Memory

Question 1

What are the components of the multi store model? And how is memory stored in each component?

Answer 1

Sensor registry, STM, LTM.
Items moves from STM to LTM via rehearsal.
If info is not rehearsed it is forgotten.
Info moves from sensory registry to STM via attention.

Question 2

Outline the process of encoding:

Answer 2

Encoding involves the process of creating a chemical trace in the brain (converting stimulus into a chemical trace in the brain)
This takes place during the presentation of material.
Can be defined as ‘the process of the transformation of sensory input (e.g sound) into a form that can be stored in memory’.
There are 3 types of encoding.

Question 3

Name the three types of encoding:

Answer 3

Visual, Acoustic, Semantic (meaning)

Question 4

Describe capacity:

Answer 4

How much information can be stored in each part of the model.

Question 5

Describe duration:

Answer 5

How long information can be stored for.

Question 6

What is the capacity of the STM?

Answer 6

(7 +/- 2) items

Question 7

What is the duration of the STM?

Answer 7

18-30 seconds (can be extended to 2 minutes with rehearsal)

Question 8

What is the capacity of the LTM?

Answer 8

Unlimited.

Question 9

What is the duration of the LTM?

Answer 9

Forever.

Question 10

What are the sensory registers?

Answer 10

Iconic register (visual info)

Echoic register (Auditory)

Haptic register (touch)

Question 11

Fill in the blanks: ‘When considering capacity and duration of the sensory memory it is difficult to be precise. Information in the sensory registers is only stored for a very 1____ period of time (2____ duration) and in a relatively unprocessed form (limited 3____)

Answer 11

1: Brief
2: Limited
3: Encoding

Question 12

The information that enters our sensory memory is far more than our later memory stages can handle, through what mechanism is information selected?

Answer 12

Attention, information that receives attention will be transferred to the next memory store. (e.g. STM)

Question 13

Outline the ICONIC MEMORY research by SPERLING

Answer 13

Sperling 1960 carried out research in which he presented participants (Ps) with three rows of four letters each for 50 milliseconds (1/20 of a second), he asked for a recall
Ps could only recall four or five letters, but did remember that they saw more. Sperling felt the memory for many letters had decayed.
He tested this by asking Ps to recall only one part of information presented e.g. one row, he found up to NINE or TEN pieces of information could be recalled this way. This is because ICONIC memory is thought to decay within a fraction of a second so not all of the items could be recalled.

Question 14

Outline ECHOIC memory research carried out by Darwen et al 1972

Answer 14

• Darwen suggested that echoic mem may last longer than iconic mem.
• Carried out a similar experiment to Sperling, but with auditory rather than visual stimuli.. Lists of numbers read aloud.
• Ps wore headphones so it felt like one list came from left, one from right and one from behind.
• Ps given a cue to recall on of the lists.
• As the delay between recalling and hearing increased recollection decreased in accuracy.
• Suggests sound based info is held in its raw form before being transferred for further processing.

Question 15

Sensory memory capacity:

Answer 15

Very large, potentially unlimited

Question 16

Sensory memory duration:

Answer 16

250 milliseconds (0.25 seconds)

Question 17

Identify 6 key points of the multi store model:

Answer 17

1- Structural model (3 seperate stores each have distinct characteristics)
2- linear model
3- unitary stores - single STM store and single LTM store
4- The MSM explains the process by which info is transferred.
5- Info transfers from sensory store to STM through attention and from STM to LTM via rehearsal.
6. explains reasons for forgetting

Question 18

Evaluation MSM: Strength and weakness Separate stores:

Answer 18

Separate stores: PET scans allow us to see LTM uses hippocampus, STM uses prefrontal cortex.
Complexity - WMM shows STM to be more detailed and also supported by research. Development of different types of LTM demonstrates further complexity

Question 19

Evaluation MSM: Weakness: Is rehearsal necessary for LTM storage to occur?

