theories Flashcards
who created the multi store memory model ?
Atkinson and Shiffrin 1968
what is the first store in the MSMM ?
sensory register
how does information enter the sensory register ?
by a stimulus from the environment
how is information taken into the sensory register ?
it is encoded
how long does information last in the sensory register ?
2 seconds
how is information stored in the sensory register ?
as senses
what is the capacity and duration of the sensory register ?
unlimited, but information is lost very quickly
why is information lost quickly in the sensory register ?
we don’t pay attention to it
how is information lost in the sensory register ?
via decay
where does the sensory register lead to ?
short term memory store
how is information transferred from the sensory register to the stm ?
information we pay attention to
mode of representation stm
acoustically
how long do stm memories last ?
up to 30 secs
what is the capacity of stm ?
around 7 chunks
how is information kept in the stm
maintenance rehearsal
how is memory lost in stm ?
displacement
how does information transfer from the stm to the ltm ?
elaborative rehearsal
what is elaborative rehearsal ?
information is repeated acoustically or linked to something we already know
how is information encoded in ltm ?
by attaching meaning to the information
what is the capacity of the ltm ?
unlimited
what is the duration of the ltm store ?
unlimited
how does info transfer from ltm to stm ?
retrieval
how is information lost in stm ?
decay or interference
who created the working memory model ?
baddeley and hitch 1947
what type of memory does the working memory model focus on ?
short term memory
what are the different components of the working memory model ?
phonological loop
central executive
visuospatial sketch pad
episodic buffer
what is the central executive ?
- the central control system which has a supervisory role
what does the central executive do ?
monitors incoming data and makes decisions about which of the 2 subsystems it should be placed into
carries out attentional processes of our memory system
focused divides and switched attention to different stimuli
what is the phonological loop ?
- deals with auditory and language based information
- preserves the order in which information arrives
what are the 2 sections of the phonological loop ?
- phonological store
- articulatory processes
what is the phonological store ?
stores auditory information and gives memory of sounds
what is the articulatory process ?
maintenance rehearsal in loop format, subvocalsing happens here
how many seconds of information does the articulatory process hold ?
2 seconds
what is subvocalising ?
your inner voice - repeating things to yourself
what is the visuo spatial sketch pad ?
stores visual and spatial information
what is the capacity of the visuo spatial sketch pad ?
- 3-4 objects
what are the 2 modalities of the visuospatial sketch pad ?
- visual cache
- inner scribe
what is the visual cache ?
visual storage system which retains all data inputted via your visual sense
what is the inner scribe ?
records arrangement of objects within a visual field allowing rehearsal of spatial information
when was the episodic buffer added ?
2000
what is the episodic buffer ?
a temporary store that intergrates acoustic visual and spatial information
what does the episodic buffer do ?
maintain a sense of time
what is the episodic buffers capacity ?
4 chunks
what are the 2 sections of Tulvings long term memory ?
episodic memory
semantic memory
what is episodic memory ?
recall of events and episodes from our lives, autobiographical like a personal diary of experienced events
give an example of episodic memory ?
telling someone a story from school
what does 1 episode from our episodic memory contain ?
several elements, people, places, objects, behaviors
what is automatic consciousness ?
it allows us to relieve past events as episodic memories
where is our episodic memory located ?
hippocampus
what is the disadvantages of episodic memory ?
- subjective quality
- based off personal experiences
- can be prone to confusion
what is semantic memory ?
knowledge of the world, including facts, likened to a continuation of an encyclopedia and dictionary
what is semantic memory ?
knowledge of the world, including facts, likened to a continuation of an encyclopedia and dictionary
what does our semantic memory store ?
organized knowledge of language and a large number of concepts
what does our semantic memory store ?
organized knowledge of language and a large number of concepts
give an example of semantic memory ?
being able to recall capital cities of countries around the world
what do we need to use in our semantic memories ?
mathematics symbols
language
understand the relationship between language and symbols
what are the advantages of semantic memories ?
