Memory (Paper 1)

Question 1

Cognitive Psychology

Answer 1

Cognitive psychology is concerned with people’s thought processes and how these affect the way in which they behave.

Question 2

Memory

Answer 2

Memory is the process of retaining learned information, and accessing this information when it is needed. Memory is an important factor in how human beings process information.

Question 3

Processes in Memory

Answer 3

Coding, Storage and Retrieval

Question 4

Coding

Answer 4

The way information is changed so that it can be stored in memory.

Question 5

Storage

Answer 5

Keeping information within the memory system until it is needed.

Question 6

Retrieval

Answer 6

Recovering information stored in the memory system when it is required.

Question 7

Memory Stores

Answer 7

Sensory Register, Short-Term Memory and Long-Term Memory

Question 8

Sensory Register

Answer 8

The Sensory Register (SR) contains unprocessed impressions of information received through the senses. It has a separate sensory store for each sensory input. There is an iconic store for visual information and the echoic store for auditory information.

Question 9

Short-Term Memory

Answer 9

Short-Term Memory (STM) is a temporary store for information received from the SR.

Question 10

Long-Term Memory

Answer 10

Long-Term Memory (LTM) is a permanent store holding limitless amounts of information for long periods of time, potentially a lifetime.

Question 11

Capacity

Answer 11

The amount of information that can be held in memory before new incoming information displaces it. This means the information is ‘pushed out’.

Question 12

Duration

Answer 12

The amount of time information can be held in a memory store before it is lost due to decay. This means the information ‘fades away’.

Question 13

Coding - Sensory Register

Answer 13

Coding in the Sensory Register (SR) is modality specific. This means that each sensory store (e.g. iconic for visual information) codes information differently.

Question 14

Coding - Short-Term Memory

Answer 14

Baddeley (1966) investigated coding in Short-Term Memory (STM); he gave participants four lists of words to recall. List A contained words that sounded similar and list B had words that sounded dissimilar. Lost C contained words that had similar meanings; list D had words with dissimilar meanings. Baddeley (1966) argued that STM is coded acoustically because when tested participants performed worse with list A than list B, but there was no difference between list C and D. Baddeley (1966) theorised that because STM organises information according to how it sounds, similar sounding words can become muddled.

Question 15

Coding - Long-Term Memory

Answer 15

Baddeley (1966) repeated this experiment to test the coding of Long-Term Memory (LTM). He tested participant’s recall of the lists after a 20 minute delay in order to ensure the information had passed into LTM. Participant’s recall of list C was worse than their recall of list D. There was no difference between list A and list B. Baddeley (1966) concluded that LTM is coded semantically. LTM organises information according to its meaning, so words with similar meaning can become confused.

Question 16

Strengths of Baddeley (1966)

Answer 16

This study is a laboratory experiment and so it is easy to replicate as variables have been closely controlled. This means that reliability can be assessed.

Question 17

Weaknesses of Baddeley (1966)

Answer 17

The findings of this study have low ecological validity. The material (lists of unconnected words) which participants needed to recall was artificial (unlike the types of information which people need to recall in their everyday life) as was the laboratory setting.

Question 18

Capacity - Sensory Register

Answer 18

The capacity of the SR is unlimited

Question 19

Capacity - Short-Term Memory

Answer 19

Jacobs (1887) used a digit span test to determine the capacity of STM. He gave participants several sequences of digits or letters, asking them to repeat each sequence immediately after he had given it, in the correct order. The sequences got longer by one item each time. Jacobs (1887) found that on average we can hold 9.3 digits and 7.3 letters. Miller (1956) reviewed psychological research studies and concluded that the span of STM is 7 (+/) 2. If we try to recall more information than we have the capacity for then new incoming information displaces old information. He also found that people can recall five words as easily as five letters, and so chunking (grouping large amounts of information into smaller groups) can help us remember more.

Question 20

Strengths of Jacobs (1887)

Answer 20

Jacob’s (1887) research was the first to acknowledge that STM capacity gradually improves with age.

Question 21

Weaknesses of Jacobs (1887)

Answer 21

This study was conducted a long time ago, so may not have been done to the same scientifically rigorous standard as research today, therefore the validity of the findings is in question.

