SEMANTIC

ENCODING
FALSE MEMORIES
SHORT-TERM MEMORY
EPISODIC MEMORY

MEMORY STORES

CAPACITY
INTERFERENCE
PSYCOLOGY -
SERIAL POSITION EFFECT

MEMORY
RECOGNITION

RECALL
LONG-TERM MEMORY
MULTI-STORE MODEL OF MEMORY
RETRIVAL
 SEMANTIC
ENCODING
FALSE MEMORIES
SHORT-TERM MEMORY
CONTENTS:EPISODIC MEMORY

MEMORY STORES

CAPACITY
INTERFERENCE
- PROCESS OF MEMORY
- MSM OF MEMORY
- RECENCY AND PRIMACY EFFECT
SERIAL POSITION EFFECT

- TYPES OF LTM
- WAR OF THE GHOSTS
RECOGNITION

- RECONTRUCTION
- INTERFERENCE
- CONTEXT
RECALL
- FALSE MEMORIES
LONG-TERM MEMORY
- EXAM QUESTIONS
MULTI-STORE MODEL OF MEMORY
RETRIVAL
 LESSON 1: PROCESSES OF MEMORY

Our memory is a bit like a computer. What is storage? –

There are three basic processes Holding information in the memory Retrieval –
involved : system. How much we can store in This is the process of accessing
our memory system will depend on information that has been stored in the
We put information in (encoding). which memory store the information brain and being able to use it.
Keeping the information there until its is held in.
needed (storage) & getting the Retrieval methods –
knowledge back when we want it Recognition – choosing the correct
(retrieval). Encoding variations – answer from a series of choices
Acoustic – what it sounds like Cued recall – being given a hint or clue
Encoding – Semantic – what it means to help remember something that is ‘on
Information is changed from one form Visual – what it looks like the tip of your tongue’
to another so it can be stored for later Free recall – when you can recall
recall. Information can be translated information without the use of any
into a new code such as acoustic, visual cues.
& semantic.
LESSON 2: MSM OF MEMORY

Rehearsal
Attention SHORT-TERM LONG-TERM
Information SENSORY
MEMORY MEMORY
via 5 senses STORE
(ACOUSTIC) (SEMANTIC)
Retrieval

Maintenance
rehearsal

SENSORY MEMORY: SHORT-TERM MEMORY: LONG-TERM MEMORY:

This is the genesis of the process. This memory store is aka a limited capacity Information in our long-term
We receive information through store, because it can only contain/hold a memory can be changed over
our senses (sight, sound, taste, certain number of things at any one time. time and may be lost; sometimes
touch & smell). This is held very Once it reaches its capacity any extra we need a reminder of an event
briefly for less than half a second information will replace (push out) the old to bring that memory back.
(the duration), in the sensory information. Capacity; 7±2 items. Duration; Unlimited amounts of information
memory store. The capacity is very less than 30 seconds – by repeating can be stored here for an
large. Information is then passed information silently to ourselves we can unlimited amount of time (this
on to the short-term memory store store information here for longer, until we depends on how long this
for encoding. need it. this is called maintenance persons brain stays intact). The
rehearsal. The encoding for this store is encoding for this store is semantic
acoustic.
EVALUATION OF MSM OF MEMORY

STRENGTH – WEAKNESS 1 – WEAKNESS 2 –

POINT: One strength of the POINT: Older research studies POINT: One weakness is that
MSM of memory is that there is tended to use artificial memory the model is too simple.
research support for different tasks. EVIDENCE/EXAMPLE: Research
memory stores. EVIDENCE/EXAMPLE: shows that STM has separate
EVIDENCE/EXAMPLE: For Participants had to recall lists or visual and acoustic stores and
example, Baddeley found that nonsense syllables. LTM is divided into episodic,
we tend to mix up words that THEREFORE: This means that semantic and procedural
sound similar when we use studies did not show the memory.
our STM and we mix up words different ways we use memory THEREFORE: This suggests that
that have similar meanings but focused just on verbal our memory is more complex
when we use our LTM. learning. than the multi-store model
THEREFORE: This difference originally proposed.
supports the view that
memory stores are separate
and independent.
LESSON 3: RECENCY & PRIMACY EFFECT

