Topic 1- Memory

Question 1

What are the stores in multi-store model of memory?

Answer 1

Sensory input, sensory register (forgetting), attention, STM (forgetting), rehearsal/maintenance rehearsal, LTM

Question 2

What is the capacity/coding/duration of sensory register, STM and LTM?

Answer 2

sensory register - n/a, all possible ways, milliseconds
stm- 7 +/- 2 bits, acoustically, 18-30 seconds
LTM- unlimited, semantically, unlimited

Question 3

Who created the multi-store model of memory?

Answer 3

Atkinson and Shiffrin

Question 4

Outline- Simon (1974)

Answer 4

Aim; LAB to investigate the capacity in STM and also tested out Miller’s “chunking theory” which suggests we can hold 7 +/- 2 chunks of information in STM.
Procedures; P’s presented with lists of 1 word chunks, 2 word chunks or 8 word chunks.. Then asked to recall
Findings; larger the chunks, less could be remembered. Average recall 7 one word, 4 two word and 3 eight word.
SUPPORTS THE IDEA OF LIMITED CAPACITY~

Question 5

Criticisms- Simon (1974)

Answer 5

+ well controlled lab experiment, used repeated measures design
+results are reliable because experiment has been repeated
-artificial .. Lacks external validity

Question 6

Outline- Peterson and Peterson(1959)

Answer 6

Aim; LAB to investigate the duration of stm using the Brown- Peterson Technique
Procedures; briefly shown trigrams asked to recall after 3,6,9,12,15 or 18 seconds. Then given a interference task (counting in 3s backwards from 90) preventing rehearsal
Findings; after…
3seconds- 80%
6seconds- 40%
18seconds- 10%

Question 7

Criticisms- Peterson and Peterson(1959)

Answer 7

+ IV under direct manipulation of the experimenter

-lacks external validity

Question 8

Outline- Conrad(1964)

Answer 8

Aim; to investigate the main form of coding STM by identifying errors in the recall of similar sounding letters and similar looking letters.
Procedure; shown lists of 6 printed words for 0.75 seconds - writing down as many as they could remember, presentations was too fast so information was held in STM
Findings; tended to make mistakes with sounds of letters rather than their appearance

Question 9

What did Simon investigate?

Answer 9

CAPACITY IN STM

Question 10

What did Peterson and Peterson investigate?

Answer 10

DURATION IN STM

Question 11

What did Conrad investigate?

Answer 11

CODING IN STM

Question 12

Criticisms- Conrad (1964)

Answer 12

+well controlled - IV under control of experimenter

-artificial environment- lacks external validity

Question 13

Capacity of LTM?

Answer 13

Very difficult to research but is thought to be unlimited

Question 14

Duration in LTM

Answer 14

Unlimited

-> BAHRICK

Question 15

Coding in LTM

Answer 15

Semantically

-> BADDELEY

Question 16

Outline- Bahrick (1975)

Answer 16

Aim; to investigate the duration of LTM by identifying whether or not people can remember names and faces of class mates years after leaving school
Procedures; cross-sectional study using 392 ex-high school students of various ages, graduated anywhere between 2 weeks or 57 years ago
Asked to free recall names of classmates. + shown photographs from their yearbooks and asked to match names to faces or select classmate from 5 photos(4 were decoys)
Findings; 90% of faces recognised -35years
90% of names recognised-15years
90% matching names and faces -48years

Question 17

Criticisms- Bahrick (1975)

Answer 17

+high external validity

-only one type of LTM being investigated

Question 18

Outline- Baddeley (1966)

Answer 18

Aim; to investigate the main form of coding in LTM by identifying errors in the recall of semantically similar and dissimilar words and errors in the recall of acoustically similar and dissimilar words.
Procedure; presented with 4 sets of words and asked to recall.
Findings; p’s asked to recall after a time interval, performance was the same for acoustically similar and dissimilar words, errors with semantically similar and dissimilar- p’s were more likely to make errors with semantically similar.

Question 19

Criticisms- Baddeley (1966)

Answer 19

+control over IV

-lacks external validity

Question 20

Evaluate- MSMM

Answer 20

+the serial position effect -Murdoch (1962) supports idea of different stores and role of rehearsal.
+brain damaged patients e.g Clive Wearing
+studies suggest a difference in capacity and duration between STM and LTM (Simon, p+p and bahrick)
-too much emphasis on rehearsal, ignores incidental learning
-Clive wearing suggests LTM is more complicated than just a unitary store
-MSMM suggests info must flow through STM to reach LTM (KF short term severely impaired but LTM unaffected

Question 21

List the components of the Working Memory Model of Memory?