Question 22

Capacity - Long-Term Memory

Answer 22

The capacity of LTM is unlimited.

Question 23

Duration - Sensory Register

Answer 23

The duration of the SR is 250 milliseconds.

Question 24

Duration - Short-Term Memory

Answer 24

Peterson & Peterson (1959) used nonsense trigram’s (random 3 consonants) to test STM duration. To prevent participants keeping the information in STM using maintenance rehearsal they were asked to count backwards from 100 in threes. After 3 seconds recall was accurate 90% of the time, after 9 seconds they were accurate 20% of the time, but after 18 seconds it was only accurate 2% of the time. They concluded that information in STM lasts for 18-30 seconds without rehearsal, before it is lost due to decay.

Question 25

Strengths of Peterson & Peterson (1959)

Answer 25

In this study, the researchers used fixed timings for participants to count backwards from. They also eliminated noise and other factors that could have had an influence on memory. The research can therefore be said to have a high level of control, using standardised procedures to make sure all participants experienced the same process

Question 26

Weaknesses of Peterson & Peterson (1959)

Answer 26

The findings of this study may have been caused by interference rather than by STM having a short duration. It is possible that earlier learnt trigrams became confused with later ones.

Question 27

Duration - Long-Term Memory

Answer 27

Bahrick (1979) tested 400 people of various ages (17-74) on their memory of their classmates. A photo recognition test consisted of participants being shown 50 photos and deciding if they belonged to their classmates or not. In a free recall test participants were asked to list the names they could remember from their graduating class. They found 90% accuracy at identifying faces of school friends within 15 years of leaving school. After 48 years this declined to 70%. Free recall of names of classmates was 60% accurate within 15 years of leaving school, dropping to 30% after 48 years. Bahrick et al. (1979) concluded that the duration of LTM is potentially a lifetime but sometimes we have retrieval failure and need retrieval cues in order to access this information.

Question 28

Strengths of Bahrick (1979)

Answer 28

This study has higher ecological validity than Peterson and Peterson (1959) as the material used was more meaningful and relevant to everyday life.

Question 29

Weaknesses of Bahrick (1979)

Answer 29

It is problematic to control for extraneous variables, such as people staying in touch after they left school or how many participants have looked in their yearbook since leaving school.

Question 30

Multi-Store Model of Memory

Answer 30

The multi-store model of memory (MSM) was developed by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968). It attempts to explain how information flows from one memory store to another. There are three permanent structures in the memory system: the sensory register (SR), short-term memory (STM) and long-term memory (LTM). Each of these memory stores differ in terms of their capacity, duration, coding and how information is lost from them.

Question 31

Neurobiological Strengths of The Multi-Store Model of Memory

Answer 31

Scoville (1957) attempted to treat a patient he referred to as HM’s epilepsy by removing several brain areas, including his hippocampus. This resulted in the patient being unable to code new long-term memories (LTM), although his short-term memory (STM) was unaffected. This supports the idea of separate and distinct STM and LTM.

Shallice and Warrington (1970) reported the case study of KF who as a result of a motorbike accident had reduced STM capacity of only one or two digits, yet his LTM was normal. This supports the idea of a separate STM and LTM stores.

However, KF had poor STM for verbal tasks but not visual tasks and this suggests that there is more than one type of STM, which contradicts the Multi-Store Model (MSM) of memory. Also, according to the MSM, LTM are retrieved by STM so if STM is damaged it should be difficult to retrieve LTM. However, KF was able to access LTM without any difficulty.

Question 32

Laboratory Strengths of The Multi-Store Model of Memory

Answer 32

Murdock (1962) presented participants with a long list of words to be recalled in any order, this was referred to as the free recall experiment. Words at the beginning and the end of the lists were recalled better than those in the middle. This is called the serial position effect. Words at the beginning of the list are recalled because they have been constantly rehearsed and transferred to LTM (the primacy effect), while words at the end of the list are recalled because they are still in STM (the recency effect). This supports the idea of separate and distinct STM and LTM

Question 33

Weaknesses of The Multi-Store Model of Memory

Answer 33

The MSM is over simplified in assuming that there is only one type of STM and one type of LTM. Research studies indicate that there are several types of STM, such as one for verbal information (phonological loop) and another for non-verbal information (visuo-spatial sketchpad). Research also suggests that there are several types of LTM, we have episodic memory for life events, semantic memory for knowledge and facts and procedural memory for motor skills.

