Memory Past Paper PDF

Name: Tutor: Target Grade: PAPER 1: MEMORY Specification: The multi-store model of memory: sensory register, short-term memory and long-term memory. Features of each store: coding, capacity and duration. Types of long-term memory: e...

Name: Tutor: Target Grade: PAPER 1: MEMORY Specification: The multi-store model of memory: sensory register, short-term memory and long-term memory. Features of each store: coding, capacity and duration. Types of long-term memory: episodic, semantic, procedural. The working memory model: central executive, phonological loop, visuo-spatial sketchpad and episodic buffer. Features of the model: coding and capacity. Explanations for forgetting: proactive and retroactive interference and retrieval failure due to absence of cues. Factors affecting the accuracy of eyewitness testimony: misleading information, including leading questions and post-event discussion; anxiety. Improving the accuracy of eyewitness testimony, including the use of the cognitive interview. Implementation: This topic is assessed in paper 1, we learn this topic now to build on your knowledge of Research Methods with the use of lab studies and case studies learned in the previous topic. We also learn this topic early in the first year to help you understand how we remember and forget and can also be used practically to improve revision techniques and study habits based on established psychological theories and evidence. 1 MEMORY GLOSSARY Is where the person transforms or manipulates the material that is to be Active processing remembered State of emotional arousal where there is a feeling or experience of A Anxiety apprehension and uncertainty Part of the phonological loop that repeats sounds or words to keep them in Articulatory control process working memory until they are needed Capacity The amount of information that can be held in memory Central executive Part of working memory that coordinates other components Method of increasing short-term memory by grouping information into larger Chunking units C Coding Changing the format of information for use in memory Cognitive interview Interview technique devised to improve the accuracy of witness recall Forgetting which occurs because the external cues at recall are different to Context-dependent failure those at the time of learning Cue-dependent forgetting Failure to recall information due to an absence of cues or 'tiggers' D Duration The length of time information remains in memory Part of working memory which is a temporary store integrating information Episodic buffer from the other components Type of long-term memory for information about specific experiences and E Episodic memory events in our lives Eyewitness testimony An account given by people of an event they have witnessed F Forgetting Failure to retrieve memories Stores information about the physical relationship of items (part of the visuo- Inner scribe spatial sketchpad) I Memory can be disrupted not only by previous learning but also by what is Interference theory learned in the future Leading question Question phrased in such a way that it prompts a particular kind of answer L Long-term memory Permanent store holding unlimited amounts of information for long periods Misleading information Incorrect information given the an eyewitness after an event M Explanation of memory that sees information flowing through a series of Multi-store model storage systems 2  Phonological loop Part of working memory that deals with auditory information Phonological store Part of the phonological loop which stores words heard A potential source of misleading information where witnesses discuss what Post-event discussion P they saw afterwards A cause of forgetting by which previously stored information prevents learning Proactive interference and remembering new information Procedural memory Long-term memory for "knowing how" Retrieval The recall of stored memories Retrieval failure Difficulties in recall that are due to the absence of the correct retrieval cues R Occurs when newly learned information interferes with and impedes the recall Retroactive interference of previously learned information A cognitive framework or concept that helps organize and interpret Schema information Semantic memory Type of long-term memory for information about the world that is not linked to particular contexts or events S Sensory register Store of sensory information that lasts no more than a few seconds Temporary memory store that holds limited amount of information for a short Short-term memory period of time State-dependent failure Forgetting which occurs because the emotional or physical state at recall is different to that at the time of learning Part of the visuo-spatial sketchpad that stores information about form and Visual cache colour V Visuo-spatial sketchpad Part of working memory that deals with visual information Model that suggests short-term memory is composed of three, limited capacity W Working memory model stores Memory is studied within the branch of Psychology known as “Cognitive Psychology”. This research field focuses on the mental processes that humans use to acquire, store, retrieve and use their knowledge about the world. MODELS OF MEMORY A “model” is a way of representing a psychological process. Models are not exact diagrams of what is happening biologically within the human brain, but a way of explaining an idea so that it can be experimentally tested. Each part of the idea can be tested to provide experimental evidence to support (or not) that model. You need to know two models of memory for the exam. The Multi-store Model of memory by Atkinson and Shiffrin The Working Memory Model by Baddeley and Hitch 3 THE MULTI-STORE MODEL OF MEMORY BY ATKINSON AND SHIFFRIN (1968) The multi-store model of memory was proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) provides one of the first complex models of human memory. This representation of memory sees memory as a sequential transfer of information in a linear way through three separate and unitary stores. These 3 stores are: sensory register, short-term memory and long-term memory. Each store is structurally and functionally different in terms of capacity, duration and coding. Maintenance rehearsal Information received through the senses (what is seen, heard, tasted, touched and smelt) enters the sensory register. It is modality-specific, i.e. whichever sense is registered will match the way it is consequently held (for instance, a taste held as a taste). This information is held for up to 250 milliseconds (0.25 of a second) and will then decay quickly if it is not attended to. If the information held in the sensory store is attended to it will be transferred to the short-term memory store. Information can remain in short-term memory if it is rehearsed but it cannot stay there for long. Here information can be easily forgotten due to the limited capacity and duration of the STM. Maintenance rehearsal via the rehearsal loop helps to maintain information in the STM, and consolidate it to LTM. Information can be transferred permanently to the long-term store if it is rehearsed enough usually by giving meaning (elaborative rehearsal) and can be retrieved when needed. The key feature of the multi-store model is that the short-term and the long-term stores are different. The memory stores are UNITARY, i.e. each has just one part and they are separate from each other. Atkinson & Shiffrin argued that each stored differed in: Capacity -how much information can be held Duration -how long the information can be stored for Coding -how the information is processed into something that can be stored e.g. acoustically by sound or semantically by meaning Note: The specification requires you understand the features of each store in terms of capacity, duration and coding. You need to understand what these terms mean and how each of the stores are different. You need to be able to explain how research is used to demonstrate the features of each store. There are no named studies in Memory, instead you may be asked to ‘outline research into capacity of STM’ etc. Although there are no named researchers, studies into memory are an integral part of this unit and you need to be able to explain evidence well and understand how it us used to support or challenge claims made about memory. 