Memory - AO1

Question 1

Research on Coding in STM & LTM

Answer 1

Baddeley (1966) - Coding in STM & LTM

Procedure:
• Participants memorised either ACOUSTICALLY SIMILAR/DISSIMILAR WORDS, SEMANTICALLY SIMILAR/DISSIMILAR WORDS.
• Participants recalled these words in order.

Findings:
• Immediate recall task (STM) - acoustically similar words were worse.
• Recall task 20 mins later (LTM) - semantically similar words were worse.
• STM Coding = Acoustic, LTM Coding = Semantic

Question 2

Research on Capacity (STM)

Answer 2

Jacobs (1887) - Digit Span

Procedure:
• 4 digits are read to participants and this is increased until the participant cannot recall them in the correct order.

Findings:
• 9.3 Numbers, 7.3 Letters were recalled on average.

Miller (1956) - Magic Number
• Capacity of STM is 7 +/- 2
• ‘Chunking’ improves recall (5 Chunks on average)

Question 3

Research on Duration of STM & LTM

Answer 3

1) Peterson and Peterson (1959) - Trigrams (STM)

Procedure:
• Students were given a trigram to remember and were also given a 3-digit number to count backwards from for 3,6,9,12,15,18 seconds (varying ‘retention intervals’ to prevent rehearsal).

Findings:
• Students, on average, recalled 80% with a 3-second interval and 3% with an 18-second interval.
• Duration of STM = 18-30 seconds (without rehearsal).

2) Bahrick et al. - Graduation/Yearbook (LTM)

Procedure:
• Americans were tested on their long-term recall in two ways:
- Recognition Test (photos from high school yearbook)
- Free Recall Test (names of classmates)

Findings:
• For both tests, recall after 15 years was better than recall after 45 years (e.g. 90% > 60%, 60% > 30%)
• Duration of LTM = very long.

Question 4

The Multi-Store Model of Memory

Answer 4

A representation of how memory works in and is transferred between three stores - the sensory register, short-term memory (STM) and long-term memory (LTM).

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Question 5

Sensory Register

Answer 5

• Takes in stimuli from the environment (e.g. sounds) and has one store for each of our five senses, such as the iconic and echoic stores.

Coding: Flexible (depends on sense)
Capacity: Very High (> 100m eye cells)
Duration: < 1/2 a second

• Paying ATTENTION allows information from the sensory register to pass into STM.

Question 6

Short-Term Memory Store (MSM)

Answer 6

Coding: Acoustic
Capacity: 7 +/- 2 items
Duration: 18-30 seconds (unless rehearsed)

• Maintenance Rehearsal is used to keep material in our STM.
• Prolonged Rehearsal is used to transfer material to LTM.

Question 7

Long-Term Memory (LTM)

Answer 7

Coding: Semantic
Capacity: Potentially Unlimited
Duration: Potentially up to a Lifetime

• Retrieval is required to transfer information back to STM for recall.

Question 8

Types of Long-Term Memory

Answer 8

• Episodic Memory
• Semantic Memory
• Procedural Memory

Question 9

Episodic Memory

Answer 9

• Our ability to recall events (episodes) from our lives.
• Very complex memories; consists of multiple elements (e.g. people, places).
• Time-stamped.
• Conscious effort to recall them.

Question 10

Semantic Memory

Answer 10

• Our knowledge of the world and meanings (e.g. dictionary and encyclopedia).
• Not time-stamped.
• Less personal memories (more about shared knowledge).

Question 11

Procedural Memory

Answer 11

• Memories for actions and skills.
• Recall occurs without conscious effort.
• Hard to explain procedural memories.

Question 12

The Working Memory Model

Answer 12

A representation of STM which suggests that STM is a dynamic processor of different types of information using sub-units coordinated by a central decision-making system.

Components:
• Central Executive
• Phonological Loop
• Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad
• Episodic Buffer

Question 13

Central Executive

Answer 13

• An attentional process / decision-maker that monitors incoming data and allocates slave systems to tasks.

Coding: Flexible
Capacity: Very Limited

Question 14

Phonological Loop

Answer 14

• Deals with auditory information.

1) Phonological Store - stores the words you hear.
2) Articulatory Process - allows maintenance rehearsal.

Coding: Acoustic
Capacity: 2 seconds worth of what you can say

Question 15

Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad

Answer 15

• Stores visual/spatial information.

