Memory: past paper questions

Question 1

A researcher investigated the working memory model using a laboratory experiment.
Forty students from a local college volunteered to take part.
In Condition A, 20 students performed the following two tasks at the same time:
* mentally counting backwards from 100
* tracking coloured shapes on a computer screen.
In Condition B, 20 different students performed the following two tasks at the same
time:
* mentally counting backwards from 100
* reading a poem out loud.
The researcher predicted that the performance of students in Condition A would be
better than the performance of students in Condition B.

0 4) Name the two components of working memory that would be involved in the performance
of the tasks in Condition A.
[2 marks]

Mentally counting backwards from 100:

Tracking coloured shapes on a computer screen:

Answer 1

Mentally counting backwards from 100 – Articulatory loop or store; phonological loop or store;
articulatory control processes.
Tracking coloured shapes on a computer screen – Visuo-spatial scratchpad/sketchpad/Inner
scribe/Visual cache.
Accept central executive/episodic buffer for either component, but not the same answer for both.

Question 2

A researcher investigated the working memory model using a laboratory experiment.
Forty students from a local college volunteered to take part.
In Condition A, 20 students performed the following two tasks at the same time:
* mentally counting backwards from 100
* tracking coloured shapes on a computer screen.
In Condition B, 20 different students performed the following two tasks at the same
time:
* mentally counting backwards from 100
* reading a poem out loud.
The researcher predicted that the performance of students in Condition A would be
better than the performance of students in Condition B.

Briefly explain two ways in which the working memory experiment described above could
be improved.
[4 marks]

Answer 2

improving the sample/sampling method/target population – details of alternative method, eg
stratified
 changing the design – use of an alternative design (repeated measures, matched pairs) and brief
details of how this would be implemented
 changing the nature of the tasks – suggestions for tasks that are more reflective of real-life
behaviour, eg reading e-mails whilst talking on the phone, etc
 changing the type of experiment – suggestions for alternative, eg field study – carry out the
research in a more natural setting, eg an office environment or a classroom
 participants should be randomly allocated to each experimental condition; brief explanation of
how this would be done

Question 3

Discuss one strength of the working memory model.
[4 marks]

Answer 3

evidence supports the existence of separate stores in STM, eg KF; brain scanning evidence, eg
Paulesu; dual-task performance, eg Baddeley et al. Evidence may be used to support general
principles of model or specific stores/sub-components
 suggests STM is an active processor rather than the unitary ‘stopping-off station’ version
presented by the multi-store model
 practical application, eg phonological deficits observed in dyslexia linked to articulatory loop

Question 4

Describe the cognitive interview.
[6 marks]

Answer 4

reinstating the context – interviewee mentally reinstates the environmental and personal context
of the incident, eg sights, sounds, weather etc; (based on the principle of retrieval failure/cuedependent forgetting that cues may trigger recall)

 report everything – interviewer encourages the reporting of every single detail of the event, even
though it may seem irrelevant; (such detail may trigger other memories)

 changing order – interviewer tries alternative ways through the timeline of the incident; (reduces
possibility that recall may be influenced by schema/expectations)

 changing perspective – interviewee recalls from different perspectives, eg how it would have
appeared to other witnesses; (reduces influence of schema)

 features of enhanced cognitive interview to facilitate recall – focus on social interaction, reducing
anxiety/distractions, slow speech, use of open-ended questions

Question 5

Aaron was upset as he left the Spanish exam. In the unfamiliar room and full of nerves,
his mind had gone completely blank. He was regretting studying both French and Spanish
because he was sure he had mixed up lots of the words.

0 8 Outline one explanation of forgetting. How might this explanation account for Aaron’s poor
performance in the Spanish exam?
[4 marks]

Answer 5

Retrieval failure (focus here must be on forgetting)
 Forgetting is due to the absence of cues
 Lack of external contextual cues – where environment for learning and recall is different (eg
different room)
 Lack of internal contextual cues – where physical state for learning and recall is different (eg
mood)
Possible applications:
 Aaron is not in the same context as when he learnt the material for his Spanish exam – ‘an
unfamiliar room’
 Aaron is not in the same physical, emotional state as when he learnt the material – ‘full of nerves’
Full application marks can be awarded for one of the above in detail.
OR
Interference
 when two memories conflict/confuse/become mixed up with each other
 more likely when material is similar (creates response competition)
 proactive interference – when an older memory disrupts a newer memory
 retroactive interference – when a newer memory disrupts an older memory
Possible applications:
 Aaron has mixed up/confused words from another subject which has caused him to forget
 interference is likely in this case because French and Spanish are similar

Question 6

Briefly evaluate the explanation of forgetting you have outlined in your answer to
Question 08.
[4 marks]

