Memory (PAPER 1)

Question 1

(AO1) What are the three stores in the Multi-Store Model of memory?

Answer 1

Sensory Register, Short-Term Memory (STM), and Long-Term Memory (LTM).

Question 2

(AO1) How is information coded in each store? MSM

Answer 2

SR = modality-specific, STM = acoustic, LTM = semantic.

Question 3

(AO1) What are the durations of each store? MSM

Answer 3

SR = <1 sec, STM = ~18–30 secs, LTM = potentially unlimited.

Question 4

(AO1) What study supports the capacity of STM?

Answer 4

Miller (1956) — STM holds 7±2 items (chunking improves it).

Question 5

(AO3) What’s a strength of MSM?

Answer 5

Supported by case studies (e.g., HM had intact STM but damaged LTM — suggests separate stores).

Question 5

(AO3) What’s a limitation of MSM?

Answer 5

Oversimplified — STM and LTM are not unitary (e.g., WMM and types of LTM show more complexity).

Question 6

(AO1) What are the three types of LTM?

Answer 6

Episodic (personal events), Semantic (facts/knowledge), Procedural (skills).

Question 7

(AO3) What evidence supports different types of LTM?

Answer 7

Tulving et al. (1994) — brain scans show different areas active for each LTM type

Question 8

(AO3) What’s a real-life application of understanding LTM types?

Answer 8

Helps people with memory loss — e.g., procedural memory often remains intact (riding a bike).

Question 9

(AO1) What are the components of the WMM?

Answer 9

Central Executive, Phonological Loop, Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad, and Episodic Buffer.

Question 10

(AO1) What does the Central Executive do?

Answer 10

Allocates resources and directs attention — limited capacity.

Question 11

(AO1) What are the two parts of the Phonological Loop?

Answer 11

Phonological Store (“inner ear”) and Articulatory Process (“inner voice”).

Question 12

(AO3) What’s a strength of the WMM?

Answer 12

Supported by dual-task studies — harder to do two tasks using the same store (e.g., both visual).

Question 13

(AO3) What’s a limitation of the Central Executive?

Answer 13

Vague and difficult to test — may be more than one component.

Question 14

(AO1) What is proactive interference?

Answer 14

Old information interferes with learning new info.

Question 14

(AO1) What is retroactive interference?

Answer 14

New info interferes with recall of old info.

Question 14

(AO3) What research supports interference theory?

Answer 14

McGeoch & McDonald — recall was worse when new material was similar to old material.

Question 15

(AO3) What’s a limitation of interference theory?

Answer 15

Mostly tested in labs with word lists — lacks ecological validity.

Question 16

(AO1) What is retrieval failure?

Answer 16

Inability to access memory due to absence of cues — based on cue-dependent forgetting.

Question 17

(AO1) What are context and state-dependent forgetting?

Answer 17

Context = external cues (e.g. environment), State = internal cues (e.g. mood, intoxication).

Question 18

(AO3) What’s a key study into context-dependent forgetting?

Answer 18

Godden & Baddeley (1975): divers learned/recalled info better when context matched.

Question 19

(AO3) What’s a strength of retrieval failure theory?

Answer 19

Has real-world applications (e.g., improving exam performance with cue recall strategies).

Question 20

(AO1) What are two types of misleading information?

Answer 20

Leading questions and post-event discussion.

Question 21

(AO1) What did Loftus & Palmer (1974) find?

Answer 21

Leading questions affected speed estimates — “smashed” led to higher speed recall than “contacted.”

Question 22

(AO1) What did Gabbert et al. (2003) find about post-event discussion?

Answer 22

Pairs who discussed an event were more likely to recall incorrect details from the other person's version.

Question 22

(AO3) What’s a criticism of Loftus’ research?

Answer 22

Lacks ecological validity — filmed car crash lacks emotional realism.

Question 23

(AO1) What is the weapon focus effect?

Answer 23

Anxiety caused by a weapon can distract attention, reducing recall accuracy (Johnson & Scott, 1976).

Question 24

(AO1) What did Yuille & Cutshall (1986) find?

Answer 24

Real-life witnesses to a shooting had very accurate recall, even under high anxiety — contradicts lab findings.

Question 25

(AO3) Why do anxiety studies show inconsistent results?

Answer 25

Inverted-U theory suggests moderate anxiety enhances recall; too much/too little impairs it.

Question 26

(AO1) What are the four techniques of the cognitive interview?

Answer 26

Report everything, reinstate context, reverse order, change perspective.

Question 27

(AO3) What’s a strength of the cognitive interview?

Answer 27

Increases accurate recall — especially effective in older adults (Fisher et al., 1987).

Question 28

(AO3) What’s a limitation of the cognitive interview?

Answer 28

Time-consuming and requires special training — not always used fully by police.