MEMORY A01 Flashcards
MSM
The multistore model of memory was proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin and is a structural model. They proposed that memory consisted of three stores: sensory register, short-term memory (STM), and long-term memory (LTM). Information passes from store to store in a linear way. Both STM and LTM are unitary stores.
sensory memory
Sensory memory is the information you get from your sense, your eyes, and ears. When attention is paid to something in the environment, it is then converted to short-term memory
How is info transfered from sensory to STM
Information from short-term memory is transferred to long-term memory only if that information is rehearsed (i.e., repeated)
how is information transferred, kept from/IN stm to ltm
Information from short-term memory is transferred to long-term memory only if that information is rehearsed (i.e., repeated)
If maintenance rehearsal (repetition) does not occur, then information is forgotten and lost from short-term memory through the processes of displacement or decay.
encoding
Encoding is the way information is changed so that it can be stored in memory. There are three main ways in which information can be encoded (changed): 1. visual (picture), 2. acoustic (sound), and 3. semantic (meaning).
capacity
concerns how much information can be stored.
duration
refers to the period of time information can last in-memory stores
coding,capacity, encoding for sensory register
Duration: ¼ to ½ second
Capacity: all sensory experience (v. larger capacity)
Encoding: sense specific (e.g., different stores for each sense)
STM coding, capacity, duration
Duration: 0-18 seconds
Capacity: 7 +/- 2 items
Encoding: mainly acoustic
LTM coding,capacity,duration
Duration: Unlimited
Capacity: Unlimited
Encoding: Mainly semantic (but can be visual and acoustic)
types of LTM
One of the earliest and most influential distinctions of long-term memory was proposed by Tulving (1972). He proposed a distinction between episodic, semantic, and procedural memory.
Distinguishing declarative knowledge from procedural knowledge
Cohen and Squire (1980) distinguished declarative knowledge from procedural knowledge. Procedural knowledge involves “knowing how” to do things. It includes skills such as “knowing how” to play the piano, ride a bike, tie your shoes, and other motor skills.
It does not involve conscious thought (i.e., it’s unconscious-automatic). For example, we brush our teeth with little or no awareness of the skills involved.
Whereas declarative knowledge involves “knowing that”; for example, London is the capital of England, zebras are animals, your mum’s birthday, etc. Recalling information from declarative memory involves some degree of conscious effort – information is consciously brought to mind and “declared.”
WMM
The working memory model (Baddeley and Hitch, 1974) replaced the idea of a unitary STM. It suggests a system involving active processing and short-term storage of information
central excecutive
The central executive has a supervisory function and acts as a filter, determining which information is attended to.
It can process information in all sensory forms, direct information to other slave systems, and collects responses. It has limited capacity and deals with only one piece of information at a time
phonological loop
One of the slave systems is the phonological loop which is a temporary storage system for holding auditory information in a speech-based form.
It has two parts: (1) the phonological store (inner ear), which stores words you hear; and (2) the articulatory process (inner voice), which allows maintenance rehearsal (repeating sounds or words to keep them in working memory while they are needed). The phonological loop plays a key role in the development of reading.
visuospatial sketchpad
The second slave system is the Visuospatial sketchpad (VSS). The VSS is a temporary memory system for holding visual and spatial information. It has two parts: (1) the visual cache (which stores visual data about form and color) and (2) 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).
Episodic buffer
The third slave system is the episodic buffer which acts as a “backup” (temporary) store for information that communicates with both long-term memory and the slave system components of working memory.
One of its important functions is to recall material from LTM and integrate it into STM when working memory requires it.
Dual task technique experiment
Baddeley and Hitch conducted an experiment in which participants were asked to perform two tasks at the same time (dual task technique). A digit span task required them to repeat a list of numbers, and a verbal reasoning task which required them to answer true or false to various questions (e.g., B is followed by A?)
Results: As the number of digits increased in the digit span tasks, participants took longer to answer the reasoning questions, but not much longer – only fractions of a second. And they didn’t make any more errors in the verbal reasoning tasks as the number of digits increased.
