AQA Psychology A Level - Memory

Topic 1 - Research into STM

…

Outline Jacob’s study [into STM] (2)

• which part of memory did he study? (1)

• findings? [+Miller] (1)

Studied capacity of STM:

• (Jacob's) ppts read sequence of letters/numbers and asked to repeat same sequence back immediately

• additional digit is added each time/sequence to measure capacity of STM

  Findings:

• concluded STM has limited capacity of between 5-9 digits. (Miller states capacity is 7 + or – 2)

Outline Peterson and Peterson study [into STM] (3)

• which part of memory did he study? (1)

• findings? (2)

Studied duration of STM:

• (Peterson and Peterson) 24 uni student ppts given trigram, then asked to count backwards from a certain number for specified time e.g. 3, 9, 18 (retention interval - prevents rehearsal)

• then asked to recall original trigram

  Findings:

• 90% correct after 3 seconds, 20% after 9 seconds, 2% after 18 seconds

• concluded STM has short duration, less than 18 seconds without rehearsal

Outline Baddeley’s study [into STM/LTM] (3)

• which part of memory did he study? (1)

• findings, for both STM and LTM? (2)

Studied encoding of STM:

• ppts given 4 word lists (words either acoustic or semantic, and similar or dissimilar) i.e. acoustically similar, acoustically dissimilar, semantically similar, semantically dissimilar

• each list repeated 4 times

• ppts had to rearrange a jumbled list of the words into correct order immediately after (tests STM) or 20 mins later (tests LTM)

  Findings:

• For STM test, List A (acoustically similar) recall worst > suggests STM uses acoustic coding - tried listening to sounds of words but got confused due to similar sounds

• For LTM test, List C (semantically similar) recall was worst > sugest LTM uses semantic coding

1. PEE chain - weakness (Jacob’s)

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Individual differences

P - Importance of other factors overlooked e.g. age

E - Jacob found recall (digit span) increased steadily with age (8-year-olds remembered average of 6.6 digits, but average for 19-year-olds was 8.6 digits), may be due to gradual increase in brain capacity and/or developing strategies to improve digit span with age e.g. chunking

E - Shows individual differences in capacity, so studies results can’t be generalised (low population valdity)

2. PEE chain - weakness (Peterson and Peterson’s)

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Artifical task

P - Use of artificial task doesn’t reflect everyday activities

E - we remember meaningful things in daily life rather than unrelated consonant syllables (other than phone numbers and post codes)

E - not applicable to everyday life, so mostly irrelevant and low mundane realism and external validity

3. PEE chain - weakness (Baddeley’s)

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Oversimplified coding

P - Only tests for two types of coding for STM

E - Some research shows use of visual codes for STM using visual task e.g. pictures, even when preventing verbal rehearsal using a retention interval, other research shows STM uses semantic code

E - Too simplistic to suggest one type of encoding for STM (or LTM), so cannot be generalised to everyday use as we use a variety of coding

Topic 2 - Multi-Store Model of Memory (MSM)

…

Label the multi-store model of memory [AO1]

Hints:

• where does stimuli come from?

• mention of capacity, duration, and encoding

State the two key sentences regarding the MSM

1. Memory is divided into separate, quantitatively and qualitatively different stores (unitary stores)​

2. There is a fixed linear flow of information through the system​

1. PEE chain - strength

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Brain scans

How can this PEE chain be applied to the Working Memory Model?

P - research support from brain scans shows differences in STM and LTM

E - different areas of brain light up depending on memory type e.g. prefrontal cortex active during STM but not LTM tasks, hippocampus active when LTM used

E - shows STM and LTM considered unitary stores with different characteristics, as MSM suggests

(This can be used for WMM - brain scan imaging shows separate stores for different tasks e.g. verbal vs visual)

2. PEE chain - weakness

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Simplistic for LTM

P - MSM may be too simplistic regarding LTM and rehearsal and types of LTM

E - Psychologists (Craik and Tulving) suggest LTM relies more on processing rather than maintenance rehearsal, found 3 types of processing which vary in complexity e.g. semantic considers meaning of info (deepest processing) and forms strongest LTM’s, also found 3 types of LTM’s (semantic, procedural, episodic)

