AQA A Level Psychology - Memory

Who proposed the multi-store model of memory?

Atkinson + Shiffrin

What is the MSM?

Representation of how memory works in terms of 3 stores - sensory register, STM, LTM

Suggests that information flows through a series of stages in a sequential way, from one store to the next

Both STM + LTM are considered to be a single store

Shows how information is transferred from one store to another, what makes it last, what makes some disappear

How does information enter the STM?

Sensory information from the environment is paid attention to + is then converted to STM

What is the process that keeps information in STM?

Maintenance rehearsal

How does information transfer from STM to LTM?

Through prolonged rehearsal

What causes information to be lost from STM?

Lack of maintenance rehearsal → information is forgotten + lost from STM through the process of displacement/decay

What is encoding?

The way that information is changed so that it can be stored in memory

e.g. visually, acoustically, semantically

What is capacity?

Refers to the volume of information that can be held within each memory store

What does duration refer to?

The period of time information can last in memory stores

What is the sensory register?

The initial store where all sensory information - sights, sounds, smells, tastes + touch sensations - first received + briefly held

What are the features of the sensory register?

• Coding → information in the sensory is coded according to specific sense in which it is received (modality specific coding) → e.g. iconic coding

• Capacity → very large/unlimited capacity → brain must be able to detect all the sensory input from your eyes, skin, etc.

• Duration → very short, less than a second

What is the STM?

Sometimes known as working memory - info is held temporarily here after being paid attention to in the sensory register

What are the features of the STM?

• Coding → acoustic - Baddeleys research supports this

• Capacity → Miller’s limited capacity (5-9 items) - 7±2, Jacob’s (avg capacity - 7.3 letters, 9.3 numbers)

• Duration → short, approximately 18-30 seconds, Peterson → demonstrated this

What is chunking + its purpose?

Increases the capacity for STM

Chunking → where individual items are grouped together into meaningful units

What is LTM?

Final store in MSM → information is stored for long periods, potentially permanently

What are features of the LTM?

• Coding → semantically → Baddeley’s

• Capacity → potentially unlimited

• Duration → Bahrick → limitless potentially

How is information recalled from STM?

Information is retrieved from LTM to STM for conscious processing

Who proposed the WMM?

Baddeley + Hitch

What is the WMM? 4 components?

• Structural model of one aspect of memory (STM) → how its organised, how it functions in storing/manipulating information (e.g. arithmetic problems)

• Central executive

• Phonological loop

• Visuo-spatial sketchpad

• Episodic buffer

What is the central executive?

The boss

• very limited capacity

• directs information to other components + allocates attention to tasks

• carries out higher level thinking processes, e.g. problem-solving + decision-making

• can process information from any sensory modality

What is the phonological loop?

• processes verbal + auditory information

• stores speech-based information

• inner ear

• limited capacity

sub-components

• phonological store - holds speech-based information + receives + stores sounds

• articulatory control process - verbal information is rehearsed here - helping to prepare speech + think in words →e.g. repeating a phone number

What is the VSS?

• inner eye

• stores + manipulates visual + spatial information → helps to picture things - e.g. room layout

• limited capacity - estimated at around 4-5 chunks

(potentially) 2 parts

• visual cache - passive store for forms + colour

• inner scribe - an active store that holds info about rel between objects in 3D space, records their arrangement + rehearses/transfers info to central exec

What is the episodic buffer?

• integrates + synthesises different types of data (auditory, visual, etc) proposed by the other slave systems (MODALITY FREEEE)

• data is bound together in episodes

Evaluation of the WMM: strength

P: One strength of the WMM is that research evidence from dual-task studies supports the idea that working memory consists of separate components

E: Baddeley + Hitch asked PP to perform two tasks simultaneously. PP only performed worse when both tasks needed the same component of WMM, whereas performance was much less affected when tasks used different components.

T: This suggests that the phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad operate independently, as proposed by the model. Therefore there is research evidence to support the WMM and the existence of separate stores in the working memory, increasing its validity.

Evaluation of the WMM: strength

P: Another strength of the WMM is evidence from neuropsychological case studies

E: Shallice + Warrington studied patient KF, who had severely impaired verbal STM but relatively intact visual memory after a brain injury. The MSM cannot explain this because it assumes that the STM is a single component in itself. However, the WMM explains KF’s performance by proposing separate components with damage to the phonological loop but not the VSS.

T: Therefore, case study evidence increases the validity of the WMM because it supports the existence of separate STM stores.

