Memory

Question 1

Encoding

Answer 1

Changing information so that it can be stored.

Question 2

Storage

Answer 2

Holding information that can be retrieved later from the memory system

Question 3

Retrieval

Answer 3

Recovering information from storage

Question 4

Multi-store

Answer 4

The idea that information passes through a series of memory stores

Question 5

Sensory Store

Answer 5

Holds information that was received from senses for a very short period of time

Question 6

Short-term Store

Answer 6

Holds approximately seven chunks of information for a limited amount of time

Question 7

Long-term Store

Answer 7

Holds a vast amount of information for a very long period of time

Question 8

Recency Effect

Answer 8

Information received later is recalled netter than earlier information

Question 9

Primacy Effect

Answer 9

The first information is recalled better than subsequent information

Question 10

Reconstructive Memory

Answer 10

Altering our recollections of things so that they make more sense to us

Question 11

Structural Processing

Answer 11

Learning information based on how they look

Question 12

Phonetic Processing

Answer 12

Learning based on how they sound

Question 13

Semantic Processing

Answer 13

Learning information based on what they mean

Question 14

Levels Of Processing

Answer 14

the depth at which information is thought about when trying to learn it

Question 15

Interference

Answer 15

When we have difficulty recalling information due to other information that we have learnt

Question 16

Retroactive Interference

Answer 16

When information we have recently learnt hinders our ability to recall information we have learnt previously

Question 17

Proactive Interference

Answer 17

When information we have already learnt

Question 18

Context

Answer 18

The general setting or environment in which activities happen

Question 19

Anterograde Amnesia

Answer 19

Being unable to learn new information after suffering brain damage

Question 20

Retrograde Amnesia

Answer 20

Loss of memory for events that happen before brain damage occurs

Question 21

Hippocampus

Answer 21

The brain structure that is crucial for memory

Question 22

Reliability

Answer 22

In the context of eyewitness testimony, the extent to which it can be regarded as accurate

Question 23

Leading Question

Answer 23

A question that hints that a particular type of answer is required

Question 24

Cognitive Interview

Answer 24

A method of questioning witnesses that involves recreating the context of an event

Question 25

Stereotype

Answer 25

An oversimplified set of ideas towards each certain group of people. Can be negative or positive

Question 26

Peterson and Peterson 1959

Answer 26

Aim- to see if rehearsal was necessary to hold information in the short-term store.
Method- ptps were given sets of three letters to remember (such as GYK, MTW) but were immediately asked to count backwards in threes out loud for different lengths of time. This was done to prevent reversal. Ptps were then asked to recall the letters in correct order.
Results- the results of the study showed that ptps had forgotten virtually all of the information after 18 seconds
Conclusion- it was concluded that we can’t hold information in the short-term memory store unless we rehearse it

Question 27

Implications for the Peterson and Peterson study

Answer 27

Only seeing, saying or hearing something won’t allow you to remember it.

Question 28

Applications for the Peterson and Peterson study

Answer 28

To learn something new people must repeat it on multiple occasions to truly learn it.

Question 29

Murdock 1962

Answer 29

Aim- to provide evidence to support the multi-store theory of memory
Method- ptps had to learn a list of words that were presented one at a time and they then had to recall the words later.
Results- the words at the end of the list were recalled first (known as the recency effect). Words from the beginning of the list were also recalled quite well (known as the primacy effect) but the middle words weren’t remembered very well at all.
Conclusion- Murdock concluded that this provides evidence for separate short-term and long-term stores

He believed that the recency effect is evidence that the last few words were still in the short-term memory store. The primary effect is evidence that the first few words flowed into the long-term store.

Question 30

Bartlett 1932

Answer 30

Aim- to see if people when given something unfamiliar to remember would alter the information.
Method- ptps were asked to read a story called “The War Of The Ghosts’ which was a Native American legend. Later they were asked to retell the story as accurately as possible. This retelling was repeated several times during the weeks that followed.
Results- Bartlett found that the ptps found it difficult to remember the story concerned with spirits and changed other bits of the story so that it made more sense to them. Each time they retold the story they changed it some more.
Conclusion- Bartlett concluded that our memory is influenced by our own beliefs.

