Topic 2 - Memory (complete!!!!)

Question 1

What is memory?

Answer 1

The process in which we retain information about events that happened in the past

Question 2

What is coding? Give an example

Answer 2

The format in which information is stored in the various memory stores
e.g. acoustic, semantic

Question 3

What is capacity?

Answer 3

The amount of information that can be held in a memory store

Question 4

What is duration?

Answer 4

The length of time information can be held in a memory store

Question 5

Describe Baddeley’s (1966) procedure into coding

Answer 5

Gave different word lists to 4 groups to remember:

Group 1 : Acoustically similar words - cat, cab, can
Group 2 : Acoustically dissimilar words - pit, few, cow
Group 3 : Semantically similar words - great, large, big
Group 4 : Semantically dissimilar words - good, huge, hot

Question 6

What were Baddeley’s (1966) findings on his study into coding? What does this tell us about memory?

Answer 6

When ppts recalled immediately using STM they did worse with acoustically similar words
When ppts recalled after interval of 20 mins using LTM did worse with semantically similar words

Findings suggest that info coded differently in separate memory stores - acoustically in STM and semantically in LTM

Question 7

What is a strength of Baddeley’s (1966) research into coding?

Answer 7

Identified clear difference between memory stores

Idea of STM using mostly acoustic and LTM using mainly semantic has remained same over long period of time - even with additional research from other psychologists (HAS TEMPORAL VALIDITY!!!)

Findings are an important step in our understanding of memory as it led to development of MSM

Question 8

What is a weakness of Baddeley’s (1966) research into coding?

Answer 8

Lacks ECOLOGICAL VALIDITY as Baddeley used artificial stimuli rather than meaningful material

Word lists had no personal meaning to ppts - findings may not tell us about coding in real life situations
When processing more meaningful info ppts may use semantic encoding even for STM memory tasks

Suggest findings have limited application

Question 9

Describe Jacob’s (1887) procedure into capacity

Answer 9

Found out how much info STM can hold using digit spans

Researcher reads out 4 digits and ppt recalls these out in correct order
If correctly recalled researcher then reads out 5 digits and so on until ppt cannot recall order correctly - this indicates person’s digit span

Question 10

What were Jacob’s (1887) findings on his study into capacity? What does this tell us about memory?

Answer 10

Mean digit span for numbers - 9.3
Mean digit span for letters - 7.3

Supports MSM model for capacity of STM = 7+-2 items

Question 11

What is a strength of Jacob’s (1887) study into capacity?

Answer 11

Study has been replicated - increases VALIDITY

Even with possible CONFOUNDING VARIABLES e.g. ppts might have been distracted during testing due to lack of control, Jacob’s study has been supported by better controlled studies e.g. Bopp + Verhaeghen (2005)

Question 12

Describe Miller’s (1956) observations into capacity - what does this tell us about memory?

Answer 12

Made observations regarding span of memory and chunking

Noted things often come in sevens e.g. seven days of the weeks, seven deadly sins
- therefore Miller thought capacity of STM = 7+-2 items

Also noted people can recall five words as easily as five letters - do this via. CHUNKING

Question 13

What is a weakness of Miller’s (1956) observations into capacity?

Answer 13

May have overestimated STM capacity - conflicting research

Cowan (2001) reviewed other research + concluded that capacity of STM = 4+-1

Suggests that lower end of Miller’s estimate (5 items) more appropriate than 7 items

Question 14

Describe Peterson and Peterson’s (1959) procedure on their study into duration

Answer 14

Investigated STM duration

Tested 24 students in 8 trials

Each trial student given CONSONANT SYLLABLE and a 3 digit number

Student had to count backwards to prevent rehearsal (this would’ve increased the info’s duration in STM)

On each trial ppts told to stop counting backwards after variable period of time e.g. 3,6,9,12,15 or 18 seconds - known as the RETENTION INTERVAL

Question 15

What were Peterson and Peterson’s (1959) findings into duration? What does this tell us about memory?

Answer 15

After 3 seconds = average recall 80%
After 18 seconds = average recall 3%

Suggests that STM duration may be about 18 seconds WITHOUT REHEARSAL

Question 16

What is a weakness of Peterson and Peterson’s study into duration?

Answer 16

Artificial stimuli - lacks ECOLOGICAL VALIDITY to an extent

Study not completely irrelevant - sometimes have to remember fairly meaningless material e.g. phone numbers

However recalling CONSONANT SYLLABLES does not reflect most everyday memory activities where we try to remember something meaningful

Ppts may have remembered info for longer period of time if info had some kind of significance

So study also lacks EXTERNAL VALIDITY

Question 17

Describe Bahrick’s (1975) procedure on his study into duration

Answer 17

Investigated duration in LTM

Studied 392 American ppts aged between 17-74

Obtained high school yearbooks - recall tested with : Photo recognition and free recall test where ppts recalled names of their graduating class

Question 18

What were Bahrick’s (1975) findings into duration? What does this tell us about memory?

Answer 18

Ppts tested within 15 yrs of graduation = 90% accurate in photo recognition

After 48 years recall declined to 70% with photo recognition

Free recall less accurate - 60% after 15 years + 30% after 48

Shows that duration in LTM can be up to a lifetime for some material

Question 19

What is a strength of Bahrick’s (1975) study into duration.

Answer 19

High EXTERNAL VALIDITY

Researchers investigated meaningful memories i.e. people’s names and faces

When studies on LTM carried out with meaningless info, recall rates were lower (Shepard - 1967)

Suggests that Bahrick’s findings reflect a more ‘real’ estimate of the duration of LTM

Question 20

What are the three stores in the MSM? Who created this theory?

Answer 20

Sensory store, STM, LTM

Atkinson + Shiffrin (1968)

Question 21

What are the processes that link the three stores in the MSM together?