4 EVALUATION OF THE MULTI-STORE MODEL OF MEMORY BY ATKINSON AND SHIFFRIN (1968) There is evidence to support the idea that short-term and long-term memory are separate stores P because they are located in different areas of the brain. Research using brain scans has revealed that the short-term memory is located in the pre-frontal E cortex and long-term memory in the hippocampus. S E This is further supported by case studies such as Clive Wearing, Clive suffered from an infection to the brain, this meant that he was not able to move memories from his short term memory to his long term memory. This is due to the damage to the hippocampus. This shows that the short-term memory and long-term memory stores are unitary as the multi-store L model suggests. P There is contradictory evidence of the multi-store model. The case of Clive Wearing suggests that the long-term memory store is more complicated than just E a UNITARY store. C E Clive Wearing had some long-term memories intact – he was still able to play the piano – but was unable to recognise photographs of his Cambridge College. This suggests a distinction in LTM between procedural memories (how to do something), semantic L and episodic and therefore the stores are not unitary. P There is another explanation for the organisation of memory – The Working Memory Model. E The Working Memory model suggests that short-term memory is not unitary. O Short-term memory in the Working Memory model is broken down into sub-stores (central E executive, phonological loop, visuo-spatial sketchpad and episodic buffer). [More on this topic to come in this booklet] This suggests that the Multi-store model of memory is too simplistic to be a realistic explanation of L the organisation of memory. P The Multi-store model has led to many practical applications. One example is that the MSM states that rehearsal (elaborative rehearsal) results in information E P being transferred from short-term memory to long-term memory. This could be applied to designing revision techniques for students in education. For example, it is E more useful to extract meaning from information than to repeatedly read information. L This means that the Multi-store model has uses in the real world. P However, the Multi-store model has been criticised for using a nomothetic approach. The model uses general laws to explain memory by stating that all information processes through E ID the sensory register, STM and LTM. Information then needs to be rehearsed to be recalled. However, some things are just more easily recalled even without rehearsal (flashbulb memories – E e.g. day you started college) and the MSM does not account for these individual differences. L Therefore, an idiographic approach may be a better explanation for memory processing. 5 FEATURES OF EACH STORE: CODING, CAPACITY AND DURATION CAPACITY (How much information can be held) Sperling (1960) Ppts were presented with a 3x4 letter grid for 1/20 th second. When a high, Register Sensory medium or low pitched tone was produced to indicate which row was to be recalled ppts scored ¾. Since ppt did not know which row they had to recall the information had to be available somewhere. This has suggested that the capacity of the sensory register is unlimited. Short-term memory has a limited capacity; we can only hold a small amount of information before it is forgotten. To investigate how much information can be held in STM, Jacobs (1887) devised the “serial digit span technique”. He presented participants with a sequence of numbers and using the serial recall procedure, asked the participants to repeat back the letters or digits to him in the same order in which they were presented. Jacobs found that the average STM STM span (number of items accurately recalled) was between 5 and 9 items. Capacity of STM can be increased by chunking items together to reduce the number of separate items overall. Miller (1956) conducted a review of studies that had investigated the capacity of short term memory which supported Jacob’s study, concluding that the capacity of STM was “7 plus or minus 2” chunks of information. In comparison with STM, research suggests that the capacity of LTM is unlimited. It is possible LTM to lose data from your long term memory, through processes such as decay and interference, but forgetting does not occur because of capacity limitations. DURATION (How long the information can be held for) Sperling found the duration of the sensory register is less than a second (250 milliseconds). Participants stared at a screen and rows of letters were flashed very briefly—for just 1/20th of SR a second. Then, the screen went blank. The participants then immediately repeated as many of the letters as they could remember seeing. Most could only report 4 or 5 letters. The first attempt to measure the duration of STM was using an experimental technique called the Brown-Peterson technique. Participants were briefly shown consonant trigrams (e.g. BVM) and were given an interference task of counting backwards in 3’s to prevent rehearsal. After intervals of 3,6,9,12,15,18 seconds they were asked to recall the trigram. The interference task STM didn’t affect recall after 3 seconds but as time increased between presentation of the trigram and recall, performance declined. After 18 seconds, the memory trace for the trigram had decayed (fewer than 10% recalled correctly). Peterson & Peterson concluded that the duration of STM is approximately 18-30 seconds. Duration can be extended by verbal rehearsal. Bahrick et al (1975) showed 400 participants aged 17-74 years a set of photos and a list of names, some of which were old school friends, and were asked to identify their old school friends in the LTM photos. Those that had left high school 48 years previously recalled 80% of names and 70% of faces suggesting that memory for names & faces is long lasting. 6  CODING (The way in which information is processed and stored) Research shows that coding in the sensory register is modality specific i.e. there are separate Register Sensory sensory stores for different sensory inputs. Echoic for sounds, Iconic for sight, Olfactory for smells and Gustatory for tastes. Baddley (1966) investigated the main form of coding in STM and LTM by identifying errors in the recall of semantically similar and dissimilar words and errors in the recall of acoustically similar and dissimilar words. Participants (in an independent groups design) were presented with 4 sets of words and then asked to recall them. 1. Acoustically similar words (sound the same) 2. Acoustically dissimilar words (sound different) STM 3. Semantically similar words (similar meaning) 4. Semantically dissimilar words (different meaning) Participants recalled the list immediately, testing the coding of short-term memory (STM). Participants performed poorly when recalling the acoustically similar words in STM, suggesting that information in STM is coded according to sound, as similar-sounding information conflicted with each other. To test LTM participants recalled the list after 20 minutes, Baddeley found that participants recall LTM was worse for semantically similar words, suggesting that information in LTM is coded according to meaning, as information with similar meanings conflicted with each other. *The below is general evaluation, you need to be able to adapt the points and respond appropriately to the demands of the question. EVALUATION OF RESEARCH INTO CAPACITY, DURATION & CODING You need to add detail in your evaluation to the specific research you are discussing otherwise it may be too generic. Research into capacity, duration and coding of memory has taken place in highly controlled P laboratory environments. For example, the studies were able to reduce extraneous variables that may have had an E S E impact on recall such as distractions. Furthermore, the standardised procedures and materials enable the research to be replicated. (Link to appropriate example depending on question) L This means that research into capacity, duration and coding of each store is reliable. A limitation of research into capacity, duration and coding of memory is that the tasks used P are often artificial. For example, research often involves the recall of word lists or trigrams which are unlike the type of material we would expect to remember in other settings. Because of this E C we are unable to apply these results to everyday examples of memory such as remembering directions or a phone number. E Furthermore, participants are often students and many studies are more than 50 years old. This means that research into the capacity, duration and coding of memory lacks external L validity. Note: Studies showing differences in the stores (capacity, duration and coding) can be used as supporting evidence for the multi-store model. 7 TYPES OF LONG-TERM MEMORY *Not part of the Multistore Model Long-term memory (LTM) is a ‘permanent’ store that holds unlimited amounts of information for long periods of time. LTM can be split up into declarative memories (explicit memories that can be inspected and recalled consciously) and procedural memories (which are implicit in that we are typically unable to consciously recall them). Declarative memory can be sub-categorised further into episodic and semantic memories, as shown in the diagram below. Types of LTM Semantic Memory Episodic Memory Procedural Memory EPISODIC MEMORY The memory of autobiographical events (times, places, associated emotions, and other contextual who, what, when, where, why knowledge) that can be explicitly stated. It is the collection of past personal experiences that occurred at a particular time and place. For example, if you remember the party on your 6th birthday, this is an episodic memory. They are ‘time stamped’ (you know when the memory was made) and ‘declarative’ (you have to consciously ‘search’ for the memory). SEMANTIC MEMORY Sometimes called generic memory, this refers to the memory of meanings, understandings, and other concept-based knowledge. Semantic memory underlies the conscious recollection of factual information and general knowledge about the world. For example, knowing what the capital city of Italy is. The memories are not usually time-stamped, and they are declarative. PROCEDURAL MEMORY The memory for the performance of particular types of action/skill. Procedural memory guides the processes we perform and most frequently resides below the level of conscious awareness. When needed, procedural memories are automatically retrieved and utilised for the execution of the integrated procedures involved in both cognitive and motor skills, from tying shoes to flying an airplane to reading. These memories are not usually time-stamped, and are non-declarative (implicit)- they don’t need to be consciously recalled. SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES Episodic Memory Semantic Memory Procedural Memory Time-stamped Not time-stamped Not usually time-stamped Require conscious Require conscious recollection Do not require conscious recollection recollection Memory for events Memory for facts Memory for skills Hippocampus – Temporal Temporal Lobe Cerebellum & Motor Cortex Lobe Note: Questions that have been examined so far for types of LTM have required students to explain differences between the types of LTM so you must be able to be able to distinguish between each type and not just describe them. 8 EVALUATION OF TYPE OF LONG-TERM MEMORY P Brain scans provide support for different types of LTM. Research suggests that different parts of the brain are active when accessing episodic, semantic and E procedural memories. Episodic memories have been associated with the hippocampus and temporal lobe; semantic memories S E are also associated with the temporal lobe; and procedural memories are associated with the cerebellum and motor cortex. Brain scan research suggests that different brain regions are responsible for the different types of LTM, L supporting the idea that LTM is made up of at least three distinct categories. P Research to support the types of long-term memory can be criticised for having low population validity This is because studies that use one patient, such as Clive Wearing is a particular participant who suffers E C with an unusual illness involving damage to the brain. Therefore, it is difficult to generalise the findings of the different types of LTM to the wider population, E as their LTM may operate differently. L Thus, limiting the support that the research provides for the different types of LTM. P An opposing theory to types of long-term memory is the Multi-store model of memory. The Multi-store model of memory suggests that long-term memory is a unitary store. This means that E the stores are not broken down into different types of long-term memory. O E Type of long-term memory is a later discovery and could potentially add to the scientific explanation of the MSM. This suggests that types of LTM may be a better and more plausible theory of the organisation of L memory. P Understanding different types of memory allows for the development of helpful real‐world applications. E Belleville et al. (2006) compared the performance of older people suffering with a mild cognitive impairment who received memory training with that of a control group who did not. P E It was found that participants in the experimental group performed better on a test of episodic memory. L This suggests that being able to identify different types of LTM can provide psychologists with the opportunity to improve peoples’ lives though devising appropriate treatments to help alleviate the problems associated with age‐related memory impairment. P Research into types of LTM has used both idiographic and nomothetic research methods. E Establishing the structural separation of LTM stores using brain imaging techniques has been further supported with the use of case studies from individuals who have experienced brain damage for ID example HM & Clive Wearing. E Milner discovered that HM could learn procedural (implicit) tasks, but not episodic or semantic (explicit) information, furthermore Clive Wearings procedural memory remained relatively intact. L This means that a combined approach has led to a better understanding of types of LTM not only in unique cases but also as a general approach to memory. 9 THE WORKING MEMORY MODEL Baddeley and Hitch developed their own theory about how STM works. Rather than just storing information, working memory is an active processor that manipulates and analyses the information. They believe that short term memory is divided in to several different components each of which is qualitatively different especially in terms of its coding and capacity. Visuo-spatial Sketchpad The Central Executive The Phonological Loop This is used when you have to plan This is an important part of the This also has a very limited capacity a spatial task. It involves holding model which directs attention to and limited duration as a temporary visual and spatial information and particular tasks and decides store. It stores a limited number of can be thought of as the inner eye. whether to send data to the speech based sounds for brief The VSS contains a visual cache, phonological or visual part of STM periods. This component is which stores information about to be stored and manipulated. It subdivided into the phonological form and colour and a visual has a very limited capacity and so store (holds the words you hear, like scribe, which rehearses can attend to a limited number of an inner ear) and an articulatory information in the visual cache and things at any time. It also deals process (silently repeating words transfers it to the central with cognitive tasks such as you hear, like an inner voice). executive. The visuospatial mental arithmetic and problem Information in the phonological sketchpad also has a limited solving. It is modality free and can store uses acoustic (auditory) capacity and limited duration as a process information from any coding, the articulatory control temporary store. Information in sensory modality. process uses speech-based coding the sketched is coded visually. The Episodic Buffer In 2000, Baddeley suggested an additional component, the Episodic Buffer. It is a temporary store for information integrating the visual, spatial and verbal information processed by other stores and maintaining a sense of time sequencing – basically recording events (episodes) that are happening. It can be seen as the storage component of the central executive and has a limited capacity of about 4 chunks (Baddeley 2012). The Episodic Buffer links working memory to LTM and wider cognitive processes such as perception and like the central executive is modality free. Visuo Spatial-sketchpad Central Executive Phonological Loop Episodic Buffer Limited Capacity Limited Capacity Limited Capacity Limited Capacity Visual coding Modality Free coding Acoustic coding Modality Free coding Limited Duration Limited Duration Limited Duration Limited Duration Occipital Lobe Pre-frontal cortex Temporal Lobe Hippocampus 10 EVALUATION OF WORKING MEMORY MODEL P One strength of the working memory models comes from dual task studies. Baddeley and Hitch (1976) found that when two tasks require the participants to use their E phonological loop, their ability to perform the tasks is impaired. S E However, when one task requires the participant to simultaneously use their phonological loop (remembering a series of numbers) and the other requires their visuo‐spatial sketchpad (copying a drawing) then their performance is not impaired. This provides strong support for the WMM and develops our understanding of STM further L than the MSM does. Many critics are quick to point out potential flaws with the idea of the central executive being a P single component. C E E Challenge comes from case study evidence of EVR who had a cerebral tumour removed. He performed well on tests requiring reasoning which suggested that his central executive was intact, but he had poor decision-making skills e.g. deciding where to eat. L This suggests that his central executive is not a unitary store which contradicts the initial model. P An alternative explanation of memory is provided by the multi-store model (MSM) of memory. The working memory model provides a detailed description of our short‐term memory, but no E information on the sensory register and long‐ term memory addressed by the MSM, O E Furthermore, the model is unable to explain how information arrives into our working memory and how information is stored in the long term. This means that the WMM is not a complete model of memory and is therefore limited in its L application to everyday human memory. P The working memory applies to real-life tasks Many professionals such as educational psychologists assess their clients working memory to E identify where there is a need for an intervention. P E For example, difficulties with reading relate to the phonological loop and difficulties with problem solving relate to the central executive. This suggests that the WMM is a valuable model that can be used to help improve people’s L processing ability. The WMM adopts a nomothetic approach since it attempts to generate universal laws P regarding how STM processes information, based on dual task studies conducted under laboratory conditions. However, the use of case studies have been used to provide further support for WMM for E example KF, who was injured in a motorcycle accident, demonstrates that STM consists of ID E multiple components. Following his accident, KF could recall stored information from his LTM; however, he had issues with his STM. He was also able to remember visual images, including faces, but was unable to remember sounds (acoustic information). This suggests that there are at least two components within STM, one component for visual L information (visuo‐spatial sketchpad) and one for acoustic information (phonological loop), thus the findings from combined methods support the WMM. 11 EXPLANATIONS FOR FORGETTING EXPLANATIONS FORFORGETTING Context Dependent State Dependent Retractive Proactive Cues Cues INTERFERENCE An explanation for forgetting in long term memory. This is where two lots of information become confused in memory resulting in forgetting one or both pieces of information. The basic theory states that interference occurs when information that is similar in format gets in the way of the information that someone is trying to recall. There are two types of interference; retroactive and proactive. Interference is more likely when the two lots of information are similar. Interference is less likely to occur when there is a gap between instances of learning. Retroactive Interference Proactive Interference This is where new learning prevents recall of old This is when old learning prevents the recall of new information. information. Newer memories disrupt the recall of older memories. Older memories disrupt the recall of newer memories. Retro meaning working backwards so interference is Pro meaning working forwards, so interference is from from new to old. old to new. An example would be you can remember your new An example would be if you keep typing your old postcode, but you can’t remember previous postcodes password instead of your new password because the when you must list your address from the last 5 years. memory of the old password is interfering with the memory of the new password. 