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Chap
ter 1
Memory It just weighs about 3 pounds – about the same as 1½ bags of sugar. And holds about 100 billion nerve cells, and all your memories.
• How are those memories stored?
• What do the memories actually look like in the brain?
• Why do you think you remember some things and not others?
• Are memories accurate?
• If they are not accurate, what makes them lack accuracy?
Contents
Processes of memory
Encoding, storage and retrieval 12
A study of encoding 14
Different types of memory 16
Structures of memory
The multi-store model of memory 18
Primacy and recency effects in recall 20
Memory as an active process
Barlett’s War of the Ghosts study 22
The theory of reconstructive memory 24
Factors affecting the accuracy of memory
Interference 26
Context 28
False memories 30
Revision summary 32
Practice questions, answers and feedback 34
Multiple choice questions 36
Chapter 1 fromAQA Psychology for GCSEby Cara Flanagan, Dave Berry, Ruth Jones, Mark Jones and Rob Liddle© Illuminate Publishing
These pages are uncorrected proofs and contain unfinalised artwork
Please note: the following material been entered in an AQA approval process
Chapter 1 Memory10 11 Chapter 1 Contents� �
It’s on the tip of my tongue.
A phrase which generally means failing to retrieve a word or name from memory but having some idea what it is and also feeling that any moment the word will be recalled.
Encode – store – retrieve ‘Memory’ describes a whole lot of different things: remembering your last birthday, remembering the capital of France, remembering what you did in your last maths lesson, remembering stuff for exams, remembering where you put that necklace, remembering how to ride a bicycle …
In all cases, we can describe the process in terms of:
1. Encoding: the information must be translated into a form so that it can be held in your brain.
2. Storage: the information is then kept in your brain for a period of time – possibly even a lifetime.
3. Retrieval: the information has to be located and brought back out of your brain.
You can retrieve memories in several different ways:• Recognition – for example, doing multiple choice questions, you
are given four possible answers and have to decide which one is the right answer. Or seeing someone and being able to identify who they are – which is different from trying to recall what someone looks like.
• Cued recall – you try to remember a piece of information … it’s on the tip of your tongue … and then someone gives you a clue or cue (It begins with the letter ‘B’) and you can remember it.
• Free recall is when you retrieve it without cues.
Apply it – concept
Apply it – research
1. Which one of the following terms is a description of storage?
(i) Putting information into your memory.
(ii) Recalling information.
(iii) Learning information in terms of how it sounds.
(iv) Holding information in your memory. [1 mark]
2. Use your knowledge of psychology to explain how memories are encoded. Give an example in your answer. [2 marks]
3. Explain what is meant by each of the following terms: storage and retrieval. [4 marks]
Check it
Ezra revisingRead the item below and then answer the questions that follow.
Ezra finds that when he revises for his Psychology test, he remembers more information if he re-writes passages of the textbook into his own words as opposed to just staring at the textbook page or reading the page out loud.
A friend tests Ezra by asking him to recall what he learned the previous day. Ezra finds that he remembers most of the information but not all of it. However, when he is given the opportunity to look at some key words from his notes he finds that he can remember the rest of the information.
Questions1. Identify the different ways in which Ezra learns. Refer to
the different types of encoding in your answer. [3 marks]2. Why couldn’t Ezra remember all of his notes the following
day? [2 marks]
Recognition or recall?A psychologist conducted a study on memory to see which method of remembering was superior – recognition or recall. In the recall condition, 10 participants studied a list of 20 words. The list was removed and the participants wrote down as many words as they could remember. In the recognition condition, 10 different participants studied the same list of words. After this was removed, they were given a list of 100 words which included the 20 they had seen previously. They had to select the words they recognised.
Questions
1. Write a suitable alternative hypothesis for this study. [2 marks]
2. Apart from ethical issues explain one strength of the research method used in this study. [2 marks]
3. The psychologist used two different groups of participants. Identify this experimental design and explain how she could have allocated the participants to the two conditions of the study. [1 mark + 2 marks]
4. The psychologist repeated the study using a matched pairs design. Explain one reason why she did this. [2 marks]
Study tipDon’t lose marksMake sure you expand enough on your answers.
When explaining key terms in Psychology (see question 3 below), it is always good practice to give a relevant example to illustrate your point as this further demonstrates your knowledge and understanding of a topic (AO1).
Memory is an example of a cognitive process. ‘Cognitive’ means knowledge. Chapter 3 concerns cognitive development – looking at how children think and learn.
You should always be on the lookout for links across the specification.
THINK LINK
EncodingMemory involves three processes: putting information into your brain (encoding), storing it there and retrieving it again. To begin we are going to focus on the encoding part.
Encoding means changing information so it can be stored in the brain. The form of the information is changed.
Visual encodingSome memories are stored visually. For example, if I ask you to count the windows on your house you probably ‘see’ your house in your mind in order to count the windows. That information is visually encoded.
Acoustic encodingSome memories are stored in terms of what they sound like. The most obvious example would be your favourite songs. If you think about them, you can hear the words and music.
Another example is learning the alphabet to the tune of Twinkle twinkle little star – the rhyme is encoded acoustically.
Semantic encoding‘Semantic’ refers to meaning. We all know thousands of words and your semantic memory is the meaning of these words – that is your ability to understand and use words and concepts.
For example, you know and understand the word elephant and you can use the word in a sentence.
Other encodingTactile encoding is a memory of what things feel like and olfactory memory is memory for smells.
Meaningful associations …All sorts of memory ‘tricks’ rely on making meaningful associations. For example
ROY G. BIV helps me (Cara) remember the colours of the rainbow (R stands for red, O for orange …)
Or you can use each letter to make up a rhyme: Richard of York Gave Battle in Vain.
Both of these are well known mnemonic techniques – methods to improve your recall of lists of things.
The memory palace
Every year a World Memory Championship is held where competitors have to memorise long lists of hundreds of numbers and words. Ben Pridmore, from Derby, has won three times and explains how he achieves mind boggling feats – it’s called the method of loci or the memory palace. He memorises long lists of numbers by encoding them in meaningful associations.
Ben turns numbers into images and then places them around an environment he knows well – in his case it is often his old school, Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School in Horncastle, Lincolnchsire. To recall the numbers he takes a walk round the school and retrieves them.
You may not be very impressed by this method but it is surprisingly effective and used by all memory champions and stage performers.
You can see a great demonstration of this method by Professor Robert Winston here tinyurl.com/lumdv6f
What is meant by …Encoding
Retrieval
The specification says …Processes of memory: encoding (input), storage and retrieval (output).
How memories are encoded and stored.
Stretch and challengeTest it yourself. Ask people you know about whether they use meaningful associations such as the rhyme above to help them remember things. What kinds of things do people use to help them remember?
Processes of memory: Encoding, storage and retrieval
Chapter 1 Memory12 13 Proces� �s� �es� � of memory: Encoding, s� �torage and retrieval
DRAFT
Study tipUnderstanding the marksIt is possible that you may be asked to answer a 9-mark question on one study of encoding – consisting of 4 marks description (AO1) and 5 marks of evaluation (AO3), as in ‘Check it’ question 3. You can see that the question says ‘describe’ and ‘evaluate’ but it doesn’t tell you how many marks for each.
Looking at this spread you may wonder – there is more AO1 (description) of the study than AO3 (evaluation). The reason is that we have to spend time carefully describing the study so you can understand it.
In addition you may be asked just to describe the method or results of the study (as in Q2) so you need the detail – but you must learn to describe each study succinctly so you have time for the evaluation.
A study of encodingAlan Baddeley (1966 a, b) conducted one of the best-known studies of encoding in memory.
Psychologists distinguish between short-term memories (STMs) and long-term memories (LTMs) – sometimes we store information but only rather briefly; for example, if you are phoning someone up you remember their phone number while dialing it but then the number is forgotten. This is an example of short-term memories.
Long-term memories are those which last longer, in other words, you can retrieve them later on, after hours or days or even years.
Baddely’s study: AimBaddeley aimed to see if there was a difference in the type of encoding used in short- and long-term memory.
MethodThere were four groups of participants: A, B, C, and D. Each group was given one of the lists on the left.
Group A heard 12 sets of five words from List A. For example, one set might be: cab, can, mad, man, max, another set might be: mat, map, cap, cad, cab. The words were read out at a rate of one per second.
After each set of five words the participants were asked to immediately recall the five words in the correct order. The participants had a card with all the ten words from the list; it was the order of recall that mattered.
Group B did the same with list B.
Group C did the same with list C except they waited 20 minutes before they recalled the words, and the same applied to group D with list D.
ResultsBaddeley found that participants did worse with list A than list B.
He also found that they did worse with list C than list D.
ConclusionList A has acoustically similar words (they sound the same) whereas list B has acoustically dissimilar words (they don’t sound the same). The fact that participants did worse with list A than list B suggests that words are encoded acoustically because those were the words that got muddled up so they must have been thinking in terms of the sounds of the words. This applies to short-term memory (STM) because they were asked to recall the list immediately.
List C has semantically similar words (they have a similar meaning) whereas list D has semantically dissimilar words (they don’t mean the same thing). The fact that participants did worse with list C than list D suggests that information is encoded semantically if it isn’t recalled immediately. This applies to long-term memory (LTM) because these lists were recalled after 20 minutes.
Overall this suggests that short-term memories are encoded acoustically and longer-term memories are encoded semantically.
The specification says…Processes of memory: How memories are encoded.
1. Research into encoding could be said to lack validity. State what is meant by a ‘lack of validity’. Briefly explain why validity might or might not be an issue in a study that investigated encoding. [3 marks]
2. Imagine that you have been asked to conduct a study to investigate encoding. Write a hypothesis for this research study. [2 marks]
3. Describe and evaluate one study that has investigated how memories are encoded. [9 marks]
Check it
Ear this!
List A
cat, cab, can, cad, cap, mad, max, mat, man, map
List B
pit, few, cow, pen, sup, bar, day, hot, rig, bun
Close your book and try to remember both lists of words in the order they were presented.
Which list did you recall better?
List C
great, large, big, huge, broad, long, tall, fat, wide, high
List D
good, huge, hot, safe, thin, deep, strong, foul, old, late
Now try to remember lists C and D in the order they were presented.
Which list did you recall better? Any ideas why?
Study tipConclusionsA conclusion is an interpretation of the results – an attempt to generalise from the particular research study to wider issues. In this case, making a statement about short-term memory generally, rather than a statement about the participants in the study.
What is meant by …Encoding
Long-term memory
This study is not named in the specification and therefore you cannot be asked questions specifically about this study. However you can use the study as a means of answering questions about how false memories affect the accuracy of memory.
Study not named in specification
Processes of memory: A study of encodingEvaluation A controlled experimentPoint: One strength is this is a well-controlled experiment which enhances the validity of the results.
Explanation: The study was conducted within a lab where conditions could be carefully controlled so that no other factors would influence participant’s ability to recall the lists. One important factor that was controlled was poor hearing, which could be an extraneous variable. If participants had poor hearing they might be less likely to hear similarity in words. Baddeley did give participants a hearing test.
The level of control means we can be more confident that the results are due to changes in the independent variable (acoustic or semantic similarity/dissimilarity).