Answer 21

Stimuli from environment —-> Sensory register (if not remembered info rapidly decays)

Sensory register ——> STM = Attention

STM —–> response (remembering)
——> if not rehearsed leads to
forgetting
——-> Maintenance rehearsal
(rehearsal loop)

STM ——> LTM = Prolonged rehearsal

LTM ——-> STM = Retrieval

Info in LTM can be disrupted via. interference or retrieval failure.

Question 22

What is maintenance rehearsal (i.e. rehearsal loop) ?

Answer 22

When we rehearse info to ourselves over and over again to keep it in our STM - prolonged rehearsal can move this info to our LTM

Question 23

Describe the sensory register in terms of:

• Capacity
• Duration
• Coding

Answer 23

Capacity = Extremely large - receives info from all our senses

Duration = Less than half a second

Coding = MODALITY SPECIFIC (depends on the sense) - made up of several registers, one for each sense e.g. Iconic register, echoic register

Question 24

Describe the LTM in terms of :

• Capacity
• Duration
• Coding

Answer 24

Capacity = Potentially unlimited

Duration = Up to a lifetime

Coding = Mainly semantic

Question 25

Describe the STM in terms of :

• Capacity
• Duration
• Coding

Answer 25

Capacity = 7+-2 items

Duration = 18-30 seconds (max 18 without rehearsal)

Coding = Mainly acoustic

Question 26

The MSM (1968) has research support for STM and LTM being different stores, describe what this means and state whether this is a strength or weakness

Answer 26

STRENGTH

Research support from Baddeley (1966) - see previous flashcard for study details

Found that we tended to mix up acoustically similar words when recalling from STM and semantically similar words when recalling from LTM

Can also use research support on capacity + duration (see previous flashcards)

Large amount of research support show that STM + LTM are separate stores as MSM claimed - increases VALIDITY of theory as expl. for memory

Question 27

The studies that support the MSM often lack ecological validity and mundane realism, describe what this means and state whether its a strength or weakness

Answer 27

WEAKNESS (counterpoint to supporting research point)

Studies often lab setting - artificial tasks often trivial and meaningless to ppts e.g. Baddeley’s study = memorising word lists

Lack any semblance to real life where we try to memorise useful info e.g. people’s names + faces

Supporting studies lack ecological validity so MSM may not be a valid model of how memory works irl

Question 28

Shallice and Warrington (1970) conducted a case study on amnesiac KF. Did their findings support or go against the MSM - explain why

Answer 28

AGAINST (Weakness for MSM)

Found that there may be more that one type of STM store

KF’s STM for digits very poor when read aloud to him, but when he recall much better when he read them to himself

Research from other psychologists even suggest there’s another STM store for non verbal sounds e.g. noises

Suggests that MSM incorrect in stating that STM was just one store - compromises reliability of model when applied to real memory

Question 29

The MSM is often described as ‘oversimplified’ - describe what is meant by this and explain whether this is a strength or weakness

Answer 29

WEAKNESS

Fails to reflect complexity of human memory - assumes there is a single STM and LTM

Case studies on KF show that there might be more than one type of STM store (Shallice + Warrington - 1970)

Tulving also argued that there is more than on type of LTM - procedural, episodic, semantic

MSM is outdated - not a relevant model when in line with current research and evidence HOWEVER arguably set up a foundation for newer, more accurate models of memory - value in its concept rather than its accuracy

Question 30

Describe Episodic memory

Answer 30

Our ability to recall event (i.e. episodes) from our lives

Memories are TIME-STAMPED - we remember when they happened as well as what happened

Also stores info about how events relate to each other over time

Memory of single episode consists of several elements - all interwoven to create single memory

Have to make conscious effort to recall - done quickly but still aware you’re searching for memory

Most prone to decay + distortion

Question 31

Describe Semantic memory

Answer 31

Our knowledge of the world e.g. facts

Contains large number of concepts e.g. love

Memories not time-stamped - usually don’t remember when we got the info

Less personal - more about facts we share

Constantly being added to

Less vulnerable to distortion + forgetting than episodic

Question 32

It is arguable that case studies lack control of any confounding/extraneous variables. How does this relate to Tulving’s (1985) theory of LTM and state whether this is a strength or a weakness

Answer 32

WEAKNESS - COUNTERPOINT to case study support strength (HM + Clive Wearing)

Case studies of men only started when they became injured - researcher had no way of controlling or knowing what happened to ppts before the injury

Due to nature of case studies researcher had no idea that two men were going to get brain damage (random occurrence) - would have no knowledge of memory of ppts memory before the damage - difficult to judge exactly how worse it became afterwards

Case studies lack RETROSPECTION + CONTROL - limits what clinical studies can tell us about types of LTM - support for theory may not be as credible as initially thought

Question 33

There is conflicting neuroimaging when trying to link types of LTM to areas of the brain - how does this relate to Tulving’s (1985) theory into LTM and state whether this is a strength or weakness

Answer 33

WEAKNESS

Bucker + Peterson (1996) - reviewed evidence for location of semantic + episodic memory in brain

Semantic = left side of prefrontal cortex
Episodic = right side of prefrontal cortex

However other research links left prefrontal cortex with encoding and right side with episodic retrieval (Tulving 1994)

Challenges any neurophysiological evidence to support types of LTM as there is poor agreement on where each type might be located

Question 34

What are the different types of LTM - who proposed this theory?

Answer 34

Procedural, Semantic, Episodic

Proposed by Tulving (1985) - argued that MSM too simplistic and that there is more than one type of LTM

Question 35

There has been real world application opportunities when using Tulving’s (1985) theory of LTM - describe what this means and state whether this is a strength or weakness

Answer 35

STRENGTH

As people age experience memory loss - research has shown that this seems to be specific to episodic memory

Becomes harder to recall relatively recent events compared to past episodic memories which remain intact

Belleville (2006) created intervention to improve episodic memories in older people - trained ppts. performed better than control group

So distinguishing between different types of LTM enables specific treatments to be developed (REAL LIFE APPLICATION)

Question 36

Its difficult to explain the difference between episodic and semantic memories - describe what this means in relation to Tulving’s (1985) theory on LTM and state whether this is a strength or weakness

Answer 36

WEAKNESS

Most recently Tulving taken view that episodic memory = specialised subcategory of semantic memory - essentially the same store

Tulving research = people with amnesia have functioning semantic memory alongside damaged episodic memory

However concluded that it is not possible to have functioning episodic memory with a damaged semantic memory

COUNTERPOINT (Hodges + Patterson) found that some people with amnesia could form new episodic memories but not semantic

Perhaps Tulving initially incorrect with theory that episodic + semantic separate and instead they’re interlinked. However so much conflicting evidence that its extremely difficult to evaluate which parts of the theory is actually VALID

Question 37

What are the components of the working memory model (WMM) and who created the theory?