- it allows us to mentally represent things which aren’t present
- less vulnerable to distortion
where is our semantic memory located ?
frontal and temporal lobe
how is time referencing important for episodic memory ?
memories are fine stamped
you remember when and where it happens
is time referencing linked to semantic memory ?
memories are detached from any time referencing factual information can be recalled without reference to where it was learned
is semanticn memory interrelated ?
it can operate independently of episodic memory, you don’t need to remember a classroom equation in order to understand equations
is episodic memory interrelated ?
you need to be able to draw on previous knowledge of people objects and events that occur in order to understand them, so unlikely to operate alone
is episodic memory interrelated ?
you need to be able to draw on previous knowledge of people objects and events that occur in order to understand them, so unlikely to operate alone
ls retrieval dependent for semantic memory ?
no, it can be based on inferences generalization and rational logical thought
ll
it retrieval important for episodic memory ?
it is dependent on the context where it was learnt, or experienced and is reliant on cues synonymous with the context it was encoded in
it retrieval important for episodic memory ?
it is dependent on the context where it was learnt, or experienced and is reliant on cues synonymous with the context it was encoded in
is input needed for semantic memory ?
it can be fragmentary where connections are made once stored
is input needed for episodic memory ?
it is continuous where you are constantly adding to the memory store in chronological order
who created reconstructive memory ?
bartlett 1932
what is a schema ?
mental units of knowledge that correspond to frequently encountered objects and people
what do schemas help us to do ?
make sense of what we encounter
give an example of a schema ?
for a robber - black beanie, mask
why is memory unreliable ?
if only stores fragments of events
how is memory and active process ?
- as recall of an event is a reconstruction based off prior schemas to free up cognitive processing capacity so we can make sense of something that is inconsistent with a scene
what is rationalization ?
altering something to make it make sense to you
what is confabulation ?
making up certain parts of a story to fill in a memory to make it make sense
what was Bartletts war of ghosts story experiment ?
- Bartlett asked British participants to head a native American legend and repeat it after a short time and then repeatedly over a period of months
- participants remembered the gist of the story but changed unfamiliar elements to make sense of the story using terms more familiar to their own culture = fitting their schemas
what is serial reproduction ?
- repeating information after a short period and then again after a few months, then a few years
what is millers supporting evidence for the multi store memory model ?
- he did the magical number 7 test
- proposed we can hold around 7 items in our STM
- items can be chunked rather than individually remembered to help us remember more
- chunks increase capacity in STM
what was Peter and Petersons supporting research ?
- did an interference task to prevent rehearsal
- asked participants to remember a single trigram which was read to them
- intereference task - participants were given a number they had to count back from in 3s
what were the results of peter and petersons supporting research ?
- recall was likely after a short period but performance dropped after 15-18 secs
- supports that STM has limited duration
what were the results of peter and petersons supporting research ?
- recall was likely after a short period but performance dropped after 15-18 secs
- supports that STM has limited duration
what experiment did Brady do to support the multi store memory model ?
- show participants 2500 objects over 5 and a half hrs
- they were shown pairs of objects and were asked to identify which one they had already seen
- when original object was shown with a very different object identification was better
- supports that LTM works better with semantically different things
what is evidence against the multi store memory model ?
- KF, who had stm issues but could remember pictures not words
- stm isn’t separated into parts
how is the multi store memory model applicable to real life ?
eyewitnesses at crimes scenes, dementia patients people in education
students can remember more by chunking information together when revising
what are real life case studies which support the multi store memory model ?
HM and Clive Wearing - both could only hold info in their stm - both had anterograde amnesia
how is the multi store memory model lacking validity ?
all experiments which support it lack ecological validity
what are the are the of the working memory model ?
it is more detailed than the multi store model and shows a greater range of tasks - e.g auditory, verbal, spatial processing
what is evidence that supports the working memory model ?
Kf - couldn’t remember words but could remember pictures - supports that verbal and visual information is separated as the phonological loop and visio spatial sketch pad
what is a weakness of the working memory model ?
central executive is simplistic and vague despite it playing a crucial role in the model
give a weakness of the experiments which support the working memory model ?
all experiments have low ecological validity - not generalizable to everyday life
give a weakness of the experiments which support the working memory model ?
all experiments have low ecological validity - not generalizable to everyday life
-how does Baddeley Thompson and Buchanan support the working memory model ?
- found re of five words was higher with shorter words than long words
- supports that phonological loops only holds 2 seconds worth of speech
how do klauer and zhao support the working memory model ?
asked participants to do a visual or spatial task whilst doing a spatial interference task, visual interference task, or no interference task
- participants who did both spatial tasks of visual tasks found it difficult to complete
- supports that each store can only process one thing at a time
what is opposing evidence for the working memory model (Lieberman)
- argues that the visual spatial sketch pad implies that all visual information is linked to vision
- however blind people have spatial memory even though they’ve never had any visual information
- argues VSSP should have 2 different components
how is the working memory model applicable ?
teachers can avoid doing dual task overloads because each memory section can only process one thing at a time
give a general weakness of the working memory model ?
it doesn’t include LTM
give a case study that supports Tulvings ltm
HM- his episodic memory was impaired but his semantic memory was unaffected
how do Dickerson and Eichanbaum give evidence for Tulvings ltm
reviewed existing research on episodic memory and provided neurological evidence to support its existence
how do Dickerson and Eichanbaum give evidence for Tulvings ltm
reviewed existing research on episodic memory and provided neurological evidence to support its existence
how is using case studies such as HM and KF a weakness to support Tulvings LTM
- involves only 1 person
- not as generalizable
- KFs memory wasn’t measured before his accident, hard to compare
how is using case studies such as HM and KF a weakness to support Tulvings LTM
- involves only 1 person
- not as generalizable
- KFs memory wasn’t measured before his accident, hard to compare
how is Tulvings LTM applicable (Belville et al) ?
