(P1) cognitive psychology

Question 1

what is cognition? (simple definition)

Answer 1

another term for thinking

Question 2

what are the four cognitive processes?

Answer 2

• perception
• attention
• problem solving
• memory

Question 3

perception

Answer 3

Perception is the ability to capture, process, and actively make sense of the information that our senses receive. It is the cognitive process that makes it possible to interpret our surroundings with the stimuli that we receive throughout sensory organs.

Question 4

attention

Answer 4

Attention is the cognitive process that involves observing or becoming aware of something; this does not have to be in your peripheral visual field. An example is when we try to recall memories, we have to attend to them to bring them from the long-term to the short-term memory store.

Question 5

problem-solving

Answer 5

The process of problem solving can be broken down into two main phases: problem representation, in which the problem solver builds a mental representation of the problem situation, and problem solution, in which the problem solver works to produce a solution.

Question 6

memory

Answer 6

Memory is today defined in psychology as the faculty of encoding, storing, and retrieving information

Question 7

what are the two basic assumptions of cognitive psychology?

Answer 7

• the ‘real’ world we experience is actually a model in our mind.
• the mind is a bit like a computer.
• cognitive psychology assumes that info is processed in the brain (called information processing). processing is considered as linear, meaning it flows through the brain in a way that seems logical.

Question 8

give an overview of the multi-store model of memory

Answer 8

The multi-store model is an explanation of how our memory works. It claims that our memory has three separate structures, called sensory store (SS), short term memory (STM) and long term memory (LTM). Information we take in is held very briefly in SS. If we pay attention to it, some information is then moved to STM, which is where we hold the information we are currently using. Some of this information can be moved to LTM, but only if we rehearse it (mentally repeat it to ourselves). If information is encoded into LTM, we can use it in future by retrieving it from LTM back into STM.

STM have different capacities and durations, and encode information in different ways. STM can hold about 7 bits of information for about 20 seconds, and relies on acoustic encoding. LTM has an apparently unlimited capacity and duration and relies heavily on semantic encoding, although it can encode info in many ways.

Question 9

explain the computer analogy in relation to cognitive psychology

Answer 9

The computer gave cognitive psychologists a metaphor, or analogy, to which they could compare human mental processing. The use of the computer as a tool for thinking about how the human mind handles information is known as the computer analogy.

Essentially, a computer codes (i.e., changes) information, stores information, uses information and produces an output (retrieves info).

input -> processing -> output

storage (up/down)

Question 10

define encoding
(in relation to the MSM)

Answer 10

changing information into a form the memory system can use

• this is registering the info as a memory
• it can be in different forms/modes (e.g. visual, acoustic (sound), tactile (touch) and semantic (meaning)

Question 11

define storage
(in relation to the MSM)

Answer 11

retaining information for later use

• this is keeping memories after encoding
• it can be in sensory memory store, STM or LTM

Question 12

define retrieval
(in relation to the MSM)

Answer 12

bring stored information from LTM to STM so it can be used

• this is accessing memories from storage
• it can be recognition or recall. can be reconstructive (not an exact match with what was encoded and stored). lack of retrieval = more likely to forget

Question 13

define capacity
(in relation to the MSM)

Answer 13

the amount of information a memory structure can use.

Question 14

define duration
(in relation to the MSM)

Answer 14

the length of time for which a memory structure can retain information.

Question 15

define sensory store
(in relation to the MSM)

Answer 15

a very short-term store where information is kept before it can be encoded into STM.

Question 16

define short-term memory
(in relation to the MSM)

Answer 16

the memory store where information is kept whilst it is in current use. It has limited capacity and limited duration.

• capacity: 7 bits of info for about (duration) 20 secs
• relies on acoustic ending

Question 17

define long-term memory
(in relation to the MSM)

Answer 17

the memory store where all the information we have previously encoded is kept so that it can be used in future if needed.

• capacity/duration: unlimited
• relies heavily on semantic encoding, although it can encode info in many ways

Question 18

define rehearsal
(in relation to the MSM)

Answer 18

the process of mental repetition

Question 19

define primacy effect
(in relation to the MSM)

Answer 19

the tendency for people to have better recall of the first few bits of information in a series. It is caused by encoding into LTM.

Question 20

define recency effect
(in relation to the MSM)

Answer 20

the tendency for people to have better recall of the last few bits of information in a series. It is caused by retention in STM.

Question 21

(AO3) evaluation of multi-store model

Answer 21

(S) supporting evidence is reliable and credible
a lot of the supporting evidence for the MSM are reliable because they have been repeated and are well controlled; therefore, replicable. for example, Glanzer and Cunitz (1966) carried out a study using word lists. They found that the first words in the list were recalled well, as were the last but the middle words were not remembered well. they claimed that the primacy effect was because those words had been rehearsed and therfore, were accessible in the LTM. the recency effect was because the those words were still in consciousness in STM, so were recalled easily. the middle words were neither well-rehearsed and in LTM nor in consciousness of the STM. this evidence upholds the claims of the MSM through a controlled experiment.

(S) application value
The Multi Store Model of Memory tells us how to improve our memory in some situations. If you are an eyewitness then you need to pay close attention to encode information in STM. You then need to rehearse it. Repeating the information over and over works, but Elaborative Rehearsal is better because it encodes information semantically. For example, students should make mind maps or use colour coding to focus on meaning.

The model may have application to helping people with dementia or brain damage. If patients struggle to rehearse new information, then writing things down and putting labels on things will help. Colour coding buttons on phones or remotes will also help because it brings in Elaborative Rehearsal.

(W) experiments tend to lack ecological validity
experiments used to test the MSM tend to employ artificial tasks (e.g. testing STM using letters or digits). The model is based on lab experiment tasks like the Brown-Peterson technique, these are quite artificial as they often involve meaningless trigrams. in real-life, you use your memory to recall information that is important to you and there are usually consequences if you forget. therefore, the findings from the experiments into the MSM may not be accurate and easily generalisable in real-life because the experiments lack mundane realism. this has a negative impact as the model won’t explain how memory works in real-life situations.

