memory

what is memory

the process of retaining information over time

what is encoding

the process of transforming sensory information so that it can be stored in memory

what is storage

the process of maintaining information in our minds

what is retrieval

the process of taking information out of memory storage

explain recall as a type of retrieval

when we reaccess a whole memory without aid

explain recognition as a type of retrieval

when we encounter information that we identify as something we have already learned

what does coding mean

the format in which memory is stored

what does semantic coding mean

storing memory according to meaning

features of the sensory register

large capacity, duration of less than a second, sensory coding

features of short term memory stores

capacity of 7±2 items, 18-30s duration, acoustic coding

features of long term memory store

potentially unlimited duration and capacity, coded semantically

who proposed the multi store model of memory

atkinson and shiffrin

what did atkinson and shiffrin argue about memory

it’s unidirectional and each store can be damaged independently

explain or draw out the MSM

research support of Sensory Register

SPERLING

• presented participants with grid of letters for 50 milliseconds and tested their recall

• in condition 1 they were asked to recall as much of the grid as possible

• in condition 2 they were asked to recall one row (specified afterwards)

• C1 - average of 5. C2 - average of 3

• concluded duration is short but capacity is large

research support for capacity of short term memory

JACOBS

• asked participants to recall strings of letters/ numbers of different lengths

• found average of 7 items were recalled

MILLER

• replicated expect he used ‘chunking’

• average increased slightly to 7±2 items

evidence for duration of long term memory

BAHRICK

• studied weather participants would remember the names of their high school classmates

• tested both recall and recognition

• 15 years after school recall was around 60% and recognition was 90%

• 48 years after school recall was around 30% and recognition was 80%

• concluded ltm very long duration but better when using recognition

evaluate Bahicks research

• high ecological validity because participants were asked to recall things from their own personal lives

• since he was testing recall of things years before he couldn't control extraneous variables

research support for coding in STM and LTM

BADDELEY

• four different groups where he asked participants to remember either semantically similar, semantically dissimilar, acoustically similar and acoustically dissimilar words

• found participants recalling acoustically similar words had the most difficulty recalling them immediately after

• 20 minutes later participants recalling semantically similar words had more difficulty

• concluded stm is coded acoustically and ltm is coded semantically

support for multi-store model of memory

CASE STUDY: HENRY MOLAISON

• hippocampus was removed

• Long-term memory store was damaged

• short term memory store was intact and functional

• supports the idea we have separate stores for memory

BRAIN IMAGES

• different parts of the brain are active when we retain information for short and long periods of time

• the frontal cortex is active when retaining short term memory

• the hippocampus is active when retaining long-term memory

evaluate multi store model of memory

says we use rehearsal to transfer information from short-term memory to long-term memory but there are things we remember without rehearsing including non verbal information

who proposed the working memory model

Baddeley and Hitch

what do baddeley and hitch argue

STM is an active memory store which has multiple components

what does the phonological loop do

stores auditory/ verbal information and holds the order in which information is presented temporarily

what are the 2 subcomponents to the phonological loop

phonological store and articulatory process

what does the phonological store do

holds recent verbal and auditory information for a short duration (1-2s)

what does the articulatory process do

rehurses verbal information usually through subvocal repetition - capacity limited to the amount of words that can be said in 2 seconds. (easier to recall shorter words - word length effect)

what does the visuospatial sketchpad do

stores visual and spatial information as mental pictures

what are the 2 subcomponents of the visuospatial sketchpad

visual cache (stores visual info) and inner scribe (stores spatial and positional info)

what is the episodic buffer

a multi-modal store that combines information from all 5 senses to create a whole scene of an event. this can then be transferred to ltm to create episodic memories.

what is the central executive

manages activity of the 3 working memory stores and is responsible for directing relevant information to each store and dividing our attention across them.

research supporting WMM

KF CASE STUDY:

• brain injury in motorcycle crash

• only retain 1 word in stm (severely impaired verbal/ auditory short-term memory)

• could retain photographs normally in stm

• supports idea of multiple stm stores

• his ltm could still function

GATHERCOLE AND BADDELEY:

• group 1 had to perform one verbal task one visual

• group 2 had to perform both visual

• group 1 did better

• concludes separate working memory stores for visual and verbal info

BRAIN IMAGING:

• temporal lobe active for verbal info

• occipital lobe active for visual info

• concludes separate working memory stores for visual and verbal info

evaluate WMM of memory

• existence central executive is not falsifiable

• central executive may be made out of multiple independent cognitive processes (planning, attention and response inhibition)