- worked with old people with memory impairments
- participants undertook a training programme to improve episodic memory compared with a control group
- patients did better after the training
- shows there are ways to help dementia patients improve episodic memory and live a more normal life
give a general weakness for Tulvings LTM
it ignores stm
give a general weakness for Tulvings LTM
it ignores stm
what is supporting evidence for reconstructive memory (Allport and Postman)
- they did an experiment with a mix of black and white participants
- showed them a picture of a well dressed black man and a white man holding a razor, participants passed on the story through serial reproduction
- over time the black man became the aggressor - proving cultural schemas influence stories
what is opposing evidence for reconstructive memory ( yuille and cutshall)
were real crime eyewitnesses
they were interviewed 4 months later kind with 7 central witnesses and 6 peripheral witnesses however both were equally accurate
how is reconstructive memory applicable ?
- it shows what eyewitnesses could see may be distorted by what people would expect
- cultural schemas may influence their story
- therefore eyewitnesses may not have 100% recall accuracy
what are general weaknesses for reconstructive memory ?
- schemas can lead to negative labeling (allport and postman )
- it is a grounded theory, developed by qualitative subjective methods
capacity
size of store
duration
how long information remains in the store
mode of representation
the form in which information is encoded or stored
encoding
how memories are encoded, how they are registered as memories, e.g by sound or smell
storage
how memories are stored , how they remain as memories after they have been registered
retrieval
how we retrieve memories when the output is needed, so finding and accessing stored memories
Sensory register - mode of representation
the information is stored in the same way it was received
what happens in the sensory register
- information is received
displacement
- causes forgetting
- due to short term store where info is held
primacy effect
- information learnt first is well remembered probably because it has gone to the long term store through the rehearsal loop
recency effect
- information that is learnt last is well remembered as it is still in the rehearsal loop and so available for immediate recall
In multi store model of memory, what is recall from information processed in the middle like
- not good
- as it did not go from the rehearsal loop into the long term store, but was displaced by new material in the loop and was lost
Strengths of the displacement theory of forgetting
- fits well with multi store model and working memory model
- both model suggest a loop where information is rehearsed before going into a long term store
- theory is tested by experiments that are well controlled and so yield information about cause and effect = experiments are replicable and can be tested for reliability = displacement is tested scientifically
weaknesses displacement theory
- hard to operationalise as what is taken to be displacement could be interference
- it is tested using artificial tasks, such as lists of letters which lack ecological validity
interference theory of forgetting
- an item gets in the way of another item rather than displacing it
types of interference
proactive
retroactive
proactive interference
- when something learnt earlier interferes with current learning
retroactive interference
- when something learnt later gets in the way of something learnt previously
strengths - interference theory
- lots of evidence to support, different words are used with different participants and what they learn first does interfere with what they learn second
- evidence from experiments are controlled and so yield cause and effect conclusions = scientific approach means replicable for reliability
weaknesses - interference theory
- it doesn’t explain how interference makes remembering similar tasks difficult , how it causes memory loss
- studies use artificial tasks, in life it is unusual to carry out one thing at once as many tasks are carried out quickly so interference may not account for all forgetting and therefore may be less valid
- effect of interference disappears when participants are given cues so it seems that the memory trace was present but could not be retrieved = goes against interference for forgetting
displacement theory evidence - Waugh and Norman
- read a list of letters to pps
- after hearing list pps were told one of the letters and they had to remember the subsequent letter
- they found displacement did occur
weaknesses - Waugh and Norman
- decay may have also caused forgetting as there was a time delay in the experiments= more forgetting
- forgetting couldn’t be displacement all alone as displacement would cause same degree of forgetting, whatever the time delay between learning and recall
- displacement alone doesn’t explain forgetting
Interference theory - Jenkins and Dallenbach
- pps were given 10 syllables to learn
- some pps slept after learning and some continued with everyday routines
- those who stayed awake didn’t remember as much as those who slept
- as sleeping had not caused interference wheras day’s activities had