1) Visual Cache - stores visual data.
2) Inner Scribe - records arrangement of objects in visual field.

Coding: Visual and Spatial.
Capacity: Around 3-4 objects.

Question 16

Episodic Buffer

Answer 16

• Temporary store for information.
• Integrates visual, spatial and auditory information from other stores.
• Maintains a sense of time-sequencing (recording events that are happening).
• Links working memory to LTM and wider cognitive processes.

Question 17

Interference

Answer 17

Forgetting because two pieces of information are in conflict, causing one or both memories to be distorted/forgotten.

Question 18

Proactive Interference

Answer 18

When an old memory interferes with the recall of a new memory.

Question 19

Retroactive Interference

Answer 19

When a new memory interferes with the recall of an old memory.

Question 20

Research into the Effects of Similarity on Interference

Answer 20

McGeoch and McDonald (1931) - Effects of Similarity

Procedure:
• Participants learned a list of words until they could recall them to 100% accuracy.
• They then learned a new list of words that varied in the degree of similarity to the old list:
1) Synonyms
2) Antonyms
3) Unrelated
4) Nonsense Syllables
5) 3-Digit Numbers
6) Control Group

Findings:
• The most similar list (synonyms) produced the worst recall.
• As the material got less similar, the mean number of items increased.
• Therefore, interference is strongest when memories are similar.

Question 21

Retrieval Failure

Answer 21

A form of forgetting which occurs when we do not have the necessary cues to access memory.

Question 22

Encoding Specificity Principle

Answer 22

Cues help retrieval only if the same cues are present at encoding and at retrieval.

Some cues are linked to the material-to-be-remembered (i.e. mnemonics) and others are not (e.g. context and state).

Question 23

Context-Dependent Forgetting

Answer 23

When memory retrieval is dependent on an external/environmental cue.

Question 24

State-Dependent Forgetting

Answer 24

When memory retrieval is dependent on an internal/state-of-mind cue (e.g. sadness, being drunk).

Question 25

Research into Context-Dependent Forgetting

Answer 25

Godden and Baddeley (1975) - Deep Sea Divers

Procedure:
• Divers learned and recalled a list of words under four conditions:
1) Learn on land, recall on land.
2) Learn on land, recall underwater.
3) Learn underwater, recall on land.
4) Learn underwater, recall underwater.

Findings:
• Accurate recall was significantly worse (40%) in non-matching conditions.
• Therefore, demonstrates the role of ESP.

Question 26

Research into State-Dependent Forgetting

Answer 26

Carter and Cassaday (1998) - Anti-Histamines

Procedure:
• Anti-histamines have a mild sedative effect which creates an internal physiological state different from normal.
• Participants learned and recalled a list of words under four conditions:
1) Learn on drug, recall on drug.
2) Learn on drug, recall when not on drug.
3) Learn when not on drug, recall on drug.
4) Learn when not on drug, recall when not on drug.

Findings:
• Accurate recall was significantly worse in non-matching conditions.
• Therefore, demonstrates the role of ESP.

Question 27

Eyewitness Testimony (EWT)

Answer 27

The ability of people to remember the detail of events which they themselves have observed.

Question 28

Misleading Information

Answer 28

Incorrect or inaccurate information given to the eyewitness usually after the event. It can take many forms such as leading questions and post-event discussion.

Question 29

Leading Question

Answer 29

A question which, because of its phrasing, suggests a certain answer.

Question 30

Research into Leading Questions

Answer 30

Loftus and Palmer (1974) - Film Clips of Accident

Procedure:
• Participants watched film clips of car accidents and then answered questions about the accident.
• There was one critical question (leading) which asked: “About how fast were the cars going when they [VERB] each other?”
• There were 5 conditions with 5 different verbs:
1) ‘Hit’
2) ‘Contacted’
3) ‘Bumped’
4) ‘Collided’
5) ‘Smashed’

Findings:
• The verb ‘SMASHED’ produced the highest mean estimate speed of 40.5mph.
• The verb ‘CONTACTED’ produced the lowest mean estimate speed of 31.8mph.
• Participants who originally heard ‘smashed’ were also more likely to report seeing broken glass (there was none) and this supports the substitution explanation.

Question 31

Response-Bias Explanation

Answer 31

Suggests that the wording of the question has no real effect on the participants’ memories but just influences how they decide to answer.

Question 32

Substitution Explanation

Answer 32

Suggests that the wording of a leading question actually changes the participant’s memory of the film clip.