12 EVALUATION OF INTERFERENCE AS AN EXPLANATION FOR FORGETTING P There is evidence to support the interference explanation of forgetting McGeoch & McDonald (1931) instructed participants to learn a list of words to 100% accuracy. They were then given a new list of words to learn. The new material varied in the degree to which it was S E similar to the old. For example, one group were given synonyms (words with the same meaning as the originals), another group were provided with unrelated words and another group were given numbers. Results of this study indicated that participants were more likely to forget the original list when the E information was similar (synonym group). This research study provides scientific evidence, thus potentially increasing the internal validity for L interference as an explanation for forgetting. P One limitation of the research into forgetting is the use of artificial materials. The stimulus material used is often word lists especially in terms of McGeoch and McDonald E how the words in one of their conditions had similar meanings. This is very different from C E things we remember in everyday life. For example, in everyday life we remember people’s faces, birthdays and shopping lists. The use of artificial materials makes interference/retrieval failure much more likely in a L laboratory setting. It may not be a likely cause of ‘everyday’ forgetting which limits the explanation. A weakness of interference is that there are other explanations for forgetting P Retrieval failure states forgetting is due to the absence of cues, for instance in Godden and O E E Baddeley’s study into context dependent cues showed that forgetting was due to the encoding and retrieval being in different places. This differs from the interference as it demonstrates that forgetting is due to the context and the cues when encoding information rather than interference. L This shows that interference theory may not be a complete explanation for forgetting. P There are practical applications of theories of forgetting. If researchers can explain why forgetting occurs, then techniques can be created to improve memory. For example, for interference theory, individuals can be instructed to ensure they E have a time gap between instances of learning similar information (e.g. revising for French P E and Spanish GCSE). This can benefit teachers and students when learning so that they can try to reduce the impact of interference on learning new information throughout a school year and how to stop interference effect learning. This means that understanding forgetting has led to positive implications in the real world in L a range of contexts including improving accuracy in exams and eyewitness testimony. 13 EXPLNATIONS FOR FOGETTING – RETRIEVAL FAILURE DUE TO ABSENCE OF CUES This theory works on the idea that forgetting in long term memory is due to a lack of access to a memory rather than the availability of a memory. This is when the information is available but cannot be accessed because of the absence of appropriate cues. A cue is a trigger of information that allows us to access a memory therefore a lack of cues will lead to forgetting. These cues can be internal (sate) or external (context). If the context and state of the individual are similar for recall to the situation where the memory was originally processed then the chances of recalling the memory will be increased. We forget because the recall is out of content. CONTEXT-DEPENDENT FORGETTING (EXTERNAL CUES) Retrieval cues may be based on context – the setting or situation in which information is coded and retrieved. Examples include a particular room, a certain group of people, a rainy day and so on. Context also refers to the way information is presented. For example, words may be printed, spoken or sung, they may be presented in meaningful groups – in categories such as lists of animals or vegetables, or as a random collection without any link between them. Evidence indicates that retrieval is more likely when the context at coding matches the context at retrieval and therefore people are more likely to forget if the context is different, as there are no triggers to aid recall (hence retrieval failure). P There is evidence to support external cues in context-dependent forgetting. Godden & Baddeley (1975) tested forgetting in deep sea divers. The divers were given a list E of words to recall. There were four conditions: learn on land- recall on land, learn on land- S recall underwater, learn underwater-recall underwater and learn underwater- recall on land. They found that recall was 40% lower in the non-matching conditions because the external E cues available at learning were not available at recall. This study shows that contextual cues aid retrieval and that forgetting occurs due to an absence L of cues as suggested by this explanation for forgetting. STATE DEPENDENT FORGETTING (INTERNAL CUES) Retrieval cues may also be based on state – the physical or psychological state of the person when information is encoded and retrieved. For example, a person may be alert, tired, happy, drunk, sober when the information was coded. They will be more likely to retrieve the information when they are in a similar state and more likely to forget when the state is different at recall than at leaning. P Research to support state-dependent forgetting was conducted by Overton et al (1972). Male volunteers were asked to learn a list of words when either drunk or sober. They were E then asked to recall the words, in either same state or opposite state. S E It was found that participants were more likely to forget the words if tested in the opposite state to which they had learned the words. This gives support to state dependent forgetting because it demonstrates that when there is L a lack of internal memory cues (different physical/emotional state), forgetting is more likely. 14 EVALUATION OF RETRIEVAL FAILURE AS AN EXPLANATION FOR FORGETTING A challenge to our understanding of context and state dependent cues is that the context P and state need to be very different to have any effect in real life. Within Godden and Baddeley’s study the two contexts were very different, with being in E water or on land. This demonstrates a real difference in the locations of learning and retrieving. C E Researchers would argue that this is the real reason for there being a difference in the opposing contexts. Whereas in real life, for example learning in the classroom the locations are often similar to the retrieval an exam hall so cues do not have such a big impact as originally thought. This is a problem for the understanding of context and state dependent cues as it L demonstrates that this explanation is unable to P A weakness of retrieval failure is that there are other explanations for forgetting Interference theory states the reason that people forget information is due to either O E proactive or retroactive interference, this especially happens when the information is similar. This is different to that of context and state dependent cues as it demonstrates that E forgetting could be due to new information that is being learnt affect the recall of old information previously learn (retroactive interference). L This shows that retrieval failure may not be a complete explanation for forgetting. P There are practical applications of theories of forgetting. For retrieval failure theory, is that when individuals forget they can be directed to recreate the environment that they originally coded the information. This has led to the development E of the cognitive interview. This has also been used for student taking exams, if you learn in P E the same room as you recall the information is an effective way of increasing recall. However, this isn’t always true, lots of learning is related to contextual effects can change limit the recall. This suggests that there is more too retrieval failures than simply what state or context that is implicated with forgetting. This means that understanding forgetting has led to positive implications in the real world in L a range of contexts including improving accuracy in exams and eyewitness testimony. 