memory Flashcards

(76 cards)

1
Q

define memory

A

process by which we retain (store) and recall information about events that have happened in the past.

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2
Q

*

defien STM

A

memory for immediate events, which disappears if not rehearsed.

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3
Q

define ltm

A

memory for events that have happened in the past from anywhere between 2 minutes and 100 years ago. It is the permanent memory store.

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4
Q

what is the sensory register

A

stores a huge amount information from our senses for a very brief amount of time (about half a second).

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5
Q

3 features of memory and definition

A

capacity - amount of information that can be stored
duration - length of time information can be held in the memory store
coding - format in which information is stored in the memory stores. It’s the process of converting information from one format to another

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6
Q

capacity, duration and coding of stm

A

capacity - limited, 7+/-
duration - up to 30 seconds without rehersal
coding - acoustic - information stored in form of sounds

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7
Q

capacity, duration and coding of ltm

A

capacity - potentially unlimited, haven’t figured out how to measure so we are’t sure
duration - potentially up to a lifetime
coding - semantic - stored in the form of meaning of the experience

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8
Q

study for capacity of stm with evaluation

A

Jacobs (1887): rsearcher starts with giving eg 4 digts and paticipant recalls them in order, then tells them 5 digits so on…. mean span remembered for digits across participants was 9.3 items. For letters, the mean span was 7.3.
+ve: supporteed by other research so confirms validity as a measure of the capacity of STM
-ve: may have lacked control eg extr & con variables so not internally valid and may have understimated the capacityof STM
Miller (1956): people counted 7 flashign dts/words/digits, span (capacity) of STM is 7 +-2. People can recall words as well as letters by chunking.
+ve: cowan sugested capacity of stm is about 4 chunks which suggests millers lower end estimate of capacity of stm (5) may be more valid than 7 items

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9
Q

study for duration of stm with evaluation

A

Peterson and Peterson (1959): 24 students oo part i 8 tetss, given consonant triram to rmemebr and 3 digit number, student tha asked t count backwards from number in either 3s or 4s until told to stop, each time told to sto after different amoutn f time, then asked to repeat the trigram, the longer the interval delay the less trigrams recalled, abel to reclall 805 of trigrams after 3s delay, after 18s 10% recalled corerectly, found up to 30 seconds without rehearsal using consonant trigrams
-ve: artificial stimuli - not externally valid as we don’t typically try to memorise meaningless information and so this may mean they have underestimated the duration of STM for meaningful information.
+ve: controlled - same length and difficulty for participants so greater internal validity to see duration of STM without rehearsal (cause = retention interval, effect = memory).

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10
Q

study for duration of ltm with evaluation

A

Bahrick et al. (1975) - got ex-highscool students to recall classmates, within 15 years of graduation, recognise 90% and recognise 70% after 48 years. Free recall within 15 years of graduation 60%, and 30% after 48 years.

+ve: higher external validity due to the use of real-life memories and so may tell us more about the duration of LTM than more artificial studies.

-ve: confounding variables of whether they’d looked at their yearbooks over the years which weren’t controlled. Therefore it may not be measuring the duration of LTM without rehearsal (possible overestimation of duration of LTM).

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11
Q

study for coding of stm with evaluation

A

Baddeley (1966) - 4 conditions 1acoustically smiliar 2acosutically dissimilair 3emnaicaly similaor 4semantically dissimilar, particiapnts shown word list and aked to recall, in group 1 when told the list and asked to recall immediately after did worse
-ve: words have no real meaning for participants in their lives and so may be that when given more meaningful information to recall the coding of STM and LTM may be different.

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12
Q

study for coding of ltm with evaluation

A

Baddeley (1966) - in recall task after 20 minutes, worse recall of semantically similar words

-ve: words have no real meaning for participants in their lives and so may be that when given more meaningful information to recall the coding of STM and LTM may be different.

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13
Q

hwo to explain wh stm is acosutic and why ltm is semantic

A

The words from List A are acoustically similar. Therefore when participants find it difficult to recall the words from list A in the correct order when tested immediately, this suggests that STM is coded acoustically. List B contains words that are semantically similar. Therefore when participants find it difficult to recall the words after 30 minutes in the correct order, this is because LTM is coded semantically.

