A-level psychology [memory]

coding

the way information is changed so it can be stored in the memory. the information enters the brain through the sensed and is stored in different forms

capacity

a measure of how much can be held within the memory represented in terms of bits of information

duration

a measure of how long your memory lasts before it is no longe available

aims of baddelys study

to determine how information is coded in STM compared to LTM

method of baddelys study

he gave a list of words to 4 groups (acoustically similar, acoustically dissimilar, semantically similar, semantically dissimilar) of participants and then asked them to recall them immediately to test STM and after 20 mins to test LTM.

baddelys findings

difficulty remembering similarly sounding words in STM but not LTM, semantically similar words were little issue in STM but got muddled in LTM.

this suggests STM is coded acoustically but LTM is encoded semantically.

was baddely actually testing LTM?

STM was tested by asking the ppts to recall a word list immediately after hearing it.

LTM was tested by asking them to recall the word after 20 mins.

it is questionable as to weather this is really testing LTM. and this casts a doubt on validity of his research as it wasn’t looking at LTM

where does visual coding/ encoding fit with both STM and LTM? is STM exclusively acoustic and LTM exclusively semantic? how is info coded for deaf people?

some experiments have shown that visual codes are also used in STM. for example, brandimote et al found that puts used visual coding in STM if given a visual test and prevented from doing any verbal rehearsal in the retention interval before performing a (verbal) recall task.

normally we translate visual images into verbal codes in STM but as verbal rehearsal was prevented ppts used visual codes.

this suggests that STM is not exclusively acoustic

jacobs study (1887)

STM capacity can be assessed using the digit span technique. Jacob 1887 used this technique to asses STM capacity. he found that the average span for digits is 9.3 and 7.3 for letters. Jacob suggested that this is because there are less numbers to remember.

millers study (1956)

miller wrote an article reviewing psychological research and concluded that the span of immediate memory is about 7 items

does the size of the chunk matter?

yes, the size of the chunk affects how many you can remember. Simon (1974) found that people had a shorter memory span for larger chunks (phrases) than smaller chunks (words).

this supports the idea that STM has a limited capacity and refines our understanding.

is everyones STM capacity the same size?

no, STM capacity isn’t the same size of everyone.

jacobs also found that recall increased steadily with age; 5 yea olds could remember an average of 6.6 digits whereas the average for 19 year olds was 8.6. this increase might be a result of changes in brain capacity and the development of things like chunking. this suggests that the capacity of STM is not fixed and individual. differences may play a role.

could the capacity of STM be even more limited than originally thought?

a criticism of millers research is tat findings haven’t been replicated. Cowan (2011) reviewed a variety of studies on the capacity of STM and concluded that STM is likely to be limited to about 4 chunks. reseat on the capacity of STM for visual information (rater than verbal) also found that 4 items was the limit. this means that the lower range of millers range is more important.

STM may not be as extensive as once thought.

Peterson and Peterson study

students were given a trigram and a three digit number. students were asked to count backwards from tat number in 3s or 4s in order to prevent rehearsal. they were asked to do this for varying periods of time.

ppts were 90% correct over 3 seconds but got worse after longer periods of time with only 2% for 18 seconds. this suggests that STM has a short duration of less than 18 seconds if rehearsal is prevented (18-30 seconds without prevention of resesal)

how does the Peterson and Peterson study lack ecological validity?

the study lacks ecological validity as it is an unrealistic task that is uncommon in daily life.

would using auditory tines instead if numbers change the duration of STM?

STM results may be due to displacement. a criticism of the Petersons study is that it didn’t actually measure what it set out to measure. during the study participants were counting the numbers in their STM and this may displace/ overwrite the syllables to be remembered. Reitman used auditory tones instead of numbers so tat displacement would occur (sounds don’t interfere with verbal rehearsal) and found that duration of STM was longer.

this suggests that forgetting in the Petersons study was due to displacement rather than decay.

bahrick study of LTM duration method

ppts included 392 American ex high school students aged 14-17. they were tested on the memory of the classmates.

recall was tested in 4 ways:

1- free recall of the names of as many of their former classmates as possible.