15 FACTORS AFFECTING THE ACCURACY OF EYEWITNESS TESTIMONY Eyewitness testimony refers to the description given by people of an event they have experienced, including that given in a criminal trial by individuals present at the time of the crime. It includes the identification of people as well as details such as speed of vehicles, weather conditions etc. Psychologists have investigated how reliable this information is. There are various factors which can influence the accuracy of EWT; we will look at the effect of anxiety on EWT and misleading information; including leading questions and post-event discussion. Factors affecting the Accuracy of EWT Misleading Information Anxiety Leading Questions Post-event Discussion MISLEADING INFORMATION Research consistently shows that the accuracy of EWT is affected by experiences occurring after the witnessed event. A key factor is when police or barristers use ‘leading questions’ which lead the witness into given a specific answer. Post-event information can also affect memories if conflicting information is given to a witness. LEADING QUESTIONS Loftus & Palmer (1974) investigated the effect of leading questions on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony using a sample of American students. All participants watched a video of a car crash and were then asked a specific question about the speed of the cars. Loftus and Palmer manipulated the verb used in the question, for example: “How fast were they cars going when they smashed/ collided/ bumped/ hit/ contacted with each other?” They found that the estimated speed was affected by the verb used. For example, participants who were given the verb ‘smashed’ reported an average speed of 40.8 mph, whereas participants who were given the word ‘contacted’ reported an average speed of 31.8 mph. These results show that the accuracy of eyewitness testimony is affected by leading questions and that a single word in a question can significantly affect the accuracy of judgement. A strength of research into leading questions is that research took place in a university laboratory P and was therefore highly controlled. For example, all participants were exposed to a clip of the same crash reducing extraneous variables E meaning that a causal link can be established between the verb used and estimation of speed S E (mph). Furthermore, it is easy for psychologists to replicate their research, to see if the same results are achieved with a different population. This means that research into the effects of leading questions into the accuracy of EWT has high L internal validity. P Loftus and Palmer’s research has questionable ecological validity. On the one hand, questioning participants about everyday events like a car crash appears to be a E genuine measure of eyewitness testimony. However, the participants watched a video of a car crash and witnessed the events unfold from start to finish. C E In everyday reports of car accidents, witnesses rarely see the whole event; they either are involved in the event directly, or see a small part of the event happen in their peripheral vision. Therefore, their results do not reflect everyday car accidents and we are unable to conclude if L eyewitnesses to real accidents, who would have a stronger emotional connection to the event, would be susceptible to leading questions in the same way 16 POST-EVENT DISCUSSION The memory of an event may be altered or contaminated through discussing events with others and/or being questioned multiple times, this is known as post-event discussion. This occurs because witnesses combine (misinformation from other witnesses with their own memories). This was investigated by Gabbert and colleagues (2003). Participants were in pairs. Each participant watched a video of the same crime but filmed from different points of view. This meant that each participant could see elements of the event that the other could not see. Pairs in one condition were encouraged to discuss the event with each other before each partner individually recalled the event they watched. In the control group, there was no discussion. The researchers found that 71% of participants in the experimental group mistakenly recalled aspects of the event that they could not have seen but had picked up in the discussion. This compares with 0% in the control group. Gabbert called this memory conformity and suggested that witnesses go along with each other for social approval or because they believe the other witnesses are right and they are wrong. P A strength of research into post-event discussion is that Gabbert tested two different populations. Her sample consisted of 60 students from the University of Aberdeen and 60 older adults recruited E S from a local community. E The findings revealed little difference between these two conditions. Therefore, her results provide good population validity and allow us to conclude that post-event L discussion affects younger and older adults in a similar way. Although Gabbert’s results provide an insight into the effect of post‐event discussion on the P accuracy of eyewitness testimony, we are unable to conclude why this distortion occurs. The distortion could be the result of poor memory, where people assimilate new information into E their own accounts of the event and are unable to distinguish between what they have seen and C E what they have heard. On the other hand, it could be that the distortion occurs due to conformity and the social pressure from the co‐witness. Therefore, further research is required in the real‐world to demonstrate the exact effect on L misleading information on the accuracy of EWT. EVALUATION OF MISLEADING INFORMATION P An alternative explanation for differences in the accuracy of EWT may be due to anxiety levels. For example, in a laboratory experiment, Johnson and Scott claimed that participants who were E exposed to knife rather than a pen, had higher levels of anxiety. O E It was found that participants were more likely to focus their attention on the weapon and not the face of the target, a phenomenon known as the weapon focus effect and this reduced recall of a suspect. Therefore, the anxiety associated with seeing a knife reduces the accuracy of EWT. This means that the validity of misleading information as a factor affecting the accuracy of EWT is L lowered. P Research into misleading information has real life application. The research has led to important practical uses for police officers and investigators because the E consequences of inaccurate EWT can be very serious. P E This has led to the development of the cognitive interview where the police are trained to use techniques such as ‘report everything’ which means that witnesses to crimes are encouraged to describe what they have seen, without interruption from the police officers. This means that the police are much less likely to use leading questions, which will improve the L accuracy of EWT. 17 ANXIETY AS A FACTOR AFFECTING ACCURACY OF EYE-WITNESS TESTIMONY There is conflicting evidence about the effect of anxiety on the accuracy of EWT. Many psychologists believe that anxiety affects the accuracy of eyewitness testimony in a negative way (decreases the accuracy), whilst others believe that anxiety can improve the accuracy of eyewitness testimony. Laboratory based studies have generally shown impaired recall in people who have witnessed unpleasant or anxiety-inducing situations. However, other research into real-life incidents involving high levels of stress, have shown that in such situations, memory can be detailed, accurate and long-lasting. There isn’t a simple relationship between emotional arousal and the accuracy of EWT. Deffenbacher (1983) was one of the first to investigate the link between anxiety and EWT and after reviewing 21 studies, he found that accuracy is poor when emotional arousal is either high or low, but is better under conditions of moderate arousal. The Yerkes-Dodson Law suggests that there is a relationship between performance and arousal. Increased arousal as caused by anxiety can help improve performance, but only up to a certain point. At the point when arousal becomes excessive, performance diminishes. In the context of EWT the Yerkes-Dodson law suggests moderate anxiety is associated with better recall than very high or very low anxiety. The findings from lab experiments support the claim that anxiety reduces the accuracy of P EWT. Johnson and Scott’s (1976) investigated anxiety and the accuracy of eyewitness testimony by the participants were invited to a laboratory where they were told to wait in the reception area. The participants were then exposed to one of two conditions: 1) Participants overheard E a conversation about equipment failure followed by an individual leaving the room holding a pen. 2) Participants overheard a heated exchange and the sound of breaking glass and crashing S chairs followed by an individual running into the reception area, holding a bloodied letter‐ opening knife. Both groups were shown 50 photographs and asked to identify the person who had left the laboratory. Those who had witnessed the man holding a pen correctly identified the E individual 49% of the time. Those who had witnessed the man holding a knife correctly identified the target 33% of the time. It suggested the participants who saw the knife experienced more anxiety and therefore L focused their attention on the weapon, not the face, which is called the weapon focus effect. Therefore, the high anxiety reduces the accuracy of eyewitness testimony. Research findings from real witnesses of violent crimes has found that anxiety improves the P accuracy of recall. Yuille and Cutshall (1986) investigated the effect of anxiety in a real‐life shooting, in which one person was killed and another person seriously wounded. 