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14
Q

what is the msm

A
  • Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) suggested that memory is made up of three unitary stores:
  • The sensory register
  • Short-term memory
  • Long-term memory
  • This is a structural model (representation) of memory, was the first complex model of human memory.
  • They suggest that each store is different/separate (unitary) and information is transferred from one store to another in a fixed, linear sequence.
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15
Q

descrieb the msm

A

stimulus -> sensory regsiter -(attetnion)>stm -(prolonged rehersal)> LTM
ltm-(retrieval)>stm
prolonger rehersal back to stm is maintenace
arrow out of stm is response

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16
Q

supporting research for msm

A
  • use any study on coding/duration/cpacity of ltm and stm, shows they are 2 unitary and qualitivaly different stores so supports msm since it shows this as well
  • case of HM - surgery which removed part of hippocampus, ltm damaged, STM was in tact as able to recall a number given to him immediately and was able to do maintenance rehersal as he could repeat the number to himself in his head to keep it in his STM for 15 minutes, but his LTM was damaged as after he stopped repeating the number, he forgot about it (within 5 minutes). He couldn’t form any new LTMs either. This supports that STM and LTM are unitary stores as on can be danged whislt the other remains intact, which supports the MSM’s proposal
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17
Q

underminign research for msm

A
  • case of KF - his STM for digits was very poor when they were read out loud to him, but his recall was much better when he was able to read them to himself - Contradicts the MSM - it suggests that there is more than one type of STM, one for acoustic information (which in his case is damaged which is why is recall is poor when words are read out loud to him) and one for visual information (which in his case is intact which is why his recall is better when he can read information to himself). This goes against the MSM’s proposal that there is one unitary store of STM instead supports WMM
  • According to the MSM, it’s the amount of rehearsal that matters. Craik and Watkins (1973) found that there are actually different types of rehearsal. There are two main types: maintenance rehearsal (as described in the MSM) and elaborative rehearsal which is needed to transfer information from STM to LTM. Elaborative rehearsal is when you link the information into your existing knowledge, or you think about what it means, it contradicts the idea that prolonged rehearsal is the mechanisms for transferring information from STM to LTM as it proposes that it is elaborative rehearsal instead.

lots of evidence that there is more than one type of LTM. HM’s case supports that we have more than one type of LTM. When drawing a star between two concentric ones whilst looking through a mirror, HM improved over time. However, he couldn’t remember that he had done the task before - Contradicts the MSM - it suggests that there is more than one type of LTM which goes against the MSM’s proposal that there is one unitary store of LTM.

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18
Q

hwo to answer descrieb and evaluate

A

describe - 6 marks
evaluate - strengths and weaknesses 10 marks 4 peel paragraphs

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19
Q

describe and evaluate the multi store model of memory

A

Describe the MSM (6 marks):
The multi-store model of memory developed by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968), explains how information flows from one storage system into another is transferred between different unitary memory stores. The model is made up of three permanent structures unitary memory stores in memory which are: sensory memory register, short term memory and long-term memory. Each unitary memory structure store differs is qualitatively different meaning they differ in terms of capacity, duration and coding. Information passes is transfered between through the memory stores in a fixed linear sequence. A stimulus fromt he environment Information through the senses enters the sensory memory register. Information paid attention to passes to the STM. The STM is limited in duration usually 18 seconds up to 30 seconds without rehersal, has a capacity of seven plus or minus two items, and codes is coded acoustically. Information may then be transferred to the LTM for permanent storage.
Evaluate (strengths/weaknesses) the MSM (10 marks) - 4 PEEL paragraphs
1. Supporting evidence from Baddeley’s study of coding - see L2b
2. A weakness of Baddeley’s study is that it used artificial stimuli so it’s not strong support for the MSM - see L2b - replace
3. Supporting evidence from Peterson and Peterson and Bahrick et al.’s studies of duration - see L2b
4. Options: supporting evidence from HM, undermining from HM, undermining from KF, supporting/undermining evidence from Craik and Watkins abotu the types of rehersal

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20
Q

more detail about sensry regster

A

sensory register:
- haptic, echoic, iconic
- capcity is high
- duration is less than galf a second
- each store coded differentley
- 95-99% lot as dot pay attention to it

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21
Q

more detail about stm

A
  • duration: around 30 s without rehersal
  • acoustic coding
  • capacity 7+/-2 items
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22
Q

more detail about ltm

A
  • capacity- potentially unlimited
  • duraryion - potentialy infinite
  • semantic coding
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23
Q

types of ltm

A
  • episodic - refers to our ability to recall personal life events (episodes). It includes memories of when the events occurred, and of the people, objects, places and behaviours involved, time stamoed, have to make a cocnoi effort to recall these
  • sematnic - contains our knowledge of the world. This includes facts and our knowledge of what words and concepts mean, have t make a concous effort to recall
  • procedural - our knowledge of how to do things. It is our memory for learned actions or motor skills. without concious awarness, fidn it hard to explain t someone else
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24
Q