PRIMACY EFFECT:
Key Study: Murdock’s serial position curve
This refers to what happens first – words that
study (1962)
appear first in a list are more likely to be recalled
than the words in the middle of a list.
Aim: To provide evidence for the existence of
This is because they have been rehearsed quite
separate short-term and long-term stores of the
well by the time they are recalled and have been
multi-store model of memory.
transferred to the long-term memory.
Method: Murdock gave participants a list of words
SERIAL POSITION EFFECT: to remember one at a time for 2 seconds per
This describes the tendency of people to recall word. He then asked for the words to be recalled
the first and last words in a list of words best. It is in any order.
the position of the words that influences the Results: Likelihood of recall was related to the
likelihood of their recall. position of the word in the list. There was higher
RECENCY EFFECT: recall for the first few words on the list (primacy
This refers to what has happened most recently effect) and the last few words on the list (recency
– the words that appear towards the end of the effect) than the middle.
list will have been heard most recently. IV: position of a word in a list
These words will still be in the short-term DV: The recall of words at beginning, middle and
memory. Therefore, the recall for these will be end of list
best.
EVALUATION OF MURDOCKS SP CURVE STUDY

STRENGTH – WEAKNESS –
POINT: One strength is that this study POINT: One weakness is that the word
was conducted in very controlled lists in this study were artificial.
conditions. EVIDENCE/EXAMPLE: This only tells us
EVIDENCE/EXAMPLE: Murdock about one aspect of memory – how we
controlled the familiarity of the words deal with memorising words, not our
and the speed they were read at and memory as a whole.
ensured that practice had no effect on THEREFORE: Therefore, this artificial way
performance. of studying memory may only relate to
THEREFORE: Therefore, none of these some aspects of memory (learning info
would have affected the DV, making the for an exam) but not to other aspects of
results more valid. life.
 LESSON 4: TYPES OF LTM

Tulving suggested that there are three long-term stores, containing DECLARATIVE & NON-DECLARATIVE
quite different types of information. He called them episodic, MEMORIES:
semantic and procedural memory. This simply means whether a memory
requires conscious thought or not.
EPISODIC MEMORY: Declarative memories require conscious
Memories for personal events. It includes memories of when events recall.
occurred and of the people, objects, places and behaviours involved. - Semantic and episodic
These events are time-stamped. For example remembering the first day Non-declarative memories do not require
of school and what you mainly did. conscious recall.
- Procedural
SEMATIC MEMORY:
Semantic memory is like an encyclopaedia. It is the meaning of
everything you know.
For example, knowing Paris is the capital of France. Unlike episodic
memories, semantic memories are not ‘time-stamped’.
We don’t usually remember when we learnt our capital cities.

PROCEDURAL MEMORY:
Procedural memory is a ‘muscle’ memory – it’s how we remember to do
things. We can recall these memories without conscious awareness or a
great deal of effort.
DESCRIBE & EVALUATE DIFFERENT TYPES OF MEMORY

Psychologists have identified at least three different types of long-term

memory. Episodic memory is your memory for personal experiences and
events from your life (e.g. your first day of school). These are ‘time-stamped’
because you recall the time and place, as well as who else was present and
how you felt at the time . Semantic memory is your memory for general
knowledge/understanding about the world (e.g. naming three countries
beginning with ‘a’). This includes our knowledge of the meaning of words.
These memories are not ‘time-stamped’. Procedural memory is memory for
performing how to perform some action or ‘procedure’ (e.g. how to ride a
bike). After practice, we recall these memories without much effort or even
conscious awareness. Meaning we can perform these actions without putting
in much mental effort. They become almost automatic for us. Episodic and
semantic memory are known as declarative as they may require conscious
recall whereas procedural is known as non-declarative as it doesn’t require
conscious recall. (9 marks AO3)
EVALUATION OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF LTM

