Memory

Capacity

How many items can be held in a particular memory store.

Sensory Registor: unlimited

STM: 7+-2

LTM: unlimited

Duration

The length of time the memory store holds information.

Sensory Register: 0.5 seconds

STM: 18-30 seconds

LTM: potentially forever

Coding (visual)

The format in which information is stored. In the sensory store it can be stored visually as an image.

Coding (acoustic)

Based on Baddeley’s experiment (1966), STM is coded acoustically. How the information sounds is stored.

Coding (semantic)

LTM is coded semantically. The meaning of information is encoded into our memory store.

Coding (other)

1. Visual

2. Acoustic

3. Tactile

4. Gustatory (taste)

5. Olfactory (smell)

6. Semantic

Storage

A permanent record of information. The maintaining of information in either the STM or LTM.

Retrieval

The ability to access information from the different memory stores.

Chunking

A process by which large information is broken down into smaller more meaningful chunks.

Long-term Memory

Memory that involves the storage and recall of information over a long period of time.

Short-term Memory

Memory that involves the storage of limited amounts of information for a limited time.

Sensory Register (Memory)

1. Iconic

2. Echoic

3. Haptic

Store of information being processed by the sense organs, mainly subconsciously.

1. Iconic - visual info

2. Echoic - auditory info

3. Haptic - tactile info

Rehearsal

1. Maintenance

2. Prolonged

3. Elaborative

1. Maintenance - repeating info over and over again to keep it in the STM

2. Prolonged - rehearsal of information to move it into LTM

3. Elaborative - semantically process info into LTM

Phonological Loop

1. Phonological Store

2. Articulatory Store

Parts of the Working Memory that deal with auditory info:

1. Phonological Store - holds words we hear

2. Articulatory Store - allows us to repeat words in a loop.

Multi-Store Model

Atkinson and Shiffin (1968)

Memory is stored in three different stores, sensory, short-term, and long-term.

Episodic Memory

Declarative LTM. Time-stamped memory which hold meaning to the individual.

Semantic Memory

Declarative LTM. Concepts and facts.

Procedural Memory

Non-declarative LTM. How to do something. The process is done unconsciously.

Declarative Memory

Conscious recollection of LTM.

Non-declarative Memory

Unconscious recollection of LTM.

Working Memory Model

1. Slave Systems

Baddeley and Hitch describe the STM as a system with multiple components.

1. Slave systems are where resources and information is allocated to.

Central Executive

Responsible for controlled processing in WMM. It determines how resources are allocated and is responsible for reasoning and decision-making.

Visuo-spatial Sketchpad

1. Visual Cache

2. Inner Scribe

Processes visual information and spatial information.

1. Visual Cache - store

2. Inner Scribe - Spatial Information

Episodic Buffer

Responsible for integrating information from several sources to create an unified memory.

Dual-task performance

Two tasks performed at the same time. If the tasks require the same store then performance is poorer than when completed separately. If the tasks require two separate stores performance is unaffected.

Interference

One memory disturbs the ability to recall another. Resulting in altercations to the memories or forgetting the memories.

Proactive Interference

Past information interfering with new memories that are trying to be stored.

Retroactive Interference

New information interfering with the recall of old stored information.

Recognition

A form of remembering characterised by a feeling of familiarity.

Cued Recall

The retrieval of memory with the help of cues.

Free (straight) recall

A memory task where a list of words have to be recalled with only memory. Retrieval without any help of cues.

Retrieval Failure

An explanation for forgetting due to an absence of correct retrieval cues.

Encoding Specificity Principle (ESP)

Memory retrieval is improved when the encoding context is the same as the retrieval.

Context-dependent forgetting

Contextual cues are different affecting the recall of memory. Eg the environment.

State-dependent forgetting

Physiological or mood affecting the recall of memory. The state of a person affects the recall. Eg drunk, high, sad.

Eyewitness Testimony

An account given by people who have witnessed the event being investigated.

Misleading Information

Incorrect information given to an eyewitness following an event.

Leading Questions

1. Response-bias explanation

2. Substitution explanation

Questions that are worded to suggest a particular question.