21 witnesses were originally E interviewed by investigating police and 13 witnesses, aged between 15 and 32, agreed to take S part The participants rated how stressed they felt at the time of the incident and then were E interviewed again after 5 months. Participants who reported the highest levels of stress were most accurate in their recall about 88% compared to 75% for the less stressed group. These results refute the weapon focus effect and show that in real‐life cases of extreme L anxiety, the accuracy of eyewitness testimony is improved. 18 FURTHER EVALUATION OF ANXIETY AS A FACTOR AFFECTING ACCURACY OF EYE-WITNESS TESTIMONY There are methodological issues when investigating the role of anxiety as a factor affecting P the accuracy of eye-witness testimony. Laboratory studies on EWT such as Johnson and Scott’s research has been criticised for being artificial with few consequences. Although the participants were waiting in the E reception area outside the laboratory, they may have anticipated that something was going C to happen, which could have affected the accuracy of their judgements. Real life research into EWT has limited control, unable to be replicated and issues with E confounding variables. For example, in Yuille & Cutshall’s study those who experienced the highest levels of stress were closer to the event, which might have helped their recall This means that there are issues with validity when investigating the effects of anxiety on L the accuracy of EWT. P An alternative factor that may affect the accuracy of EWT is misleading information. For example, Loftus and Palmer found that when changing verbs to describe a car crash, E O the verb used biased the eyewitnesses’ recall of the speed the cars were travelling. The results show that the accuracy of eyewitness testimony is affected by leading questions E and that a single word in a question can significantly affect the accuracy of our judgements. L This means that the validity of anxiety as a factor affecting the accuracy of EWT is lowered. P Understanding the role of anxiety on the accuracy of EWT has practical applications. When taking EWTs the police need to take into account the witness’s level of anxiety. E According to the Yerkes-Dodson law if witnesses are highly anxious they may miss important information. P E Furthermore, anxiety level should be taken into consideration alongside other factors such as the view the witness had of the crime to increase the accuracy of EWT. This means that improving the accuracy of eyewitness reporting enables better use of L police time and resources which also has economic benefits, such as not wasting the tax payers money on the wrong criminal. Some may argue that we should be cautious with regards to taking a nomothetic approach P when researching the role of anxiety in EWT. Anxiety does not always lead to a decrease in EWT. For example, anxiety has been shown E to actually increase the accuracy of EWT. ID E This was demonstrated in the study by Christianson and Hubinette. They interviewed 58 real life witnesses of a bank robbery. Some had been directly threatened (bank teller- high anxiety) and others were bystanders (customers – low anxiety). It was found that those who had been directly threatened had significantly better memories than the bystanders. Therefore, suggesting that the role of anxiety is complex and maybe adopting a L combination of an idiographic and nomothetic approach may lead to further depth and understanding. 19 IMPROVING THE ACCURACY OF EYEWITNESS TESTIMONY, INCLUDING THE ROLE OF THE COGNITIVE INTERVIEW Research has looked at ways in which the accuracy of EWT can be improved. Traditional interviews tended to ask witnesses what had happened. The Cognitive Interview was developed in response to results of psychological research which had shown EWT can be inaccurate. The cognitive interview is based primarily on 2 theories: The idea that there are several retrieval paths to each memory and information not available through one pathway may be accessible through another. The idea that memory traces rely upon as many retrieval cues as possible and that memory can be improved if an individual recalls the information in a similar context/state to original encoding. Fisher and Geiselman developed the cognitive interview which has four distinct components. Use the mnemonic CROP TECHNIQUE DESCRIPTION HOW MEMORY IS IMPROVED The interviewer encourages the interviewee to mentally recreate the This provides retrieval cues to help the Context environment they were in when they eyewitness access their memory of the C Reinstatement witnesses the incidence. This could include sounds, smells, weather event. Encoding specificity principle — mentally recreating the scene conditions etc and any emotions felt (recreating the context). at the time. This provides retrieval cues to help the the interviewer encourages the eyewitness access their memory of the Report reporting of every single detail even R everything those details which may seem event. Also, the small aspects of detail might lead on to something additional irrelevant e.g. uninvolved on-lookers. being recalled. The interviewer may try alternative This provides retrieval cues, which ways through the timeline of the helps the witness access their memory Recall in Reverse incident e.g. reversing the order by O Order recalling the end of the incident first of the event. It also makes the witness think about the event in a different then working backwards. way, which might trigger more memories. This is done because psychological the interviewee is asked to recall the Recall from research has shown memories can be incident from different perspectives, retrieved through a number of P Changed e.g. imagining how it would have different routes and therefore it is Perspective appeared to other witnesses present more productive to vary these access at the time. routes during questioning. The Enhanced Cognitive Interview Fisher et al (1987) developed additional elements of the cognitive interview to focus on the social dynamics of the interaction. This included knowing when to maintain eye contact, reducing the eyewitness’s anxiety, minimising distractions and getting the eyewitness to speak slowly without interruptions. 20 EVALUATION OF IMPROVING THE ACCURACY OF EYE WITNESS TESTIMONY There is research support to demonstrate the effectiveness of the cognitive interview in P improving the accuracy of EWT. A meta-analysis by Kohnken et al (1999) found a 34% increase in correct recall using the E cognitive interview compared with standard interview techniques. S Furthermore, the findings were collected from 53 studies showing that the CI consistently E provided more correct information than the standard interview used by police. This suggests that there are real practical benefits to the police using the enhanced version of L the cognitive interview as it improves the accuracy of EWT. P A limitation of the CI is it produces an increase in inaccurate information. The techniques of the CI increase the amount of correct information recalled, but the recall of E incorrect information may also be increased. C Kohnken et al (1999) found an 81% increase in correct information, but also a 61% increase in E incorrect information (false positive) when the enhanced CI was compared to a standard interview. The increase in correct information implies that police would continue to use CI. However, the L results also suggest that police need to treat all information collected with caution as accuracy may be reduced. P It is the combination of techniques that produces better recall. While Milne and Bull (2002) found that each individual element of the CI was equally valuable, E they also found that a combination of ‘report everything’ and ‘context reinstatement’ produced better recall than any of the other techniques individually. O E So at least these two elements should be used to improve police interviewing of eyewitnesses even if the full CI isn’t used. This means that if the police cannot be trained in all elements of the CI due to lack of time, they L can be trained in report everything’ and ‘context reinstatement’ to gain more accurate and detailed EWT. P There are practical problems in using the CI, Kebbell and Wagstaff (1996) have found that police typically use interviewing techniques that limit the quantity of information provided, rather than those that improve accuracy. E Furthermore, the cognitive interview requires special training and many police forces have not provided more than rudimentary training, which explains why the cognitive interview is not P E readily used. Therefore, despite the encouraging results found in relation to the cognitive interview, both in terms of helping witnesses to recall information and ensuring accuracy, the technique is not widely used due to the constraint placed on the police. L This means that further research is required to devise a technique that the police could implement successfully, to improve the accuracy of EWT. Note: The police not having time or not wanting to use the cognitive interview are not relevant to the effectiveness of the cognitive interview in terms of its accuracy. Ensure you are able to shape the material to fit the requirements of the question. 