Memory: Paper 1 Flashcards
Factors Affecting Eyewitness Testimony: Anxiety
- Anxiety has a negative effect on recall
Johnson and Scott led participants to believe they were going to take part in a lab study and made them wait as they heard an argument next door.
In one condition, the man came out with a grease covered pen. In another condition, glass was broken and a man came out of the room with a knife covered in blood.
Later participants were asked to identify the man they had seen carrying an item.
49% of participants identified the man carrying the pen whereas only 33% remembered the face of the man who carried the knife.
He coined this the weapon focus effect where the witness’ attention is tunnelled into the weapon at sight as it is a source of anxiety.
Factors Affecting Eyewitness Testimony: Anxiety
*Anxiety has a positive effect on recall
Yullie and Cutshall conducted a study of a real life shooting in a gun shop in Canada.
13 of the 21 witnesses agreed to take part in the study.
Interviews were held 4-5 months after the incident and the accuracy was determined by the number of details reported in each account.
The witnesses were very accurate and there was little change in accuracy after 5 months. Participants who reported the highest levels of stress were most accurate.
This could be because of fight or flight response which heightens alertness and improves memory because we become more aware of cues in the situation.
Factors Affecting Eyewitness Testimony: Anxiety
*How can we explain contradictory findings?
Yerkes Dodson Effect states that performance will increase with stress but only to a certain point until it would decrease drastically.
What is procedural memory?
Refers to the memory of how we perform certain actions or skills.
These memories are your ‘muscle memory’ and don’t require much effort to recall this memory.
We may find this memory had to explain to someone else.
What is semantic memory?
Refers to the memory of our knowledge of the world, which is consistently being added to.
What is episodic memory?
Refers to our ability to recall memories from our lives. They are time-stamped and require conscious effort to recall them.
What is coding?
The format in which information is stored in various memory stores
Research on Coding
Baddley
Baddeley gave a different list of words to four groups of participants to remember:
Group 1 remembered words that sounded similar acoustically.
Group 2 remembered words that sounded different acoustically.
Group 3 remembered words with similar meanings and were semantically similar.
Group 4 remembered words that had different meanings and were semantically dissimilar.
Participants were then shown the words and asked to recall them in the correct order.
He found when they recalled words immediately (STM recall) the group that had acoustically similar words performed the worst.
He also found that when words were recalled after a time interval of 20 minutes (LTM recall) the group with semantically similar words performed the worst.
This suggests that information is coded semantically in LTM and acoustically within the STM.
Research on Capacity: Digit Span
Jacobs & Miller
Digit Span
Jacobs developed a technique to measure digit span.
The researcher gives the participant a number of digits or letters to recall in the correct order out loud, this number of digits or letters that the participants have to recall increases until the participant cannot recall the order correctly.
Jacobs found that the mean span for digits was 9.3 whereas mean span for letters was 7.3.
Span of Memory and Chunking
Miller made observations of every practice and found things come in seven for example there are 7 notes on the musical scale and 7 days in a week etc, suggesting that the capacity of STM is about 7 + or - 2 items.
He also noted people can recall 5 words as well as they can recall 5 letters. This is done by chunking - grouping sets of digits or letters into units or chunks.
Research on Duration of STM
Peterson & Peterson
Peterson and Peterson tested 24 undergraduate students.
The students had to recall meaningless three-letter trigrams (for example, THG, XWV) at different timed intervals from 3-18. To prevent rehearsal
the students had to count backwards in threes or fours from a specific number, until they were asked to recall the letters.
Peterson & Peterson found that the longer the interval the less accurate the recall.
At 3 seconds, around 80% of the trigrams were correctly recalled, whereas at 18 seconds only 10% were correctly recalled.
Peterson & Peterson concluded that short-term memory has a limited duration of approximately 18 seconds.
Furthermore, the results show that if we are unable to rehearse information, it will not be passed to long-term memory, providing further support for the multi-store model.
Duration of LTM: Bahrick
Bahrick et al studied participants from the American state of Ohio.
High school yearbooks were obtained from participants or directly from their schools.