STRENGTH 1 – WEAKNESS –
POINT: One strength is that people with amnesia due POINT: One weakness is that there is no clear
to brain damage often lose only one type of memory. difference between episodic and semantic memories.
EVIDENCE/EXAMPLE: For example, patient HM's EVIDENCE/EXAMPLE: Most memories combine
episodic memory was badly affected when his semantic and episodic elements, and neither are
hippocampus was removed, but his procedural completely lost in amnesia.
memory was intact. THEREFORE: Therefore, this suggests that the idea of
THEREFORE: Therefore, this again suggests that there there being three types of memory oversimplifies the
must be different types of memory. true nature of long-term memory.
STRENGTH 2 –
POINT: A strength of the different types of memory is
that they are located in separate parts of the brain.
EVIDENCE/EXAMPLE: For example, brain scans show
episodic memory is in the prefrontal cortex of the right
hemisphere, but procedural memory is in the motor
cortex.
THEREFORE: Therefore, this shows that there is a
biological reality to the idea of different types of
memory.
 LESSON 5: WAR OF THE GHOSTS STORY

Activity - War of the Ghosts Here is the full story that Bartlett used in his research; read it for yourself to see how
much of it you can remember and how much you reconstruct (this will help you gain a better understanding of the
study):
One night two young men from Egulac went down to 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 be 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 on up 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 / 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 he 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.
LESSON 5: BARTLETT’S WAR OF THE GHOSTS STUDY

Aim: To see if people, when given an unfamiliar story from another culture to remember, would reconstruct
(alter) the information so that it makes more sense to them.
Study design: A laboratory study in which there was control of possible extraneous variables. The participants
were undergraduate students studying English at Cambridge University.
Method: Each participants was asked to read a story called ‘War of the Ghosts’, which is a Native American
Legend. They were told to read the story twice through to themselves, at their normal reading pace. About 15
minutes later, they were asked to retell the story to another person. That person then had to retell the story to
another person, and so on. A record was made of the story that each person reported, allowing Bartlett to
know what the changes were from one person to the next.
Results:
• After the story was passed on 10 times:
• The passages became much shorter
• There were lots of omissions
• There were changes to the detail
• The order of events was changed
The story had gone from 330 words to 150 words. All mention of ghosts had disappeared despite the title
being emphasized by Bartlett to the first participant. Unfamiliar names were changed into familiar ones, canoes
were changed to boats and paddling was changed to rowing.
Conclusion:
Bartlett concluded that our memory is not an exact copy of what we hear. It is distorted (reconstructed) by what
we already know about the world. Therefore, our memory is influenced by our own beliefs and stereotypes.
EVALUATION OF BARTLETT’S STUDY

WEAKNESS –
POINT: One weakness of Bartlett’s study is that it lacks population validity.
EVIDENCE/EXPLAINATION: Bartlett used students who were studying
English at Cambridge University. Who were likely to be much better at
reading and verbalising a story than people who were older, or younger, or
who were not studying English.
THEREFORE: Therefore, the results of this study can not be generalised to
other populations of people

STRENGTH –
POINT: One strength of Bartlett’s study was he wanted to test memory in a
meaningful way.
EVIDENCE/EXPLAINATION: Bartlett’s study is more relevant to the way we
use our memories in everyday life than studies that involve learning word
lists. In the real world, we often tell people about what others have said to
us, and this will often be passed on.
CONTRADICTION: However, others say that the ‘War of the Ghosts’ story is
deliberately confusing and not similar to our everyday experiences. Bartlett
recorded the stories at each ‘retelling’ to see how they had changed.
 LESSON 6: RECONSTRUCTION

RECONSTRUCTIVE MEMORY-
Bartlett thought that memory was not just a stored copy
of facts. He said that we change our memories to fit in
with what we already know, even though we think we
EFFORT AFTER MEANING –
are remembering exactly what happened. This is known
Definition: Making sense of something unfamiliar after it
as reconstructive memory.
has happened. Afterwards we make an effort try to fit
MEMORY IS AN ACTIVE PROCESS-
what we remember with what we already know and
People tend to remember the overall meaning of events
understand about the world.
that occurred and reconstruct them. This shows that
In the ‘War of the Ghosts’ story, Bartlett showed that
memory is an active process. We don’t recall everything
memory is not an accurate recording of what has
that happens like a machine, but actively reconstruct a
happened. He said that memory is an active process that
memory.
involves effort after meaning. As a result, we often
SOCIAL & CULTURAL EXPECTATIONS-
change our memories so that they become more
A key part of Bartlett’s theory is that the way we store and
sensible to us. This process involves making assumptions,
later recombine the ‘small pieces’ can be related to social
or guesses, about what could or should have happened.
and cultural expectations. In the War of the Ghosts,
people transformed those parts of the story that didn’t fit
their own cultural expectations (e.g. hunting seals was
misremembered as going fishing).
LESSON 6: A RECONSTRUCTION QUESTION