(W) contradictory evidence
finally, although case studies like Clive Wearing have suggested an area of the brain for STM. another case study, Shallice and Warrington (1970) showed that a victim of a motorbike accident was able to add long-term memories even though his short-term memory was damaged. this goes against the MSM, suggesting that the MSM is overly simplistic and does not account for brain abnormalities/complexities.

(W) differences
The Multi Store Model can be compared to Working Memory (Baddeley & Hitch, 1974). Working Memory replaces STM in the model and provides a more detailed explanation of rehearsal and retrieval from LTM. Most psychologists consider Working Memory to be an improvement and a refinement on the (rather simplistic) Multi Store Model.

Reconstructive Memory is a different approach to memory involving schemas. This theory explain why we mis-remember things (false memories), which the Multi Store Model doesn’t explain. However, in Working Memory it is the Central Executive that creates and retrieves schemas to help the slave systems do their jobs. This is another example of Working Memory incorporating and improving on the Multi Store Model.

A different theory of memory is Levels of Processing Framework (Craik & Lockhart, 1972). This theory ignores separate stores altogether. It suggests that encoding a memory is about the “depth” of processing. Semantic encoding is much “deeper” than acoustic or visual encoding, making this information easier to remember. We also have much more capacity when we try to store meaningful things: most people can only store up to 9 numbers or trigrams but they can store up to 20 words. Richard Shiffrin used this idea when he introduced Elaborative Rehearsal to the MSM in 2002.

Question 22

what is a laboratory research setting + features?

Answer 22

a location designed specifically for conducting research in. Psychological laboratories tend to be kept free of distractions and can be set up to create very specific environments, which gives a high degree of control over variables. They also often contain specialist equipment including computers, apparatus for measuring physiological responses and behaviour (e.g. reaction times). This makes accurate measurements easier to obtain.

Question 23

what is an experiment + features?

Answer 23

a type of study where the researcher deliberately changes one variable (the independent variable) in a situation whilst keeping all other variables the same. They measure another variable (the dependent variable) to see if the DV changes when the IV is changed. If so, this tells the researcher that the two variables are causally linked. In Baddeley’s study, the IV was whether the words in the list were semantically similar or dissimilar. The DV was the number of errors the pps made when recalling the list.

Question 24

what is a serial recall task?
(hint: baddeley 1966)

Answer 24

a task in which pps must recall material in the correct order. This is different from a free recall task, where pps may recall material in any order.

Question 25

what is semantic encoding?

Answer 25

storing information in terms of what it means.

Question 26

classic study baddeley (1966)

Answer 26

AIM To find out if LTM encodes acoustically (based on sound) or semantically (based on meaning). This is done by giving participants word lists that are similar in the way they sound (acoustic) or their meaning (semantic); if the participants struggle to recall the word order, it suggests LTM is confused by the similarity which means that this is how LTM tends to encode

IV
This lab experiment has several IVs. (1) Acoustically similar word list or acoustically dissimilar; (2) semantically similar word list or semantically dissimilar; (3) performance before 15 minutes “forgetting” delay and performance after.

IVs (1) and (2) are tested using Independent Groups design but IV (3) is tested through Repeated Measures.

DV
Score on a recall test of 10 words; words must be recalled in the correct order (really, this is a test of remembering the word order, not the words themselves)

SAMPLE
Men and women from the Cambridge University subject panel (mostly students); they were volunteers. There were 72 altogether, a mixture of men and women. There were 15-20 in each condition (15 in Acoustically Similar, 16 in Semantically Similar).

PROCEDURE
The participants are split into four groups, according to IV (1) and (2). Each group views a slideshow of a set of 10 words. Each word appears for 3 seconds.

In the Acoustically Similar condition, the participants get a list of words that share a similar sound (man, cab, can, max, etc) but the Control group get words that are all simple one syllable words but they do not sound the same (pit, few, cow, pen, etc).

In the Semantically Similar condition, the words share a similar meaning (great, large, big, huge, etc) but the Control group get words that are unconnected (good, huge, hot, safe, etc).

The participants in all 4 conditions then carry out an “interference test” which involves hearing then writing down 8 numbers three times. Then they recall the words from the slideshow in order.

There are four “trials” and (as you would expect) the participants’ get better each time they do it because the words stay the same. The words themselves are displayed on signs around the room so the participants only have to concentrate on getting the ORDER of the words right, not remembering the words themselves.

After the 4th trial, the participants get a 15 minute break and perform an unrelated interference task. Then they are asked to recall the list again. This fifth and final trial is unexpected. The words themselves are still on display; it is the order of the words the participants have to recall.

RESULTS
Acoustically similar words seem to be confusing at first, but participants soon “catch up” with the Control group and even overtake them, but this isn’t statistically significant. Notice how LTM is not confused by acoustic similarities – scores on the last test are similar to the 4th trial, suggesting no forgetting has taken place.
Picture
Semantically similar words do seem to be confusing and the experimental group lags behind the Control group. In fact, the experimental group never catches up with the Control group and performs worse overall than the Acoustically Similar group above. Very little forgetting takes place, but scores are lower.

CONCLUSIONS
Baddeley concludes that LTM encodes semantically, at least primarily. His earlier experiments suggest STM encodes acoustically.

This is why LTM gets confused when it has to retrieve the order words which are semantically similar: it gets distracted by the semantic similarities and muddles them up. It has no problem retrieving acoustically similar words because LTM pays no attention to how the words sound.

The “slow start” in the Acoustically Similar condition would be because the interference task doesn’t block STM 100% - some of the words linger on in the rehearsal loop. This means in most conditions, the participants’ LTM gets a bit of help from STM. But in the Acoustically Similar condition, STM gets confused by the similar sounds the way that LTM gets confused by similar meanings. It can’t be of much help so this group lags behind the Controls until all the words are encoded in LTM, at which point the two groups finally get similar scores.

Question 27

(AO3) evaluation of baddeley (1966) study

Answer 27

(S) reliability
the study uses a standardised procedure of set conditions and a word list. this is a strength as it can be replicated and tested for re-test reliability, this consequently affects its validity and means it can be generalisable.

Baddeley improved the reliability of his own study by getting rid of the read-aloud word lists (some participants had hearing difficulties) and replacing them with slides. Everyone saw the same word for the same amount of time (3 seconds).