Answer 37

Central executive, episodic buffer, visuospatial sketchpad + phonological loop (made up of articulatory process + phonological store)

Baddeley + Hitch (1974) - focused on STM + believed that it isn’t just one unitary store

Question 38

Describe Procedural memory

Answer 38

Actions and skills we perform

Can recall these without conscious awareness or much effort (when repeated enough times) - do them automatically

Ability to do this becomes automatic through practice

Type of skills we might find quite hard to explain to someone else e.g. breathing

Question 39

What is the central executive?

Answer 39

Has supervisory role

Monitors incoming data + divides our attention to allocated subsystems for tasks

Has very limited processing capacity

Does not store info - only involved in reasoning + decision making tasks

Question 40

What is the Phonological loop?

Answer 40

Deals with auditory info + preserves order in which the info arrives

Subdivided into : Articulatory process
Phonological store

Phonological store - stores words you hear

Articulatory process - allows MAINTENANCE REHEARSAL ( holds words heard/seen and silently repeats them like an inner ear to keep info in STM) ; capacity = 2 seconds worth of what you can say (limited capacity)

Question 41

Tulving’s (1985) theory of LTM has evidence from the case studies of HM + Clive Wearing - describe the findings and state whether this is a strength or weakness

Answer 41

STRENGTH

Episodic memory of both men severely impaired (from operation and infection respectively)

Semantic memories of men unaffected - HM couldn’t recall stroking a dog earlier but still remembered the concept of dog

Both still new how to walk and talk so procedural memories also unaffected - Wearing (a musician) could still play the piano

Evidence supports idea that there are different independent stores in LTM - one store can be damaged but others can be unaffected. Increases the CREDIBILITY of the theory

Question 42

What is the visuo-spatial sketchpad?

Answer 42

Stores visual and spatial info e.g. if you’re asked how many windows are in your house you begin to visualise it in your head

Limited capacity - about 3 or 4 objects

Logie (1995) divided VSS into :
visual cache - stores visual data
inner scribe - records arrangement of
objects in a visual field
(spatial data)

Question 43

What is the episodic buffer?

Answer 43

Temporary store for info - integrates the visual, spatial and verbal info processed by other slave systems + maintains sense of time sequencing

Can be seen as the storage component of the central executive

Limited capacity of 4 chunks

Is the link to LTM and wider cognitive process e.g. perception

More general store

Question 44

There is research support from case studies of KF - describe their findings and state whether this is a strength or weakness of Baddeley + Hitch’s (1974) WMM theory

Answer 44

STRENGTH

Clinical evidence support from Shallice + Warrington (1970) case study on KF

After brain injury KF had poor STM for auditory info but could recall visual info normally - immediate recall of letters and digits better when he read them (visual) than when they were read to him (acoustic)

So his phonological loop damaged but visuo-spatial sketchpad still intact

Findings support existence of separate visual + acoustic STM stores like WMM suggests

Question 45

It is unclear whether KF had other cognitive impairments (other than damage to his phonological loop) - elaborate on this and explain whether this is a strength or weakness of Baddeley and Hitch’s (1974) WMM theory

Answer 45

WEAKNESS - COUNTERPOINT to KF supporting research

Case studies generally lack CONTROL and RETROSPECTION - brain damage KF suffered may have also affected his cognitive performance in ways the researchers are unable to assess as they do not know what his memory was like before the accident

So additional, unknown brain damage may have affected his performance on memory tasks instead of his supposed damage to phonological loop

Challenges evidence from clinical case studies - lack control so VALIDITY of this supporting research questionable ; decreases CREDIBILITY of theory

Question 46

Baddeley + Hitch’s (1974) theory on the WMM has real life application - elaborate and state whether this is a strength or weakness

Answer 46

STRENGTH

Can be used in teaching environments

Students with learning difficulties e.g. damaged phonological loop can be given alternative revision techniques based on different slave systems in STM

e.g. instead of repeating info to yourself ( articulatory process) you could make flashcards or diagrams (visuospatial sketchpad)

Theory has meaningful, practical applications that could help the disadvantaged (useful real life application)

Question 47

There have been studies on dual-task performance - describe the findings and state whether this is a strength or weakness of Baddeley and Hitch’s (1974) theory on the WMM

Answer 47

STRENGTH

Baddeley asked ppts to carry out a visual and verbal task at same time (dual task) - performance similar when performing both tasks together and both tasks separately - no competition for same subsystem

However when both tasks were visual (or both verbal) performance on both declined substantially - tasks had to compete for the same subsystem e.g. visuospatial sketchpad

Shows there must at least be a separate subsystem that processes visual and auditory info ( phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad) = RESEARCH SUPPORT

(ADDITIONAL - can counterpoint by stating that study lacks ECOLOGICAL VALIDITY due to artificial task and setting)

Question 48

There is a lack of clarity over the central executive - elaborate and state whether this is a strength or weakness of Baddeley and Hitch’s (1974) theory on the WMM

Answer 48

WEAKNESS

Baddeley himself recognised how vague central executive described in theory

CE needs to be more clearly specified than simply ‘attention’ - other psychologists believe it may consist of separate subcomponents

Means that CE = unsatisfactory component - challenges INTEGRITY of the WMM

Question 49

What is interference?