QUESTION: Tabitha was unfortunate enough to witness a bank robbery.

She was asked to describe the robber to the police. She said the robber was a
man wearing a ski mask and he had a gun in his hand. However, when the
police checked the CCTV they could see Tabitha was completely wrong – the
robber was clearly female, did not have a mask and no gun.
Use your knowledge of Bartlett’s War of the Ghosts study to explain why
Tabitha’s memory was inaccurate. [3 marks]
ANSWER: Tabitha did not recall the bank robbery accurately but instead
reconstructed the memory with her prior knowledge of this type of situation.
In the same way that Bartlett’s participants used their previous expectations to
reconstruct the War of the Ghosts story, Tabitha used her knowledge of bank
robberies to influence what she recalled. Stereotypically, bank robbers tend to
be male, wear masks and have guns and so Tabitha recalled these details
rather than what happened.
EVALUATION OF RECONSTUCTIVE MEMORY

STRENGTH –
POINT: One strength of this theory is that it can explain problems with
eyewitness testimonies (EWT).
EVIDENCE/EXPLAINATION: Bartlett’s research showed that memory isn’t
always accurate and can be affected by our expectations of what happened.
Research on EWT has subsequently shown that people do not always read
what they see or hear accurately.
THEREFORE: Therefore, this shows that Bartlett’s research has had important
implications within the legal system.

WEAKNESS –
POINT: One weakness is that it is wrong to suggest that all memories are
inaccurate or affected by social expectations.
EVIDENCE/EXPLAINATION: Other studies have shown that memory can be
very accurate. For example, in situations that are personally important or
distinctive, we do remember considerable amounts and in accurate detail.
THEREFORE: Therefore, this shows that people do not always actively
reconstruct memories and shows that some memories are accurate.
LESSON 7: INTERFERENCE

INTERFERENCE –
Long term memories are not always remembered, and forgetting can occur for
different reasons. Research has shown that things that take place between
learning and recall affect the accuracy of our memory. This is known as
interference. REMINDER!:
WHAT IS INTERFERENCE? – Proactive interference involves
Interference theories suggest that forgetting is caused by competing memories, old information distorting new
either because existing memories interfere with the learning of new information information while, Retroactive
or because new information interferes with previously learnt information. interference involves new
PROACTIVE INTERFERENCE – information distorting old
Proactive interference occurs when old information stored in long term memory information.
hinders /displaces the learning of new information. This usually occurs when the
new information is similar to the old information.
For example; you know your old postcode, but cannot remember your new one.
RETROACTIVE INTERFERENCE –
Retroactive interference occurs when the learning of new information hinders
the recall of old information from LTM. For example; you know your new
postcode, but cannot remember your old one.
EVALUATION OF INTERFERENCE

STRENGTH –
POINT: One strength of interference as a theory of forgetting is that it is
supported by research
EVIDENCE/EXPLAINATION: McGeoch and McDonald (1931 gave
participants a list of ten words to learn (list A). If the second list (list B) was
similar to the first list, they found recall to be worse.
THEREFORE: Therefore, this supports the idea of retroactive because the
more similar the new material is to the previously learnt material, the greater
the interference.
WEAKNESS –
POINT: One limitation of interference research is that is artificial and lacks
ecological validity.
EVIDENCE/EXPLAINATION: Most of the research examining interference is
carried out in a laboratory using meaningless stimuli (list of words, which are
similar to each other).
THEREFORE: Therefore, these findings do not represent everyday examples
of interference and are limited in their application to everyday human
memory.
INTERFERENCE QUESTION

Read the following conversation between Nicola and her teacher.

