GCSE Psychology, memory paper1

Three types of encoding

Acoustic, visual, sensory

Output

A behavioural response/ information we recall

Processing

Operations performed in the brain on sensory memory

Storage

Retention of information in our memory system

Encoding

Turning sensory information into something which can be stored easier by the brain

Short term memory capacity

7 items of information

Short term memory duration

18 seconds

Long term memory capacity and duration

Unlimited

Similarity between long term and short term memory

Both can rehearse information to hold the information for longer

Difference between long term and short term memory

Short term usually has acoustic encoding but long term has semantic encoding

Interference

New information overwrites old information such as a new phone number replacing an old number

Displacement

New information pushes out old information in the short term memory as it's capacity is being exceeded

Three ways we forget things

interference, displacement, decay memory traces

Anterograde amnesia

Inability to store any long-term memories following a brain injury. Normal short-term can still process sensory memory. Retained long-term memory from before the incident.

Retrograde amnesia

Cannot remember anything from before the injury due to struggle in recalling the information. Can be specific to one memory such as the traumatic incident or it can be limited time frame. Severe cases can result in forgetting who they are. It is possible to regain information

Reconstructive memory

Is the theory that memories are interpretations from what we experienced, not an exact recall

Active reconstruction

Memory is not an exact copy of the event but our own interpretation of it which is influenced by our own schema

Schema

Packet of knowledge unique to us which we develop over time through experiences that influences how we remember

How are schemas formed

Personal experiences

Four influences of recall

Omissions, transformations, familiarisations, rationalisations

Omissions

We leave out unfamiliar, irrelevant or unpleasant details which simplifies the information

Transformations

Details are changed to make them more rational

Familiarisation

Change unfamiliar details to align your own schema

Rationalisation

Add details when we recall to give a reason for something

Strengths of the theory of reconstructive memory

It has real-world application, ecologically valid, encourages cognitive therapy to avoid omissions in eyewitness accounts

Weaknesses of the theory of reconstructive memory

Subjective as Bartlett gave his own interpretation of the participants recall so it can be seen as unscientific

Describe Atkinson and Shiffrin's study on Multi-store model of memory including proposal

They proposed that memory stores differ from each other in the way information is encoded, recalled, or it's capacity and duration. The theory states that we input information to our brains from our senses in our sensory register. Attention then moves it to our Short term and then rehearsal is necessary for information to move from the short term memory to the long term.

Strengths of Multi-store model of memory

It is an accurate representation of our three different types of stores for memory

Weaknesses of Multi-store model of memory

It overstates the role of rehearsal since other factors affect what goes into the long term memory, unlikely that we have one type of long term memory

Bartlett's War of the Ghosts study aim

Test the nature of reconstructive memory and whether someone's schema affects their memory

Bartlett's War of the Ghosts study procedure

Participants were asked to read a story and recall it using serial reproduction or repeated reproduction. For serial reproduction, participants retold the story to another participant after 15-30 minutes and the chain continued. For repeated reproduction, participants were asked to re-write the story after 15 minutes and then again weeks, months or even years later

Bartlett's War of the Ghosts study results on rationalisation

Rationalisation was the most common as people added in a lot to the story to give reason for events. For example, "something black came out of his mouth" was changed to "foam came out" or "last dying breath"

Bartlett's War of the Ghosts study results on familiarisation

"canoe" was changed to "boat" and "hunting" was changed to "fishing" since these are more simpler and familiar to us

Bartlett's War of the Ghosts study conclusion

Bartlett interpreted the results as active reconstruction. Participants did not recover the results accurately fully as they omitted, altered or added information to fit their schemas

Validity/realism of Bartlett's War of the Ghosts study

Remembering a story is a realistic use of memory therefore the study is ecologically valid however some words were uncommon in the story and this made it unrealistic for certain cultures

Reliability of Bartlett's War of the Ghosts study

Bartlett replicated his study many times using different stories or images and got similar results for all therefore the consistency means it is reliable

Scientific side of Bartlett's War of the Ghosts study

It can be seen as unscientific as Bartlett used his own interpretation of qualitative data to conclude. He also did not use a standardised procedure since he allowed the participants to take their own pace and time. The lack of good control could also be seen as unscientific

Peterson+Peterson Short term memory experiment aim

To test the true duration of short the term memory by interfering with rehearsal

Peterson+Peterson Short term memory experiment procedure

Students were asked to repeat a given trigram after the time periods of 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, and 18 seconds. During that time, they had to count backwards in three digit numbers to prevent rehearsal of the trigram. This was repeated on every individual 48 times. The second experiment repeated the same tasks but allowed some participants to rehearse the trigram before counting

Peterson+Peterson Short term memory experiment results

The longer each student had to count backwards for, the less able they were to accurately recall the trigram. After 3 seconds, 80% could accurately recall however after 18 seconds, less than 10% could accurately recall

Peterson+Peterson Short term memory experiment conclusion

With the participants unable to rehearse the trigrams, the information decayed rapidly decays from our short term memory and only 10% of information is accurately recalled after 18 seconds

Mundane realism

A realistic and everyday task

Reliability of Peterson+Peterson Short term memory experiment

A standardised procedure was used. For example, fixed timings were used and extraneous variables such as noise were eliminated. This means it can be replicated which makes it reliable

Application/strength of Peterson+Peterson Short term memory experiment

The experiment demonstrated how vocal interference (counting backwards) can affect our ability to retain information

Weakness of Peterson+Peterson Short term memory experiment

Lack of mundane realism as recalling letters after counting is not a realistic application of memory everyday

Reductionism

The belief that a behaviour is best explained by simplifying a part of how it works to identify cause and effect

Holism

Theory that tries to understand the entire behaviour, taking into account many different factors to explain it

Strengths of reductionism

It produces quantitative data which means it is able to identify cause and effect. It is also more scientific

Weaknesses of reductionism

Overly simplistic may lead to ignoring other important factors

Strengths of holism

Provides a larger and deeper understanding of a particular behaviour

Weaknesses of holism

Qualitative data can be seen as unscientific since you cannot identify cause and effect as you investigate many variables at one time. It also applies to only one person

Example of reductionism and why

Multistore model of memory because it states that rehearsal is the only factor which affects our recall. It also states that encoding will definitely result in retrieval however omissions, familiarisation, rationalisation and transformations can also affect it

How is reconstructive memory an example of holism

It takes into account someone's schema which means that Bartlett understands that someone's entire life experiences will contribute to their recall. He researched into each individual to grasp their schemas before conducting the experiment

How are experiments an example of reductionism

They isolate one variable to identify cause and effect without considering other possible contributing factors