EXAM 10th Jan 12

[PSYCHOLOGY UNIT 1 REVISION NOTES]

Encoding/Capacity/Duration

Encoding is the form in which information is stored in the memory.

Information enters the brain via the senses (e.g. eyes and ears) and
is then stored in forms such as visual codes (picture), acoustic form
(sounds) or a semantic form (the meaning of something).
o Visually Thinking of an image
o Acoustically Saying the word repeatedly
o Semantically (through meaning) using your knowledge of
the word
Capacity is how much information can be stored in the memory.
It is measured in terms of bits of information, such as number of
digits.
Duration is how long the information can be stored in the memory.

Encoding

Capacity

Duration

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[PSYCHOLOGY UNIT 1 REVISION NOTES]

STM

Acoustic
Baddeley

7+/-2
Miller

20-30 secs
Peterson

LTM

Semantically
Baddeley

Unlimited

Bahrick

STM:
Research Study: encoding
Baddeley Lab experiment. Participants were given lists of
acoustically similar and dissimilar words and semantically similar
and dissimilar words.
Showed that participants had more difficulty remembering
acoustically similar words in STM.
Research Study: capacity
Miller Reviewed previous research and concluded that the span of
STM is 7+/-2. He also found that chunking things together makes it
easier to recall.

Research Study: duration

Peterson Lab experiment. Participants were given a nonsense
trigram and a three digit number to remember. They were asked to
count backwards from the number between different intervals to
prevent rehearsal.
Showed that participants could remember 90% with a 3 second
interval but only 5% after 18 seconds, suggesting the duration of
STM is 20-30 seconds.
Evaluation Low ecological validity as material used is artificial
Trigrams could have been displaced by numbers
therefore
forgetting
was due to displacement.

LTM:
Research Study: encoding

Baddeley Lab experiment. Participants were given lists of

acoustically similar and dissimilar words and semantically similar
and dissimilar words.

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Showed that participants had more difficulty remembering

semantically similar words, suggesting that LTM is encoded
semantically.
Research Study: duration
Bahrick Natural experiment. Participants of various ages were
asked to match names to faces from their high school yearbook.
Showed that participants 48 years on were 70% accurate
suggesting that the duration of the LTM was better due to the
information being more meaningful.

Multi-Store Model (Atkinson & Shiffrin)

Multi-store model (MSM) is an explanation of memory. It is based on

the idea that it has three separate memory stores (SM, STM, LTM).
o Information first arrives at SM. Once attention is paid to the
information it transfers to the STM.
o Information in STM is in a fragile state. If the information is not
rehearsed then the information is lost (decays).
o New information enters known as displacement.
o However, if the information is rehearsed then the information
further transfers into the LTM for a more permanent storage.
o For information to be remembered, the information is
retrieved from the LTM to the STM.

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Rehearsal is Maintenance rehearsal (verbal) and Elaborative

rehearsal.
Sensory Memory (SM) is information collected by the senses e.g.
eyes. However, information is kept for a very short period of time,
but the capacity of SM is very large. The method of encoding
depends on the sense organ involved e.g. visual for eyes, acoustic
for ears.
Short-term memory (STM) is the store that holds memories for
immediate events. It lasts for a short period of time and disappears
unless it is rehearsed. It has limited capacity and duration. It is
sometimes known as the working memory.
Long-term memory (LTM) is the memory for events that have
happened in the past. It lasts anywhere from 2 minutes to 100 years
and has unlimited capacity and duration.

Evaluation:
Has plenty of research to support the idea of encoding capacity and
duration and also the different stores.
Shallice and Warrington Reported the case study of KF who had a
reduced STM due to an accident, yet his LTM was unaffected. This
supports the idea of separate STM and LTM stores.
MSM is over-simplified in assuming that there is only a single STM
and LTM. Research suggests there are several types of STM and LTM.
MSM describes memory in terms of structure. However, it focuses
too much and structure and not enough of processes.

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[PSYCHOLOGY UNIT 1 REVISION NOTES]

The Working Memory Model (Baddeley & Hitch)

Working memory model (WMM) is an explanation of STM called

working memory. It is based on four components.

Central
Executive

Phonological
Loop
Phonological store
Articulatory Process

Episodic
Buffer

Primary
Acoustic
Store

Visuo-Spatial
Sketchpad
Visual Cache
Inner Scribe

Central executive monitors and coordinates mental functions in the

WM. It allocates slave systems to tasks. It has limited capacity.
Phonological Loop deals with auditory information. It is divided into
two parts:
o Phonological store (inner ear) - stores the words you hear.
o Articulatory process (inner voice) - allows maintenance
rehearsal repeating the words.

Research sturdy: PL
Baddeley Lab experiment. Reported on the word length
effect. Participants recalled more short words in serial order than
longer words
Showed that the capacity of PL is set by how long it takes to say
words rather than the number of words.

Visuo-spatial sketchpad stores visual/spatial information. It is

divided into two parts:
o Visual cache stores visual data.
o Inner scribe encodes the arrangement of objects in the
visual field.

Research study: VSS

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Baddeley Lab experiment. Showed that participants had more

difficulty doing two visual tasks than a visual and verbal task.
Showed that the VSS is a separate slave system.

