Memory Key Words

Question 1

coding

Answer 1

the form in which material is processed in order to lay it down in a memory store

Question 2

capacity

Answer 2

the amount a memory store can hold at any time - for STM this is 7 +/- 2 items, for LTM it is unlimited

Question 3

long term memory

Answer 3

third of the three stores according to the MSM - capacity is unlimited, duration is up to a lifetime & coding is semantic. Material is transferred between STM and LTM by rehearsal

Question 4

Duration

Answer 4

the length of time a memory store can hold material - for STM this is 15-30 seconds, for LTM it is up to a lifetime

Question 5

Short term memory

Answer 5

second of the three stores according to MSM - capacity is 7 +/- 2 items, duration is 15-30 seconds & coding is acoustic. Material is transferred to it from sensory memory by attention & to LTM by rehearsal

Question 6

sensory memory

Answer 6

part of MSM - material enters SM from environmental stimuli by all the senses, capacity is unknown, duration is ½ sec & material is transferred to STM by attention

Question 7

Multi-store model

Answer 7

an explanation in which memory is seen to consist of three stores and how material moves between each store

Question 8

working memory model

Answer 8

Baddeley and Hitch explanation of short term memory, which demonstrated that STM was not just a single store, as the MSM claimed. Instead STM consists of 3 slave systems (phonological loop, visuo-spatial sketchpad, amd episodic buffer) controlled by the central executive

Question 9

procedural memory

Answer 9

LTM - unconscious, non-verbal memory of skills

Question 10

semantic memory

Answer 10

LTM - verbal, factual, explicit, & conscious knowledge

Question 11

episodic memory

Answer 11

LTM - important, meaningful memories - contextual recall of emotions - conscious & verbal

Question 12

retroactive interference

Answer 12

LTM explanation of forgetting - when new material interferes with the retrieval of previously learned material

Question 13

memory cues

Answer 13

reminders that are processed and laid down at the same time as the material to be remembered - may be contextual cues or state cues

Question 14

retrieval failure

Answer 14

LTM explanation of forgetting - when memory still exists, as it can be accessed at other times, but can not be retrieved at this time - may be due to lack of cues

Question 15

proactive interference

Answer 15

LTM explanation of forgetting - when old material interferes with the retrieval of newly learned material - the material must be similar to be affected - material is not gone it just can not be accessed at the time

Question 16

leading question

Answer 16

eyewitness testimony - a question which has an implied “right” answer and asks a witness to simply confirm this

Question 17

Yerkes-Dodson effect

Answer 17

an inverted U curve to demonstrate the effect of anxiety on the accuracy of recall - very low anxiety = low recall (no attention being paid), very high anxiety = low recall (possibly weapon focus), moderate anxiety = highest recall

Question 18

cognitive interview

Answer 18

A method of interviewing developed by Gieslman to improve accuracy of EWT - includes; context reinstatement, followed by report everything without interruption, change order, & change perspective

Question 19

encoding specificity principle

Answer 19

LTM memories - Tulving claimed that cues present when forming (coding) the memory will enhance recall if they are present at recall as well - if they are not, then retrieval will be impacted - state/context dependent forgetting

Question 20

context / mental reinstatement

Answer 20

refers to the coding specificity principle - if you put yourself back into the same situation (context) and/or mental state in which you learned the material, you are more likely to retrieve the full information, as all cues are available

Question 21

post event discussion

Answer 21

this is when eyewitnesses discuss the event they have witnessed before they have been interviewed - may lead to developing a consensus - conformity effect