Baddeley and Hitch (1974) claimed that the MSM could not explain the ability to multi-task; if there is only one type of STM then multi-tasking would not be possible. However, people multi-task all the time, for example listening to the radio while driving.

Question 34

The Working Memory Model

Answer 34

Baddeley and Hitch (1974) questioned the idea promoted by the multi-store model (MSM) of memory that people only have one type of short-term memory (STM). They also argued that STM is far more complex than simply being a temporary store for information before it is transferred to long-term memory (LTM). They instead saw STM as an active store holding several pieces of information while they are being worked on, that is why they referred to their model as the working memory model (WMM). They argued that LTM is the passive store that only holds previously learned material to be used by STM when needed.

Question 35

The Central Executive

Answer 35

The central executive drives the whole working memory system and allocates data to the other components, known as slave systems. It also deals with cognitive tasks such as decision making, reasoning and problem solving. Individuals have a limited attentional capacity, tasks that are automated make less attentional demands on the central executive and so leave us free to perform other tasks.

A person who has been driving 10 years will find that driving has become an automated task that does not make as many attentional demands as it did when they were learning to drive, and so they can now listen to the radio or talk to passengers much more easily than a learner driver can.

Question 36

The Phonological Loop

Answer 36

The phonological loop is the component of working memory that deals with spoken and written material. It has two sub-components: The Phonological Store and The Articulatory Loop

Question 37

Phonological Store

Answer 37

The phonological store is sometimes referred to as the inner ear. It is linked to speech perception and holds information in speech-based form (i.e. spoken words) for 1-2 seconds.

Question 38

Articulatory Loop

Answer 38

The articulatory loop sometimes referred to as the inner voice. It is linked to speech production and is used to rehearse and store verbal information from the phonological store. This allows for maintenance rehearsal.

Question 39

The Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad

Answer 39

The visuo-spatial sketchpad stores and processes information in a visual or spatial form. It is used for navigation. It is sometimes referred to as the inner eye. It has two sub-components: The Visual Cache and The Inner Scribe

Question 40

Visual Cache

Answer 40

The visual cache stores visual material about form and colour.

Question 41

Inner Scribe

Answer 41

The inner scribe handles spatial relationships.

Question 42

The Episodic Buffer

Answer 42

Baddeley (2000) added another component called the episodic buffer because he realised that the model needed a general storage component to operate properly. This is because the slave systems only deal with processing and temporary storage of specific types of information, and the central executive has no storage capacity at all.

The episodic buffer is a limited capacity store, integrating information from the central executive, the phonological loop and the visuo-spatial sketchpad, as well as from LTM.

Question 43

Neurobiological Strengths of The Working Memory Model

Answer 43

Shallice and Warrington (1970) reported the case study of KF who, because of a motorbike accident, had poor Short-Term Memory (STM) for words that were presented verbally but not for words that were presented visually. This suggests that there is more than one type of STM, as the Working Memory Model (WMM) suggests. In particular, it shows that we have a type of STM for verbal tasks (phonological loop) and another for visual (visuo-spatial sketchpad).

Question 44

Laboratory Strengths of The Working Memory Model

Answer 44

Baddeley and Hitch (1974) gave participants a dual task. They were asked to complete a reasoning task, which uses the central executive, at the same time as a reading aloud task, which uses the phonological loop. Participants could do both tasks simultaneously very well, supporting the idea of separate components in STM.

Baddeley et al. (1975) gave participants brief visual presentations of lists of words. These words were made up either of short words or long words. Participants were asked to recall the list immediately in the correct order. It was found that participants could recall more short words than long ones. Baddeley (1975) called this the word length effect and concluded that it supports the idea that the phonological loop can hold as many items as can be said in 1.5 to 2 seconds rather than being limited by 7 (+/- 2) items as the multi-store model (MSM) argues.

Question 45

General Strengths of The Working Memory Model

Answer 45

The WMM has practical applications; it has improved understanding of how people learn to read and so helped psychologists to assist those with Dyslexia who can struggle with reading.

