Memory Flashcards
Capacity
How much data can be stored in each of the stores
Duration
The amount of time the information can be stored
Coding
How information is stored
STM coding,capacity & duration
Acoustically
Miller magic number 7 (5-9)
Limited
LTM coding,capacity & duration
Semantically
Infinite
Lifetime
Parts of the multi-store model
Sensory register
STM
LTM
How does the multi-store model of memory work?
Atkinson and Shiffrin
Information from our environment enters our sensory register and if given attention is transferred to the STM
From there it is either forgotten or passed on to the LTM through maintenance rehearsal
When recalling info it is retrieved from LTM back to STM
Evaluation points to MSM
+ Based on lab studies so can establish cause and effect
- Lacks ecological validity
+ easy to understand
- model is oversimplified as it says STM and LTM are both one store each
Types of LTM
Episodic
Semantic
Procedural
Episodic and what part of the brain is it linked to?
Personal memories for events
Linked to hippocampus
Semantic and what part of the brain is it linked to?
Concrete knowledge shared by everyone
Linked to temporal lobe
Procedural and what part of the brain is it linked to?
Knowing how to do something (unconscious)
Linked to cerebellum
Explanations for forgetting
Proactive/retroactive interference
Retrieval failure
Proactive interference
When past learning interferes with new learning
A person is unable to recall new info as the info learned first is getting in the way
Retroactive interference
When new learning interferes with old learning
A person struggles to remember what they learnt in the past as it’s been replaced with new information
Retrieval failure
When information still exists in the memory but isn’t accessible due to the absence of cues
Describe the working memory model
Developed by Baddeley and Hitch
It is a model of STM which suggests the STM is not just one store
Contains: Central executive Phonological loop Visuo-spatial Episodic buffer
Evaluation points to interference theory
+ research support from many lab studies
- artificial research
- tells us little about the cognitive processes involved
Central executive
Acts as attention and controls slave systems
Phonological loop
Holds speech based information
Made up of a phonological store (inner ear) articulatory process (inner voice)
Visuo-spatial sketchpad
Temporary storage of visual and spatial information
Episodic buffer
Briefly stored information from the other subsystems and integrates it together
Evaluation points for WMM
+ support from case study KF
- support from lab studies which lack ecological validity
- central executive is simple and vague
- doesn’t explain how info is transferred to LTM
- evidence from brain damaged patients
Examples of retrieval cues
Context such as place, smell etc
State - emotion, mood, drunk etc
Evaluation points to retrieval failure
+ context dependant forgetting scuba diver study
+ state dependent forgetting study
Eyewitness testimony
Evidence supplied in court by people who witness a specific event/crime, relying on their memory
Cognitive interview
An interviewing technique aimed to improve recall
Describe Loftus and Palmer’s study of leading Qs - aim, procedure and findings?
Aim: to investigate the affect of leading questions
Procedure: ppts shown film of multiple car crash
Ppts are then asked a series of questions
They are asked ‘how fast do you think the cars were going when they HIT?’
In different conditions the word HIT was replaced with
Smashed
Collided
Bumped
Contacted
Findings: leading Qs can affect the accuracy of people’s memories of an event
Smashed had highest speed=41mph
Contacted had lowest speed=32mph
What factors affect eyewitness testimony?
Misleading information
Leading questions
Post event discussion
Anxiety
What are the aspects of the cognitive interview?
Mental reinstatement
Report everything
Recall in reverse order
Recall from changed perspectives
Evaluation points of Loftus and Palmers leading Qs study
- Film is not as emotionally arousing as real life event which may affect recall
- The experimental design might lead to demand characteristics as ptts may have guessed the nature of the study
[ Reduced validity and reliability of the experiment ]
Briefly describe Johnson and scott’s weapon focus study
Independent groups design
1 condition: man comes out room with a pen and greasy hands
Other condition: man comes out with bloody knife
Ppts must identify the man from 50 photographs
+ high ecological validity
- Ethical issues as lacks informed consent and ppts may have been distressed
How does post event discussion affect EWT accuracy?
It can either increase or decrease accuracy
> Gabbert et al’s: ptts watched a video of a staged robbery and were then interviewed along with confederates
If…
ptts respond 1st = recall is 58% accurate
Confed respond 1st w accurate info = recall is 67% accurate
Confed respond 1st w inaccurate info = recall is 42% accurate
How does anxiety affect focus?
Small increases in anxiety and arousal may increase the accuracy of memory but high levels have a negative effect on accuracy
High anxiety may lead to weapon focus which means the witness neglects details such as clothing
Interference theory
Two sets of information can become distorted when they are similar
