Cognitive Approach: Reliability of One Cognitive Process (Memory- Reconstructive Memory Model)

When discussing reliability of memory, what areas can you focus on?

Age when the event occurred

Age of participant

New information impacting already stored information (Loftus)

Influence/Leading questions

How does Bartlett's schema theory impact the reliability of memory?

Reconstruct their memories based on schematic information

How does Loftus's reconstructive memory model explain the reliability of memory?

Reconstruct memory but it is impacted by new information being stored in memory

How does Loftus support Bartlett?

Supports Bartlett's belief that memory can be unreliable.

but...Emphasized critical question (presupposition) and leading questions

Does everyone have a fantasy-reality boundary?

Yes

According to researchers, what is the best way to encourage truthful testimony by children about sexual abuse?

Question without pressuring

What age group is most vulnerable to suggestion?

preschoolers

Who conducted the research dealing with a man named Sam?

Ceci, 1994

What are the research conclusions about child eyewitness testimony implicating?

Children are often able to recall events with great accuracy BUT they also may say something happened when it did not.

When is a child more likely to be suggestible?

The child is very young

Child is influenced by preconceptions

Child has a desire to please the interviewer

Does research support that you can use an anatomically correct doll to distinguish between abused and non-abused children?

No. Children, whether abused or not, may play with an anatomically correct doll in a sexual way.

Post-Event Information

Information about an event provided AFTER (time doesn't matter)

Misleading Questions

Example of post-information

Questions that suggest information that is not entirely consistent with what happened

Recall

Retrieval in the absence of an prompts (Example: ERQ/ sketch artist)

Recognition

a measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned, as on a multiple-choice test

Reconstructive Memory

Memory is an active (vs passive) process

New and old information interact with each other

eyewitness Testimony

a person who has personally seen something happen and so can give a first-hand description of it

Assumptions about the reliability of memory

-Schema influences what is encoded and what is retrieved (store and access memory)

-Memories can be distorted

What theory states that memories can be distorted based on new information or events?

Reconstructive Memory Model

Which memory model did the Reconstructive Memory Model adapt?

Multi-Store memory Model

Which research discussed in class is considered a criticism of Loftus' experimental research?

McCloskey and Zaragoza, 1985

Yuille and Cutshall, 1986

According to schema theory, what impacts the retrieval from LTM?

What schema we are using at the time

Aim of Cohen, 1981

We are more likely to remember information that is consistent with stereotypes/labels/schemas

Method of Cohen, 1981

Experiment

Design of Cohen, 1981

Independent Measures

Conclusion of Cohen, 1981

stereotypes are connected to previous memories and the development of new memories (schema)

Aim of Loftus and Palmer, 1974

To see if memory can be altered by misleading post-event information

-Post event information will integrate with the memory of the event and alter it

Method and Design for Loftus and Palmer, 1974

Two Experiment: Independent Measures

Independent Variable for Loftus and Palmer, 1974

Experiment 1:Emotional integrity of the verb

Experiment 2: critical question (control), Smashed/hit each other

Conclusion for Loftus and Palmer, 1974

Post event information does influence memory.

What are the two possible reasons that post event information influenced memory?

-Genuine memory change: question changes memory of the event

-Response bias: verbs of a higher intensity cause them to guess a higher estimate because they are uncertain

Which experiment in Loftus and Palmer, 1974 dealt with Response Bias?

Experiment 2 and showed we should reject response bias because they recalled events that never occurred

What are examples of misinformation effect

- repeated questioning: enhance recall of details and induce forgetting of others not brought up in questions

- repeated exposure to misinformation strengthens the memory of misinformation

- impacts memory even when participants are informed that it will ("I feel just like Jennifer")

Aim of Loftus, Miller and Burns, 1978

investigate whether verbal post-event information can also be seen in visual recognition tasks

Method and Design Loftus, Miller and Burns, 1978

Experiment using independent measures (2x2 experiment)

Results of Loftus, Miller and Burns, 1978

41% accuracy with inconsistent, 75% with consistent

Inconsistent worsens over time

Aim of McCloskey and Zaragoza, 1985

change in memory is due to response bias

How did McCloskey and Zaragoza, 1985 collect data?

Forced Choice test after slides and narrative

Conclusion of McCloskey and Zaragoza, 1985

Original memory is not distorted but forgotten and they were remembering the narrative, not the pictures

When misleading information is not an option, they perform just as well

Criticisms of Eyewitness Memory Research

Lack ecological validity: conducted in a lab with university students

Lab research is not easily generalized because they can't duplicate extremely stressful eyewitness accounts

What other factors may impact the accuracy of eyewitness memory?

Flashbulb memories: emotion's impact on memory

Biology

Bias

Which part of LeDoux's two pathway theory involves the cerebral cortex (higher thinking)?

Long Pathway