Essay For Memory

Question 1

AO1 for working memory model of memory

Answer 1

Baddley and Hitch believed short term memory is better described as working memory because it refers to things we are currently thinking about. Baddley and hitch suggested it is divided into several different components.
Central executive: has a supervisory role and directs attention to particular tasks. Does this by allocating tasks to various subsystems.
Phonological loop: very limited capacity. Subdivided into phonological store (holds words you hear) and an articulatory process (silently repeating words you hear).
Visuospatial sketchpad: used when having to plan a spatial task. Involves holding visual and spatial information and capacity is limited to 4 objects.
Episodic buffer allows central executive to access information in LTM and integrate it with information in other systems.

Question 2

AO3 for Working memory model

Answer 2

Support comes from brain scans. Research put brain scans in fMRI brain scanner and asked to complete different tasks. Found different areas were active when doing different tasks. Suggesting different parts of WM use different parts of brain supporting the model.

Support comes from case study of KF as he had had poor STM for sound based info but normal STM for visual info. Supporting idea that the STM has separate parts as the WMM proposes.

Limitation is the model doesn’t give enough information on how central executive allocates resources. Some psychologist feel it is too vague and don’t think it explains its role adequately.

Question 3

AO1 for types of long term memory

Answer 3

Three types of LTM are episodic, semantic, procedural.
Episodic memory stores personal events, including time and memories of birthdays.
Semantic memory stores general knowledge and facts, such as knowing capital of France
Procedural memory stores skills and actions, such as knowing how to ride a bike, recalled without conscious awareness. These memory types are stored in different areas of brain, suggesting they are separate memory stores.

Question 4

AO3 for LTM

Answer 4

Strength for digging types of Kayak come from case study evidence. HM could not form new episodic memory or semantic memory but still could learn new motor skills. This supports the idea that procedural memory is a separate LTM store

Strength is evidence from brain scan studies. Research found that episodic memory and semantic memories activate different areas of the brain. This provides biological support that LTM is not a single system.

Limitation is that evidence supporting different types of LTM come from case studies, which lack generalisability. Individuals like HM are unusual, so findings can not apply to everyone. Reducing strength of how LTM is organised.

Question 5

AO1 for one explanation of forgetting

Answer 5

Inference theory suggests that forgetting occurs because memories compete with eachother causing confusion. This happens when two pieces of information are similar. There are two types of inferences.

Proactive inference occurs when older memories disrupt new learning, such as remembering your old phone number instead of new up. Retroactive interference occurs when new information interferes with old information, such as learning new password and forgetting old one.

Question 6

AO3 for one explanation of forgetting

Answer 6

Strength of interference theory is supporting research where participants learned a list of words and then a second list. Recall was poorest when the second list was similar, supporting idea that similarity causes forgetting.

Another strength is evidence from real life studies, such as research who found rugby players forgot teams they played with, forgetting increasing as more matches were played. This shows interferences occurs in everyday memory, increasing external validity.

A limitation is that interference theory cannot explain all forgetting, as people often forget information even when there is no competing memory. This suggests other explanations, such as retrieval failure are also important reducing the theory’s explanatory power.

Question 7

AO1 for discuss the cognitive interview as a means of improving accuracy of memory

Answer 7

Cognitive interview is a police interviewing technique designed to improve the accuracy of eyewitness memory. It is based on psychological research into memory and uses four main techniques. These include
context reinstatement (where witnesses mentally recreate the original situation)
report everything (encouraging recall of all details)
Reverse order (asking witness to recall recents in a different order
Change perspective (recalling the event from another point of view). These techniques aim to increase number of accurate details recalled.

Question 8

AO3 for discuss cognitive interview as a means of improving accuracy of memory

Answer 8

Strength is supporting research evidence. Kohnken et al found CI increased correct recall by around 34% compared to standards police interviews. Suggesting CI is effective at improving memory recall.

Another strength is that it has high practical application. It is used by police forces worldwide and has improved quality of eyewitness testimony, which can lead to more accurate convictions.

Limitation is that it is very time consuming and requires extensive training. Police officers may not consistently use all CI techniques correctly, reducing its effectiveness in real life investigations.