Question 46

General Weaknesses of The Working Memory Model

Answer 46

Several psychologists have criticised the WMM because they think the idea of a central executive is vague and untestable. Damasio (1985) presented the case of EVR who had a cerebral tumour removed. He had good reasoning skills, which suggested his central executive was intact, but he could not make decisions, which suggests his central executive was damaged. This case study strongly indicates that the central executive is more complicated than the WMM claims.

Question 47

Episodic Memory

Answer 47

Episodic memory is your memory for events, for example your recollection of your first day of school, a family holiday, your last birthday etc. Episodic memories have three elements, specific details of the event, the context of the event, and the emotions you were feeling at the time of the event. Episodic memories are stored in the hippocampus.

Question 48

Semantic Memory

Answer 48

Semantic memory is your memory for facts and general knowledge about the world, for example that the capital of England is London and that 2 + 2 = 4. Semantic memories may also relate to things such as the functions of an object, what behaviour is appropriate in a certain situation, as well as abstract concepts such as mathematics and language. Semantic memories begin as episodic memories because we acquire knowledge based on personal experiences. There is a gradual transition from episodic memory to semantic memory when memory slowly loses its association to particular events and is generalised. Sometimes, however, people can have a strong recollection of when and where they learned a particular fact. Semantic memories are stored in the temporal lobe.

Question 49

Procedural Memory

Answer 49

Procedural memory (sometimes called muscle memory) is concerned with motor skills and actions, such as knowing how to tie your shoelaces, knowing how to drive, or knowing how to read. Procedural memories are typically acquired through practise and repetition and seem to be more resistant to forgetting or amnesia than other types of LTM. We are less aware of procedural memories because they have become automatic and are unavailable for conscious inspection (unlike episodic memories and semantic memories) making it difficult to explain them verbally. Often, if you think too much about procedural memories it prevents you from carrying them out, if you really think about what you are doing while riding a bike, you will probably lose your balance. It is important that procedural memories are automatic so that we can focus our attention on other tasks while performing these everyday skills. Procedural memories are stored in the cerebellum.

Question 50

Strengths of Long-Term Memory

Answer 50

Evidence for the distinction between episodic/semantic and procedural memory has come from research on patients with amnesia. Typically patients with amnesia are unable to store new episodic or semantic memories but their procedural memory appears to be largely unaffected.

Scientific evidence captured from brain scans supports the view that there are different types of LTM. For example, when asking participants to recall different types of information, different areas of the brain are shown to be active on an fMRI. Episodic memories are associated with the hippocampus, semantic memories are associated with the temporal lobe and procedural memories are associated with the cerebellum

Case studies of brain damaged patients offer support for the different types of LTM. For example, Clive Wearing is a man who suffered from a viral infection which damaged his hippocampus. He has no episodic memory and cannot form new semantic memories. However, his procedural memory is intact (e.g. he can still play the piano).

Question 51

Weaknesses of Long-Term Memory

Answer 51

Research into the different types of LTM have typically been conducted on individual patients (e.g. Clive Wearing and HM). Case studies are highly detailed and provide a lot of information but are isolated cases of one individual. It would be inappropriate to assume that everyone’s’ LTM is formed in the same way. The findings cannot be generalised to the wider population.

Question 52

Forgetting

Answer 52

The term forgetting is used to refer to a person’s loss of ability to recall or recognise something that they have previously learned.

Question 53

Interference Theory

Answer 53

Interference theory claims that forgetting occurs when two lots of information become confused in memory. Interference is more likely to occur when the two lots of information are similar to one another. Inference is less likely to occur when there is a gap between the instances of learning.

Question 54

Retroactive interference

Answer 54

Retroactive interference is when new learning affects the recall of old information.

Question 55

Proactive interference

Answer 55

Proactive interference is when old learning affects the recall of new information.

Question 56

Strengths of Interference Theory as an explanation for Forgetting

Answer 56

Keppel and Underwood (1962) investigated proactive interference.Participants were presented with meaningless three-letter consonant trigrams (for example, THG) at different intervals (3, 6, 9, seconds etc.). To prevent rehearsal the participants had to count backwards in threes before recall. The participants typically remembered the trigrams that were presented first. Keppel and Underwood concluded that the memory for earlier trigrams was interfering with the memory for later trigrams.