main differences between types of ltm

A
  • episodic and semantic can be expressed varbeally, concious effort availabel for inspection/explicit, procedural its diffculy to explain since not recalled conciously
  • eprisodic is time stamped, otehr 2 not
  • epsiodic and semantic less resistant to amnesia/forgetting so more likekly to roget whereas procedural is more reistant so less liekly to forget
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25
case of clive wearing
- hipocampus affected due to viral infection - Episodic - damaged, can't remember his education, - Semantic - partially intact with some damage - Procedural - intact, he can still play the piano - plays piano on repeat because he still has procedural memory so knows hwo to play it but because his episodic memory is damaged, he'll forget that he just played it and so will play it again
26
supporting evidence for diffeent ltms
- case of clive wearing - supports Tulving’s view that there are different memory stores in LTM. One store can be damaged but other stores are unaffected. This is clear evidence that not only are there different types of LTM, but that they are stored in different parts of the brain - hm star task - was able to imrpove on his drawing of a star but couldnt remember doing it so his procedurl intact but episodic damaged - supports Tulving’s view that there are different memory stores in LTM. One store can be damaged but other stores are unaffected. This is clear evidence that not only are there different types of LTM, but that they are stored in different parts of the brain - Tulving et al. (1994) got their participants to perform various memory tasks while their brains were scanned using a PET scanner, found that episodic and semantic memories were both recalled from the prefrontal cortex, left for semantic memories and right for episodic memories. - supports since physical evidence, and confiremd in later studies
27
underminign evidence for different ltms
Others have disagreed with the division of three LTM stores. They accept that procedural memories represent one type of LTM. But they argue that episodic and semantic memories are stored together in one LTM store that they call declarative memory (i.e. memories that can be consciously recalled). Procedural memories are non-declarative. important to get these distinctions right so that any treatments that are developed are effective and so that the theory is valid i.e. it accurately explains the differences between types of LTM. As such, we cannot be confident about the validity of the division of LTM into three stores.
28
1 Discuss different types of long-term memory (16 marks)
Discuss - describe and evaluate Describe types of LTM(6 marks): * Tulving proposed that there are three types of LTM * Episodic memory - definition, example, time-stamped, requires conscious effort to recall, less resistant to forgetting/amnesia * Semantic memory - definition, example, not time-stamped, requires conscious effort to recall, less resistant to forgetting/amnesia * Procedural memory - definition, example, not time-stamped, recall without conscious awareness, more resistant to forgetting/amnesia Evaluate (strengths/weaknesses) the types of LTM (10 marks) 4 x PEELs: 1. Clive wearing 2. HM 3. Case studies are bad 4. Tulving et al - pet scans
29
what is the wmm
a representation of how short-term memory is organised and how it functions. It was proposed by Baddeley and Hitch in 1974 as an updated version of STM. It suggests that STM is an active processor of different types of information using sub-units that are coordinated by a central decision-making system.
30
what are the 4 unitary cmponents of the wmm
- central executive - episodic buffer - visuospatial sketchpad - phonolgical loop
31
info abot te central executive
component of the WMM that coordinates the activities of the three sub-systems in memory (it has a supervisory function). It monitors incoming data from the senses and LTM, makes decisions and allocates the slave systems (the other components) to tasks. It also allocates processing resources to those tasks. The central executive has a very limited processing capacity i.e. it can’t attend to too many things at once and has no capacity for storing data. It can process information from any sensory modality.
32
info about the phonolgcal loop
This is the component (slave system) of the WMM that processes and temporarily stores information in terms of sound (i.e. coding is acoustic) and preserves the order in which the information arrives. This includes both written and spoken material. The phonological loop is subdivided into: · The phonological store – which stores the words you hear, like an ‘inner ear’ · The articulatory process – which is used for words that are heard or seen. It allows maintenance rehearsal (repeating sounds or words in a ‘loop’ in your head to keep them in working memory while they are needed, like an ‘inner voice’). The capacity of this loop is believed to be 2 seconds’ worth of what you can say (i.e. it has a limited capacity). Extra information: The phonological loop contributes to our learning of language (phonology). It accesses long-term memory to store and retrieve information about language sounds. This allows us to develop our vocabulary as children, and in foreign languages.
33
info about the visuo-spatial sketchapd
component (slave system) of the WMM that processes and temporarily stores visual and spatial information in a mental space often called our ‘inner eye.’ Visual information is what things look like. Spatial information is the physical relationship between things. For example, if you are asked to work out how many windows there are on your house, you visualise it. It also has a limited capacity, which is about three or four objects and its coding is visual. Logie (1995) subdivided the VSS into: · The visual cache – which stores visual data · The inner scribe – which records the arrangement of objects in the visual field (spatial relations).
34
info abt episodic buffer
