Psychology Chapter: Memory and Perception

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Questions and Answers

What is the primary focus of the weapon focus effect in eyewitness memory?

Eyewitnesses remember peripheral details more accurately

Eyewitnesses concentrate on crucial aspects, ignoring other details (correct)

Eyewitnesses show equal attention to all aspects of an event

Eyewitnesses experience heightened recall for emotional items

What distinguishes episodic memory from semantic memory?

Episodic memory is based on skills, while semantic memory involves facts

Episodic memory is typically unconscious, while semantic is conscious

Episodic memory contains no emotional context, while semantic often does

Episodic memory involves time-related context, while semantic memory does not (correct)

What role do schemas play in memory according to Bartlett?

They are unrelated to remembering new information

They support factual retention without context

They solely enhance recall of episodic memories

They help organize and interpret new information (correct)

In the DRM paradigm, what was a primary finding related to false memories?

Warnings before studying reduced false memories Signup and view all the answers

What was a significant finding from Brewer and Treyens' study on schemas?

Schema consistent objects were remembered more accurately than others Signup and view all the answers

How do inferences during encoding affect memory retrieval?

They can introduce distortions into memory recall Signup and view all the answers

What was the outcome of Loftus et al.'s study involving a gun and a cheque?

Eyewitnesses had better recall of details when a gun was present Signup and view all the answers

What does 'effort after meaning' refer to in Bartlett's research?

Participants aim to find significance in learned material Signup and view all the answers

What is a possible reason for attentional blindness during visual tasks?

Overload from irrelevant background information Signup and view all the answers

What is a characteristic feature of procedural memory?

It is related to skills and motor functions Signup and view all the answers

What is the main effect of anxiety on memory encoding according to the studies?

It reduces attention and recall effectiveness. Signup and view all the answers

Which statement is true about the fragility of eyewitness testimony?

Memory distortion is easy and common. Signup and view all the answers

What did Loftus & Palmer's 1974 study reveal about the effect of wording on memory?

Different terms used can lead to vastly different results. Signup and view all the answers

What is a major issue with children as eyewitnesses?

They have a tendency to be highly suggestible. Signup and view all the answers

What effect does repeated testing have on eyewitness recall?

It can increase the effect of misleading information. Signup and view all the answers

What does source misattribution refer to?

A failure to accurately determine the source of a memory. Signup and view all the answers

Which factor contributes to the poor accuracy of eyewitness identification?

Witnesses often have difficulty remembering unfamiliar faces. Signup and view all the answers

What is one of the best practices for eyewitness identification according to the Innocence Project?

Using a double blind administration process. Signup and view all the answers

What does conscious transference refer to in eyewitness memory?

Misidentifying someone based on familiarity. Signup and view all the answers

What is the cognitive interview designed to achieve?

To enhance the accuracy of eyewitness accounts of the crime. Signup and view all the answers

What is one reason for the discrepancies in eyewitness testimony from laboratory findings versus real-life scenarios?

Field settings can be more complex and varied. Signup and view all the answers

According to research, how does belief in accuracy influence eyewitness recall?

Greater belief can lead to overconfidence and inaccuracies. Signup and view all the answers

Which statement about the research on stress and memory is accurate?

Stress has varying effects on memory, with debates among researchers. Signup and view all the answers

What is one of the limitations noted in the use of eyewitness testimony in legal situations?

Eyewitness testimony can be highly variable in accuracy. Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Reconstructive Memory

Memory is not a passive recording, but an active reconstruction.
Inferences are made during encoding.
Post-event information can influence recall.
Perspective during retrieval affects memory.
General knowledge and expectations influence memory.

Attentional Blindness

Changes can occur during an interruption of attention, but people can miss them.
Even things in plain sight can be missed.

Eyewitness Memory

Weapon Focus Effect: Eyewitnesses prioritize the weapon, neglecting other, crucial details.
Loftus' studies show the significance of the item (e.g., weapon) in leading to identification.
Details about items, impact stronger identification in certain situations.
Weapon focus can affect accuracy in witness identification.

Long-Term Memory (LTM)

Procedural Memory: Skills (motor and cognitive) and classical conditioning effects.
Declarative Memory:
Episodic Memory: Personally experienced events, context (time and place).
Semantic Memory: General knowledge, facts, concepts (no time/place context).

DRM Paradigm

Lists of associated words lead to false memories (e.g., critical lure recalled).
Warnings during learning can reduce false memories.
Participants recall both studied and critical lure words, even with warnings.

Bartlett's Research (1932)

Memory is an active process of meaning-making and organization.
"Effort after meaning": Participants actively try to make sense of the material.
Schemas (knowledge structures) shape encoding and retrieval.

Schemas

Schemas are cognitive frameworks representing knowledge about the world (e.g., objects, actions, events).

Schemas in Everyday Life

Brewer & Treyens (1981): Schema consistency affects recall.
Schema consistent items are recalled better, and consistent false memories are more likely.

Schemas and Confirmation Bias

Schemas can lead to memory distortions based on expectations.
Tuckey & Brewer (2003) study found memory of bank robbery included more elements from bank robbery schemas.

Effects During Encoding: Anxiety

Pickel (1999): No significant effect of threat on memory accuracy in a controlled study.
Yuille & Cutshall (1986): Found opposite conclusion in real life experiment.
Other research (e.g., Deffenbacher et al., 2004; Schwabe & Wolf, 2010) showed varying results on the effect of stress.

Effects During Encoding: Reduced Attention

Attentional factors impact encoding accuracy.

Information After the Event

Loftus & Palmer (1974): The phrasing of questions after an event can drastically affect eyewitness accounts.
Misinformation acceptance increases with time.
Belief, vividness, speed, and intensity of experience impact memory susceptibility but do not correlate with accuracy.

Effects of Wording and Suggestibility

Loftus and Zanni (1975): Different wording in questions produces different answers.

False Memories

Creating false memories is possible.

Children as Eyewitnesses

Children are more suggestible and their cognitive abilities are limited.
Interview techniques should be bias-free and consider contexts; repeated testing can impact both accuracy and suggestibility.

Familiarity vs. Recollection

Tulving (1985) distinguished between familiarity (knowing) and remembering (recollection).

Misattribution & Transference

Source misattribution: Incorrectly identifying the source of a memory.
Unconscious transference: Mistaken identification based on familiarity.
Preventing errors is possible by informing witnesses of disconnections between people in their memories.

Eyewitness Identification

Eyewitness accuracy is often low.
Sequential line-ups and warnings improve identification accuracy when witnesses don't have to choose the best.

Innocence Project

Eyewitness identification best practices for improving accuracy and avoiding mistakes.

Cognitive Interview

A method to enhance eyewitness recall through context reinstatement, complete reporting, varied recall orders and perspectives.

Existing Influences on Identification

People have difficulty remembering unfamiliar faces.
Own-race bias in identification.

Belief in Eyewitness Testimony

Jurors and others sometimes overestimate eyewitness reliability.

Laboratory vs. Courtroom

Laboratory studies may underestimate or overestimate eyewitness flaws.
Should research be told to jurors?

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Description

This quiz explores key concepts in psychology related to memory such as reconstructive memory, attentional blindness, and eyewitness memory. It highlights the complexities of how memories are formed, retrieved, and influenced by various factors. Test your understanding of these critical psychological principles.