Answer 49

A form of forgetting when one piece of info disrupts the other, causing one or both memories to be distorted or forgotten

Question 50

When forgetting in the LTM, is info permanently lost? Explain your answer

Answer 50

No

Info in LTM more or less permanent (duration = up to a lifetime) so any forgetting most likely because we cant get ACESS to them even though they’re AVAILABLE

Question 51

What are the two types of interference? Give an example.

Answer 51

Proactive interference = when OLDER memory interferes with new memory you’re trying to store e.g. teacher has learnt so many names in the past she cant remember names of her new class

Retroactive interference = when a NEWER memory interferes with older one e.g. teacher has learnt the names of her new class, causing her to find it difficult to recall the names of the students she had in the past

Question 52

Describe McGeoch and McDonald’s (1931) procedure into the effects of similarity on interference

Answer 52

Investigated if interference is worse if memories are similar (for RETROACTIVE interference)

Ppts had to learn list of 10 words to 100% accuracy, then had to learn a new list of words

6 Groups =
- Group 1 : synonym word list
- Group 2 : antonym word list
- Group 3 : words unrelated to original
ones
- Group 4 : nonsense syllables
- Group 5 : three - digit numbers
- Group 5 : no new list - ppts just rested

Question 53

Describe McGeoch and McDonald’s (1931) findings into the effects of similarity on interference. What does this tell us about interference?

Answer 53

when ppts recalled original list of words, accuracy of recall depended on nature of second word list

Most similar words (synonyms) produced worst recall - shows that interference is strongest when memories are similar

EXTRA:
Reason why similarity effects recall may be one of two reasons -

Proactive - previously stored info makes new similar info more difficult to store

Retroactive - new info overwrites previous similar memories because they’re so alike

Question 54

Psychologists argue that interference is temporary and can be overcome using cues - elaborate with any supporting research and state whether this is a strength or weakness of interference

Answer 54

WEAKNESS

Tulving + Psotka (1971) gave ppts. list of words organised into categories, one list at a time

Recall averaged around 70% for first list, but got progressively worse as ppts learnt each additional list (retroactive)

However word lists hadn’t actually disappeared from LTM - at end of procedure ppts given a CUED RECALL test (given names of list categories)

After cued recall accuracy rose to 70% again

Shows that interference causes only temporary loss of access to material still in LTM - a finding that is not predicted in original theory but touched in RETRIEVAL FAILURE

Perhaps other theories better suited than interference to explain forgetting in LTM e.g. retrieval failure

Question 55

There has been evidence provided by studies which show that interference also has an effect in real life situations - describe this study and state whether this is a strength or weakness of interference

Answer 55

STENGTH

Baddeley + Hitch (1977) asked rugby players to recall names of teams they had played so far in that season, week by week

Most players had missed some games (due to injuries) so intervals between each game varied e.g. last team they played could’ve been one or two weeks ago depending on player

Found that accurate recall did not depend on how long ago matches took place - depended on how many interfering games they played

More games played = most interference for memory = poorest recall

Shows that interference can operate in at least some real life situations - increases VALIDITY of theory

Question 56

Some psychologists argue that interference may cause forgetting in some everyday situations but this is very unusual - elaborate on this point and explain whether this is a strength or weakness of interference

Answer 56

WEAKNESS (can be used as COUNTERPOINT to Baddeley + Hitch rugby player study)

Conditions required for interference to occur relatively rare in real life

Supporting research often skewed - often lab studies where high degree of control measures can create ideal conditions for interference

e.g. McGeoch + McDonald - two memories have to be relatively similar in order for interference - may happen in everyday life (like revising similar subjects close in time) but this is not often

Suggests that most forgetting may be better explained by other theories e.g. retrieval failure

Interference theory can only be applied in extremely specific circumstances - not exactly relevant to normal every day life (limited application even if it could be done)

Question 57

There has been evidence from drug studies of RETROGRADE FACILITATION - describe this study and explain whether this is a strength or weakness of interference

(note - this point rather long, make sure to split into memorable chunks)

Answer 57

STRENGTH

Retrograde facilitation = Observation of memory enhancement for events that preceded the administration of certain drugs (i.e. testing how good memory is after taking drugs)

Coenen + Luijtelaar (1997) gave ppts list of words and later asked them to recall list - assumed intervening experiences would act as interference

Found that when list of words learnt under influence of drug DIAZEPAM, recall one week later was poor compared to PLACEBO control group

When list of words learnt before the drug was taken, recall better than the placebo - drug FACILITATED recall of material learnt beforehand

Wixted (2004) suggested that drug prevents new info experienced after taking drug from reaching parts of brain involved in processing memory - so memory cannot retroactively interfere with info already stores

Shows that forgetting can be due to interference - reduce this interference i.e. by using drugs and you reduce the forgetting

Question 58

What is retrieval failure?

Answer 58

Form or forgetting - usually occurs when we don’t have the necessary cues available

Leads to inaccessibility of available memories

Question 59

Describe Tulving’s (1983) Encoding Specificity Principle on the theory of retrieval failure

Answer 59

Reviewed research into retrieval failure and found consistent pattern :

Helpful cues have to be present at both:
- Encoding (when we learn the info)
- Retrieval (when we recall the info)

If cues available at encoding and retrieval different (or if cues entirely absent) - will be some forgetting)

Some cues encoded at time of learning in meaningful way e.g. cue ‘STM’ may help you recall info about short term memory - such cues using in MNEMONIC TECHNIQUES

Other cues also encoded at time of learning but not in meaningful way - two types:
- Context-dependant forgetting
- State-dependant forgetting

Question 60

What is context-dependant forgetting? Give an example

Answer 60

Recall depending on external cue e.g. weather or place

Question 61

What is state-dependant forgetting? Give an example

Answer 61

Recall depending on internal cue e.g. feeling upset, being drunk

Question 62

Describe Godden and Baddeley’s (1975) procedure into context-dependant forgetting

Answer 62

Studied deep sea divers to see if training in different environmental contexts helped or hindered memory