E - shows MSM may be oversimplified, doesn’t consider importance of deeper processing and different LTM types, so can’t be generalised

3. PEE chain - strength

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: HM Case study

P - case study evidence for different areas in brain involved in STM and LTM storing

E - HM was famous case study who had operation to remove hippocampus from both sides of brain to reduce effects of epilepsy, operation caused some brain damage so HM unable to form new LTM’s (couldn’t transfer from STM to LTM), however old LTM’s remained (remembered things from before surgery)

E - shows stores of STM and LTM located in different areas of brain, separate unitary stores

Topic 3 - Long-Term Memory

…

Define semantic memory (4)

Hints:

• what type of memories are these?

• declarative or non-declarative?

• are they concrete or abstract?

• how do they usually begin?

• shared memories of facts and knowledge, not personal

• declarative (knowing ‘what’ something is)

• can be concrete (e.g. knowing ice is made of water) or abstract (e.g. mathematical knowledge)

• usually begin as episodic memories and gradually transition to semantic (though people sometimes continue to strongly associate when and where they learned a particular fact)

Define procedural memory (4)

Hints:

• what types of memories are these?

• declarative or non-declarative?

• why are these memories automatic?

• what makes us do them less efficiently?

• memories for how to do things/skills

• non-declarative (knowing ‘how’ to do something)

• these memories become automatic due to repetition and practice, so we can perform them simultaneously with other tasks

• thinking about them too much prevents you doing them effectively e.g. suddenly thinking about how to walk

Define episodic memory (3)

Hints:

• what types of memories are these?

• declarative or non-declarative?

• what are the 3 elements involved?

• memories of personal events/episodes

• declarative (knowing ‘what’ happened)

• has 3 elements: specific details of the events (e.g. time, place), emotions related to it, and context (e.g. first day of school)

1. PEE chain - strength

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Brain scans

P - evidence from brain scans shows separate types of memory located in different areas of brain

E - different areas of brain active during brain scans in relation to types of LTM’s e.g. frontal lobe active for episodic LTM’s, temporal lobe active for semantic LTM’s, motor cortex active for procedural LTM’s

E - shows distinct differences between each LTM type, so separate stores for various memories

2. PEE chain - strength

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: HM Case study

P - case study evidence from HM

E - HM was unable to form new procedural LTM’s after surgery of removing different parts of brain, but unable to form episodic or semantic memories e.g. HM could complete mirror drawings (procedural), but had no memory of learning to do this (semantic/episodic)

E - shows LTM memory stores must be separate and in different areas of brain

3. PEE chain - strength

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Alzheimer’s patients

P - evidence from Alzheimer’s patients showing separation between episodic and semantic memories

E - single dissociation found patients had ability to form episodic but not semantic memories, double dissociation found opposite; they had good semantic memory but poor episodic memory

E - shows these stores of LTM must be separate and occur in different areas of brain

Topic 4 - The Working Memory Model (WMM)

….

Which type of memory does the WMM explain?

STM (short-term memory) - gives more detail than MSM

How many stores in WMM? Name them

1. Central executive

2. Phonological loop

3. Visuo-spatial sketchpad

4. Episodic buffer

Outline Central Executive store (3)

Hints:

• relation to slave systems

• capacity and storage

• which senses it processes from

• Controls the 'slave systems', delegates tasks ​

• Has a limited capacity and cannot store any information​

• Processes info from any sensory modality (from any 5 senses)​

Outline Phonological Loop (4)

Hints:

• capacity and storage

• what info does it process, coding

• what are the 2 sub-components

• how is it involved in rehearsal

• Limited capacity, temporary storage

• Processes auditory and verbal info, acoustic coding​

• 2 sub-components: Phonological store (inner ear – words you hear), Articulatory process (inner voice – words you speak)​

• Words are silently repeated/looped like an inner voice – maintenance rehearsal​

Outline Visuo-spatial Sketchpad (3)

Hints:

• capacity and storage

• what info does it process, coding

• what are the two sub-components

• Limited capacity, temporary storage​

• Processes visual and spatial information, visual coding​

• 2 sub-components: Inner scribe (deals with spatial info e.g. object's arrangement), Visual cache (deals with visual info e.g. object's colour, shape, form)​