1. The phrasing of the question effects EWT but memory stays the same.

2. The wording of the questions alters EW’s memory of the event.

Post-event Discussion

Co-witnesses discuss the event which causes memories to be contaminated and combine together.

Anxiety

1. Tunnel Theory

2. Weapon Focus

A feeling of unease, worry or nervousness which creates a physiological arousal which has an impact on recall.

1. Attention narrows to one aspect of the situation.

2. Attention of EW is drawn to a weapon therefore recall is reduced.

Yerkes-Dodson Law

The relationship between arousal and performance represented in a graph. It can be used to demonstrate the effect of anxiety on recall.

Cognitive Interview

A method of interviewing EWs about what they remember from a crime scene using psychological research to enhance retrieval.

Schema

A pattern of thought or behaviour that organises categories of information and the relationship between them. It can be likened to a filing cabinet, information is stored in files eg all cat animals are in one file.

Three AO3 points: Coding, Capacity, Duration

1. External Validity

2. Artificial Stimulus

3. Research Support (Baddeley et al, 1966)

Three AO3 points: Multi-Store Model

1. Research Support

2. Limitation: Wearing

3. Limitation: Case studies (generalisability, correlational, replicability)

Three AO3 points: Long-term Memory

1. Research Support

2. Limitation: Case Studies

3. Neuroimaging

CI: Research support Geiselman et al (1985)

Participants were shown a video of a violent crime. CI had the highest accurate recall and fewer errors than other conditions.

CI: Geiselman et al (1985) Counterpoint

Kebbel and Wagstaff (1996) found that most police only use report everything and reinstate context.

CI: Limitation Milne and Bull (2002)

Combining stages report everything and reinstate context was better than CI as a whole, Limiting reliability

CI: Mile and Bull counterpoint

Fisher et al (1987) developed ECI.

ECI: research support

Coker (2013) ECI produced much more accurate details than compared to CI

CI: Meta-analysis Kohken et al (1999)

55 studies found CI improved accuracy by 81%

CI: Meta-analysis Kohken et al (1999) counterpoint

Increased false positives by 61%

Anxiety: Theory 1 - Johnson and Scott (1976)

Found that 49% of the low anxiety group accurately identified the man from photos compared to 33% in high anxiety group. Negative effect.

Anxiety: Theory 2 - Yuille and Cutshall (1986)

Those who reported higher levels of stress accurately recalled more details than those who reported lower stress levels, 88% compared to 75%. Positive effect.

Anxiety: Theory 1 - Limitation of J+S

Tested surprise not anxiety, lack of causality

Anxiety: Theory 1 - Counterpoint J+S

Pickel (1998) found that the more unusual the items were the worse recall was, suggesting an element of surprise and shock rather than anxiety.

Anxiety: Theory 1 - research support

Valentine and Mesout (2009) ) found that the low anxiety group accurately recalled more features of a horror labyrinth actor than the high anxiety group, 75% accuracy compared to 17%.

Anxiety: V+M counterpoint

Chistianson and Hubinette (1993) found higher recall in witnesses to a real-life bank robbery. Anxiety has positive impact

Anxiety: Yerkes Dodson Law (1908)

Proposed that there is an optimum level of anxiety for optimal performance.

Anxiety: Yerkes Dodson Law (1908) counterpoint

Criticised as it may not strictly show the relationship between anxiety and recall.

Misleading Info: Criticism of L+P - Foster et al (1994)

What an EW remembers has important consequences in the real world whereas in research it does not matter in the same way. Participants may be less motivated to remember accurately.

Misleading Info: Foster - Counterpoint

RWA The Devlin Report concluded that British juries should not convict someone based only on a single EWT.

Misleading Info: Skagerberg and Wright (2008)

Found that participants blended information together after PED.

Misleading Info: S+W counterpoint

Limited by use of artificial tasks.

Misleading Info: Cohen (1981)

Other factors, It was found that two groups of participants gave entirely different descriptions of the same person based on stereotypes of the job they were told the person had.

Misleading Info: Gabbert et al (2003)

Studied PED by showing pairs of participants videos of the same crime but from different points of views. Found that 71% of the participants mistakenly recalled aspects that they did not see in the video.