Divers learnt list of words either underwater or on land and recalled words either underwater or on land - created 4 conditions :
1. Learn on land - recall on land
2. Learn on land - recall underwater
3. Learn underwater - recall on land
4. Learn underwater - recall underwater

Question 63

Describe Godden and Baddeley’s (1975) findings and conclusions into context-dependant forgetting

Answer 63

Accurate recall 40% lower in non-environmentally matching contexts

Concluded that external cues available at learning were different from ones available at recall which led to retrieval failure

(note : could use this study as supporting research eval. point for retrieval failure theory)

Question 64

Describe Carter and Cassaday’s (1998) procedure into state-dependant forgetting

Answer 64

Gave ANTIHISTAMINE drugs to their ppts - had a mild sedative effect, making ppts slightly drowsy

Drowsiness - creates a different internal psychological state from the ‘normal’ state of being awake and alert

Ppts had to learn list of words and then recall the info, creating 4 conditions:
1. Learn on drug - recall on drug
2. Learn on drug - recall when not on drug
3. Learn not on drug - recall on drug
4. Learn not on drug - recall not on drug

Question 65

Describe Carter and Cassaday’s (1998) findings and conclusions into state-dependant forgetting

Answer 65

In conditions where there was a mismatch between internal state at learning and recall, performance on memory test significantly worse

Concluded that when internal cues absent (e.g. being drowsy when recalling info where you had been alert when learning it) then there is more forgetting

Question 66

The theory of retrieval failure has some real life application - elaborate on this point and state whether this is a strength or weakness of retrieval failure

Answer 66

STRENGTH

Retrieval failure can help overcome some forgetting in everyday situations

Baddeley believed cues important to pay attention to even if he argued they had seemingly weak affect on memory :

e.g. common experience is walking into a room to get something but when you get there you forget what you were coming for - when you go back to the original room you immediately remember again ( evidence of context-dependant forgetting)

So when we have trouble remembering something we can apply this theory to the situation and make and effort to recall the environment in which to remembered the info first

Shows how research can remind us of strategies we use in the real world to improve our recall ( valuable applicability in everyday life)

Question 67

There is an impressive range of research support for the retrieval failure theory - elaborate on this point and state whether this is a strength or weakness

Answer 67

STENGTH

Studies by Godden + Baddeley (1975) and Cater and Cassidy (1998) are two examples that show a lack of relevant cues at recall can lead to context and state dependant forgetting

Memory researchers Eysenck + Keane (2010) argue that retrieval failure perhaps the main reason for forgetting in LTM

Evidence shows that retrieval failure occurs in real world situations as well as in highly controlled lab conditions ( increases theory VALIDITY)

Question 68

Baddeley (1997) actually argued that context effects are quite weak, especially in everyday life - expand on his argument and describe whether this is a strength or weakness of the retrieval failure theory

Answer 68

WEAKNESS (can be used as a COUNTERPOINT to the supporting research argument)

Different contexts have to be extremely different before an effect is seen - e.g. it would be hard to find an environment as different from land as underwater seen in Godden + Baddeley’s (1975) research

In contrast - learning something in one room and recalling it in another unlikely to result in forgetting as environments generally not different enough

e.g. when you revise at home or learn at school and then do the exam in an exam hall (different environmental contexts) you don’t immediately forget everything you’ve learnt

Means that retrieval failure due to lack of contextual cues may not actually explain much everyday forgetting - rarely ever occurs in real life because of extraordinary conditions to do so

More relevant theories (could argue interference) provide better expl. for everyday forgetting

Question 69

Some psychologists argue that context effects may depend substantially on the type of memory being tested - elaborate on this point and state whether this is a strength or weakness of the retrieval failure theory

Answer 69

WEAKNESS

Godden + Baddeley (1980) repeated their diver study but used a recognition test instead of recall

ppts had to say whether they recognised a word from the list instead of recalling it themselves

When recognition tested found that there was no context-dependant effect - performance was the same in all 4 conditions

Suggests that retrieval failure is a limited explanation for forgetting because it only applies when a person has to recall info rather than recognise it

Question 70

It is argued that the ESP theory for retrieval failure IS flawed as the reasoning for it is circular and based on assumption - explain what this means and state whether this is a strength or weakness

(IMPORTANT : this is just extra eval. don’t use this point if you don’t understand it)

Answer 70

WEAKNESS

Lot of evidence that forgetting takes place when there is a mismatch (or absence) of encoding retrieval cues - however is it even possible to independently establish whether a cue has been encoded or not?

Reasoning for ESP CIRCULAR and based on ASSUMPTION

CIRCULAR REASONING - argument is validated by itself - reasoner begins with what they’re trying to end with (same proposition occurs as both a premise + conclusion so argument validates itself)

e.g. In an experiment, if cue did not produce recall we assume it wasn’t encoded, if cue did produce recall we assume it must have been encoded

ESP theory provides the premise and conclusion - it has been used to validate itself without any external input

COMPROMISES theory VALIDITY

Question 71

What is a leading question and how does this affect eye witness testimony? (EWT)

Answer 71

Wording of a question may lead, or mislead, a person to give a certain answer

Issue for EWT - e.g. police questioning may direct a witness to give a particular answer

Question 72

Describe Loftus and Palmer’s (1945) procedure on the effect of leading questions on EWT

Answer 72

Arranged for 45 students to watch film clips of car accidents and then asked them questions on what they saw

In the CRITICAL QUESTION (leading question - also called misleading info) ppts asked to describe how fast cars were travelling

Ppts split into 5 groups - each group ppts were given a different verb in the critical question when asked how fast cars were travelling

Verbs : hit, contacted, bumped, collided,
smashed

e.g. one group asked : “How fast were the cars travelling when they smashed into each other?”

