memory lecture 7

Question 1

what does ebbinghaus’ forgetting curve show?

Answer 1

standard forgetting function

Question 2

erdelyi and becker (1974)- hypermnesia procedure

Answer 2

looked to see if you can ever improve memory over time

given a list of words to retrieve- had to write down as many as you could remember

interval (given a new task), then had 7 mins to do the task, then given a new sheet, had 7 mins to do the task again

Question 3

erdelyi and becker (1974)- hypermnesia results

Answer 3

recall for words was worse than for pictures

for pictures, people did significantly better over time

repeated measures means we improve our memory

Question 4

in experiments usually, is forgetting or reminiscence better?

Answer 4

reminiscence

Question 5

what happens when forgetting is low and reminiscence is high?

Answer 5

net gain in memory over time can be observed

Question 6

what did scrivener and safer (1988) find out about eyewitness testimony? procedure

Answer 6

watched a tape of a burglar breaking into a house and shooting victims

recalled immediately

did a questionnaire

did a second questionnaire

returned after 48 hours for trial 4

Question 7

what did scrivener and safer (1988) find out about eyewitness testimony? results

Answer 7

in repeated retrieval, people were able to give more information over time

false alarm rates were low and didn’t increase over time

shows a genuine improvement over time

Question 8

what did Godden and Baddeley (1975) find out about context dependent memory? procedure

Answer 8

divers learned a list of words underwater or on land

asked to recall the words either underwater or on land

Question 9

what did Godden and Baddeley (1975) find out about context dependent memory? results

Answer 9

accurate recall was 40% lower in the non-matching conditions

when the external cues were different from learning to recall it led to retrieval failure

no effect on recognition

Question 10

what did Goodwin et al (1969) find out about state dependent memory? procedure

Answer 10

tested people when they learnt either sober or intoxicated

Question 11

what did Goodwin et al (1969) find out about state dependent memory? results

Answer 11

people do better at learning sober than intoxicated

perform better when the state at learning and recall match

Question 12

how can we induce a mood for an experiment?

Answer 12

Velten procedure

Question 13

how does the Velten procedure work?

Answer 13

statements are designed to change your mood

Question 14

how do we tend to recall information congruent with our current mood?

Answer 14

better at remembering positive items if we are in a positive mood

when we’re in a depressed state, find it hard to remember positive memories

Question 15

who proposed the cognitive interview?

Answer 15

Geilselman, 1986

Question 16

what are the four parts of the cognitive interview?

Answer 16

report everything
reinstate the context
reverse the order
change perspective

Question 17

what does report everything mean?

Answer 17

encouraged to include every detail of the event- even if it seems irrelevant trivial details may trigger other memories

Question 18

what does reinstate the context mean?

Answer 18

return to the original crime scene in your mind- imagine the environment and your emotions

Question 19

what does reverse the order of events mean?

Answer 19

recall events in a different order to prevent people reporting their expectations of what happened, and to prevent dishonesty

Question 20

what does change perspective mean?

Answer 20

recall the incident from other people’s perspectves- disrupting the effects of expecations and schemas

Question 21

what evidence supports the use of the cognitive interview?

Answer 21

people asked to watch a violent film, wait 2 days, then do the standard or cognitive interview

standard interview= correct recall of 29.4 items

cognitive interview= correct recall of 41.2 items

no difference in number of errors

Question 22

what did Ross (1989) find out about rewriting our own memories?

Answer 22

ppts asked to watch a film on jogging- had a negative bias

asked what their attitude to jogging was before

people distorted their past memories to make it consistent with their current attitude

Question 23

what did Conway and Ross (1984) find out about remembered abilities?

Answer 23

students rated their study skills before participating on a training program

no observed improvement from the programme

after students attempted to remember their pre-course ratings- rated previous study habits as being lower than they actually were