Teacher: "Why did you not learn your French vocabulary last night, Nicola?"
Nicola: "I did, but right after I did that, I had to do my German homework and then I forgot
all the French I had learned."
Explain how the ability to recall information might be affected by interference.
Refer to the conversation in your answer.
(3 marks AO2)

(Potential answer)

New things that we learn can disrupt the recall of older information that we have
already learnt, this can happen when information is similar. In this case, Nicola cannot
recall her French vocab as the new learning of her German words, which may have
been quite similar, has hindered her ability to recall the older information. This is an
example of retroactive interference.
LESSON 8: CONTEXT

CONTEXT DEFINITION –
The general setting or environment in which activities happen.

CONTEXT –
Have you ever gone to another room for something and then, when you got
there, forgotten why you were there? This actually happens to a lot of people.
Studies on context have shown that recall of information is higher if learning
and recall take place in the same context as the cues from that environment at
the time of learning are also there at the time of recall.

(The next few slides will show you what the study is about. It is not named on
the specification however you can use it to answer questions related to this
topic if you wish to do so if not click the button to go to the evaluation)
LESSON 8: GODDEN AND BADDELEY DIVERS STUDY

AIM –
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?

ABOUT THE STUDY –

18 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 from the study to under about 10 feet of
water ( wet). The divers were tested after about 4 minutes to see if context affects the how many
words they could recall. They were tested accuracy of memory either on the beach or underwater

GROUPS OF PARTICIPANTS –
There were 4 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).
Ø 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 2 and 3 the context could not act as a cue.
LESSON 8: GODDEN AND BADDELEY DIVERS STUDY

RESULTS –
In two of these conditions the environmental
RESULTS FROM STUDY contexts of learning and recall matched, whereas
MEAN NUMBER OF WORDS RECALLED

16 in the other two they did not. Groups 1 and 4 are

matching the environments where the words
14 13.5
were learned might trigger their recall. For groups
12 11.4 2 and 3 the context could not act as a cue.
10
8.4 8.6 CONCLUSION –
8 This suggests that the context of learning acts as a
6
trigger or cue when trying to remember the
information - in other words context enhances the
4 accuracy of memory
2
0 WHAT TYPE OF EXPERIMENT? –
0
GROUP 1 DD/GROUP 4 WW GROUP 2 WD/GROUP 3 DW
Godden and Baddeley used a field experiment as
MATCHING CONTEXT NOT MATCHING CONTEXT the individuals were trained deep sea divers who
DD/WD WW/DW were used to remembering and recalling
information is this environment.
EVALUATION ON CONTEXT & THE RESEARCH

STRENGTH –
POINT: One strength of research into context as an explanation forgetting is it is a field
experiment.
EVIDENCE/EXPLAINATION: The environment was a natural and familiar one to the trained
deep-sea divers as they were used to learning and recalling information in this environment.
CONTRADICTION: However, the task itself was not natural as the divers were used to
remembering information related to fish, not learning lists of words. The task lacked
mundane realism.
THEREFORE: Therefore, whilst the environment was natural, the results could not be applied
to all situations due to the artificial task.

WEAKNESS –
POINT: One limitation of research investigating context as an explanation of forgetting is that
the words were recalled almost immediately.
EVIDENCE/EXPLAINATION: This short time gap between learning and recall is unrealistic and
is difficult to generalize to other situation, such as revising for an exam where a longer time
gap applies (e.g. weeks/months).
THEREFORE: Therefore, this research only tells us about a very specific set of circumstances
(i.e. short-term recall).
LESSON 9: FALSE MEMORIES

WHAT IS A FALSE MEMORY? –

A memory for something that did not
happen, but which feels as if it were a true
memory. Research on false memories has
shown that it is very easy for a false memory
to be planted in someone’s mind.
E.g. Falsely recalling that you had submitted
an assignment for a class, only to find out
later that you had not.