21 MULTI STORE MODEL OF MEMORY 1. Read the item and then answer the questions that follow. A researcher investigating the multi-store model of memory tested short- term memory by reading out loud sequences of numbers that participants then had to repeat aloud immediately after presentation. The first sequence was made up of three numbers: for example, 8, 5, 2. Each participant was tested several times, and each time the length of the sequence was increased by adding another number. Use your knowledge of the multi-store model of memory to explain the purpose of this research and the likely outcome. (4) 2. After the study was completed, the researcher decided to modify the study by using sequences of letters rather than numbers. Suggest one 4-letter sequence and one 5-letter sequence that the researcher could use. In the case of each sequence, give a justification for your choice. Use a different justification for each sequence. (4) 3. Most PIN codes are 4 digits long and are easy to remember. In contrast, mobile phone numbers are 11 digits long. Most people would not be able to remember a friend’s new mobile phone number unless they were able to say it to themselves several times without interruption. Discuss the multi-store model of memory. Refer to the information above in your answer. (Total 16 marks) 22 CAPACITY OF STM In 1887 Jacobs wanted to investigate the capacity of short-term memory. He devised a very simple study where 443 female participants had to recite back a string of digits (either numbers or letters). Jacobs found that, on average, the participants could recall 7.3 letters. When tested with strings of words the mean average was 9.3 words. Miller then carried on Jacobs’ work in 1956 and found similar results. He came up with the idea that the short-term memory’s capacity was 7 ‘plus or minus 2’, meaning short-term memory holds between 5 and 9 items, on average. He called this ‘Miller’s magic number’, and this idea still stands today. Dean, a psychology student, wanted to repeat Jacobs’ original study and found the following results: 1. What is meant by Quantitative data? (1 mark) 2. Outline one strength of collecting quantitative data in this study. (2 marks) 3. Dean wants to show the frequency of different scores on the digit span test. Draw a histogram to display these results (on graph paper). (4 marks) 4. State the mean, mode, median and range for these results. Show your workings (4 marks) 5. Participant D and Participant H both scored very differently to others. Suggest a more appropriate measure of central tendency and explain why it would be more appropriate. (3 marks) 23 DURATION OF STM Peterson and Peterson were interested in investigating the duration of our short-term memory. To research this, they gave 24 psychology students a series of memory tests where they had to remember a series of 3 letters known as trigrams after differing amounts of time. Each participant completed the memory test for each time interval. The trigrams were three letters long, without any vowels, carefully avoiding any acronyms like BBC or SKY that would be more memorable. To stop the participants rehearsing the trigrams in their short-term memory, they had to complete a distractor task, such as counting backwards in 3s from a set number. Peterson and Peterson recorded the number of times a trigram was remembered after each different time interval, then converted this into percentages. Their results were as follows: 1. Using the results from the table, write a conclusion for this study. (2 marks) 2. State which experimental design was used in this study. Explain one strength of this experimental design in the context of this study. (3 marks) 3. Bahrick used Primary data in his experiment, what is meant by primary data? (2 marks) 4. Briefly outline a strength of primary data (3 marks) 24 DURATION OF LTM Bahrick wanted to investigate the duration of the other Multi- Store Model memory store: long-term memory. To do this, Bahrick recruited 392 American students and graduates. After extensive research, he acquired class lists and even class photos from each of the participant’s time at university. The graduates were from different age groups, ranging from 17-74. Some were given free recall tests about their classmates; some had to pick out names from a list, and some had to pick out photos of people they went to school with from a selection of 50 photos. Bahrick found that those who were within 15 years of graduation could remember 90% of the names from a list and the photos. It was found that those who had graduated over 48 years ago could still remember 80% of names from a list and 70% of the photos. Free recall was significantly worse, however, with 60% recall after 15 years and 30% after 48 years. Bahrick concluded that our long-term memories could last up to a lifetime, with face and name recognition being easier than free recall. 1. State the operationalised independent variable Bahrick was investigating here. (1 mark) 2. State the operationalised dependent variable which was measured in this experiment. (1 mark) 3. Define what is meant by a natural experiment. (2 marks) 4. This independent variable in this experiment occurred naturally. Outline one advantage of a natural experiment? (2 marks) 5. Outline one disadvantage of using a natural experiment, with reference to Bahrick’s study. (2 marks) 25 CODING OF STM A researcher investigated coding in short-term memory using the same participants in both conditions. In the condition A, he read out a list of 10 different sounding words. In the condition B, he read out a list of 10 similar sounding words. The researcher recorded how many words participants recalled correctly in each condition. The table below shows the results of his study. Mean number of words recalled and standard deviations Different sounding words Similar sounding words Mean 7.1 4.6 Standard deviation 1.9 0.6 1. What do the mean values in the table suggest about coding in short-term memory? Justify your answer. (2 marks) 2. What do the standard deviation values in the table above suggest? Justify your answer. (2 marks) 3. What is meant by counterbalancing? (2 marks) 4. Explain how using counterbalancing might improve the design of the study (2 marks). 26 TYPES OF LONG-TERM MEMORY The case of Clive Wearing supports that there are different types of LTM. Following a brain infection, Wearing’s procedural memory seemed intact (e.g. being able to dress himself and even play the piano), but his episodic memory was severely damaged. When his wife left the room and returned, even after only a few minutes, he would greet her as if they had not seen each other for years. He kept a diary in which he constantly wrote that he was just regaining consciousness every few minutes. This supports that there are different stores for different types of LTM. 1. What is meant by a case study? (2 marks) 2. Briefly outline one why a case study might be better than a questionnaire for studying Clive Wearing (4 marks) 3. Sherry can remember her tenth birthday party when she was on holiday in France. During this holiday her father taught her how to swim. Although it took time for her to learn, she barely has to think about how to swim now. Sherry can also remember the French words for the food she ate while they were in France, even though she did not speak any French before the holiday. With reference to Sherry’s experiences, explain three different types of long-term memory (6 marks) 4. Annie can still skateboard even though she hasn’t skated for many years. Germaine can still recall what happened on his first day at university even though it was ages ago. Billy remembers the names of the tools he needs to repair the broken tap. Identify three types of long-term memory and explain how each type is shown in one of the examples above (6 marks) 27 WORKING MEMORY MODEL: DUAL TASK STUDIES Baddeley and Hitch are responsible for the creation of the Working Memory Model, within their model, they proposed auditory memory and visuospatial memory were stored separately. To test this theory, they set up a study whereby 50 participants would carry out two tasks simultaneously: Condition 1: Participants did two visual tasks Condition 2: Participants did one visual task and one verbal task Baddeley and Hitch measured the competency at which the two tasks were completed in each condition. They found that the participants who took part in condition one struggled to carry out the two tasks simultaneously, whereas the participants in condition two had no such problems. This suggests that the participants in condition two could share the tasks between their two stores, whilst those in condition one struggled to complete the tasks simultaneously because their visuospatial sketchpad was overloaded. 1. Describe one verbal task which would be appropriate for this study. (1 mark) 2. Describe one visual task which would be appropriate for this study. (1 mark) 3. The psychologist allocated the participants randomly to the two groups that were used in this study. Explain how the psychologist could have allocated the participants randomly to the two groups. (2 marks) 4. Briefly explain one reason why random allocation of participants is important. (2 marks) The psychologist used an independent groups design in this study. 5. Explain one reason why it would not have been appropriate to use a repeated measures design in this study. (2 marks) 6. Bryan has been driving for five years. Whilst driving, Bryan can hold conversations or listen to music with little difficulty. Bob has had four driving lessons. Driving requires so much of Bob’s concentration that, during lessons, he often misses what his driving instructor is telling him. With reference to features of the working memory model, explain the different experiences of Bryan and Bob. (4 marks) 7. Claire can search through family photos on her laptop and listen to music at the same time. However, she finds it difficult to read her e-mails when talking to a friend on the phone. Use your knowledge of the working memory model to explain why Claire is able to perform the first two tasks at the same time, but finds it difficult to perform the second two tasks at the same time (4 marks) 28 EXPLANATIONS FOR FORGETTING INTERFERNCE McGeoch and Mcdonald (1931) wanted to investigate the difference in the similarity of words and recall. They got participants to learn a list of adjectives until they could recall them perfectly. Participants were then divided into groups with some spending 10 minutes resting whilst others learnt new material. There were 6 conditions; synonyms, antonyms, unrelated adjectives, nonsense syllables, numbers and no new words learnt. They then were asked to recall the original list of words. The results are presented in the graph. 