Answer 21

The Central Executive 
Phonological Loop
Visio-Spatial Sketch pad 
Episodic buffer
LTM

Question 22

Who created the WMM

Answer 22

Baddeley and Hitch

Question 23

Outline- Murdoch(1962)

Answer 23

Procedure; Ps given long list of words
Findings; words at the beginning of list are remembered better -primacy effect
Words at the end of the list are remembered better -recency effect

Question 24

Outline- Clive Wearing

Answer 24

Suffered brain damage as a result of a virus. Unable to lay down new LTM but has working STM
+supports MSMM suggests there are deprecate short term and long term memory stores
-suggests LTM is more complex than just unitary store - was able to play piano but unable to recognise photographs of his Cambridge college

Question 25

Types of LTM?

Answer 25

Episodic Memory -like a diary of our life
Semantic Memory -knowledge of facts about the world (dictionary)
Procedural Memory -how to do things(memory of actions or skills)

Question 26

What are the two explanations for forgetting?

Answer 26

Interference and retrieval failure

Question 27

Outline the stores within the working model of memory

Answer 27

The central executive directs attention to particular tasks.
Very limited capacity - attend to a limited number of things at any time
Codes information from any type of source (modality free)

Phonological loop stores a limited number of speech based sounds for brief periods (2secs)
Very limited capacity
Acoustic coding
Subdivided into the phonological store and the articulatory process

Visuo-spatial sketch pad used when you have to plan a spatial task
Capacity limited to 4 objects
Visual coding

Episodic buffer enables the central executive to access information in the LTM and integrate it with information in the other systems.
(Creates a mental episode of what is experienced and maintains a sense of time sequencing.)
Capacity is limited to 4 chunks
Coding is modality free

Question 28

Evaluate the working memory model

Answer 28

+ support comes from dual task experiments. Model predicts that it’s harder to do two things at the same time if they are both retrieving info from the same store. Compared to doing two things from different stores.
BADDELEY- ps given a visual task (tracking and moving light with a pointer) and either to imagine a hollow letter F and going round it saying whether each of the angles was inside or outside the shape or repeating words.
+brain scans -COHEN put ps in a brain scanner and asked them to carry out different tasks. When central executive was working, there was activity in the frontal lobe and occipital lobe of the brain was active when the task was visual.

• central executive is very important part of the model, but there isn’t enough info on how it allocates resources.
• model suggests there is a single central executive but there is evidence for several components. EVR had a cerebral tumour removed. Good at tests requiring reasoning, but bad at decision making skills.

Question 29

Evidence for different types of long term memory

Answer 29

CLIVE WEARING and HM show that although episodic memory was severely impaired, both men retained their procedural and semantic memory.

BRAIN SCANS shown that episodic memories involve activity in the right side of the prefrontal cortex, whereas semantic memories involve the left side of the prefrontal cortex. Supports they are physically separate and has been replicated many times, therefore high validity.

Question 30

Criticism of three types of LTM

Answer 30

Some researchers don’t agree that episodic and semantic memories are stored separately. Both part of a single store named declarative memory.( memories that can be consciously recalled )

Question 31

What are the two types of interference?

Answer 31

Proactive interference and retroactive interference

Question 32

What is proactive interference?

Answer 32

When old memories interfere with newer ones. Rearrange the kitchen cupboards but go back to older place

Question 33

What is retroactive interference?

Answer 33

Happens when a new memory interferes with an older one. When learning a new post code it’s hard to recall the old one.

Question 34

Outline evidence for interference and the effect of similarity

Answer 34

MCGEOCH AND MCDONALD effect of similarity on retroactive interference
Ps to learn 10 adjectives until 100% accurate.
Then some learn one list and others learn another list. Then tested again on original list.

Second list were synonyms of first list did worst

Second list were numbers did best

Question 35

Evaluation of McGeoch and McDonald

Answer 35

+Replicated many times+highly controlled method used

-artificial:using lists of words to investigate memory is more relevant to everyday life than using nonsense syllables or lists of letters.

Question 36

Real life application of interference

Answer 36

BADDELEY AND HITCH asked rugby player to recall the teams they had played against that season.
Recall was better if players had missed one or more games since then.

Question 37

Outline retrieval failure

Answer 37

Cues enable us to retrieve information from LTM - coded at the time of learning (internal and external)

Coding specificity principle suggests that cues must be present at time of learning and also at time of retrieval if they are to help us recall information. Two examples:

Context dependent forgetting-GODDEN AND BADDELEY divers to learn lists of words either on beach or underwater. Same location recalled 40% more words than different location.
State dependent forgetting-CARTER AND CASSADAY asked to learn words either with or without taking a mild sedative beforehand. Those who were drowsy both learning and recalling were able to recall more words.