Conclusion: The verbal reasoning task made use of the central executive, and the digit span task made use of the phonological loop.
explanations for forgetting
Interference is an explanation for forgetting from long-term memory – two sets of information become confused.
proactive interference
Proactive interference (pro=forward) is where old learning prevents the recall of more recent information. When what we already know interferes with what we are currently learning – where old memories disrupt new memories.
retroactive interference
Retroactive interference (retro=backward) is where new learning prevents the recall of previously learned information. In other words, later learning interferes with earlier learning – where new memories disrupt old memories.
retrieval failure
Retrieval failure is where information is available in long-term memory but cannot be recalled because of the absence of appropriate cues.
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
types of cues
context, state dependant
context dependent cues
Context – external cues in the environment, e.g., smell, place, etc. Evidence indicates that retrieval is more likely when the context at encoding matches the context at retrieval.
state dependent cues
State – bodily cues inside of us, e.g., physical, emotional, mood, drunk, etc. The basic idea behind state-dependent retrieval is that memory will be best when a person’s physical or psychological state is similar to encoding and retrieval.
organisation as a cue
Organization – Recall is improved if the organization gives a structure that provides triggers, e.g., categories.
EWT: misleading info
Loftus and Palmer investigated how misleading information could distort eyewitness testimony accounts.
Loftus and palmer research into retreival failure
Procedure: Forty-five American students formed an opportunity sample. This was a laboratory experiment with five conditions, only one of which was experienced by each participant (an independent measures experimental design).
Participants were shown slides of a car accident involving a number of cars and asked to describe what had happened as if they were eyewitnesses. They were then asked specific questions, including the question, “About how fast were the cars going when they (hit/smashed/collided/bumped/contacted ) each other?”
Findings: The estimated speed was affected by the verb used. The verb implied information about the speed, which systematically affected the participants’ memory of the accident.
Participants who were asked the “smashed” question thought the cars were going faster than those who were asked the “hit” question. The participants in the “smashed” condition reported the highest speeds, followed by “collided,” “bumped,” “hit,” and “contacted” in descending order.
Anxiety as explanation for forgetting EWT
The Yerkes-Dodson effect states that when anxiety is at low and high levels, EWT is less accurate than if anxiety is at a medium level. Recall improves as anxiety increases up to an optimal point and then declines.
When we are in a state of anxiety, we tend to focus on whatever is making us feel anxious or fearful, and we exclude other information about the situation. If a weapon is used to threaten a victim, their attention is likely to focus on it. Consequently, their recall of other information is likely to be poor.
Clifford and scott 1978 VS, Yuille Cutshall 1986
Clifford and Scott (1978) found that people who saw a film of a violent attack remembered fewer of the 40 items of information about the event than a control group who saw a less stressful version. As witnessing a real crime is probably more stressful than taking part in an experiment, memory accuracy may well be even more affected in real life.
However, a study by Yuille and Cutshall (1986) contradicts the importance of stress in influencing eyewitness memory. Twenty-one witnesses observed a shooting incident in Canada outside a gun shop in which one person was killed and a 2nd seriously wounded. The incident took place on a major thoroughfare in the mid-afternoon
All of the witnesses were interviewed by the investigating police, and 13 witnesses (aged 15-32 yrs) agreed to a research interview 4-5 months after the event.
The witnesses were also asked to rate how stressed they had felt at the time of the incident using a 7-point scale. The eyewitness accounts provided in both the police and research interviews were analyzed and compared.
The results of the study showed the witnesses were highly accurate in their accounts, and there was little change in the amount or accuracy of recall after five months. The study also showed that stress levels did not have an effect on memory, contrary to lab findings.
All participants showed high levels of accuracy, indicating that stress had little effect on accuracy. However, very high anxiety was linked to better accuracy. Participants who reported the highest levels of stress were most accurate (about 88% accurate compared to 75% for the less-stressed group).
cognitive interview
Context Reinstatement
Recall from a Changed Perspective
Recall in Reverse Order
Report Everything
The Enhanced Cognitive Interview
The main additional features are:-
Encourage the witness to relax and speak slowly.
Offer comments to help clarify witness statements.
Adapt questions to suit the understanding of individual witnesses.