Outline Episodic Buffer (5)

Hints:

• when was it added, by who

• capacity and storage

• how does it create an ‘episode’

• what does it process info into

• where does it send its info

• Later added by Baddeley ​

• Limited capacity, temporary storage​

• Integrates info from other stores to create an 'episode' (e.g visual info = VSS, auditory info = PL), links all slave systems​

• Processes info into a cohesive, coherent context and maintains time sequencing 

• Sends info to LTM to be stored​

1. PEE chain - strength

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Dual tasks (Baddeley)

P - research evidence for dual task ability to support model

E - research from Baddeley showed when ppts given two visual tasks (visual tracking and describing angles of letters) which only uses VSS, they performed worse than when given visual and verbal tasks, which uses VSS and PL

E - shows stores must be separate for different tasks and it becomes overwhelming if tasks delegated to one store

2. PEE chain - strength

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: KF Case study

P - case study evidence for STM performing dual tasks

E - brain-damaged patient KF showed short-term memory forgetting for auditory info was worse than for visual info i.e. his PL functioned poorly whereas VSS was intact

E - shows stores must be separate as ability to function affected spearately

3. PEE chain - weakness

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: EVR Case study

P - case study evidence to dispute what model states about central executive

E - brain-damaged patient EVR showed CE was damaged, however he performed well on reasoning tests compared to his poor-decision making skills

E - shows model is oversimplified regarding CE and little known regarding whether it really is a unitary store

Topic 5 - Forgetting - Interference

…

What are the two types of interference?

Proactive and Retroactive inference

Define proactive interference (3)

• old memories interfere with new memories

• memories disrupt/confuse with each other

• most likely occurs if memories are similar

Define retroactive interference (3)

• new memories interfere with old memories

• memories disrupt/confuse with each other

• most likely occurs if memories are similar

Outline McGeogh and McDonald study

• Procedure (3)

• Findings (2)

Procedure:

• all ppts given same list of words to memorise

• ppts split into 3 groups for second list to memorise (nonsense syllables, synonyms of original list, and numbers)

• ppts asked to recall words from original list

Findings:

• poorest recall for synonym words, next best recall for nonsense syllables, best recall for numbers

• shows interference more likely if memories are similar

Outline Baddeley and Hitch study

• Procedure (2)

• Findings (2)

Procedure:

• everyday setting of rugby players recalling names of teams they had played over a rugby season

• missed games due to injury for some players resulted in a different number of intervening games played each

Findings:

• those who played more intervening games recalled the lowest percentage of team names correctly

• shows memories of games interfered with each other when there were more to remember

1. PEE chain - weakness

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

P - validity of research into interference is questioned

E - McGeogh and McDonalds study has very artificial task (recalling list of words), so lacks mundane realism, also carried out in controlled lab setting

E - shows interference research lacks ecological validity so may not be accurate to apply to real life situations

2. PEE chain - strength

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

P - interference research can have some real-life application

E - Baddeley and Hitch’s study conducted in natural environment and no variables manipulated, rugby players only asked about recall of intervening games, which naturally occur in rugby season

E - shows interference may be ecologically valid explanation for forgetting when applied to real situations

3. PEE chain - weakness

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

P - interference may not be main issues involved in forgetting memories

E - research shows interference doesn’t make memories disappear as effects may be temporary, testing memory recall after 24 hours found accessibility of memories spontaneously recovered while availability stayed the same

E - shows interference only has temporary effect and memories remain available in our minds, but need prompt/cue to be accessed

Topic 6 - Forgetting - Retrieval Failure

…

Define encoding specificity principle (1)

• states memory most effective if info (cues) present at the time of encoding are also available at time of retrieval

What 2 categories can cues be separated into? (1)

Context-dependent cues and State-dependent cues

Define context and state dependent cues (2)

• Context-dependent cues = cues relating to the environment

• State-dependent cues = cues relating to internal mental feelings

Outline Abernethy study

• Procedure (3)

• Findings (2)

Procedure:

• group of students tested each week

• some students tested in usual room, with usual tutor

• others tested in different room, with usual or different tutor

Findings:

• students in same room and tutor performed best due to familiar cues

• inferior students most affected by changes in context-dependent cues

Outline Godden and Baddeley study

• Procedure (2)

• Findings (1)

Procedure:

• scuba divers either learned words on land or underwater

• then recalled these in same or opposite environment

Findings:

• highest correct recall when initial context (land or underwater) matched recall environment - context-dependent cues

Outline Goodwin et al. study

• Procedure (2)

• Findings (1)

Procedure:

• male volunteers memorised list of words either drunk or sober

• asked to recall lists after 24 hours either drunk or sober

Findings:

• highest recall when initial state (drunk or sober) matched recall state - state-dependent cues

1. PEE chain - strength

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Research support

P - lot of research support for retrieval failure

E - research evidence including lab, field, and natural experiments as well as anecdotal evidence has shown importance of retrieval cues on memory

E - shows this explanation has relevance in everyday life and produces valid and reliable results (not many research includes all these types of data)

2. PEE chain - strength

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Real-world application

P - real world application of this theory

E - research shows imagining the room where you initially learned something (mental reinstatement) is as effective as actually being in the same room at the time of retrieval, which may be unrealistic, another application is cognitive interview

E - shows good practical application and ecological validity, also works in at least 2 settings (school and cognitive interview)

3. PEE chain - weakness

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Meaningful information

P - retrieval cues don’t always work

E - outshining hypothesis states a cues effectiveness is out shined by the presence of better cues, learning info for exams requires complex associations less triggered by simple cues, compared to word lists in most research

E - shows cues have less relevance for learning meaningful info, so theory doesn’t explain all types of forgetting

Topic 7 - Eyewitness Testimony - Misleading information

….

Outline Loftus and Palmer study - Experiment 1

• Procedure (4)

• Findings (3)

Procedure:

• group of students shown films of traffic accidents

• given questionnaire to describe accident

• one critical leading question - ‘How fast were the cars going when they hit each other?’

• verb ‘hit’ replaced for different group e.g. smashed, collided, bumped, contacted

Findings:

• verb ‘smashed’ gave highest answer of speed (40.8mph)

• ‘contacted’ gave lowest (31.8mph), and ‘hit’ was in the middle (34.0mph)

• shows changing just 1 word in a question can mislead eyewitnesses - bias in memory

Outline Loftus and Palmer study - Experiment 2

• Procedure (2)

• Findings (1)

Procedure:

• new ppts shown car accident films and asked questions about speed again (experiment 1)

• then asked to return a week later and asked critical question - ‘Did you see any broken glass?’ (no broken glass in film)

Findings:

• those who gave higher speeds for verb ‘smashed’ more likely to say there was broken glass - altered memory

Define the conformity effect (1)

Post-event discussion between witnesses can influence memory to reach a consensus but not an accurate view

Define the repeat interviewing effect (1)

Comments or leading questions from interviewer influences witness’ memory, especially in children

1. PEE chain - weakness

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Real-life application to crime

P - lab experiments used may lack real life application

E - research witnesses of actual crimes e.g. armed robbery, gave accurate details of event when interviewed much later

E - shows witness’ of real life crimes can give accurate testimonies, and lab studies into accuracy of EWT should be treated with caution (low ecological validity)

2. PEE chain - weakness

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Individual differences

P - individual differences

E - children and elderly witness’ have difficulty remembering source of info they recall, so may be more vulnerable to effects of misleading info during eyewitness testimony (EWT)

E - shows some people affected more by misleading info in EWT and results from student populations can’t be generalised

3. PEE chain - strength

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Research support for childhood

P - research support for Loftus’

E - college students asked to evaluate adverts about Disneyland that mislead them to believe Bugs Bunny and Ariel (The Little Mermaid) were Disneyland characters from their childhood, reported having met these characters at Disneyland when they hadn’t

E - shows misleading info can even alter meaningful memories from childhood, so more validity

Topic 8 - Eyewitness Testimony - Anxiety

….

Define weapon focus shift (1)

Anxiety created by criminal’s weapon distracts attention from other features = reduced accuracy of identification.

