Memory

Question 1

Define memory

Answer 1

Memory is the encoding, storage and retrieval of information.

Question 2

Describe the Multi-Store Model of memory

Answer 2

It is structural linear model. 3 unitary stores:
 Sensory memory (SM): capacity-all sensory experience; duration- ¼ to ½ a second; encoding-sense specific.
Information is passed to the STM if we pay attention
 Short-term memory(STM): capacity: 7 + or – 2. items (can be extended by chunking) duration: 10-20 seconds (can be extended by maintenance rehearsal) encoding: acoustic.
Information is passed on to the LTM by elaborative rehearsal.
 Long-term memory (LTM): capacity: unlimited duration: up to a lifetime encoding: semantic.

Question 3

Evaluate the Multi-Store Model of memory

Answer 3

 Strong evidence to support duration, capacity and encoding.
 Glanzer and Cunitz (1956) found that the first few words of a list (primacy effect) and the last few words (recency effect) are better recalled than the words in the middle of the list. The first few words are in the LTM and the last few words are in the STM at the time of recall. This is evidence for two distinct stores.
X Oversimplified.
X STM is not a unitary store- case of KF.
X LTM is not a unitary store: semantic, episodic, procedural and perceptual representation.
X Processing is more important than maintenance rehearsal - Craik and Lockart compared shallow, phonemic and semantic processing.
X Use of lab experiments lead to demand characteristics and experimenter bias.

Question 4

Describe the Working Memory Model

Answer 4

It is a functional model (it explains how memory works). It focuses on the STM and contains separate components.

The components do not only store information they also manipulate and analyse it.
• Central executive: controls and coordinates the operation of the other components.
• Visuo-spatial sketchpad: deals with visual and spatial information
• Phonological loop deals with auditory information and is sub-divided into the phonological store (inner ear) and the articulatory control system (inner voice).
• Episodic buffer: integrate the information of the other slave systems and information from the LTM.

Question 5

Evaluate the Working Memory Model

Answer 5

 The most widely used and accepted model today.
 Hitch and Baddeley (1976) - existence of separate components. Showed that participants can perform two tasks at the same time (dual task technique) as long as they involved different slave systems.
 Word length effect: we recall more short words than long ones. This is because short words take less time to articulate than long words. (phonological loop).
 It explains why KF could deal with auditory information but had difficulties with auditory stimuli. This is evidence for the existence for different slave systems.
X The notion of a single central executive is wrong and there are probably several components.
X You can not make before and after comparisons with brain damaged patients so it is difficult to identify a cause.

Question 6

Compare the Multi-Store Model of memory with the Working Memory Model

Answer 6

• The WMM focuses on the STM whereas the MSM describes how information is processed from the sensory memory to the LTM.
• Neither model can explain how we remember smell and touch.
• The MSM is about structure whereas the WMM looks at the functioning of the memory.
• Both models can be used to understand brain damaged patient (explain).

Question 7

What is a leading question?

Answer 7

It is a question that is phrased in such a way that it prompts a particular answer.
Example “did you see the broken glass?”
The word “the” implies that there was a broken glass.

Question 8

Describe Loftus and Palmer (1974)

Answer 8

Aim: to investigate how information provided to a witness after an event influences their memory of that event.
Sample: 45 American students.

Procedure: They were shown a video of a traffic accident
After watching they were asked a series of questions about the accident. The participants were divided in 5 groups. They had the same questions except for one question “what was the speed of the cars when they… contacted/ hit/bumped/ collided/ smashed?

Result/ conclusion: mean estimated speed- contacted (32 mph)/ hit (34mph)/bumped (38mph)/ collided (40 mph)/ smashed (41mph). The wording of the question can affect the accuracy of the answer.

Question 9

Evaluate Loftus and Palmer (1974)

Answer 9

 It is a lab experiment therefore there is high control of the extraneous variables, this make the experiment replicable therefore the results reliable.
X The participants were students with probably limited experience in driving someone with more experience might have not been mislead.
X It is low in ecological validity because when we witness an accident we are stressed and worried and this can affect recall but obviously it did not affect the participants as it was a video.
X The participants were not interviewed by the police as they would have been in real life.
X The participants knew there would not be any consequences to their answers whereas in real life there are consequences.

Question 10

What is eye witness testimony?

Answer 10

The evidence provided in court by a person who witnessed a crime, with a view to identifying the perpetrator of the crime. Psychologists use the term ‘eyewitness memory’ instead of ‘testimony’ when carrying out research to test the accuracy of eyewitness testimony.

Question 11

What factors influence EWT?

Answer 11

• Emotion/ stress (flashbulb memories) - Christianson and Hubinette (1993) found that emotional involvement does increase the accuracy of memory.
• Anxiety can increase and decrease accuracy- explained by Yerkes-Dodson Law.
• The weapon focus effect - There is evidence that in violent crimes, arousal may focus the witness on more central details of the attack (e.g. a weapon) than the more peripheral details (e.g. what else is happening). (Johnson and Scott (1976))
• The age of witness –age own bias can explain why we are more accurate at recalling people our own age.

Question 12

Describe the effects of anxiety on EWT

Answer 12

Christianson and Hubinette (1993) found that anxiety could enhance recall. Interviewed 58 people who witnessed a real life bank robbery. They found that those who had been emotionally involved(threatened) could recall more accurate information than those who were not emotionally involved.
Deffenbacher found that high stress and anxiety had a negative impact on recall. They conducted a meta analysis of 18 studies between 1974 and 1997

Question 13

Describe weapon focus

Answer 13

Weapon focus is the tendency for witnesses of violent crimes to focus their attention on the weapon used.