STM may sometimes be visualPoint: One weakness is that Baddeley overlooked cases where encoding in STM is visual rather than acoustic.
Explanation: Baddeley used quite artificial stimuli (word lists). If different stimuli were used STM may not always be acoustic. In another study Brandimote et al. (1992) found that participants used visual encoding in STM when processing visual information (see details of the study on the right). Normally we ‘translate’ visual images into verbal codes in STM, but this may not always be the case – especially if verbal rehearsal is prevented.
This means that STM is not always acoustic.
EXTRA: Was it LTM?Point: Another weakness is that Baddeley may not have been testing LTM at all.
Explanation: In the study LTM was tested by waiting for just 20 minutes. There are many things that we remember for 20 minutes but have forgotten by the next day, so recall after 20 minutes may not really be LTM.
Therefore Baddeley may not have actually been testing what he claimed to be testing.
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Stretch and challenge Maria Brandimonte and colleagues (1992) showed that STM encoding was not always acoustic. If information is presented visually then STM is visual. The stimulus material used in this study was six picture pairs, where one picture of each pair was part of the other picture. Two picture pairs are shown below.
1.
2.
Participants were asked to subtract the second picture from the first one for each pair, producing a ‘reduced’
picture. The pictures were displayed for 2 seconds.
Afterwards participants were asked to verbally recall the composite images in any order. Using an independent groups design, some participants were given an articulatory suppression task in the interval before recall (i.e. they had to say ‘la la la la’). This was done to prevent any verbal rehearsal in the retention interval.
This suppression task had no effect on performance for images that had no name but improved performance for images that could be named (a verbal activity). This shows that storage can be visual.
This is an interesting study to try yourself.
DTPC and OZVF
A memory researcher wanted to see if encoding in STM really is acoustic. She selected a sample of 24 participants and divided them into two equal groups.
In Condition A, the participants were presented with several sequences of similar sounding consonants (‘D’, ‘T’, ‘P’, ‘C’, etc.) and then asked to recall each sequence.
In Condition B participants had to recall sequences of dissimilar sounding consonants (‘O’, ‘Z’, ‘V’, ‘F’, etc.).
The researcher found that the participants in Condition B recalled more sequences on average than participants in Condition A.
Questions
1. The researcher presented each participant with five sequences. Explain how she could have used randomisation to do this. [2 marks]
2. The researcher conducted this experiment in a laboratory. Explain one strength and one weakness of this type of study [2 marks + 2 marks]
3. Explain one way the researcher could have chosen a random sample of participants. [2 marks]
4. Explain one strength and one weakness of random sampling. [2 marks + 2 marks]
Apply it – research
Chapter 1 Memory14 Proces� �s� �es� � of memory: A s� �tudy of encoding 15
DRAFT
What is meant by …Episodic memory
Procedural memory
Stretch and challengeYou could investigate people’s episodic memories, in particular, their early memories. Ask people what their earliest memory is or ask them to tell you about happy events they recall from their childhood.
What patterns can you see in the things that people recall?
People with amnesia usually can remember how to do things, such as make scrambled eggs or ride a bicycle, but they lose almost all recollection of their past life. They remember how to speak but can’t remember facts about the world or personal events that happened to them.
In other words they appear to lose only certain kinds of memory.
One famous case was a gifted British musician, Clive Wearing. He developed an infection in his brain and within a day had lost almost all memory of his past. He can still play the piano brilliantly and conduct a choir but he can’t remember his musical education. He can remember some other aspects of his life before the infection, but not others.
For example, he knows that he has children but cannot remember their names. He recognises his wife, Deborah, and greets her joyously every time they meet, believing he has not seen her in years, even though she may have just left the room for a few minutes.
The specification says…Processes of memory: Different types of memory; episodic memory, semantic memory and procedural memory.
This is what you have learned so far
Long-term memory (LTM)If I tell you my phone number will you still remember it in an hour? Tomorrow? Next week? Next year? We remember some things for only a short time and these are called short-term memories. There is no exact time when something becomes a long-term memory but, in general, short-term memories are ones that disappear within a few hours or days. Long-term memories, as the name suggests, stay with us for weeks, months and even a life-time.
When psychologists have studied long-term memory, they have identified three key types.
1. Episodic memoryEpisodic memory is your memory for events (episodes) from your life. It’s your memory for the things you have done and experiences you have had. For example, a visit to the dentist, a gig you went to last week, your birthday party when you were 10, and so on.
You recall the time and place of such episodes. You may also remember who else was there, what happened before and afterwards, and you may also remember what you felt about it. So these memories are ‘time-stamped’.
2. Semantic memorySemantic is about ‘meaning’. Your semantic memory is like your own encyclopedia. It is the meaning of everything you know – but specifically it is the knowledge that is shared with other people (whereas episodic memories may be unique to you). For example, Paris is the capital of France, or England won the World Cup in 1966 are both semantic memories.
Unlike episodic memories, semantic memories are not ‘time-stamped’. We don’t usually remember when we first learned about Justin Bieber, for example (if you do – then that memory is an episodic one).
3. Procedural memoryProcedural memory is ‘muscle memory’ – remembering how to do things.
We can recall these memories without conscious awareness or a great deal of effort. A good example is driving a car. Our ability to do this (eventually) depends on procedural memory. We change gear without having to recall how. We indicate left or right at a junction without even realising we’ve done so.
These are the sorts of skills we might even find quite hard to explain to someone else. If you try to describe what you are doing as you drive the car, the task may well become more difficult.
Declarative and non-declarative memoriesYou don’t need to remember the terms declarative and non-declarative but they provide a good way of summarising the differences between the three types of long-term memory. Episodic/semantic memories are grouped together as declarative memories because they require conscious recall. Procedural memory doesn’t require conscious recall and so is classified as non-declarative.
Possibly an episode she would prefer to forget.
1. Which one of these is a description of procedural memory? [1 mark]
(i) Your memory for personal events.
(ii) Your unconscious memory for skills.
(iii) Your memory for knowledge and facts of the world.
2. Outline two criticisms of research into different types of memory. [4 marks]
3. Explain what is meant by the terms episodic memory, sematic memory and procedural memory. [6 marks]
Study tipLess is moreStudents find evaluation difficult. Try to take it slowly. You may need to come back to these evaluations when you have become more experienced.
One of the key tips is: LESS IS MORE
You are better off understanding ONE critical point well than knowing them all superficially. Practise writing one well-elaborated, beautifully polished AO3 point. You can read advice about AO3 on page 6.
Basic Memory Processes
Encoding Code and put into memory
StorageMaintain in memory
RetrievalRecover from memory
Types of memory codes• Acoustic• Semantic• Visual
Types of long-term memory• Episodic• Procedural• Semantic
Types of retrieval• Cued recall• Free recall• Recognition
Evaluation Specific locations in the brainPoint: One strength of dividing LTM into different types is that brain scans have shown separate locations in the brain for each of the three types of memory, supporting the idea of different kinds of memory.
Explanation: If the three types of memory are different then each should have a specific location in the brain.
Researchers have found support for this, for example:• Episodic memory is associated with the right prefrontal area. • Semantic memory is associated with the left prefrontal area. • Procedural memory is associated with the motor area which
controls fine motor skills.
Amnesic patientsPoint: Another strength is that people who suffer from loss of memory due to brain damage lose only certain kinds of memory as described in the case of Clive Wearing (facing page), supporting the idea of different kinds of memory.
Explanation: Another famous case of amnesia happened to a man known as HM who had severe epilepsy as a young boy. An operation to remove his hippocampus (to reduce epilepsy from that area) resulted in a catastrophic loss of memory – but not all his memory. He could recall how to do things but was unable to remember events from his past.
This again shows that there are different kinds of memory.
EXTRA: It’s not as simple as it seemsPoint: One weakness is that, in reality, there isn’t a clear difference between episodic and semantic memories (you may already have realised this).
Explanation: Amnesic patients actually retain some of their semantic memories, such as language (you use your semantic memory to recall the vocabulary of any language). And most of our memories are a fusion of episodic and semantic ones. For example, your knowledge (semantic memory) of Justin Bieber is closely linked to your experiences of seeing him sing (episodic memories).
Therefore the idea of three stores may be just too neat and tidy to be true. It is an oversimplification.
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Testing episodic memory
A psychologist wanted to see if episodic memory worsens as people get older. He tested the episodic memories of ten people of different ages. The results are given in the table (the higher the score, the better the episodic memory).
Questions
1. Use a piece of graph paper to sketch a suitable graph of these results. Label your axes and give the graph a suitable title. [5 marks]
2. Identify the type of graph you have sketched and the type of correlation your graph shows. [1 mark + 1 mark]
3. Calculate the median episodic memory score and the mean age of the participants. Show your workings for both. [2 marks + 2 marks]
4. Give one strength and one weakness of correlations. [2 marks + 2 marks]
Apply it – researchParticipant Episodic memory
score (out of 20) Age (years)
1 7 622 15 223 6 684 19 185 4 736 18 327 9 458 11 559 12 35
10 15 27
Prefrontal area
Motor area
Processes of memory: Different types of memoryC
heck it
Chapter 1 Memory16 Proces� �s� �es� � of memory: Different types� � of memory 17
DRAFT
Study tipWhat is evaluation? Questions may ask you to evaluate a topic or may ask you to give one criticism – evaluation is the same as criticism. Both are ways of assessing the value of something – that’s why we say ‘eVALUate’.
Strengths and weaknesses are all ways of giving evaluation – a positive criticism is still a criticism.
Stretch and challenge A memory game
This game has been called pelmanism or concentration. It can be played with ordinary playing cards or a special set with matching figures. All the cards are laid face down at the start of the game.
The first player turns over two cards – if they match the player keeps the cards. If they don’t match the player turns them back again and both players try to remember what the cards are and where they are.
The second player turns over one card and then a second one – if they match the player keeps the cards and so on.
At the end, the player with the most cards wins.
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Obviously the game is a test of memory – but is it short-term memory or long-term memory?
Write your name in the air with a sparkler
How does this work? It is called persistence of vision and it works because of sensory memory. The afterimage of the sparkler persists in the eye for a very short time after the sparkler has moved on – therefore we see the path of the sparkler.
The modelRichard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin (1968) developed a model to explain how memory works. The model consisted of three kinds of memory and an explanation about how information moves from one store to the next.
Stim
ulus
fro
m t
heen
viro
nmen
t
Sens
ory
regi
ster
Short-termmemory
(STM)
Eyes
Ears
Othersensorystores
Long-termmemory
(LTM)
Prolongedrehearsal
Maintenancerehearsal
(rehearsal loop)
Sensory memoryThe beginning of any memory happens when information is received by one of the senses – hence ‘sensory’ memory. When you look at an object, that visual image is remembered at least for a very short time. When you hear someone’s voice, their message can be heard for a very short time afterwards.• Coding Sensory memory is a storage place at your eyes or ears or fingertips or
nose. These memories are coded (or encoded) in a form appropriate to the sense – so memories at your eyes are encoded visually and memories at your ears are encoded acoustically.
• Capacity All the information from your world passes through your five senses. For example, the retina in your eyes (which record visual input) contains millions of cells. Therefore, we say that sensory memory has a very high capacity.
