Flashcards
The Everyday Memory Movement - INCOMPLETE
Cards in this deck (29)
- 1What was the purpose of the Everyday Memory Movement?It was brough about by Ulrich Neisser, who showed frustration with the limitations of lab research and its focus on small questions, and lack of big-picture acknowledgement. Neisser wanted to use psychology's understanding of memory to assist in rehabilitation after trauma and improving patients' memory.
- 2What is the difference between representativeness and generalisability?These are the components which make up ecological validity.
Representativeness describes the degree to which the experimental situation, including the stimuli and task, feels natural.
Generalisability describes the degree to which findings can be applied to the real world, and is more important than representativeness. - 3What is the difference between the memory shown in traditional experimental conditions, and that shown in everyday memories?Everyday memories are often recollections of what you recalled previously - NOT recollections of the actual event. In lab studies, however, it's more likely that the information was just presented to you, so you're attempting to remember the exact stimulus.
Learning in a lab is dictated as the explicit purpose, whereas in everyday memory, learning is typically incidental.
Social factors have more impact on everyday memory.
There is less pressure to be correct in everyday memory. - 4What are the assumptions of research on everyday memory?Everyday memory is motivated to achieve a goal. This goal is not accuracy. Research has seen that when asked to record a retelling of personal memories over a month, 42% were admitted to be inaccurate.
According to the Saying-is-believing effect, by report your memory to suit an audience (including yourself), you cause inaccuracies within your actual memory. For example, in a study, participants watched a pub brawl. They then recounted the events to a man that they either believed started it, or didn't start it. If they believed the man they were speaking to had started the brawl, they gave a biased retelling, and in later free recall, showed distortion in their recollection.
Everyday memory has a personal quality, and as such is influenced by your personal characteristics.
Everyday memory is influenced by situational demands, such as attempting to impress an audience. - 5What is the compromise made by the Everyday Memory movement?This introduced cross-fertilisation, which involved a combination of knowledge from lab and field studies.
The movement also recognises that some everyday memory problems can be addressed in a lab, but in the case of topics which can't, it's better to study them using the methods available than to not study them at all. - 6What study has emphasised the perceived significance of eyewitness testimony?in a study, participants watched a simulated crime, then acted as jurors for the crime of manslaughter in a robbery-gone-wrong. When participants were told there were eyewitnesses to the crime, 18% voted guilty. When they were told there was an eyewitness, 72% voted guilty. Even when the eyewitness was discredited, as they weren't wearing their glasses and thus shouldn't have been trusted, 68% still said guilty.
- 7What factors influence eyewitness testimony?Event-related factors include: duration of exposure, context and the salience of details.
Witness-related factors include: age, suggestibility, emotionality, and confidence. - 8Confirmation biasThis is the influence of expectations on our memory. This has been explained as the influence of schemas and packets of knowledge from the long-term memory forming our expectations, and distorting our reconstructions of events to align with what 'must be true'.
For example, in a study, Swedish students watched a simulated robbery, and had to select the culprit from a lineup including 4 Swedes and 4 immigrants. Students were twice as likely to select an innocent immigrant than an innocent Swede, as immigrants' overrepresentation in crime statistics influenced their expectations.
In another study, after seeing a video of a simulated bank robbery, participants were more likely to remember information relevant to their bank-robbery schema than irrrelevant information (e.g. the colour of the getaway car).
Research has also found that, when information is ambiguous, participants are more likely to answer according to their schemas. - 9Misinformation effectThis states that memories can be distorted by misleading information that is presented after the event.
In Loftus and Palmer's classic study, participants who were asked about the speed of the cars when they 'smashed into' each other reported an average of 41 mph, and were more likely to report seeing broken glass a week later (32%). Those asked their speed when they 'hit' each other reported an average 34 mph, and were less likely to report seeing broken glass (14%, compared to the 12% seen in controls). - 10What evidence shows the significance of re-event information?In a study, participants listened to a narrative about either a palace burglary, or a school field-trip to a palace. These narratives were either thematically similar (burglary) or dissimilar (field-trip) to the video of a museum burglary, which they watched the next day. If they'd watched the thematically similar video previously, participants showed more errors in their recollection of the museum burglary. This indicates the significance of the participants' pas experiences during recall.
However, research suggests that this only affects peripheral details, not central details. - 11Source missattributionThis is a phenomenon which has been used to explain the misinformation effect. When a memory probe activates memory traces, the person decides on the source of the memory based on its contents. However, when different sources are attributed to very similar memories, we often mistake the source of the memory, a phenomenon known as source misattribution.