(The next few slides will show you what the

study is about & ethical issues. It is not
named on the specification however you
can use it to answer questions related to
this topic if you wish to do so if not click the
button to go to the evaluation)
LESSON 9: LOFTUS & PICKRELL’S STUDY

AIM –
Can 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.

ABOUT THE STUDY –

The 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.

RESULTS –
In 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.

CONCLUSIONS –
This 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.
LESSON 9: ETHICAL ISSUES (PC DRIP)?

Protection from (psychological) harm:

This is possibly the most important of all the guidelines. There are
many ways that participants may be harmed in psychological
(Although this will be mentioned in Topic 2, I’ll
experiments-getting them to drink too much coffee, distressing
put it here to help you
thoughts or memories, causing embarrassment. The participants
should leave you in the same state as they entered the
WHAT ARE ETHICAL ISSUES? – experiment. They should not be subjected to physical or
Ethical issues are concerns about what is psychological harm, including, stress or being placed under
morally right or wrong when using participants pressure. Participants should be allowed to withdraw if they feel
in research. They occur when there is a uncomfortable. Participants should be reassured their behaviour
disruption in the needs of the research (to find was 'normal'/'typical’.
out about a theory or given behaviour) and
rights of participants (not to be harmed or Confidentiality:
mistreated in any way). The identity of participants should be protected. Data collected
about a person, including the results, belong to that person.
Their personal details should not be accessible and participants
should remain anonymous. To do this, participants should be
called Participant 1, Participant 2 and so on, or initials used (LS).
LESSON 9: ETHICAL ISSUES (PC DRIP)?
Deception:
This is deliberately misleading our participants in some way. Sometimes we have to withhold the aims of a study to
avoid them changing their behaviour and displaying demand characteristics. Sometimes, we use confederates in our
study and do not tell the participants they are being used. If this does happen, then we must make sure that we debrief
our participants thoroughly.

Right to withdraw:
All participants should know that they can leave a study at any time, and, perhaps more importantly, how to they can
do this. They should not feel obliged to even take part in the study or continue with their participation and should be
aware that they can leave part way through the investigation If they wish. Their data will be removed too.

Informed consent:
Participants should know as much as possible about the procedure before they agree to do it - like the sort of things
that they will be asked to do, how long it will take etc. They should also be made aware of the aims and their rights
(right to withdraw). Some researchers believe that obtaining this makes the study meaningless, because participants
make not act naturally if they are aware of the study's aims. If the individual is under 16 years old, this should be
obtained from a parent/carer.

Privacy:
This should be respected at all times. It is generally regarded as acceptable to make observations of people in public (e.g.
how many people take out a book at a library). However, it is important that private conversations are listened to and
recorded. For example, observing behaviour on a public bus could be acceptable, but listening into private phone
conversations is not.
 EVALUATION OF FALSE MEMORIES

STRENGTH – WEAKNESS – WEAKNESS -

POINT: One strength of this research POINT: Another weakness is that POINT: One weakness of the study is
is that it has important implications participants may be left with the that the false memory event (lost in a
for eyewitness testimony. implanted false memories. mall) is not of the same traumatic
EXPLANATION: After a crime has EXPLANATION: At the end of Loftus kind that might be recovered by a
been committed, eyewitnesses are and Pickrell's study the participants therapist.
interviewed by police. The police were debriefed. They were told that EXPLANATION: It may well be that
may unconsciously ask questions in the lost in the mall story was false. relatively harmless events (such as
such a way that they may implant a However, it is possible that even being lost in a mall) can be
false memory. For example, they knowing this, participants were still implanted quite easily but this does
might ask 'Did you see a gun in his left with a lingering sense of it not mean that the same would be
hand' instead of 'Was there anything having happened. true of something much more
in his hand?'. Loftus has shown in THEREFORE: This means that such traumatic and memorable.
many different studies that such research raises ethical issues of THEREFORE: The conclusions that
questions can create false memories. whether this research is of sufficient can be drawn from this study are
THEREFORE: Such research has importance to manipulate people in limited.
changed the way courts deal with this way.
eyewitness testimony - it is no longer
regarded as reliable evidence.
REVISION LESSON: EXAM QUESTIONS ON MEMORY