(S) application value
The main application of this study has been for other Cognitive Psychologists, who have built on Baddeley’s research and investigated LTM in greater depth. Baddeley’s use of interference tasks to control STM has been particularly influential. Baddeley & Hitch built on this research and developed a brand new memory model – Working Memory.

Another application is for your own revision. If LTM encodes semantically, it makes sense to revise using mind maps that use semantic links. However, reading passages out loud over and over (rote learning) is acoustic coding, but LTM doesn’t seem to work this way, so it won’t be as effective.

(W) generalisability
Despite having a large sample of 72 PP’s, there were so many conditions in this study that each group only had 15-20 people in it. That’s not a lot. Only 15 people did the Acoustically Similar condition. An anomaly could make a difference to scores with numbers that small.

The sample was made up of British volunteers. It might be that there is something unusual about the memories of British or the memorable qualities of British words. However this is unlikely. LTM works the same for people from all countries, speaking all languages, so this sample is probably representative.

A volunteer sample might have more people with parrticularly good memories who enjoy doing memory tests - not representative of people in general.

(W) ecological validity
the ecological validity of this study is not good. Recalling lists of words is quite artificial but you sometimes have to do it (a shopping list, for example). Recalling the order of words is completely artificial and doesn’t resemble anything you would use memory to do in the real world.

Baddeley did improve this. For example, he made the 5th “forgetting” trial a surprise that the participants weren’t expecting. This is similar to real life, where you are not usually expecting it when you are asked to recall important information.

Question 28

who proposed the multi-store model of memory?

Answer 28

atkinson & shiffrin

Question 29

who proposed the working memory model?

Answer 29

baddeley & hitch, based on Baddeley’s research into memory in the 60s. It arose from Baddeley’s realisation that memory was in fact more complicated than the Multi Store Model made out, in particular the role of Short Term Memory (STM). Baddeley proposes Working Memory as something that carries out the functions of the STM and some of the work of the LTM as well.

Question 30

overview of the WMM

Answer 30

The working memory model is a theory that replaces the STM part of the multistore model. Case studies showed that STM had more than one element, so Baddeley and Hitch (1974) created the WMM to reflect this. WM in this theory is both a store for the information we are using in the present moment, and an active processor of that information. It’s the part of our mind that we do our conscious, deliberate thinking with.

The WMM has three parts. Two of these are information stores.
1) The phonological loop stores information about sound and speech. It’s our ‘inner ear and inner voice’.

2) The Visuo-spatial sketchpad stores information about vision and location. It’s the ‘mind’s eye’. Each of the PL and the VSS can store a limited amount of information and each is separate from the other.

3) These two ‘slave systems’ are both are controlled by the central executive. The Central Executive can be described as being like a ‘little man’ (homonculus) inside your head, organising your memories.
The CE controls and coordinates WM, deciding which information will be processed, and doing difficult mental work like problem solving, as well as allocating them to the slave systems. The CE can boost the capacity of either PL or VSS if necessary. However, its capacity is still limited, so if WM tries to process or store too much info at once, overload will occur.
- It also has non-specific modality meaning that it can process sight, sound or any of the 5 senses.

Question 31

define working memory

Answer 31

a cognitive system that explains how we store and process the information we are using in the present moment. Unlike STM in the multistore model, it is an active processor of information.

Question 32

define phonological loop
(in relation to the WMM)

Answer 32

an element of the WMM that stores information about sound and speech. It acts as our ‘inner voice’ and we use it when we are rehearsing information.

It seems to be split into two sub-systems:
(1) an articulatory loop (inner voice), which voices information you are rehearsing. this engages in something called subvocalising, which is the mental process of ‘talking to yourself. (it is similar to the rehearsal loop in the MSM).

(2) a primary acoustic store which just holds on to the memory of sounds.

Question 33

define visuo-spatial sketchpad
(in relation to WMM)

Answer 33

an element of the WMM that stores information about vision (what we can see) and location (e.g. where things are). It acts as our ‘mind’s eye’ and we use it both when we are making sense of the world around us (vision) and when we work out something in out head (e.g. imagining how to get from one place to another/location).

• holds info we see
• used to manipulate spatial info suh as shapes, colours and positions of objects
• is limited in capacity, around 3/4 objects
• ‘inner-scribe’ deals with retrieval and rehearsal

Question 34

define central executive
(in relation to WMM)

Answer 34

The Central Executive can be described as being like a ‘little man’ (homonculus) inside your head, organising your memories.

The CE controls and coordinates WM, deciding which information will be processed, and doing difficult mental work like problem solving, as well as allocating them to the slave systems. The CE can boost the capacity of either PL or VSS if necessary. However, its capacity is still limited, so if WM tries to process or store too much info at once, overload will occur.
- It also has non-specific modality meaning that it can process sight, sound or any of the 5 senses.

Question 35

define processing conflict
(in relation to WMM)

Answer 35

a problem that occurs when two or more mental tasks compete for the same element of WM and the capacity of WM is therefore exceeded. Processing conflict causes errors and forgetting from WM.

Question 36

diagram of WMM

Answer 36

1. central executive
   - phonological loop (inner voice)
   - visuospatial sketchpad (inner eye)
2. primary acoustic store
   (inner ear)

Question 37

define episodic buffer
(in relation to WMM)

Answer 37

issues with the central executive being all about attention, baddeley and hitch were encouraged to introduce the episodic buffer in 2000.

• buffer provides time sequencing for visual, spatial and verbal info (e.g. the chronological order of words or the sequence of pictures in a film)

Question 38

brain areas related to the WM

Answer 38

biological evidence has been used to support the model through damaged brain areas and the impact on WMM (e.g. phonological loop/visuospatial sketchpad/centrual executive)

• phonological loop -> left temporoparietal area of the brain
• visuospatial sketchpad -> right hemisphere

Question 39

(AO3) evaluation of WMM

Answer 39

Credibility

There’s a lot of research in support of Working Memory, particularly into the dual task paradigm. These show that some dual tasks are more difficult than others (for example, ones where there are two sources of information with the same encoding) and Working Memory explains why this should be.

