Memory - Forgetting Flashcards
What are the two reasons for forgetting?
Interference
Retrieval failure
What is trace decay theory
We forget because memories disappear from storage.
What is retrieval failure?
We forget memories because we are unable to retrieve them.
What is interference theory?
Accidentally retrieving a different memory because it’s similar.
What is proactive interference?
When an old memory interferes with retrieving a new similar memory
What is retroactive interference?
When a new memory interferes with retrieving an old similar memory.
What is the encoding specificity principle developed by Tulving?
The greater the similarity to where you learnt info and where you retrieved it the more likely you are to remember it.
What is state dependent forgetting?
Forgetting occurs because the emotional or physical state at recall is different that of the time of learning.
For what reasons do eyewitness testimonies lack accuracy?
Misleading information
Post event discussion
What is misleading information?
Incorrect information and eyewitness receives after an event which could distort their memory
Why can schemas disrupt our memory?
When we retrieve memories, we use pre-existing schemas to fill the missing gaps this can cause us to misremember events in a way that is consistent our schemer making our memory less accurate and potentially causing misleading information.
How can leading questions distort our memory?
There are questions which suggest a particular answer is correct. Leading questions influence our memory recall causing us to remember things that didn’t happen making our memory less accurate and potentially causing misleading information.
How can post event discussion distort memory?
When people discuss an event after it happened, it can influence how people remember things as other people have their own interpretations of what happened making our memory less accurate potentially causing misleading information.
What was Gaberts study on post-event discussion?
- investigated the effect of post-event discussion on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony
- Participants saw a video of a girl stealing either in pairs or individually. The individuals in the pairs or a different perspective where only one had witnessed the girl stealing.
- 60% of the girl was guilty despite not seeing her commit a crime.
- The results highlight the issue of post event discussion and the powerful effect it can have on accuracy of eyewitness testimony.
What is McGeogh and McDonald’s study into interference?
Aim: to investigate how similarity affect retroactive interference in memory
Procedure: participants learned a list of words and then a second list with varying similarity (synonyms or antonyms) they then recalled list A.
Findings: recall was worst when list B contains synonyms.
Conclusion: interference is strongest when memories are similar supporting the idea that forgetting is due to competition between memories
What is Godden and Baddeley’s study into retrieval failure?
Aim investigate where the memory recall is affected by the environment
Procedure: divers learned a list of words on either land or underwater they were then asked to record the words either in the same or different environment
Findings: recall was better when learning and recall took place in the same environment. Recall was worse when context didn’t match.
Conclusion: context dependent forgetting occurs when environmental queues are absent at recall
What is an anxiety?
A feeling of worry or nervousness about something with a certain outcome.
What is the inverted U theory about anxiety by Yerkes and Dodson?
Some anxiety can improve memory accuracy, but too much anxiety can worsen it.
What is the weapons focus?
Where the witness concentrate on the weapon and it’s distracted from other aspects of the situation.
What did Loftus and Palmer investigate on eyewitness testimony in terms of leading questions
Procedure: made participants watch videos of car crashes and answer questions about the speed of the crash. They manipulated the wording of the question across different experimental groups.
Findings: people who heard verbs such as smashed estimated the cars were driving faster this is because he involved a leading question causing them to have a false memory
What is the cognitive interview?
A method of interviewing eyewitnesses which aims to Imp the accuracy of their memory of a crime.
What are the four stages of the cognitive interview?
- Report everything.
- Reinstate the context.
- Change the perspective
- Recall all events in order
Why must the eyewitness report everything?
This is because even details that seem unimportant may be useful or trigger the recall of larger events by acting as a cue.
Why must the eyewitness reinstate the context?
Mentally returned to the incident. Think about the location, maybe the weather or sounds. This reminds eyewitnesses of external queues at the time helping to prevent context dependent forgetting.
Why must the eyewitness change the perspective?
Recall the events from someone else’s point of view this prevent the eyewitness from being affected by their own schemas related to their opinions of how the crime occurred.
Why must the eyewitness recall events in reverse order?
Recalling the event in the opposite order helps to reduce the chance of false reporting or eyewitnesses lying.
