Memory process where information is encoded, stored and retrieved
Memory process
1. Encoding
2. Storage
3. Retrieval
Encoding
Information coded within our senses
Storage
How information is held in memory
Retrieval
Finding information and bringing it out of storage
Bartlett's reconstructive memory
Suggests memory isn't like a tape recorder, we retrieve from long-term memory but it's not an exact copy
Schema theory
Mental representation of information - object/event used to understand what is happening, something new/different. Use schema to help understand, can lead to changes in stored memory
Schemata
New memory accommodated into existing, don't deviate from expectations
Confabulation
Schema fills in gaps and may alter how we remember information to make it fit with existing schema
Rationalisation
Where we make sense of information we have received based on our schema, appears more logical and fits in with expectations
Multi-Store Memory Model
Sensory, short-term, long-term memory
Sensory memory
Information put through 5 senses, encoded in a sensory format, can only hold a limited amount of information, information held for 2 seconds, if attended to passed on to short-term memory, if not attended to permanently lost
Short-term memory
Stored as auditory information for us to rehearse, capacity of 5-9 items, duration of 15-30 seconds, if not rehearsed lost through decay or displacement
Long-term memory
Largely held semantically, can be auditory or visual, no limit on capacity, information can potentially last forever
Working Memory Model
Central executive, phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad, episodic buffer
Central executive
Controls the other components, has limited capacity, affects higher cognitive functioning and problem solving
Episodic memory
Mental diary of information about events and individuals, autobiographical, potentially unlimited capacity, encoded when something significant happens, retrieval dependent on cues encoded upon learning
Semantic memory
Mental encyclopedia of facts and general knowledge, meanings we give to symbols, potentially unlimited capacity, encoded independently of time, retrieval cue independent
Eyewitness testimony
Witnesses are not always accurate, can lead to miscarriage of justice, 41% of wrongful convictions due to unreliable eyewitness testimony
Ron Cotton served 10 years for a crime he did not commit, was exonerated due to DNA evidence
Witnesses reconstruct events to match pre-existing schemas
Makes the story more coherent but less accurate
Witnesses need cues from the crime scene
May be less accurate as they may not recall as accurately without those cues
Words at the start of a list are better recalled than those at the end
Easier to retrieve from short-term memory, words rehearsed into long-term memory