The idea of the “inner ear” and the “inner eye” are quite easy to understand and match up with what it feels like when we remember things – this is called face validity. The model has also been backed up by brain scanning which shows acoustic and visual encoding going on in different parts of the brain.

The KF Case Study supports Working Memory. KF suffered brain damage from a motorcycle accident that damaged his short-term memory. KF struggled to process verbal information but his visual memory was unaffected. This shows that visual information (VSSP) is processed separately from verbal information (phonological loop).
No - not the KFC study.

KF is an important case for criticising the Multi Store Model too.

Objections

New data has emerged which the original (1974) model couldn’t explain – such as the brain-damaged patients who could repeat complex stories. However, the addition of the Episodic Buffer (2000) does improve the model. More research needs to be done on the Episodic Buffer because, unless the other two slave systems, it isn’t completely clear what it does.

The model is based on lab experiments involving dual tasks. These are quite artificial. In real life, even at cocktail parties, you use your other senses (such as paying attention to body language or lip-reading when someone speaks). If the experiments into Working Memory lack ecological validity, then the model won’t explain how memory works in real life situations.

Lieberman (1980) criticises working memory by pointing out out that blind people have spatial memory (they can remember where things are and not bump into them) even though they have never had any visual information. Lieberman argues that the VSSP should have two different components: visual memory and spatial memory.
Daredevil is a blind superhero - so what’s in his visuo-spatial sketchpad?
Picture
Differences

Working Memory is similar to the Multi Store Model (Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1968). In fact, you might say Working Memory is a development of the MSM, with Working Memory replacing the STM Store. It’s still a linear model of memory, with the idea of information coming from the senses to the Sensory Store, being processed in Working Memory then encoded into LTM, from which is can be retrieved by the Central Executive.
Picture
Working Memory is regarded as the most successful memory model at the moment because it is supported by evidence about the structure of the brain and the Working Memory model gets updated in the light of new discoveries in neuroscience. It is a model that is still developing (such as the addition of the Episodic Buffer in 2000) whereas the MSM is “fixed” and has not developed much since the ‘70s.

Reconstructive Memory is a different approach to memory involving schemas. However, in Working Memory it is the Central Executive that creates and retrieves schemas to help the slave systems do their jobs. This is another example of Working Memory incorporating and improving on other theories.

Applications

Working Memory tells us how to improve our memory in some situations. If you have to encode something in one particular way (like listening to a radio broadcast) then remove competing information (by muting the TV). However, it suggests you can concentrate on two differently coded sources at once – so you can do revision by copying a mind map while listening to a podcast.

The model may have application to helping people with dementia. Using the Episodic Buffer seems to help people who cannot encoded memories in LTM or have trouble retrieving LTM. This means using Cognitive Stimulation: playing an old song and asking the patient to tell the story of how they first heard it.

Question 40

overview of WMM and dyslexia

Answer 40

Dyslexia is a specific learning difficulty. The core feature of dyslexia is problems learning to read. People with dyslexia learn to read slower than other people, and tend to find it difficult to become fluent readers. These problems often extend to writing and spelling.

Some researchers have suggested that dyslexia is best explained by problems in working memory. It may be that people with dyslexia have problems with their phonological loop, in that they may have a smaller than average PL capacity, and possibly have difficulties recognising and sequencing sounds in the PL. This makes it difficult for them to learn to connect the sounds in our language and the shapes of the letters we use to write them. Because skilled reading in English requires the link between sound and letter to be automatic so that CE capacity is available to process the meaning of the word and sentences, people who have to think really hard about the sound of the letters will tend to read very slowly and find it difficult to spare CE resources for processing the meaning of texts.

Question 41

what is dyslexia?

Answer 41

Dyslexia is a specific learning difficulty. The core feature of dyslexia is problems learning to read. People with dyslexia learn to read slower than other people, and tend to find it difficult to become fluent readers. These problems often extend to writing and spelling.

Question 42

define specific learning difficulty
(in relation to dyslexia and WMM)

Answer 42

a problem in learning that only affects one area of functioning. In dyslexia it is reading/spelling/writing that are difficult, but other intellectual capacities are normal or high.

Question 43

define deficit
(in relation to dyslexia and WMM)

Answer 43

a comparative lack. If we say that a person has PL deficits we are saying that, compared to the average person, they have a lower PL capacity and/or duration.

Question 44

define alphabetic writing system
(in relation to dyslexia and WMM)

Answer 44

a writing system where the marks on the page represent sounds. English and most European countries use alphabetic writing systems based on either the Roman, Cyrillic or Greek alphabet. Many countries outside Europe use at least one non-alphabetic system, such as Kanji, in Japan, where each symbol represents a whole idea. Chinese languages such as Mandarin work similarly.

Question 45

define orthography
(in relation to dyslexia and WMM)

Answer 45

the relationship between sound and letter in an alphabetic writing system. English has a ‘deep’ orthography, as the same letter or letter combination can have many different sounds (e.g. cough, slough, dough, through…) Finnish has a ‘shallow’ orthography, where each letter can only have one sound. Unsurprisingly, dyslexia rates are lower in Finland.

Question 46

contemporary study sebastien & hernandez-gil (2012)

Answer 46

introduction/context to their research
Cognitive psychologists have known for a long time that working memory changes with age. In general, WM capacity increases sharply from the early years until the late teens. WM growth then slows down, and WM capacity peaks in the early 30s. After that, it goes into slow decline. A person whose WM span peaked at 7 items at 30 years is likely to have a WM of about 5 items when they are 60.

Sebastian & Hernandez-Gil (2012) did a study to measure accurately how WM capacity changed between 5 and 17 years old in Spain. They wanted to compare their data with what had previously been found with English-speaking children, elderly people and patients with dementia to see what the similarities and differences might be.

AIM
- aimed to analyse the developmental pattern of the phonological loop in children aged 5-17 years old. this involved looking at the age at which digit span stopped increasing in adulthood/adolescence.
- also aimed to see if anglo-saxon data (data using english language), which found 15 years to be the age at which digit span stops developing further, were replicated or were higher for spanish speakers.

PROCEDURE
they recruited children from all year-groups from pre-school to Year 12 of the Spanish school system. 570 participants were used, with 40-53 participants in each year group. They used public and private schools, and screened the children to ensure that all were native Spanish speakers and showed no sign of educational or developmental delay, or any hearing difficulties. The children’s digit span was measured in their classroom, during school breaks.

