Memory Flashcards
What is cognitive psychology interested in?
Mental process and the way these affect behaviour
What is memory?
1) process of retaining information about the past
2) process of accessing information when needed
What is coding?
The way information is changed so that it can be stored in memory
What is storage?
Keeping information within the memory system until it is needed
What is retrieval?
Recovering information stored in the memory system when it is required
What is the sensory register?
1) contains unprocessed information from senses
2) separate store for each sensory input (iconic store=visual information)(echoic store=auditory information)
What is short-term memory?
Temporary store for information received from the sensory register
What is long term memory?
Permanent store holding limitless amounts of information for long periods of time (potentially a lifetime)
What is capacity?
The amount of information that can be held in memory before new information displaces it
What is duration?
The amount of time information can be held in a memory store before it is list due to decay
How is information coded into the sensory register?
Each sensory store codes differently - modality specific
How is information coded into the short-term memory?
According to how it sounds - acoustically
How is information coded into the long-term memory?
According to its meaning - semantically
How did Baddeley (1966) investigate coding in short-term memory?
1) gave participants 4 lists of words: list A=similar sounding words list B=dissimilar sounding words list C=words with similar meanings list D=words with dissimilar meanings 2) recall of list A was worse than B 3) no difference in recall of lists C+D
How did Baddeley (1966) investigate coding into long-term memory)?
1) repeated short-term memory experiment
2) tested participants recall after 20 minute delay to ensure information passed into long-term memory
3) no difference in recall of lists A+B
4) recall of list C was worse than D
What is the capacity of the sensory register?
Unlimited
What is the capacity of short-term memory?
7 +/- 2 pieces of information
What is the capacity of long-term memory?
Unlimited
How did Jacobs (1887) test the capacity of short-term memory?
1) participants presented with string of letters/digits
2) participants asked to repeat string in same order immediately after giving it
3) strings got longer by 1 item each time until the participant failed to recall the sequence correctly
What is chunking?
Grouping large amounts of information into smaller groups
What is the duration of the sensory register?
250 milliseconds
What is the duration of short-term memory?
18-30 seconds
What is the duration of long-term memory?
Lifetime
How did Peterson and Peterson (1959) test for the duration of short-term memory?
1) participants shown nonsense trigrams
2) asked to recall after 3/6/9/12/15/18 seconds
3) during the pause, participants had to count backwards in 3s from 100
What were the results of Peterson and Peterson (1959)?
1) after 3s recall was accurate 80% of the time
2) after 18s recall was accurate 10% of the time
What is a nonsense trigram?
3 random consonants
How did Bahrick (1975) test for the duration of long-term memory?
1) 392 people asked to list the names of their ex-classmates
2) participants shown photos + asked to recall names of people shown/given names + asked to match them to a photo of classmate
What were the results of Bahrick (1975)?
1) after 15 years, free-recall=90%
2) after 30 years, free-recall = 60%
3) after 48 years, name recognition=80%
4) after 48 years, photo recognition=40%
What is the multi-store model of memory?
A model explaining how information flows from one memory store to another, and how information is lost from them
How is information lost from the sensory register?
Decay
Why can information in short-term memory be displaced?
The capacity is limited to 7 +/- 2 pieces of information
What is maintenance rehearsal?
Repeatedly verbalising or thinking about the information
What is elaborative rehearsal?
When information is organised in a meaningful way
How can information be kept in short-term memory?
Maintenance rehearsal
How can information be transferred from short-term memory to long-term memory?
Elaborative rehearsal
Why can we sometimes not access information from long-term memory?
Retrieval failure
What did Scoville (1957) do?
Attempt to treat a patient (HF) by removing several brain areas, including his hippocampus
What happened to HM?
Unable to code new long-term memories although short-term memories were unaffected
What does the case study of HM show?
Short-term + long-term memory stores are separate and distinct
What did Shallice and Warrington (1970) report?
The case study of KF
What happened to KF?
1) as a result of a motorbike accident KF has a reduced short-term memory of 1/2 digits
2) long-term memory was unaffected
3) short-term memory was poor for verbal task but not for visual tasks
What does the case study of KF show?
1) short + long-term memory stores are separate and distinct
2) suggests there is more than one type of short-term memory (contradicts multi-store model of memory)
3) long-term memories were unaffected even though short-term memories were damaged (contradicts multi-store model of memory)
What are the limitations of the multi-store model of memory?
