Memory

Question 1

name and define the three processes of memory

Answer 1

encoding - changing information so it can be stored in the brain

storage - holding information so it can be retrieved later

retrieval - accessing the information that had been stored in the brain

Question 2

how are memories encoded and stored

Answer 2

• info enters our memory through our sensory organs

- info needs to be changed to be stored in our brain

Question 3

name and define the different ways of encoding

Answer 3

visual - memories stored visually, you ‘see’ it when retrieving it

acoustic - memories stored in terms of how they sound

semantic - memories referring to the meaning of things, if words are recorded semantically we know meanings

Question 4

name and define the three different types of memory

Answer 4

episodic - memory for events from your life, you can recall the time and place and maybe how you felt

procedural - muscle memory and remembering how to do things, can be recalled w/o conscious awareness

semantic - the meaning of everything you know and the knowledge shared by other people

Question 5

define coding

Answer 5

the way information is stored in various memory stores

Question 6

define capacity

Answer 6

the measure of the amount of information that can be held in a memory store

Question 7

define duration

Answer 7

the time information can be held in the memory stores

Question 8

describe the coding, capacity and duration of the sensory store

Answer 8

coding - depends on information

capacity - very big

duration - 1/2 a second

Question 9

describe the coding, capacity and duration of the STM

Answer 9

coding - acoustic

capacity - 5-9 chunks

duration - less than 30 secs

Question 10

describe the coding, capacity and duration of the LTM

Answer 10

coding - semantic

capacity - unlimited

duration - lifetime

Question 11

evaluate the MSM

Answer 11

+ it is supported by Murdock’s study, found that words recalled at the start of a list recalled as they were in the LTM and the primary effect, words at the end remembered due to being in the STM and recency effect, words in the middle forgotten, supports the existence of different memory stores

• there is an overemphasis on rehearsal, scary or funny situations can be remembered without rehearsal, while information needed for exams are not always remembered
• elaboration is more effective than rehearsal, repetition does not make things easier to recall and we must understand what information means and change it into our own words to recall it well

Question 12

Outline Murdock’s Serial Position Curve Study

Answer 12

aim - to provide evidence for the existence of the STM and LTM as well as them being separate stores of the MSM

method - a lab experiment where ppts learnt a list of 20 words one at a time for 2 seconds per word, they needed to recall the words in 90 seconds with no order, the experiment was repeated 80 times over a few days and different lists were used each time

results - words at the end were recalled first due to the recency effect, words at the start recalled well due to the primary effect, middle words were not recalled well

conclusion - primary effect caused the words to be stored in the LTM, recency effect meant the words were stored in the STM, middle words were not recalled as they were forgotten and not stored anywhere

Question 13

evaluate Murdock’s study

Answer 13

+ Murdock used a distracter task, which confirms the existence of the STM and LTM, when ppts used their STM to do a distracter task, they forgot the words at the end of the list, as the STM can only hold info for 30 seconds, increases the validity

• lacks ecological validity as it uses word lists which aren’t an accurate reflection of how memory is used in everyday situations, doesnt reflect how real people use their memory in real life scenarios and isn’t natural

Question 14

outline the theory of reconstructive memory

Answer 14

• Bartlett theory suggests that memory is an active process where we rebuild memories instead of recording them
• memory is inaccurate and we alter memories, so when they are recalled they are different to what actually happened
• we reconstruct and rebuild memories after they need to be recalled
• due to social and cultural influences, our perception differs based on experiences, and memory may be altered to make it smthng more familiar
• effort after meaning is when we make sense of an unfamiliar situation after it’s happened

Question 15

evaluate the theory of reconstructive memory

Answer 15

+ it reflects how we use our memory in everyday situations, and is more realistic than remembering word lists, ppts were recalling a story, which is more relevant to real life memory processes

+ it explains faults with eyewitness testimonies as they may not recall what they see or hear accurately and cannot be completely relied on, our memory is affected by expectations

• not all memories are reconstructed or inaccurate, as distinctive phrases are often recalled, many ppts remembered the phrase “something black came out of his mouth”
• Bartlett used an unfamiliar story, so ppts would subconsciously alter the story as its not something they associate with

Question 16

name the three factors affecting accuracy of recall

Answer 16

• interference
• context
• false memories

Question 17

describe how interference affects accuracy of recall and how it was tested

Answer 17

• interference is the difficulty recalling a memory when another gets in the way
• the two types are proactive and retroactive interference
• proactive is when an old memory gets in the way of a newer one and causes inaccurate recall
• retroactive is when a newer memory interferes with an old one + inaccurate recall
• one set of ppts given one word list, other set given two sets of word lists, when asked to recall the first list the first group had a higher rate of recall

Question 18

describe how context affects accuracy of recall and how it was tested

Answer 18

• context is the setting or environment in which something happens
• studies have shown the recall of information is higher and more accurate if learning and recall take place in the same place
• four groups of divers had to learn and recall the same word list, Group 1 learnt and recalled underwater, Group 2 learnt under but recalled on shore, Group 3 learnt and recalled on shore, Group 4 learnt on shore but recalled under, ppts that didn’t move recalled 40% more than ones who moved

Question 19

describe how false memories affect the accuracy of recall and how they were tested

Answer 19

• false memories are recalling memories that are inaccurate or didn’t happen
• children were described memories from their childhood + a false memory of getting stuck in a shopping centre, 25% of them believed they actually got lost and some even gave detail

Question 20

evaluate the factors affecting accuracy of recall

Answer 20

+ there was high control and counterbalancing to reduce bias in the interference study, making the results more valid

• there are ethical issues with implanting false memories, they could remain after the study and cause the ppts distress
• the context study had artificial tasks, lists aren’t recalled and information isn’t recalled immediately in everyday situations

Question 21

outline Bartlett’s war of the ghosts study

Answer 21

aim: to see whether people would alter unfamiliar info so it makes more sense to them
method: lab experiment, ppts read a native american legend, asked to retell it 15 mins later to another ppt, who retold it to another one, passed on 10 times
results: the story was much shorter, details were left out, details were changed e.g. canoes to boats and order of events were changed
conclusion: memory isn’t an exact copy of what we hear and is influenced by our own beliefs and what we already know

Question 22

evaluate bartlett’s war of the ghosts study

Answer 22

+ similar findings in other studies, ppts shown a picture of a black and white man arguing, said the black man was holding the weapon even though the white man was, memory is an active process and is changed by our beliefs

+ study was a lab experiment, so extraneous variables can be controlled and can be sure of the results

• ppts were university english students, so could have been better at reading + verbalising a story, so the results are not as representative of the wider population who are older, younger, or studying other things
• beliefs may have affected results as Bartlett decided what was accurate recall, his belief that cultural expectations affect recall could have caused bias in his interpretation