Paper 1: Memory

Question 1

Coding/capacity/duration of SR? (MSM)

Answer 1

SR

Coding: uncoded, raw sensory info via all senses

Capacity: essentially unlimited

Duration: 0.5s

Question 2

Coding/capacity/duration of STM? (MSM)

Answer 2

STM

Coding: mainly acoustic

Capacity: 7+/- 2 items

Duration: 15-20s

Question 3

Coding/capacity/duration of LTM? (<MSM)

Answer 3

LTM:

Coding: semantic

Capacity: unlimited

Duration: a lifetime

Question 4

How does info transfer in the MSM?

Answer 4

Process to get info from SR to STM - attention

STM to LTM - rehearsal.

LTM to STM - retrieval/recall

Question 5

What are the 3 types of LTM,and what are the roles of each?

Answer 5

Episodic memory - memory of events (timestamped)

Semantic memory - memory of facts/information

Procedural memory - memory of physical actions, unconscious - AKA muscle memory

Question 6

Which of the 3 types of LTM are declarative and nondeclarative?

Answer 6

Declarative = conscious, so procedural memory is nondeclarative while the other 2 are declarative.

Question 7

What are the components of the WMM, and what are their roles?

Answer 7

Central executive - component that coordinates the slave systems. It is also temporary storage

Visuospatial sketchpad (VSSP) - used to process visual info, eg the route home from school/work

Phonological loop - processes speech-based info. Contains phonological store (inner ear) eg memory of last sentence you have heard and articulatory control system (inner voice) eg your own voice in your head

Question 8

capacity of the components of the WMM?

Answer 8

central executive has NO capacity, only redirects stimuli. the other components have very limited capacity

Question 9

what is proactive interference?

Answer 9

Proactive interference is when new memories are interfered with by old memories - eg learning french, already know spanish - spanish words interfering w/ french words

Question 10

what is retroactive interference?

Answer 10

Retroactive interference is when new memories disrupt old memories - eg learning french, already know spanish - spanish words that are learned get disrupted by new french words

Question 11

what are the 2 explanations of forgetting

Answer 11

interference (proactive and retroactive); retrieval failure due to absence of cues (context dependent forgetting and state dependent forgetting)

Question 12

what is context dependent forgetting?

Answer 12

Context dependent failure is when you lack retrieval cues in your external environment that were encoded when the memory was encoded - eg you may be unable to remember info for an exam in the exam hall, because you learned it in a classroom.

Question 13

what is state dependent forgetting?

Answer 13

State dependent failure is when the internal state of the person is different to when the info was encoded - eg you may be unable to recall info you were told while drunk the following morning

Question 14

what are the main factors that affect EWT?

Answer 14

Misleading info: leading questions, post-event discussions and also anxiety

Question 15

what effect does anxiety have on EWT?

Answer 15

Anxiety has a relationship with ability to remember events. This can be seen on the Yerkes Dodson curve. Curve follows an inverted U - any extreme level of anxiety (high OR low) will result in poor memory. A moderate amount will lead to the most reliable encoding of info.

Question 16

what effect does weapon focus have on EWT?

Answer 16

In a crime where a weapon is involved, commonly a witness will be able to describe the weapon in more detail than the person holding it.

Question 17

what did Loftus et al (1987) find regarding weapon focus?

Answer 17

Loftus et al (1987) showed participants a series of pictures of a customer. In one version they were holding a gun - in another, a chequebook. Ppts who saw the gun version were less likely to be able to identify the customer from a list of people.

Question 18

what did Loftus and Palmer find in relation to misleading info? (BOTH studies)

Answer 18

Exp 1: L+P aimed to test the hypothesis that language used in EWT can alter memory

Procedure: 45 American uni students in a lab exp. They were shown 7 films of a traffic accident and were asked to describe what happened by answering the following variation of the question:
“How fast were the cars going when they:
smashed/bumped/collided/hit/contacted?”

Results: lower intensity wordes caused predictions of lower speeds, eg words like hit or bumped would illicit lower speeds than words like smashed

Conclusion: the hypothesis was correct. Language used in EWT does alter memory

2nd exp.
Aims: same as exp 1

After seeing the videos, the ppts were asked a series of questions, the critical Q being:
“Did you see any broken glass?”
There was no broken glass in the original film.

Findings: the ppts that were asked the high-intensity verb in exp 1 were more likely to report having seen broken glass.

Conclusion: hypothesis was correct: memory affected by questioning technique

Question 19

what are the features of a cognitive interview?

Answer 19

Techniques: context reinstatement - asking the interviewee to imagine they are back at the scene of the incident. Provides retrieval cues.
Report everything - reporting all the info the individual can remember. Again provides retrieval cues
Recall from a changed perspective - recall the events from the perspective of another witness. Could provide retrieval cues
Recall in a reverse order - recalling from the end to the beginning. Provides retrieval cues