1) information is transferred from short-term to long-term memory ugh rehearsal but in real life people don’t always spend time rehearsing, yet they still transfer information into long-term memory
2) some items can’t be rehearsed (smell)
3) model is oversimplified - assumes there is only one short-term + long-term store
What does the working memory model propose?
Short-term memory is an active store containing several different stores instead of being a single store
What is the central executive?
1) drives whole model
2) allocates data to slave systems
3) deals with cognitive tasks (mental arithmetic/reasoning/problem solving)
4) limited capacity
5) less demand from automated tasks
What is the phonological loop?
Holds speech-based information
How many sub-components does the phonological loop have?
2
What are the sub-components of the phonological loop?
1) phonological store
2) articulatory loop
What is the phonological store?
1) (inner ear)
2) speech perception
3) hols information in speech-based form for 1-2 seconds
What is the articulatory loop?
1) (inner voice)
2) speech production
3) used to rehearse + store verbal information from phonological store
4) repeats information
How many slave systems are there in the central executive?
3
What are the salve systems of the central executive?
1) phonological loop
2) visuo-spatial sketchpad
3) episodic buffer
What is the visuo-spacial sketch pad?
1) (inner eye)
2) temporary storage of visual and spatial information
3) used for navigation
How many sub-components does the visuo-spacial sketchpad have?
2
What are the sub-components of the visuo-spacial sketchpad?
1) visual cache
2) inner scribe
What is visual cache?
Stores visual material about form + colour
What is the inner scribe?
Handles spatial relationships
What is the episodic buffer?
1) limited capacity store
2) stores + integrates information from central executive/phonological loop/visuo-spatial sketchpad/long-term memory
3) forms complete scenes/‘episodes’
How many types of long-term memory are there?
3
What are the types of long-term memory?
1) episodic memory
2) semantic memory
3) procedural memory
What is episodic memory?
Events that you have experienced
Give an example of an episodic memory.
1) concert
2) visit to a restaurant
3) first day of school
4) family holiday
5) last birthday
How is information in episodic memory organised?
1) details of what happened
2) context - time and place
3) emotions you felt at the time of the event
Where are episodic memories stored?
Hippocampus
What is semantic memory?
1) facts + general knowledge
2) related to functions of object/appropriate behaviour in events/abstract concepts (mathematics/language)
3) no knowledge of context of where you learn the information
Where are semantic memories stored?
Temporal lobe
Give an example of a semantic memory.
1) the capital of England is London
2) 2+2=4
What is procedural memory?
1) motor skills + actions
2) acquired through practise + repetition
3) automatic
4) unavailable for conscious inspection - difficult to explain verbally
Where are procedural memories stored?
Cerebellum
Give an example of a procedural memory.
1) tying shoelaces
2) driving
3) reading
4) riding a bicycle
Why is it important that procedural memories are automatic?
So that we can focus our attention on other tasks while performing these everyday skills
What is forgetting?
When learnt information can’t be retrieved
What is interference?
When two lots of information become confused in memory and forgetting occurs
How many types of interference are there?
2
What are the types of interference?
1) retroactive interference
2) proactive interference
What is retroactive interference?
When new information interferes with the ability to recall older information
What is proactive interference?
When old information interferes with the ability to recall new information
What type of interference did Underwood (1957) investigate?
Proactive interference
What did Underwood (1957) find?
1) participants who learned 10 or more lists of words recalled 20% the next day
2) participant who learned 1 list of words recalled 70% the next day
What is a practical application of interference theory?
Students can revise similar material at different times so interference is less likely to occur
What is retrieval failure?
Forgetting occurs when the appropriate cue isn’t available
What is cue-dependent learning?
Remembering more if you are in the same context/mood as you were when you coded the original information
What happens when cues are not available at the time of recall?
1) you cannot access the information
2) appears as if you have forgotten the information
What is state-dependent forgetting?
Physical state can affect recall
What is context-dependent forgetting?
The environment in which the material is learnt can act as a cue
What is a weakness of retrieval failure?
1) might not explain all types of memory - may not be relevant to procedural memory
2) any evidence is artificial + lacks meaning in the real world
3) impossible to test whether information in long-term memory is accessible or just waiting for the right cue
How did Darley et al (1973) show the importance of state-dependent cues?
Participant who hid money in large warehouse under the influence of cannabis were more likely to recall hiding place under similar drugged state
What is eyewitness testimony?
The evidence given by people who witnessed a crime, based on their memory of the incident
Give an example of eyewitness testimony.