2- a photo recognition test were they were asked to identify former classmates in a set of 50 photos, only some of wit were their classmates.

3- a name recognition test.

findings and conclusions of bahricks study

90% accuracy in face and name recognition after 34 years

80% accuracy for name recognition after 48 years

40% accuracy for face recognition after 48 years

60% accuracy for free recall after 15 years

30% accuracy for free recall after 30 years.

this suggests that LTM may last a lifetime

ecological validity of barhicks study

bahrik study is higher in ecological validity as it is more likely that you will need to name classmates (eg at a school reunion)

validity in bahricks study

high in concurrent validity as it is still relevant now because our memory has not changed over time.

high in face validity as they are measuring what they set out to measure.

high in interval validity as variables are consistent over time.

assumptions of the multi store model

assumption 1: LTM and STM are separate stores, one can be damaged whilst the other still functions

assumption 2: its a linear process; information MUST be processed through each stage before it gets into LTM

explanation of the multi store model

information is inputted through our senses and the environment into the sensory register. if we chose to pay attention to this information it will then go to the short term memory. from here its can either be recalled or it will begin to decay. if this information is rehearsed it will move to the LTM where it can last up to a lifetime. if retrieved it will go into the rehearsal loop / maintenance reversal before being recalled from the STM

coding into the sensory register

unprocessed information from all 5 senses

sensory register capacity

unknown but very large

sensory register capacity

very limited

STM coding

acoustic coding

STM capacity

7+/- 2 in general

STM duration

18 seconds

LTM coding

semantically coded

LTM capacity

unlimited

LTM duration

up to a lifetime

how does research and brain scanning support the MSM and why can lab studies be seen as a limitation?

controlled lab studies on capacity, duration and coding support the existence of separate stores for the MSM. there has also been further support for the existence of separate STM and LTM stores using brain scanning techniques. they’ve found that the prefrontal cortex is active during STM tasks but not LTM tasks and the hippocampus is only active during LTM tasks. all of this provides evidence for separate stores.

KF case study

KF had a motorcycle accident and suffered damage to the left side of his brain. this damages his STM digit span. however he showed normal learning in his LTM. given that info has to go though the STM to get to the LTM this creates confusion for the model. this shows that were are different routs for information to get to the LTM.

HM case study

HM had surgery to try and reduce his epilepsy. this surgery included removing the hippocampus. although effective in treating the epilepsy the surgery left him with amnesia. he had normal memory for things that he had leaned before the surgery but he could either not transfer info into the LTM or retrieve it from there.

Clive wearing case study

wearing suffered a brain infection that damages his hippocampus. this meant that he wasn’t able to transfer Information from the STM to the LTM. as a consequence e constantly felt as though he had just woken up from years of sleep. this means that he acts as though he has been away from people for may years despite having seen them the day before. he can still talk, walk and play the organ however when asked to do these tings he acts as though he has never learned how.

KF and the MSM

this refutes the MSM a it assumes that you process information at every store but he is missing is STM yet info is able to get to his LTM so there must be another route.

HM and the MSM

this supports the MSM as it assumes that all stores are separate and despite him damaging his STM his LTM was perfectly in tact.