added by Baddeley in 2000. The component (slave system) of the WMM that brings together material from the other slave systems into a single memory rather than separate strands i.e. it is a temporary store of information, integrating the visual, spatial and acoustic information processed by other stores as well as the central executive, and maintaining a sense of time sequencing. It basically records events (episodes) that are happening. It can be seen as the storage component of the central executive and has a limited capacity of about four chunks. It also provides a bridge between working memory and long-term memory, sending the information to long-term memory.
35
support for wmm
- case of kf - . After this damage, KF had poor STM ability for verbal information, but could be process visual information i.e. he had difficulty with sounds but recall letters and digits shown to him, suggests that just his phonological loop had been damaged as he couldn't process verbal information leaving other areas of memory intact e.g. The visuo-spatial sketchpad as he could still process visual information. This supports the existence of a separate visual and acoustic store and therefore that there are multiple components of STM that are qualitatively different as proposed by the WMM. - Studies of dual-task performance support the existence of the visuo-spatial sketchpad. Baddeley et al. (1975) found that participants had more difficulty doing two visual tasks (tracking a light and describing the letter F) than doing a visual and verbal task at the same time. This increased difficulty is because both visual tasks compete for the same slave system, whereas when doing a verbal and visual task simultaneously, there is no competition - It supports that the slave systems have a limited capacity and so when multiple tasks require the same slave system (e.g. Two visual tasks), they compete for access to these limited resources (capacity) which then exceeds the capacity of the slave system making the tasks harder. Whereas, when doing tasks that require two different slave systems, the tasks are easier as they don't exceed the capacities of either system (they don't compete for access to the same limited resources of one component). As such, this supports that there must be one slave system for processing visual input (visuo-spatial sketchpad) and one for processing sound input (phonological loop) which both have limited capacities as proposed by the WMM. - Braver et al. (1997) gave their participants a task that involved the central executive while they were having a brain scan. They found greater activity in the prefrontal cortex and that this activity increased as the task got harde - makes a lot of sense in terms of the WMM – as the demands on the central executive increase, it has to work harder to fulfil its function. This supports the existence of the central executive as a supervisory component as proposed by the WMM.
36
weakness of wmm
Cognitive psychologists suggest that the central executive is unsatisfactory and doesn’t really explain anything. Baddeley himself recognised that the central executive is the most important but least understood component of the WMM. It needs to be more clearly specified than just being simply ‘attention.’ For example, some psychologists believe it may consist of separate components - means that the WMM hasn’t been fully explained.
37
Discuss what psychological research has shown about working memory. In your answer, refer to theory and/or evidence. (16 marks)
Discuss = describe and evaluate Research = theories and/or studies ie. anything you know about a topic Shown = findings ie. somewhere in your answer you need to include the findings of a study If they only wanted studies would say 'research studies' or 'research evidence' Reworded question: Describe and evaluate anything you know about the working memory model. In your answer somewhere include the findings of a study. Describe the working model of memory (6 marks): - Quick intro as to what the working model of memory is: representation of STM by Baddeley and Hitch in 1974, proposes that workign memory is an active processor of information, argues there are 4 components that are qualitatively different in terms of capacity and coding - Central executive - function, capacity, coding - Episodic buffer - function, capacity - Phonological loop - function, capacity, coding, subcomponents and their functions - Visuo-spatial sketchpad - function, capacity, coding, subcomponents and their functions Evaluate the working model memory of model (10 marks): 4x PEEL paragraphs - KF case study - supports - Dual-task studies - supports - Braver et al studies - supports - Cognitive psychologists don't believe it really explains anything - undermines
38
what is interferece theory
One memory disrupts/affects another, causing one or both of the memories to be forgotten or distorted. It is mainly an explanation of forgetting in LTM Forgetting is likely because we can’t access the memories even though they are available (as they are more or less permanent). Interference between memories makes it harder for us to locate them, and we experience this as forgetting. more likely if the competing information is similar.
39
what is differenc ebetwen availabel and accessible
Available -it's in your LTM Accesible - you can locate the memory and recall it
40
what is proactive inteference
where old learning/memories affect/disrupt the recall of new information so that the new information (memory) is forgotten.
41
what is retroactive inteference
where new learning/memories affect/disrupt the recall of old information so that the old information (memory) is forgotten.
42
describe McGeoch and McDonald's study on inteference theory + evaulate | basically para for essay
