor skills
- doesn’t involve a conscious thought
- strong memories and are not likely to be forgotten
- riding a bike, writing
what are semantic memories - give a brief description, it is declarative or not and give an example
- declarative
- information about facts of the world
- knowledge about the meaning of a word
- involves conscious thought
- easy to forget
- such as the name of a capital city
what are episodic memories - give a brief description, it is declarative or not and give an example
- declarative
- storing information about events we have experienced
- linked to emotions and the time and place the memory occurred
- involved conscious thought
- such as a birthday party
what brain scanning evidence is there about the three types of memories ( what are they associated with)
procedural - associated with the cerebellum - motor skills
episodic - associated with the hippocampus and frontal lobe
semantic - associated with temporal lobe
what are the similarities and differences between semantic and episodic memories
similarities
- both conscious
- both declarative
differences
- facts about the world or life events
- don’t often remember how its learnt or stored based on when and where it was learnt
- facts or personal
what are the similarities or differences between procedural and semantic memories
similarities
- both long term memories
differences
- motor skills and movement or facts and info
- unconscious or conscious thought and can verbalise
- difficult to forget or easy to forget
what are the similarities and differences between procedural and episodic memories
similarities
- both long term
differences
- motors skills and movement or life events
- unconscious or conscious thought and can verbalise
- difficult to forget and easy to forget
what are the two explanations for forgetting
interference theory
retrieval failure
according to the interference theory what is forgetting caused by, when does interference occur more
caused by two memories competing, we are unable to remember something because the memory is either being effected by a memory we already have or future learning
- when words become more similar
what are the two types of interference
proactive and retroactive
what is proactive interference
- when the new memory gets forgotten because an old memory is too strong
- the previous old memory interferes the new memory
what is retroactive interference
- when the old memory gets forgotten
- when the recent memory interferes with the old memory
what is the name of the study that can be used to provide evidence for retroactive interference, what type of experiment was it, what occurred in the study
Mcgeoch and Mcdonald
- lab experiment
- six groups of participants learnt a list of words, they then learnt a second list of words that were different for each group.
- synonyms, antonyms, unrelated, nonsense syllables, 3 digit numbers and a control group
- both groups only recalled the first list
what were the results of Mcgeoch and Mcdonalds study into retroactive interference and how does this link
group one (synonyms) had the worst recall
group six (control) had the best recall
- the first memory that group one had was being interfered with and therefore there is proof of retroactive interference, there is also proof that interference is higher when words are similar
give a strength of interference theory of forgetting
- there is research to back up the role of interference
- Mcgeoch and Mcdonald
- it is a valid explanation and provides scientific evidence
give a weakness of interference theory of forgetting
- theory is supported by a study that has methodological flaws
- briefly explain research and that the task was artificial therefore the study lacked mundane realism and ecological validity and the results can only be creditable for an artificial task and environment
- reducing the reliability of the study therefore in turn does the same for the theory
give another strength of the interference theory of forgetting
- it can be used to avoid instances of forgetting
- when learning two topics, don’t learn them at the same time.
- useful in schools and therefore has real life uses and increases the external validity of the theory
give another weakness of interference theory
- it isn’t the sole explanation for forgetting
- explain retrieval failure
- therefore the theory can be seen as reductionist as it doesn’t account for all the reasons we may forget
what does retrieval failure suggest about forgetting
forgetting occurs due to a lack of cues from when information was encoded compared to when it is trying to be recalled
what are the two main ideas of the cue dependence theory
- memory trace - something that is laid down and retained in a memory store as a result of the original perception of an event
- retrieval cue - a piece of information in the individuals environment as the time of encoding that matches that of the time of recall
what are the two types of cues that can cause forgetting if there is a lack
context cues and state cues
what is context dependent forgetting/ retrieval failure
relates to external retrieval cues and occurs when the external environment is different at recall than it was at encoding
what research is there that provides evidence for context dependent retrieval failure
Godden and Baddeley
- had groups of deep sea divers learn lists of words
1 - learnt on land recalled on land
2 - learnt on land recalled in water
3 - learnt in water recalled on land
3 - learnt in water recalled in water
what were the results of Godden and Baddeley’s research into context dependent retrieval failure, what does this mean?
- recall in the same environment was 40% better than recall in different environments
- in very different environments a lack of cues can lead to forgetting
what is state dependent forgetting/ retrieval failure
relates to internal cues and occurs when the internal environment is different at recall to how it was during encoding
what research is there that provides evidence for state dependent retrieval failure, what occurred and what were the results
Lang - Marijuana and memory
- participants hid a set of keys in their own house after smoking marijuana. the next day participants either had to find the keys whilst they were sober or whilst they were high. participants who were high whilst finding the keys found them faster and more often than those who were sober
give a strength of retrieval failure theory
- there is a study to support
- Lang weed study of Godden and Baddeley
- therefore providing valid evidence backing up the validity of the theory
give a weakness of retrieval failure theory
- there is flawed research
- Baddeley - the environments are very different, also not everyone is a diver
- lacks mundane realism and ecological validity
give another strength of retrieval failure theory
- there is practical application
- lack of retrieving info during exams, going upstairs and forgetting what you went for
- increases its external validity of the theory
give another weakness of retrieval failure theory
- there is an alternate theory
- interference theory - explain what it is
- reductionist - doesn’t account for all reasons we may forget information
define eyewitness testimonies
the ability of a person to recall first hand details of events such as accidents or crimes in order to give a statement to police or courts
what three specific factors that effect eye witness testimonies
- misleading information - leading questions
- misleading information - post event discussion
- anxiety
what is misleading information and what are the two types
incorrect information given to an eye witness usually after the event
- leading questions and post event discussion
what is a leading question
a question that, because of the way it is phrased, suggest a certain answer is required
how do leading questions impact the accuracy of eye witness testimonies? - give two explanations
response bias explanation - the eye witness response is altered but not the memory
memory substitution explanation - when the actual memory is altered
give the name of the researchers who looked into leading questions
Loftus and Palmer
what was the aim and procedure for Loftus and Palmers study
- to investigate the reliability of EWT, specifically on the accuracy of speed estimations
- in a controlled setting, 45 students were showed 7 clips of different accidents. after each clip participants were given a questionnaire where questions were asked including “about how fast where the cars going when they hit each other” - one group was given this question whilst the other four were given the verb smashed, collided, bumped, contacted.