Answer 6

Retrieval failure
Possible evaluation points:
 use of evidence, eg Godden and Baddeley suggests that retrieval failure/absence of cues is a
valid explanation of forgetting
 application of explanation, eg improving memory using mnemonics, category headings
 context has to be very different in real-life to have any effect
 context effect only occurs when memory is tested in particular ways – free recall vs recognition
Accept other valid points.
OR
Interference
Possible evaluation points:
 use of evidence from lab studies, eg McGeoch and McDonald and real-life, eg Schmidt supports
the effects of interference
 application of explanation, eg avoiding similar material when revising for exams
 use of artificial materials in lab studies, eg recall of word lists
 deliberate attempt to induce interference in lab studies, eg by limiting time between learning and
recall
 evidence suggests interference can be overcome using cued recall
 interference tends not to occur with experts

Question 7

Which two of A, B, C, D and E are associated with the cognitive interview technique?
Shade two boxes only.
[2 marks]

A Alter the perspective
B Change the speaker
C Match the direction
D Remove the context
E Reverse the order

Answer 7

A: Alter the perspective
E: Reverse the order

Question 8

Evaluate the cognitive interview as a way of improving the accuracy of eyewitness
testimony.
[6 marks]

Answer 8

Possible evaluation points:
* use of evidence to support/challenge the effectiveness of cognitive interview (CI), e.g. Kohnken et al
(1999)
* although CI leads to more correct information, incorrect information also increases (although some
studies, e.g. Geiselman dispute this)
* some elements of CI may be more successful than others – Milne and Bull (2002)
* the success of CI may be related to the age of witness
* CI requires training and investment so it may not always be available because of limited resources
* credit evaluation of enhanced cognitive interview
* credit comparison with standard interview and enhanced CI

Question 9

Most PIN code box s are 4 digits long and are easy to remember. In contrast, mobile phone
numbers are 11 digits long. Most people would not be able to remember a friend’s new
mobile phone number unless they were able to say it to themselves several times without
interruption.

0 8 Discuss the multi-store model of memory. Refer to the information above in your answer.
[16 marks]

Answer 9

Possible description:

• capacity, duration and coding of the separate stores – sensory register, short-term memory (STM),
  long-term memory (LTM)
• transfer processes between stores – attention and rehearsal
• rehearsal loop – maintenance in STM
• how information is lost from each store, e.g. decay/displacement
• information processing model – linear made up of unitary stores.
  Credit an accurately annotated diagram.

Possible application:

• four-digit numbers are easy to remember as 7(+/–2) items is the average capacity of STM
• eleven-digit mobile numbers would exceed this limited capacity
• these longer mobile numbers can be recalled if people ‘say it to themselves several times’ which
  implies maintenance in STM/transfer to LTM
• interruption disrupts recall because it causes displacement from STM
• credit reference to ‘chunking’ and/or primacy-recency effect in this context

Possible discussion points:
* useful starting point for memory research, first model to incorporate three different stores
* evidence that supports the coding, capacity, duration of the three stores, e.g. Baddeley, Jacobs,
Sperling, Bahrick et al
* evidence that supports the functional separation of the stores, e.g. Glanzer and Cunitz
* evidence that challenges the unitary nature of STM and LTM, e.g. Shallice and Warrington
* evidence which suggests that rehearsal is not the only method of transfer from STM to LTM/
distinction between maintenance and elaborative rehearsal
* critical comparisons with alternative models, e.g. working memory.

Question 10

Which type of long-term memory would be most associated with the following?
Write the correct type of long-term memory in the spaces provided.

0 5 . 1 Stored with reference to contextual information, eg time and place
[1 mark]

Answer 10

Episodic

Question 11

Which type of long-term memory would be most associated with the following?
Write the correct type of long-term memory in the spaces provided.

Difficult to describe in words
[1 mark]

Answer 11

procedural

Question 12

Which type of long-term memory would be most associated with the following?
Write the correct type of long-term memory in the spaces provided.

Knowing the meaning of a word
[1 mark]

Answer 12

semantic

Question 13

A researcher investigated retrieval failure using an independent groups design.
In Condition A, 10 participants learnt 30 words and recalled them in the same room.
In Condition B, another 10 participants learnt the same 30 words in one room and
recalled them in a different room.
The results for Condition B are shown below.
Table 1
Participant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Number of words recalled 9 11 8 28 14 13 9 15 10 12
The researcher decided to use the mean to analyse the results.

State one advantage of an independent groups design.
[1 mark]

Answer 13

Possible advantages:
* removes order effects/effects of practise/fatigue etc
* participants are less likely to work out the aim and change their behaviour/less influenced by demand
characteristics.