Answer 19

We don’t rehearse memories that we have in order to keep them in the LTM e.g. first day of school or first time doing an activity we just remember them.
LTM also involves more than just maintenance rehearsal
idea of shallow and deep processing word on its own vs word in a sentence. deep processing is key process missed out in MSM (ps remembered better when using word in a sentence)

Question 20

Evaluation MSM: Primacy and recency effect:

Answer 20

Primacy effect refers to the superior recall of earlier items in a list, recency refers to the better recall of later items in a list.
More recent items will have likely been rehearsed at the start (potentially in LTM) and the final items will be more easily recalled because they are in the STM
Effectively suggests that there are two separate stores. The middle words are harder to recall because they are displaced by later items.
Supports the MSM bc it shows the existence of stores, the role of rehearsal in creating LTM and the limited capacity and duration of STM

Question 21

Types of LTM ways to describe them

Answer 21

Explicit and implicit. Only procedural is implicit. Semantic and episodic are explicit.

Question 22

Evidence for types of LTM

Answer 22

Brain scans found episodic memory associated with frontal lobe and temporal lobe
semantic memory is also associated with temporal lobe but procedural memory activation is associated with the cerebellum and basal ganglia and limbic system in learning skills associated with motor cortex

Question 23

HM case study to evaluate MSM (removal of hippocampus)

Answer 23

Limitation - HM could still form new procedural memories but not episodic or semantic memories. Could learn to draw but had no memory of forming it episodically or semantically.
Strength - was able to form STMs but had difficulty creating new LTM so could read the same magazine without realising he had read it before.

Question 24

Problem with using evidence from patients with brain damage

Answer 24

It is difficult to be certain of the exact parts of the brain that have been affected until patient has died. Most studies are conducted with living patients.
Damage to a particular region of the brain does not necessarily mean it is responsible for a particular behaviour as it could merely be acting as a relay station. Malfunction of the relay station is just as likely to impair performance.
Unique findings have problems with generalisation
There are issues with lack of speech in animals to use animals.
Ethical issues with purposely causing damage to a brain.

Question 25

Description of working memory model

Answer 25

Area of memory used while working on things, described as focus of consciousness (holds info you are consciously thinking about now).
Concerned with the active processing and short term storage of info
A more accurate representation of the STM from the MSM.
Components concerned with processing and storage of of info, can operate independently of each other
WMM suggests we can handle more than one task at a time providing tasks use different components and are not overly demanding.

Question 26

Phonological loop

Answer 26

Part of working memory that deals with spoken and written material. It can be used to remember a phone number. It consists of two parts

Phonological Store (inner ear) – Linked to speech perception. Holds information in a speech-based form (i.e., spoken words) for 1-2 seconds.

Articulatory control process (inner voice) – Linked to speech production. Used to rehearse and store verbal information from the phonological store.

Question 27

central executive

Answer 27

Responsible for monitoring and coordinating the operation of the slave systems (i.e., visuospatial sketchpad and phonological loop) and relates them to long term memory (LTM).
The central executive decides which information is attended to and which parts of the working memory to send that information to be dealt with. For example, two activities sometimes come into conflict, such as driving a car and talking.
Acts more like a system which controls attentional processes rather than as a memory store.

Question 28

Visuo spatial sketchpad

Answer 28

Plays an important role in helping us keep track of where we are in relation to other objects as we move through our environment.
Also displays and manipulates visual and spatial information held in long-term memory. For example, the spatial layout of your house is held in LTM.
Has a -visual cache stores info about visual items eg colour - inner scribe stores arrangement of items in a visual field

Question 29

Evidence dual task performance WMM

Answer 29

A visual processing task and a verbal processing task can be performed at the same time. It is more difficult to perform two visual tasks at the same time because they interfere with each other and performance is reduced. The same applies to performing two verbal tasks at the same time. This supports the view that the phonological loop and the sketchpad are separate systems within working memory. (Baddely et al visual tracking task of moving light and asked to either describe all the angles on the letter F or perform a verbal task at the same time)