had 6 independent groups who were given the same list of 10 words to memorise and then each group recieved different types of lists to memorise. When the participants then recalled the original list of words, their performance depended on the nature of the second list. The most similar material (synonyms) produced the worst recall. This suggests that interference is strongest when the memories are similar. This supports that new information affects/disrupts ability to recall old information as predicted by retroactive interference. It also supports that the more similar the memories, the more likely interference is, and the greater the forgetting. Therefore, this supports the validity of interference theory as an explanation of forgetting.
43
strengths and weakness of McGeoch and McDonald
Strength of the study - control over extraneous variables e.g. Difficulty of words so we can be more confident that it is interference that causes the forgetting so it's strong support for interference theory. Weakness of the study - it involves artificial materials (memorising random words) and so may not be externally valid to when we recall real memories. Therefore it may have overestimated the impact of interference and so isn't such strong support for the theory.
44
strength of inteference theory
- McGeoh and McDonald - supports the idea of forgetting due to retroactive interference as proposed by the theory and that interference is strongest when the memories are similar. - Baddeley and Hitch (1977) asked rugby players to try to remember the names of the teams they had played so far in that season, week by week. Because most of the players had missed games, for some the ‘last team’ they played might have been two weeks ago or three weeks ago or more. They found that accurate recall did not depend on how long ago the matches took place. Much more important was the number of games they had played in the meantime. So a player’s recall of a team three weeks ago was better if they had played no matches since then - supports that interference explanations can apply to forgetting in at least some everyday situations. Particularly, it supports retroactive interference as it suggests that the new memories (more recently played teams) disrupted the old memories (teams played less recently), leading to forgetting of the old memories. - have been thousands of lab experiments carried out on this explanation for forgetting e.g. McGeoch and McDonald’s study. Most of these studies support that both types of interference are very likely to be common ways that we forget information from LTM. Lab experiments offer control over potential extraneous variables [you'd need to include an example here] - gives us confidence that interference is a valid explanation for at least some forgetting - Tulving and Psotka (1971) gave participants lists of words organised into categories, one list at a time (participants were not told what the categories were). Recall averaged about 70% for the first list but became progressively worse for each list as they learned each additional one (proactive interference) - suggests that forgetting can occur because of proactive interference as the information on the first list (old memory) disrupted the ability to recall the information on the later lists (new memory), supporting the validity of interference theory as an explanation of forgetting
45
weakness of inteference theory
- much greater chance that interference will be demonstrated in the lab than in real-life situations. The stimulus materials used in most studies are lists of words. The task facing participants is to learn these lists. This is more realistic than consonant syllables, but this it’s still some distance from the things we learn and try to remember in everyday life – people’s faces, their birthdays, the ingredients of our favourite food etc - limitation because the use of artificial tasks makes interference much more likely than in the lab. Therefore, interference may not be as likely an explanation for forgetting in everyday life as it is in the lab, so the studies can’t provide strong support for the explanations - loss of the information may only be temporary. Interference theory suggests that the information is still available, it is just inaccessible. This lack of accessibility may be temporary. For example, Tulving and Psotka (1971) also found that when they gave participants a cued recall test (telling the names of the categories to act as a trigger to access the memories), recall rose to about 70% - suggests that interference only causes a temporary loss of accessibility to the material that is still available in LTM, which suggests that interference is not a true explanation of forgetting.
46
Describe and evaluate interference as an explanation for forgetting. (16 marks)
Describe interference theory (6 marks) - Definition of interference theory - Proactive interference - Retroactive interference - Worse when memories are similar - Memories are available but not accessible - Example Evaluate (strengths and weakness of) interfeerence theory (10 marks) - 4x PEELs - McGeoch and McDonald - Baddeley and Hitch - Tulving and Psotka - lab experiemnt slac mundane realism so more likely for inteferene to be demnstarted
47
what is retrieval failure
argues that forgetting occurs in the absence of appropriate cues to trigger recall memory is inaccessible due to the lack of cues to trigger recall, but the memories are available.
48
what encoding specificity prnicple
argues that for a cue to be helpful in recall, it has to be present at encoding and retrieval. If the cues at encoding and retrieval are different, or the cues are completely absent at retrieval, there will be some forgetting.
49
what are the 2 types of retreval failure
1. Context-dependent forgetting - being in a different place at recall may inhibit memory. The external cues available at learning (encoding) are different from those at recall which leads to retrieval failure. E.g. classroom vs exam hall. 2. State-dependent forgetting - being in a different mood/state of arousal at recall may inhibit memory. The internal cues at learning (encoding) are different from those at recall, which leads to retrieval failure. E.g. drunk vs sober.
50
describe godden and baddeley + evaulate | basically para for essay