They found that WM span rose from 3.76 in preschool to 5.91 in Year 12. In comparison to WM span in English-speaking children, the Spanish childrens’ WM spans were slightly shorter from the age of about 7. This is probably because, around the age of 7, children start using rehearsal to enhance their WM. Spanish number words are generally longer than English ones, so the disparity supports the idea that the limit of the phonological loop is time-based. The Spanish children hit the limit of their PL earlier, because their digit strings took longer to say to themselves.

RESULTS
Sebastian & Hernandez-Gill found that the digit spans of the elderly people were longer than the pre-schoolers, and did not differ significantly from the rest of the schoolchildren. They also found that the dementia patients’ WM span was similar to a 6 year olds, but not significantly different from healthy elderly people, which suggests that WM span is affected by age but not by dementia.

Question 47

overview of tulving’s (1972) theory of long-term memory

Answer 47

In the multistore model, LTM is unitary. However, case studies like Milner’s et al. (1968) suggested early on that there were at least two LTM systems, one dealing with procedural memories and one dealing with declarative memories. Tulving (1972) suggested that declarative memories in LTM are further divided into two further subsystems, dealing with episodic and semantic memories respectively. Episodic memory stores experiences of events and operates like a ‘mental diary’ whereas semantic memory stores knowledge and understanding that is not tied to specific occasions and operates like a ‘mental encyclopaedia’. Tulving’s theory is intuitively appealing, but difficult to test experimentally, as it is difficult to determine whether a participant is recalling a semantic or episodic memory of a stimulus. However, there is some evidence from case studies where individuals appear to have impairments to episodic memory but not semantic, which implies that the two may be separate.

Question 48

procedural memory (in relation to tulving’s LTM)

Answer 48

stored knowledge that allows a skill to be performed (e.g. riding a bike). Procedural memories and not open to direct conscious inspection (i.e. we cannot explain how we ride a bike, we just do it).

Question 49

declarative memory
(in relation to tulving’s LTM)

Answer 49

stored knowledge that is open to conscious inspection (e.g. knowing that Paris is the capital of France, or recalling the trip we took to France with school).

Question 50

episodic memory
(in relation to tulving’s LTM)

Answer 50

stored knowledge about experiences of events, such as remembering what happened on our tenth birthday. Episodic memories are linked to specific times and places, and are holistic, in that they combine information from different senses (e.g. what we saw, heard, felt etc.) in such a way that it cannot be separated out and recalled in isolation. Episodic memories tend to be context-dependent.

Question 51

semantic memory
(in relation to tulving’s LTM)

Answer 51

stored knowledge that allows us to understand the world. This includes the capacity to recognise the nature and purposes of objects, as well as a wealth of facts about the world and the people in it.

Question 52

what are the four memory systems that make up LTM according to tulving?

Answer 52

declarative
episodic
semantic

procedural

Question 53

what is the ‘SPI’ model for LTM encoding and retrieval?
(tulving)

Answer 53

Tulving (1993) later elaborated on the way long term memories are encoded in his SPI model. SPI stands for Serial, Parallel, Independent, and describes how the episodic and semantic LTM systems work together.
Incoming information about our experiences first passes through the semantic system, which tries to make it meaningful, before it is encoded in the episodic memory, which records the details of the experience. Thereafter, the semantic and episodic memories of the input are stored in separate, parallel systems, each corresponding to a different brain area. When the individual accesses a memory, they may do so from one or other system independently (or both simultaneously).

Question 54

what is the role of retrieval and memory cues in LTM?
(tulving)

Answer 54

Tulving believed that the LTM systems evolved to ‘serve up’ information relevant to our current situation from LTM when we need it. If our current environment or internal emotional state closely matches information already stored in our LTM systems, then those memories get activated and sent to working memory automatically. This is why, when we return to places we have not been for a while, we often find ourselves recalling events and people we connect with those locations. For example, if you were to return now to your first year primary classroom it is likely that you would suddenly start remembering all sorts of things about your teacher, classmates and experiences there that you thought you had forgotten. Retrieval cues can be from the environment - smells and tastes can be particularly powerful - but can also be emotional states. This is why, when we are sad, we tend to recall other things that have made us sad in the past. We can use retrieval cues deliberately to improve memory. For example, imagining yourself back in the classroom where you learned psychology can be helpful if you are in an exam and trying to remember something specific. Imagining the classroom reinstates context cues that can increase retrieval from LTM.

Question 55

who proposed reconstructive memory and schema theory?

Answer 55

bartlett (1932)

bartlett’s central insight was that memory is not like a tape recorder; it doesn’t just faithfully play back our memories, instead it changes or ‘reconstructs’ them imaginatively.

Question 56

overview of reconstructive memory and schema theory

Answer 56

It is widely assumed that info retrieved from LTM is largely the same as what was originally encoded. Schema theory suggests that this is not the case. Bartlett’s (1932) theory of reconstructive memory claims that info we encode from our senses is filtered, and often distorted by the organised info that is already stored in LTM (our schemas). When we recall something, we reconstruct it using our existing schemas to make sense of the information. This often involves changing aspects of the memory to make it fit with the schemas, and using info from the schemas to fill in any gaps in the memory. Consequently, what we recall may be very different from what we originally encoded. Bartett (1932) demonstrated this by asking British pps to recall an unfamiliar study from a different culture. With repeated retellings, the pps tended to shorten it, make it more coherent, and they changed details so it became more ‘Western’.

Question 57

define schema

Answer 57

an organised set of information in LTM that is used to understand typical objects, situations and people we encounter in the world. Schemas distil the common features of things. They are very useful because they allow us to understand unfamiliar objects, situations or people and to predict what is likely to happen.

• sometimes we assimiliate new information, changing our schemas to fit what we have learned
• sometimes we accommodate new information, changing our memories to keep our schemas intact and unchanged. bartlett explains how we do this by levelling and sharpening.

levelling- involves removing or downplaying details from the memory

sharpening- involved adding or exaggerating details.