McGeoch and McDonald (1931) demonstrated retroactive interference. They gave participants lists of words that they had to learn until they could recall them with 100% accuracy. Participants then learned a new list. This new list was either synonyms (words with similar meanings to the words on the original list) or antonyms (words unrelated to the original list). Participants were then asked to remember the original list. Participants given the list of synonyms had the worst recall of the original list. Learning a second list of words that have similar meanings to the first list of words would cause retroactive interference.

This theory has practical applications. Students should be made aware of this theory so that they do not attempt to revise similar content/subjects at the same time, as this will make interference more likely to occur.

Question 57

Weaknesses of Interference Theory as an explanation for Forgetting

Answer 57

When interference occurs the loss of information may only be temporary, therefore interference is not a true explanation for forgetting because the information is not actually over-written and is still in Long-Term Memory (LTM).

Some psychologists argue that retrieval failure is a much better explanation of forgetting in everyday life than interference. This theory states that we forget when there are not enough retrieval cues to help us remember. Godden and Baddeley (1975) got divers to learn and recall word lists on either dry land or underwater. Results showed that words learnt and recalled in the same context were better remembered as there were retrieval cues in the environment to help them remember the words.

Question 58

Retrieval Failure

Answer 58

Retrieval failure argues that forgetting occurs in the absence of appropriate retrieval cues. When information is initially placed in memory, data associated with this information is stored at the same time. If these retrieval cues are not available at the time of recall, it may make it appear as if you have forgotten the information when in fact you just cannot access it at that time. Some retrieval cues are linked to the material that needs to be remembered in a meaningful way, for example, the anagram ‘STM’ may lead people to recall all sorts of information about short-term memory. Other retrieval cues are coded at the same time of learning but not in a meaningful way.

Question 59

Context Cues

Answer 59

The environment in which material is learnt can act as a retrieval cues. This means that if you recall information in the same environment that you learned it (e.g. the same classroom) then your recall will be better. If you are not in the same context at retrieval as you were at coding then forgetting can occur.

Question 60

State Cues

Answer 60

An individual’s physical state (e.g. mood) can affect their recall. Research studies suggest that recall is facilitated if people have a similar physical state at recall as when the information was coded. If you are not in the same physical state at recall as you were when you learned the information then you might fail to access the information.

Question 61

Strengths of Retrieval Failure as an explanation for Forgetting

Answer 61

Abernethy (1940) demonstrated the importance of context-dependent cues. They tested participants’ recall using a mixture of familiar and unfamiliar instructors and teaching rooms. Participants tested by a familiar instructor, in a familiar room, performed the best because the instructor and room acted as retrieval cues.

Godden and Baddeley (1975) also demonstrated the importance of context-dependent cues. They asked divers to learn and recall word lists on either dry land or underwater. Results showed that words learnt and recalled in the same context were better remembered as there were retrieval cues to help them remember the words.

Darley et al. (1973) showed the importance of state-dependent cues. They found that participants who hid money in a large warehouse while under the influence of cannabis were more likely to recall the hiding place when in a similar drugged state.

Retrieval Failure has practical applications. Whenever possible students should learn/revise in the room, in which they will take their final exams.

Question 62

Weaknesses of Retrieval Failure as an explanation for Forgetting

Answer 62

Baddeley (1997) argues that the influence of retrieval cues is not actually very strong. In real life, we often recall something in a different context to where we learnt it. For instance, students do not often take their GCSE examinations in the classroom where they learned the information they need for that exam.

Question 63

Eyewitness Testimony

Answer 63

Eyewitness testimony (EWT) is the evidence supplied to a court by people who have seen a crime, based on their memory of the incident. This evidence can include an identification of the perpetrator or details of the crime (sequence of events, the time of day etc.). Juries are often heavily influenced by eyewitnesses.

Question 64

Leading Questions

Answer 64

Leading questions are questions that are phrased in such a way as to encourage a witness to give a certain answer. The response-bias explanation argues that leading questions do not affect memory, merely the answer a person chooses to give. However, the substitution-bias explanation proposes that leading questions distort memories because they contain misleading information.

