Memory

Question 1

What do we mean by cognitive?

Answer 1

Internal mental process’
E.g remembering, knowing, perceiving
Cognitive psychology looks at how we interpret the world

Question 2

Which case study supports the cognitive approach? Explain why.

Answer 2

Milner et al (1975)
HM was a patient with severe and frequent epilepsy. The seizures he had were based in the hippocampus. In 1953 doctors decided to surgically remove it. After surgery, his seizures lessened but, his memory had been severely impaired. He could form STMs and still had LTMs before surgery, but could no longer form new LTMs

Question 3

What do we mean by the information processing approach?

Answer 3

The mind is seen as a system for handling information:
Stimulus -> encoding -> processing -> storage -> retrieval -> response

Encoding means the way in which info is processed or stored.

Question 4

What are the four main research methods cognitive psychologists use?

Answer 4

Lab
Field
Quasi
Brain imaging

Question 5

Peterson and Peterson

Answer 5

1959 investigated duration of STM
Trigrams asked to recall after 3,6,9,12,15 secs during the pause they were asked to count backwards in threes (interference task)
After 3 secs 80% correct, after 18 secs 10% correct
Lab study, repeated measures

Question 6

What is a theory?

Answer 6

A set of ideas to explain a particular phenomena

Question 7

What is a model?

Answer 7

A representation of that set of ideas

Question 8

What is duration, capacity and encoding?

Answer 8

Duration: how long the memory lasts
Capacity: how much can be held in the memory
Encoding: transferring information into code

Question 9

Outline the sensory memory.

Answer 9

Capacity: infinity Different stores - echoic: auditory info
Duration: 0.25 - 2secs Iconic: visual info
Encoding: depends on the scenes
The sensory memory stores incoming sensory info for very brief periods of time. It has a large capacity, but can lose things very quickly, so unless we pay attention to it and pass it on to the STM it’s lost.

Question 10

Outline the STM.

Answer 10

Capacity: 7+-2 secs
Duration: 15-30 secs
Encoding: as sounds

Question 11

Outline the LTM.

Answer 11

Capacity: infinity
Duration: life time
Encoding: semantically

Question 12

Bahrick et al

Answer 12

1975 (Aged 17-74)
392 people were asked to list names of their ex classmates, free recall test, they were either given photos or given names and asked to match photos with names. It was found that within 15yrs of leaving school 60% accuracy in free recall. After 48yrs free recall was 30% accurate

Question 13

Multi-store model

Answer 13

Atkinson and shifting 1968

Question 14

Evidence which supports the MSM

Answer 14

Baddeley A + B
The primacy effect- people are able to recall the first few items better than the middle
The recently affect- people are able to remember the last items, better than the middle.

Question 15

Limitations of the MSM

Answer 15

People don’t always spend time rehearsing information to transfer STMs into LTMs so rehearsal is not always needed.
The model is over simplistic.

Question 16

Working memory model

Answer 16

Baddeley and Hitch 1974
Central executive
Episodic buffer
LTM
Phonological loop: inner ear, inner voice
Visuo-spatial sketch pad: inner scribe, visual cache

Question 17

What are the inner ear, inner voice?

Answer 17

Inner ear: stores acoustically coded items

Inner voice: uses sub vocal repetition

Question 18

What are the visual cache and inner scribe?

Answer 18

Visual cache: passive temporary visual store

Inner scribe: provides a rehearsal mechanism

Question 19

Shallice and Warrington

Answer 19

1974 case study
If a brain damaged patient who had an impaired STM- his problem was with immediate recall of words presented verbally, not with visual information.

Question 20

Loftus

Answer 20

1979 weapon focus
Participants were less able to correctly identify the man with the knife, 33% accurate, as appose to the man with the pen 49% accurate.

Question 21

Christianson and Hubinette

Answer 21

Contradictory evidence 1993
Questioned witnesses of 22 real bank robberies (110 witnesses), compared those who had been directly threatened to those who hadn’t.
Those who had been directly threatened had better recall.

Question 22

Evidence that articulatory loop control processes and acoustic store are separate.

Answer 22

Paulesu et al 1993
Participants either storing a series of letters (using both stores)
Or
Judging whether two letters rhymed, and requires participants to say the letters in their heads, so uses inner voice.

Question 23

Factors affecting EWT

Answer 23

Anxiety
Age
Information
Interview

Question 24

Strategies for memory improvement.

Answer 24

Mnemonics

Method of loci

Question 25

____________ not CRAP

Answer 25

CROP 
Context
Report every detail
Order (recall events differently)
Perspectives (report from different)
This technique increases the number of retrieval cues

Question 26

Loftus and Palmer

Answer 26

1974
Participants shown a video of cars colliding. Asked how fast the cars were going when they “hit” or “smashed” also asked if there was any broken glass 1 week later.
“Smashed” 41mph, “hit” 34mph people who heard smashed were also more likely to say there was broken glass.

Question 26

Loftus and Pickrell

Answer 26

2003
120 participants 4 groups, people who had visited Disneyland.
Group 1: Disneyland advert
Group 2: cardboard cutout of bugs bunny
Group 3: advert containing bugs bunny
Group 4: cardboard cutout and advert containing bugs bunny

Group 3+4 had more memories of bugs 30% + 40% more

Question 27

Valentine and coxon

Answer 27

1997
52 children, average age of 8 Watched a video, the asked
53 adults, average age of 17 20 Questions, 4 misleading
42 OAP, average age of 70

Total number of questions asked incorrectly was worse in OAPs and children, however OAPs were less susceptible to misleading information.

Question 28

Geiselman

Answer 28

1985
Cognitive interview, two groups of undergraduate students watched a video of a crime and were interviewed either using CROP of standard police interview.
The group interviewed with the police interview
Remembered 50% less, but the number of incorrect details was still the same.

Question 29

Bower and Clark

Answer 29

1969 Independent groups
Two groups, 12 lists containing 10 words
One group asked to come up with stories other to just remember them (Control group).
Recall was much better in the story group.

Question 30

Further research into age on EWT.

Answer 30

Roberts and lamb 1999
Found that 68/161 interviews with children who made allegations of abuse, investigators misinterpreted or distorted children’s reports, but 2/3 of the mistakes were left un corrected by the child.

Question 31

Baddeley A+B

Answer 31

1966 Encoding in the STM and LTM
Four sets of word lists, recall immediately or after 20min break.
Participants had trouble recalling acoustically similar words immediately and semantically similar words after a break
STM is acoustically encoded, LTM semantically encoded

Question 32

Baddeley A- results

Answer 32

STM asked to recall immediately
Words that sounded dissimilar 75% correct
Words that sounded similar 55% correct
Semantic similarity had little effect

Question 33

Baddeley B- results

Answer 33

LTM asked to recall after 20min break
Semantically dissimilar 85% correct
Semantically similar 55% correct
Acoustic had little effect

Question 34

Baddeley et al (VSSP)

Answer 34

1975 Dual task on the VSSP
Condition A: tracking a moving spot of light and imagining a capital letter and stating wether the light is at the top bottom left right corner
Condition B: tracking a moving spot of light and a verbal task.

Question 35

Baddeley et al (phonological loop)

Answer 35

1975
Participants given lists of 5 short words and lists of 5 long words. There memory was tested immediately. Words recalled in order.
It was found that more words were recalled if the words were shorter. Participants were able to recall approximately as many words as they could in 1.5-2 secs.