• Duration Information remains in your sensory memory only very briefly – less than half a second for visual sensory memory – unless you pay attention to it.
If you pay attention to the information from your sensory memory, this information is transferred to another area of your brain, which is referred to as your short-term memory.
Short-term memory (STM)STM is known as a limited capacity store, because it can only contain a certain number of ‘things’ at any one time. If you try to squeeze any more into it, this won’t work – old information is overwritten or pushed out. This is what happens when you try the digit span test on the left – there is only so much space to hold information (you can practise and increase it). • Coding tends to be acoustic i.e. in terms of ‘sounds’.• Capacity is, on average, between 5 and 9 items or chunks of information.• Duration is less than 30 seconds unless it is rehearsed. For example, if you tested
your memory for 5 digits after 30 seconds you wouldn’t remember them – unless you had rehearsed them. If you repeat the digits verbally over and over they will stay in your STM.
Role of rehearsalIn fact, if you kept silently repeating – or rehearsing – the digits, they will go in your long-term memory and you will recall them tomorrow or even next week and possibly even next year if you rehearse them enough. This is called maintenance rehearsal.
Long-term memory (LTM)• Coding tends to be semantic rather than acoustic.• Capacity is potentially unlimited because of the way our brains evolved – the brain is
constantly weeding out unneeded information so that we do always appear to have more room.
• Duration is potentially up to a lifetime.
EvaluationSupporting researchPoint: One strength is there is evidence for different memory stores.
Explanation: A major strength is that the model is supported by research studies that show that STM and LTM are indeed qualitatively different. For example, Baddeley (page 14) found that we tend to mix up words that sound similar when we are using our STMs. But we mix up words that have similar meanings when we use our LTMs. The strength of this study is that it clearly shows that coding in STM is acoustic and in LTM it is semantic.
So they are different, and this supports the view that these two memory stores are separate and independent.
Further support is given by the study described on the next page on the serial position effect.
The model is too simplePoint: One weakness is that the model is too simple.
Explanation: The multi-store model suggests that we have just one STM and one LTM. However, research has shown that each of these stores has separate parts. STM is divided into separate visual and acoustic stores, and LTM is divided into episodic, semantic and procedural memory (as discussed on the previous spread).
This suggests that our memory is far more complex than the multi-store model originally proposed.
EXTRA: Artificial materialsPoint: Another weakness is that research studies in the 1950s and 60s tended to use artificial memory tasks.
Explanation: The studies often required participants to recall word lists or nonsense syllables such as PRQ or SDF.
This means that the results would not illustrate all the different ways we use memory but instead tended to focus on verbal learning.
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Digit spanHere are 5 digits: 4 5 2 9 2
Close your eyes and try to repeat them in the same order. Easy.
Now try
6 digits: 2 6 1 8 3 4
7 digits: 8 6 9 2 5 6 1
8 digits: 5 2 7 9 6 4 2 7
9 digits: 3 6 2 5 9 7 1 8 2
Most people can remember between 5 and 9 items.
Chunking
You can increase your digit span by chunking, which is how we remember phone numbers. It is easier to remember 020 7329 6438 than 02073296438.
It’s also easier to remember list B below rather than list A:
List A: F Y I B B C F A Q I T V K G U S A A T M
List B: FYI BBC FAQ ITV KG USA ATM
It’s all about looking for associations again, as discussed on page 12.
What is meant by …
Coding
Zachary’s phone numberRead the item below and then answer the questions that follow.
Zachary has been given a phone number that he needs to remember but does not have anything to write it down with. He keeps repeating the number to himself over and over again until he finds a pen to make a note of it. The following day he finds to his surprise that he can still remember it.
QuestionsUse the multi-store model of memory to explain:
1. Why he needed to repeat the number to himself whilst looking for a pen. [2 marks]
2. Why he was able to remember the number the following day. [1 mark]
Apply it – concept
The specification says …Structures of memory: The multi-store model of memory; sensory, short term and long term.
Features of each store: coding, capacity, duration.
Structures of memory: The multi-store model
1. Identify three features of short-term memory (STM). Refer to encoding, capacity and duration in your answer. [3 marks]
2. Explain how the multi-store model has increased our understanding of memory. [4 marks]
3. Outline and evaluate the multi-store model of memory. [9 marks]
Check it
Chapter 1 Memory18 Structures� � of memory: The multi-s� �tore model 19 19 18
DRAFT
Study tipDescribing a research studyThis spread looks at a research study. You can see that it has been divided into aim, method, results and conclusions. This is one way to examine a research study in detail.
Aim – this tells us what the researcher was trying to investigate.
Method – a description of what the researcher actually did, so anyone can repeat the study if they want to check the results.
Results – gives us details of what data was produced in the study. A graph provides an easy way to ‘eyeball’ the data.
Conclusions – an analysis of the results to consider the implications of the study.
1. Outline what is meant by the following terms:(i) Primacy effect.(ii) Recency effect. [4 marks]
2. You have been asked to conduct an experiment to investigate the effects of serial position when learning a list of words. Describe how you would conduct this experiment.
In your answer, you need to include: ⦁ The experimental design you would choose, and
why this would be suitable. ⦁ The task participants would be required to do
and the data that you would collect. ⦁ The results you would expect to find from your
experiment. [6 marks]
3. Describe and evaluate Murdock’s serial position curve study. [9 marks]
Check it
Apply it – concept
Murdock’s serial position curve studyBennet B. Murdock Junior conducted a similar investigation to the one described on the left.
AimMurdock (1962) set out to see if memory for words was affected by the number of words a person had to remember.
MethodTo create his word lists Murdock randomly selected words from the 4,000 most common words in English.
103 students on a Psychology course took part in the study and were tested in groups over a number of different sessions.
In each session, the participants listened to 20 word lists, each containing different words. The words lists varied in length from 10 words to 40 words.
After each list the participants had to recall the words they had just heard.
Results Murdock found that the likelihood of recall was related to the position of the word in the list, as shown in the graph below for a 20-word list.
1.00
.80
.60
.40
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.005
Prob
abili
ty o
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all
Serial position
10 15 200
A similar graph was produced no matter what the length of the list – in every case participants had:• Higher recall for the first few words on the list than those in the middle of the
list. This is called a primacy effect because primacy means ‘first’.• Highest recall for the final few words on the list. This is called a recency effect
because these words were most recent.
ConclusionsThese results demonstrate a serial position effect – the position of a word determines the likelihood of its recall. Recency effects are strongest.
The results support the multi-store model because they fit the predictions of the model. The first words are well remembered because they have been rehearsed longest and are therefore long-term memories. The more recent words are well remembered because they are still in the short-term memory store. So the study illustrates the action of short- and long-term memory as described by the multi-store model.
Prob
abili
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f rem
embe
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Position of the item in the list
Primacy effect Recency effect
EndBeginning
Be a scientist
No we are not going to look at bean sprouts but we are going to use a magnifying glass, so to speak. We are going to look up close at some memory processes.
1. Working in a group, write a list of 20 words. Each word should be four letters in length. Try to avoid very unusual words.
2. Each student in the group should test at least one participant. Read the 20 words out to your participant (always use the same word order). When you have finished ask your participant to write down as many words as they can.
3. For each word, you need to record whether recall was correct or not – you should ignore spelling mistakes.
4. Your group should pool their results and count how many people remembered the 1st word correctly, and the 2nd word correctly and so on.
Now try to draw a graph of your group results.
The specification says …Structures of memory: Primary and recency effects in recall; the effects of serial position.
Murdock’s serial position curve study.
What is meant by …Primacy effect
Serial position effect
Structures of memory: Primacy and recency effects in recall
The Generation GameRead the item below and then answer the question that follows.
The Generation Game was an 80s TV show which featured a particularly novel way for contestants to win prizes. They had to watch a number of items go past them on a conveyer belt and had to remember as many of those items as they could – they were allowed to take home anything they remembered.
There were usually 20 items and each contestant saw each item for a few seconds before it disappeared out of their view. Contestants often remembered the first and last prizes that they saw.
Question
Explain why the contestants tended to remember the first and last prizes that they saw. Refer to the primacy and recency effect in your answer. [4 marks]
You are only as good as your last record – a recency effect.
It is said that people best remember the thing someone did more recently. So if you are a recording artist, you may have had a string of hits records but if your latest one is a flop, then everyone says ‘What a loser’.
Another common observation is that first impressions count – which is a primacy effect.
Evaluation A controlled laboratory studyPoint: One strength is that this study was conducted in very controlled conditions which means we can trust the results.
Explanation: When we are studying cause and effect relationships it is important that we control everything carefully to isolate the variables we are interested in. In this study the:• Independent variable (IV) was the position of a
word in the list.• Dependent variable (DV) was the probability that
the word was recalled.
The researcher controlled the familiarity of the words, the speed they were read at and ensured that practice had no effect on performance (the participants might have got better at recalling lists the more they did it). Therefore, none of these things would have affected the DV.
Artificial taskPoint: One weakness is that, in this study, memory was investigated by using lists of words that only represent a small part of what we do with our memories.
Explanation: The problem is that this research only tells us about one aspect of memory – how we deal with memorising words. But we do a lot of other things with our memories such as remember how to play basketball or remember whether we like someone or not.
So this way of studying memory is really rather artificial. It does relate to some aspects of life (like learning for an exam) but not to many other aspects of life.
EXTRA: Supporting researchPoint: One strength of this study is research with amnesiacs supports the conclusions.
Explanation: Research has shown that people who have amnesia and can’t store long-term memories also do not show a primacy effect but they do show a recency effect (Carlesimo et al. 1996).
This confirms that the primacy effect is related to long-term memory.
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Named study in specification
Chapter 1 Memory20 21 Structures� � of memory: Primacy and recency effects� � in recall
DRAFT
Check it
The specification says…Memory as an active process: Bartlett’s War of the Ghosts study.
Read this story and then close the book and write down as much as you can remember.
One night two young men from Egulac went down the river to hunt seals, and while they were there it became foggy and calm. Then they heard war-cries, and they thought: ‘Maybe this is a war-party’. They escaped to the shore and hid behind a log. Now canoes came up, and they heard the noise of paddles, and saw one canoe coming up to them. There were five men in the canoe, and they said:
‘What do you think? We wish to take you along. We are going up the river to make war on the people.’ One of the young men said: ‘I have no arrows.’
‘Arrows are in the canoe,’ they said.
‘I will not go along. I might get killed. My relatives do not know where I have gone. But you,’ he said, turning to the other, ‘may go with them.’
So one of the young men went, but the other returned home.
And the warriors went up on the river to a town on the other side of Kalama. The people came down to the water, and they began to fight, and many were killed. But presently the young man heard one of the warriors say: ‘Quick, let us go home: that Indian has been hit.’ Now he thought: ‘Oh, they are ghosts.’ He did not feel sick, but they said he had been shot.
So the canoes went back to Egulac, and the young man went ashore to his house, and made a fire. And he told everybody and said: ‘Behold I accompanied the ghosts, and we went to fight. Many of our fellows were killed, and many of those who attacked us were killed. They said I was hit and I did not feel sick.’
