Memory 4.1.2 PART 2 Flashcards
What is interference theory?
That forgetting occurs when one memory disrupts or blocks another causing both memories to become distorted, lost or inaccessible.
What are the two main processes of forgetting?
Displacement - (forgetting due to limited capacity / information pushed out by learning)
Decay ( forgetting overtime - due to limited duration)
What is proactive interference?
Old information disrupts new
What is retroactive interference?
New information disrupts old
Why does similar memories make remembering difficult?
1) in PI previously stored information makes new difficult to store
2) In ri a new information overwrites old memories which are similar
Lab studies to support the Interference theory
1) The more lists a participant had to learn the worse the recall was after 48 hrs ( SUPPORTS PROACTIVE)
2) PPT had to earn 10 words until off by heart / ppt were split into 6 groups
Found the most similar lists found worse recall.
SUPPORTS RETROACTIVE
REAL life studies supporting interference
- 700 students to reacall as many of the local street names –> those who have moved houses remembered less
SUPPORTS RETROACTIVE - Rugby players asked to recall the teams they played week by week
Those who were absent from games remembered more . As those who had played more experience RETROACTIVE INTERFERENCE
What is the Encoding specifity principle?
- Cues help retrival as long as the cues are present at the time of encoding and retrival
- The more similar the retrival cue is to the encoding cue (recall more likely)
Who came up with the encoding specificity principle?
Tulving
What is context dependent forgetting?
forgetting due to absesnce of external/ environmental cues
What is state dependent forgetting?
Forgetting due to absent internal / state of mind cues
What was Godden and Badeleys context forgetting study?
1) Study of deep sea divers
- Divers learnt workds on land and underwater and were tested recall in both these place
( recall was most accurate when context ( environments) matched accquisition ( where they learnt it ))
Abernethy context dependent forgetting
Students taught the course content as norma
1 group tested in teaching room
1 group tested in another room
Group tested in the same room recalled more
Casssady and Carter state dependent study
Gave antihistamines to ppt –> mild sedative affect
Creates internal physiological state different ot nomal
PPT began to learn a list of words when on the drug and when not
When conditions were mismatched between learning and recall - worse performance
Strengths of retrival failure codes
- A range of study evidence ( generalisable / reliable)
- Real world application –> useful for imptoving recall
3.
Weaknesses of retrival failue cues
- Artificial task - not population validity ss not all divers/ antihistamine drugs
- Context not very strong in real life e.g learning and recall doen in a diffeent room less likely to have an affect - not different enough
- Baddeley replicates his worl with recogniton - behaviour was the ame in all four therefore limits explanation
Eye witness testimony
The ability of people to rember details of events which they have viewed themselves
Reconstructive memory
The origional perception of the event is retrived through use of schemas and is added to and refreshed each time
What are post event discussions?
when recalling events with another witness alters the accuracy of recall of another witness
What two factors cause for post event discussions to alter memory?
Memory conformity
Memory contamination
Memory conformity
Witnesses go along with eachother to win social approval or because they beliebe other witnesses are right
Memory contamination
when a co-witness discuss a crime and they mix misinformation from other witnesses into their own memory.
leading questions
Questions that imply a particular answer or can influence how a memory is recalled
What two explanations explain how leading questions affect EWT?
Response biassed explanation
substitution explanation
Response biased explanation
the wording of the question has no real effect on an individuals memory but just influences how they decide to answer
Substitution explanation
the wording od the question actually changes the individuals memory
Gabber et al post event discussion research
- Pairs watched a video of the same crime but from different viewpoints
- Then they conducte a post event discussion before both had to complete a recall task
75% included aspects they did not see
Gabber et al post event discussion research findings
Majority of the ppt recalled aspects they had not seen.
Witnesses go along with each other for approval or they believe the other answer is correct ( NSI and ISI)
Loftus and Palmer leading questions study
- Participants watched a video and had to describe how fast the car eachother
- The verb intensity changed
the mean estimated speed increased the more agressive the verb - question biased the answers
Strengths EWT - misleading information
Research support → Gabber et al / Loftus and Palmer
Watched car crash ‘ asked how fast it was going verb changed ‘crashed’ ‘hit’ → more aggressive the verb higher the mean speed
Pairs each saw
Real life application → practical uses where the consequences of inaccurate EWT can be serious. Loftus believes police officers leading questions can have a distorting effect on memory.improve legal system
what is tunnel theory?
During a stressful event, we automatically narrow our attention to details at the source of arousal. → Narrowed attention and increased processing of critical detail = poorer memory of peripheral details. Attention focused on dangerous aspects
what is anxiety ?
A mental state of arousal that includes feeling of extreme concern and tension.Accompanied by physiological changes e.g heartrate.
Theories of how anxiety affects recall?
- Decreases recall - weapon focus → so focussed on weapon doesn’t look at the face of the criminal
- Increases recall - high anxiety makes witnesses more alert and aware of surroundings + emotions felt improves memory at encoding.
what is the weapon focus effect?
the view that a weapon in a criminal’s hand distracts atttention ( builds up anxiety) from other features / reduces accuracy of identification.
Johnson and Scott study into weapon focus effect - procedure
PPT waited outside a room believing they were waiting to take part in a trial ( it had already began) but ppt heard an argument in the next room.
1. Low anxiety condition - equipment failure - a man walks through carrying a pen w/ greasy hands
- High anxiety condition - heated argument - man walks out holding paper knife with blood on it
**Ppt asked who the man was out of 50 photos **
Johnson and Scott study into weapon focus effect
FINDINGS
49% man with pen
33% man with knife → suggests knife/ weapon caused anxiety → reduced recall ( tunnel theory)
Labarynth of horror - natural study
- Went to London Dungeons with things that could scare them
- Wore Heart Rate monitors
Compared Low Vs High anxiety group - 17% of highs identified actor VS 75% of lows
Those in the low anxiety group were significantly better at identifying the actor → supports tunnel theory / high anxiety impairs memory
Pickle - counter evidence
A thief entered hairdressers carrying scissors /handgun /wallet/ raw chicken → witnesses identification was least accurate in high surprise / unusual ( chicken)
- not threat / Argues that the weapon focus is about surprise not anxiety -
Despite evidence for the weapon focus effect, further research questions the role of threat.For example, Pickel
Not threat but surprise
Undermines the weapon focus effect
Negatives of Yuille and Cutshall real situation
The different outcome could be due to post event discussion/ adrenaline would cause them to still think about it . Therefore may not be anxiety leading to the recollection.
Yuille + Cutshall → positive effect / Real situation
Real life crime a gun shop owner shot a thief dead → 13 eye witnesses interviewed 4 months after
Results compared with police records at time of initial incident
Asked to rate stress levels at the time using a scale and emotions felt since the event
PPT who reported the highest amount of anxiety were more accurate in recall
What is Yerkes- Dodson law of arousal
EWT increases anxiety as the witness becomes alert.However at an optimum level anxiety becomes too much and more stress results in lower accuracy.
Yerkes - Dodson Law of arousal
- limitation
Anxiety is very difficult to define and measure accurately
One reason is that it has many elements - cognitive, behavioural, emotional and physical
But inverted U assumed only physiological is linked to poor performance ( ignores cognitive and behavioural)
One limitation is that it is an oversimplification as it ignores the cognitive factors, at high cognitive anxiety, there is a catastrophic drop off. Therefore the ‘catastrophe model’ is a more appropriate explanation of the role of anxiety in EWT as it can apply to more people.
