Paper 1: Memory Flashcards
Coding/capacity/duration of SR? (MSM)
SR
Coding: uncoded, raw sensory info via all senses
Capacity: essentially unlimited
Duration: 0.5s
Coding/capacity/duration of STM? (MSM)
STM
Coding: mainly acoustic
Capacity: 7+/- 2 items
Duration: 15-20s
Coding/capacity/duration of LTM? (<MSM)
LTM:
Coding: semantic
Capacity: unlimited
Duration: a lifetime
How does info transfer in the MSM?
Process to get info from SR to STM - attention
STM to LTM - rehearsal.
LTM to STM - retrieval/recall
What are the 3 types of LTM,and what are the roles of each?
Episodic memory - memory of events (timestamped)
Semantic memory - memory of facts/information
Procedural memory - memory of physical actions, unconscious - AKA muscle memory
Which of the 3 types of LTM are declarative and nondeclarative?
Declarative = conscious, so procedural memory is nondeclarative while the other 2 are declarative.
What are the components of the WMM, and what are their roles?
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
capacity of the components of the WMM?
central executive has NO capacity, only redirects stimuli. the other components have very limited capacity
what is proactive interference?
Proactive interference is when new memories are interfered with by old memories - eg learning french, already know spanish - spanish words interfering w/ french words
what is retroactive interference?
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
what are the 2 explanations of forgetting
interference (proactive and retroactive); retrieval failure due to absence of cues (context dependent forgetting and state dependent forgetting)
what is context dependent forgetting?
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.
what is state dependent forgetting?
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
what are the main factors that affect EWT?
Misleading info: leading questions, post-event discussions and also anxiety
what effect does anxiety have on EWT?
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.
what effect does weapon focus have on EWT?
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.
what did Loftus et al (1987) find regarding weapon focus?
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.
what did Loftus and Palmer find in relation to misleading info? (BOTH studies)
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
what are the features of a cognitive interview?
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
