Memory Flashcards
currently only contains factors affecting and improving accuracy of eyewitness testimony
state what the response-bias explanation suggests could be the reason for why leading questions affect eye witnesses testimony
that the wording of the question has no real effect on the participants’ memories, but just influences how they decide to answer.
Give an example of a situation that could support the response-bias explanation
hint: what would a leading word like ‘smashed’ change a participant’s answer when describing speed estimates
When a participant gets a leading question using the word smashed, this encourages them to choose a higher speed estimate
What does the substitution explanation propose?
the wording of a leading question changes the participant’s memory .
what evidence could be used to support the substitution explanation bias?
hint: think Loftus and Palmer
in their (L&P’s) second experiment, participants who initially heard ‘smashed’ were later more likely to report seeing broken glass (there was none) than those who heard ‘hit’. the critical verb altered their memory of the incident.
Outline the procedure of Loftus and Palmer’s study
-45 participants (students) watched film clips of car accidents and then were asked questions abt the accident.
-5 groups of participants were given a different verb in the critical question “how fast were the cars going when they each other?”
-the verb used was either hit, contacted, bumped, collided or smashed.
what did loftus and palmer find in their study?
the verb ‘contacted’ resulted in a mean estimated speed of 31.8 mph. for the verb ‘smashed’, the mean was 40.5mph
what can be concluded from loftus and palmer’s study? (1 thing)
that leading questions do have an impact an eyewitness’s recall of an event
outline gabbert et al’s study on how post event discussion can affect eyewitness testimony
-participants were studied in pairs.
-each participant watched a video of the same crime , but it was filmed from different points of view.
-meaning tht each participant could see elements in the event tht the other couldnt.
-both participants then discussed wht theyd seen before individually completing a test of recall
what did gabbert et al find in their study?
researchers had found evidence of memory conformity as 71% of participants mistakenly recalled aspects of the even that they didn’t see in the video but had picked up in the discussion. the corresponding figure in a control group, where their was no discussion, was 0%.
what does the memory contamination explanation suggest could be the reason for why post event discussion affects eye witness testimony?
when a co-witnesses to a crime discuss it w/ each other, their eyewitness testimonies may become altered or distorted. Bc they combine (mis)information from others with their own memories.
-define wht’s meant by the memory conformity explanation?
-who also came to conclusion that this was an explanation for post event discussion?
-witnesses often go along w/ each other, either to win social approval or bc they believe the other witnesses are right and they are wrong. However, the original memory never changes.
-Gabbert et al
Whats a strength of research into misleading info?
(think real world application)
PEE
P- findings can be used by criminal justice system
E-consequences of EWT are detrimental. Loftus found tht leading questions can distort memory.
E-this can help police officers to be more careful about how they phrase questions during interviews w/ eye witnesses.
how does anxiety have a negative effect on recall?
it creates physiological arousal in body which prevents us paying attention to important cues, so recall is worse
Outline Johnson and Scott’s procedure used to research the effect of the presence of a weapon on memory
-also mention what happened in the low and high anxiety condition
-participants believed they were taking part in a lab study.
-IN THE LOW ANXIETY CONDITION: seated in a waiting room ,participants heard a casual convo in the next room and then saw a man walk past them carrying a pen and grease on his hands.
-IN HIGH ANXIETY CONDITION: participants overheard a heated argument, heard breaking of glass, and then saw a man walk out of the room holding a knife covered in blood
a) -what was found by johnson and scott? (2 things)
b)-what was concluded?
a)-participants later picked out the man from a set of 50 photos, 49% who’d seen man carrying pen were able to identify him.
-33% of participants who’d seen a man carrying blood-covered knife were able to correctly identify man
b) the tunnel theory of memory: argues tht ppl have enhanced memory for central events. weapon focus as a result of anxiety can have this effect
how does anxiety have a positive effect on recall?
-witnessing a stressful event creates anxiety through physiological arousal within the body.
-the fight or flight response is triggered, increasing alertness.
-this may improve memory for the event as we become more aware of cues in the situation.
outline the procedure yuille and cutshall used to investigate the posive effect of anxiety on recall
-study was on an actual shooting in a gun shop in canada wher the shop owner shot a theif dead. there were 21 witnesses- 13 took part in the study.