Wearing and the MSM

this support the assumption that all stores are separate as he can still process some new information.

one limitation of the MSM is that it is too simple.

the MSM suggest that STM and LTM are unity stores. However, research doesn’t support this. the working memory model shows that memory is divided into different stores. research shows that there are different types of LTM that all behave differently.

this suggests that the process of rehearsal doesn’t fully explain the process of creating long term memories.

do the MSM and WMM take an idiographic or nomothetic approach and what are the benefits / limitations?

nomothetic - aims to produce general laws regarding memory processes which are universal.

idiographic - looks for evidence of memory processes by looking at individual case studies

the MSM and WMM are examples of experimental and machine reductionism. how is this a limitation?

computer analogy is a limitation as humans make mistakes processing information but computers don’t. this reduces the validity of the MSM.

furthermore, research in controlled conditions ignores the emotions / context of specific memories

MSM strengths

the model tells us how memory processes work

use of the scientific method

research support for each component of the MSM

case studies support memory processes and add validity to the model.

idiographic and nomothetic

limitations of the MSM

models don’t tell us why memory processes work the way they do.

case study data is qualitative in nature meaning that it is time consuming to gather and lacks in generalisability.

over reliant on the role of attention, may be over factors affecting memory processes.

machine reductionism: no context or meaning to human memory processes.

experimental reductionism: tasks within the research such as remembering trigrams aren’t very realistic.

explain the process of the working memory model

information is inputted into the central executive. this is ten split into three parts. the visuospatial sketchpad, the episodic buffer and the phonological loop. all of these are components of the STM and information has to be processed here before being transferred into the LTM

function and components of the central executive

monitors incoming data and divides our attention go tasks and allocates slave systems.

central executive capacity

very limited

central executive coding

all 5 senses

function and components of the phonological loop

deals with auditory information and preserves the order in which the information arrives.

phonological store: stores the words you hear

articulatory process: allows for rehearsal

phonological loop capacity

limited (2 seconds)

phonological loop coding

acoustic

function and components of the visuospatial sketchpad

stores visual/ spatial info. it is used when you have to plan a spatial task.

visual cache, inner scribe

visuospatial sketchpad capacity

3-4 objects

visuospatial sketchpad coding

visual

function and components of the episodic buffer

temporary store for information. it takes all the information from other stores and maintains sequencing whilst recording events.

episodic buffer capacity

4 chunks

episodic buffer coding

all your senses

why is the description of the CE a limitation of the WMM?

the role of attention is vague. limited capacity to delegate attention effectively to the slave systems.

what is the problem with using case studies of brain damaged patients to inform the model. what does this mean for the model?

traumatic brain injury patient case studies are unethical as this could potentially cause more trauma to study them in a lab. data also cannot be generalised meaning that it lacks reliability.

how does KF support the WMM?

he couldn’t process auditory info effectively and e is better at processing visual info.

shows: damage to phonological loop

supports: visuospatial sketchpad is in tact. two different stores

how does SC support the WMM?

generally effective, learning abilities couldn’t learn acoustically presented word pairs.

shows: damage to phonological loop.

how does LH support the WMM?

performed more effectively on spatial tan visual tasks.

shows: damage to visual cache but an in tact inner scribe

how do dual task studies support the WMM?

show the vulnerability of the central executive when participants asked to carry out 2 verbal tasks at the same time such as answering the question ‘does a follow b’ as well as reciting random digits, they failed.

strengths of the WMM

research support of the main components of WMM mainly using duel task studies and are conducted in labs.

PET scans support for separate components within the WMM.

case study support

explains short term memory in terms of temporary storage and active processing which accounts of individual differences.

limitations of the WMM

fails to explain musical memory

evidence for the CE is limited

combined with the MSM = less emphasis on rehearsal

contradicts MSM flow diagram

practical applications

episodic memory

this is our ability to recall events from our life.

they are time stamped meaning that you can remember what happened when.

includes memory of people, places, objects and behaviours of the events

semantic memory

this is our shared memory of the world.

less personal memory and more facts

constantly being added to but not time stamped

procedural memory

this is memory concerned with actions

the remembering of HOW to do it and not what to do.

no conscious awareness

acquired through practice and repetition

they become automatic.

