Mock psychology Flashcards
What is the aim of bartletts war of the ghost
To investigate how memory is reconstructed when people are asked to recall something repeatedly over a period of weeks and months
Used a story from different culture to see how cultural expectations affect memory
What was the method of bartletts war of the ghosts
Asked pp to reproduced a story (like Chinese whispers)after they had read it, eg after 15 mins, then passed the new version on to the next pp and asked them to recall it after, and repeated this with further pp.
The key feature was that the story belonged to a culture that was very different from pp
What were the results of bartletts war of the ghosts
. Found pp membered different parts of the story and interpreted the story within their own expectations
. Story was shortened, mainly by omissions
. Phrases were changed to language and concept of pp own culture (canoes to boats)
. Recalled version soon became fixed,though slightly variation each time
what are the strengths of bartletts war of the ghost study (2)
+ supports the reconstructive explanations of memory which suggests memory is altered to fit individual
+ helps us understand why people may remember events incorrectly as it may be down to errors in reconstruction rather than willful attempts to mislead
what are the weaknesses of bartletts war of the ghost study (3)
- story was unusual so may not reflect everday memory processes-most of time we deal with everyday experiences not affected by cultural expectations and so we might recall things quite accurately
- study was conducted casually (no control),the pp were not given specific instructions at the beginning of what to do. another study found recall was better when told what to do from beginning and that accurate recall recall was important
- bartletts own beliefs may have affected the way he interpreted the data as he had to see what counted as accurate recall and what didnt, since he believed recalls affected by culture,we cannot fully trust results
explain the sensory store in terms of the multi store model
(enconding,capactity,duration)
- beginning of memory happens when it is received by one of the senses
eg. when you look at an object, the visual image is remembered for a short time
CODED- encoded in the form appropiate to the senses (memory at you eyes are encoded visually), it is MODALITY SPECIFIC
CAPACITY- very limited, approx 4 items
DURATION- less than 1/2 a second, unless you pay attention so it then gets transferred into STM
explain the STM in terms of the multi store model
(enconding,capactity,duration)
ENCODING- acoustic
CAPACITY- 5-9 items but displacment occurs if theres too many items, can be increased by chunking
DURATION- between 15-30 seconds beofre it is lost or transferred to LTM
explain the LTM in terms of the multi store model
(enconding,capactity,duration)
ENCODING- semantic
CAPACITY- unlimited
DURATION- unlimited
what is procedural memory, give and example
knowledge of how to do something
we can recall these memories without conscious awareness or lots of effort
eg, riding a bike, driving a car
what is semantic memory, give an example
memory of facts
- we do not usually remeber where we learnt the facts so they are not time stamped
eg paris is the capital of france
what is episodic memory, give an example
memory of life event- these are time stamped ,you may also remember who was there,what you felt
eg 10th birthday party
name the factors that affect accuracy of memory
- false memories
- context
- interference
what is the primacy effect
refers to what happens first-words that appear first in a list are more likely to be remembered/recalled as they have been rehearsed for quite a while,than words in middle of the list
what is hebbs theory?overall
a theory of neuronal growth and learning
- when we learn,this creates new connections between neurons in the brain
what is brain plasticity(hebbs)
- suggested that synaptic connections in the brain become stronger the more they are used- indicates brain is not a fixed structure but is changing in strength the more it is used. so ‘plasticity’ is the ability of the brain to change as a result of experiences and learning
what is the brain adaptability (hebbs)
- suggesting brain is adaptable and forms new connections as we learn. this can happen throughout life,at any age and not matter what we are learning
why does learning produce an engram (hebbs)
- if a neuron repeatedly excites another neuron,neuronal growth takes place,so synaptic knob becomes larger.this leaves a trace on the brain known as an ENGRAM(piece of permanent learning)
- when certain neurons act together frequently, they become established as a connection and form neural pathways.these combination of neurons are called CELL ASSEMBLIES. they fire together and the more they fire together the stronger the synaptic connection so the stronger the learning
- means more efficient and effective brain develops as learning takes place
what are the strengths of tulvings study (2)
+ good ethics as pp were fully informed before giving their consent
+ all pp were given the same standardised procedure of receiving the injection and directed to recall their memories which make the study relaible and easy to replicate
what are the weaknesses of tulvings study (3)
- only 3 pp showed the effects therefore this is not 100%, so semantic and episodic memories may be different for some people-generlisability reduced
- pp were all volunteers which can produce a biased sample as they might have tried harder to get the procedure to work than people who did not volunteer
- there was no controlling what people were actually thinking of when the scan was taken therefore results may not have been realiable
Damage on motor and behaviour