Question 38

Evaluation for retrieval failure as an explanation for forgetting

Answer 38

Two studies above give good evidence that forgetting can be due to retrieval failure.

• may be that the difference in context or state between learning and recall must be very great to lead to forgetting, and in real life such great differences may be rare.

Basic principle of the cognitive interview is that recall can be improved by recreating the context of a crime, giving the importance of retrieval failure as an explanation of forgetting

Question 39

How does research into retrieval failure have implications for the economy?

Answer 39

Help us to learn more successfully, gain better qualifications and get better paid work- therefore contributing more to the economy

Question 40

What is eyewitness testimony

Answer 40

The description given by people of an event they have experienced, including that given in a criminal trial by individuals present at the time of the crime. It included the identification of people as well as details such as speed of vehicles, weather conditions etc

Question 41

What are the factors which affect eyewitness testimony

Answer 41

Anxiety

Misleading information

Question 42

Outline studies into anxiety affecting EWT

Answer 42

JOHNSON AND SCOTT investigated the effects of anxiety on EWT. They used two conditions; ps overheard a low-key discussion in a lab about an equipment failure. Person emerged from lab holding pen, with grease on his hands.
ps overheard a heated and hostile exchange between people in the lab. After sound of breaking glass and crashing chairs, a man emerged holding a paper knife covered in blood. Ps when shown 50 photos and asked to identify the person who had come out of the lab. 49% with pen and grease 33% of the time with knife and blood

LOFTUS AND BURNS showed ps a violent or non-violent short film. Those who saw the violent film where a boy was shot in the face were less accurate in recalling info about the crime in the non-violent film.
-weapon focus

CHRISTIANSON AND HUBINETTE questioned 58 witnesses to bank robberies. Either on lookers or bank staff who were threatened. Witnesses who were threatened were more accurate in their recall than the less threatened witnesses. This superior recall continued to be evident, even after 15 months

Question 43

What is the relationship between anxiety and accuracy of EWT?

Answer 43

An inverted U. This means that medium arousal improves accuracy of EWT, but high arousal makes it worse.

Question 44

Which factors are involved in misleading information?

Answer 44

Leading questions

Post event discussion

Question 45

Outline research into misleading information, leading questions

Answer 45

LOFTUS ABD PALMER effects of ps hearing different words when asked about their memory of a car crash. 30 second videotape of two cars colliding. Then asked about the speed in which they were going but with a different verb.
Conditions were “hit”, “smashed”, “collided”, “bumped” and “contacted”. A week later they were asked if there was any broken glass even though there wasn’t.
Average speed increased as strength of verb increased e.g smashed 41mph and contacted 32mph.
Broken glass: 32% smashed and 14% hit

YUILLE AND CUTSHALL real life setting. Interviewed 13 witnesses to an attempted theft from a gun shop in Vancouver, Canada, where the shop keeper shot and killed the thief. Four months later, the witness accounts remained highly accurate and weren’t affected by misleading information.

Question 46

Outline research into misleading information, post event discussion

Answer 46

GABERT ET AL asked pairs of participants to watch videos of the same crime, but filmed from different view points, showing slightly different details of the crime. They then discussed together what they had seen, before completing recall tests.
71% of participants recalled events they had not seen in the video but had picked up from the discussion. In a control group, none recalled events they had not seen.

Question 47

Evaluation of research into eye-witness testimony

Answer 47

+this research has clear practical implications for real life situations such as police interviews and court cases. This is an area where psychologists can make an extremely important contribution to improving the lives of real people, by changing the way the legal system works.

• some raise ethical issues
• lack of external validity
• LOFTUS AND PALMER focused on memories of peripheral details. FRUZETTI suggested it is much harder to distort EWT by misleading post event information for key details than it is for minor details

Question 48

Outline the cognitive interview

Answer 48

FISHER AND GEISELMAN 
1 report everything
2 mental reinstatement of the original context
3 changing the order when recalling
4 changing the perspective

Question 49

Evaluation of cognitive interviews

Answer 49

A meta- analysis of 53 studies found. In comparison to standard interviews, cog interviews had 34% more correct information. However, most of these studies tested volunteer witnesses in a lab.

A similar study by STEIN AND MEMON, where women watched a video of an abduction. Ps in the CI provided more superior data, which was rich in detail- compared to standard interviews

No longer just one procedure but a collection of related techniques. CI takes too long so many interviewers only use a couple of techniques

Question 50

How does the cognitive interview have implications for the economy?

Answer 50

Much longer, meaning there is a need for greater funding for the police and requiring increased public spending. However, as it is a more successful method of getting information it could increase police efficiency.