independent groups of deep-sea divers where they learned the same list of words either on land or underwater, and then were asked to recall the words either on land or underwater. Godden and Baddeley found that participants in the conditions including a different place for memorisation and recall recalled 40% fewer words than those in conditions where they memorised and recalled in the same place. This is due to context dependent forgetting as the cue is the place where the material was learned (either on land or underwater) and so conditions where memorisation and recall where different, the cues at encoding (where they learned the words) and retrieval (where they tried to retrieve the words) don't match. This means that the particiapnts experience retrieval failure due to the lack of cues to trigger recall, and so forget
51
describe carter and cassaday
- 1998 - independent groups of particiapnts where they learned the same list of words either on anti-hestimane drugs or not, and then were asked to recall the words either on anti-hestimane drugs or not - participants where they learner on drugs and not recalled fewer words than the otehr codnition. this is due to state dependent forgetting as the cue is the state of arousal that they were in either on the antihistamine drugs or no and so conditions 2 and 3, the cues at encoding (what state of arousal they were when they learned the words) and retrieval (what the state of arousal they where when they tried to retrieve the words) don't match. This means that the participants experience retrieval failure due to the lack of cues to trigger recall, and so forget.
52
strengths of retrieval failure
- goddena nd Baddeley - Carter and cassedy - useul in eye witness testimon
53
weakness of retrieval failure
- badelay and gooden - the two codntions very different, lacks mundane realsim therefore validity
54
8 Discuss two explanations for forgetting. Refer to Martin’s experiences in your answer. (16 marks)
Describe two explanations of forgetting (6 marks): Interfeerence theory - definition of interference, definitions of proactive interference and retroactive interference, interference is more likely when the memories are similar, memories are available but inaccessible Retrieval failure - definition of retrieval failure, definition of encoding specificity principle (focus on forgetting), definitions of context-dependent fogetting and state- dependent forgetting, memories are available by at inaccessible Use both explanations to explain why Martin forgets (4 marks): Evaluate (strength/weaknesses) of both explanations of forgetting (6 marks) - 2xPEELs in total - one for each theory
55
eyewitness def
someone who has seen or witnessed a crime, usually present at the time of the incident. They use their memory of the crime to give their testimony or a ‘reconstruction’ of what happened
56
EWT def
the ability of the person who saw the crime to remember the detail of the events they have observed. They provide this evidence in court, with a view to identifying the perpetrator. Their accuracy can be affected by factors such as misleading information and anxiety.
57
misleadign info def
ncorrect information given to an eyewitness after the event which affects the accuracy of their testimony. It can take many forms e.g. leading questions and post-event discussion between co-witnesses or other people.
58
leadign questions def
a question which because of its phrasing suggests a certain answer. This can then affect the accuracy of the EWT.
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post event discussion def
when there is more than one witness to the event, they may discuss (talk about) what they have seen with each other or other people. This may influence the accuracy of their recall of the event. This is because the witness combines (mis)information from other witnesses with their own memories.
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descrieb loftus and plamer
Loftus and Palmer carried out an experiment where they showed the same car crash video to 5 different groups. Each group had the question 'How fast were the cars going when they eachother' where the blank gap was replaced by different words these being, 'contacted', 'hit', 'smashed', 'collided' and 'bumped' The participants answered with the speed they thought the cars were going at. With the results Loftus and Palmer calculated the mean speed participants suggested for each word. the mean estimated speed was calculated for each group. The mean estimated speed for contacted was 31.8mph and for smashed was 40.5mph. The leading question biased the eyewitnesses’ recall of the event.
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what are the 2 explenations for loftus and plamer
- response bias explanation - the wording has not changed their memory; it just influences how they choose to answer. E.g. smashed makes them think faster, so they estimate higher. - substitution eplanation - the wording actually changes the participant’s memory of the film clip. This is supported by the finding that those who heard 'smashed' were far more likely to report seeing broken glass (when there wasn’t any) than those who heard hit.
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gabbert et al describe
y studied participants in pairs. Each participant watched a video of the same crime, but the crime was filmed from different points of view. This meant that each participant could see elements of the event that the other could not. For example, only one of the participants could see the title of a book being carried by a young woman. Both participants then discussed what they had seen before individually completing a test of recall. The researchers found that 71% of the participants mistakenly recalled aspects of the event that they did not see in the video but had picked up in the discussion. The corresponding figure in the control group, where there was no discussion, was 0%. Gabbert et al. concluded that witnesses often go along with each other, either to win social approval or because they believe the other witnesses are right and they are wrong. This is called memory conformity.