HM and the different types of LTM

HM had his hippocampus removed to relieve his epilepsy. this effected his ability to form new LTMs. he could perform procedural memories but now new episodic or semantic memories. from this and brain scan images, we could conclude that there is a distinction between explicit and implicit memories and therefore multiple types of LTM

are episodic memories separate or are episodic memories a gateway for semantic memories?

alzheimers patients retain the ability to form new episodic but not semantic memories (disassociation) and some have poor semantic memories and in tact episodic memories (double disassociation). this double disassociation suggests that episodic and semantic memories are separate and episodic may be a gateway to semantic memory but it is still possible for semantic memories to form separately.

is the study of LTM nomothetic or idiographic?

idiographic - case study sobassevd only on one patients experience

nomothetic - creates general ways about different types of LTM.

interference

when two pieces of information disrupt each other resulting in forgetting one or both memories. once information is in the LTM it is more or less permanent so forgetting is most likely because we cannot access it.

retroactive interference

new information interferes with the recall of old information from LTM.

proactive interference

old information stored in the LTM interferes with the leaning of new information especially if the information if similar.

research evidence for proactive interference

underwood (1957) looked at findings from past studies and concluded that when participants have to learn multiple word lists they don’t learn the list encountered second as well as the one learned earlier on.

if memorising 10+ word lists only 20% was remembered compared to 70% when learning one list

research evidence for retroactive interference

muller and Pilzecker (1990) gave participants a list on nonsense syllables to learn for 6 minutes and after a retention period asked participants to recall the lists. performance was worse if participants had been given an interfering task between initial learning and recall. the interfering task produced RI as it interred what had already been learnt.

research evidence for interference.

baddeley and hitch (1977) asked rugby players to recall the names of teams they had played against during a rugby season. players had all played for the same length of time but some missed games due to injury. players who had played the most games had the poorest recall. this supports interference as the more games you played the more names you need to remember which interfere with each-other.

the research into interference is artificial

one issue with the evidence concerns the methodology of the studies.

most of the research uses lists of words or nonsense syllables. this means that the findings won’t relate to everyday uses of memory (doees’t usually involve word lists) furthermore, participants may lack motivation to remember links in such studies. this may allow interference effects to seem stronger than they are in reality.

this means that the research is low in ecological validity

the interference only explains one type of forgetting

another criticism of research into interference is that while interference does occur in daily life it doesn’t occur that often.

in order for interference to lead to forgetting the memories need to be similar. therefore interference is considered unimportant in daily life. Anderson concluded that there is no doubt that interference plays a role in forgetting but how much forgetting can be attributed to interference is unclear. this means that other theories are needed in order to provide a complete explanation.

does interference actually occur or is it a short term problem only? how does cerasos study support this argument?

researchers question whether interference effects actually cause a memory to disappear or if effects are temporary.

ceraso found that if memory was tested again after 24 hours recognition showed considerable spontaneous recovery whereas recall remained the same.

this supports the view that interference effects accessibility rather than availability.

retrieval failure

failure to find an item of information because you have insufficient clues or cues.

encoding specificity outline

tulving anf Thompson proposed that memory is most effective if information that is present during coding / encoding is also available during retrieval.

the encoding specificity principle states that a cue doest have to be exactly right but the closer to the original item is the more useful it will be

research example for specificity example

Tulving and pearlstone did a study where participants had to learn 48 words belonging to to 12 different categories. (each word was presented as category + word) and participants either had to recall as many words as possible or they were given the category as a cue.

in free recall 40% of words were recalled on average whereas in cued recall 60% of words were recalled.

this is evidence that codes that have been coded at the same time of learning have a link to the material that is learned.

context dependent clues outline

one example of context dependant forgetting is a study by Abernathy.

she arranged for a group of students to be tested before a course began. they were then tested each week by a different instructor. whereas others were tested in a different room either by their usual instructor or another one. those tested by the same director in the same room performed best.

research example for context dependent forgetting.

godden and baddeley investigated the contextual cues. the researchers recruited scuba divers as participants and arranged for them to learn a set of words either underwater or on land.

the results showed tat highest recall occurred when the initial context matched the recall environment.

state dependent forgetting

the mental state you are in can also act as a cue.