He told it all and then became quiet. When the sun rose he fell down. Something black came out of his mouth. His face became contorted. The people jumped up and cried.
He was dead.
The studyFrederic Bartlett (1932) conducted a series of studies to show that memories are formed through reconstruction. His hypothesis was that if a person was given something to remember and then asked to recall the story or picture over a period of weeks or years, the recollection would be endlessly transformed (i.e. changed).
In particular, if the information to be remembered is somewhat unfamiliar and/or unusual, people will impose their own familiar expectations and make the story more familiar over time. Such expectations are based on social and cultural knowledge.
AimTo investigate how memory is reconstructed when people are asked to recall something repeatedly over a period of weeks and months.
Bartlett’s aim was to use a story from a different culture to see how cultural expectations affect memory.
MethodBartlett used a technique he called serial reproductions. In the War of the Ghosts study he showed participants the story on the left and asked them to reproduce it shortly after (e.g. 15 minutes later), then he showed the new version to another person and asked them to recall it a short time later, and repeated this with further participants.
A key feature of the story was that it belonged to a culture that was very different from that of the participants – Bartlett’s participants were people at his university in the UK (students, friends and colleagues).
Bartlett kept a record of successive recall (a protocol). None of the participants knew the purpose of the study.
ResultsBartlett found that participants remembered different parts of story and that they interpreted the story within their own frames of reference (social and cultural expectations), changing the facts to make them fit. You can see two examples of what people remembered on the facing page that show how the original story was transformed.
Bartlett made several observations about the transformations that occurred: • The story was shortened, mainly by omissions. • The phrases used were changed to language and concepts from the participant’s
own culture. For example, using ‘boats’ instead of ‘canoe’. • The recalled version soon became very fixed, though each time it was recalled there
were slight variations.
ConclusionsAll of these transformations had the effect of making the material easier to remember. We don’t remember details, we remember fragments and use our knowledge of social situations to reconstruct memory. Individuals remembered the meaning and tried to sketch out the story using invented details.
This reconstructed version of events is simpler to remember and therefore becomes our memory for the event.
Sir Frederic Bartlett (1886–1969)
Bartlett is regarded as one of the ‘great’ psychologists. His main work was a book called Remembering: A Study in Experimental and Social Psychology (1932), which included his War of the Ghosts study. The book (and his studies) changed the view psychologists had of memory. His theory of reconstructive memory is discussed on the next spread.
Bartlett was also a pioneer in experimental psychology, setting up a lab at the University of Cambridge in 1912. He was knighted just after the Second World War because of his work with the Royal Air Force.
Reproduction 7
Once upon a time two young Indians from Momapan were fishing for seals, when a boat containing five warriors came down the river. ‘Come with us’, said one of the warriors, ‘and help us fight the warriors further on.’
‘I cannot’, said one of the Indians, ‘I have a mother at home, and she would grieve sorely if I were not to return.’ The other Indian simply said, ‘I have no weapons’. ‘I have some in the boat’, replied the warrior. Whereupon the Indian stepped into the boat and they all rowed off to the fight.
In the course of the battle the Indian was mortally wounded. ‘Take me home’, he said, ‘to Momapan. That is where I came from – I am going to die.’ ‘On no’, said the warrior, to whom he made this request, ‘you will live’.
But before the boat got clear of the conflict the Indian died, and his spirit fled. They stopped the boat and tried to lift him out, but they were unable to do so, because he was dead.
What people remembered . . .
1. Describe the method used by Bartlett in the War of the Ghosts study. [2 marks]
2. Researchers have criticised Bartlett’s War of the Ghosts study because the story used was unusual. Outline one other criticism of Bartlett’s study. [3 marks]
3. Explain what Bartlett’s War of the Ghosts study shows about memory being reconstructed. [3 marks]
Evaluation Lacks controlPoint: One weakness is the study was conducted rather casually, with no set standards about where and how people recalled the information.
Explanation: The participants were not given very specific instructions at the outset about what they should do. Another study found that recall was much more accurate when participants were told, from the beginning, that accurate recall was important (Gauld and Stephenson1967). However, participants did still make errors.
This suggests that recall is probably more accurate than Bartlett suggested.
The results were biasedPoint: Another weakness is that Bartlett’s own beliefs may have affected the way he interpreted the data.
Explanation: The conclusions depend on how you interpret the results. Bartlett analysed each example of recall and had to decide what counted as accurate recall and what didn’t. Since he believed that recall would be affected by cultural expectations, he may have been more likely to see this kind of effect in the results.
This means that we cannot fully trust the results of his study.
EXTRA: The story was unusualPoint: One weakness is that the story was unusual and therefore may not reflect everyday memory processes.
Explanation: Most of the time we use memory to deal with quite everyday experiences. In such cases our memories are not affected by cultural expectations and we therefore may recall things quite accurately.
Therefore, this study may tell us very little about everyday memory
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What is meant by …Culture
Canteen questions
A psychology student wanted to find out if memory is reconstructive. He recruited ten students who happened to be in the school canteen at the time. He presented them with an unfamiliar story and gave them two minutes to read it. He then took the story away and the participants had to write down their own version of it from what they could remember. The student then collected the participants’ responses.
Questions
1. Are the data collected in this study qualitative or quantitative? Give one reason for your answer. [2 marks]
2. Identify the sampling method used by the student. [1 mark]3. Explain one weakness of this sampling method. [2 marks]4. Identify an alternative sampling method the student could have used
to overcome the weakness you identified in question 3 and give one reason for your choice. [1 mark + 2 marks]
5. Give one strength and one weakness of correlations. [2 marks + 2 marks]
Apply it – research
Reproduction 3
This is the story of two young Indians who lived at Egulac. One day they were engaged in seal-fishing, the day being calm but foggy. Suddenly through the fog was heard the sound of paddles, and soon five canoes emerged into view. In the first canoe were five men, one of whom called to the young Indians, ‘Come with us, and fight the people who live beyond’.
‘Nay’, replied the two, ‘we cannot come to fight, for we have no arrows’.
‘That does not matter’, said the warrior, ‘there are arrows in the canoe, so come, and tarry not’.
Then said one of the Indians, ‘I cannot come, for my parents, who had need of me, will be sorely grieved’.
But the other one said, ‘I will come with you, for there is none to miss me’.
And they set sail and went to fight at Kalama, and the fighting lasting very long, many of both sides being killed and wounded. At last the warrior said to the young Indian, ‘Go home, for you are sore wounded’. But the Indian replied, ‘Nay, that cannot be, for I feel no pain’.
Still the warrior urged him, and he returned to Egulac, where he told the people of the great fighting at Kalama, and how he was wounded and yet felt not sick.
And all that day until night he continued well, and felt no pain until sunrise the next day, when, on trying to rise, a great black thing flew out of his mouth, and when the people approached him to raise him, they could not, for he was dead.
Named study in specification
Memory as an active process: Bartlett’s War of the Ghosts study
Stretch and challenge Consider the protocols* on the facing page (* a ‘protocol’ was the term Bartlett used for the record of recall).
Identify some key differences between them and the original.
For example:
• Can you find examples of words that were changed?
• Can you find examples of where the meaning was kept the same but some elements were changed from the original?
• Can you find examples where cultural elements were changed?
Chapter 1 Memory22 23 Memory as� � an active proces� �s� �: Bartlett’s� � War of the Ghos� �ts� � s� �tudy
DRAFT
Study tipReal–world applicationOne of the key aims of science is to produce knowledge that can be used to improve our world. In psychology, we therefore look for ‘real-world applications’ of research. If a study or theory can produce such applications this is a strength of the study/theory (as is the case in the ‘real-world application’ above).
Check it
In one study participants were shown a picture similar to the one above of two men (one white and one black) arguing on a subway train.
When later asked to describe the picture, participants invariably remembered the open razor (the preferred mugging weapon in those days) as being in the hand of the black man, whereas in fact it had been held by the white man.
This study was conducted by Allport and Postman in 1947 and illustrates how our expectations influence what we ‘see’ and recall.
The specification says…Memory as an active process: The Theory of Reconstructive Memory, including the concept of ‘effort after meaning’.
What is meant by …
The theoryFrederic Bartlett (1932) conducted the War of the Ghosts study to support his theory of reconstructive memory. We looked at this study on the previous spread and it showed how people tend to remember the overall meaning of the events and reconstruct the story from this overall meaning. This shows that memory is an active process – people don’t behave like a passive memory machine, recording everything that happened. They actively reconstruct a memory.
Memory is inaccurateMany people believe that they have a very exact recall for events that have happened in their past. It is quite likely that you have argued with a friend about something in the past. Your friend’s memory and your memory don’t match and you feel very sure that you are right. Your memory may seem very real and accurate.
Psychologists too believed that memory was simply an act of reproduction – that we store information about an event and recall it later without altering the record in any way.
However, Bartlett challenged this and proposed that memory was an active process. We store fragments of information and when we need to recall something we build these fragments into a meaningful whole. The result is that elements are missing and memories are not an accurate representation of what happened.
ReconstructionAccording to Bartlett the information we store in our long-term memories has been changed before it is ‘recorded’. We ‘record’ small pieces of information and later, when recalling the event, we recombine the pieces to tell the whole story. Each time you retell the story the elements are combined slightly differently.
Social and cultural influences A key part of Bartlett’s theory is that the way we store and later recombine the ‘small pieces’ can be related to social and cultural expectations. In the picture on the left, the way participants remembered the picture was influenced by what they expected to be true – that a black person is more likely to be the attacker.
In the War of the Ghosts study, people transformed those parts of the story that didn’t fit their own cultural expectations; for example, in the actual story the young men were hunting seals – this was often misremembered as going fishing, a more common activity for British young men.
Social/cultural expectations may influence storage and/or recall. Bartlett called his work ‘the social psychology of remembering’.
Effort after meaningIn the War of the Ghosts what people recalled was the general meaning of the events rather than specific details (though they did remember some of these too). Bartlett used the phrase ‘effort after meaning’ to describe this. What he meant was:
1. We focus on the meaning of events.
2. Afterwards we make an effort to interpret the meaning in more familiar terms. In other words, we try to make sense of the ‘fragments’.
Bartlett also used images to show how cultural expectations affected memory. In this example he showed a participant an Egyptian ‘mulak’ (an owl) and asked them to memorise the drawing and produce their reproduction of it. This was then shown to another person who also then produced their redrawing. People formed a memory that the drawing was cat-like and the meaning then generated the image that over time became more and more cat-like.
Stretch and challengeResearch on eyewitness testimony is discussed in the real-world application (below left). One of the key studies on eyewitness testimony was conducted by Loftus and Palmer (1974). They showed participants a film involving a car accident and afterwards asked them the following question ‘About how fast were the cars going when they hit each other?’.
Not all participants had the same question – other participants were asked ‘‘About how fast were the cars going when they bumped into each other?’ or ‘About how fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other?’.
If the question contained the word ‘smashed’ then people gave a higher speed estimate than when ‘hit’ or ‘bumped’ were used.
Loftus later demonstrated that these ‘leading questions’ actually changed the way that people remembered the accident. It seems that our memories can be changed relatively easily.