Question 58

define reconstructive memory/error

Answer 58

the process of remembering things by using our schemas to recreate the original stimulus or event. During reconstruction, we make ‘efforts after meaning’, trying to recall things in the way that makes the most sense to use. This is where errors can occur because our schematic knowledge might be different from what actually happened, so what we ‘remember’ is not accurate, but we remain unaware of this.

Question 59

what is rationalisation?
(in relation to reconstructive memory and schema theory)

Answer 59

a reconstructive error where people consciously work out what probably happened based on their schemas.

Question 60

what is confabulation
(in relation to reconstructive memory and schema theory)

Answer 60

a type of reconstructive errors where people unconsciously use their schemas to fill in the gaps in their memory.

Question 61

research evidence into the multistore model

Answer 61

A lot of research into the Rehearsal Loop uses the Brown-Peterson Technique. This involves blocking rehearsal by getting participants to do an interference task like counting backwards in threes (eg 54, 51, 48…). Participants might learn meaningless information (like three-letter trigrams such as BHK) then perform the interference task for different durations. Participants forget most trigrams after 9 seconds of interference and almost all of them after 18 seconds. This tells us the duration of STM.

Miller (1957) did an earlier study into “the Magic Number 7, plus or minus 2”. He found that STM has a capacity of 7 items (or “bits”) of information comfortably, but struggles to hold more than 9. Miller found that “bits” of information can be grouped together into “chunks”. STM can hold more information in chunks, but loses accuracy (eg recalling a whole face instead of remembering eye colour).

Glanzer & Cunitz (1966) did another early study into forgetting. Asked to recall a list of words in any order, participants tended to recall more from the beginning/end of the list and fewer from the middle. This is the primacy/recency effect. It happens because primacy words are well-rehearsed and encoded in LTM, recency words are still in the Rehearsal Loop; middle words are displaced by recency words because of the limited capacity of STM. This is known as the Displacement Theory of forgetting.

Atkinson & Shiffrin originally proposed that the Rehearsal Loop worked by repeating (looping) information over and over. This is Maintenance Rehearsal and it is similar to rote learning.

Raaijmakers & Shiffrin (2003) later proposed another type of rehearsal – Elaborative Rehearsal. This involves semantic encoding by thinking about the meaning of information. This is similar to creating mind maps and is more effective for encoding information in LTM than Maintenance Rehearsal.

Question 62

what is the brown-peterson technique?
(in relation to research conducted on the MSM

Answer 62

A lot of research into the Rehearsal Loop uses the Brown-Peterson Technique. This involves blocking rehearsal by getting participants to do an interference task like counting backwards in threes (eg 54, 51, 48…). Participants might learn meaningless information (like three-letter trigrams such as BHK) then perform the interference task for different durations. Participants forget most trigrams after 9 seconds of interference and almost all of them after 18 seconds. This tells us the duration of STM.

Question 63

why is the working memory model theory significant in psychology?

Answer 63

• It shows how scientific research proceeds, because Working Memory is an advance on Atkinson & Shiffrin’s (1968) Multi Store Model. The theory of Working Memory has itself been added to and improved over the years
• It illustrates features of the Cognitive Approach, since it expresses the processes of memory as a diagram or flowchart, which resembles the sort of information processing used by a computer
• It shows the importance of neuroscience which combines the Cognitive and Biological approaches, because functions of Working Memory have been located in parts of the brain

Question 64

define dual-test paradigm

Answer 64

Baddeley noticed in many earlier memory experiments that participants who were asked to listen to two things at the same time or look at two things at the same time became confused. However participants were quite able to listen to something while looking at something else. This suggests that sound and vision are processed separately by memory (this idea is the dual test paradigm).

Question 65

explain the new version of the working memory model as proposed by baddeley in 2000

Answer 65

In 2000, Baddeley published a new version of Working Memory with a new, third slave system: the Episodic Buffer. This system works between the Loop and the VSSP and specialises in episodic LTM, bringing elements of information together into patterns or stories.

• the episodic buffer is multi-modal, meaning it is not limited to one sense only, like the other two ‘slave-systems’ (PL / VSS). its job is to bind memories together, weaving visual memories and phonological memories into single episodes which then get stored in the episodic LTM.

Question 66

episodic buffer
(in the Working Memory Model)

Answer 66

In 2000, Baddeley published a new version of Working Memory with a new, third slave system: the Episodic Buffer. This system works between the Loop and the VSSP and specialises in episodic LTM, bringing elements of information together into patterns or stories.

• the episodic buffer is multi-modal, meaning it is not limited to one sense only, like the other two ‘slave-systems’ (PL / VSS). its job is to bind memories together, weaving visual memories and phonological memories into single episodes which then get stored in the episodic LTM.

Question 67

research evidence into the working memory model

Answer 67

The main evidence comes from dual testing:

Participants in tests get confused by lists of items that sound similar but not by items with similar meaning. This suggests that the Phonological Loop codes acoustically and gets over-loaded. For example, Baddeley (2003) found that similar-sounding letters (eg V, B, G, T, P, C) are not recalled as well as dissimilar sounding letters (eg W, X, K, R, Y).
Memory recall of words is ruined if participants are asked to recite irrelevant words aloud at the same time. This also seems to block the Phonological Loop.

Nelson Cowan (2005) suggests that Working Memory can be more efficient if it “chunks” information together; his experiments show that Working Memory in humans only handles 4 “chunks” at a time.

Some evidence comes from brain scanning:

• The Phonological Loop seems to be located in the left hemisphere, specifically in the temporal lobe
• The VSSP is in the right hemisphere, with simple tasks in the occipital lobe and complicated ones in the parietal lobe.
• The Episodic Buffer seems to be in both hemispheres (bilateral) but particularly in the hippocampus (which links to the Schmolck et al study)
• The Central Executive seems to be linked to the frontal lobes

Question 68

why was bartlett’s reconstructive memory and schema theory significant in psychology?

Answer 68

• It shows how scientific research proceeds, because Bartlett’s fairly unscientific research in the 1930s was improved upon by Loftus, who mounted much more rigorous lab experiments in the ‘70s and ‘80s.
• It goes against the typical features of the Cognitive Approach, since it rejects the idea of memory being like the sort of information processing used by a computer - it’s much more creative but less reliable than that!
• This is a theory with important implications for policing and the courts as well as journalism and everyday life. If memory is Reconstructive, then can it be trusted to tell us the truth? Can we trust our own memories?