-they were interviewed 4 to 5 months after the incident and these interviews were compared with the original police interviews at the time of the shooting.
-accuracy was determined by the number of details reported in each account and witnesses were also asked to rate how stressed they had felt at the time of the incident (on a 7 point scale) and whether they had any emotional problems since the event (eg sleeplessness)
what did yullie and cutshall find when investigating the positive effects of anxiety on memory?
- the witnesses were very accurate in their accounts and there was little change in the amount recalled or accuracy after 5mnths- though some details were less accurate, such as recollection of the colour of items and age/height/weight estimates.
-those participants who reported the highest levels of stress were most accurate (abt 88% compared to 75% for the less stress group)
what did yullie and cutshall conclude when investigating the positive effects of anxiety on memory?
that anxiety doesnt have a detrimental effect on the accuracy of eyewitness memory in a rea world context and may even enhance it
what shape does the relationship between emotional arousal and performance look like on a graph?
an inverted U
say what the yerkes-dodson law/ the inverted U theory states
it states that performance will increase with stress, but only up to a certain point, where it decreases drastically
what did deffenbacher do to explain the contradictory findings on the effects of anxiety
he reviewed 21 studies on EWT and used the yerkes-dodson law to explain the findings
how did deffenbacher use yerkes-dodson law to explain the contradictory findings on the effects of anxiety?
-when a crime/accident is witnessed, emotional (anxiety) and physiological changes (fight or flight response) are experienced.
-lower levels of anxiety/arousal produce lower levels of recall accuracy
-then, memory becomes more accurate as the level of anxiety/arousal increases.
-however, theres an optimal level of anxiety, which is the point of max accuracy. if a person experiences any more arousal, then their recall suffers a drastic decline.
whats a limitation of johnson and scott’s study regarding poor internal validity? (unusualness rather than anxiety)
(PEE)
P- it may not have tested for anxiety. participants may have focused on weapon bc it was surprising or unusual not bc it made them scared.
E- Pickel conducted an experiment using scissors , a handgun, a wallet or a raw chicken as the hand held items in a hair salon video (where scissors=high anxiety, low unusualness). it was found tht eyewitness accuracy was significantly poorer in the high unusualness conditions (chicken and handgun)
E- suggets tht the weapon focus effect is due to unusualness rather than anxiety/threat. therefore, tells us nothing specifically abt the effects of anxiety on EWT
whats a strength of the view that anxiety has a negative effect on the accuracy of recall?
(PEE)
P- theres evidence to support the view
E- Valentine & Mesout’s study supports the research on weapon focus, finding negative effects on recall . researchers used an objective measure (heart rate) to divide participants into high and low anxiety groups. in this study anxiety clearly disrupted the participants’ ability to recall details abt the actor in london dungeon’s labyrinth.
E- this suggests tht a high level of anxiety does have a negative effect on the immediate eyewitness recall of a stressful event
whats a strength of the view that anxiety has a positive effect on the accuracy of recall?
(PEE)
P- theres evidence to support this view
E- christianson & hübinette interviewed 58 witnesses to actual bank robberies in sweden. some of the witnesses were directly and others were indirectly involved. researchers found tht recall was more than 75% accurate across all witnesses. the direct victims (most anxious) were even more accurate.
E- these findings confirm tht anxiety doesnt reduce the accuracy of recall for eyewitnesses and may actually enhance it.
what are the 4 techniques that make up the Cognitive Interview?
-report everything
-reinstate the context
-reverse the order
-change perspective
who introduced the cognitive review? (there are two ppl)
-fisher
-& geiselman
define what fisher+geiselman meant by ‘report everything’ (as a cognitive interview technique)
witnesses r encouraged to include every single detail of event, even if it seems trivial. seemingly small details may be important and may trigger other important memories
define what fisher+geiselman meant by ‘reinstate the context’ (as a cognitive interview technique)
witness should return to the original scene by imagining the environment and their emotions at the time .
define what fisher+geiselman meant by ‘reverse the order’
(as a cognitive interview technique)
events should be recalled in a different order from the original sequence e.g from final point to beginning.
-this prevents ppl reporting their expectations if how the event must have happened rather than the actual events.