1) sequence of events
2) crime scenes (time/date/location)
3) descriptions of criminals (hair colour/height)
What are leading questions?
Questions phrased in such a way as to encourage a witness to give a certain answer
What does the response-bias explanation argue?
Leading questions do not affect memory, only the answer a person chooses to give
What does the substitution-bias explanation argue?
Leading questions distort memories because they contain misleading information
What was the procedure for Loftus and Palmer (1974)?
1) showed participants film of car crash
2) asked participants to estimate speed cars was travelling upon crashing
3) different verbs used depending on condition (contacted/hit/bumped/collided/smashed)
4) a week later, participants asked if they saw any glass
What were the findings of Loftus and Palmer (1974)?
1) ‘contacted’=31mph speed estimate
2) ‘smashed’=41mph speed estimate
3) ‘smashed’=yes for broken glass
4) control condition= no broken glass
What does Loftus and Palmer (1974) show?
1) leading questions have a significant impact on recall
2) leading questions change entire memory of an event
What is a weakness about Loftus and Palmer (1974)?
1) questionable ecological validity - participants watched video of crash whereas people who witness a real crash may be more emotionally connected to the event and not as susceptible to leading questions
2) lacks population validity - consisted of american students (less experienced drivers) and so cannot generalise results to other populations
What is a strength about Loftus and Palmer (1974)?
Laboratory experiment:
2) highly controlled - reduced chance of extraneous variables
3) increased validity of results
4) easy for psychologists to replicate research - reliable
What factors can affect the accuracy of recall in eyewitness testimony?
1) misleading information
2) leading questions
3) post-event discussion
How can post-event discussion affect the memory of an event?
1) misinformation through discussing events
2) desire for social approval can lead participant to come to a consensus of what happened
What was the procedure of Gabbert et al (2003)?
1) put participants into pairs
2) made participants what different video of same event - different details
3) condition 1 - participants discussed event before recall
4) condition 2 - participants did not discuss before recall
What were the findings of Gabbert et al (2003)?
71% participants mistakenly recalled details they learned from their partner
What is a weakness of post-event discussion?
1) lacks ecological validity - participants knew they were taking part in an experiment and so could have paid more attention to details
2) results do not reflect real life
What is a strength of post-event discussion?
1) population validity - no difference between students + older adults when compared
2) post-event discussion affects younger + older adults in a similar way
What is anxiety?
A state of apprehension/uncertainty/fear resulting from a threatening situation
What is the weapon focus effect?
Witnessed who see a violent crime involving a weapon can often describe a criminal’s weapon in great detail, but they cannot recall much about the criminal themselves
How did Loftus (1979) investigate the weapon focus affect in eyewitness testimony?
Experimental condition:
1) participants to overhear heated argument between 2 people + furniture being overturned + broken glass
2) man emerged carrying letter opener covered in blood
3) participants asked to identify man from 50 photographs
Control Condition:
1) participants overhear conversation about laboratory equipment failure
2) man emerged with a pen + grease on hands
3) participants asked to identify man from 50 photographs
What were the findings of Loftus (1979)?
1) 33% in bloody letter opener condition identified correct photo
2) 49% in pen condition identified correct photo
3) participants in bloody letter opener condition focused more on weapon than person
Why was the cognitive interview technique developed?
To try and increase the accuracy of witnesses’ recall of events during police questioning
Describe a standard interview?
1) brief/fact-based/closed questions
2) witnesses often interrupted
3) witnesses not allowed to expand upon answers
How many stages are there in the cognitive interview?
4
What are the stages of the cognitive interview?
1) context reinstatement
2) report everything
3) recall from changed perspective
4) recall in reverse order
What happens in context reinstatement?
1) witness mentally recreates image of situation - details of environment (weather/emotional state/feelings)
2) may act as retrieval cues
What happens in report everything?
1) interviewer encourages witness to recall all details about event (even if unimportant)
2) may highlight overlooked details + trigger other memories
What happens in recall from changed perspective?
1) witness mentally creates situation from different points of view
2) provides more holistic view + reduces influence of schemas
What is a schema?
Mental structure of a preconceived idea
What happens in recall in reverse order?
1) witness asked to recall scene in different chronological order
2) should verify witnesses’ account + reduce possibility that influence is influenced by schemas/expectations
What additional guidelines did Fisher (1987) add to the cognitive interview?
1) encourage witness to relax + speak slowly
2) avoid distractions
3) use open-ended questions
4) offer comments to help clarify witness statements