Question 69

explain bartlett’s war of the ghosts experiment

Answer 69

Bartlett came up with the idea of “reconstructive memory” during a game of ‘Chinese Whispers’. He developed a study based on this game. Bartlett showed 20 students a Native American ghost story (The War of the Ghosts) which had unusual features. He asked them to read it then recall it on several occasions after a few hours, days, weeks or even years – a technique called serial reproduction (and a Repeated Measures design). Bartlett compared how the recalled versions of the story differed from the original.

Participants shortened the story when they reproduced it, from 330 words to 180 words, with the shortest reproduction happening after the longest gap (two years).

Participants also confabulated details, changing unfamiliar parts of the story to familiar ideas in line with their schemas: canoes and paddles became boats and oars, hunting seals became fishing.

Participants rationalised the story, coming up with explanations for baffling parts of the story. For example, in later reproductions, participants missed out the “ghosts” and just described a battle between Native American tribes.

Bartlett didn’t use many experimental controls, asking participants to reproduce the story whenever was convenient. He bumped into one student in the street two years later and asked her to reproduce The War of the Ghosts there and then. The changes in the stories were also down to his own subjective opinion.

Question 70

research into reconstructive memory

Answer 70

Allport & Postman (1947) showed participants a drawing (below) of an argument on a subway train. They were asked to describe it to another participant through serial reproduction (like Chinese Whispers). The black character was better dressed and more respectable than the white character but, after serial reproduction, white participants tended to reverse their appearances. Some even described the black character as holding a knife.

Elizabeth Loftus revisited Bartlett’s idea of schemas in the 1970s in a series of experiments. Loftus & Palmer (1974) showed students film clips of real car crashes and set them a questionnaire to answer. There was only one critical question which asked about the speed of the cars. Some students read a critical question with an intense verb (“How fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other?”) but others read a less intense verb like “hit”.

Participants exposed to the “smashed” verb recalled a higher speed (40.8mph on average) than participants exposed to “hit” (34mph).

Loftus & Palmer tested participants again a week later, asking them if there was any broken glass in the film clip. In fact there had been no broken glass. This was falsely recalled by 12% of the Control group (who had never been asked about the speed of the cars) and 14% of the “hit” group; however, 32% of the “smashed” group falsely recalled broken glass.

Loftus concludes that eyewitnesses are unreliable because they are influenced by leading questions. When we reconstruct memories, we change them by incorporating new information we learned after the incident. We also incorporate our schemas (expecting broken glass after a “smash” - this is sharpening the memory). We cannot tell which parts of a memory are original and which parts are later changes and there’s no way of going back to the original.

Question 71

evaluate (AO3) reconstructive memory and schema theory

Answer 71

Credibility

The idea of schemas has been supported in a lot of studies since the 1930s. Loftus carried out a range of lab experiments into reconstructive memory, all of which had tight experimental controls, standardised procedures and collected quantitative data, making them quite objective and reliable.

Schemas also explains the puzzling phenomenon of false memories. In 2005, John Charles De Menezes was mistaken for a terrorist and shot by police after the 7/7 London Bombing. Many eyewitnesses saw the shooting but their recollections were widely different and often exaggerated. Their schemas about the appearance and behaviour of terrorists might have sharpened and levelled their memories.

Objections

The early study by Bartlett was not at all scientific. Bartlett did not follow standardised procedures, getting his students to reproduce the story as-and-when. He had no scoring system for measuring changes in recall other than counting the number of words. This makes his research conclusions subjective.

Bartlett’s research was particularly unrealistic, getting Cambridge University students to recall Native American ghost stories. This strange task lacks ecological validity - although Bartlett claimed the task had to be strange so as to prompt the participants to level and sharpen the details in their memories.

The Allport & Postman study is widely misreported. You will see many Psychology text books and websites claiming this picture (below) was shown to participants and that white participants wrongly recalled the black man as holding the knife. But this was not in the original study. This seems to be a case of ‘Chinese Whispers’ happening to psychologists!
Picture
Differences

Reconstructive Memory has links to Tulving’s theories about Semantic Memory. Tulving argues our memory has semantic stores where we keep our understanding of relationships and rules – very similar to schemas. If Reconstructive Memory is true, this makes Tulving’s ideas more plausible. Moreover, semantic memory might have much more influence over episodic memory than Tulving imagined, because schemes dictate how we reconstruct our memories.

A criticism of Reconstructive Memory compared to the other theories is that it doesn’t explain how memory is reconstructed. The other cognitive theories of memory describe the processes at work in rehearsing, retrieving and recalling. These processes have been linked to specific parts of the brain thanks to brain scanning and research on patients with lesions in specific parts of the brain. Reconstructive Memory is much more vague about how schemas work and where they are located.

Application

The idea of schemas helps us understand some things about patients with memory loss like Clive Wearing or people in the early stages of dementia. Though they may be confused by their amnesia, they might still remember important schemas and this could be used to calm and focus them. For example, Clive Wearing still loved his wife and loved music, which he could still play. Validation Therapy involves “going along” with delusional ideas so as not to cause distress when a patient’s schemas conflict with the real world.

Elizabeth Loftus is often called to US courts as an “expert witness” to advise juries about how much trust they should put in eyewitnesses. Loftus has been involved in a number of “recovered memory” cases where someone receiving psychotherapy starts to recall sexual abuse from their childhood that they had not known about before. Loftus argues these are “false memories” based on leading questions from therapists and schemas about child abuse in the media.

Question 72

why is tulving’s LTM theory significant in psychology?

Answer 72

• It shows how scientific research proceeds, because Tulving’s distinction is an advance on the Multi Store Model. It also ties in with Baddeley’s research into semantic encoding in LTM and the case studies of H.M.
  It illustrates features of the Cognitive Approach, since it expresses the processes of memory as a diagram or flowchart, which resembles the sort of information processing used by a computer
• It shows the importance of neuroscience which combines the Cognitive and Biological approaches, because functions of Semantic LTM have been located in parts of the brain (eg the Contemporary Study by Schmolck et al.)