Outline Johnson and Scott study

• Procedure (2)

• Findings (1)

Procedure:

• ppts sit in waiting room where they heard arguing in an adjoining room

• then saw man running from room carrying either pen covered in grease (low anxiety condition) or knife covered in blood (high anxiety condition)

• ppts later asked to identify man from set of photos

Findings:

• mean accuracy lower when identifying man in knife condition (33%) than in pen condition (49%) - supports weapon focus shift effect

Outline Christianson and Hubinette study

• Procedure (2)

• Findings (2)

Procedure:

• questioned 58 real witnesses 4-15 months after bank robberies in Sweden

• witnesses either victims in high anxiety (bank tellers) or bystanders in low anxiety (employees or customers)

Findings:

• all witnesses had good memory of robbery details (over 75% accurate recall)

• those more anxious had better recall

Define the Yerkes-Dodson effect (1)

States anxiety produces best performance of memory when at a moderate level (not too high or low - bell curve)

1. PEE chain - weakness

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Other factors - surprise

P - other factors involved in recall instead of anxiety e.g. surprise

E - Pickel had ppts watch thief enter hairdresser carrying one of 4 items (gun, scissors, wallet, or whole raw chicken) that varied in high/low threat level and high/low surprise level, thief wasn’t identified correctly more so if item surprising rather than just threatening e.g. chicken rather than scissors)

E - shows anxiety alone not significant in accurate EWT, but weapon focus shift maybe more due to surprise

2. PEE chain - weakness

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Reliability vs Validity

P the opposing studies have differing levels of validity and reliability

E - Johnson and Scott study was in lab environment, so controlled and standardised, so produces reliable results, Christianson and Hubinette study was in naturalistic environment, so had mundane realism and real life consequences, so produces valid results.

E - one of the studies is reliable, while the other is valid, however they propose opposite findings, so true effects of anxiety on EWT is too complex

3. PEE chain - weakness

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Violent crimes

P - both studies only involve violence

E - other studies of anxiety and accuracy of info don’t involve violence, even real-life ones, and some research shows victims of violent crimes had more accurate recall compared to non-violent crimes

E - shows results are oversimplified as effect of anxiety on EWT may vary depending of nature of crime

Topic 9 - The Cognitive Interview

…

Give the key points in a standard interview (5)

• revolves around interviewer, rather than witness

• interviewer does most talking

• predetermined closed questions asked

• can include leading questions

• witnesses discouraged from adding extra info

Give the key points in the cognitive interview (4)

• revolves around witness, rather than interviewer

• witness does most talking

• open questioned asked (e.g. recreate the original context of the crime’)

• encourages elaboration from witness

What are the key techniques used in the cognitive interview? (4)

1. Mental reinstatement

2. Report everything

3. Change the order

4. Change the perspective

Define ‘mental reinstatement’ (2)

• asks witnesses to recall context of crime/put themselves back in scene (e.g. their emotions, weather)

• gives cues to make memories more accessible

Define ‘report everything’ (2)

• recall small, insignificant details

• cues interconnected memories to be recalled and pieced together

Define ‘change the order’ (2)

• recall events in backwards order

• witness focuses on actual details witnessed rather than following pre-existing schemas (set of ideas) about situation or location

Define ‘change the perspective’ (2)

• recall events from point of view of another person e.g. witness, victim

• produces varying details not considered prior - also tackles schemas

1. PEE chain - weakness

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Time-consuming

P - cognitive interview (CI) is time-consuming

E - many police don’t use CI techniques for less serious crime due to less time, police often want as limited eye-witness reports as necessary to solve crime quicker

E - shows CI not always practical or helpful to police investigating crimes, especially less serious ones

2. PEE chain - weakness

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Not all techniques valuable

P - not all police use same techniques in CI

E - some police forces (e.g. Thames Valley Police) don’t use ‘change perspectives’ technique, others only use ‘mental reinstatement’ and ‘report everything’

E - shows not all techniques practical or valuable for real-life police investigations

3. PEE chain - strength

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

P - research support for CI shows its effectiveness to be used globally

E - University students shown videos of cleaning staff being abducted fou