1. Outline two criticisms of the theory of reconstructive memory. [4 marks]
2. Explain how effort after meaning can be used to explain how people reconstruct their memories. [3 marks]
3. Ann and Martyn were at the bank when a person attempted to rob it. Later, when they were at the police station, they gave different accounts of the incident. Ann said the incident happened in a different order than Martyn recalled. She also remembered the robber wearing different clothes and saying different things to the people at the bank than Martyn recalled. Use your knowledge of the theory of reconstructive memory to explain why Ann and Martyn have different memories of the same event. [6 marks]
Evaluation More realistic researchPoint: One strength is that Bartlett’s way of investigating memory reflects how we actually use memory in our everyday lives, which is more realistic than research using word lists to be remembered.
Explanation: Before Bartlett’s work, psychologists investigated memory using rather artificial materials to be learned such as nonsense syllables and word lists (e.g. RTC and KLO). These are ‘artificial’ because we rarely use our memories to deal with such things. (The reason to use them in research is because then any difficulties with memory are not related to the complexity of the material to-be-remembered. It is a kind of control in research.)
This means that the social origins of memory were obscured in such artificial research. Bartlett’s findings are more relevant to real-life memory processes.
(It is worth mentioning that for many years Bartlett’s work was regarded by psychologists as rather untrustworthy because it lacked careful controls. More recently psychologists have again started using more qualitative methods similar to those used by Bartlett.)
Some memories are accuratePoint: One weakness is that it is wrong to suggest that all memories are inaccurate or affected by social expectations.
Explanation: Other studies have shown that memory can be very accurate. For example, in situations that are personally important or distinctive, we do remember considerable and accurate detail. There are examples of this in the War of the Ghosts – participants often recalled ‘Something black came out of his mouth’ because it was quite a distinctive phrase.
This shows that people do not always actively reconstruct memories and shows that some memories are accurate.
Real-world applicationPoint: Another strength of this theory is that it can explain problems with eyewitness testimony.
Explanation: Eyewitness testimony used to be regarded as very important and reliable evidence in court cases. Such testimony was relied on to give an accurate picture of what actually happened when a crime was committed. For example, an eyewitness might swear on oath that they had seen a particular person present at the crime scene whereas later evidence challenged this.
Bartlett’s research showed that memory isn’t always accurate and can be affected by our expectations of what happened (as in the picture of the two men and the razor). Research on eyewitness testimony has subsequently shown that people do not always recall what they see or hear accurately (see Stretch and challenge on right). This shoews that Bartlett’s research has had important consequences
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Apply it – conceptMemory in the office…
Read the item below and then answer the question that follows.
Brewer and Treyens (1981) did a study where they had participants wait in an office for 35 seconds (see picture of office on right). Participants were then asked told to go in another room and recall everything that they had just seen.
The researchers found that office-related items like a desk and a chair were far more likely to be recalled than non-office items like a picnic basket or a skull. In addition to this, a number of participants recalled seeing paper even though there was none in the room.
Understanding individual, social and cultural diversity
Barlett’s research offers insights into cultural and social differences. The way people see the world is profoundly affected by their social/cultural environment.
You will learn more about this in Chapter 6 on Language, thought and communication (see pages 000–000).
THINK LINK
THINK LINK
QuestionExplain how this study shows that memory is an active process. Refer to Bartlett’s study in your answer. [3 marks]
Memory as an active process: The theory of reconstructive memory
Chapter 1 Memory24 25 Memory as� � an active proces� �s� �: The theory of recons� �tructive memory
DRAFTImage to come
Study tipExplaining your criticismYou might notice that similar evaluations keep cropping up such as ‘control’ or ‘artificial tasks’. And that’s the way it is. Many evaluations are very similar – however, if you just say ‘artificial tasks’ without explaining the specific task and why it was artificial in the specific situation, you have explained very little.
It is the explanation part of the evaluation that is most important to your answer. Read more about doing evaluation on page 6.
Stretch and challenge Interference can actually work both ways. Here is an example:
You are learning to speak both French and Spanish. One night you do your French vocabulary practice followed by your Spanish vocabulary practice.
Proactive interference: If you try to recall the Spanish words the French ones pop into your head.
Retroactive interference: If you try to recall the French words the Spanish ones pop into your head.
What is meant by …Interference
Check it
The specification says …Factors affecting the accuracy of memory, including interference.
Clarisse used to keep her socks in the top right-hand drawer but decided to move them to the top left.
Now, everytime she goes to get her socks she opens the top right hand drawer – she gets very frustrated.
An old memory is interfering with a new one.
Has something like that ever happened to you? Annoying, isn’t it?
InterferenceOne of the things that memory researchers are concerned with is … forgetting. You actually may be more interested in the question ‘why do I forget things’ instead of ‘why do I remember things’ – especially when you are thinking about exams.
One explanation for forgetting is called interference. Forgetting may occur if two memories compete with each other. This is especially likely if the two memories are quite similar. This was investigated by John McGeoch and William McDonald (1931).
McGeoch and McDonald’s study: AimIf you learn a list of words and then do a second activity, and then try to recall the original words – does the second activity interfere with recall of the original words? Does it matter what this second activity is?
This study aimed to see what effect the second activity has on the accuracy of memory.
MethodTwelve participants had to learn a list of ten words until they could remember them with 100% accuracy. They then were shown a new list.
There were five different kinds of lists that were shown to the participants:• List 1: synonyms – words with the same meaning as the originals.• List 2: antonyms – words with the opposite meaning to the originals. • List 3: words unrelated to the original ones.• List 4: nonsense syllables.• List 5: three-digit numbers.• Control condition: no new list – the participants were just retested.
Results When the participants were then asked to recall the original list of words, their performance depended on the nature of the second list. The most similar material (synonyms) produced the least accurate recall. All the results are shown in the graph below.
Graph showing results of the study by McGeoch and McDonald
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Synonyms Antonyms Unrelatedadjectives
Nonsensesyllables
Numbers None
Type of interfering material
Mea
n nu
mbe
r of
item
s re
calle
d
ConclusionThe results show that interference is strongest when an intervening activity is similar. In other words forgetting is more likely to happen if you try do something else quite similar afterwards.
1. A teacher struggles to remember the names of her new students because she has taught so many students before. Use your knowledge of psychology to explain why this would occur. [3 marks]
2. Explain how interference can be used to explain accuracy in memory. [4 marks]
3. Explain why interference studies may lack validity. [3 marks]
Español
Proactive interference
Retroactive interference
Evaluation Controlled researchPoint: One strength is that the researchers in this study used a number of techniques to ensure that their test of memory was unbiased.
Explanation: One of the techniques they used was counterbalancing. If all participants had the intervening word lists in the same order this might explain why they did worst with synonyms and best with no new list.
To control for the effect of order they gave the participants the lists in different orders – some participants were shown list 1 first whereas for others it was second, third, etc.
Good control is a strength of this research and laboratory studies in general.
Artificial taskPoint: One weakness is that in this study interference was tested using word lists, which does not reflect real-life memory activity.
Explanation: In our everyday lives we don’t often have to remember lists of words and we don’t often have to remember very similar things. Therefore, this study only tells us about one aspect of memory – when we try to remember two things that are quite similar.
Interference as an explanation for the accuracy of memory is therefore limited to some very specific conditions.
EXTRA: Not really forgettingPoint: Another weakness is that interference may not be an explanation of forgetting.
Explanation: It is possible that interference effects are just temporary and that information is not actually forgotten. If participants are given a cued recall test (given pointers to aid recall) they recall many of the items that were apparently forgotten (Tulving and Psotka 1971).
This shows that the information is stored in memory but simply not accessible.
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Apply it – conceptSally’s social science setback
Read the item below and then answer the question that follows.
Social influence is a topic in Psychology which is very similar to Sociology. Sally is studying both GCSE Psychology and Sociology and has a test in both subjects in the same week. Even though she enjoys both subjects she did not perform well on her assessments. Sally is upset as she usually does well on her assignments but felt more confused when doing the tests even though she prepared well for both of them.
Questions
Use your knowledge of research into interference to explain why Sally underperformed on her tests in both subjects. [3 marks]
Word lists
Two researchers recruited 20 participants for a study into memory.
Task A: the participants had two minutes to learn a list of 50 words (List 1). They were then asked to recall the list.
Task B: the same participants were given a list of 50 different words (List 2) to learn in two minutes. This was taken away and they were given another list of 50 different words (List 3). The participants studied this list for another two minutes. List 3 was removed and the participants had to write down as many words from List 2 as they could remember.
Questions
1. What was the dependent variable in this study? [1 mark]2. Identify the experimental design the researchers used and
explain one strength of this design. [1 mark + 2 marks]3. The researchers knew they would have to use
counterbalancing in this experiment. Explain what is meant by counterbalancing. [2 marks]
4. Give one reason why the researchers should use counterbalancing in this study. [2 marks]
Apply it – research
This means you cannot be asked questions specifically about this study. However you can use the study as a means of answering questions about how interference affects the accuracy of memory.
Study not named in specification
Factors affecting the accuracy of memory: Interference
Elizabethan lovers
She made the mistake of calling her new boyfriend by her old boyfriend’s name. A very unfortunate example of proactive interference.
Chapter 1 Memory26 27 Factors� � affecting the accuracy of memory: Interference
DRAFT
Study tipRevisionYou can use context effects to help you revise. Try to revise in the same place every time you are revising. Put revision notes on your wall of your bedroom so that you are constantly reminded about what you need to know when revising.
When you are tested in class and are having difficulty remembering something, imagine being back in your room so that you can visualise where the information is on your memory wall. The recreation of this context within your mind will help trigger the recall of the information you need.
Stretch and challenge You could try it yourself – but not necessarily learning lists of words underwater. There are many other ways to test context effects.
For example, everyone in your class could learn a list of 16 words. Your teacher should read the words out (Godden and Baddeley read the word list out twice).
Then the class should leave the classroom. Half of the students should move to a different room and half return to the original classroom.
Participants should be given two minutes to write down as many words as possible.
Which group recalled more words?
Check it
Sometimes when you feel sad, you feel that everything is going wrong – you have no money, too much work to do, no friends…
Being sad acts like a trigger and links to all your other memories that make you feel sad.
‘The environment you are in (context) can also act as a trigger to recalling memory.
ContextCertain triggers (cues) can be encoded in memory at the time of learning. For example, if you think about one of your primary school classrooms, it may trigger a memory of something that you learned in that classroom.
Research shows that, in this way, context can increase the accuracy of memory. One such study was conducted by Duncan Godden and Alan Baddeley (1975). A friend of theirs had been in charge of a team of divers who had to record how many fish entered or escaped from trawl nets. The divers appeared unable to remember their totals when they returned to land (it’s quite hard to record information underwater). It was only when they had to record their observations while underwater that they produced an accurate record.
Godden and Baddeley’s study: AimThis led Godden and Baddeley to see if they could demonstrate that recall for things learned underwater is more accurate if recall is also underwater, i.e. does context does improve recall?
MethodEighteen participants were recruited who were all members of a diving club. The divers had to listen to a list of 36 unrelated words either on the beach (dry), or under about 10 feet of water (wet).
