Memory - Whole topic

Who created the Multi-Store Model?

Atkinson and Shiffrin, 1968.

What are the 3 stores in the MSM?

Sensory register, short-term memory, long-term memory.

How does information move from sensory register to STM?

Through attention.

What is the coding of STM?

Mainly acoustic.

What is the duration of STM?

Around 18–30 seconds.

What is the capacity of STM?

7 ± 2 items.

Who found STM capacity is around 7 ± 2?

Miller.

What is the coding of LTM?

Mainly semantic.

What is the capacity of LTM?

Potentially unlimited.

What is the duration of LTM?

Potentially lifelong.

What keeps information in STM?

Maintenance rehearsal.

What transfers information to LTM?

Prolonged/elaborative rehearsal.

What is displacement?

When new information pushes out old information from STM.

What is decay?

Forgetting because information fades over time.

What did Baddeley find about coding?

STM is mainly acoustic; LTM is mainly semantic.

What is one criticism of the MSM?

It oversimplifies memory because STM and LTM are not single unitary stores.

Who proposed types of LTM?

Tulving.

What are the 3 types of LTM?

Episodic, semantic, procedural.

What is episodic memory?

Memory of personal events and experiences.

Is episodic memory time-stamped?

Yes.

What brain area is linked to episodic memory?

Hippocampus.

What is semantic memory?

Memory of facts, meanings and knowledge.

Is semantic memory time-stamped?

No.

What is procedural memory?

Memory of skills and actions.

Is procedural memory conscious?

No, it is usually implicit/unconscious.

Give an example of procedural memory.

Riding a bike, tying shoelaces, playing piano.

Which brain areas are linked to procedural memory?

Motor cortex and cerebellum.

What does Clive Wearing show?

Different types of LTM are separate because some memories were damaged while others remained intact.

Who created the Working Memory Model?

Baddeley and Hitch, 1974.

What did the WMM replace?

The simple STM store in the MSM.

What are the main parts of the WMM?

Central executive, phonological loop, visuo-spatial sketchpad, episodic buffer.

What does the central executive do?

Controls attention and coordinates the slave systems.

What is one weakness of the central executive?

It is vague and lacks detail.

What does the phonological loop process?

Sound/verbal information.

What are the two parts of the phonological loop?

Phonological store and articulatory process.

What is the phonological store?

The “inner ear” that stores words recently heard.

What is the articulatory process?

The “inner voice” used for rehearsal.

What does the visuo-spatial sketchpad process?

Visual and spatial information.

What are the two parts of the VSS?

Visual cache and inner scribe.

What does the episodic buffer do?

Combines information from the slave systems and LTM.

When was the episodic buffer added?

2000.

What does the word length effect show?

Short words are recalled better because the phonological loop has limited duration.

What did case study KF show?

Verbal STM can be damaged while visual STM remains intact, supporting separate subsystems.

What is interference?

Forgetting because memories disrupt each other.

What is proactive interference?

Old information disrupts new information.

What is retroactive interference?

New information disrupts old information.

When is interference most likely?

When information is similar.

What is retrieval failure?

Forgetting because the right cues are absent.

What is a cue?

A trigger that helps access a memory.

What is context-dependent forgetting?

Forgetting due to absence of environmental cues.

What is state-dependent forgetting?

Forgetting due to absence of internal cues, such as mood or intoxication.

Who studied context-dependent forgetting with divers?

Godden and Baddeley.

What did Godden and Baddeley find?

Recall was better when learning and recall happened in the same environment.

Who studied category cues?

Tulving and Pearlstone.

What did Tulving and Pearlstone find?

Recall improved when category cues were provided.

What is eyewitness testimony?

The evidence given by witnesses about an event or crime.

What is a leading question?

A question that suggests a certain answer.

What is misleading information?

Incorrect information given after an event that can distort memory.

Who studied leading questions in car crashes?

Loftus and Palmer.

What did Loftus and Palmer find?

Stronger verbs like “smashed” led to higher speed estimates.

What is post-event discussion?

When witnesses discuss the event and their memories become contaminated.

What is memory conformity?

Changing recall to match another person’s account.

Who studied post-event discussion?

Gabbert et al.

What did Gabbert find?

71% of participants recalled information they had not actually seen.

What is weapon focus?

When attention focuses on a weapon, reducing recall of other details.

What did Johnson and Scott find?

Identification was worse when a weapon was present.

What does the Yerkes-Dodson law suggest?

Moderate anxiety improves recall, but very high anxiety reduces accuracy.

Who developed the cognitive interview?

Fisher and Geiselman.

What is the aim of the cognitive interview?

To improve the accuracy and detail of eyewitness recall.

What are the 4 techniques?

Context reinstatement, report everything, reverse order, change perspective.

What is context reinstatement?

Mentally returning to the scene of the event.

What is report everything?

Reporting all details, even if they seem unimportant.

What is reverse order?

Recalling events in a different chronological order.

What is change perspective?

Recalling the event from another person’s viewpoint.

What is one strength of the cognitive interview?

It increases the amount of correct information recalled.

What is one weakness of the cognitive interview?

It is time-consuming and requires training.

Why may the cognitive interview be less useful?

It may also increase incorrect information.