Question 73

flowchart (link) to tulving’s long-term memory stores

Answer 73

https://www.psychologywizard.net/uploads/2/6/6/4/26640833/4600905.png?407

Question 74

what two sub-types is declarative memory split into?

Answer 74

(1) Episodic memory is the memory of particular events and specific information: events, names and dates. It includes memories of things that have happened to you and information like a person’s address.

• Episodic memories seem to be perceptually encoded – they are linked to the 5 senses which is why they can be triggered (“cued”) by a sight or a sound or a smell. Tulving gives examples like remembering he has an appointment with a student the next day or recalling words from a list studied earlier as well as autobiographical memories (remembering details from your own past).

(2) Semantic memory is the memory of relationships and how things fit together. It includes the memory that you have brothers or sisters, where things are located and what they do.

• ​Semantic memory is needed for language because words have meaning – learning words in the first place involves episodic memory but once they are learned they go into the semantic store. Tulving gives examples like knowing that summers are hot in Kathmandu and knowing that July is the month after June.

Question 75

research into long-term memory

Answer 75

CASE STUDY: Clive Wearing is a musician who suffered brain damage from a viral infection (herpes simplex encephalitis) in 1985. He suffered almost complete amnesia. He also lost the ability to encode new long term memories. Clive Wearing forgets everything within 30 seconds and is always “coming into consciousness”, feeling he is waking up for the first time.

However, although Clive Wearing has lost his episodic memory, he still has semantic memory. When his wife Deborah enters the room he greets her joyously, believing he hasn’t seen her for years or even that they are meeting for the first time (even if she has only been gone for a minute). Although he has no episodic memories of Deborah, he has semantic knowledge of her: he remembers that he loves her.

Similarly, although he cannot remember their names or ages, Clive Wearing knows that he is a father and that he has children.

Clive Wearing also has intact procedural memory. He can still play piano and conduct a choir – although he cannot remember his musical education and as soon as the music stops he forgets he was performing and suffers a shaking fit.

Sir Colin Blakemore (1988) carried out a case study on Clive Wearing. Blakemore discovered that damage to Clive Wearing’s brain had been to the hippocampus, which seems to be the part of the brain where the Short Term Memory (STM) rehearses information to encode it into LTM.
​

Question 76

evaluate (AO3) long-term memory

Answer 76

Credibility

There’s a lot of research in support of Tulving’s distinctions. Some of this is case studies of amnesia patients like Clive Wearing who have lost episodic memory but still have semantic memory. The deterioration of dementia patients also suggests that episodic and semantic memory are separate because episodic memory is lost first and semantic memory last.

The Classic Cognitive Study by Baddeley (1966b) also supports the existence of semantic memory. Baddeley found that participants struggled with word lists linked by a common theme, which suggests the semantic similarity confused LTM. Unrelated word lists were not confusing. This suggests at least part of LTM works semantically.

The Contemporary Study by Schmolck et al. (2002) also supports the idea of long term memory being located in a specific part of the brain – the temporal cortex.

Tulving carried out a case study of Kent Cochrane (K.C.) who suffered brain damage in a motor accident in 1981. Like Clive Wearing. K.C.’s hippocampus was destroyed in the injury and he lost all episodic memory. However, K.C. could still remember things he had learned in books, like dates or definitions (such as the difference between a stalagmite and a stalactite) - in other words, his semantic memory was still intact. This is evidence for a difference between episodic and semantic memory.

An example of this is the case study of K.F. who suffered brain damage in a motorbike accident. Like Clive Wearing and K.C., K.F. suffered damage to the temporal lobe which made it almost impossible for him to rehearse new memories. However, Shallice & Warrington (1970) report that K.F. could still remember episodes. This is a problem for the multi store model (on which Tulving’s ideas are based) but it does suggest that episodic memory is a special type of LTM.

Objections

It seems as if semantic and episodic memory both rely on each other and might not be all that separate. For example, if you learn that you husband or wife is unfaithful (episodic memory) you will probably trust them less (semantic memory) – which suggests that the two are linked.

Damage to the temporal cortex of the brain seems to cause problems with both types of memory, as does dementia. This suggests declarative and non-declarative memory are located in the same place and may turn out to be the same thing working in different ways.

Squire & Zola (1998) put this to the test. They examined children with amnesia (who never got a chance to acquire a semantic store in the first place) and adults with amnesia (who had semantic and episodic memories from before suffering brain damage). The participants’ episodic and semantic memories seem to be equally impaired which supports the idea that the two memory functions are linked or even the same thing.

Differences

Tulving’s ideas tie in closely with Atkinson & Shiffrin’s Multi Store Model of Memory, which proposes that LTM is a separate memory store from STM and that LTM is created through rehearsal. Tulving would agree, but argues there are different types of encoding, episodic and semantic. Shiffrin seems to have come round to this view and added Elaborative Rehearsal to his model in 2003.

These ideas also link to the theory of Reconstructive Memory and Bartlett’s ideas about schemas. Schemas are meaningful patterns of information: they can be stereotypes, but they are also categories (“farm animals”, “kitchen appliances”) which might differ from person to person and culture to culture. In other words, they are separate semantic stores. If Tulving’s ideas are true, this makes Reconstructive Memory more plausible. If Reconstructive Memory is true, then semantic memory might have much more influence over episodic memory than Tulving imagined, because schemas influence how we reconstruct our memories.

Applications

The distinction between semantic memory and episodic memory helps us understand patients with memory loss like Clive Wearing, K.C. or people in the early stages of dementia. Though they may be confused by their amnesia, they might still remember relationships and meanings and this could be used to calm and focus them. Showing these patients meaningful things and getting them to talk about the meaning can be a type of Cognitive Stimulation Therapy – such as getting them to talk about how familiar songs or activities make them feel.

The distinction should help you with your revision. No matter how charming or colourful your teacher’s explanations are, those are episodic memories that are specific to the time and place you encoded them – your Psychology lesson, not the exam hall. Semantic knowledge can be recalled anywhere, without needing “cues”, but to encode things semantically you have to understand them. This means revising by creating your own mind maps, category lists and charts.