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strentgh of how misleding info affects ewt
- loftus and palmer -suggesrs misleadign info changes accuracy of EWT - gabbert et al- suggesrs misleadign info changes accuracy of EWT - great strength of all of the research into misleading information is that it has hugely important practical uses in the real world where the consequences of inaccurate EWT can be very serious indeed. This therefore supports the external validity of the research on misleading information affecting EWT.
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weakness of how misleding info affects ewt
- Loftus and Palmer’s study involved watching film clips of accidents. This is a very different experience from witnessing a real accident, mainly because such clips lack the stress of a real accident. There is some evidence that emotions can influence on memory - suggests that studies that use such artificial tasks may tell us very little about how leading questions/post-event discussion affect EWT in cases of real accidents or crimes - results of the lab experiments on EWT may be the result of demand characteristics. Participants usually don’t want to let the researcher down and want to appear helpful and attentive. So, when asked a question where they don’t the answer may be more inclined to guess than they would in a real-life situation - lack internal validity - much greater consequences of being an eyewitness in real life than in a lab - suggests that studies that use artificial tasks may tell us very little about how leading questions/post-event discussion affect EWT in cases of real accidents or crimes
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Outline and evaluate research (theories and/or studies) into the effects of misleading information on eyewitness testimony (16 marks).
Research = theories and or studies ie anything you know about the topic Theories = definitions (misleading information, leading questions, post event discussion), reasons why they affect accuracy o EWT (response-bias explanation, substitution explanation, memory conformity) Studies = Loftus and Palmer and Gabbert et al Outline (6 marks) - Definition of EWT - Then define misleading information, leading questions, post event discussion - Explain why these affect the EWT - Brief description of the Loftus and Palmer study - Then define response-bias explanation, substitution explanation, memory conformity - Explain how effects the EWT - Brief description of Gabbert et al study Evaluate (10 marks) 4 x peel paragraphs - Strength - Gabbert study can control extraneous/confounding variables because in lab environment - Weakness - Loftus and Palmer study, lacks mundane realism not in the same environment - stress - Weakness - demand characteristics - Weakness - greater consequences in real life
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Outline and evaluate one or more research studies which have investigated the accuracy of eyewitness testimony (16 marks)
Research studies = evidence only not theory i.e. Procedure, results, conclusion of the studies Outline research studies into the accuracy of EWT (6 marks) * Describe Loftus and Palmer's study, making it clear how it shows that leading questions affect the accuracy of EWT i.e. the conclusions of their study (response-bias explanation and substitution explanation) * Describe Gabbert et al.'s study, making it clear how it shows that post-event discussion affects the accuracy of EWT i.e. The conclusions of their study (memory conformity) Evaluate research studies into the accuracy of EWT (10 marks) Need 4 x PEEL paragraphs: 1. Lack of anxiety compared to real-life crimes 2. Lack of consequences compared to real-life crimes 3. Control over extraneous variables 4. Demand characteristics You can choose others if you prefer them. Key note: make sure to cover both Loftus and Palmer (leading questions) and Gabbert et al. (post-event discussion) in the evaluation e.g. L&P in paragraph 1 and G et al. in paragraph 2
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hwo can anxiety have a posiitve effect on ewt
the physiological arousal from anxiety triggers the fight or flight response which increases our alertness and improves our memory for the event because we become more aware of cues in the situation.
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hwo can anxiety have a negative effect on ewt
it creates physiological arousal in the body which prevents us paying attention to important cues, so recall is worse.
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wht si tunnel theory
* Tunnel theory argues that a witness’ attention narrows to focus on a weapon because it is the source of the anxiety. This leads to the weapon-focus effect where this tunnel focus then negatively affects the recall of the overall event.
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describe an devaluate JOhnson and Scott study
- pariticpants in a waiting area outside a laboratory whilst waiting for the “real” study to start. While they were waiting one of two situations occurred. In the first situation (low anxiety), they overheard a discussion in the laboratory about equipment failure, followed by a man leaving the laboratory holding a pen and with grease on his hands. In the second situation (high anxiety), participants overheard a heated discussion in the laboratory with the sound of breaking glass and crashing chairs, followed by a man leaving the laboratory carrying a paper knife covered in blood. The participants were later asked to identify the man from a set of 50 photographs with the result that 49% correctly identified the man holding the pen, but only 33% could identify the man with the bloodstained knife. +ve: shows anxiety oes affect ewt -ve: argue tht its studyign shock more than anxiety so diff explanation for tunnel theory - unusealness ratehr than threat
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Discuss research into two or more factors that affect the reliability of eyewitness testimony. Refer to the information above in your answer. (16 marks)