Question 73

Describe Loftus and Palmer’s (1945) findings and conclusions on the effect of leading questions on EWT

Answer 73

Mean estimated speed calculated for each group

Verb ‘contacted’ : 31.8 mph
Verb ‘smashed’ : 40.5 mph

Leading question biased eyewitness’ recall of an event

Question 74

Why does leading questions affect EWT? explain in terms of:

• The response-bias explanation

Answer 74

Response-bias explanation =

• wording of question has no real effect on ppts memories but just influences how they decide the answer
• e.g. when ppts get leading question using word smashed, this encourages them to choose a higher speed estimate (Loftus + Palmer - 1945)

Question 75

Why does leading questions affect EWT? explain in terms of:

• The substitution explanation

Answer 75

Substitution explanation =

• Wording of the question changes the ppts. memory itself
• Loftus + Palmer (1974) conducted second experiment to support substitution explanation :

After asking the various critical questions, asked ppts to recall what they saw in the film

ppts who were given verb ‘smashed’ later more likely to report seeing broken glass (even though there wasn’t any) than those given verb ‘hit’

Critical verb altered memory of incident

Question 76

What is post- event discussion?

Answer 76

Occurs when there is more than one witness to an event - witness may discuss what they’ve seen with other co-witnesses

May influence accuracy of EWT

Question 77

Describe Gabbert’s (2003) procedure on the effects of post-event discussion on the accuracy of EWT

Answer 77

Studied ppts in pairs

Each ppts watched video of same crime but filmed at different points of view - meant each ppts could see elements of event that others could not

Both ppts. then discussed what they had seen before individually completing a test of recall

Question 78

Describe Gabbert’s (2003) findings and conclusion on the effects of post-event discussion on the accuracy of EWT

Answer 78

Found that 71% of ppts mistakenly recalled aspects of the event they did not see in the video but had picked up in discussion

Corresponding figure in control group where there was no discussion = 0%

Post-event discussion clearly had negative effect on accuracy of EWT

Question 79

Why does post-event discussion affect EWT? Explain in terms of :

• memory contamination

Answer 79

Memory contamination =

• When co-witnesses to crime discuss with each other, their EWT’s may become altered or distorted
• This is because they combine misinformation from other witnesses with their own memories

Question 80

Why does post-event discussion affect EWT? Explain in terms of :

• memory conformity

Answer 80

Memory conformity =

• Gabbert (2003) believed that witnesses often go along with each other to win social approval or because they believe that the other witnesses are right and they are wrong (NSI + ISI)
• Unlike memory contamination, the actual memory is unchanged

Question 81

The theory of leading questions on EWT has real life application in the criminal justice system - elaborate on this point and state whether this is a strength or weakness

Answer 81

STRENGTH

Consequences of inaccurate EWT can be very serious

Loftus (1975) believes that leading questions can have such a distorting effect on memory that police officers advised to be very careful about how they phrase their questions during witness interviews

Psychologists sometimes asked to act as expert witnesses in court trials to explain the limits of EWT to juries

Shows that psychologists can help to improve the way the legal system works, especially by protecting the innocent from faulty convictions due to unreliable EWT

Theory has valuable, real life APPLICATION which can positively contribute to society

Question 82

It is argued that the practical applications of the effect of leading questions on EWT may be affected by issues with research - explain what this means and state whether this is a strength or weakness

Answer 82

WEAKNESS (COUNTERPOINT to real life application point)

e.g. Loftus + Palmer’s (1945) ppts watched film clips in a lab, very different experience from witnessing real event - less stressful

Lab setting - artificial environment, lacks ECOLOGICAL VALIDITY

Foster (1994) pointed out that what eyewitnesses remember has important consequences in real world, but ppts. responses in artificial research does not matter in the same way (no real consequence if ppts do not accurately recall info)

So in research ppts = less motivated to be accurate - task TRIVIAL to ppts

Suggests that researchers like Loftus + Palmer are too pessimistic about effects of misleading info - EWT may be more dependable that studies suggest

Question 83

Evidence has been found against the substitution explanation - elaborate on this point and state whether this is a strength or weakness of leading questions on EWT

Answer 83

WEAKNESS

EWT more accurate for some aspects of an event than for others

e.g. Sutherland + Hayne (2001) showed ppts a video clip - when ppts asked misleading questions their recall more accurate for central details of event that peripheral ones

ppts attention presumably focused on central details of event - these memories relatively resistant to misleading info

Suggests that original memories for central details survived and were not distorted, outcome not predicted by substitution explanation

Question 84

Evidence has been found challenging memory conformity - elaborate on this point and state whether this is a strength or weakness of post-event discussion on EWT

Answer 84

WEAKNESS

Evidence that post-event discussion actually alters EWT - memory contamination may be a more VALID explanation

Skagerberg + Wright (2008) showed ppts film clips:

• two versions :mugger’s hair was dark brown in one and light brown in the other
• ppts then discussed clips in pairs - each seeing a different version
• instead of reporting what they had heard from co-witnesses (this would’ve been memory conformity) often recalled a blend of the two e.g. common answer when asked what colour the mugger’s hair was ‘medium brown’ (blend between light + dark brown seen in the two clips)

Suggests that memory itself is distorted through contamination by misleading post-event discussion, rather than result of memory contamination

Question 85

It is arguable that the ppts in the effects of misleading info research are more likely to display DEMAND CHARACTERISTICS - elaborate and state whether this is a strength or weakness of the effects of misleading info on EWT

Answer 85

WEAKNESS

Zaragoza + McCloskey (1989) argue that many answers given by ppts in the lab studies are due to DEMAND CHARACTERISTICS

Artificial setting in lab experiments = more likely to display demand characteristics

Ppts often want to be helpful to researcher - often guess when asked a question even if they don’t know the answer

This compromises validity of theory itself as supporting studies lack INTERNAL VALIDITY

Question 86

How does anxiety have a negative effect on EWT? Explain in terms of :

• weapon focus

Answer 86

Anxiety —–> creates physiological arousal in body which prevents us paying attention to important cues

Presence of weapon causes anxiety - leads to focus on weapon which decreases recall for other details of the event

Question 87

Describe Johnson and Scott’s (1976) procedure on the negative effects of weapon focus on EWT

