Memory Flashcards
Two types of memory
Short Term
Long Term
Properties of STM
- Acoustic Coding
- Capacity: 7+-2 (between 5-9)
- Duration: 15-30 seconds
Properties of LTM
- Semantic Coding
- Capacity: potentially unlimited
- Duration: potentially a lifetime
How was STM capacity tested?
Digit Span Test
- Study by Jacobs
- Required recalling a set of numbers in order, adding one each time
- Average digit span was 7.3-9.3 digits
What did Miller find for STM?
We can hold the 5-9 pieces of information as chunks, not just digits.
Who discovered the Multi-Store Model?
Atkinson & Shiffrin (1968)
What are the three components of the MSM?
- Sensory Memory
- Short Term Memory
- Long Term Memory
Properties of the Sensory Memory
- Unknown capacity
- Duration: less than 1 second
How is information kept in the STM (according to the MSM)?
Through maintenance rehearsal
What happens to information in each of the MSM components if it is not rehearsed?
It will decay, after varying durations.
Who came up with the Working Memory Model?
Baddeley & Hitch (1974)
What 4 components did the WMM split the STM into?
- Central Executive
- Episodic Buffer
- Phonological Loop
- Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad
What is the role of the Central Executive?
Directs information to the slave systems in the STM
Components of the Phonological Loop
- Inner Voice
- Inner Ear
(capacity of 3-5 items)
Components of Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad
- Inner Scribe
- Inner Sketchpad
(capacity of 3-5 items)
What is the role of the Episodic Buffer
Binds information from all components and passes it to LTM. Codes both visual and acoustic information. Capacity of 5-9 items.
Who theorised the types of LTM?
Tulving (1985)
What are the three types of LTM?
- Semantic memory
- Procedural memory
- Episodic memory
Semantic Memory
Contains knowledge of the world (words and concepts). Combination of an encyclopedia and dictionary. Not time-stamped. Conscious memory.
Procedural Memory
Memory of how to do things (actions or skills). Unconscious memory. We find it difficult to explain process to someone else. Not time-stamped.
Episodic Memory
Recalling life events. Events that have occurred and people, objects, places involved. Conscious memory. Time-stamped.
Interference Theory
One memory disturbs the ability to recall another. May lead to distortion of another, or forgetting it completely. More likely when the memories similar.
Proactive Interference
Previously learnt information with new information you are trying to store.
Retroactive Interference
A new memory interferes with an old one.
Proactive Interference study
Underwood (1957)
- Lab experiment
- One group learnt 10 word lists 24 hours before study
- DV was number of words recalled on a new word list
- IV 1 (with previous word lists) recalled 20% of the words, IV 2 recalled 70%
Retroactive Interference study
Baddeley & Hitch (1977)
- Natural experiment
- IV 1 had been injured early in the rugby season. IV 2 had played the entire season.
- DV was number of opponent team names remembered
- Recall was worse with IV 2
Who theorised Retrieval Failure?
Tulving (1973)
Retrieval Failure Theory
Tulving (1973)
- we forget due to insufficient cues
- the fewer cues we have, the more likely we are to forget information
Encoding Specificity Principle
The greater similarity between the encoding event and retrieval event, the more likely to recall.
Context Dependent Forgetting
Controlled by external environmental cues
State Dependent Forgetting
Controlled by internal cues
Study on Context Dependent Forgetting
Godden & Baddeley (1975)
- Repeated Measures
- Scuba divers given word list underwater and on land. Both times asked to recall either on land or underwater
- DV was number of words correctly recalled
- Recall was significantly better in original context
Study on State Dependent Forgetting
Goodwin (1969)
- Independent Groups
- Male volunteer group
- Word list recall. IV1 at 3 times legal drink drive limit. IV 2 sober.
- DV was number of words correctly recalled
- Recall was significantly better in original state (even drunk)
Eyewitness Testimony
Account given by people of an event they have witnessed. Evidence that can be given in court, or used in police investigation.
Study of Misleading Information (EWT)
Lotus & Palmer (1974)
- Reconstruction of a car accident
- Lab experiment
- Used ‘Leading Questions’ using the words either contacted, hit, bumped, collided or smashed.
- Pppts had to estimate speed of cars.
- Contacted: 31.8mph. Bumped: 34.0 mph. Hit: 38.1 mph. Collided: 39.3 mph. Smashed: 40.8 mph
Post Event Discussion
Often leads to memory reconstruction. Memories are interfered and changed with each recall. Can be likened to ‘chinese whispers’.