1. Write a directional hypothesis (3 marks) 2. Distinguish between a directional and non-directional hypothesis. (2 marks) 3. Identify the experimental design of this study and justify your answer. (2 marks) 4. Outline one limitation of that design you identified (2 marks) 5. Identify the measure of central tendency used in this experiment, outline one strength of this measures. (3 marks) 6. Aaron was upset as he left the Spanish exam. In the unfamiliar room and full of nerves, his mind had gone completely blank. He was regretting studying both French and Spanish because he was sure he had mixed up lots of the words. a. Outline one explanation of forgetting. How might this explanation account for Aaron’s poor performance in the Spanish exam? (4 marks) b. Briefly evaluate the explanation of forgetting you have outlined in your answer to part (a). (4 marks) 29 EXPLANATIONS FOR FORGETTING RETRIEVAL FAILURE Godden and Baddeley (1975) showed that divers recalled words better when the recall condition matched the original learning environment, i.e., underwater or on land. In a free recall experiment, 18 divers learned lists of words in 2 natural environments—on dry land and underwater—and recalled the words in either the environment of original learning or the alternative environment. Results show that lists learned underwater were recalled significantly better underwater, and lists learned on dry land were recalled significantly better on dry land. Results confirm the existence of the phenomenon of context-dependent memory under these conditions. 1. Godden and Baddeley used a Field study, what is meant by a field experiment? (2 marks) 2. Briefly explain one strength and one limitation of a field experiment (4 marks) 3. Godden and Baddeley used a volunteer sample, what is meant by a volunteer sample? (2 marks) 4. Explain one strength and one limitation of a volunteer sample (4 marks) 5. Outline one ethical consideration for this experiment and explain how to deal with that ethical issue. (3 marks) 6. Toby and Sarah both studied AS Psychology at the same school. Toby’s class was taught in the school lecture theatre while Sarah’s class had their lessons in a science classroom. Both students sat their final psychology exam in the school lecture theatre. Which student is likely to perform worse in their final psychology exam? Use your knowledge of explanations of forgetting to justify your answer. (4 marks) 30 EYEWITNESS TESTIMONY – LEADING QUESTIONS and POST EVENT DISCUSSION Loftus and Palmer’s (1974) study consisted of two laboratory experiments. Both experiments used an independent group design, with the participant’s only taking part in a single condition. Independent variable: verb used in the critical question: “About how fast were the cars going when they ‘verb’ into each other?” There were five different verbs used, all of which had different levels of intensity; Smashed, Collided, Bumped, Hit and Contacted. Verb Speed Estimate mph All 45 participants were shown the same seven film clips of different traffic accidents which were originally made Smashed 40.5 as part of a driver safety film. After each clip participants Collided 39.3 were given a questionnaire which asked them firstly to describe the accident and then answer a series of Bumped 38.1 questions about the accident. Hit 34.0 The results were shown as in the table. Contacted 31.8 1. Loftus and Palmer used opportunity sampling. Outline what is meant by opportunity sampling. (2 marks) 2. Briefly explain how using a stratified sample when the final study is conducted might be an improvement to the design. (3 marks) 3. Identify one possible extraneous variable in this experiment. Explain how this extraneous variable could have affected the results of this experiment. (4 marks) 4. Explain why it would be appropriate to use a pilot study as part of this experiment. (4 marks) 5. Explain why it might be better to carry out research into eyewitness testimony in the real world, rather than in a laboratory. (3 marks) 31 EYEWITNESS TESTIMONY – ANXIETY Johnson and Scott invited participants to a laboratory where they were told to wait in the reception area. A receptionist who was seated nearby excused herself to run an errand, leaving the participant alone. The experiment used an independent groups design, as participants were then exposed to one of two conditions: 1) In the ‘no-weapon’ condition, participants overheard a conversation in the laboratory about equipment failure. Thereafter an individual (the target) left the laboratory and walk pass the participant holding a pen, with his hands covered in grease. 2) In the ‘weapon’ condition, participants overheard a heated exchange and the sound of breaking glass and crashing chairs. This was followed by an individual (the target) running into the reception area, holding a bloodied letter opener. Both groups were then shown 50 photographs and ask to identify the person who had left the laboratory. The participants were informed that the suspect may or may not be present in the photographs. Those who had witness the man holding a pen correctly identified the target 49% of the time, compared to those who had witness the man holding a knife, who correctly identified the target 33% of the time. 1. Write a suitable non directional hypothesis for this investigation (3 marks) 2. Outline one benefit of allocating the students randomly to the different conditions (2marks) 3. Explain one or more possible implications of this study for the economy. (3 marks) 4. Zina witnessed a violent incident. The attacker pulled out a knife and threatened the victim. Zina was close to the attacker and was very frightened and anxious. Her friend, Amanda, was further away and less anxious. The police took witness statements from both Zina and Amanda. Their statements were very different. a. Using your knowledge of research into the effects of anxiety on eye-witness testimony, explain why Zina’s and Amanda’s statements are different. (4 marks) A psychologist decided to interview both Zina and Amanda five months later to see if they could still remember the same level of detail about the incident. b. Explain why conducting an interview would be better than a questionnaire for collecting information from Zina and Amanda. (2 marks) 32 5. Melissa was on her way to college when she saw a man attack a cyclist and steal his bike. She was really upset about what she had seen, and when she got to college, everyone wanted to talk to her about it. Luke asked her whether the man was wearing a brown jacket. From the description above, identify three factors affecting the accuracy of eyewitness testimony. How might each factor affect Melissa’s memory of the event? (6 marks) THE COGNTIVE INTERVIEW 1. The psychologist also recorded the number of correct items recalled and the number of incorrect items recalled in each type of interview. The following results were obtained: Cognitive Interview Standard Interview Mean number of correct 45 32 items recalled Mean number of incorrect 8 8 items recalled From these results, what might the psychologist conclude about the effectiveness of cognitive interviews? (2 marks) 2. A teacher showed her Year 12 Psychology class a video clip of a girl shopping in a busy high street with her boyfriend. Near the end of the clip, the girl had her handbag stolen by a man in a black jacket. Later, 10 of the students were interviewed about the events in the video clip using a cognitive interview. The remaining 9 students were interviewed using a standard interview. a. One technique used in the cognitive interview is that witnesses are asked to ‘report everything’. Identify one other technique that could have been used by the teacher in the cognitive interview. Write down the instructions that the teacher might have read out to the students when using this technique. (3 marks) 33 b. Explain how the study might have been improved by using a random sample of students from Year 12. (4 marks) Each student was assigned a score based on the accuracy of their answers to the questions in the interview. The results can be seen in the table below. Accuracy scores for students in the standard and cognitive interview conditions Standard interview condition Cognitive interview condition Accuracy Accuracy Student Student score score 1 8 10 13 2 8 11 13 3 6 12 11 4 9 13 8 5 10 14 11 6 7 15 14 7 9 16 11 8 8 17 13 9 8 18 15 19 18 c. Calculate the mean (2sf) accuracy score for the cognitive interview condition. (3 marks) d. Briefly outline one limitation of the cognitive interview. (2 marks) 3. Danielle was walking down the high street when she witnessed a crime. A young man attacked an elderly woman. After a struggle, the man ran away with the woman’s handbag. Danielle and another couple of witnesses stayed with the woman until the police arrived. Explain how the police could use the cognitive interview to help Danielle’s recall of the event. (6 marks) 34