Recall was tested through:
Photo-recognition test consisting of 50 photos; some from the participants’ high school yearbook.
Free recall test where participants recalled the nam,es of their graduating class.
Findings:
Photo-recognition Test
Participants who were tested within 15 years of graduation were 90% accurate.
After 48 years tested again and their answers declined to 70% accurate.
Free recall test
Participants who were tested within 15 years were 60% accurate, dropped to 30% after 48 years.
Research findings demonstrate that LTM can last a very long time.
What is context reinstatement?
Cognitive Interview
Questions should be asked to make the participant reimagine the environment they were in, and the emotions that they were feeling. This relates to context-dependent forgetting
What is report everything?
Cognitive Interview
Witnesses are encouraged to report every detail of the event no matter how trivial it may seem because it can trigger other memories.
What is recall in different order?
Cognitive Interview
Patients are encouraged to report the events in a different order such as a reverse order from the end of the events to the beginning.
This is to prevent dishonesty and the
distortion of schema as they report their expectation of what happened rather than their schema.
What is recall from different perspective?
Cognitive Interview
Patients are encouraged to report events from the perspective of another person such as a bystander. The schema we have for entering a particular setting can distort our memory, therefore if we don’t recall incidents from another perspective, what we are recalling is actually our schema rather than what actually happened.
What does retrieval failure theory suggest?
People may forget memories because of insufficient cues. The retrieval failure theory suggests the memory is available but cannot be accessed until an appropriate cue is provided.
What are cues?
Cues are a trigger of information that allow us to remember a memory.
What are state-dependent cues?
Aspects of our internal environment work as cues to memory (e.g. state of arousal).
Being in a different emotional state would inhibit memory as we would lack state dependant cues.
What is the encoding specificity principle?
If a cue is to help us remember information it must be present at encoding (when we learn the memory) and at retrieval (when we are recalling the memory).
If cues are different at retrieval or encoding, forgetting of a memory can occur.
Outline research into context-dependent forgetting.
Baddely and Godden asked divers to learn a list of words under water or on land and were asked to recall these list of words under water or on land.
Condition 1: Learn words on land, recall words on land.
Condition 2: Learn words on land, recall words on water.
Condition 3: Learn words on water, recall words on water.
Condition 4 Learn words on water, recall words on land.
Accurate recall was 40% lower in non-matching conditions.
Retrieval failure occurs because the cues present in encoding does not match the cues when we are recalling the memory.
Outline research into state-dependent forgetting.
Carter and Cassady gave their participants a drug, which made them slightly drowsy.
They had to learn a list of words then a passage of proses then recall this information.
There were four conditions:
Learnt under the influence of the drug, recalled under the influence of a drug.
Learnt under the influence of drugs, recalled without the influence of drugs.
Learnt without the influence of drugs, recalled with the influence of drugs.
Learnt without the influence of drugs, recalled with the influence of drugs.
Mismatch at internal state (cues), leads to significantly worse performance in memory tests.
What is proactive interference?
Proactive interference is when an old memory interferes with a new memory, making it harder for newer memories to be recalled.
What is retroactive interference?
Retroactive interference is when a new memory interferes with an old memory, making it harder for an individual to remember older memories.
Key Study: Postman - Investigation of Retroactive Interference
Method: A lab experiment was used. Participants were split into two groups. Both groups had to remember a list of paired words – e.g. cat – tree, jelly – moss, book – tractor.
The experimental group also had to learn another list of words where the second paired word was different – e.g. cat – glass, jelly- time, book – revolver. The control group was not given the second list. All participants were asked to recall the words on the first list.
Results: The recall of the control group was more accurate than that of the experimental group.
Conclusion: This suggests that learning items in the second list interfered with participants’ ability to recall the list. This is an example of retroactive interference.
What is interference?
Interference occurs when one or more pieces of information conflict with each other, resulting in a distortion or forgetting of a memory.
Research support for the effects of similarity.
Interference is worse when the memories are similar as recalled by McGeoch and McDonald.
Studied retroactive interference by changing the amount of similarity between two sets of materials.
Participants had to learn 10 words on a list with 100% accuracy before they could move on and learn another list.
There were six groups and each learnt a different lists:
Group 1 - Synonyms of original words
Group 2 - Antonyms of original words
Group 3 - Words unrelated to original words
Group 4 - Nonsense syllables
Group 5 - Three-digit numbers
Group 6 - No new list, participants just relaxed.
Findings were that synonyms produced the worst recall and thus interference is strongest when memories are similar.
Simon
Cowell
Bit
His
Cat
Smashed
Collided
Bumped
Hit
Contacted
Tell me about Loftus and Palmer’s Experiment #1 & #2
1
Loftus and Palmer told students to watch clips of car accidents and gave them questions about the accident. In the leading question, participants were asked to describe how fast the cars were travelling.
Each of the five groups were given a different verb; hit, contacted, bumped, collided and smashed.
For the verb smashed (the most intense verb) was found to have the highest mean speed of 40.8 mph. Therefore, the leading question led to the bias of eyewitness recall of an event.
Loftus and Palmer conducted a second experiment, which supported the substitution explanation, in which participants who heard ‘smash’ as their verb were more likely to report seeing broken glass when asked if there was than those who heard ‘hit.’
The verb alternated their memory of the incident.
What is the conformity effect?
The conformity effect refers to the tendency of people to change their own beliefs or memories to match what other people say or think. Basically, it means that we often want to fit in and be accepted, so we may go along with what others say even if it contradicts our own experiences or memories. This can happen when we hear information from other people that is different from what we originally saw or heard ourselves.
What is a post-event discussion?
Post-event discussion refers to the conversations that happen between witnesses or with other people after an event has occurred. When people discuss what they remember about an event, they can unintentionally introduce new or misleading information to each other. This can cause their memories to be influenced or altered. For example, if one person mentions a detail that didn’t actually happen, others might start to incorporate that detail into their own recollections, even if it’s not accurate.
Research Support for Working Memory Model (Dual Task Performance)
How has this led to real-life applications in terms of laws?
The Working Memory Model A03s
- Studies of dual-task performance support the separate existence of the visuo-spatial sketchpad.
- Baddeley et al (1975) showed that participants had more difficulty doing both a visual and verbal task at the same time.
- There was increased difficulty is because both visual tasks compete for the same slave system, whereas when doing a verbal and visual task simultaneously, there is no competition.
- This means there must be a separate slave system (the VSS) that processes visual input.
- This highlights the importance of not using mobile phones while driving, as multitasking with shared working memory components can impair performance in one or both tasks.
Brain scanning studies support the Working Memory Model
The Working Memory Model A03s
- Braver et al. gave their participants tasks that involved the central executive while they were having a brain scan.
- The researchers found greater activity in an area known as the left prefrontal cortex.
- Moreover, activity in this area increased as the task became harder.
- This makes sense in terms of the WMM: as demands on the central executive increase, it has to work harder to fulfil its function.
The KF Case Study
KFC!!!
The Working Memory Model A03s
- The KF Case Study supports the Working Memory Model.
- KF suffered brain damage from a motorcycle accident that damaged his short-term memory.
- KF struggled to process verbal information but his visual memory was unaffected.
- This shows that visual information is processed separately from verbal information.
- Therefore, the research into KF supports the working memory model and the idea of two slave systems, the phonological loop & the visuospatial sketchpad.
A weakness of the working memory model is that it fails to account for musical memory.
The Working Memory Model A03s
- Evidence for this comes from Berz (1995) who demonstrated that participants could listen to instrumental music (music without words) without impairing performance on other acoustic tasks.
- This is problematic because it appears that 2 auditory tasks can be completed at the same time. According to the working memory model we would expect participants to not be able to complete both tasks as they would use the same store.
- Therefore, it could be said that memory is more complicated than the working memory model suggests.
There is physiological evidence to support the working memory model.
The Working Memory Model A03s
- For example, PET scans have shown that different areas of the brain are used whilst undertaking visual and verbal tasks which may correspond to the visuo-spatial sketchpad and phonological loop of working memory model.
- This is positive as it provides objective and scientific support for the view that visual and verbal material is dealt with by separate structures that may even be physically separate.
- Therefore, this increases the credibility of the working memory model as an accurate representation of memory.
The research has provided real life applications as this knowledge has been used in understanding cognitive changes associated with mental issues.
The Working Memory Model A03s
- Liddle and Morris for example found that schizophrenic patients have difficulty with info processing or tasks of attention such as the Stroop test which indicates a problem with the functioning of their working memory
- Therefore this research has helped in our understanding of why schizophrenic patients may feel a sense of information overload and may be an early indicator of schizophrenia
However there are limitations to the working memory model, specifically the central executive..
The Working Memory Model A03s
- For example there is very little evidence for the central executive. This is because it is modality free ( it can process information from any of the 5 senses) which makes it very difficult to research.
- If it is unclear how this central component works then it limits the understanding of the other components
What did Prabhakaran et al find?
The Working Memory Model A03s
Hint: FMRI
Using brain imaging FMRI scans, the researchers asked participants to complete tasks with equal amounts of spatial and verbal information.
In one condition, the spatial and verbal information was separate.
In another condition, the information was integrated (together).
They found that there was more activation in the prefrontal cortex when the information was integrated and that posterior brain regions were activated when the information was separate.
This suggests that the episodic buffer exists and is located in the prefrontal cortex (a brain region specialised in combining and storing visual and verbal/auditory information)
What did Baddeley find in his syllabic research?
The Working Memory Model A03s
Participants were visually shown word lists and asked to write them down in the same order.
Condition 1: Monosyllabic words such as ‘bond’
Condition 2: Polysyllabic (more than one syllable) words such as ‘opportunity’
It was found that participants recalled more short, monosyllabic words than long, polysyllabic words in the correct order.
This suggests that the capacity of the phonological loop is around two seconds worth of verbal information.
This is known as the word length effect and provides existence for the phonological loop because longer words would take longer to be rehearsed in the phonological loop and would be far less likely to be remembered.
Inferences need to be made
The Working Memory Model A03s
It is impossible to directly observe the processes of memory described in models like the working memory models.
This means that inferences must be made which are assumptions about cognitive processes, and these assumptions could be incorrect.
The KF Case Study
KFC!!!
The Multi-store Model of Memory A03s
- KF suffered brain damage from a motorcycle accident that damaged his short-term memory.
- KF struggled to process verbal information but his visual memory was unaffected.
- This shows that visual information is processed separately from verbal information.
- MSM is over-simplistic; there must be more than 1 short term memory store to process different info.
A03 - A further limitation of the MSM is that it oversimplifies LTM; is it really unitary?
The Multi-store Model of Memory A03s
- There is a lot of research evidence that LTM is not a unitary store.
- We have one LTM store for memories of facts about the world (semantic) and a different one for memories of how to ride a bike (episodic)
- The MSM is limited because it does not reflect these different types of LTM.
The Multi-store Model of Memory is too simple: HM case study
The Multi-store Model of Memory A03s
- HM’s case study challenges the simplicity of the multi-store model of memory, which suggests a linear progression from sensory memory to short-term memory and then to long-term memory.
- HM’s inability to transfer information from short-term to long-term memory highlights the complexities of memory consolidation.
- This suggests that the model’s linear structure oversimplifies the process of memory formation and consolidation.
Supporting Research Evidence (+) & Artificial Stimuli (-)
The Multi-store Model of Memory A03s
- Baddeley found that we tend to mix up words that sound similar when we are using our STMs. But we mix up words that have similar meanings when we use our LTMs.
- The strength of this study is that it clearly shows that coding in STM is acoustic and in LTM it is semantic.
- So they are different, and this supports the MSM’s view that these two memory stores are separate and independent.
- However, this supporting research didn’t use everyday info (e.g. names, face) instead using artificial tasks such as Jacobs’ digits/letters, Petersons’ trigrams
- ∴ Therefore, MSM may be invalid of how memory works in everyday, meaningful situations.