The divers were tested after about 4 minutes to see how many words they could recall. They were tested either on the beach or underwater.
There were four groups of participants• Group 1: Learned on beach, tested on beach: dry
dry (DD)• Group 2: Learned underwater, tested on beach: wet dry (WD).• Group 3: Learned on beach, tested underwater: dry wet (DW).• Group 4: Learned underwater, tested underwater: wet wet (WW).
In two of these conditions the environmental contexts of learning and recall matched, whereas in the other two they did not. Groups 1 and 4 are matching – the environments where the words were learned might trigger their recall. For groups 3 and 4 the context could not act as a cue.
Results The environment you are in (context) can also act as a trigger to recalling memory.
Conclusion This suggests that the context of learning acts as a trigger or cue when trying to remember the information – in other words context enhances the accuracy of memory.
What is meant by …Context
Smells can trigger memories.
The picture shows a ‘Viking’ couple preparing dinner at the Jorvik Viking Centre in York, where smells are very much a feature of the display.
Aggleton and Waskett (1999) used this smelly museum to test recall in people who had visited the museum up to three years previously.
Participants were asked to answer a questionnaire about the contents of the museum. When participants did this surrounded by some of the smells from the museum their recall was much more accurate than if there were other smells while completing the questionnaire.
In this study smell acted as a context effect. Can you think of a smell that triggers a memory for you?
1. Imagine that you are a psychologist and you are interested to see if changing the context of learning and recall affects a person’s memory. Use your knowledge of psychology to describe:
• How the study would be carried out.
• How you would measure the effect of changing the context.
• The results that you would expect to find in line with the results of past research into context. [5 marks]
2. A teacher has two history classes. She decides to do an experiment where she takes one of her classes into the exam hall to revise for their end of year exam and she revises in the classroom with her other class. She finds that the class she takes to the exam hall to revise do better in their exam than the class she revises with in their classroom. Explain how being able to recall information can be affected by context. Refer to the example above in your answer. [4 marks]
3. Describe and evaluate a study that investigated how context affects the accuracy of memory. [6 marks]
One of the original participants in the Godden and Baddeley study. Diver no. 6 if I remember rightly . . .
EvaluationArtificial taskPoint: One weakness is that word lists were used to test memory, which is not a ‘natural’ way to investigate recall.
Explanation: This is a field experiment so the environment is ‘natural’ – but the task isn’t ‘natural’. The aim of the study was to look at whether divers could remember information better in the same environment where they learned it – but the learning involved observing what fish did, not learning word lists.
The word-learning task was a very simple one. Subsequent research has found that tasks involving complex materials don’t show strong context effects.
This shows that the findings can’t be applied in all situations.
Recall was short termPoint:: Another weakness is that participants had to recall the words almost immediately, which is a very specific effect.
Explanation: If we want to generalise context effects to other situations, then a short time gap may be unrealistic. For example, if we wanted to suggest that these results had implications for exam study then we would want to know if context effects applied to long gaps between original learning and much later recall.
Therefore this research only tells us about a very specific set of circumstances – short-term recall.
EXTRA: Similar contextPoint: Another weakness is that the effect really only applies to very similar situations.
Explanation: Context only acts as a cue for recall if the context at the time of learning is very similar to the context at the time of recall. In reality most information, such as learning material to be tested in an exam, is not affected by context because the initial learning takes place in multiple contexts (Smith 1982).
Therefore context effects do not affect the accuracy of recall in many situations.
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The specification says…Factors affecting the accuracy of memory, including context.
Apply it – conceptHamza’s Exam
Read the item below and then answer the question that follows.
Hamza has an exam phobia and as a result is allowed to take his psychology exam in his psychology classroom rather than the exam hall. Even though all information relevant to the exam is taken down from the walls, Hamza still finds that he performs better than the other students who did their exam elsewhere.
Question
Use your knowledge of psychology to explain how context could have affected the accuracy of Hamza’s memory. [3 marks]
This means you cannot be asked questions specifically about this study. However you can use the study as a means of answering questions about how interference affects the accuracy of memory.
Can we change this graph please
1st column is 13.5 label Group 1: DD2nd column is 11.4 label Group 4: WWspace3rd column is 8.4 label Group 2: WD2nd column is 8.6 label Group 3: DW
No key
Under x axis label 1st 2 columns ‘Matching context’2nd 2 columns ‘Not matching context’
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Group 1DD
Group 4WW
Group 2WD
Group 3DW
Matching context Not matching context
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Graph showing results from Godden and Baddeley’s study
Study not named in specification
Factors affecting the accuracy of memory: Context
Chapter 1 Memory28 29 Factors� � affecting the accuracy of memory: Context
DRAFT
Study tipBalanced viewWhen considering ethical issues in research, students often just explain the psychological harm experienced by participants (such as deception or the absence of a debriefing).
You could also consider the benefit that the research has given to wider society so that you are putting across both sides of the debate.
Ultimately an ethical issue is a dilemma psychologists face when carrying out research which involves balancing the protection of participants versus gaining valid results. It is important to put across both sides of the argument when describing how these issues affect research.
Check it
Man arrested
In 1975 Australian psychologist Donald Thomson was visiting the US and was horrified when he was arrested for committing an assault and rape. The victim identified him as her rapist and later picked him out in a line-up.
He had an alibi – at the time the attack occurred he had been appearing live on a TV programme. The police at first did not believe this but later the victim admitted she had been watching the show before she was attacked.
What had happened was that a false memory had been created. In her mind she had substituted the rapist’s face with the face on TV. The memory was totally real to her – but a false one.
This was an example of a reconstructed memory.
False memoriesYou have already learned about reconstructive memories and how this can be applied to eyewitness testimony – people who are witness to a crime do not record the scene passively but are likely to reconstruct what happened based on fragments of what they remember and, most importantly, their expectations. Elizabeth Loftus has been one of the most vocal psychologists in questioning the accuracy of eyewitness recall.
Loftus argues that eyewitnesses reconstruct their memories but the same may happen during therapy – when people seek help with psychological problems. Some therapists aim to ‘recover’ memories in their patients – in other words they help their patients remember things that the patient had forgotten. In some cases, these ‘recovered memories’ turn out to be false.
Elizabeth Loftus and Jacqueline Pickrell (1995) investigated such false memories in a study which is referred to as the ‘Lost in the Mall’ study.
Loftus and Pickrell’s study: AimCan we form a memory of something that never happened? The aim of this study was to see if false memories could be created in participants through suggestion in order to test the existence of repressed and false memories.
MethodThe study included 24 participants (3 males and 21 females) ranging in age from 18 to 53. For each participant, a relative was also contacted.
The participants were given four short stories about childhood events that had been obtained from their relatives. Three of the stories were true and one was false.
The false story was about getting lost in a shopping mall in their childhood and being rescued by an elderly woman. The false story was crafted from information given by the relative (e.g. the relative said what the child’s favourite store was, who usually went on shopping trips with the child, etc.). This meant that the false story sounded realistic.
Each participant was asked to read each story and then write down what they remembered about each event.
A week or two later each participant was interviewed about the stories and asked to recall as much as they could. Each participant was also interviewed a second time and then they were debriefed – they were told that one of the stories was false and asked to guess which one.
ResultsIn total there were 72 true episodes to be remembered and participants remembered 68% of these.
Six of the participants (25%) recalled the false story fully or partially. One participant thought she recalled it and then changed her mind and the others had no memory of the false event.
19 out of the 24 participants correctly chose the lost in the mall memory as false.
ConclusionsThis research suggests that the mere act of imagining an event has the potential of creating and implanting a false memory in a person.
This shows that false memories are an example of reduced accuracy in memory, based on the idea of reconstructive memory.
Elizabeth Loftus (1944 – )
In a review of 20th-century psychologists Elizabeth was the top-ranked woman on the list.
She is Distinguished Professor at the University of California,
Irvine. Originally, she had planned to be a maths teacher but discovered psychology at university and has since made an enormous contribution to understanding how memory works, especially related to eyewitness testimony.
Loftus has been an expert witness in hundreds
of cases, explaining the unreliability of memory to a
jury, including Michael Jackson’s trial. She explains in court that
memories can be implanted or created in the mind.
Stretch and challengeElizabeth Loftus has conducted a number of other studies to show how false memories can be implanted. In one study, she looked at a positive application (Laney et al. 2008). In this study participants were exposed to the suggestion that they loved to eat asparagus as children.
These false memories led to an increased general liking of asparagus compared to controls. For example, participants were more likely to choose asparagus in a restaurant and were willing to pay more.
This suggests that false memories can be created which are good for people.
How ethical is this?
Why not have a debate in class about:
• The ethics of conducting research on false memory.
• Whether therapists can actually create false memories, or are they just recovering real memories?
1. Outline one criticism of research into how false memory affects the accuracy of memory. [2 marks]
2. Describe the results and conclusion of one study that investigated false memory. [4 marks]
3. Mark, a full-time clothes model was arrested for stealing a woman’s handbag from a café. The victim, called Debbie, identified him as stealing her handbag and picked him out from a line-up.
He had an alibi and couldn’t have done it as he was out of the country working. The victim admitted she had seen a picture of Mark in a magazine she was reading before her handbag was stolen.
Outline what is meant by false memory and how it affected the accuracy of Debbie’s memory of the theft of her handbag. [4 marks]
Evaluation Artificial taskPoint: One weakness of the study is that the false memory event (lost in a mall) is not of the same traumatic kind that might be recovered by a therapist.
Explanation:: It may well be that relatively harmless events (such as being lost in a mall) can be implanted quite easily but this does not mean that the same would be true of something much more traumatic and memorable.
Therefore, the conclusions that can be drawn from this study are limited.
Ethical issuesPoint: Another weakness is that participants may be left with the implanted false memories.
Explanation: At the end of Loftus and Pickrell’s study the participants were debriefed. They were told that the lost in the mall story was false. However, it is possible that even knowing this, participants were still left with a lingering sense of it having happened.
This means that such research raises ethical issues of whether this research is of sufficient importance to manipulate people in this way.
EXTRA: Real-world applicationPoint: One strength of this research is that it has important implications for eyewitness testimony.
Explanation: After a crime has been committed, eyewitnesses are interviewed by police. The police may unconsciously ask questions in such a way that they may implant a false memory. For example, they might ask ‘Did you see a gun in his hand’ instead of ‘Was there anything in his hand?’. Loftus has shown in many different studies that such questions can create false memories (e.g. Loftus and Palmer 1974, see page 25 ‘Stretch and challenge’).
Such research has changed the way courts dal with eyewitness testimony – it is no longer regarded as reliable evidence.
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The specification says…Factors affecting the accuracy of memory, including false memories.
Mousetrap
A psychologist recruited eight children (all 11 years old). She created a list of events that had happened to the children when they were younger but added one event that never happened – visiting hospital after getting their finger caught in a mousetrap. The psychologist discussed the events in the list with each child once a week for five weeks. She recorded how many children believed the mousetrap event had really happened. The results were:
Week 1 Week 5Number of children believing mousetrap event happened 2 6
Questions
1. Explain why the data collected in this study is primary data. [2 marks]2. Describe how the psychologist could have used systematic sampling to recruit
the children. [2 marks]3. Calculate the fraction of children who believed the mousetrap event really
happened for week 1 and week 5. Show your workings. [2 marks]4. Express these fractions as percentages. Give your answers to two significant
figures. [2 marks]
Apply it – research
What is meant by …A false memory
This study is not named in the specification and therefore you cannot be asked questions specifically about this study. However you can use the study as a means of answering questions about how false memories affect the accuracy of memory.