Question 65

Procedure to test Leading Questions

Answer 65

Loftus and Palmer (1974) showed 45 American students a film of a car crash and then asked them to estimate the speed that the cars were travelling when they crashed. However different verbs were used in the question depending on the condition. The verbs were contacted, hit, bumped, collided, or smashed.

Question 66

Findings of Leading Questions

Answer 66

Participants in the ‘contacted’ condition estimated the speed as 31mph but in the ‘smashed’ condition participants estimated the speed as 41mph. A week later participants were asked if they saw any broken glass, even though there was no broken glass shown in the film. 32% of the participants in the ‘smashed’ condition reported seeing broken glass compared to only 12% in the control condition. This shows that leading questions have a significant impact on what people recall and can change a person’s entire memory of an event.

Question 67

Strengths of Leading Questions

Answer 67

This study is a laboratory experiment and was therefore highly controlled. This reduces the chance of extraneous variables, increasing the validity of the results. Furthermore, it is easy for psychologists to replicate their research study to see if the same results are found, meaning the study is reliable.

Question 68

Weakness of Leading Questions

Answer 68

This study has questionable ecological validity. The participants watched a video of a car crash. People who witness a real car accident, who have a stronger emotionally connection to the event, may not be as susceptible to leading questions.

This study also lacks population validity. The study consisted of 45 American students. Students are less experienced drivers may be less competent at estimating speeds. Consequently, we are unable to generalise the results of this study to other populations. Older and more experienced drivers may be more accurate in their judgement of speeds and therefore less susceptible to leading questions.

Question 69

Post-Event Discussion

Answer 69

The memory of an event can be contaminated through discussing events with others due to misinformation (memory contamination). Also, a desire for social approval can lead co-witnesses to reach a consensus view of what happened (memory conformity)

Question 70

Procedure to test Post-Event Discussion

Answer 70

Gabbert et al. (2003) put participants in pairs and got them to watch a different video of the same event so that they each got unique details. In one condition the pairs were encouraged to discuss the event with one another before individually recalling the event. In the other condition they did not discuss what they had seen with one another.

Question 71

Findings of Post-Event Discussion

Answer 71

71% of witnesses who had discussed the event went on to mistakenly recall details that they could not have seen themselves, but that they had learned of during the discussion with their partner.

Question 72

Strengths of Post-Event Discussion

Answer 72

This study has population validity. Two different populations, students and older adults, were compared and there were no significant differences between these two groups. This allows us to conclude that post-event discussion affects younger and older adults in a similar way.

Question 73

Weaknesses of Post-Event Discussion

Answer 73

This study lacks ecological validity. The participants knew they were taking part in an experiment and they therefore are more likely to have paid close attention to the details of the video clip. The results do not reflect real life where witnesses may be exposed to less information.

Question 74

Anxiety

Answer 74

Anxiety is a state of apprehension, uncertainty, and fear resulting from a threatening situation. When anxiety is high it can often impair both physical and psychological functioning. Several psychologists have suggested that the anxiety that occurs when witnessing a crime can prevent accurate and detailed recall of that crime. The presence of a weapon during a crime increases anxiety and therefore could impair witnesses’ memory of the crime. People who observe a violent crime will often pay attention to the aspect of the situation posing the most threat to them because of the anxiety these weapons cause. This means that witnesses who see a violent crime involving a weapon can often describe a criminal’s weapon in great detail, but they cannot recall much about the criminal themselves. This is called the weapon focus effect.

Question 75

Procedure to test Anxiety

Answer 75

Loftus (1979) wanted to see whether anxiety affected a person’s ability to recognise the perpetrator of a crime. In the experimental condition Loftus arranged for participants to overhear a heated and hostile argument between two people. They also heard the sounds of furniture being overturned and broken glass. Then a man emerged carrying a letter opener covered in blood. In the control condition participants overheard a conversation between two people about laboratory equipment failure before a man with grease all over his hands emerged carrying a pen. Participants were then asked to identify the person they had just seen from 50 photos.

Question 76

Findings of Anxiety

Answer 76

Only 33% of the participants in the bloody letter opener condition recognised the photo of the person carrying the letter opener whereas 49% of the participants in the pen condition recognised the photo of the person carrying the pen. Loftus (1979) argued that this occurred because people in the former condition had focused on the bloody letter opener rather than the person carrying it, because the letter opener was a weapon that could pose a threat to them.