Evaluation of the WMM: weakness

P: One limitation of the WMM is that the central exec is poorly explained

E: Baddeley described it as directing attention + allocating resources but did not explain exactly how it performs these functions/whether it is a single system/multiple processes. This makes it difficult to test scientifically + reduces the precision of the model.

T: Therefore, the WMM has lower scientific credibility because one of its most important components remains vague + poorly defined.

Evaluation of the MSM: strength

P: One strength of the MSM is that its supported by laboratory research

E: Glanzer and Cunitz found PP recalled words from the beginning (primacy effect) + end (recency) of a list best. When PP completed a distractor task before recall, the recency effect disappeared whilst the primacy effect remained. This supports the idea that STM + LTM are separate stores because the distractor displaced info from STM but not LTM

T: Therefore, research evidence increases the validity of the MSM, by supporting the distinction between separate memory stores.

Evaluation of the MSM: strength

P: Another strength of the MSM is evidence from neuropsychological case studies

E: Patient HM had anterograde amnesia after damage to his hippocampus. Although he could remember information for a short period, he was unable to transfer new memories into LTM. This supports the MSM’s distinction between STM and LTM as one store was intact and the other was impaired.

T: Therefore, case study evidence supports the existence of separate memory stores, increasing the MSM’s validity.

Evaluation of the MSM: weakness

P: One limitation of the MSM is that it oversimplifies how memory works.

E: Research by Tulving found that LTM consists of separate stores, including episodic, semantic and procedural memory, while studies such as KF suggests there are multiple STM systems. The MSM assumes there is only one STM and one LTM, so it cannot explain these findings.

T: Therefore, the MSM lacks validity as it provides an overly simplistic explanation of memory.

What is interference?

Forgetting because one memory blocks another, causing one/both memories to be distorted/forgotten

What are the 2 types of interference?

• proactive interference = when older memories disrupt the recall of newer memories

• retroactive interference = when newer memories disrupt the recall of older memories

What is retrieval failure?

Cues present at time of encoding are not present at time of recall

What is the encoding-specificity principle?

Proposed by Tulving → for cues to be helpful, they must be present at time of recall + encoding (can be meaningful/non-meaningful) e.g. STM → triggers recall of info about STM(meaningful)

What is McGeoch + McDonald’s research into interference?

Participants were given 2 lists

The more similar they were to each other → the poorer recall of the original list

Could be due to either type of interference → greater similarity = greater interference

What are 2 non-meaningful cues?

• context dependent forgetting - recall depends on external cues

• state dependent forgetting - internal cues

What is the cognitive interview?

A method of interviewing witnesses to help them retrieve more accurate memories

What are the steps involved in the cognitive interview?

1. Report everything → include every detail, even if it seems irrelevant/you are unsure, trivial details may be important/trigger other memories

2. Reinstate the context → imagine environment + emotions, be in the crime scene in your mind + relate it to context-dependent forgetting

3. Reverse the order → recall in a different order than the original sequence, e.g. middle to beginning, end to start → less dishonest/less reporting of expectations rather than actual event

4. Change perspective → recall from other people’s perspective to reduce effect of expectation on recall

Evaluation of the cognitive interview: strength

P: One strength of the cognitive interview is that research demonstrates it produces more accurate information than standard police interviews.

E: Fisher et al. trained detectives in the cognitive interview and found they obtained around 41% more correct details from witnesses compared with interviews conducted before training. Although, the cognitive interview also produced slightly more incorrect information, the increase in accurate recall was much greater, suggesting it is an effective interviewing technique

T: Therefore, research evidence supports the validity of the cognitive interview because it improves the quantity + overall accuracy of eyewitness testimony

Evaluation of the cognitive interview: weakness

P: One limitation of the cognitive interview is that it is time-consuming + costly to implement

E: Officers require specialist training to conduct cognitive interviews effectively and the interviews themselves typically take much longer than standard interviews. Due to limited police resources, using the full cognitive interview may be impractical for every witness.

T: Therefore, the usefulness of the cognitive interview is limited as its cost and time requirements make it less practical for everyday policing.

Evaluation of the cognitive interview: strength

P: Another strength of the cognitive interview is that it has important real-world applications.

E: Many police force have used cognitive interview techniques into their witness interviews, helping investigators gain more complete and reliable eyewitness accounts. Improving the quality of witness evidence can increase the accuracy of criminal investigation, decreasing the likelihood of wrong convictions.

T: Therefore, the cognitive interview has high practical value as psychological research has been applied successfully to improve police interviewing procedures.

Alan Baddeley’s research into coding

• PP were shown OG words + were asked to recall in correct order

• Did worse on acoustically similar words when task was done immediately → e.g. can, man, cab - sound very much alike

• Did worse on words that were semantically similar