Psychology - Memory

• Define Capacity

  The amount of information that can be stored in memory.
• Define Coding

  The way information is modified so that it can be stored in memory, e.g. visual, acoustic or semantic codes.
• Define Duration

  How long memory can be stored.
• Describe Peterson and Peterson's study into duration.

  Participants were given a three digit number, and asked to count down in threes from their number during a retention period of 3-18 seconds.
• Describe Baddley's study into coding.

  Participants given a word list of either semantically similar and acoustically different words, or semantically different and acoustically similar words. He concluded that LTM is coded semantically and STM is coded acoustically.
• Describe Miller's study into capacity

  Capacity of STM is thought to be 7, + or - 2. Capacity of LTM is unlimited.
• Name the 3 stores of the multi-store model of memory.

  Sensory register, STM and LTM
• Name the two stores which the sensory register is split into.

  Echoic store and iconic store
• What is the capacity and duration of the STM?

  Capacity = 5-9 items. Duration = 30 seconds.
• What is the capacity and duration of the LTM?

  Both unlimited.
• What is maintenance rehearsal?

  Repeating material so that information passes to the LTM. This information has to go back to the STM to be retrieved.
• Name the three types of LTM proposed by Tulving.


  Episodic, Procedural and Semantic.
• What is included within episodic memory?

  It contains personal memories, likened to a diary, time stamped and requires a conscious effort to recall.
• What is included within procedural memory?

  It contains actions and skills, for example driving a car, not time stamped and recalled without conscious awareness.
• What is included within semantic memory?

  It contains facts about the world, likened to an encyclopedia, not time stamped, and require a conscious effort to recall.
• Name the components of the working memory model.

  Central executive, phonological loop, visuo-spatial sketchpad and episodic buffer.
• What is the function of the central executive?

  Controls and allocates roles to the rest of the slave systems.
• What is the function of the phonological loop?

  Stores auditory information. It is divided into the phonological store, words we hear, and the articulatory process, repeat words in a loop. Duration of the phonological loop is 1-2 seconds.
• What is the function of the visuo-spatial sketchpad?


  Temporarily stores visual and spatial information. It is divided into the visual cache, visual information, and inner scribe, spatial information.
• What is the function of the episodic buffer?

  Temporary store for sequencing the information from the other stores.
• What is proactive interference?

  When old information interferes with the recall of new information.
• What is proactive interference?

  When new information interferes with the recall of old information.
• What did McGeoch and McDonald find about interference theory?

  When participants were given 2 word lists, recall of the 1st list was worse when the 2nd list contained similar content.
• Outline Godden and Baddeley's study into retrieval failure theory.

  Context-dependent forgetting - divers recalled word lists in 4 conditions, learn on land/recall underwater, learn on land/recall on land, learn underwater/recall on land, learn underwater/recall underwater. Accuracy of recall was 40% lower on non-matching conditions.
• Outline Carter and Cassady's study into retrieval failure theory.

  State-dependent forgetting - participants given anti-histamine drugs and asked to recall word lists in 4 conditions, learn on drug/recall normally, learn on drug/recall on drug, learn normally/recall on drug, learn normally/recall normally. Recall was worse on non-matching conditions.
• Outline Loftus and Palmer's study into misleading information.

  Leading questions - participants shown film clips of a car accident. Leading questions asked as the researcher changed the verb. For example, speed was estimated at 31.8mph for the verb 'contacted', but was estimated at 40.5mph for the verb 'smashed'.
• Outline Gabbert's research into misleading information.

  Post event discussion - 2 participants watched the same crime from different perspectives, then discussed what they saw before individually recalling. Found 71% mistakenly recalled what they saw as they picked it up from their discussion.
• Outline Johnson and Scott's research into the effects of anxiety.

  Anxiety has a negative effect on recall - low anxiety condition = participants in waiting room hear an argument, man walked out with a pen and grease on his hands. Recall of his description was 49%. High anxiety condition = participants heard argument and smashed glass, man walked out with a bloody paper knife. Recall of his description was 33%.
• Outline Yuille and Cutshall's research into effects of anxiety.

  Anxiety has a positive effect on recall - 13 witnessed to a real life shooting. Used a 7 point scale to determine levels of anxiety and interviewed participants 4-5 months after the incident. Found that participants who reported high levels of stress had the most accurate recall: 88% to 75%.
• Explain the stages of cognitive interview by Fisher and Geiselman.

  1 = Report Everything - include every detail you can remember about the incident, even if you think it is unnecessary. 2 = Reinstate Context - envision and return to the crime scene. 3 = Reverse Order - recall the events not in chronological order. 4 = Change Perspective - recall from other witnesses point of view to disrupt the effects of schema.