reconstructive memory

Question 1

memory

Answer 1

a cognitive process used to encode, store, and retrieve information
- it is based on information obtained during the event and external-post event information

Question 2

encoding

Answer 2

information is perceived and converted to brain signals

Question 3

storage

Answer 3

encoded memory is retained in the brains memory stores

Question 4

retrival

Answer 4

stored information is remembered and used

Question 5

multi store model

Answer 5

sensory input —> sensory memory —> short term memory —> long term memory. information is transferred through attention and reharsal

Question 6

working memory model

Answer 6

central executive —> phonological loop —> visuospatial sketchpad —> episodic buffer —> long term memory

Question 7

Loftus and Palmer (1974) - true experiment

Answer 7

• to see if leading questions can change eyewitness memory of an event
• participants watched clips of car crashed and were asked how fast they thought the car was going when they VARIABLE each other. The IV was contracted, hit. bumped, collided, smashed. I the second experiemnt they only used hit and smashed and participants were asked if they saw broken glass (no)
  -stronger verbs led to higher speed estimates. the second experiment 32% of the smashed condition said they saw broken glass and 14% in the hit and 12% in the no question condition. the verb choice acts as miss information that produces a false memory of something that did not happen. This could be due to schemas activated by the different verbs. this suggests that memory is reconstructive and the information we hear after it can distort how we remember it

Question 8

sensory memory

Answer 8

• storage for brief sensory events
• large capacity
• 0.5-5 seconds

Question 9

short term memory

Answer 9

• temporary storage that processes sensory memory
• organizes information in chunks
• 18-30 seconds

Question 10

long term memory

Answer 10

• storage unit that holds all knowledge, skills, experiences and information acquired
• unlimited capacity and duration
• it is retrieved through a cue that transfers it to short term memory

Question 11

strengths of multi store memory model

Answer 11

• testable
• supported by evidence
• allows to understand STM and LTM as different stores

Question 12

limitations of multi store memory model

Answer 12

• simplistic view of the stores
• too focused on the stores rather than the processes
• rehearsal is a flawed explanation for memory transfer

Question 13

central executive

Answer 13

controls attention, directing the focus on different tasks

Question 14

phonological loop

Answer 14

• phonological loop: stores auditiory information
• articulatorio loop: used when mentally repeating information

Question 15

visio spatial sketch pad

Answer 15

visualization of mental images from the sensory memory or long term memory stores

Question 16

episodic buffer

Answer 16

integrates information from the other components and links it with long term memory structures

Question 17

strengths of working memory model

Answer 17

• testable
• supported by evidence
• allows to understand multitasking

Question 18

limitations of working memory model

Answer 18

• only explains short term memory
• does not account for effects of practice
• experiments lack ecological validity
• disable people may challenge the model

Question 19

flashbulb memory

Answer 19

vivid memories of the circumstances surrounding a surprising and emotionally arousing event
- very vivid and detailed but not that accurate

Question 20

peterson and peterson (1959) true experiment

Answer 20

• to test the duration of the STM store
• participants were asked to remember trigrams. after hearing them the controlled condition was asked to recall the letters. the experimental condition had to count backwards in 3s to prevent rehearsal
• delays stopped participants from rehearsing which stopped information being transferred to LTM. as the time delay increased, memory decreased. after 18s there was no recollection of triagrams
• stm lasts 18s. rehearsal is needed to transfer information

Question 21

Milner and Scoville (1975) case study

Answer 21

• to investigate how memory stores work in patient HM
• HM had his hippocampus removed to cure his epilepsy. after surgery this condition improved, but he suffered rom memory loss. observations and interviews were conducted
• his personality and IQ quiere unaffected. he could hold information in his STM if he rehearsed it, but would not transfer to LTM. he kept old memories but was unable to create new ones. The star tracing experiment found that his procedural memory was intact, but his declarative memory was damaged.
• the hippocampus plays an important role on memory consolidation (STM to LTM). memory needs to be transferred in order to be retrieved. the fact that HM was a let o use STM is evidence that memories are in different stores

Question 22

Landry and Bartling (2011) true experiment

Answer 22

• to investigate if articulastory suppression affects memory
• participants were shown 10 letter strings of 7 letters. they had to memorize them and write them down. Participans isn’t he experimental group were told to repeat numbers 1 and 2 while memorizing them (Articulatory supression)
• the experimental tori up preformed significantly worse recalling letters with 45% accuracy compared to 76% fo the control group
• repeating numbers 1 and 2 made it difficult to rehearse, resulting in diminished memory. this is an example of articulatory supression effect: when the inner voice is blocked, visual inputs cannot convert into sounds, hindering rehersalº

Question 23

Robbin’s er al (1996) true experiment

Answer 23

• to see how interfering tasks would affect memory
• 20 male chess players had to view an arrangement if a chess board and recreate it on a new board. those having verbal interference retreated the word “the” when viewing the board and recreating it. the visuo spatialize interference was that they tapped a sequence into a keypad when viewing and recreating he board
• verbal interfereancce led to higher scores (64%) because participants used two different memory systems (phonological loop amend visuospatial sketch pad). Visuospatil interference uses more of its capacity
• if working memory was all one system, there would be no difference in scores. this shows that there are different processes controlling different modalities of information

Question 24

Loftus and Pickrell (1995)

Answer 24

• to see if false memories of an event that never happened could be implanted using misinformation
• 24 participants thought they were taking memory tests. family provided details of childhood stories as well as details that that could be added to a fictional story (getting lost in a mall). the family confirmed that this never happened
• 21% of the participans recalled being lost in a mall, sometimes in great detail. they also mentioned that this memory was less clear than others
• memory is reconstructive in nature, and false memories can be implanted through the use of false information

Question 25

Kahneman and Tarversky (1974) true experiment

Answer 25

• to investugate how anchors influence thinking and decision making
• participants spun a wheel with numbers 1-100, but it was fixed so it would only land on 10 and 60. after participants were asked to estimate what percentage of UN member countries were african countries
• participants who spun 10 tended to give a significantly lower estimate than participants who spun 65. the mean estimate for a low anchor was 25% compared to the 45% of the high anchor
• the random number had an anchoring effect on participants estimates for african members in the UN, even if there was no relation