Answer 87

Lab study

Two conditions:

• High anxiety condition = ppts overheard argument, accompanied by sound of breaking glass. Man then walked out room holding knife covered in blood
• Low anxiety condition = ppts heard a casual conversation in next room, then saw man walk out carrying a pen + grease on his hands

ppts later picked out man from set of 50 photos

Question 88

Describe Johnson and Scott’s (1976) findings and conclusions on the negative effects of weapon focus on EWT

Answer 88

49% in low anxiety condition able to identify man

33% in high anxiety condition able to identify man

Concluded that this is due to the TUNNEL THEORY of memory

Tunnel theory = argues people may have enhanced memory for central events (e.g. the bloody knife in high anxiety condition) whilst the peripheral events aren’t paid as much attention to

Weapon focus as a result of anxiety can have a ‘tunnelling’ effect

Question 89

How does anxiety have a positive effect on EWT? Explain in terms of :

• the fight or flight response

Answer 89

Witnessing stressful event —-> creates anxiety through physiological arousal within body

Fight or flight response triggered - increases alertness

Alertness - may improve memory for event as we become more aware of cues in the situation, we pay more attention

Question 90

Describe Yuille + Cutshall’s (1986) procedure on the positive effects of anxiety on EWT

Answer 90

Conducted study of real life shooting (natural experiment) in Canada

Shop owner shot thief dead

21 witnesses - 13 took part in the study

Interviewed 4 to 5 months after incident and interviews compared with original police interviews at time of shooting

Accuracy determined by number of details reported in each account

Witnesses also asked to rate how stressed they had felt during shooting on 7 point scale + whether they had any emotional problems since event e.g. sleeplessness

Question 91

Describe Yuille + Cutshall’s (1986) findings and conclusions on the positive effects of anxiety on EWT

Answer 91

Witnesses very accurate in their accounts - little change in amount recalled after 5 months

Though some details less accurate e.g. recollection of item colours + age/height/weight estimates - however not significant enough to declare recollection totally inaccurate

Ppts who reported highest levels of stress were the most accurate - 88% accuracy compared to 75% from less stressed group

Suggests anxiety does not have a detrimental effect on accuracy of EWT in real world contexts + may even enhance it

Ppts may have entered fight or flight mode during shooting so paid more attention to surroundings + produced more accurate EWT

Question 92

Who created the Yerkes Dodson Law?

Answer 92

Yerkes + Dodson (1908) described relationship between emotional arousal + performance looks like an ‘inverted U’

Deffenbacher (1983) reviewed 21 studies of EWT + noted contradictory findings on the effect of anxiety - Yerkes Dodson’s Law (inverted U) used to explain this

Question 93

How does the Yerkes Dodson’s Law relate to the research findings of anxiety on EWT?

Answer 93

Used to explain contradictory findings on the effects of anxiety (as there is evidence for both positive and negative effects)

Question 94

Describe Yerkes Dodson’s Law in context to anxiety and EWT

Answer 94

Also known as inverted U theory - states that recall will increase with anxiety, but only to certain extent, pass this point recall falls drastically

When put into graph form looks like an ‘inverted U’

When we witness crime we become emotionally + physiologically aroused so we experience both anxiety + the fight or flight response

Lower levels of anxiety/arousal = produces lower levels of recall accuracy

Memory becomes more accurate as levels of anxiety/arousal increases

However there is an optimal level of anxiety - the point of maximum accuracy (this is around medium levels of anxiety)

If person experiences any more anxiety (e.g. very high levels of anxiety) recall suffers a drastic decline

Question 95

It is argued that the study supporting the weapon focus explanation (Johnson + Scott) may not have tested anxiety - explain what this means and state whether this is a strength or weakness of the weapon focus theory on EWT

Answer 95

WEAKNESS

Study may lack INTERNAL VALIDITY

Reason ppts may have focused on weapon may be because they we surprised at what they saw rather than scared - study may have investigated unusualness rather than anxiety

Pickel (1998) conducted similar experiment using scissors, handgun, wallet + raw chicken as hand held items in hair dressing salon

In theory, scissors would be a high anxiety, low unusualness weapon

Eyewitness accuracy significantly poorer in high unusualness conditions (chicken + handgun) - scissors did not inhibit recall even though it was a high anxiety weapon

Suggests that weapon focus effect may be due to unusualness rather than anxiety/threat ( as chicken low in threat but still produced poor recall)

Compromises VALIDITY of weapon focus effect - seemingly tells us nothing about effect of anxiety on EWT

Question 96

There is evidence supporting the view that anxiety has a negative effect on the accuracy of recall - describe this evidence and state whether this is a strength or weakness

Answer 96

STRENGTH

(Can mention Johnson + Scott’s weapon focus experiment)

Valentine + Mesout carried out study in real world setting of a horror labyrinth:

• Used an OBJECTIVE MEASURE (heart rate) to divide ppts into high + low anxiety groups
• ppts asked to describe a person encountered in labyrinth (played by actor)
• Found that high anxiety ppts recalled the fewest correct details and made the most mistakes
• 17% of high anxiety group correctly identified actor in a line-up compared to 75% in low-anxiety group

Suggests that a high level of anxiety does have a negative effect on the accuracy of recall of a stressful event from supporting research

Question 97

There is evidence supporting the view that anxiety has a positive effect on the accuracy of recall - describe this evidence and state whether this is a strength or weakness

Answer 97

STRENGTH

(Can use Yuille and Cutshall’s study here as well)

Christian + Hubinette (1993) interviewed 58 witnesses to real bank robberies in Sweden

Some witnesses directly involved (bank workers) + some indirectly involved (bystanders)

Researchers assumed those directly involved experienced the highest levels of anxiety

Recall 75% accurate across all witnesses - though the direct victims (and the most anxious) were the most accurate

Findings from real crimes conform anxiety does not reduce accuracy of EWT and may even enhance it - theory has EXTERNAL VALIDITY