OUTLINE THE DIFFERNET TYPES OF LONG TERM MEMORY

Long term memory is the permanent memory store which has an unlimited capacity and duration
and information is coded semantically. Psychologists have proposed that there are 3 types of long
term memory stores which store different types of information - They are known as episodic,
semantic and procedural.
Episodic memory refers to our ability to recall events from our lives. For example, your first day of
school would be stored in the episodic memory. These type of memories are time-stamped which
means we remember when they happened. They involve several elements such as the people,
place, objects, and behaviours involved. We have to make a conscious effort to recall episodic
memories. These memories are time stamped.
Another type of long term memory is our semantic memory which contains our knowledge of the
world; it is likened to a dictionary and encyclopaedia as it includes our facts and knowledge of what
words and concepts mean. For example, to know that London is the capital of the United Kingdom.
These types of memories are not time stamped so we don’t remember when we learnt them. They
are less personal and more about facts we all share and we have to make a conscious effort to recall
them.
Finally, we have the procedural memory which contains our knowledge on how to do things. It
includes memories of learned skills for example, driving a car. We can recall them without much
conscious awareness. It is also known as ‘muscle memory’ due to the lack of conscious effort to
recall.
Procedural is known to be a non-declarative type of memory as it doesn’t require conscious recall
whereas, semantic and episodic are declarative as they require conscious recall to an extent.
REVISION LESSON: EXAM QUESTIONS ON MEMORY

DESCRIBE BARTLETT’S ‘WAR OF THE GHOSTS’ STUDY

 GLOSSARY

KEY WORD DEFINITION

Acoustic encoding: What it sounds like.
Capacity: The maximum ability an individual has to retrieve information or knowledge.
Context: The situation in which something happens. Context can act as a cue to recall something thus enhancing
the accuracy of memory.
Cued Recall: Given a hint or cue to recall / remember something.
Duration: How long the memory can stay in our mind or be stored.
Encoding: Putting or learning information in. A format in which memory is stored
Episodic memory: Memories from events or (episodes) of life. Things said, done or experienced.
False memories: A memory for something that did not happen but feels true.
Free recall: Recalling information without cues.
Interference: The occurrence of forgetting when memories compete against each other. This often occurs with similar
memories.
Long-term memory: When the memory can be held indefinitely.
Multi-store model: A theory of memory that suggests the separate memory stores and how information passes through.
Primacy effect: Words / things that appear in the beginning of a list are more likely to be recalled than words at the end.
Proactive Interference: When old information interferes with newer ones. This disrupt the recall of newer memories.
 GLOSSARY

KEY WORD DEFINITION

Procedural memory: Muscle memory (non-declarative). Doesn’t require conscious recall.
Recency effect: Words / things that appear in the end of a list are more likely to be recalled than words at the beginning.
Recognition: Choosing the correct answer from a series of choices.
Reconstructive Fragments of stored information are reassembled during recall. The gaps are filled in by our expectations,
memory:
beliefs and ideas so that we can produce a story that makes sense.
Retrieval: The process of getting back needed information when needed.
Retroactive When old information distorts with old information. Forgetting occurs as new information is competing
interference:
against the old one.
Semantic encoding: What it means. The meaning behind it.
Semantic memory: A store for our knowledge of the world. This includes facts and what concepts mean.
Sensory store: Has a large capacity and short duration. 5 senses pass through this store to get to short-term memory.
Serial position effect: Words at both the beginning and the end are more likely to be recalled than words in the middle of a list
Short-term memory: Limited capacity store. Acoustic.
Storage: Almost like a bank in our mind where information is stored until it’s needed.
Visual encoding: What it looks like.
BLURTING
 SEMANTIC
ENCODING
FALSE MEMORIES
SHORT-TERM MEMORY
EPISODIC MEMORY

MEMORY STORES

CAPACITY
INTERFERENCE
THANK YOU!
SERIAL POSITION EFFECT

This PowerPoint was made by Nifemi.

RECOGNITION

Credits due to my teacher and

My Knowunity account is:
@lemon_s0rbet

RECALL
LONG-TERM MEMORY
MULTI-STORE MODEL OF MEMORY
RETRIVAL