Theories and Models
This model posits that rehearsal moves info from STM to LTM.
Multi-store model
What were the findings of Neisser and Harsch?
That flashbulb memories are susceptible to distortion / not necessarily accurate, even though people believe that those memories are more accurate.
A memory created as the result of high levels of emotion – particularly surprise – that is like a “photograph.”
Define anchoring bias
an individual relies too heavily on an initial piece of information offered (known as the "anchor") when making decisions.
What are the three main components of the multi-store model?
Sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory
This model proposes that there are four systems that process information in STM.
Working memory model
How does HM (Milner) support the multi-store model?
HM had part of his hippocampus removed and had anterograde amnesia - he was unable to form new declarative (episodic or semantic) memories (LTM), BUT he could have brief conversations, suggesting his STM was functional. He was unable to transfer information from STM to LTM, suggesting that they are stored in different areas of the brain (and that the hippocampus is critical for consolidation and encoding of info into LTM).
What is the dual processing model?
Argues that there are two systems of decision-making - System 1 is an automatic, intuitive, and effortless way of thinking. System 2 is a slower, conscious, and rational mode of thinking.
What is one strength of Tversky and Kahneman's 1974 study on anchoring bias? One limitation?
Strengths: simple experiment easily replicated, highly controlled = high internal validity
Limitations: low ecological validity (when in life would we only have 5 seconds to estimate the value of something?), independent samples = participant variability that could impact results (different math competencies?)
What does schema theory explain that Atkinson & Schiffrin’s Multi-store Model does not?
Schema theory helps explain why memories are distorted. As seen in Bartlett's War of Ghosts study, those things that are not part of our schema are forgotten (leveled); those things that are congruent with our schema are recalled and sometimes even exaggerated (sharpening); and those things that are different from our expectations set by schema are changed to match our schema - for example, when hearing a story about a pilot, I may remember that the female pilot was actually male because I have a schema that pilots are male.
What factors cause the creation of a flashbulb memory?
Personal importance + surprise (and amygdala activation)
What did Brewer and Treyens find in their study of schema?
They found that when we recall information, we rely on schema. Things that are consistent with our schema are more likely to be remembered, and those that are not consistent with our schema are more likely to be forgotten. In their study, when people recalled the office, they activated their office schema. The items that they remembered were typical of offices and thus remembered.
What is a schema?
A mental representation based on prior experience that helps us to understand, communicate about, and predict the world around us.
What are two limitations of Brown and Kulik?
1. Based on retrospective, self-reported data (susceptible to social desirability bias and no way to know how surprised someone actually was at the time).
2. Assumption that participant memories are accurate
Define working memory
Another term for Short-Term Memory, this is the system that actively holds multiple pieces of transitory information in the mind, where they can be manipulated.
What is the central executive?
The part of Baddeley & Hitch's Working Memory Model responsible for the control and regulation of cognitive processes. It binds information from a number of sources into a coherent "episode", coordinates the sub-systems, shifts between tasks, and handles selective attention and inhibition.
What does cross-cultural research (Kulkofsky) seem to indicate about FBM?
Kulkofsky has found that collectivistic cultures have fewer personalized flashbulb memories than individualistic cultures. In the case that the memory is based on a national tragedy, the rate of FBMs was the same.
Which part of the dual processing model is intuitive and which system is rational?
System 1 = intuitive, based on schema and heuristics, fast and prone to errors
System 2 = rational, slower but rarely makes mistakes
Describe Loftus and Palmer's procedure and results.
Students were divided into five groups. Each group watched seven films of traffic accidents (taken from driver's ed films). After watching each film, participants were asked to describe the accident and filled in a questionnaire that included a question asking them to estimate the speed of the cars involved in the accident. They were all asked the same question about speed but the critical question included different verbs - hit, collided, bumped, smashed, or contacted.
The mean estimates of speed were highest in the ‘smashed’ condition (40.8 mph) and lowest in the ‘contacted’ group (31.8 mph). The researchers calculated a statistical test and found that their results were significant at p ≤ 0.005.
Second study: The aim of the experiment was to investigate if participants who had a high-speed estimate in the first part of an experiment would say that they had seen broken glass in the second part of the experiment. Participants watched a film showing a multi-car accident and asked to estimate speed when cars smashed into each other or hit each other. After one week, participants filled out another questionnaire and answered the question about whether they had seen broken glass. Significantly more participants in smashed condition reported broken glass when there had been none in the video.
What is the visuospatial sketchpad?
The component of Baddeley & Hitch's Working Memory Model which holds information about what we see. It is used in the temporary storage and manipulation of spatial and visual information, such as remembering shapes and colors, or the location or speed of objects in space. It is also involved in tasks that involve planning of spatial movements, like planning one's way through a building.
What is reconstructive memory theory?
The theory that when memories are accessed, they are not retrieved as a single, whole memory, but rather as a collection of independent memories put together. It is in this “reconstructive process” that distortions occur.
Describe Tversky and Kahneman's procedure and results in their 1974 study on anchoring bias.
In this study, high school students were used as participants. Participants in the “ascending condition” were asked to quickly estimate the value of 1 X 2 X 3 X 4 X 5 X 6 X 7 X 8 in five seconds. Those in the “descending condition” were asked to quickly estimate the value of 8 X 7 X 6 X 5 X 4 X 3 X 2 X 1. Since we read from left to right, the researchers assumed that group 1 would use "1" as an anchor and predict a lower value that the group that started with "8" as the anchor. The expectation was that the first number seen would bias the estimate of the value by the participant.
The researchers found that the median for the ascending group was 512; the median for the descending group was 2250. The actual value is 40320.
What is the episodic buffer?
The component of Baddeley & Hitch's Working Memory Model dedicated to linking information across domains to form integrated units of visual, spatial, and verbal information with time sequencing (or chronological ordering), such as the memory of a story or a movie scene.
Describe Landry and Bartling procedure and results.
Landry and Bartling used articulatory suppression to see if it would impact recall of a written list of letters. Participants viewed a list of letters to recall while simultaneously saying the numbers 1 and 2 at a rate of two numbers per second. The control group saw the letters but didn't have to say the numbers.
The results showed that the scores from the experimental group were much lower than the scores from the control group. The mean percent of accurate recall in the control group was 76% compared to a mean of 45% in the experimental group. Although the difference in the means was large, the standard deviations were nearly identical and the p value was ≤ 0.01.
What does the multi-store model explain that schema theory does not?
The Multi-Store Model attempts to explain how memories are created. The model argues that through rehearsal, information is transferred from STM to LTM. This has been backed up by biological evidence - for example, long-term potentiation. Schema theory, however, does not explain how schema are actually created, simply that they are. There is also very limited biological support for this theory.