• evidence in favour of WMM are conducted in labs

what is the interference theory of forgetting

when we accidentally retrieve a similar memory instead of the intended original memory

explain P.O.R.N.

proactive interference is when an old memory is retrieved instead. retroactive interference is when new memories are retrieved instead.

explain cue dependant forgetting theory

suggests we rely on prompts we associate with a particular memory to trigger the original memory

external vs internal cues

external cues are features of the environment at the time when we encode a memory (eg. smell and weather) internal cues are features of our internal environment at the time of encoding (eg. thoughts and mood)

context dependent forgetting vs state dependant forgetting

CDF occurs when a person is unable to retrieve a memory because the external environment the memory was encoded in differs from the environment the memory needs to be retrieved in. SDF occurs when a person is unable to retrieve a memory because their internal state at the time of encoding differs from their internal state the memory needs to be retrieved in

research support for interference theory

UNDERWOOD

• looked at participants recall of word lists

• control group - one word list. experimental group - multiple word lists and asked to recall the last

• CG - 80% accurate. EG- 20%

• concluded we forget due to proactive interference

UNDERWOOD AND POSTMAN

• gave participants word pairs

• CG - one list of word pairs. EG - two lists with same first words, asked to recall first

• recall of the control group was much better

• concluded we forget due to retroactive interference

evaluate interference theory

• supporting studies are laboratory

• only explains forgetting in the presence of similar memories

research supporting cue dependant forgetting

GODDEN AND BADDELEY

• tested effect of external cues on retrieval

• made 2 groups of participants learn word lists underwater and on land

• the recall of word lists were tested either in the same or different environment they learnt in

• participants recall was better when in the same context

evaluate cue dependant forgetting

• studies supporting lack ecological validity

• cue dependant forgetting is less relevant to procedural memories

what 4 things can create false memories

• schema

• post-event discussion

• leading question

• anxiety

what are false memories

when we retrieve a memory and reconstruct it into an event that did not actually happen

what 4 things influence false memories

• schema

• leading questions

• post event discussion

• anxiety

explain schemas creating false memories

we use our pre existing schema to help fill in the gaps of a memory, this can lead to incorrectly modifying memories to fit our schema

explain anxiety creating false memories

• low arousal/ anxiety results in low accuracy

• moderate arousal/ anxiety results in high accuracy

• high arousal/ anxiety results in low accuracy

this on a graph would show an inverse u shape

research for leading questions affecting EWT

LOFTUS AND PALMER:

• showed participants a video of car crash

• asked some participants leading questions about the way the car crashed (using words like smashed)

• participants judged the cars to be moving way quicker than they were

• week later participants were asked a leading question about broken glass

• participants had a false memory of seeing broken glass

• concluded EWT can be influenced by leading questions

evaluate loftus and palmer

• demand characteristics

• lacked ecological validity

research for anxiety affecting EWT

LOFTUS (1979):

• participants heard arguing in one room and then a man stormed out

• in one condition the man was holding a pen covered in grease (low anxiety)

• in another condition the man was holding a knife covered in blood (high anxiety)

• when asked to identify the man low anxiety group was 49% accurate

• when asked to identify the man high anxiety group was 33% accurate

YUILLE AND CUTSHALL:

• investigated memory accuracy of real life witnesses of gun shooting 5 months prior

• recall was accurate

• findings didn’t support inverted u-turn

what is the cognitive interview

a type of interview process proposed by Fisher et al aimed to improve the memory recall of EWT

what are the 4 components of the cognitive interview

• change perspective

• change order

• report everything

• mental reinstatement

What is Report Everything in the Cognitive Interview

The witness is encouraged to report every detail, even if it seems unimportant or irrelevant. Small details can trigger more accurate memories and may be important to the investigation.

What is mental reinstate the Context in the Cognitive Interview

The witness mentally recreates the original environment and emotional state of the event. This is based on context-dependent forgetting and helps improve recall.

What is Reverse the Order in the Cognitive Interview

The witness recalls the event in a different chronological order. This prevents reliance on expectations or schemas and increases accuracy.

What is Change Perspective in the Cognitive Interview?

The witness recalls the event from another person’s perspective. This can access different retrieval cues and uncover additional details.

research for cognitive interview

GEISELMAN:

• a confederate with a blue rucksack entered a classroom and stole a projector

• used the cognitive interview with one group when questioning who stole is

• used leading questions on both groups, suggesting the bag was green

• group the cognitive interview was less affected by leading questions

evaluate the cognitive interview

• less effective interviewing children - introduced the enhanced cognitive interview

what is meant by the F-scale?

a questionnaire developed by Adorno developed as a way of measuring authoritarian personality theory.