-it prevents dishonesty as its harder to produce an untruthful acc if they have to reverse it
define what fisher+geiselman meant by ‘change perspective’ (as a cognitive interview technique)
witness should recall the incident from the other ppl’s perspectives. eg how if would’ve appeared to the perpetrator. this is done to disrupt the effect of expectations.
what does fisher et al’s enhanced cognitive interview focus on as an addition to cognitive interview ?
the social dynamics of the interaction (between an eyewitness and the interviewer)
wht are five aspects of the social dynamics of an interview/interaction tht the ehanced cognitive interview focus on?
-interviewer needs to know when to establish and relinquish eye contact
-reducing eyewitness anxiety
-minimising distractions
-getting the witness to speak slower
-ask open ended questions
whats a strength of the cognitive interview (CI)?
hint: think abt its effectivness
(PEE)
P- there’s evidence tht supports its effectiveness/ tht it works
E- Eg a meta analysis by Kohnen et al combined data from 55 studies comparing the CI w/ the standard police interview. CI gave an avg 41% increase in accurate info compared w/ the standard interview. only 4 studies in the analysis showed no difference between the types of interview.
E- shows tht CI is an effective technique in helping witnesses to recall info .
whats a limitation of the cognitive interview (CI)?
hint: think abt the fact tht some parts are more helpful than others
(PEE)
P- not all of its elements are equally effective or useful
E- Milne and Bull found tht each of the 4 techniques used ALONE produce more info than the standard police interview. but also found tht using ‘report everything’ and ‘reinstate the context’ produced better recall than any other techniques or combo of them.
E- this confirmed police officers’ suspicions tht some aspects of CI are more useful than others. this casts some doubt on the credibility of the overall CI.
whats a limitation of the cognitive interview (CI)?
hint: ‘time-consuming’, ‘requires a lot of training’
(PEE)
P- its time consuming and requires a lot of training so officers may be less willing to use CI instead of standard police interview
E- e.g more time is needed 2 establish rapport w/ witness and allow them to relax. CI also requires special training and many forces don’t have the resources to provide more than a few hours.
E- suggests tht the complete CI as it exists isnt a realistic method 4 police officers 2.
define what is meant by the term ‘coding’
its the format in which info is stored in the various memory stores
define what is meant by the term ‘capacity’
the amount of info that can be held in a memory store
define what is meant by ‘duration’
the length of time info can be held in memory
what is short term memory
the limited-capacity memory store. coding is mainly acoustic (sounds), capacity is bet
list 3 things about STM (short term memory) regarding the coding of info in this store, its capacity and the duration of info in the store
-coding is mainly acoustic (sounds)
-capacity is between 5 and 9 items on average
-duration is between about 18 and 30 seconds
what is the long term memory store?
the permanent memory store
list 3 things about LTM (long term memory) regarding the coding of info in this store, its capacity and the duration of info in the store
-coding is mainly semantic (the meaning of the information)
-has unlimited capacity
-can store memories for up to a lifetime
explain how coding works
its a process where info is converted from one form to another
outline baddeley’s research on coding
-4 groups were given different lists of words to remember.
-group 1 got acoustically similar words, group 2 got acoustically dissimilar words, group 3- semantically similar words (synonymous words) and group 4- semantically dissimilar words e.g good, huge, hot
-participants were shown the words from their list and asked to recall them in the correct order
what was found in baddeley’s research on coding and what could be suggested?
-when recalling info from STM, participants tended to do worse with acoustically similar words
-when recalling from LTM, participants did worse recalling semantically similar words
-it suggests tht info is coded acoustically in STM and semantically in LTM
how did Jacobs investigate how much information STM can hold at one time?
by measuring digit span.
how did jacobs measure digit span (2 things to mention) and what was found?
-the researcher reads out 4 digits and participants recall these out loud in the correct order.
-if this is correct the researcher reads out 5 digits and so on until the participant can’t recall the order correctly. this indicates the individual’s digit span
-the mean span for digits across all participants was 9.3 items. the mean span for letters was 7.3
outline the research that Peterson and Peterson conducted on the duration of STM (3 things to mention)
- mention what the findings and conclusions/suggestions were
-24 students in 8 trials each were tested and in each trial, student was given a consonant syllable ( eg. YCH) to remember. they were also given a 3 digit number.