Goodwin et al (1969) asked male volunteers to remember a list of words when they were either drunk or sober. the participants were then asked to recall the lists after 24 hours when some were sober but others had to get drunk again.

the recall scores suggest that information learned when drunk is is more available when in the same state later on.

strengths of retrieval failure

Aberthys research suggests that you ought to revise in the room where you will be sitting the exam (this might be unrealistic but can be imagined).

smith (1979) showed that just thinking of the room where you did the original learning was as effective as actually being in the same room as retrieval.

This shows how research into retrieval failure can suggest strategies for improving recall in real world situations.

weaknesses of the retrieval failure theory

the issue is that the information you are learning is related to a lot more than the cues.

research is about context effects looks into participants learning word lists whereas milgrams study is complex associations triggered by single cues.

the outshining hypothesis is the hypothesis that a cues effectiveness is reduced by the presence of better cues.

this suggests that while the use of retrieval cues can explain some instances of forgetting they dont explain everything.

leading question

a question in which the wording may lead o mislead you to give a certain answer because of the way that it is phrased.

Loftus and palmer - experiment one procedure

45 students watched 7 films of car accidents and had to answer a questionnaire. there was a critical question: ‘how fast were the cars going when they hit eachother?’

one group was given the word hit, the other four were given ‘smashed’, ‘collided’, ‘bumped’, or ‘contacted’

Loftus and palmer experiment one findings

the more emotive the verb the higher the estimate of speed. the leading question affected the response.

Loftus and palmer - experiment two procedure

participants were divided into 3 groups and shown a car accident and asked questions about speed. a week later they were brought back in and asked an artificial question ‘did you see any broken glass?’ there wasn’t any broken but those who thought the car was going faster were more likely to say there was.

Loftus and palmer - experiment two findings

the leading question and change the actual memory of the event

conformity effect experiment procedure

participants were in pairs where each partner watched a different video of the same event so they each had viewed unique item. pairs in one condition were encouraged to discuss the event before each partner individually recalled the event they watched

conformity experiment findings

71% of witnesses who had discusses the event went on to mistakenly recall items acquired during the discussion.

repeat interview procedure

each time an eyewitness is interviewed there is the possibility that comments from the interviewer swill become incorporated into their recollection of events.

the interviewer may also use leading questions and alter the individual memory of events.

supporting evidence for effect of misleading information (bugs bunny study)

lotus conduced a study using a cut out of bugs bunny, college students who visited Disneyland as children were asked to evaluate advertising material about Disneyland. the adverts contained misleading info about bugs bunny (not a Disney character) or Ariel (unreleased during their childhood). participants in these groups were more likely to report meeting these characters than those in the control group (no misleading information)

this shows that misleading information is powerful in creating an inaccurate and false memory.

Loftus claims that EWT is generally inaccurate and therefore unreliable but not all researchers agree with this conclusion-why?

loftus research suggests that EWT was generally inaccurate and hence unreliable but other researchers have criticised its lack its lack of validity.

lab experiments may not represent real life as people aren’t as emotional as they would be in real life. foster et al found that if people though that they were watching a real life robbery their response would be influenced.

this suggests that misleading information may have less influence on real life EWT than Loftus suggests

individual differences of EWT

an eyewitness typically acquires information from two sources. observing the event itself and then from subsequent suggestions (misleading information)

multiple studies have found that compared to younger subjects, elderly people have difficulty remembering remembering the source of their information even though their memory of the information itself is unimpaired. as a result they become more prone to the effect of misleading information when giving testimony.

this suggests that age in particular is an important factor when it comes to assessing the reliability of EWT.

anxiety negative effect on accuracy

stress has a negative effect on memory as well performance generally.

anxeity has a positive effect on accuracy

high arousal creates more enduring and accurate memories.