Question 98

The problem with Christian + Hubinette’s (1993) study on the positive effects of anxiety is the lack of CONTROL - elaborate on this point and explain whether this is a strength or weakness of the anxiety theory on EWT

Answer 98

WEAKNESS (COUNTERPOINT to supporting evidence)

Christian + Hubinette interviewed ppts several months after the event (4-5 months)

Therefore researcher had no CONTROL over what happened to their ppts before the interviewing time e.g. there may have been some post-event discussion - factors that wouldn’t have been considered in their findings

Effects of anxiety may have been overwhelmed by these EXTRANEOUS VARIABLES which are impossible to assess by the time ppts. were interviewed

So it is possible that lack of control over CONFOUNDING VARIABLES may be responsible for these findings - INVALIDATES any evidence this study has for this theory

(Note : the same argument can be made for Yuille + Cutshall’s study)

Question 99

Some psychologists argue that the ‘inverted U theory’ (Yerkes-Dodson’s law) is too simplistic - elaborate and state whether this is a strength or weakness of the effects on anxiety on EWT

Answer 99

WEAKNESS

Theory ignores the fact that anxiety has many elements - cognitive, behavioural, emotional + physical

Theory only focuses on the last element - physical arousal + assumes that it is the only aspect of anxiety linked to EWT

Therefore Yerkes-Dodson’s Law may be too simplistic - may be other elements of anxiety not accounted for that could influence the accuracy of EWT

Question 100

What is the cognitive interview? Who created this theory?

Answer 100

Cognitive interview = method of interviewing eyewitnesses to help them retrieve more accurate memories

Created by Fisher + Geiselman (1992) - argued that EWT can be enhanced if the police used better techniques based on psychological insights when interviewing eyewitnesses

Question 101

What are the 4 techniques used in the cognitive interview?

Answer 101

1. Report everything
2. Reinstate the context
3. Reverse the order
4. Change perspective

Question 102

Describe the ‘report everything’ method used in the cognitive interview

Answer 102

Witnesses encouraged to include every single detail of the event - even if its seems irrelevant or witness doesn’t feel confident

Seemingly trivial details may be important and may trigger other important memories (can act as cues)

Question 103

Describe the ‘reinstate the context’ method used in the cognitive interview

Answer 103

Witness should return to original crime scene in their mind e.g. imagine the environment and their emotions

link to context-dependant & state-dependant forgetting - remembering the context may re-establish cues which can trigger important memories

Question 104

Describe the ‘reverse the order’ method used in the cognitive interview

Answer 104

Events should be recalled in different order from original sequence

Prevents people from reporting expectations of how event should happen rather than actual events

Also prevents dishonesty - harder to give untruthful account if they have to reverse it

Question 105

Describe the ‘change perspective’ method used in the cognitive interview

Answer 105

Witnesses should recall event from other perspectives e.g. the perpetrator or another witness

Disrupts effects of expectations + the effect of a SCHEMA on recall

Schema of particular setting could generate expectations of what would have happened - it is the schema that is recalled instead of actual events - changing perspective prevents this

Question 106

What is the enhanced cognitive interview (ECI) ? Who created this theory?

Answer 106

Fisher et. al. developed additional element of cognitive interview to focus on social dynamics of interaction

Elements of the ECI:

• Interviewer needs to know when to establish eye contact and when to stop it
• Reducing eye-witness anxiety
• Minimising distractions
• Getting witness to speak slowly
• Asking open-ended questions

Question 107

There is research support for the effectiveness of the cognitive interview (CI) in a real life setting - describe this research and state whether this is a strength or weakness

Answer 107

STRENGTH

META ANALYSIS by Kohnken (1999) combined data from 55 studies comparing the CI + ECI with the standard police interview

CI gave average of 41% increase of accurate info compared to standard interview

Only 4 studies in analysis showed no difference between the types of interview - correlation unlikely due to chance

Shows that CI is an effective technique in helping witnesses to recall info not immediately accessible

REAL LIFE PRACTICAL APPLICATION

Question 108

Research has also found that the CI also increases the amount of inaccurate info being recalled - discuss this point and state whether this is a strength or weakness of the CI

Answer 108

WEAKNESS (COUNTERPOINT to supporting research)

Kohnken (1999) also found increase in inaccurate info being recalled in his META ANALYSIS

Particular issue with the ECI - produced more inaccurate details than the CI

Therefore cognitive interviews may sacrifice quality of EWT (i.e. the accuracy) in favour of quantity

Means that police officers should treat eyewitness evidence from CI/ECI with caution - has LIMITED practical real life application

Question 109

Studies have found that not all elements of the CI are equally effective or useful - elaborate and state whether this is a strength or weakness of the CI

Answer 109

WEAKNESS

Milne + Bull (2002) - found that each of the 4 techniques used alone produced more info than standard police interview

However - also found that using a combo of ‘report everything’ + ‘reinstate the context’ produced better recall than any other element or combination of them

Confirmed police officer suspicion that some aspects of CI more useful than other

Casts some doubt on the CREDIBILITY of the overall CI - some parts of it seemingly useless

Question 110

The CI is time consuming for the police force to integrate into their system - elaborate and state whether this is a strength or weakness of the cognitive interview

Answer 110

WEAKNESS

Police officers may be reluctant to use CI because it takes more time + training than normal police interview

More time needed to establish a rapport with witness + allow them to relax

CI also requires special training - many forces do not have resources to provide more than a few hours ( Kebbell + Wagstaff - 1997)

Suggests that complete CI is an unrealistic method for police force to use - might be better to focus on key elements instead of using all 4 techniques

Question 111

Police forces have taken a ‘pick and mix’ approach when it comes to the CI, creating variations of it - explain further and state whether this is a strength or weakness of the CI

Answer 111

arguably BOTH

WEAKNESS - different variations of the CI means its difficult to compare the effectiveness of the different approaches in research studies

STRENGTH - Being able to create multiple variations of the CI shows how incredibly flexible it is whilst still remaining relatively effective - individuals can develop their own approach based on what’s best for them