memory

Question 1

who invented the multi-store memory model

Answer 1

Atkinson and shiffrin

Question 2

describe the process MSMM

Answer 2

information passes from store to store in a linear process
information is transferred from STM to LTM if that info is rehearsed. if info is not rehearsed then the info is forgotten then it is lost from STM through displacement or decay.

Question 3

define maintenance rehearsal

Answer 3

rehearsing information, if not it is lost

Question 4

what is the capacity, duration and encoding of the aspects of the MSMM

Answer 4

sensory- 30 seconds, all sensory, sense specific
STM- 18-30 seconds, 7 +/- 2 items, mainly auditory
LTM- unlimited, unlimited, mainly semantic

Question 5

give 2 strengths and 2 weakness if MSMM

Answer 5

S- HM lost his memory on an operation table, he lost LTM of personal and public events (death of mum’dad or Vietnam war) however STM remained intact
S- clive wearing contracted herpes, he could not make new memories but still remembered how to play the piano. his STM was affected but not his LTM. supporting that they’re separate stores
W- the model is oversimplified, in particular the way it suggests that both STM and LTM operate in a single, uniformed fashion
W- rehearsal is considered a too simple explanation to account for the transfer of info from STM to LTM. the model ignores motivation, effect and stratergy

Question 6

what are the types of LTM, give a strength

Answer 6

procedural memory- responsible for knowing how to do things. it is entirely unconscious
semantic memory- responsible for storing info about the world, this includes knowledge on the meaning of words and general knowledge
episodic memory- responsible for storing info about events that we have experienced during our lives. it involves conscious thoughts.

amnesia Ps have great difficulty in retaining episodic and semantic memory following the onset of amnesia. however their procedural memory appears to be largely unaffected

Question 7

describe inference as a explanation for forgetting

Answer 7

proactive interference- (pro=forward)- what we lready know interferes with what were currently learning. old memories disrupt new memories

retroactive interference- (retro=backwards)- occurs when you forget a previously learnt task due to the learning of a new task. new memories disrupt old memories

Question 8

according to retrieval failure due to absence of cues, when is memory best

Answer 8

memory will be best when a persons physical or psychological state is similar at encoding and retrieval

Question 9

who investigated encoding specific principle, describe his findings

Answer 9

tulving et al reviewed research into retrieval failure and discovered a consistent pattern. ESP states that if a cue is to help us to recall info, it had to be present at encoding and retrieval. if the cues available are different there will be some forgetting

Question 10

describe the investigation into state dependent regarding retrieval failure and absence of cues

Answer 10

goodwin et al investigated the affect of alcohol on state dependent retrieval. he found that when people encoded info when drunk, they were more likely to recall it when in the same state.
48 medical students were tested, group 1 sober both days, group 2 intoxicated both days, group 3 intoxicated day 1 and sober day 2, group 4 sober day 1 and intoxicated day 2
findings- more errors were made on day 2 by group 3 and 4 then group 1 and 2

Question 11

describe the investigation into cue dependent regarding retrieval failure and absence of cues

Answer 11

godden and baddely. 18 divers were asked to learn a list of 36 unrelated words. there were 4 conditions, learn on the beach and recall on beach, learn on beach and recall under water, learn in water and recall under water, learn in water and recall on beach.
findings- Ps recalled more words when they learnt and recalled the words in the same environment. the context acted as a cue

Question 12

who invented the working memory model and descibe

Answer 12

baddeley and hitch

input

sensory memory

central executive/phonological loop/visuo-spatial sketch pad

STM

Question 13

describe the visuo-spatial sketch pad and the different components

Answer 13

it stores and processes info in a visual or spatial form.
the visual cache- which store visual data about form and colour (inner eye)
the inner scribe- which records the arrangement of objects in the visual field, and rehearses and transfers information in the visual cache to the central executive).