Question 77

Strengths of Anxiety

Answer 77

This study is supported by other research studies. Loftus & Burns (1982) allocated participants into one of two conditions. One group watched a violent short film where a boy was shot in the head. The other group watched a non-violent short film of a crime. Participants were less accurate in recall when they saw the short film with a gun than those who watched the non-violent movie.

Question 78

Weaknesses of Anxiety

Answer 78

This study lacks ecological validity. Although they were waiting in the reception area outside of the laboratory, they may have anticipated that something was going to happen, which could have affected the accuracy of their judgements and the validity of the study.

This study violated numerous ethical guidelines. The participants were deceived about the nature of the experiment and were not protected from psychological harm. The participants were exposed to a man who they were led to believe had just killed someone, holding a bloodied knife, which could have caused them extreme distress. Participants may have left the experiment feeling exceptionally stressed, especially if they, or someone they knew, had been involved in knife crime.

Yuille and Cutshall (1986) investigated the effect of anxiety in a real life shooting, in which one person was killed and another person seriously wounded. 21 witnesses were originally interviewed by investigating police and 13 of these witnesses, aged between 15 and 32, agreed to take part in Yuille and Cutshall’s follow-up interview five months later. The witnesses were accurate in their eyewitness accounts five months later and little change was found in their testimony. Furthermore, the witnesses avoided leading questions and those who had been most distressed at the time of the shooting gave the most accurate account. In real life cases leading questions and anxiety do not affect the accuracy of eyewitness testimony the same way they do in the laboratory.

There are individual differences in how anxiety affects memory. Some people actually have better recall when they are anxious. Christianson and Hubinette (1983) conducted a research study using 110 real life eyewitnesses who had witnessed one of 22 bank robberies. Some were onlookers and some were bank clerks who had been directly threatened by the robbers. It was found that victims were more accurate than onlookers in their description of the bank robbers.

Question 79

Cognitive Interview

Answer 79

Context Reinstatement, Report Everything, Recall From Changed Perspective and Recall in Reverse Order

Question 80

Context Reinstatement

Answer 80

The witness tries to mentally recreate an image of the situation, including details of the environment, such as the weather conditions and their emotional state, including their feelings at the time of the incident. These may act as retrieval cues (context-dependent cues) to improve recall

Question 81

Report Everything

Answer 81

The interviewer encourages the witness to recall all details about the event, even though these details may seem to be unimportant. This may highlight details which have been overlooked and trigger other memories.

Question 82

Recall From Changed Perspective

Answer 82

The witness tries to mentally recreate the situation from different points of view, e.g. describing what another witness present at the scene would have seen. This promotes a more holistic view of the event which might enhance recall and reduce the influence of schemas. Schemas are mental structures of preconceived ideas.

Question 83

Recall in Reverse Order

Answer 83

The witness is asked to recall the scene in a different chronological order, e.g. from the end to the beginning. This should verify the accuracy of the witnesses’ account and reduce the possibility that recall may be influenced by schemas/expectations.

Question 84

Enhanced Cognitive Interview

Answer 84

Fisher (1987) added additional guidelines for police interviews;
- Encourage the witness to relax and speak slowly (this will reduce anxiety and may enhance recall)
- Avoid distractions.
- Use open-ended questions.
- Offer comments to help clarify witness statements (may improve detail of the statement).

Question 85

Strengths of the Cognitive Interview

Answer 85

Geiselman et al. (1985) showed participants a video of a simulated crime and tested recall using the cognitive interview, standard interview or hypnosis. The cognitive interview led to the most information being recalled by the eyewitnesses.

Fisher et al. (1990) trained real police officers in Miami to use the enhanced cognitive interview when interviewing eyewitnesses. They found that on average there was a 46% increase in the amount of information witnesses gave. 90% of the information that could be verified was accurate.

Question 86

Weaknesses of the Cognitive Interview

Answer 86

The cognitive interview is time consuming to implement and police officers often do not have the time, training and resources to use it.

Memon et al. (1993) reported that police officers believed that Recall From Changed Perspective stage of the cognitive interview misleads witnesses into speculating about the event they witnessed rather than reporting what they actually saw. For this reason the police were reluctant to use it.