Memory 4.1.2 PART 2

Question 1

What is interference theory?

Answer 1

That forgetting occurs when one memory disrupts or blocks another causing both memories to become distorted, lost or inaccessible.

Question 2

What are the two main processes of forgetting?

Answer 2

Displacement - (forgetting due to limited capacity / information pushed out by learning)

Decay ( forgetting overtime - due to limited duration)

Question 3

What is proactive interference?

Answer 3

Old information disrupts new

Question 4

What is retroactive interference?

Answer 4

New information disrupts old

Question 5

Why does similar memories make remembering difficult?

Answer 5

1) in PI previously stored information makes new difficult to store

2) In ri a new information overwrites old memories which are similar

Question 6

Lab studies to support the Interference theory

Answer 6

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

Question 7

REAL life studies supporting interference

Answer 7

• 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

Question 8

What is the Encoding specifity principle?

Answer 8

• 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)

Question 9

Who came up with the encoding specificity principle?

Answer 9

Tulving

Question 10

What is context dependent forgetting?

Answer 10

forgetting due to absesnce of external/ environmental cues

Question 11

What is state dependent forgetting?

Answer 11

Forgetting due to absent internal / state of mind cues

Question 12

What was Godden and Badeleys context forgetting study?

Answer 12

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 ))

Question 13

Abernethy context dependent forgetting

Answer 13

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

Question 14

Casssady and Carter state dependent study

Answer 14

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

Question 15

Strengths of retrival failure codes

Answer 15

1. A range of study evidence ( generalisable / reliable)
2. Real world application –> useful for imptoving recall
   3.

Question 16

Weaknesses of retrival failue cues

Answer 16

1. Artificial task - not population validity ss not all divers/ antihistamine drugs
2. 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
3. Baddeley replicates his worl with recogniton - behaviour was the ame in all four therefore limits explanation

Question 17

Eye witness testimony

Answer 17

The ability of people to rember details of events which they have viewed themselves

Question 18

Reconstructive memory

Answer 18

The origional perception of the event is retrived through use of schemas and is added to and refreshed each time

Question 19

What are post event discussions?

Answer 19

when recalling events with another witness alters the accuracy of recall of another witness

Question 20

What two factors cause for post event discussions to alter memory?

Answer 20

Memory conformity
Memory contamination

Question 21

Memory conformity

Answer 21

Witnesses go along with eachother to win social approval or because they beliebe other witnesses are right

Question 22

Memory contamination

Answer 22

when a co-witness discuss a crime and they mix misinformation from other witnesses into their own memory.

Question 23

leading questions

Answer 23

Questions that imply a particular answer or can influence how a memory is recalled

Question 24

What two explanations explain how leading questions affect EWT?

Answer 24

Response biassed explanation
substitution explanation

Question 25

Response biased explanation

Answer 25

the wording of the question has no real effect on an individuals memory but just influences how they decide to answer

Question 26

Substitution explanation

Answer 26

the wording od the question actually changes the individuals memory

Question 27

Gabber et al post event discussion research

Answer 27

1. Pairs watched a video of the same crime but from different viewpoints
2. Then they conducte a post event discussion before both had to complete a recall task

75% included aspects they did not see

Question 28

Gabber et al post event discussion research findings

Answer 28

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)

Question 29

Loftus and Palmer leading questions study

Answer 29

1. Participants watched a video and had to describe how fast the car eachother
2. The verb intensity changed

the mean estimated speed increased the more agressive the verb - question biased the answers

Question 30

Strengths EWT - misleading information

Answer 30

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

Question 31

what is tunnel theory?

Answer 31

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

Question 32

what is anxiety ?

Answer 32

A mental state of arousal that includes feeling of extreme concern and tension.Accompanied by physiological changes e.g heartrate.

Question 33

Theories of how anxiety affects recall?

Answer 33

1. Decreases recall - weapon focus → so focussed on weapon doesn’t look at the face of the criminal
2. Increases recall - high anxiety makes witnesses more alert and aware of surroundings + emotions felt improves memory at encoding.

Question 34

what is the weapon focus effect?

Answer 34

the view that a weapon in a criminal’s hand distracts atttention ( builds up anxiety) from other features / reduces accuracy of identification.

Question 35

Johnson and Scott study into weapon focus effect - procedure

Answer 35

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

2. 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 **

Question 36

Johnson and Scott study into weapon focus effect
FINDINGS

Answer 36

49% man with pen
33% man with knife → suggests knife/ weapon caused anxiety → reduced recall ( tunnel theory)

Question 37

Labarynth of horror - natural study

Answer 37

• 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

Question 38

Pickle - counter evidence

Answer 38

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

Question 39

Negatives of Yuille and Cutshall real situation

Answer 39

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.

Question 40

Yuille + Cutshall → positive effect / Real situation

Answer 40

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

Question 41

What is Yerkes- Dodson law of arousal

Answer 41

EWT increases anxiety as the witness becomes alert.However at an optimum level anxiety becomes too much and more stress results in lower accuracy.

Question 42

Yerkes - Dodson Law of arousal
- limitation

Answer 42

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.