Weapon focus usually results in poor quality testimony, as the witness is unable to describe much that is useful about other aspects of the incident.

The witness can usually describe the weapon used in great detail, but not the person who was pointing it at them.

Question 14

Describe a key study of weapon focus

Answer 14

Johnson and Scott (1976) - Participants viewed one of two conditions, they heard two people having a discussion. In condition 1 the man emerged holding a pen and in condition 2 he emerged holding a paperknife covered in blood. When asked to identify the man from photos the participants in condition 2 were less accurate (44%) compared to participants in condition 1(49%) because the weapon had distracted them.

Question 15

Explain the cognitive interview technique

Answer 15

1. Report everything- the interviewer encourages the reporting of every single detail of the event, even though it may seem irrelevant.
2. Mental reinstatement of original context (Context reinstatement) - the interviewer encourages the interviewee to mentally recreate the environment and contacts from the original incident.
3. Recall in reverse order- the interviewer may try alternative ways through the timeline of the incident, for example by reversing the order in which events occurred.
4. Recall from changed perspective- the interviewee is asked to recall the incident from multiple perspectives, for example by imagining how it would have appeared to other witnesses present at the time.

Question 16

Evaluate the cognitive interview technique as a technique to aid eyewitness memory.

Answer 16

 Köhnken et al, (1999) conducted a meta-analysis of 53 studies and found that on average there was an increase of 34% in the amount of correct information generated in the CI compared with standard interview techniques.
Stein and Memon (2006) tested the effectiveness of the cognitive interview in Brazil, the first time this had been done in a developing county. Compared to a standard police interviewing method the CI increased the amount of correct information obtained.
X It is no longer just one ‘procedure’, but a collection of related techniques. Different police forces use different adaptations of the CI so it is difficult to test the reliability of the method.
X Police officers have also suggested that this technique requires more time than is often available.
X Officers may not receive sufficient training to effectively conduct the cognitive interview.

Question 17

Strategies to improve memory (1) Verbal Mnemonics

Answer 17

• An acronym is where a word or sentence is formed from the initial letters of other words.
• An acrostic is a poem or sentence used where the first letter in each line or word forms the item to be remembered.
• Rhymes are groups of words with an identity and rhythm.
• Chunking involves dividing a long string of information into memorable chunks.

Question 18

Strategies to improve memory (2) Visual Imagery mnemonics

Answer 18

• The method of loci- This method requires the learner to associate parts of the material to be recalled with different places in the order that they are to be recalled.
• Keyword Method/ Peg-word method (Atkinson and Raugh 1975) - Trying to associate two pieces of information. Conjuring up the visual image should trigger the recall of the word.
• Mind mapping (spider diagrams)- These involve making notes on information in the form of drawing, usually a branching pattern, with the main topic in the centre and component elements/ ideas radiating outwards.

Question 19

Explain how Mnemonics work

Answer 19

• Organising data establishes links that help recall. Word associations and visual images create links or associations. Mnemonic techniques accelerate the process by actively linking the new information with ‘memory hooks’.
• Memory research has shown that enduring memories are created through the process of elaboration. Mnemonic techniques make us elaborate the information to be remembered, for example when using mind maps. The amount of rehearsal is important (maintenance rehearsal) but the nature of rehearsal (elaboration) is more important.
• Dual-coding makes things easier to remember.

Question 20

Describe research into the effects of age on EWT

Answer 20

• Yarmey(1993) asked 651 participants in public places to recall the physical characteristics of a woman they had spoken to for 2 mins and 15 secs. They found that the young and middle aged group were more accurate and confident in recall than the old aged group.
• Memon et al (2003) studied the accuracy of young and older eyewitness. With a time delay of 35 minutes between the incident and identification,there was no difference between groups. However when the delay was one week,the older group were less accurate.

Question 21

Describe Anastasi and Rhodes (2006)

Answer 21

They used individuals from each group;young,middle and old aged. They had shown them 24 photographs (representing each age group) and rated them on attractiveness. After a short filler activity,they were shown the same 24 photos but with 24 more. They found that the young group were successful in recognising the previous faces but also that each group recognised photos from their own age group.

Question 22

Misleading questions in real life

Answer 22

Yuille and Cutshall (1986)
13 people witnessed an armed robbery in Canada. They were interviewed 4 months after the crash and this included 2 misleading questions. Ppts were able to give an accurate recall of the event compared to initial reports. This suggests that post-event information may not effect memory in real-life EWT.

Question 23

Research into the nature of memory (Duration)

Answer 23

STM Duration: Peterson and Peterson presented their 24 participants with nonsense trigrams followed by three numbers (e.g. WRT 303). Ppts were then asked to count back in 3s from the number.
LTM Bahrick asked participants to put names to yearbook faces 48 years after leaving school. 70% were accurate.

Question 24

Research into the nature of memory (Encoding)

Answer 24

Baddely gave pps a list of acoustically similar and dissimilar words and a list of semantically or acoustically similar or dissimilar words. He found that they had trouble remembering acoustically similar words,meaning STM uses acoustic encoding.
They also found that after a 20 minute task pps had trouble remembering semantically similar words,meaning LTM uses semantic encoding.

Question 25

Describe Loftus and Palmer (Broken Glass)

Answer 25

150 ppts were used to investigate whether post-event information could alter a ppts memory of an event before it was stored. 3 groups watched a video of a car crash. Group 1-“smashed”. Group 2 -“hit”. Group 3 (control group) was asked nothing. The ppts came back a week later and were asked if they saw any broken glass. Those who thought the cars were travelling faster were more likely to report seeing broken glass.