Module 2

Question 1

Why are eyewitness memory
errors so prevalent? What are
the common sources of errors?

Answer 1

Errors associated with
perception and attention, Misidentifications due to
familiarity, contamination due to
suggestion & repeated retelling

Question 2

In what ways has cognitive
Psychology contributed to
making eyewitness testimony
more effective?

Answer 2

Developing guidelines for preserving
eyewitness memory and the cognitive interview technique to effectively
elicit more information from eyewitnesses

Question 3

What are the key ingredients
for “implanting” false memories?

Answer 3

trust, real memory, indicate false memory, and add in detail, imagine what happened, social pressure, leading question, marinate over time

Question 4

The weapon focus effect

Answer 4

The tendency to focus on a weapon can result in a narrowing of attention, often due to strong emotional reactions

Question 5

source confusion

Answer 5

a vague sense of familiarity (without conscious recollection)
can lead to misidentification

Question 6

suggestion

Answer 6

can lead to elaborate false memories: The misinformation effect: information can contaminate
your memory of the original event

Question 7

The cognitive interview technique

Answer 7

effective in eliciting more information from eyewitnesses:
1. Mental (or physical) reinstatement of the crime environment
2. Encouraging the reporting of every detail (
3. Describing the incident in several different orders
4. Reporting the incident from different viewpoints

Question 8

Ross et al.’s (1994) study on the effect of familiarity on identification errors

Answer 8

male vs female teacher reading to students, female teacher gets robbed, identify the criminal

Question 9

Loftus’s “lost in the mall” study

Answer 9

Subjects were told in an interview
that when young, they were lost at a
mall, A week later, ~25% of college
students “recall” details of the event
that never took place

Question 10

Wade et al.’s (2002) “false photograph” study 2

Answer 10

Participants were exposed to “fake” photographs and asked about their “fake” childhood experience. Participants were interviewed three times about these events

Question 11

What are the commonly used
metaphors of memory? Why are
they problematic?

Answer 11

camera, video recorder - memory is reconstructive

Question 12

What does it mean for
memory to be “reconstructive”?

Answer 12

constantly operating, so it is easy to
implant false memories - changing based on external inputs

Question 13

What evidence supports the
assertion that memory is
reconstructive in nature?

Answer 13

Word recall demo, Sentence recall demo, Recall of visual scenes - we change memory over time based on events

Question 14

What are the major sources of
false memories?

Answer 14

Automatic activation of related concepts, Schemas & scripts, Confusion with similar events, Subsequent misleading events, and
information

Question 15

indexing/binding function of the hippocampus

Answer 15

relevant memory
representations for an
event (e.g., visual,
auditory, emotional
experiences)

Question 16

semantic priming

Answer 16

Related concepts are automatically activated and become temporarily more accessible

Question 17

schemas & scripts

Answer 17

Your knowledge of objects that are typically present, Your knowledge of the sequence of events that usually take place

Question 18

misinformation effect

Answer 18

Misleading postevent information
(MPI), including seemingly minor
wording changes, can affect later
recall

Question 19

Word and sentence recall demos

Answer 19

Lure” words (e.g., “sleep”) were strongly activated, Semantically similar concepts can also intrude into your memory

Question 20

The “picnic scene” memory demo

Answer 20

Describe the scene in detail after viewing it, which tests their ability to encode and retrieve visual and semantic information

Question 21

Reconstructive memory

Answer 21

Both our semantic knowledge and episodic memories can contribute to this process

Question 22

What are the major reasons for
forgetting in LTM?

Answer 22

Insufficient initial encoding, Memory decay, Interference, and the lack of effective retrieval cues

Question 23

What is memory consolidation?
What role does sleep play in
consolidation?

Answer 23

Slower forgetting when sleeping
occurs after learning, Longer and more severe sleep deprivation
leads to a higher incidence of
attentional lapses

Question 24

What are the differences between
anterograde and retrograde amnesia?

Answer 24

Retrograde amnesia: Often a temporary result of injury, Loss of episodic memory for previous events
Anterograde amnesia: Typically permanent, Consolidation of new
personally experienced memories

Question 25

What types of memories are spared vs. impaired in anterograde amnesia

Answer 25

Spared: Retrieval of previously stored episodic memories Impaired: Consolidation of new personally experienced memory

Question 26

H.M

Answer 26

The hippocampus and the surrounding areas removed - anterograde amnesia

Question 27

Clive Wearing

Answer 27

Suffered damage to hippocampus and other areas of the brain, both retrograde and anterograde amnesia

Question 28

memory (synaptic vs. systems) consolidation

Answer 28

Synaptic consolidation occurs quickly within and across neurons Systems consolidation can take days, weeks, or months to complete

Question 29

proactive vs. retroactive interference

Answer 29

proactive: learn 1, learn 2, take test on 2 - interference on 2 retroactive: learn 1, learn 2, take test on 1 - interference on 1

Question 30

retrieval cues

Answer 30

Retrieval cues serve as “hooks” to “capture” and “reel in” the info you’re looking for

Question 31

the top-of-the-tongue phenomenon

Answer 31

You know the answer, but still can’t retrieve it

Question 32

temporal gradient

Answer 32

Memories of more recent events are worse than distant memories

Question 33

What is implicit memory? How is it different from explicit memory?

