PSY1002 SEMESTER 2 - WEEK 4 Flashcards
what are Schachters 7 sins of memory
transience, absentmindedness, blocking, misattribution, suggestibility, bias, persistence
define transience- 7 sins of memory
decreasing accessibility of memories over time
what is transience because of
decay (forgetting due to passage of time) and interference (forgetting due to competing memories)
name 2 types of interference
proactive: old memory in STM impair retrieval and storage for new memories
retroactive: new memories impair retrieval of older memories
explain what rate of forgetting is like immediately following encoding, and later
very high immediately post encoding, slow down as time gone by increases
less consolidation (strengthening of memory thorugh neural cell process)
explain Ebbinghaus study for transience
looked into causes for forgetting, how long, using consonant-vowel-consonant trigrams (LUP, DES etc), found Ebbinghaus curve
outline Ebbinghaus’ curve
forgetting initially occurs sharply, and then continue at slower pace
whats law of disuse (and an opposing theory)
more time elapsed without using memory, more memory decays until its entirely forgotten
McGeoch believed passage of time causes nothing by itself- time is correlated with processes that cause forgetting
outline Brown-Peterson paradigms for transience studies
- learn list of memoranda (trigram)
- complete distracting task
- recall memoranda
as time passes, greater forgetting but unsure if is because of passage of time or interference
how to test for proactive interference
- learn list of 3 memoranda (trigram)
- complete distracting task
- recall memoranda
better memory with less proactive interference with old info
how to test for retroactive interference
- study trigram
- stay awake/sleep
- recall after 1, 2, 4, 8 hours
better memory with less retroactive interference from new info, when we aren’t taking new info (due to being asleep)
define absentmindedness - 7 sins of memory
lapses of attention that affect memory and learning due to a lack of attention during retrieval or encoding
explain research into absentmindedness - 7 sins of memory (Kane et al, 2017)
- stats test pre-lecture
- lecture
- stats test post-lecture
mind-wandering prompts during lecture
found more off-task mind wandering performed worse, with multitasking habits having indirect effect on learning
define blocking - 7 sins of memory
info present but temporarily inaccessible
“tip of tongue”- unable to retrieve info fully without cue
define misattribution - 7 sins of memory
attributing memories to an incorrect source
what is source monitoring as a component of misattribution
where do memories come from?
explain internal/external, as components of misattribution
internal= did I do this or did I just imagine it
external= who told me about this
what is reality as a component of misattribution
did I really see this or did someone mention it = flashbulb memories
what is crytomnesia (links to misattribution)
unconscious plagiarism
explain 4 types of source info when making memory error due to misattribution
perceptual: details higher for memory actually experienced than from other sources. taste, touch, smell
contextual: context where memories acquired, is consistent with expected source
affective: emotional reaction in context of info
cognitive: mental processing of info
why is misattributions important in EWT
identifying individual as criminal when actually met them in a different situation
explain DRM procedure for research into misattribution (Roediger & McDermot, 1995)
- study words
- recall
- shown words, asked if part of old or new lists
found new words reported being in an old list if semantically related - falsely recalled related concepts never presented = false memories
what is fuzzy trace theory for misattribution, when studied in DRM
when lists with themes presented, gist for list is created and stored, matching themed items closely. when item later retrieved, gist easily available but specific detail is lost
define suggestibility - 7 sins of memory
implanted memories that never occurred, by altering actual memories or create new
explain lost in mall study - suggestibility (Loftus & Pickrell, 1995)
- booklet of 3 true, 1 false childhood memory
- interviewed 1-2 week later
- interviewed another 1-2 week later
25% ppts falsely remember being lost in mall = false memory
explain hot air balloon study for suggestibility (Wade et al, 2002)
showed edited image of ppts in hot air balloon, and asked abot experience
50% showed false memories implanted, with false evidence contributing to false memory formation
outline research study into suggestibility (Zaragoza et al, 2001)
watched video, then answered questions with guessing enforced or discouraged, recognition task a week later, recall task 5-6 weeks after
“fell of chair, where is he bleeding” (no bleeding in film)
false recognition of fake event at 1 week, even if guessing discouraged
free recall later on, recalled 20% false event
define bias - 7 sins of memory
distorting memories on past based on current knowledge, beliefs
explain research study if bias for prediction of German elections (Blank et al, 2003)
asked to predict elections outcome
after election, asked to recall predictions
hindsight bias: misremember memories as being more similar to our current knowledge states
define persistence - 7 sins of memory
unwanted recollections that cannot be forgotten
PTSD
why does reconstructive memory result in a false memories
we encode and store pieces of experience, attempt to reconstruct when retrieving, meaning pieces missing or incorrect piece replace
rely on schemata when reconstructing
explain Loftus & Palmer (1974) EWT car accident
ppts watch video of car crash, recall
asked smashed/hit/collided
asked if saw broken glass = more likely if heard smashed
define misinformation effect
misleading suggestive info changes memory of event, creating retrieval error
explain study into impact of exposure to incorrect info post-event
ppts saw photo of man stealing wallet, next day heard description of crime with incorrect info and answered series of questions. if heard inaccurate info more likely to answer questions wrongly
how long can memory errors as result of misinformation last
over a year
EWT application - explain cognitive interviewing technique
- reinstating original context
- report everything (allows retrieval of less confidently perceived info which still may be of importance)
- taking different POV
- retrieve events in different temporal order
define amnesia
a deficit in memory caused by brain damage, disease, or trauma
explain retrograde amnesia, when it can occur
loss of ability to access memories prior to event, most common post-head injuries (from brain tissue swelling - short-term)
explain anterograde amnesia and case study
loss of ability to store new memories after event (HM- hippocampus )