what were the results and the conclusion that can be made from these results in Loftus and Palmers study
- contacted = mean speed of 31.8mph
- hit = mean speed of 34mph
- bumped = 38.1 mph
- collided = 39.3mph
- smashed = 40.8mph
- misleading information in the form of leading questions can affect the reliability of EWT
give brief details about the study of Yuille and Cutshall
- natural experiment
- interviewed 13 people who witnessed an armed robbery
- took place over 4 months after the crime occurred
- it included two misleading questions
- however the witnesses provided accurate recall that matched their initial reports
- suggesting leading questions post event may not effect memory in real life
what are post event discussion and how does this link to EWT
when witnesses to a crime discuss the events with others. it can lead to memories being contaminated, leading to concerns about the quality, validity and reliability of evidence. this can be because of a number of factors
what are the three main factors that could lead to post event discussion and therefore damage EWT
retroactive interference / publicity
conformity
repeat interviewing
how might retroactive interference and publicity lead to the effects of PED
- after a discussion eye witnesses may remember new information replacing the original ones from the actual event
- if a witness sees something about the case online it may cause the memory of the event to be distorted
how might conformity lead to the effects of PED
after a discussion, eye witnesses may conform to social desirability if other eye witnesses said they saw something else, the eye witness may want to give the correct information and believe what they saw was wrong, or they want to fit in and therefore tell the police what the other witnesses said
how might repeat interviewing lead to the effects of PED
eye witnesses may start to doubt their answers if the same questions get repeatedly asked - this may led them to change their answers
what was the name of the researcher who looked into post event discussion
Gabbert et al
what was the sample and what occurred in Gabbert’s study
there were 60 participants - 30 students and 30 above 45
- 2 groups watched videos of different perspectives of the same crime - money being stolen, they were not aware they saw two different videos
- they then discussed what they saw in pairs
- 71% recalled information that was never shown in the video
give a few weaknesses of the research into misleading information
-lacked mundane realism - they were watching videos
- deception, participant harm - the researchers were installing false memories
- Loftus and Palmer - lacked population validity
- they were lab experiments
- there is real life research that contradicts it
give a few strengths of the research into misleading information
- Gabbet study has high population validity
- has real life applications
- has strong reliability
what is the inverted U theory
the idea that a person needs to be the perfect amount of anxious in order to have good recall
what research can be used when talking about anxiety and eye witness testimonies
Loftus
what occurred in Loftus’ study into anxiety and eye witness testimonies
- participants in waiting room expecting to be completing an experiment
- P’s heard a heated argument
- condition one ( low anxiety) - a man walked through holding a pen in his greasy hands
- condition two ( high anxiety) - a man walked in with a knife covered in blood
- participants where asked to identify the man who walked through the waiting room
what were the results and conclusion of Loftus’ study into anxiety and EWT
the low anxiety condition - there was a 49% accuracy of participants being able to recall the man
the high anxiety condition - there was 39% accuracy of participants being able to recall the man
- therefore anxiety leads to worse recall
what is weapon focus
the reason behind having bad recall as people who witness a violent crime are more likely to focus on the weapon rather than the culprits face, negatively effecting the recall ability
what study can be used to contradict the results found in Loftus’s study into anxiety and EWT
Johnson and Scott - they used a chicken, handgun, scissors and a wallet and in the first two conditions the recall was both bad but it was due to surprise not anxiety
what are cognitive interviews
a questioning technique used by the police to enhance retrieval of information from witnesses’ memories
what are the four memory retrieval techniques that the cognitive interview was originally made up of
- context reinstatement
- report everything
- change perspective
- change order
give a description of the technique context reinstatement used in cognitive interviews and explain how it improves memory recall
- the eye witness is asked to imagine the place they were in, imagine the environment and weather
- context cues help to remember more things
give a description of the technique report everything used in cognitive interviews and explain how it improves memory recall
- eye witness is encouraged to remember everything about the event even if it may seem insignificant
- memory works as a collective and therefore each little thing remembered can act as a cue to remember more
give a description of the technique change perspective used in cognitive interviews and explain how it improves memory recall
- the eye witness considers the event from another perspective
- removes personal bias and thoughts from the event
give a description of the technique change order used in cognitive interviews and explain how it improves memory recall
- the eye witness changes the order they give the report in, going backwards or from the middle
- memories can be effected by schemas, our personal idea of the order an event occurs in and therefore changing the order prevents this from happening
give research that backs up the idea that cognitive interviews enhance recall
Geiselman et al
- had participants watch a crime video, two days later they had three interviews
- standard interview, hypnosis interview and cognitive interview
- the cognitive interview caused more facts (41.2) to be recalled compared to standard (29.4)
give two strengths and two weaknesses of using cognitive interviews as a way of enhancing recall of EWT
- get a lot of information
- research to back it up
- see any inconsistencies
- takes a lot of time so police might not use it
- overwhelming for EW and they may get confused
- requires money to train police to do them