Episodic buffer temporarily stores information and it links with LTM.

It has a limited capacity so it integrates information to construct an
understanding of what is experienced right now.
Word-length effect People remember a list of short words better
than long words (due to the capacity of the phonological loop).
Primary acoustic store holds recently heard speech or sound.

Research study: Dual-task performance

Baddeley & Hitch - Lab experiment. They demonstrated that
participants performed slower when they were given a task
involving the CE and the articulatory loop, rather than articulatory
loop alone.

Evaluation:

Emphasises process more than the MSM and gives more detailed
understanding of STM.
Plenty of research support for different stores dual-task
performance.
WMM concerns itself only with STM.
Many of the research studies are laboratory studies and lack
ecological validity.

Eyewitness Testimony

Eyewitness Testimony (EWT) is the evidence provided in court of a

witness of a crime scene. The accuracy of eyewitness recall can be
affected by different thing.

Factors that Affect:

Misleading Information
Leading Questions are questions that include words which suggest
the desired answer to the witness.
Research Study: Leading Questions
Loftus & Palmer Lab experiment. 45 students were shown a
film of a car accident and were then asked leading questions,
regarding the speed of the car, including words such as; smashed,
hit, bumped, collided, contacted.
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Showed the group with smashed estimated a higher speed than

those with the word hit. This suggests that leading questions can
have an effect on memory.

Post-event information is information given to the witness after the

event e.g. leading questions.

Research Study: post-event information

Loftus & Palmer Different set of students were shown a film of a
car accident. They were asked questions a week later about whether
broken glass was seen, with the same words used previously.
Showed that those participants asked questions including the word
smashed claimed there was broken glass (there was none). This
shows that post-event information affects on storage.
Evaluation: Loftus & Palmer study
Low ecological validity Both experiments were lab experiments
and participants may have not taken the experiment seriously
therefore results could change in real-life situations.
Demand characteristics It is difficult to estimate the speed of a
car, o participants use any available clue i.e. the question.
Anxiety
Anxiety An emotional state of where we fear that something
unpleasant is about to happen.
Research Study: Bank robbery
Christianson & Hubinette Questionnaire. Questioned real
witnesses of a bank robbery
Showed that the greater the effect, the greater the accuracy in
recall, compared to onlookers who were less emotionally aroused.
Research Study: Yerkes-Dodson Law
Medium level of anxiety enhanced accuracy in recall, but higher
level of anxiety decreased accuracy in recall.

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Age
Research Study: Younger more accurate?
Anastasi & Rhodes Young and middle-aged people were
significantly more accurate in recall of faces than those who were
old aged.
Evaluation (Own-age bias) All age groups are accurate when the
faces were of their own age group. Hence, the less contact we have
with people, the poorer our ability to recall individuals.
Research Study:
Loftus He found that elderly people were more likely to make
false identifications and had poorer recall of specific details.
Showed that the elderly are more susceptible to misleading
information.

Improving accuracy of EWT:

The Cognitive Interview
Cognitive Interview is a procedure for police interviews of witnesses
to facilitate accurate, detailed recall. It has four CI components:
o Change of Order- Recount the scene in a different
chronological order e.g. from end to beginning
o Change of Perspective Looking at the scene from different
perspectives
o Mental Reinstatement of Context Return to the
environmental (weather, place) and emotional (feeling)
context of the scene.
o Report everything Recall all information even if it doesnt
seem relevant.
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Standard Interview
components.

is

an

interview

that

lacks

the

four

CI

Research Study: key components

Milne & Bull Lab experiment. Report everything and context
reinstatement components of the CI are the key components in
gaining accurate detailed recall.

Evaluation:
Low ecological validity Many of studies were done in a lab, hence,
you cannot generalise the findings.
CI is more time-consuming than a standard interview, requiring
more time than officers have.

Strategies for Memory Improvement

1) Retrieval cues are prompts that trigger recall. There are two type:
o Internal (state-dependant cues) An individuals physiological
state can affect their memory.
Research Study: Internal
Research suggests that people have better recall if they have a
similar internal environment as when information was encoded.
o External (context-dependant cues) Physical environment in
which the information is learnt can affect memory.
Research Study: External
Abernethy Tested participants with familiar and unfamiliar
instructors and teaching rooms.
Showed that participants performed best with a familiar
instructor/room, suggesting that familiar external cues are useful for
memory recall.
2) Chunking is combining items into meaningful units e.g. phone
numbers
Research Study: chunking
Baddeley Length of words being chunked affected recall.
3) Mnemonics are various techniques facilitating recall. There are two
types:
o Visual Imagery Mnemonics Focus on visual images.

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o Verbal Mnemonics Focus on words e.g. My Very Easy Method

Just Speeds Up Naming Planets.
Research Study: mnemonics
Research shows that people who learn mnemonic techniques are
better at learning and remembering material.
4) Active Processing is subjecting information to deep and meaningful
analysis.
Research Study: active processing
Craik & Lockhart Found that if participants analysed material by
its meaning (semantically), the recall was better.
Showed that recall is becomes easier as different recall pathways
are established.

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