Question 14

A researcher investigated retrieval failure using an independent groups design.
In Condition A, 10 participants learnt 30 words and recalled them in the same room.
In Condition B, another 10 participants learnt the same 30 words in one room and
recalled them in a different room.
The results for Condition B are shown below.
Table 1
Participant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Number of words recalled 9 11 8 28 14 13 9 15 10 12
The researcher decided to use the mean to analyse the results.

Suggest a more appropriate measure of central tendency for this data set and explain why
it would be more appropriate.
[3 marks]

Answer 14

1 mark for the median.
Plus
2 marks for a clear, elaborated explanation of why the median would be more appropriate for this data
set.
1 mark for a limited or muddled explanation, or no explicit reference to the data set.
Possible content:
* the median would be better as there is a large anomalous result in the data set (p4 has scored 28).
This would distort the mean value making it unrepresentative of the data set as a whole
OR
* recall of words cannot be classed as interval data as not all words are equally difficult/easy to recall.
As the data is ordinal, the median should be used rather than the mean.

Question 15

Using an example, explain what is meant by retroactive interference.
[3 marks]

Answer 15

Possible content:
* when new/recently stored information disrupts/affects the recall of old/previously stored information
* more likely if competing information is similar.
Plus
1 mark for an appropriate example.

Question 16

Danielle was walking down the high street when she witnessed a crime. A young man
attacked an elderly woman. After a struggle, the man ran away with the woman’s
handbag. Danielle and another couple of witnesses stayed with the woman until the police
arrived.

Explain how the police could use the cognitive interview to help Danielle’s recall of the
event.
[6 marks]

Answer 16

Possible content:
* Danielle is encouraged to mentally reinstate the context, reminded of, eg why she was walking down
the high street, the weather etc as this may trigger further information (reinstate the context)
* Danielle should be asked to report every detail even if it seems irrelevant, eg what the attacker was
wearing, the style of the handbag etc (report everything)
* Danielle should be asked to recall the event in a different order, eg beginning from when she
comforted the elderly woman and working backwards (changing order)
* Danielle should recall the event from the perspective of others, eg the couple of other witnesses who
were present at the time (changing perspective)
* credit features of enhanced cognitive interview to facilitate recall if applied to Danielle’s experience.

Question 17

Outline and evaluate research into duration in memory.
[8 marks]

Answer 17

Possible content
* knowledge of procedures and/or findings/conclusions of studies which investigate duration of sensory
memory, STM or LTM, eg Peterson and Peterson - Trigrams study (1959), Bahrick - Yearbook study
(1974).
Accept other valid studies of duration in memory.
Note: That the term ‘research’ may include theories/explanations and/or studies.
Possible evaluation:
* use of artificial material, eg recall of trigrams, lists of unconnected words etc
* use of artificial laboratory setting
* discussion of issues of validity (higher in Bahrick study), reliability
* alternative explanations – Peterson and Peterson’s findings may be more to do with interference than
duration.

Question 18

Apart from the central executive, name and briefly outline two other components of the
working memory model.
[4 marks]

Answer 18

Possible content:
* visuo-spatial sketch/scratch pad – temporary storage of visual and spatial information; inner eye;
visual coding; can hold 3–4 items; visual cache, visual scribe
* phonological store/loop/articulatory loop/control process/primary acoustic store – limited capacity
temporary storage system; holds acoustic information according to tone, volume, pitch, etc; inner ear;
verbal rehearsal loop, sub-vocal speech; duration 1.5–2 secs; inner voice
* episodic buffer – integrates/synthesises information from other stores; link to LTM; modality free.

Question 19

Evaluate the central executive as part of the working memory model.
[4 marks]

Answer 19

Possible evaluation:
* Central executive is vague and untestable (despite being the component in overall charge)
* Central executive itself may be divided into separate sub-components
* links with attention research – allocation of resources/divided attention/dual-tasking
* use of evidence to support or contradict the central executive, eg Hunt (1980).

Question 20

Natasha had studied a lot for her A-level Drama performance, mostly practising lines from
a play alone in her room. However, once on stage in front of her teacher and the
examiners, Natasha struggled to remember her lines. Instead, she kept quoting lines from
a different play she had once learnt for GCSE.

Discuss retrieval failure and interference as explanations for forgetting. Refer to
Natasha’s drama performance in your answer.
[16 marks]

Answer 20

Retrieval failure:
* forgetting is due to the absence of cues/tip-of-the-tongue forgetting
* lack of external contextual cues – where environment for learning and recall is different (eg different
room)
* lack of internal contextual cues – where physical state for learning and recall is different (eg mood)
* encoding specificity principle
* description of relevant evidence, eg Godden and Baddeley.
Note that focus of description should be on forgetting rather than recall.