Study not named in specification
Factors affecting the accuracy of memory: False memories
Chapter 1 Memory30 31 Factors� � affecting the accuracy of memory: Fals� �e memories� �
DRAFT
Different types of LTMEpisodic memoryMemory for events from your life.
Semantic memoryMemory of what things mean (your own encyclopedia).
Procedural memoryMemory of how to do things.
Declarative and non-declarativeDeclarative = episodic and semantic.
EvaluationSpecific locations in the brainBrain scans show different types of LTM relate to different brain locations e.g. procedural memory associated with motor area.
Amnesic patientsAmnesiacs like Clive Wearing support LTM types as most of his procedural but not episodic memories were intact.
Extra: It’s not that simpleDistinctive types of LTM are difficult to separate so it may be an oversimplification.
Proces� �s� �es� � of memoryEncoding experiences, storing them in long-term memory and being able to remember them later.
EncodingEncodingChanging information into a form so it can be held in the brain.
Visual encodingChanging information by how it looks so it can be stored.
Acoustic encodingChanging information by how it sounds so it can be stored.
Semantic encodingChanging information by its meaning so it can be stored.
Other encodingTactile encoding: memory of what things feel like to touch.
Olfactory encoding: memory for smell.
StorageStorageHolding information in memory so that it can be retrieved later.
RetrievalRetrievalLocating and bringing back information into mind .
Types of retrieval1. Recognition = identifying from options.
2. Cued recall = locating information with a clue.
3. Free recall = without cues.
Structures� � of memory Explaining how memory is arranged.
Multi-store model of memoryMulti-store modelThree memory stores: different coding, capacity and duration.
Information moves through attention and verbal rehearsal.
Sensory memory Very short duration, large capacity.
Attention transfers information to STM.
STM Limited duration (30 seconds) and capacity (5–9 items), acoustic coding.
Role of rehearsalRehearsal keeps information in STM.
Repeat rehearsal transfers STM into LTM.
LTM Semantic coding, unlimited capacity and stored up to a lifetime.
EvaluationSupporting researchEncoding research (Baddeley) shows qualitative differences between STM and LTM.
Simple modelHaving one STM and LTM store is too simplistic, e.g. more than one LTM store.
Extra: Artificial materialsResearch uses word lists or nonsense syllables so the model lacks validity.
Primacy and recency effects in recallPrimacy and recency effectWords at beginning are remembered more (rehearsed, so in LTM).
Words at end are remembered more (heard recently, so in STM).
Murdock’s study: AimTo see if memory of words is affected location in a list.
MethodParticipants listened to 20 word lists with 10–40 words on them, recalled words after each list.
ResultsRecall related to position of words. Higher recall for the first words (primacy effect) and last words (recency effect) than in middle.
ConclusionShows the serial position effect and supports the MSM stores.
EvaluationControlled lab studyThere was a high level of control so it could be concluded position of words determined recall.
Artificial taskWord lists were used which is only one type of memory, so the study lacks validity.
Extra: Supporting researchSome amnesiacs can’t store LTM, which shows the primacy effect is related to LTM (Carlesimo et al.).
Memory as� � an active proces� �s� �Fragments of memory are reassembled during recall.
Bartlett’s War of the Ghosts studyBartlett’s study: AimTo see how memory is reconstructed when recalling an unfamiliar story.
MethodThe War of the Ghosts story was read by one participant and recalled after 15 minutes, then read by another participant and recalled and so on.
ResultsParticipants changed the story to fit cultural expectations, leaving out unfamiliar information.
ConclusionsWe use our knowledge of social situations to reconstruct memory.
EvaluationLacks controlParticipants were not told accurate recall was important, which could have affected results.
Results were biasedBartlett analysed the recollections himself, so we cannot fully trust the conclusion.
Extra: Story was unusualThe story was unusual so may not reflect everyday memory processes.
The theory of reconstructive memoryThe theoryPeople rebuild memory as an active process.
Memory is inaccurate Memory is not a process of exact reproduction of experiences.
ReconstructionRecord pieces of information, recombine to tell the whole story.
Social and cultural influencesExpectations come from the world/culture we live in, and affect storage and recall.
Effort after meaningWe focus on the meaning of events and make an effort afterwards to make sense of fragments of memory.
EvaluationMore realistic researchReflects how we use memory in everyday life because it uses a story not word lists.
Some memories are accurateNot all recall is reconstructed as some memories of the story are accurate.
Extra: Real-world applicationIt explains problems with eyewitness testimony as people do not always recall accurately.
Factors� � affecting the accuracy of memoryMemory may become more or less accurate.
InterferenceMcGeoch and McDonald’s study: AimTo see the effect of doing two activities on accuracy of memory.
Method Learned a list of 10 words and then another list of varying types, e.g. synonyms and antonyms.
Results Memory was affected by the second list, most of all if second list had similar meaning (synonyms).
Conclusions Shows interference affects accuracy of memory and is strongest when you try remember two similar things.
EvaluationControlled researchHigh control e.g. counterbalancing was used to reduce bias.
Artificial taskIt does not reflect real-life memory as we don’t often have to remember very similar words.
Extra: Not really forgettingIt may be information is not forgotten but just cannot be accessed, so isn’t actually forgotten (Tulving and Psotka).
ContextGodden and Baddeley’s study: Aim To see if context improved recall.
MethodDivers listened to and recalled words in the same or different settings on the beach and underwater.
ResultsRecall was highest in the same environment for learning and recall.
ConclusionsContext of learning acts as a trigger or cue, improving the accuracy of memory.
EvaluationArtificial taskLists of words were used. When more complex materials were used, better recall was found.
Recall was short termParticipants recalled the words almost immediately, unlike in everyday life.
Extra: Similar contextContext only acts as a cue if context at learning and recall are very similar, which rarely happens (Smith).
False memoriesLoftus and Pickrell’s study: Aim To see if false memories could be created in participants through suggestion.
Method Four stories about childhood events were read where three were true and one was false (shopping mall).
Results 6 out of 24 (25%) of participants recalled the false story fully or partially.
Conclusions Imagining an event can implant a false memory in a person, reducing accuracy of memory.
EvaluationArtificial taskHarmless events could be implanted easily but traumatic events may not, so conclusions are limited.
Ethical issuesParticipants may be left with implanted false memories which lingered after the study, causing distress.
Extra: Real-world applicationResearch has implications for eyewitness testimony as police questioning could accidentally implant false memories.
A study of encodingBaddeley’s study: AimTo see if there was a difference in the type of encoding used in STM and LTM.
MethodParticipants learned words similar or dissimilar sounding (e.g. cat, cab, can, or pit, few, cow). Immediate recall.
Learned words with similar or dissimilar meanings. Recall after 20 minutes.
ResultsSimilar sounding words poorly recalled in STM, words with similar meanings (e.g. great, large, big, or good, huge, hot) poorly recalled in LTM.
ConclusionThis shows STM is encoded by sound and LTM by meaning.
EvaluationControlled experimentIt is well controlled as extraneous variables like participants’ hearing were controlled by a hearing test.
STM is sometimes visualEncoding in STM does not always involve sound (Brandimote et al.).
Extra: LTM may not have been testedLTM may not be tested as they only waited 20 minutes before recall, so conclusion lacks validity.
Named study in specification
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Named study in specification
Summary
Chapter 1 Memory32 Summary 33
DRAFT
Question 1. Outline what is meant by the term encoding. [2 marks]
Amanda’s answer Encoding is when information changes form when it goes into memory. For example, reading your revision notes out loud would be an example of acoustic encoding as you are using sound to remember something.
Description of encoding is full with detail. The concept is clearly defined and a relevant example is used to show understanding of the term.
Jay’s answer Encoding involves the different ways you put information into your memory. The definition of encoding is accurate but a little too brief
as there is only a partial description of the memory process here.
Selema’s answer Encoding is the process of storing information in your memory for either a short or long amount of time.
There is no relevant content here as storage not encoding has been described.
Question 2. Describe the multi-store model of memory. [4 marks]
Amanda’s answer The model suggests that information from the environment goes into our sensory memory, which relates to our different senses like hearing and vision. Information we pay attention to goes into our STM where it will remain for up to 30 seconds if it is not rehearsed. STM has a limited capacity of between 5 and 9 items and encodes information acoustically. If we rehearse something for long enough then it goes into our LTM, this is known as maintenance rehearsal. Our LTM has an unlimited capacity and once information is there it stays there for up to a lifetime so it has a very long duration as well.
Amanda’s answer is an accurate and detailed account which shows relevant knowledge and understanding of the multi-store of memory (MSM). Although she has not included all the details about each store, what she has written is sufficient to answer the question.
Jay’s answer This theory relates to how we remember things in our memory. It says that we have a short-term memory and a long-term memory and in order to remember things we must repeat them. Short-term memory can last up to a day whereas long term memory has an unlimited duration. The model states that we also learn through paying attention.
Jay’s answer displays some knowledge of the MSM but this account of the model is inaccurate and also lacks detail in places. For example, he has not explained the role of attention and also failed to include some key information such as describing the sensory store.
Selema’s answer The model suggests that memory has three main stores and we rehearse information in order to remember it. We receive information through our senses that goes into sensory memory and if we pay attention to it then it will go to our STM. Rehearsal can be used to transfer information to LTM and keep information in STM so we don’t forget it.
This answer is accurate but lacks detail. There is an overview of the structure of the model and the roles of rehearsal but there is a notable omission in that the characteristics of the stores are not identified.
Question 3. Outline one criticism of Bartlett’s War of the Ghosts study. [2 marks]
Amanda’s answer Bartlett’s research lacked control as he did not specify things like how and where participants needed to recall the story they had learned. This means that his results may have lacked validity as other factors could have affected participants’ recall.
The criticism is thoroughly outlined by Amanda. The point is clearly identified and features elaboration to justify why the point stated is a weakness of Bartlett’s research.
Jay’s answer His study had a high amount of extraneous variables as his participants were not told the same thing every time they did it.
The criticism is outlined, although would benefit from a little more elaboration.
Selema’s answer His study lacked control which meant that any results found would lack validity.
The criticism is not linked to the study. When evaluating, it is important to link the criticism to what goes on in the study. For example, giving examples from his study of how it lacked control by not having any standardised instructions.
Question 4. Ellen had a motorcycle accident that left her partially brain-damaged. She can still remember facts and information such as who the current prime minister is. She is also able to perform certain automatic skills like riding a bike. However, she struggles to remember personal events that happened to her before the accident, which is particularly distressing to her friends and family as she just turned 21 the previous month but has no recollection of her wonderful birthday.