Question 30

Evidence in brain damaged patient KF WMM

Answer 30

Indicates that STM more complex than what MSM suggests
While KFs digit span within STM impaired damage affected auditory info much greater than visual stimuli
Evidence also suggests that STM consists of multiple separate components
Impairment for auditory stimuli limited to verbal information and not non verbal sounds like telephone ringing suggesting brain damage restricted to phonological loop

Question 31

Evidence in PET scans WMM

Answer 31

Have shown that different areas of the brain are active while doing visual and verbal tasks.

Question 32

Limitations of WMM

Answer 32

Central executive not fully understood - capacity has not been established, although explained some psychologists suggest the concept is too vague

Doesn’t explain changes in processing ability over time - some people have different capacities verbally and visually.

Too difficult to falsify - the model can be used to explain any results eg if ps given articulatory suppression task “lalala” n this has a neg effect on performance it is assumed that phonological loop is normally used in this type of task , if performance not effected it is assumed CE is usually used in the task.

CE as single component questionable - researchers have suggested there may be several components. Case study of EVR questions CE as single component , removal of cerebral tumor left him able to do some tasks requiring CE well and others poorly (reasoning better than decision making). Has also been suggested there are separate verbal n spatial WM systems rather than single CE

Question 33

Strengths of WMM

Answer 33

Provides a more plausible and complex view of STM than MSM - sees WM as more than just simple temporary storage showing it is involved in active processing of info thus the model can explain how we carry out cognitive tasks n prehaps provides us with a more accurate account of how we use our memory

Supported by research evidence - such as baddeley and the tracking task with F or verbal task (dual task research) showing support for the existence of seperate stores/components within the STM. Dual task evidence also questions the MSM.

Question 34

Description of retrieval failure - absence of cues as an explanation of forgetting

Answer 34

Retrieval failure is where the information is in long term memory, but cannot be accessed.
Such information is said to be available (i.e. it is still stored) but not accessible (i.e. it cannot be retrieved). It cannot be accessed because the retrieval cues are not present.

When we store a new memory we also store information about the situation and these are known as retrieval cues. When we come into the same situation again, these retrieval cues can trigger the memory of the situation. Retrieval cues can be:

External / Context - in the environment, e.g. smell, place etc. or explicit linked to learning material
Internal / State- inside of us, e.g. physical, emotional, mood, drunk etc.

Encoding specificity principle - forgetting occurs when when there is a poor match of fit between info contained in the memory trace and the cues available at the time of retrieval

Question 35

Evaluation of absence of cues as an explanation of forgetting using research

Answer 35

Real world application - use to improve recall when you need to for example in exams. Research suggests that you ought to revise in the room where you will be taking the exams. This is somewhat unrealistic and research has found that using your imagination by thinking of the room where you did your original learning (mental reinstatement) is as effective as actually being in the same room at time of retrieval. Another application is the cognitive interview.

Research support - Tulving n Pearlstone participants learned words belonging to certain categories each word being represented as category + word eg fruit apple fruit orange ps then either completed a free recall test or a cued recall test. Free recall resulted in 40% recall while cued recall resulted in 60% recall
Scuba diver study
Sober or drunk study

Retrieval cues don’t always work - outshining hypothesis a cues effectiveness is reduced by the presence of better cues research has shown that context effects are largely eliminated when learning meaningful material

Question 36

Description of interference theory as an explanation of forgetting

Answer 36

States that forgetting occurs because memories interfere with and disrupt one another, in other words forgetting occurs because of interference from other memories, that information in long term memory may become confused or combined with other information during encoding thus distorting or disrupting memories.

Proactive - occurs when you cannot learn a new task because of an old task that had been learnt. When what we already know interferes with what we are currently learning – where old memories disrupt new memories.