Question 33

Post-Event Discussion

Answer 33

Witnesses discuss what they have seen with other co-witnesses or other people and this may influence the accuracy of each witness’ recall of the event.

Question 34

Research into Post-Event Discussion

Answer 34

Gabbert et al. (2003) - Same Video from Different Perspectives

Procedure:
• Participants were in pairs and watched a video of the same crime but from different points of view.
• Both participants then discussed what they saw before completing a recall test.

Findings:
• The majority of participants (71%) mistakenly recalled aspects of the event that they did not see in the video but had picked up in the discussion.
• In a control group with no discussion, this was 0%.
• This demonstrates the phenomenon of memory conformity.

Question 35

Anxiety

Answer 35

A state of emotional and physical arousal. It is believed to have a positive or negative effect on recall.

Question 36

Anxiety’s Negative Effect on Recall

Answer 36

Anxiety creates physiological arousal in the body which prevents us from paying attention to important cues, so recall is worse.

Question 37

Research into Negative Effects of Anxiety on Recall

Answer 37

Johnson and Scott (1976) - Weapon Focus Effect

Procedure:
• Participants were sat in a waiting room believing they were going to take part in a lab study.
• They heard an argument in the next room.
• There were 2 conditions:
1) ‘Low Anxiety’ - A man walked through the waiting room carrying a pen and with grease on his hands.
2) ‘High Anxiety’ - There were sounds of breaking glass in the next room followed by a man walking through the waiting room holding a paper knife covered in blood.
• Participants later picked out the man from a set of photos.

Findings:
• More participants (49%) who saw the man holding the pen could identify him compared to the other group (33%) who saw the man holding the blood-covered knife.
• This demonstrates the ‘Tunnel Theory’ of memory - attention is narrowed to focus on a weapon as it is a source of anxiety.

Question 38

Anxiety’s Positive Effect on Recall

Answer 38

Physiological arousal from anxiety triggers the Fight-or-Flight Response which increases our alertness and improves our memory of the event.

Question 39

Research into Positive Effects of Anxiety on Recall

Answer 39

Yuille and Cutshall (1986) - Real-Life Gun Shop Shooting

Procedure:
• A real-life shooting in a gun shop in Canada involved a shop owner shooting a thief dead.
• 13 out of the 21 witnesses took part in the study.
• Witnesses were interviewed 4-5 months after the incident and these were compared with the original police interviews at the time of the shooting.
• Accuracy was determined by ‘number of details’ in each account.
• Witnesses also rated stress levels at the time of the incident.

Findings:
• Overall, witnesses were very accurate and there was little change in accuracy even after 5 months.
• High-Stress participants were more accurate (88%) compared to the Low-Stress participants (75%).

Question 40

Yerkes-Dodson Law

Answer 40

Also known as the Inverted-U Theory; this states that lower levels of anxiety produce lower levels of recall and memory becomes more accurate as anxiety levels increased, until a certain point where the optimal level of anxiety is reached. Any further increase of anxiety from this point actually reduces recall.

Question 41

Cognitive Interview (CI)

Answer 41

A method of interviewing eyewitnesses to help them retrieve more accurate memories. It is based on psychological insights into how memory works.

Question 42

Techniques in the Cognitive Interview

Answer 42

1) Report EVERYTHING
2) Reinstate the CONTEXT
3) Reverse the ORDER
4) Change PERSPECTIVE

Question 43

Report Everything

Answer 43

• Involves encouraging witnesses to include every single detail of the event.
• Such ‘trivial’ details could be important and may trigger other memories.

Question 44

Reinstate the Context

Answer 44

• Witnesses return to the crime scene ‘in their mind’ and are told to imagine the environment and their emotions.
• Based on the concept of ESP.

Question 45

Reverse the Order

Answer 45

• Witnesses recall events in a different chronological order (e.g. from end to start).
• This prevents them from reporting their expectations of how an event happened.
• This also prevents dishonesty.

Question 46

Change Perspective

Answer 46

• Witnesses recall the incident from another person’s point of view (e.g. the perpetrator).
• This prevents the influence of schema/expectations on recall.

Question 47

Enhanced Cognitive Interview

Answer 47

A developed version of the cognitive interview which focuses on the social dynamics of the interaction (e.g. eye contact, reducing EWT anxiety, minimising distractions, open-ended questions etc.)