Discuss = describe and evaluate Research = theories and/or studies Describe two or more factors that affect reliability of EWT (6 marks) Options: anxiety, leading questions (misleading information), post-event discussion (misleading information) 1. Leading questions - definition, brief description of Loftus and Palmer's study, why leading questions make someone an unreliable EW i.e. Response-bias explanation, substitution explanation. 2. Anxiety - definition, explain how it can have a positive effect and how it can have a negative effect on recall (physiological arousal, cues, fight or flight, tunnel theory, weapon-focus effect) --> can make more or less reliable (Yerkes-Dodson law) Explain why the woman may be a reliable/unreliable EW using both factors (4 marks) 1. Leading questions - the woman was asked a leading question 'did you see the knife the attacker was holding?' phrasing suggests that there definitely was a knife which may influence the reliability of her EWT. This could be due to the response-bias explanation where the phrasing of the question (suggesting there's a knife) makes the woman choose to answer the question differently, by saying there is a knife even though she wasn't sure there was. Or, it could be due to the substitution explanation where the phrasing of the question changes her memory and makes her think there definitely was a knife, when there may not have been one. Either way, this makes her a less reliable EW. 2. Anxiety - she was so scared that it's hard to remember (high anxiety) - could make her more reliable (accurate) as the physiological arousal from seeing the heated argument could trigger fight or flight and so make her pay more attention to the cues as she's more alert or less as the physiological arousal could prevent her from paying attention to important cues. If there was a knife, this could have led to tunnel theory where she focused on one thing and led to the weapon focus effect where she focused on the knife meaning she didn't pay attention to other cues (less reliable) Evaluate (strengths/weaknesses) of both factors (6 marks) 1. Leading questions - studies of leading questions often take place in laboratories (e.g. Loftus and Palmer) and so the research often lacks external validity. For instance, they lack the stress (anxiety) of real crimes and the consequences of being an EW (where person could go to prison). Therefore, we can't be confident from the research that the theory of leading questions affecting reliability of EWT is valid. 2. Anxiety - supporting evidence from Johnson and Scott suggesting that anxiety has a negative effect on recall and so the theory is valid.
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what is the cgnitive interview
method of interviewing eyewitnesses to help them retrieve more accurate memories using four techniques that are based on psychological insights.
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diffeent stages of cognitve interview
- repsort everything - witness is encouraged to include every single detail of the event, even if they seem irrelevant or trivial, some details may act as cues and trigger imporant memories - reinstate the contetx - return ot criem scene in mind, context0depeend forgtetting nd state-depednant - resverse the order - answred in different chroolgocal order, preent people form lying or expecttions om how it happened - chage the perspective - recall from differtne pov, disrupts a schema u may ahve for particularr setting
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1 Outline techniques of the cognitive interview. Discuss what these techniques tell us about the effectiveness of the cognitive interview (16 marks)
1. Outline techniques of the cognitive interview (i.e. What they ask participants to do with example questions) - 6 mark outline. 2. Outline how they are thought to be effective (i.e. Why they work) - part of the 10 mark discussion. 3. Evaluate whether the techniques are effective or not - part of the 10 mark discussion. Because of the green part, you only need 3 PEELs rather than 4.
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strength for CI
- Milne and Bull (2002) found that using a combination of report everything and reinstate the context produced better recall than any of the other conditions. This confirmed police officers’ suspicions that some aspects of the CI are more useful than others - supports that at least these two elements should be used to improve police interviewing of eyewitnesses even if the full CI isn’t used, increases credibility - Kohnken et al. combined data from 55 studies in a meta-analysis comparing the CI (and enhanced CI) to the standard police interview. The enhanced CI consistently provided more correct information than the standard interview used by police (81% increase in correct information). Kohnken et al. also found a 61% increase in the amount of incorrect information when the enhanced CI was used (more than the CI) compared to the standard interview. The CI gave an average 41% increase in accurate information compared to the standard interview - strength because such studies indicate that there are real practical benefits to the police using the enhanced version of the CI. This research suggests that it gives the police a greater chance of catching and charging criminal, which is beneficial to society as a whole
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weakness of CI
- taes more time - means that it is unlikely that the ‘proper’ version of the CI is actually used, which may explain why more police have not been that impressed by it. Therefore, the CI may be effective when used correctly, but it is often not. - Studies of the effectiveness of the CI use slightly different variations of the CI and some use the enhanced CI. The same is true in real life – the police evolve their own methods - means that it is difficult to truly evaluate the effectiveness of the CI because a true comparison cannot be made. Therefore from the research, we can't strongly support the use of the CI by the police