-students counted back form that number until told to stop. this was to prevent any mental rehearsal of the consonant syllable.
-on each trial, they were told to stop after varying periods of time; 3,6,9,12,15 or 18 seconds (the retention interval). The findings were similar
-after 3 secs, avg recall was about 80%, after 18 secs it was abut 3%. suggesting that STM duration may be about 18 secs, unless info is repeated over and over (eg thru verbal rehearsal)
outline the research that Bahrick et al conducted on the duration of LTM (2 things to mention)
- mention what the findings (2 key things)
-and conclusion/suggestion were
-392 american participants aged between 17-74 were studied and high skl year books were obtained from participants or directly from some skills.
-recall was tested in various ways, including:
1) photo recognition test consisting of 50 photos, some from the participants’ high skl yearbooks
2) free recall test where participants recalled all the names of their graduating class
-participants tested within 15 yrs of graduation were abt 90% accurate in photo recognition. after 48 years, recall declined to abt 70% for photo recognition.
-free recall was less accurate than recognition- abt 60% after 15 years, dropping to 30% after 48 years.
-suggested/showed tht LTM may last up to a lifetime for some material
what’s a strength of baddeley’s research regarding separates memory stores? (STM)
P: it identified a clear difference between two memory stores
E: although later research has shown exceptions to baddeley’s research, the idea that STM uses mostly acoustic coding and LTM uses mostly semantic is still agreed with.
E: this research was an important step in understanding the memory system, which led to the multi-store model
what’s a weakness of baddeley’s research regarding artificial stimuli? (STM)
P: it used quite artificial stimuli rather than meaningful material
E: eg. words had no personal meaning to participants. so the findings can’t explain much about coding in different kinds of memory tasks, especially in daily life. for instance, when processing more meaningful info,ppl may use semantic coding even for STM tasks.
E: suggests tht the findings from this study have limited application
what’s a strength of Jacobs’ study regarding its replicablity? (STM)
P: it has been replicated.
E: despite this study being very old and early research often lacked adequate controls , Jacobs’ findings have been confirmed by other, better controlled studies since then (eg. Bopp et al)
E: Suggest that Jacobs’ study is a valid test of digit span in STM
what’s a (the) limitation of Miller’s research on STM?
P: The capacity of STM may have been overestimated
E: research has shown and concluded tht the capacity of STM is only at 4 (plus or minus 1) chunks..
E: suggests tht the lower end of miller’ estimate (5 items) is more accurate than (7 items)
What’s a limitation of Peterson et el’s study regarding the type of stimuli used?
P: the stimulus material was artificial
E: recalling consonant syllables doesn’t reflect most everyday memory ctivies where important info is trying to be remembered.
E: suggests tht study lacks external validity
what’s a strength of Bahrick et al’s study regarding its external validity?
P: it has high external validity
E: bc the researchers investigated meaningful memories (ie ppl’s names and faces). when research was conducted on LTM using meaningless images, recall was much lower
E: suggests tht bahrick et al’s findings reflect a more ‘real’ estimate of the duration of LTM.
who created the multi store model?
Atkinson and Shiffrin
what does the multi store model do? (2 things)
-it represents how memory works in terms of 3 stores called the sensory register , short term memory and long term memory.
-it describes how info is transferred from one store to another, what makes some memories last and some disappear
according to the multi store model, all stimuli from the environment passes into the wht?
sensory register
what type of information does the iconic memory store (multi store model)
visual info
what type of information does the echoic memory store (multi store model)
acoustic/ audial info
TRUE OR FALSE: there are NO other sensory stores other than iconic and echoic (multi store model)
FALSE- there are other stores and they are for touch, taste and smell information
how long is the duration of material in the sensory registers? (multi store model)
less than half a second
(multi store model) complete the sentence and give an example of evidence that would support the statement:
“the sensory registers have a very _____ capacity”
“the sensory registers have a very HIGH capacity”
-each eye has millions of cells which all store visual data
what does attention allow information to do? (multi store model)
allows it to pass further into the memory system
how is the majority of info in short term memory coded and how long does it last for?
