Memory (definitions)

Question 1

Memory

Answer 1

Encoding, storage and retrieval

Question 2

Coding

Answer 2

Changing sensory input into a form or code to be processed by the memory system

Question 3

Capacity

Answer 3

How much can be stored in your memory at one point in time

Question 4

Duration

Answer 4

How long something can be stored in your memory for

Question 5

Coding of STM

Answer 5

Mainly acoustic

Question 6

Coding of LTM

Answer 6

Semantically

Question 7

Capacity of STM

Answer 7

Up to 9 items

Question 8

Capacity of LTM

Answer 8

Unlimited

Question 9

Duration of STM

Answer 9

30 seconds

Question 10

Duration of LTM

Answer 10

> 30 seconds

Question 11

Episodic memory

Answer 11

Memory for events, time-stamped, declarative e.g. a party last weekend

Question 12

Semantic memory

Answer 12

Memory for facts, ‘knowing that’, declarative e.g. the Eiffel town is in Paris

Question 13

Procedural memory

Answer 13

Memory for actions, ‘knowing how’, non-declarative e.g. how to ride a bike

Question 14

Declarative memory

Answer 14

Memories that are consciously recalled

Question 15

Central executive

Answer 15

Monitors incoming data and allocates it to the appropriate slave system

Question 16

Phonological loop

Answer 16

Deals with auditory information and preserves the order in which it arrives

Question 17

Phonological store

Answer 17

Stores auditory information

Question 18

Articulatory process

Answer 18

Allows maintenance rehearsal of auditory information. Can store up to 2 seconds of what you can say.

Question 19

Visuo-spatial sketchpad

Answer 19

Stores visual and spatial information

Question 20

Visual cache

Answer 20

Stores visual information

Question 21

Inner scribe

Answer 21

Stores the arrangement of objects in a visual field

Question 22

Episodic buffer

Answer 22

A temporary store for visual, spatial and auditory information processed by other stores. Links working memory to LTM and wider cognitive processes.

Question 23

Iconic memory

Answer 23

Information is coded visually (EYEconic)

Question 24

Echoic memory

Answer 24

Information is coded acoustically

Question 25

Sensory register

Answer 25

The memory stores for each of our five senses, huge capacity but tiny duration

Question 26

Maintenance rehearsal

Answer 26

Recalling a memory multiple times to keep it in the STM

Question 27

Retroactive interference

Answer 27

Occurs when a newer memory makes you forget (interferes with) an older memory

Question 28

Proactive interference

Answer 28

Occurs when an older memory makes you forget (interferes with) a newer memory

Question 29

Context-dependent forgetting

Answer 29

When a change in external cues affects your memory retrieval ability

Question 30

State-dependent forgetting

Answer 30

When a change in internal cues affects your memory retrieval ability

Question 31

Retrieval failure

Answer 31

A form of forgetting which occurs when we don’t have the cues necessary to access the memory. The memory is available but inaccessible.

Question 32

Eyewitness testimony (EWT)

Answer 32

The ability of a person to recall the events of an incident/crime which they themselves observed

Question 33

Leading questions

Answer 33

A question which, due to the way it is phrased, prompts a certain answer

Question 34

Misleading information

Answer 34

Incorrect information given to an eyewitness usually after the event has taken place

Question 35

Post-event discussion (PED)

Answer 35

When a witness of a crime discusses the event with another person (other witnesses/friends/family/police). This can change the witness’s memory of the crime.

Question 36

Response-bias explanation

Answer 36

Suggests that the wording of a leading question affects the way a person chooses the answer the question

Question 37

Substitution explanation

Answer 37

Suggests that the wording of a leading question directly changes a person’s memory

Question 38

The cognitive interview (CI)

Answer 38

An interview technique based on psychological insight into memory, which aims to elicit more accurate memory recal from witnesses

Question 39

The enhanced cognitive interview (ECI)

Answer 39

The cognitive interview PLUS emphasis on building a rapport between the investigator and witness and avoiding unnecessary questions

Question 40

Elaborative rehearsal

Answer 40

Linking new information to our existing knowledge to keep it in the long-term memory

Question 41

Cue

Answer 41

A ‘trigger’ of information that allows us to access memories

Question 42

Anxiety

Answer 42

A state of physical and emotional arousal which affects EWT

Question 43

Encoding specificity principle

Answer 43

For a cue to help us to remember something it has to be present at both encoding and retrieval

Question 44

‘Report everything’

Answer 44

The witness should report every single detail of the event, even those which seem trivial

Question 45

‘Reinstate the context’

Answer 45

The witness should recall the context surrounding the crime, e.g. the weather, the news of the day, why they were where they were

Question 46

‘Reverse the order’

Answer 46

The witness should recall the event in a different chronological order from that which it occurred to prevent them from recalling expectations of how the event probably occurred rather than how it actually did

Question 47

‘Change perspective’

Answer 47

The witness should recall the crime from someone else’s perspective to reduce the effect of schema

Question 48

Word length effect

Answer 48

It is more difficult to recall lists of long words because their is finite space for recall in the articulatory process