Memory

• Explanations for forgetting

  Interference - retroactive interference

  Mc Geoch and Mc Donald

  participants learnt an initial list of 10 words then were put into 1 condition out of 6 - eg learn words that had similar and opposite meanings to the initial/original list

  
  

  • participants that had to learn similar material to the original list had the poorest recall
  • interference is worse when memories/learning are similar
• Ex for forgetting

  Interference

  Baddeley and Hitch - tested rugby players on the names of the teams they played against

  some players played different amounts because due to injury

  
  

  • the players that played more games had the worst recall - more interference

  
  

  EVAL - high ecological validity - shows that interference happens in real-life settings
• Ex for forgetting

  Cue-dependent forgetting (CDF)

  Godden and Baddeley (1975) discovered that when divers learned material underwater, they recalled the information better when tested underwater than when on dry land.

  This supports the theory of context-dependent memory.

  HOWEVER, the effect found by Godden and Baddeley only happened with free recall items. When participants were asked to identify the correct items from a list, researchers found no context-based effect. This would suggest that cue-dependency doesn’t explain all forms of forgetting.
• Ex for forg

  CDF - EVAL

  There are some criticisms of the cue-dependent theory of forgetting. For example, many of the studies are lab-based so don't represent real life. Also, the ability to perform learned skills isn't affected by state-dependent failure.
• Conclusions and EVAL

  Loftus and Palmer (1974) studied the effects of leading questions in eyewitness testimony. They conducted two experiments, both supporting the conclusion that leading questions (even just changing one word) can affect the accuracy of the eyewitness testimony.

  This was a laboratory study - good control of extraneous variables. But because a film - artificial setting, it may not give an accurate depiction of eyewitness testimony. Real-life scenarios can be traumatic and emotionally arousing - may also have effects on memory.
• Loftus and palmer eval pt 2

  Demand characteristics - The participants may have been aware of its true purpose. So the reliability and validity of the results would be compromised.

  Real-life implications - police officers can conduct more reliable and trustworthy police interviews by avoiding leading questions (by being asked leading questions, they may realise the study was about vulnerability to leading questions). Police should set guidelines and give information on how to formulate proper/non-leading questions.
• Central executive


  • The CE is an attentional system. This means that it filters information to determine what is attended to.
  • The CE processes information in all sensory forms and directs this information to the appropriate component. The CE collects responses.
  • The CE has a limited unknown capacity and can only effectively cope with one strand of information at a time.
  • When attention needs to be divided (for example, when driving and engaging in conversation), the CE decides how resources are shared, switching attention between different inputs of information.
• In the enhanced cognitive interview, the witness is encouraged to control the flow of information and not to guess if they don't know. The interviewer uses focused memory techniques such as mental imagery.
• WMM

  
  

  Information in long-term memory is transferred to working memory where it is combined with new information and manipulated. Working memory can be used to perform cognitive functions such as mental arithmetic.
• WMM


  The CE is an attentional system. This means that it filters information to determine what is attended to.

  The CE processes information in all sensory forms and directs this information to the appropriate component. The CE collects responses.

  The CE has a limited unknown capacity and can only effectively cope with one strand of information at a time.

  When attention needs to be divided (for example, when driving and engaging in conversation), the CE decides how resources are shared, switching attention between different inputs of information.