Use your knowledge of different types of long-term memory to explain Ellen’s’ behaviour. [6 marks]
Amanda’s answer Ellen has got problems with episodic memory as she has no recollection of personal events like her 21st birthday. Her other types of LTM seem to be working as she can ride a bike and so can still perform skills which link to procedural memory ability. Her semantic memory also appears to be fine as she can remember facts and information like who the prime minister is and so still can access her knowledge about the world.
Amanda’s response is accurate and detailed: she explains the three different types of memory very well and uses terminology in a confident manner. She applies her knowledge very effectively by making clear links between psychological concepts and examples of Ellen’s behaviour.
Jay’s answer Ellen has memory problems as her episodic memory is damaged. The other parts of her memory are OK though as she has semantic memory ability and also has nothing wrong with the procedural part of her brain.
Jay has produced a basic response. His answer shows knowledge of the different memory types and some analysis of the case study as he has correctly identified which part of LTM is damaged. Relevant terminology is sometimes used as the names of the different memory types are mentioned. However, more links need to be made between the types of LTM and examples given in the stem.
Selema’s answer Ellen can’t recall what happened to her in the past so her memory for personal events is affected. She does have good general knowledge and can remember the Prime Minister and also can still perform skills like riding a bike so this part of her memory is also OK.
Selema’s response is also basic in the sense that, although she has displayed a greater amount of application than Jay to the case study, her knowledge and understanding of the different types of memory is not as evident as she has not used the correct terminology to identify them. Her answer would also have benefitted by greater detail when explaining the different types of memory.
Question 5. Describe and evaluate Murdock’s study on the serial position curve. In your answer include the method used, the results obtained and the conclusion drawn. [9 marks]
Amanda’s answer Murdock wanted to see if the position of a word on a list affected how well it would be recalled. He got psychology students to listen to lists of words that varied from 10 to 40 words and after each list they had to recall the words they could remember. Murdock found that the students were better at remembering the words at the start and end of the lists but less good at remembering those in the middle. He called this the serial position effect as the position of the words in the list affected how well they were remembered.
A problem with this study was that memory was only tested through having participants recalling word lists. In the real world we use our memory in lots of different ways such as playing basketball or remembering something that happened to us. This makes the results of this study lack validity as they don’t relate to how we use our memories in other areas of our lives.
The investigation was also well controlled. Other things that could have affected the DV, like the speed that the words were read to the participants and the familiarity of the words, were kept the same. This would have given the study’s findings greater validity into how our memory works.
Amanda’s answer starts off by giving an accurate and detailed outline of Murdock’s study that clearly identifies the aim, method, findings and conclusion of the study in order to show a clear understanding of the research.
Relevant evaluation is mentioned and each judgement is made in a thorough manner with elaboration that displays a depth of analysis.
Terminology is used confidently and effectively throughout and the answer is clear and coherent.
Overall, this answer describes and evaluates the study in a thorough and accurate manner.’
Jay’s answer Murdock carried out a study where he presented psychology students lists of words of different lengths. He found that they recalled the words at the start and end better than those in the middle due to the primacy and recency effects. He called this the serial position effect.
A problem with his study was that he only used psychology students so the results wouldn’t be valid.
The study had good levels of control as the words were read to the participants at the same speed.
However, we don’t always use our memory in this way in the real world so the study lacks validity.
Jay’s outline of the study is clear and accurate but the description is basic because very little actual detail has been given for the method, findings and conclusion. For example, the different types of word lists could have been described. The terminology, on the other hand, is reasonable.
However, his evaluation is much more basic. Although he identifies some relevant points and offers some elaboration, it is not linked to the actual study.
Evaluation counts for a lot in an essay so this affects the quality of the answer.
Overall, this is a basic answer.
Practice questions and answers and feedback
Chapter 1 Memory34 Practice ques� �tions� � and ans� �wers� � and feedback 35
DRAFT
Processes of memory: Encoding, storage and retrieval1. Some memories are stored in terms of their
meaning. Which type of encoding is this?(a) Visual.(b) Acoustic.(c) Semantic.(d) Tactile.
2. Learning something by putting it to music is an example of:
(a) Retrieval.(b) Acoustic encoding.(c) Tactile encoding.(d) Visual encoding.
3. The three stages of the memory process (in the correct order) are:
(a) Encoding, retrieval, storage.(b) Visual encoding, acoustic encoding, retrieval.(c) Encoding, storage, retrieval.(d) Encoding, recognition, retrieval.
4. Answering a multiple choice question in an exam is an example of:
(a) Recognition.(b) Free recall.(c) Acoustic encoding.(d) Semantic encoding.
Processes of memory: A study of encoding1. Baddeley’s main aim was to find out:(a) Which words are semantically similar.(b) How long information is stored for in STM.(c) If STM and LTM use different types of
encoding.(d) Where memory is in the brain.
2. Which of the following is an acoustically similar word list?
(a) Pit, few, cow.(b) Great, large, big.(c) Good, huge, hot.(d) Cat, cab, can.
3. In Baddeley’s study, the type of encoding used in STM was:
(a) Visual.(b) Semantic.(c) Tactile.(d) Acoustic.
4. Baddeley’s experiment was well controlled. An example of this was:
(a) Calculating how many words the participants got wrong.
(b) Using lists of similar and dissimilar words.(c) Explaining to the participants what the study
was about afterwards.(d) Giving participants a hearing test beforehand.
Processes of memory: Different types of memory1. The three types of LTM are:(a) Episodic, acoustic, semantic.(b) Visual, semantic, procedural.(c) Recognition, acoustic, episodic.(d) Episodic, semantic, procedural.
2. Remembering how to perform actions is an example of:
(a) Episodic memory.(b) Procedural memory.(c) Semantic memory.(d) Declarative memory.
3. In brain scans, which part of the brain is associated with semantic memory?
(a) Left prefrontal cortex.(b) Right prefrontal cortex.(c) Premotor area.(d) Motor cortex.
4. Which part of HM’s brain was removed?(a) Prefrontal cortex.(b) Hippocampus.(c) Motor cortex.(d) Hypothalamus.
Structures of memory: Multi-store model of memory1. Coding is mostly acoustic and capacity is
between five and nine items. Which memory store is being described?
(a) Short-term memory.(b) Sensory memory.(c) Visual memory.(d) Declarative memory.
2. An example of sensory memory in action is:(a) Recognising a friend in the street.(b) Repeating someone’s phone number to
yourself.(c) Seeing your name written in the air with a
sparkler.(d) Remembering the answer to an exam question.
3. Information gets into LTM through: (a) Attention.(b) Declarative memory.(c) Rehearsal.(d) Visual encoding.
4. An important weakness of the multi-store model is:
(a) It oversimplifies STM and LTM.(b) It can’t explain how information gets into LTM.(c) It has no application to everyday life.(d) There is no evidence to support it.
Structures of memory: Primacy and recency effects in recall1. The dependent variable in Murdock’s study
was the:(a) Position of a word in the list.(b) Probability of a word being correctly recalled.(c) Total number of words correctly recalled.(d) Primacy and recency effects.
2. Being able to recall the words at the start of a list refers to the:
(a) Recency effect.(b) Primacy effect.(c) Serial position curve.(d) Dependent variable of the study.
3. How does Murdock’s study support the multi-store model?
(a) Primacy effect shows LTM and recency effect shows STM.
(b) Primacy effect shows STM and recency effect shows LTM.
(c) The serial position curve involves sensory memory.
(d) It doesn’t support the multi-store model.
4. Murdock used lists of words, which means that the study:
(a) Was a laboratory experiment.(b) Was not very well controlled.(c) Tested a wide range of memory skills.(d) It only tells us about some of the ways that
memory is used in everyday life.
Memory as an active process: Bartlett’s War of the Ghosts study1. Bartlett believed that memory is:(a) Acoustic.(b) Procedural.(c) Reconstructive.(d) Declarative.
2. The participants in Bartlett’s study transformed the story to make it:
(a) Interesting.(b) More complex.(c) More familiar.(d) Longer.
3. Bartlett used the method of:(a) Recognition.(b) Serial position effect.(c) Cued recall.(d) Serial reproductions.
4. Bartlett concluded that we remember:(a) Lots of detail of an event or story.(b) The overall meaning of something.(c) The start and end of a story better than the
middle.(d) All aspects of a story equally well.
Memory as an active process: The theory of reconstructive memory1. Reconstruction shows that memory is:(a) Consistent over time.(b) Almost always accurate.(c) Acoustically encoded.(d) An active process.
2. A major influence on reconstructive memory is:(a) The time it takes to recall something.(b) Our level of intelligence.(c) Our social and cultural expectations.(d) The position of events in a story.
3. Bartlett called our attempt to make sense of memory fragments:
(a) Effort after meaning.(b) The serial position effect.(c) The multi-store model.(d) Memory deconstruction.
4. A significant strength of Bartlett’s theory is that it:(a) Ignores the individual’s social and cultural beliefs.(b) Can explain why memories are so accurate.(c) Is based on well-controlled research.(d) Can help us understand eyewitness testimony.
Factors affecting accuracy of memory: Interference1. Interference causes:(a) Retrieval.(b) Memory capacity.(c) Forgetting.(d) Hunger
2. In the study by McGeoch and McDonald participants had to learn word lists which had how many words in them?
(a) 5(b) 10(c) 15(d) 20
3. McGeoch and McDonald concluded that the factor making interference strongest is:
(a) Similarity.(b) The number of words on the original list.(c) The size of short-term memory.(d) The number of items on the second list.
4. A criticism of interference is that the effect is just temporary and disappears if:
(a) Counterbalancing is used.(b) The participants concentrate more.(c) Recall is triggered by a cue.(d) Experiments are better controlled.
Factors affecting accuracy of memory: Context1. Godden and Baddeley studied:(a) Fishermen.(b) Diving club members.(c) Rugby players.(d) Swimmers.
2. The best recall in this study happened when words were learned:
(a) Underwater and recalled on the beach.(b) Underwater and recalled underwater.(c) On the beach and recalled underwater.(d) On the beach and recalled on the beach.
3. Godden and Baddeley concluded that environmental context is:
(a) A cue that triggers accurate recall.(b) Of no help in remembering information.(c) Very useful for improving swimming.(d) More useful in the lab than in the real world.
4. A serious weakness of Godden and Baddeley’s study is:
(a) It doesn’t tell us about memories over days and weeks.
(b) The participants were all professional divers.(c) The gap between learning and recall was very
long.(d) It was conducted in an artificial lab.
Factors affecting accuracy of memory: False memories1. In Loftus and Pickrell’s study, participants were
falsely told that as children they had:(a) Become lost in a shopping mall.(b) Fallen out of bed.(c) Bitten the dentist.(d) Kicked Santa Claus.
2. The proportion of participants In Loftus and Pickrell’s study who recalled the false story fully or partially was:
(a) 25%.(b) 50%.(c) 75%.(d) 100%.
3. False memories are based on the concept of: (a) Repeated reproductions.(b) The serial position effect.(c) Acoustic encoding.(d) Reconstructive memory.
4. A weakness of Loftus and Pickrell’s study is:(a) It has applications in the real world.(b) It raises ethical issues.(c) It uses realistic materials.(d) It investigates severely traumatic false memories.
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Multiple choice questions
Chapter 1 Memory36 Multiple choice ques� �tions� � 37
DRAFT
