QUICK FIRE Flashcards
What did Glanzer & Cunitz find about STM and LTM?
Participants recalled words from the start (LTM) and end (STM) of a list better than the middle (primacy/recency effect), suggesting separate memory stores.
What did Spearman find about the sensory register?
Participants recalled a random row from a 12-letter grid shown for 1/20th of a second with 75% accuracy. Suggests SR has large capacity but short duration.
How did Baddeley study coding in STM and LTM?
4 lists: acoustically/semantically similar or dissimilar. Immediate recall worse for acoustic (STM); delayed worse for semantic (LTM). STM = acoustic, LTM = semantic.
What did Jacobs find about STM capacity?
Participants recalled ~7 letters and ~9 numbers. STM capacity is 7±2. Chunking improves this.
What did Peterson & Peterson find about STM duration?
Less than 10% recall of trigrams after 18s with interference task. STM lasts around 18–30 seconds.
What did Wagenaar’s diary study show about LTM?
75% recall of events after 1 year, 45% after 5 years. Suggests LTM has a very large, potentially limitless capacity.
What did Bahrick find about LTM duration?
90% face/name recall of classmates after 15 years, 80% after 48 years. LTM duration is very long.
Why is the MSM criticised?
Based on artificial lab tasks with low ecological validity. Doesn’t reflect real-life memory use.
What are the types of LTM?
Episodic (events), semantic (facts), procedural (skills). Declarative = conscious recall (episodic, semantic); non-declarative = unconscious (procedural).
What is episodic memory?
Time-stamped, autobiographical, emotionally influenced. Declarative, conscious. Linked to hippocampus & prefrontal cortex.
What is semantic memory?
General knowledge/facts, not time-stamped. More durable than episodic. Linked to perirhinal cortex.
What is procedural memory?
Skills learned unconsciously (e.g. bike riding), resistant to forgetting. Linked to motor cortex & cerebellum.
What did Vargha-Khadem’s study show?
Children with hippocampal damage had impaired episodic memory but intact semantic memory. Supports different brain areas.
What does Clive Wearing’s case show?
Lost episodic memory (can’t recall events) but retained semantic (knows he’s a musician) and procedural (can play piano).
What did Tulving’s fMRI studies show?
Found different types of LTM activate different brain areas, supporting separate stores in healthy individuals.
Why is LTM classification debated?
Episodic and semantic both declarative. Episodic can become semantic; semantic can include procedural (e.g. language).
What did Baddeley’s dual task study show about WMM?
Visual + visual tasks overloaded VSS; visual + verbal didn’t. Suggests VSS and PL are separate.
What did Shallice & Warrington’s study on KF show?
Verbal STM damaged, but visual STM intact. Supports PL and VSS being separate.
What did Prabhakaran’s fMRI study suggest?
Integrated tasks activated prefrontal cortex; separate tasks activated posterior areas. Supports existence of episodic buffer.
What is the word length effect?
Baddeley found recall better for short words. PL capacity is limited to ~2 seconds’ worth of spoken material.
Why is WMM considered better than MSM for STM?
Describes STM as an active processor with multiple components, better reflecting real-world memory.
What are criticisms of WMM?
Central Executive is vague and underdeveloped; processes can’t be directly observed, rely on inference.
When is interference most likely?
When info is similar and learned close in time. Less likely with more time between learning.
What is cue-dependent forgetting?
Info is stored in LTM but can’t be accessed without appropriate cues present during encoding.
What are context-dependent cues?
External environment (e.g. smells, location) helps recall. Different setting = less effective recall.
What are state-dependent cues?
Internal states (e.g. emotions, drugs) help recall. Recall worse when in a different state.
What are organisational cues?
Categories/groups improve recall. Lack of organisation leads to forgetting.
What did Schmidt find about retroactive interference?
People who moved more recalled fewer old street names. New info disrupts old.
What did Greenberg & Underwood find about proactive interference?
More prior word lists learned = worse recall of new ones. Old info disrupts new.
What are the limits of interference theory?
Only explains forgetting with similar info learned close together; doesn’t explain all forgetting.
What did Godden & Baddeley find about context cues?
Divers recalled best when learning and recall environments matched (land/underwater).
What did Overton find about state cues?
Material learned drunk recalled better drunk. Same internal state improves memory.
What did Tulving & Pearlstone find about category cues?
Participants recalled more when cued with categories. Organisation helps recall.
What’s a criticism of cue and interference theories?
May explain temporary, not permanent forgetting.
What are practical applications of forgetting research?
Used in revision strategies and police techniques like the cognitive interview.
What did Loftus & Palmer find about leading questions?
Verb choice affected speed estimates; ‘smashed’ = faster than ‘contacted’. Memory is altered by wording.
What did Gabbert find about post-event discussion?
71% added incorrect info after discussing a crime video. Memory can be contaminated by others.
What did Bodner find about warning participants?
Warning reduced effects of post-event discussion. Awareness can protect against memory distortion.
What did Johnson & Scott find about anxiety & EWT?
Knife condition had lower recall (33%) than pen (49%) due to weapon focus effect.
What did Yuille & Cutshall find in a real-life EWT study?
Witnesses of a shooting were highly accurate and resistant to misleading info, especially those under high stress.
What are the ethical issues in EWT studies?
Deception and psychological harm violate informed consent and protection guidelines.
What did Fisher find about the cognitive interview (CI)?
CI-trained detectives gained 47% more info and 63% more than standard interviewers.
What did Kohnken’s meta-analysis show about the CI?
CI increased both correct and incorrect recall. Accuracy rate similar to standard interviews.
What did Milne & Bull find about CI components?
All CI techniques useful, but CR + RE produced most accurate recall. CI effect is cumulative.
What are practical limitations of the CI?
Time-consuming, needs training, costly — may not be feasible with limited police resources.
What’s a practical benefit of the CI despite cost?
Long-term savings by reducing crime/miscarriages of justice justify training investment.
What are limits of the CI for real police work?
Not effective for ID parades or with very young children — MCI used for children instead.