-acoustically
-abt 18 secs (unless info is rehearsed)
what is maintenance rehearsal?
when material/info is repeated/rehearsed continuously
finish the sentence: “short term memory is more of a ______ store”
short term memory is more of a TEMPORARY store
“long term memory is a potentially ______ store for information that has been ______ for a _____ time”
long term memory is a potentially PERMANENT store for information that has been REHEARESED for a PROLONGED time
how are long term memories coded ?
semantically
what is the a) duration and b) capacity of LTM thought to be?
a) a lifetime
b) unlimited
according to the multi store model how is information recalled from long term memory?
by it being transferred back to short term memory by retrieval
what’s a strength of the multi store model (MSM) regarding research that supports it suggestion about short and long term memory stores ?
P: there’s research tht shows that LTM and STM are different
E: eg Baddeley found tht similar sounding words tend to get mixed up when using STM and words with similar meanings tend to get mixed up when using LTM.
E: studies such as this clearly show tht STM and LTM are separate, independent memory stores as suggested by the MSM
What’s a limitation of the Multi-Store Model of memory in explaining everyday memory use? (PEE)
P: It may not be a valid model of how memory works in daily life.
E: Because, despite many studies supporting the Multi-Store Model (MSM), many of them did not use real-world materials such as people’s faces, names, facts, and places.
E: This suggests that the MSM may not be able to explain how memory is used to retain more practical, everyday information.
What’s a limitation of the Multi-Store Model of memory regarding the types of information it explains?
P: the MSM doesn’t fully explain the encoding of different types of information.
E:The model suggests that information is processed the same way, regardless of whether it’s visual, auditory, or semantic.
E: However, research shows that different types of information are encoded and retrieved in distinct ways, which the MSM fails to consider.
who proposed that there where three types of long term memory because the MSM (multistore model) was too simplistic?
Tulving
what does episodic memory refer to?
the ability to recall personal events
what does episodic memory consists of/include?
-memories of how events occurred and the people, objects, places and behaviours involved.
complete the sentence: “ memories from this store have to be retrieved ________ and with _______”
memories from this store have to be retrieved CONSIOUSLY and with EFFORT
-what does semantic memory contain?
-what does it include? (2 things)
-shared knowledge of the world
-facts and knowledge of what words and concepts mean
do memories from the semantic memory store need to be recalled deliberately?
YES.
-what does procedural memory store?
-what does it include?
-one’s knowledge on how to do things.
-it includes memories of learned skills
finish the sentence: “memories from procedural memory can be recalled…”
memories from procedural memory can be recalled WITHOUT MAKING A CONCIOUS/DELIBERATE EFFORT
What’s the difference between episodic and semantic memory?
Episodic memory stores personal events and experiences, while semantic memory stores general facts and knowledge.
What’s the difference between episodic memory and procedural memory?
Episodic memory stores personal experiences, while procedural memory stores learned skills and actions
How does semantic memory differ from procedural memory?
Semantic memory stores facts and knowledge, while procedural memory stores skills and actions
Give an example of an event stored in episodic memory.
my 16th birthday
Give an example of knowledge stored in semantic memory- think Paris and France
knowing that Paris is the capital of France
Give an example of a skill or action stored in procedural memory. think bikes
knowing how to ride a bike
according to Miller, what is the capacity of STM?
7 +/- 2 items
What is a strength of the three types of long term memory regarding a distinction that was made between episodic and semantic memories due to research ?
P: there’s neurological research/evidence to support it
E: Peterson et al found they are recalled from different areas of the prefrontal cortex
E: supports the idea that LTM types have distinct biological bases
what a strength of the three types of long term memory regarding the fact that there are case studies supporting the existence of LTM
P: case studies supporting the existence of separate LTM stores.
E: HM and Clive Wearing lost episodic memory but retained procedural and semantic memory
E: shows that different types of LTM rely on distinct brain areas.
what does the woking memory model (WMM) suggest abt wht the short term memory store is made up of?
-the central executive
-the phonological loop
-the visio-spatial sketchpad
-the episodic buffer.
what has the central executive been described as?
an ‘attentional process’ with a very limited processing capacity
what is the role of the central executive?
to allocate tasks to the three slave systems
what are the three slave systems?
-the phonological loop
-the visio-spatial sketchpad
-the episodic buffer