Anxiety
Unpleasant state of increased psychological arousal
Cognition
Capacity to process information
Two opposing views on Anxiety
- Anxiety helps make strong memories (Christianson & Hubinette 1993)
- Anxiety makes memory formation worse (Johnson & Scott 1976)
Christianson & Hubinette study on Anxiety (positive view)
- Aimed to test anxiety on EWT
- Used 58 real eyewitnesses to a robbery, 4-15 months after
- IV 1 was victims. IV 2 was bystanders. DV was the amount of correct information compared to CCTV
- All victims had 75% accuracy. Victims that reported more anxiety had better recall
- Concluded that semantic/episodic memory formation is better when anxious
Johnson & Scott study on Anxiety (negative view)
- Aimed to test anxiety effect on EWT
- Two groups witnessed an argument. IV 1 witnessed confederate holding a greasy pen. IV 2 saw confederate holding a bloody knife
- DV was the accuracy of the criminal identification (%)
- IV 1 (pen): 49%. IV 2 (knife): 33%
- Concluded the theory of the Weapon Focus Effect
Yerkes-Dodson Curve (Anxiety)
Demonstrates negative effect of arousal on performance whether too high or too low. Described as an inverted U shape. Shows an optimum level of arousal.
What are cognitive interviews?
Method of interviewing eyewitnesses to help them retrieve more information.
Four techniques involved in Cognitive Interviews
- Mental Reinstatement
- Report Everything
- Change the Order
- Changing Perspective
Mental Reinstatement (CI technique)
- involves placing yourself back in the context of the event
- Ensures context, encoding and state specificity
- Minimises retrieval failure
Report Everything (CI technique)
- No closed questions
- Supports Loftus & Palmer’s leading question theory
- Minimises chance of interference
Change the Order (CI technique)
- Altering the order of recall. ‘breaking the narrative’
- Prevents interference
- Avoids post event discussion
Changing Perspective (CI technique)
- Recall in the place of someone else present
- Changed because context and state specificity can cause you to stay in your own focus
- Can lower anxiety or arousal levels down to optimum level if they are too high in their own perspective
Coding
the form that the information is stored in
Duration
how long the information lasts
Capacity
how much information can be stored
STM
Short Term Memory: information you’re using now
LTM
Long Term Memory: stored information you can access again
Retrieval
Accessing information from long term memory
Evaluations of the Multi Store Model
- Research Support: Miller supports 7+-. P&P supports duration of STM. Bahrick supports duration of LTM. Strong internal & external validity, (+)
- Model too simple: WMM explained unaccounted for things and has research to support it. Decreases internal validity. (-)
- Lack of information on LTM: Information needs ‘deep’ processing rather than just rehearsal. MSM is a reductionist model. (-)
Evaluation of Working Memory Model
- Research Support: Baddeley & Hitch did research supporting existence of CE and PL. Increases external validity (+)
- CE poorly defined: Research on brain tumour patient showed evidence for multiple parts to the CE. Reductionist theory. (-)
- Evidence based on brain damaged patients: Brain damaged patients have been through trauma and their behaviour is likely to have changed. Makes the WMM unreliable and possibly invalid. (-)
Evaluation of Types of LTM
- Research Support: Patient HM. Still had procedural but not episodic or semantic memory after hippocampus removal. Increases external validity. (+)
- Unexplained fourth type: ‘Priming’ was discovered. Controlled by a different part of the brain to the other types. Suggests inaccuracy and reductionism of theory. (-)
- Difficult to distinguish Episodic/Semantic: Its been theorised that there is a type that could combine E & S memory (Declarative memory). It is hard to distinguish between the two and therefore the route of some memories. Decreases external validity. (-)
Evaluation of Interference Theory
- Research lacks Mundane Realism: Most studies involve memorising lists of nonsense words. This may cause ppts to not take it seriously. Low ecological validity. (-)
- Doesn’t explain all forgetting: Particular conditions are required for interference. Interference may be an unimportant explanation for forgetting. Low ecological validity. (-)
Evaluation of Retrieval Failure
- Retrieval cues don’t always work: Information is related to a lot more than just cues. In studies they’re learning lists that are triggered by single cues but this doesn’t work with all information. Makes theory not generalisable. (-)
- Real world applications: Revising for exams. Most successful when recalling in the room learnt in or imagining yourself in that room. Support of CDF. (+)
- Circular theory (causality not shown): Cues are just correlated with retrieval but don’t cause it. Encoding specificity is impossible to test because it is circular. Theory of retrieval lacks support (-)
Evaluation of Misleading Information (EWT)
- Research Support:
