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Memory - Paper 1 Flashcards

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1
Q

What is the name of the linear model that depicts how memory flows from the first instance of seeing something to permanently remembering it?

A

The Multi-Store Model

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2
Q

Who created the Multi-Store Model?

A

Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968)

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3
Q

What does the multi-store model suggest?

A

Stimuli enters through the sensory register (sensory memory).

If we pay attention to the stimulus, it will be placed in short term memory.

Following this, if we rehearse this information, it will enter our long term memory.

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4
Q

What are the 3 ways we might we forget information at any point of the multi-store model?

A

Displacement

Decay

Interference

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5
Q

What is meant by displacement?

A

Other memories taking the original memories place due to a limited capacity

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6
Q

What is meant by decay?

A

Losing a memory because it is not used

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7
Q

What is meant by interference?

A

Other memories being recalled instead of the desired memory

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8
Q

What are the 3 terms we use to describe each store throughout the model?

A

Encoding

Capacity

Duration

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9
Q

What is meant by encoding?

A

How sensory input is represented by the memory system

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10
Q

What is meant by capacity?

A

How much information can be stored

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11
Q

What is meant by duration?

A

How long the information can be held in storage

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12
Q

What is the sensory memory?

A

It is the shortest memory store for things which have reached the senses, before they enter the STM. It usually lasts just 0.5 to 2 seconds with a limited capacity encoding in the following formats: iconic (images), echoic (sound) and haptic (touch).

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13
Q

What is the capacity of the sensory memory?

A

Large

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14
Q

What is the duration of the sensory memory?

A

0.5 to 2 seconds

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15
Q

How is information encoded in the sensory memory?

A

Iconic

Echoic

Haptic

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16
Q

How is information forgotten in the sensory memory?

A

It is unknown

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17
Q

Who researched into sensory memory?

A

Sperling (1960)

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18
Q

What was Sperling (1960)’s aim?

A

To find out the existence of sensory memory

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19
Q

What was Sperling (1960)’s procedure?

A

Using a chart, participants were asked to look at the chart for 50 milliseconds and then asked to recall how many of the letters they could remember.
Sperling then for the participants to recall single rows of letters when particular tones were heard (high tone for top row, medium tone for middle row etc.)

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20
Q

What were Sperling (1960)’s results?

A

First instance, participants could remember 4/5 letters although they were aware of more

Second instance, participants on average recalled 3 items from the row indicated

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21
Q

What was Sperling (1960)’s conclusion?

A

Although in theory participants should remember more than the average 4 items, it is thought that the image of each item fades during the 50 milliseconds and the time it takes to report back recalled items.

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22
Q

What is short term memory?

A

The memory systems in the brain involved in remembering pieces of information for a short period of time. It has a capacity of 7 + or - 2 and a duration of up to 30 seconds without rehearsal. It is encoded mainly acoustically and is forgotten by displacement.

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23
Q

What is the capacity of the short term memory?

A

7 + or - 2 , Jacobs (1887)

Thee can be referred to as chunks of information as we use chunking as a memory strategy to remember more information in our STM.

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24
Q

What is the duration of the short term memory?

A

Up to 30 seconds without rehearsal, Peterson and Peterson (1959)

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25
Q

How is information encoded in the short term memory?

A

Mainly acoustic, Baddeley (1966)

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26
Q

How is memory forgotten from the short term memory?

A

Displacement

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27
Q

Who researched into capacity of short term memory? (Digit span)

A

Jacobs (1887)

Miller (1956)

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28
Q

What was the aim of Miller (1956)’s experiment?

A

To find out the capacity of STM

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29
Q

What was the procedure of Miller (1956)’s experiment?

A

Participants are given a series of words, digits etc. (e.g. 6, 7 ,3 ,9, 2, 4) and instructed to recall immediately and accurately in the correct order. As the test continues, the list gets progressively longer.

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30
Q

What were the results of Miller (1956)’s experiment?

A

Participants could remember lists up to the limit of 9 items with the average being 7 and the lower boundary being 5.

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31
Q

What was the conclusion of Miller (1956)’s experiment?

A

Short term memory must have a limited capacity of 7+ or -2

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32
Q

Who researched into encoding of short term memory?

A

Baddeley (1966)

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33
Q

What was Baddeley (1966)’s aim?

A

To investigate the encoding style of the STM

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34
Q

What was Baddeley (1966)’s procedure?

A

Participants were shown a random sequence of 5 words from one of four categories:
Acoustically similar words (cap/can)
Acoustically dissimilar words (mud/computer)
Semantically similar words (made/created)
Semantically dissimilar words (poster/mouse)

Participants were asked to write the lists down 20 seconds after

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35
Q

What were Baddeley (1966)’s results?

A

Participants produced the following recall percentages:
Acoustically similar words - 10%
Acoustically dissimilar words - 80%
Semantically similar words - 64%
Semantically dissimilar words - 71%

Participants confused acoustically similar words compared to other words which suggests because they are similar and easily confused, they must be represented acoustically as part of our processing.

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36
Q

What was Baddeley (1966)’s conclusion?

A

In the STM we convert visual material into an acoustic code and find it difficult to distinguish between information that sounds the same

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37
Q

Who researched into duration of short term memory?

A

Peterson and Peterson (1959)

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38
Q

What was Peterson and Peterson (1959)’s aim?

A

To investigate duration of short term memory

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39
Q

What was Peterson and Peterson (1959)’s procedure?

A
  1. Asked participants to remember a nonsense trigram
  2. Then they gave participants a distractor task to stop rehearsing b counting back in 3s from 100
  3. They tested participants’ recall after 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, or 18 seconds for perfect recall of the trigram
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40
Q

What were Peterson and Peterson (1959)’s results?

A

After 3 seconds, participants could recall about 80% of the trigrams correctly

After 18 seconds, only about 10% were recalled correctly

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41
Q

What was Peterson and Peterson (1959)’s conclusion?

A

When rehearsal is prevented, very little can stay in STM for longer than approximately 18 seconds.

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42
Q

Who researched into capacity of the long term memory?

A

No one, it is generally accepted that LTM is unlimited however information can be lost due to decay or interference.

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43
Q

Who researched into encoding of long term memory?

A

Baddeley (1966)

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44
Q

What was Baddeley (1966)’s aim?

A

To investigate the encoding style of LTM

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45
Q

What was Baddeley (1966)’s procedure?

A

Participants were shown a random sequence of 5 words from one of four categories:
Acoustically similar
Acoustically dissimilar
Semantically similar
Semantically dissimilar

Participants were asked to write the lists down 20 minutes after

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46
Q

What were Baddeley (1966)’s results?

A

Recall percentages:

Acoustically similar and dissimilar words were equally poor in recall

85% semantically similar words

55% semantically similar words

Participants were better at recalling semantically similar words

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47
Q

What was Baddeley (1966)’s conclusion?

A

When storing information in LTM, it is better recalled if encoded semantically

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48
Q

Who researched into duration of long term memory?

A

Bahrick et Al (1975)

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49
Q

What was Bahrick et Al (1975)’s aim?

A

To establish the duration of LTM

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50
Q

What was Bahrick et Al (1975)’s procedure?

A
  1. Investigators tracked down the graduates from a high school in America over a 50 year period
  2. 392 graduates were shown photographs from their high school year book
  3. For each photo, participants were given a group of names and asked to select the name that matched the person in the photo.

Another group of participants were simply asked to name the people in the photos without being given a list of possible names

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51
Q

What were Bahrick et Al (1975)’s results?

A

In the name matching condition the results were:
90% correct 14 years after graduation
80% correct 25 years after graduation
75% correct 34 years after graduation
60% correct 47 years after graduation

In identification condition, the results were:
60% correct 7 years after graduation
20% correct 47 years after graduation

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52
Q

What was Bahrick et Al (1975)’s conclusion?

A

People can remember certain types of information for almost a lifetime however, accuracy can diminish over time due to decay and may be affected by the task.

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53
Q

What are 3 strengths of the Multi-Store Model?

A
  1. There is research to support the model from: Sperling (1960), Miller (1956), Baddeley (1966), Peterson and Peterson (1959) and Bahrick (1975)
  2. Has high face validity as an early explanation of memory
  3. Amnesia cases would support the model as those with amnesia may lose the use of the STM or LTM but not both. This supports the idea that they are separate stores.
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54
Q

What are limitations of the Multi-Store Model?

A
  1. Rehearsal may not be the only way for information to enter the LTM from STM as this can’t account for memories of great emotional meaning that enter LTM instantly without rehearsal.
  2. The working memory model suggests that STM is not just one unitary store, but may be several stores as people can complete dual modality tasks at the same time suggesting that the capacity of STM must be more than 7 + or - 2. The fore, this suggest the model is oversimplified.
  3. It could also be argued that LTM is not a unitary store and in fact consists of semantic memory, episodic memory and procedural memory as HM shows that he still had the use of procedural when losing episodic memory. This also suggests the model is oversimplified.
  4. The model focuses more on the structure of the model and does not explain the processes of memory fully.
  5. The research conducted to support the model uses artificial settings and stimuli therefore we could question the external validity of the model and whether it can be applied to all situations of life
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55
Q

What did patient HM suffer from as a child?

A

Epilepsy which may have been caused by a head injury

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56
Q

What surgery did HM have?

A

Bilateral temporal lobe resection

Portion of temporal lobe removed including parts of hippocampus and amygdala

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57
Q

What happened when HM awoke from his surgery?

A

He was suffering from severe amnesia.

He remembered much of his childhood, his name, family history and stock market crash of 1929

He couldn’t remember events from a few years before and some things that had happened up to 11 years before

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58
Q

What other amnesia did HM have?

A

Anterogade amnesia

He had lost the ability to form new memories

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59
Q

What did HM’s amnesia show researchers?

A

At the time of his operation it was thought that memory functions were spread throughout the brain

HM suffered one kind of amnesia so acutely as a result of damage to one part of his brain, and yet retained his intellectual abilities, prompted researchers to reassess this assumption

Clear that the temporal lobe must be vital for memory function

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60
Q

Who published results of a series of trials that they had conducted with HM?

A

Milner in 1962

61
Q

Describe what Milner asked HM to do in the trials

A

Draw a line between two outlines of a five-pointed star while watching his hand and page in a mirror

HM had to repeat this task several times on several different occasions

Each time HM didn’t remember completing the task before, yet his performance improved.

This showed that, although he wasn’t conscious of it, Henry was able to learn new motor skills by repeated practice

62
Q

What did Milner conclude from these trials?

A

This form of memory, called motor learning, must be distinct from the system of memory that records new facts, faces and experiences. Furthermore, it must be located in a different part of the brain, not affected by HM’s operation.

63
Q

What was Milner’s discovery?

A

We have multiple memory systems and they are located in different parts of the brain.

64
Q

How does HM’s case reject the idea of the MSM?

A

HM had different aspect to his short and long term memory, specifically he had the use of procedural memory, however his episodic memory suffered.

This would refute the claim that long term memory is a unitary store, like the MSM suggests, and perhaps there is more to the function of memory.

65
Q

Who developed the working memory model?

A

Baddeley and Hitch (1974)

66
Q

What is the WMM?

A

A model of STM

The WMM is concerned with the ‘mental space’ that is active when, for example, working on an arithmetic problem or playing chess or comprehending language, etc.

67
Q

What does the central executive do?

A

Allocates subsystems

Supervisory role- monitors incoming data , directs attention and allocates subsystems to tasks

Has very limited storage capacity

68
Q

What does the phonological loop do?

A

Consists of a phonological store and an articulatory process

PL deals with auditory information and preserves order in which information arrives.

It is subdivided into:
Phonological store: stores the words you hear
Articulatory process: allows maintenance rehearsal (repeating sounds to keep them in WM while they are needed)

69
Q

What does the visuo-spatial sketchpad do?

A

Stores visual and/or spatial information when required (e.g recalling how many windows your house has)

Logie (1995) subdivided the VSS into:
Visual cache - stores visual data
Inner scribe - records arrangements of objects in visual field

70
Q

What did Logie (1995) subdivide the VSS into?

A

Visual cache

Inner scribe

71
Q

What does the episodic buffer do?

A

Temporary storage

Added in 2000, it is a temporary store for info

Integrates visual, spatial, and verbal information from other stores

Maintains sense of time sequencing - recording events (episodes) that are happening

Links to LTM

72
Q

Describe how support from clinical evidence is a strength of the model.

A

Shallice and Warrington (1970) studied patient KF who had a brain injury

His STM for auditory information was poor (damaged PL) but he could process visual info normally (intact VSS)

This supports the WMM view that there are separate visual and acoustic memory stores

73
Q

Describe the counterpoint to the strength of ‘support from clinical evidence’ of the WMM

A

KF may have had other impairments which explained poor memory performance, apart from damage to his PL

This challenges evidence from clinical studies of brain injury

74
Q

Describe how dual task performance supports the idea of the VSS (WMM)

A

Baddeley et al.’s (1975) participants found it harder to carry out two visual tasks at the same time than do a verbal and a visual task together. (same for two verbal tasks)

This is because both visual tasks compete for the same subsystem (VSS) There is no competition with a verbal and visual task

Therefore there must be a separate subsystem that processes visual input (VSS) and also a separate system for verbal processes (PL)

75
Q

Describe the limitation of ‘lack of clarity over the central executive’ for the WMM

A

Baddeley (2003) said the CE was the most important but the least understood component of working memory.

There must be more to the CE than just being ‘attention’ e.g. it is made up of separate subcomponents

Therefore the CE is an unsatisfactory component and this challenges the integrity of the model.

76
Q

How is the validity of the WMM challenged?

A

Dual-task studies support the WMM because they show that there must be separate components processing visual (VSS) and verbal information (PL)

However, these studies are highly-controlled and use tasks that are unlike everyday WM tasks (e.g. recalling random letter sequences)

This challenges the validity of the model because it isn’t certain that working memory operates this way in everyday situations.

77
Q

What is interference?

A

When two pieces of information disrupt each other

78
Q

Why does forgetting occur in the LTM?

A

Because we can’t get access to memories even though they are available

79
Q

What is proactive interference?

A

When an older memory interferes with a new memory

80
Q

What is retroactive interference?

A

When a newer memory disrupts an older one

81
Q

Why is interference worse when memories are similar?

A

This may be because:

In PI previously stored information makes new information more difficult to store

In RI new information overwrites previous memories which are similar

82
Q

What did McGeogh and McDonald (1931) research into?

A

The effects of similarity on memory

83
Q

What was McGeogh and McDonald (1931)’s aim?

A

To investigate the effects of similarity as an explanation for forgetting

84
Q

What was McGeogh and McDonald (1931)’s procedure?

A

Participants were asked to learn a list of words to 100% accuracy

Then they were given a new list to learn. The new material varied in the degree to which it was similar to the old:
Group 1: synonyms
Group 2: antonyms
Group 3: unrelated
Group 4: consonant syllables
Group 5: three-digit numbers
Group 6: no new list- participants just rested (control condition)

85
Q

What were McGeogh and McDonald (1931)’s results?

A

Performance depended on the nature of the second list. The most similar material (synonyms) produced the worst recall.

86
Q

What was McGeogh and McDonald (1931)’s conclusion?

A

Interference is strongest when the memories are similar.

87
Q

Describe the strength of ‘support for interference in real-world situations’ for interference as an explanation for forgetting.

A

Baddeley and Hitch (1977) asked rugby players to recall the names of teams they had played against during a rugby season.

Players did not play the same number of games (injuries). Those who played the most (more interference) had poorest recall.

This shows that interference operates in some everyday situations, increasing the validity of the theory.

88
Q

Describe the strength of ‘support from drug studies’ for interference as an explanation for forgetting.

A

Material learned just before taking diazepam recalled better than a placebo group one week later.

This is retrograde facilitation
(Coenen and Van Luigitelaar 1977)

The drug stopped new information reaching brain areas that process memories, so it could not retroactively interfere with stored information (Wixted)

This shows that forgetting is due to interference - reducing the interference reduced the forgetting.

89
Q

Describe the limitation of ‘interference effects may be overcome using cues’ for interference as an explanation for forgetting.

A

Tulving and Psotka (1971) gave participants lists of words organised into categories (not told what they were).

Recall of first list was 70% but fell with each new list (interference).

When given a cued recall test (names of categories) recall rose again to 70%

This shows that interference causes just a temporary loss of access to material still in LTM - not predicted by theory.

90
Q

Describe how a lack of cues can cause retrieval failure

A

When info is initially placed in memory, associated cues are stored at the same time

If the cues are not available at time of retrieval, you might not access memories that are actually there

91
Q

Describe the Encoding Specificity Principle (Tulving 1983)

A

Cues help retrieval if the same ones are present both at encoding and at retrieval

If the cues available at encoding and retrieval are different (or if cues are absent) then there will be some forgetting

“the greater the similarity between the encoding event and he retrieval event, the greater the likelihood of recalling the original memory.

92
Q

Describe Context dependent forgetting

A

Recall depends of external cue (e.g. weather or place)

93
Q

Describe State dependent forgetting

A

Recall depends on internal cue (e.g. feeling upset or being drunk)

94
Q

Who researched into context-dependent forgetting?

A

Godden and Baddeley (1975)

95
Q

What was Godden and Baddeley (1975)’s aim?

A

To investigate the effect of environment on recall

96
Q

What was Godden and Baddeley (1975)’s procedure?

A

18 divers from a diving club in Scotland were asked to learn a list of 36 unrelated words of two or three syllables.

There were 4 conditions:
Learn on beach-recall on beach
Learn on beach-recall under water
Learn under water-recall on beach
Learn under water-recall under water

97
Q

What were Godden and Baddeley (1975)’s results?

A

The following number of items were recalled:
13.5 - learn on beach recall, on beach
8.6 - learn on beach recall, under water
8.5 - learn under water, recall on beach
11.4 - learn under water, recall under water

98
Q

What was Godden and Baddeley (1975)’s conclusion?

A

The context acted as a cue to recall as the participants recalled more words when they learnt and recalled the words they learnt in the same environment than when they learnt and recalled the words in different environments

99
Q

What are the strengths of cue dependent forgetting?

A

There is research to support from Godden and Baddeley

Real world application - Abernathy suggests you should revise in the room where you will be taking the exams

There may be links with interference as the cues may stop interference from happening

100
Q

What are the limitations of cue dependent forgetting?

A

Context is not normally strong enough in real life

There may be differences in performance depending on the task or item that you are attempting to recall. This may also impact the context dependent learning.

There is no way to independently establish that the cue and the item were encoded together.

101
Q

Describe misleading information in relation to EWT

A

The information given to someone as part of a question that may change the way they perceive a situation or event.

It can take many forms including leading questions or post-event discussion about the event.

102
Q

Describe leading questions in relation to EWT

A

It is argued that the question does not impact our memory of an actual event but influences how we decide to answer a question on the event.

Dependent on the magnitude of the words used will depend on the strength of the response given.

This is shown in Loftus and Palmer (1974) who show that a faster sounding word produces a faster speed estimate

103
Q

What was Loftus and Palmer (1974)’s aim?

A

To investigate the effects of misleading information on EWT

104
Q

What was Loftus and Palmer (1974)’s procedure?

A

45 student participants were shown 7 short video clips of cars colliding.
They were split into 5 groups, 9 participants in each

All participants were asked ‘How fast were the cars going when they ______ each other?’

The different verbs were: smashed, collided, bumped, hit or contacted

105
Q

What were Loftus and Palmer (1974)’s findings?

A

When the verb ‘smashed’ was used, participants estimated that the cars were traveling much faster than when the verb ‘contacted’ was used
Results:
smashed - 40.8
collided - 39.3
bumped - 38.1
hit - 34
contacted - 31.8

106
Q

What was the estimated mph of the cars when the verb ‘smashed’ was used?

A

40.8

107
Q

What was the estimated mph of the cars when the verb ‘collided’ was used?

A

39.3

108
Q

What was the estimated mph of the cars when the verb ‘bumped’ was used?

A

38.1

109
Q

What was the estimated mph of the cars when the verb ‘hit’ was used?

A

34.0

110
Q

What was the estimated mph of the cars when the verb ‘contacted’ was used?

A

31.8

111
Q

What was Loftus and Palmer (1974)’s conclusion?

A

How the question was phrased influenced participants’ speed estimates

112
Q

Who investigated into how leading questions impact EWT accuracy?

A

Loftus and Zanni (1975)

113
Q

What was Loftus and Zanni (1975)’s aim?

A

To investigate the impact of leading questions on EWT

114
Q

What was Loftus and Zanni (1975)’s procedure?

A

100 university students were all informed they were completing a study on memory. They were shown a 1 minute film of a multiple car crash.
They were asked either:
Did you see the broken headlight?
Did you see a broken headlight?

115
Q

What were Loftus and Zanni (1975)’s results?

A

‘Did you see the broken headlight?’ 17%
‘Did you see a broken headlight?’ 7%

116
Q

What was Loftus and Zanni (1975)’s conclusion?

A

The changing of a simple word as part of a leading question can impact participants’ recall.

117
Q

What is post event discussion in relation to EWT?

A

Conversations after the event can have a similar impact to leading questions as false information can be added in where people can mistake other people’s memories for their own.

118
Q

Who researched into the effect of post-event discussion on the accuracy of EWT?

A

Gabbert et al (2003)

119
Q

What was Gabbert et al (2003)’s aim?

A

To investigate the impact of post-event discussion on the accuracy of EWT

120
Q

What was Gabbert et al (2003)’s procedure?

A

Sample consisted of 60 students from University of Aberdeen and 60 older adults recruited from a local community

Participants watched a video of a girl stealing money from a wallet.

They were either tested individually (control group) or in pairs (co-witness group).

The participants in the co-witness group were told that they had watched the same video, however they had in fact seen different perspectives of the same crime and only one person had actually witnessed the girl stealing.

Participants in the co-witness group discussed the crime together.

All of the participants then completed the questionnaire, testing their memory of the event.

121
Q

What were Gabbert et al (2003)’s findings?

A

71% witnesses in co-witness group recalled information they hadn’t actually seen
60% said the girl was guilty, despite the fact they hadn’t seen her commit the crime

122
Q

What was Gabbert et al (2003)’s conclusion?

A

Post-event discussion can have a powerful effect on the accuracy of EWT

123
Q

Describe anxiety in relation to EWT

A

An emotion characterised by feelings of tension, worried thoughts and physical changes like increased blood pressure.

Anxiety has been shown to have positive and negative effects on EWT. This is down to differences between the situations and is explained by the Yerkes-Dodson Law.

124
Q

What is the Yerkes Dodson Law?

A

The law dictates that performance increases with physiological or mental arousal, but only up to a point. When levels of arousal become too high, performance decreases.

125
Q

Who researched into the effects of anxiety on EWT?

A

Loftus (1979)

125
Q

What was Loftus (1979)’s aim?

A

To investigate the effects of anxiety on EWT

126
Q

What was Loftus (1979)’s procedure?

A

Participants heard a discussion in a room nearby then the following happened depending on the groups the participants were in.

Condition A - a man came out of room with a pen and grease on his hands
Condition B - a man came out of room with a knife covered in blood

Participants were asked to identify the man from 50 photographs

127
Q

What were Loftus (1979)’s results?

A

Condition A - 49% accurate
Condition B - 33% accurate

(at identifying man)

128
Q

What was Loftus (1979)’s conclusion?

A

When anxious and aroused, witnesses focus on a weapon at the expense of other details

129
Q

Who researched into the positive effects of anxiety on EWT from naturalistic experiments?

A

Christianson and Hubinette (1993)

130
Q

What was Christianson and Hubinette (1993)’s aim?

A

to investigate the positive effects of anxiety on EWT from naturalistic experiments

131
Q

What was Christianson and Hubinette (1993)’s procedure?

A

They interviewed 110 people who had previously witnessed bank robberies.

Some of the participants had just been witnesses whilst others had actually been threatened

132
Q

What were Christianson and Hubinette (1993)’s results?

A

Those who had been threatened had the most accurate and detailed recall of events

133
Q

What was Christianson and Hubinette (1993)’s conclusion?

A

When we are more anxious in a situation, EWT is more accurate

134
Q

What are strengths of factors affecting EWT?

A

This research has useful real-life applications as findings of this research have impacted the way in which questions are asked as part of the legal system - particularly in police interviews

Much of this has been linked to the cognitive interview as addressing these issues improves participants’ recall meaning they must have an impact

135
Q

What are limitations of factors affecting EWT?

A

Tasks completed are artificial and may not be appropriate for us to generalise to real world. The difference in anxiety between Loftus and Christianson and Hubinette may be down to ecological validity

Other factors play a role in EWT including gender as people of a similar gender may be better to recalling facts than those of the opposite gender to the criminal. Additionally, age plays role in our identification of EWT with young people being better than old people with their recall

Demand characteristics may have played a role as participants were attentive to the scene because it was an experiment. This may not be the case in real life as people who witness a crime may not be looking for the crime. Therefore, because they know they are being tested, this could give unrealistic results.

136
Q

What is the cognitive interview?

A

A technique used by police officers to obtain information from witnesses. This method is used to try and reduce the effects of factors that affect EWT.

This was proposed by Fisher and Gieselman (1992) and it contains four main parts.

137
Q

What are the four main parts of the cognitive interview?

A

Report everything

Context reinstatement

Reverse the order

Change perspective

138
Q

Describe the feature ‘report everything’ of the cognitive interview

A

Involves the witness including every piece of detail they can about an event whether they feel it is relevant or not and they should include every detail they possibly can. This is an attempt to trigger them to recall more information, even if they are not entirely confident about it.

139
Q

Describe the feature ‘context reinstatement’ of the cognitive interview

A

The witness should return to the scene of the crime in their mind and try to re-imagine the context of the situation e.g. what the weather was like
This is linked to context dependent learning as people will be more likely to recall information when in the same context

140
Q

Describe the feature ‘reverse the order’ of the cognitive interview

A

The events are recalled in a different order (changed temporal recall) to the original sequence. This is done so people do not report their expectations as to what they think should happen next and more the facts of what happened before an event.

141
Q

Describe the feature ‘change perspective’ of the cognitive interview

A

Witnesses should try and recall the events from a different person’s perspective, for example what would they have seen if they were the perpetrator. This is done to disrupt the effects of expectations on recall and the impact of scheme on recall.

142
Q

Who researched into the effectiveness of the cognitive interview?

A

Geiselman (1986)

143
Q

What was Geiselman (1986)’s aim?

A

to investigate the effectiveness of the cognitive interview

144
Q

What was Geiselman (1986)’s procedure?

A

An intruder carrying a blue rucksack entered a classroom and stole a slide projector. Two days later participants were questioned about the event with either a standard interview or a cognitive interview.
Early in the interview participants were asked, “Was the guy with the green backpack nervous?”
Later in the interview, participants were asked, “What colour was the man’s rucksack?”

145
Q

What were Geiselman (1986)’s results?

A

Participants in the cognitive interview condition were less likely to recall the backpack being green than those in the standard interview condition.

146
Q

What was Geiselman (1986)’s conclusion?

A

The cognitive interview technique enhances memory recall and reduces the effect of leading questions.

147
Q

What are strengths of the cognitive interview?

A

Research to support the effectiveness from Geiselman (1986)
Kohnken et al (1999) found through a meta-analysis of 50 studies that the cognitive interview produced greater accuracy in recall than the standard interview

148
Q

What are weaknesses of the cognitive interview?

A

It is time consuming, doesn’t produce significant amount of additional information
Some elements are more valuable than others so it’s questioned if the whole process is necessary
Few police officers are trained on how to conduct the interview, benefits may not be widely seen
Kohnken (1999) found an 81% increase of correct information recalled however, a 61% increase in incorrect information recalled therefore it may not be entirely beneficial

Psychology (11 decks)

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