Question 31

Wynn and Logie 1998

Answer 31

Aim- to see if recall of familiar stories changed on the same way that Bartlett found with unfamiliar stories.
Method- they asked university students to recall details of their first week at university. They were asked to do this several times thought out the year.
Results- the results showed that the accuracy of their descriptions remained the same no matter how many times they were asked to recall the information. This is unlike Bartlett’s ptps who changed their stories after every telling.
Conclusion- Winn and Logie concluded that memories for familiar events will not change over time.

Question 32

Craik and Lockhart 1972

Answer 32

Aim- ptps were presented with a list of words one at a time and asked questions about each word to which thy had to answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Some questions required semantic processing of the words, others were structural and phonetic. They were then given a longer list of words and asked to identify the words they had answered questions about.
Results- ptps identified 70% of the words that required semantic processing, 35% of the words that required phonetic processing and 15% of the words that required structural processing.
Conclusion- the more deeply information is processed the more likely it is to be remembered.

Question 33

Underwood and Postman 1960

Answer 33

Aim- to see if new learning interferes with previous learning.
Method- ptps were devised into two groups
Group A were asked to learn a list of words in pairs ( cat- tree, candle-table, apple-lake). They were then asked to learn a second list of word pairs ( cat-glass, candle-whale, apple-sadness).
Group Bwere asked to learn the first list of word pairs only.
Both groups were asked to recall the first list of word pairs.
Results- group B’s recall of the first list was more accurate than that of group A’s
Conclusion- new learning will cause people to recall previously learned information less accurately.

Question 34

Godden and Baddeley 1975

Answer 34

Aim- to see if people who learn and are tested in the same environment will recall more information than those who learn and are tested in different environments.
Methods- ptps were deep-sea divers. They were divided into four groups. All of the groups were given the same list of words to learn
Group 1 had to learn underwater and recall underwater
Group 2 had to learn underwater and recall on the shore
Group3 had to learn on the shore and recall on the shore
Group 4 had to learn on the shore and recall underwater
Results- groups 1 and 3 recalled 40% more words than groups 2 and 4.
Conclusion- recall of information will be better if it happens in the same context that learning takes place.

Question 35

Milner et al. 1957

Answer 35

A patient suffering from epilepsy underwent an operation in which two-thirds of his hippocampus was removed. Since the operation he was unable to learn new information. This shows that the hippocampus is crucial for recording new memories.

Other people have suffered brain damage that had left them unable to recall anything before the damage occurred. This is known as retrograde amnesia.

Question 36

Loftus and Palmer 1974

Answer 36

Aim- to see if asking leading questions affect the accuracy of recall.
Method- ptps were shown films of car accidents. Some were asked “How dash was the car going when it SMASHED the other car?” Others were asked “How fast was the car going when it HIT the other car?”
Results- those who heard the word “SMASHED” gave a highly speen estimate than those who heard “HIT”
Conclusion- leading questions will reduce the accuracy of recall. The word “SMASHED”

Question 37

Bruce and Young 1998

Answer 37

Aim- to see if familiarity affects the accuracy of identifying faces.
Method- Psychology lectures were caught on security cameras at the entrance pf a building. Ptps were asked to identify the faces seen on the security camera tape from a series of high-quality photographs.
Results- the lecturers’ students made more correct identifications than other students and experienced police officers.
Conclusion- previous familiarity helps when identifying faces.

Question 38

Geiselman et al. 1985

Answer 38

Aim- to see if reinstating the context of an event will affect the accuracy of witnesses’ accounts.
Method- Ptps were shown a police training film of violent crime. Two days later they were interviewed about what they had seen. For half of the ptps, the context of he event was recreated during the interview. For the other half the ptps, standard police interview techniques were used.
Results- The ptps who had the context rcreated recalled mpre accurate facts about the violent crime than the other ptps.
Conclusion- Recreating context during interviews will increase the accuracy of recall. This method is known as the cognitive interview.

Question 39

Cohen 1981

Answer 39

Aim- To see if stereotypes can affect memory.
Method- Ptps were shown a video of a man and a woman eating in a restaurant. Half of the ptps were told that the woman was a waitress. The other half of the ptps were told that she was a librarian. Later,all the ptps were asked to describe the woman’s behaviour and personality.
Result- The two groups of ptps gave entirely different descriptions, which matched the stereotypes of a waitress or a librarian.
Conclusion- stereotypes will reduce the accuracy of accounts of people.