Memory Flashcards
Give two evaluations of coding, capacity and duration of memory
▪Meaningless stimuli in STM study - A limitation of Peterson and Peterson’s study was that the stimulus material was artificial. The study doesn’t reflect real life memory activities. So it lacked external validity.
▪Not so many chunks - A limitation of Miller’s research is that he may have overestimated the STM capacity. Cowan reviewed other research and concluded the capacity of the STM was 4 chunks. So Miller’s lower estimated 5 chunks was more appropriate than 7 chunks.
Give two evaluations of the MSM
▪limitation…
More than 1 type of STM - MSM states that the STM is a unitary store (only one type of STM). With KF they found his memory for digits was poor when read to him. But his memory was better when he read the digits. This shows that there is more than 1 type of STM to process visual and auditory information.
▪A Strength is that the MSM is supported by research stating that STM and LTM are separate. Baddeley found that we mix words that sound similar in STM and we mix up words that have similar meanings in LTM. This shows that coding is different in both and supports the MSM’s view that the two memory stores a different.
Give two evaluations of types of LTM
▪Clive wearing and HM, both damaged their episodic memory. Semantic memory was relatively unaffected, HM couldn’t remember he owned a dog in the past or remember stroking a dog earlier but he still knew what a dog was. Procedural was intact, Clive wearing could still read music, sing and play the piano. This supports Tulving as it shows there are different memory stores in LTM. One can be damaged another will be fine. Also shows they are stored in different parts of the brain.
▪Brain scans show the different types of LTM exist. Tulving got pps to perform various memory tasks whilst their brains were being scanned using a PET scanner. Showed the episodic and semantic memories were found in the prefrontal cortex. This is a strength as it supports the view that there are different types of LTM.
Give two evaluations of the WMM
▪Dual task performance - This shows that the VSSA is separate as Baddeley showed participants had more difficulty doing two visual tasks than doing both a visual and verbal task at the same time. The increased difficulty is because both visual and verbal tasks compete for the same slave system, whereas verbal and visual tasks don’t. Meaning there must be a separate slave system that processes visual input.
▪Lack of clarity over the central executive - Cognitive psychologists suggest that this component doesn’t really explain anything. The central executive is the most important component but least understood. This means the WMM hasn’t been fully explained.
Give three evaluations of the accuracy of EWT cognitive interview
▪It is much more time-consuming than standard police interview which makes police reluctant to use it. For example, more time is needed to allow the witness to relax. CI requires special training and many forces haven’t been able to provide more than a few hours. Meaning that it’s unlikely the ‘proper’ version of CI is used.
▪Research suggests that enhanced CI may offer special benefits. Kohnken et al. combined data from 50 studies, it showed enhanced CI provided more correct information than the standard interview. This is a strength as it indicates there are benefits to using the enhanced version. It gives police a better chance of catching criminals which helps society.
▪The techniques of CI aim to increase the amount of correct information remembered but incorrect information can also be increased. Kohnken et al. Found an 81% increase of correct information but also a 61% of incorrect information when CI was compared to the standard interview.