Retroactive - occurs when you forget a previously learnt task due to the learning of a new task. In other words, later learning interferes with earlier learning - where new memories disrupt old memories.

Why it occurs - bc there is competition between the correct and incorrect responses its the strength of the incorrect response that appears as a result of interference rather than weakness or inaccessibility of the correct response. Thus major cause is it being hard to exclude incorrect info from retrieval processes

Paired associate testing - lists closer in similarity unable to be recalled as easily.

Question 37

Evaluation of interference as an explanation of forgetting using research

Answer 37

Distortion in EWT explained via interference theory
Synonym lists found hard to remember in research study by McGeoch and McDonald research support
Research is fairly artificial lists p may lack motivation to learn allowing interference effects to appear stronger than they are however interference effects are clear in everyday life
Accessibility vs availability - accessibility = recognition availability = recall. Effects availability rather than accessibility

Question 38

Description of EWT (intro into factors affecting)

Answer 38

EWT = evidence given by a witness to a significant event eg crime or accident
Much research into EWT concerns itself with the accuracy of EWT
Errors can occur in any of the stages of memory acquisition/encoding ,storage and retrieval
Evidence has suggested recall of events can be affected by misleading info received after an event.
Misleading info = usually takes the form of a question or statement to an eyewitness that wrongly implies that something happened which didn’t

Question 39

Description of factors affecting EWT

Answer 39

Misleading info n post event discussion

Anxiety

Question 40

Research into factors affecting EWT

Answer 40

Loftus - barn and stop sign - showed ps a film of events leading up to a car accident. Control group = asked questions which were consistent w what they had seen asking how fast past stop sign it was going. Experimental group = asked questions which included misleading info such as how fast was the white sports car going when it passed the barn while travelling along the country road. There was a stop sign in the film but no barn. 17% in ex group reported barn while 3% reported barn in control. Some p had therefore absorbed misleading post event info into original memory after the event.

Another study by loftus showed how info that is particularly noticeable and relevant is less subject to distortion than peripheral details. Original memory therefore can stay intact.

Leading questions - hit smashed bumped - how fast were cars going when they hit smashed or bumped the n follow up experiment of report of how much glass broken when no glass had been broken

Post event disscussion - gabbert et al found those who hadnt even witnessed the crime made assumptions off hearing an incorrect EWT , we put what makes sense into out heads and reassurance of peers makes us more certain. social pressure vs problems with memory

Question 41

Why might EWT be inaccurate

Answer 41

Reconstructive memory and the schema - refers to a memory distorted by individuals prior knowledge and expectations sees memory as an active process rather than a passive one. We only store elements of our experience and reconstruct into a meaningful whole. We tend to ignore aspects that don’t fit in with our schema so disort memories to fit in with schema. link back to EWT.

Question 42

Research into role of anxiety of EWT

Answer 42

waiting room pen grease and paper knife blood indentifed better with pen.
violent vs non violent crime film most accurate with non violent
yule and cutshall those closest to event best recall. link back to anxiety

Question 43

Evaluation of research into EWT

Answer 43

Made an important contribution to understanding EWT. Research identified things that are helpful for changing the way police interview for the better
Lab studies w contradictory info with real life and lab study findings on extent to which effected by factors.
Gives light as to how EWT can be accurate eg through the use of cognitive interview

Question 44

Description of the cognitive interview

Answer 44

Person being interviewed does most of the talking , avoids the use of direct questioning and encourages individual to recreate scenario in some techniques.
Techniques known as retrieval strategies they include
mental reinstatement
report everything
change perspective
change order

Question 45

Evaluation of the cog. interview

Answer 45

Meta analysis found an increase of 34% in amount of correct info given in comparison to standard interview techniques. Report everything and mental reinstatement combined are most effective
Individual differences
Does not guarantee accuracy
Difficulties in establishing effectiveness in real world