Interference:
* when two memories conflict/confuse/become mixed up with each other
* more likely when material is similar (creates response competition)
* proactive interference – when an older memory disrupts a newer memory
* retroactive interference – when a newer memory disrupts an older memory
* description of relevant evidence, eg Baddeley and Hitch.

Possible application:
* retrieval failure – Natasha is not in the same context as when she learnt the material for her drama
exam – on stage vs in her room; Natasha is unlikely to be in the same physical, emotional state as
when she learnt the material – in her room alone vs in front of the teacher and examiner
* interference – Natasha has mixed up/confused words from another exam which has caused her to
forget; interference is likely in this case because the A-level and GCSE performances/plays may be
similar.
Accept other valid points.

Possible discussion
Retrieval failure:
* use of evidence to support or contradict, eg Godden and Baddeley suggests that retrieval
failure/absence of cues is a valid explanation of forgetting
* application of explanation, eg improving memory using mnemonics, category headings
* context has to be very different in real-life to have any effect
* context effect only occurs when memory is tested in particular ways – free recall vs recognition.

Interference:
* use of evidence from lab studies, eg McGeoch and McDonald and real-life, eg Schmidt supports the
effects of interference
* application of explanation, eg avoiding similar material when revising for exams
* use of artificial materials in lab studies, eg recall of word lists
* deliberate attempt to induce interference in lab studies, eg by limiting time between learning and recall
* evidence suggests interference can be overcome using cued recall
* interference tends not to occur with experts

Question 21

Briefly outline one way in which researchers have investigated the capacity of
short-term memory.
[2 marks]

Answer 21

Possible content:
* participants are read a sequence of letters/numbers and asked to repeat the same sequence back
immediately. An additional digit is added on each subsequent trial to measure the capacity of STM
(the digit span technique).

Question 22

Briefly outline one way in which researchers have investigated the duration of
short-term memory.
[2 marks]

Answer 22

Possible content:
* participants are given a trigram (three-letter nonsense syllable) and then asked to count backwards
from a certain number for a specified time. They are then asked to recall the original trigram

Question 23

A student showed participants a film of a car accident. After watching the film, each
participant was asked to write down what they had seen. The student was surprised to
see that the descriptions of the accident were quite different.
The student’s psychology teacher suggested that the participants’ recall might be
improved by using cognitive interview techniques.

Suggest two cognitive interview techniques that could be used to improve participants’
recall of the film.
[4 marks]

Answer 23

Possible content:
* the participants could have been asked to report every detail; elaboration might refer to eg the colour
of the cars, even if seemingly irrelevant, or how this technique might trigger additional information
* the participants could have been asked to recall the events in a different order; elaboration might refer
to starting eg from the point of impact to the start of the film, or how this technique might have
disrupted the influence of schema/expectations
* the participants could have been asked to recall the event from the perspective of others; elaboration
might refer to eg the driver of one of the cars, or how this technique might disrupt the influence of
schema/expectations
* the participants could have been encouraged to mentally reinstate the context; elaboration might refer
to eg being reminded of the weather and the general environment, or how this technique might trigger
recall. Credit reference to the encoding specificity principle.

Question 24

Rory is box talking with his grandparent and playing a game on his phone at the same time.
The game involves matching blocks of the same colour to complete vertical and horizontal
lines. It is only when his grandparent asks him to describe his route to school that Rory
puts down his game so he can concentrate fully on his answer.

Discuss the working memory model. Refer to Rory’s behaviour in your answer.
[16 marks]

Answer 24

Possible content:
* version of STM which sees this store as an active processor
* description of central executive and sub-systems/components – visuo-spatial scratch/sketch pad
(visual cache, inner scribe); phonological store/loop; articulatory loop/control process; primary acoustic
store; episodic buffer (versions vary – not all sub-systems need to be present for full marks)
* information concerning capacity and coding of each store
* allocation of resources/divided attention/dual-task performance.

Possible application:
* in the early part of the conversation, Rory/the central executive can divide attention between the
conversation and the game on his phone
* this is because the two tasks use different sub-systems: phonological store/articulatory loop for the
conversation and VSSP for the game
* when he is asked to recount his route to school (a visuo-spatial task), this places too many demands
on the VSSP
* this means Rory must abandon his game to free up more attentional resources because of the limited
capacity of the stores.

Possible discussion:
* use of evidence to support or refute the model/individual sub-systems, eg Hunt – central executive; KF
case study – separate visual and verbal stores in STM; Paulescu et al – PET scan; Logie – mental
rotation task for VSSP
* explains how cognitive processes interact
* a view of memory that is active rather than passive (in contrast to the multi-store model)
* provides explanation/treatments for processing deficits, eg dyslexia
* explains results of dual task studies, eg Baddeley
* vague, untestable nature of the central executive
* supported by highly controlled lab studies which may undermine the validity of the model.