Question 14

describe the phonological loop and the different components

Answer 14

deals with spoken and written material
phonological store- is linked to speech perception. holds info in speech-based form for 1-2 secs (inner ear)
articulatory control- linked to speech production, used to rehearse and store verbal info (inner voice)

Question 15

describe the central executive

Answer 15

drives the whole system and allocates data to the subsystems. it also deals with cognitive tasks, such as mental arithmetic and problem solving

Question 16

describe the episodic buffer

Answer 16

The third slave system is the episodic buffer which acts as a ‘backup’ (temporary) store for information which communicates with both long term memory and the slave system components of working memory

Question 17

what are the 3 slave systems in the working memory model

Answer 17

visuo-spatial scratch pad
episodic buffer
phonological loop

Question 18

evaluate the working memory model, 3 S and 2 W

Answer 18

s- it replaced the idea of a unitary STM as suggested by MSMM
S- it makes sense of a range of tasks, verbal reasoning, problem solving, reading and visual processing
S- KF suffered brain damage from a motor cycle accident. he damaged his STM for verbal information but his visual info was largely unaffected. thereby supporting VSS and phonological loop being different stores
W- there is little evidence for how the central executive works and waht is does. the capacity had never been measured.
W- only involves STM

Question 19

What does encoding, capacity and duration mean

Answer 19

encoding- the way info is changed so it can be stored in memory; visal, acoustic and semantic
capacity- concerns how much info can be stores
duration- refers to the period of times info can last in the memory store

Question 20

what are the 4 factors affecting eyewitness testimony

Answer 20

anxiety, schema, leading question and post evident discussion

Question 21

how does anxiety affect eyewitness testimony and describe the 2 studies related to this

Answer 21

when we are anxious we tend to focus on whats making us feel anxious; we exclude other information.

YORKES DODSON LAW- as anxiety increases so does memory but only until a certain point, once stress goes past the optimum point then memory performance decreases

LOFTUS WEAPON EFFECT- a man holding a pen and a man holding a knife ran out infront of Ps. the Ps could remember facial features of the man holding the pen, however could only remember the weapon of the man holding the knife

Question 22

how does schema affect eye witness testimony

Answer 22

can affect EWT as it may be used to ‘fill in’ information that the witness cannot recall accurately. this may mean that they include details that never actually happened but were instead extracted from the schema

Question 23

how does leading question affect eye witness testimony including study

Answer 23

the response bias explanation suggests that the wording of the question has an influence on how we decide to answer
LOFTUS AND PALMER conducted a study in which the word of a leading question was changed. the ps watched a video of a car crash and then were asked to describe it. Ps whos leading question included the verb ‘smashed’ the Ps were more likely to report seeing broken glass than those who heard ‘hit’. the critial verb altered their memory of the accident

Question 24

how does post evident discussion affect eye witness testimony including study

Answer 24

youre more likely to be influences if you discuss the evident before hand
gabbert, PS watched a video of a girl stealing money from a wallet. The Ps were either tested individually (control group) or in pairs (co-witness group). The ps in the co-witness group were told that they had watched the same video, however they had in fact seen different perspectives of the same crime and only one person had actually witnessed the girl stealing.Ps in the co-witness group discussed the crime together. All of the ps then completed a questionnaire, testing their memory of the event.
Gabbert et al. found that 71% of the witnesses in the co-witness group recalled information they had not actually seen and 60% said that the girl was guilty, despite the fact they had not seen her commit a crime.

Question 25

how was the accuracy of eye witness testimony improved?

Answer 25

after looking at current police practice through detailed analysis of taped interview, they suggested adding a few extra features e.g. minimising distractions, actively listening to the witness, asking open ended questions and pausing after each repsonse, this was called the cognitive interview

Question 26

what are the main components of the cognitive interview

Answer 26

context reinstatement- mentally reinstate the context of the event. recall the scene. weather and proceeding events
report everything- report every detail even if it seems trivial
report from changed perspective- try to describe the episode as it would have been from a different perspective
recall in reverse order- report the episode in several different orders moving backwards and forewards

Question 27

evaluate cognitive interview

Answer 27

gelseiman found that CI produced more accurate detailed memories than the standardized police interview
gelseiman and fisher found that CI worked best when used within a short time following a crime, which means if done after a long time it wont be as accurate

Question 28

Regarding the weapon effect experiment, who actually conducted the experiment and who reported it

Answer 28

Johannson and Scott

Loftus

Question 29

What’s a flash bulb memory

Answer 29

Is a traumatic memory that gf automatically stored in your LTM