Answer 33

LTM knowledge that can influence thought and behavior without conscious awareness vs LTM knowledge that can be retrieved and reflected on consciously

Question 34

What are the main experimental findings that demonstrate the potential every day influence on implicit memory on our thought and behaviors?

Answer 34

priming: Perceptual, Conceptual,

Question 35

How is implicit memory usually tested? How is it different from the ways in which explicit memory is tested?

Answer 35

Word Fragment Completion, Tachistoscopic identification vs Recall and recognition

Question 36

What evidence supports the separability of implicit and explicit memory?

Answer 36

impaired explicit memory and cannot consciously remember new facts or events, but can do procedural tasks

Question 37

priming

Answer 37

An initial presentation of a stimulus affects the person’s response to the same stimulus later

Question 38

perceptual vs. conceptual repetition priming

Answer 38

perceptual: Facilitation of later perceptual processing conceptual: Facilitation of later processing of stimulus meaning

Question 39

The false fame effect

Answer 39

After some delay, fame ratings are higher for previously presented names than for new names

Question 40

the illusory truth (illusion-of-truth) effect

Answer 40

People are more likely to rate as true those statements that they have already heard, regardless of their truthfulness, even when they have no recollections of their sources.

Question 41

direct vs. indirect testing of memory

Answer 41

Direct: Refer specifically to the 1st session & ask participants to demonstrate their memory of the words directly Indirect: Make no specific reference to the earlier session and avoid asking any direct memory questions

Question 42

word fragment completion

Answer 42

Completion rate is higher for words shown before than for new words, even when you do NOT consciously remember seeing those words recently

Question 43

tachistoscopic identification

Answer 43

Can you identify the word flashed very briefly on the screen?

Question 44

Jacoby’s (1983) classic study of implicit vs. explicit memory

Answer 44

Say target words aloud: Subjects did not know there would be later testing Direct and indirect testing

Question 45

What evidence suggests that STM/WM and LTM may be more tightly connected than has been proposed in the modal model?

Answer 45

LTM knowledge can supplement a limited STM/WM capacity, Powerful effects of “chunking” on STM recall

Question 46

How are STM & WM capacities typically measured?

Answer 46

Simple span tasks vs Complex span tasks requiring simultaneous processing and storage

Question 47

Is it possible to increase one’s STM/WM capacity via extensive practice & training? What existing evidence tells us?

Answer 47

No, you can improve performance, but can't improve that capacity - No compelling evidence for “far” transfer

Question 48

How do commonly used mnemonic techniques work? Why are they effective?

Answer 48

Memory strategies that facilitate retention and later retrieval of information, takes an extensive amount of practice, Intensive focus is needed during encoding

Question 49

chunks & chunking

Answer 49

A set of items that become associated and form a new unit in memory - Chunking allows you to overcome the STM capacity limitation

Question 50

retrieval structure

Answer 50

trees that connect digits together by using facts from LTM

Question 51

the episodic buffer

Answer 51

A subsystem for binding together different types of information and storing those bindings, visual and verbal, that help with chunking

Question 52

complex WM span tasks

Answer 52

do a better job of predicting complex cognition than do simple STM span tasks, including Reading comprehension, Mental arithmetic, Complex reasoning, and Academic achievements

Question 53

the method of loci

Answer 53

Good for sequential learning: Memorize a fixed sequence of familiar locations, Create a series of interactive images

Question 54

S.F.’s digit span training study

Answer 54

started with 7 numbers, went up 1 if rights, down if wrong - grouped numbers through running numbers

Question 55

Mnemonic technique demo

Answer 55

creating a memorable sentence, like "My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nachos"

Question 56

What are the three types of memories proposed in the classic modal model of memory? What are their respective characteristics (e.g., functions, capacity, and duration)?

Answer 56

sensory store(short <1 sec), short-term store(10-30 sec), long-term store(infinite)

Question 57

What evidence supports the separability of STM and LTM?

Answer 57

Neuropsychological evidence through studies, Experimental evidence: Serial position effect in free recall

Question 58

What are the different types of LTM? How can they be categorized?

Answer 58

declarative memory: episodic, semantic nondeclarative memory: classical conditioning, procedural memory

Question 59

How is the concept of working memory (WM) different from that of STM?

Answer 59

WM is an active system that supports Complex thinking vs STM is quick remembrance with little meaning

Question 60

What are the four major subsystems of Baddeley’s multicomponent model of WM?

Answer 60

Central Executive, Phonological loop, Visuospatial sketchpad, Episodic buffer

Question 61

sensory memory (iconic & echoic)

Answer 61

A temporary store that holds incoming sensory information for very brief periods of time

Question 62

serial position (primacy vs. recency) effect

Answer 62

If the primacy and recency effects reflect the contributions from separate stores, then it should be possible to eliminate one effect without affecting the other

Question 63

declarative vs. nondeclarative memory

Answer 63

conscious access; often can be verbally described vs no conscious access; cannotbe verbally described

Question 64

episodic, semantic, & procedural memory

Answer 64

episodic: Personally experienced events semantic: General knowledge procedural: Motor and cognitive skills & habits

Question 65

Serial position demos (ways to selectively reduce primacy vs. recency effects)