In a study, participants listened to a narrative about either a palace burglary, or a school field-trip to a palace. These narratives were either thematically similar (burglary) or dissimilar (field-trip) to the video of a museum burglary, which they watched the next day. If they'd watched the thematically similar video previously, participants showed more errors in their recollection of the museum burglary.
In another study, participants were shown a slide sequence, then a narrative containing misleading information. This led to a robust misinformation effect, but was reduced when participants were encouraged to retrieve source information. - 12ReconsolidationMemory consolidation is a long, physiological process which creates long-lasting memories. Upon reactivated a consolidated memory trace, the memory is made vulnerable to reconsolidation, which allows alteration.
In a study, participants watched a movie about a terrorist attack, and later recalled details, or did not. They were then given misleading information. Those who recalled details beforehand showed a strong misinformation effect, as reactivating the trace during recall made the memories susceptible to reconsolidation.
In another study, participants watch a video of a crime in groups of 5, then took individual memory tests. Three days later, another recall session showed accurate memory. Total seven days later, they were given incorrect information by other participants, and were immediately given a memory test, during which they went along with the misinformation. Their increased activity in the amygdala and hippocampus is associated with genuinely changed memories (this is thought to be the reconsolidation process). - 13Why does reconsolidation occur?According to the Vacant Slot explanation, missing information from the original memory is filled with related information from the incorrect source.
According to the Blend explanation, the original and incorrect information blend in the memory. - 14What is an autobiographical memory, and how is it different from episodic memory?Autobiographical memories describe experiences and people that are of special significance. While episodic memories are also of personally experienced events, autobiographical memories are: complex; have a large temporal scope and so can be very old; can incorporate semantic knowledge (as some brain-damaged patients have little episodic memory, but can recall complex information about themselves); and lead to more activation in the left ventromedial prefrontal cortex.
Episodic memories, however, are: of simple, trivial events; have a limited scope, in the range of minutes or hours; and cause more activity in the mid-dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.
However, there are some neurological similarities, as well. During a study, participants saw a picture, and were asked to either recall a biographical memory (e.g. describe the last time you went camping), create an episodic memory (e.g. remember the colour of the tent), or show semantic memory (e.g. talk about local campsites). All three led to activation in a common network including the frontal, temporal, and parietal lobes. - 15Why do we spend so much time thinking about biographical memories?1. Maintenance of social bonds by thinking about shared memories
2. Directing future behaviour by using the past as a guide
3. To create a sense of self-continuity - 16What are flashbulb memories?These are very clear, long-lasting autobiographical memories of important or dramatic public events. When the event is perceived as surpising and having real consequences for the person, a special neural mechanism is activated which "prints" its details permanently in the memory system.
These details include: the informant, where it was heard, on-going events, emotional state, others' emotional state, and consequences of the event for the person.
This can lead to PTSD. Some may re-experience the event through flashbacks, or intrusive, sensory-perceptual emotional memories. These may be more intense versions of flashblub memories.
However, flashbulb memories aren't always accurate. For example, although footage of the first plane hitting the Twin Towers on 9/11 was never available, when asked, 73% of students reported having watched it. - 17Are flashbulb memories consistent?In a study, the consistency of people's memories for a flashbulb memory and an everyday event were assessed over 32 weeks. While the vividness of the flashbulb memory remained much higher, it showed no more consistency.
In another study, participants' memories of 9/11 appeared reasonably consistent for up to 3 years after the event. A small number of people showed major distortions, and showed confusion with news information from other sources.
Another study compared recall one week and 3 years after the event. There was high consistency for location, but lower consistency for the informant and ongoing activity, and particularly low consistency for their own immediate reaction. - 18What causes flashbulb memories?Evidence suggests the significance of the event's emotionality.
In a study, people who were close to the world trace centre shoed more vivid and detailed memory of the event, and more activation in the amygdala.
In another study, students watched a traumatic movie. During processing of scenes which later caused flashbacks, there was increased activation in the amygdala and ventral occipital cortex (which is used for higher-level visual processing and imagery). This shows that flashbacks are made more likely by intense emotional processing. - 19DurationWhen exposed to a stimulus for a longer period of time, you have more time for encoding, elaborative processing, and the development of associations. This leads to enhanced memory, and increased confidence.
However, people estimate time very badly. In a study, particiapnts were shown a video of a 30 second incident. The average estimate of the video's length was 2.5 minutes, and the minimum estimate was 35-40 seconds.
By questioning exactly how long the person was exposed, the credibility of a witness can be shaken. - 20Event contextThere are two types of event context. Semantic context is the derived meaning of an event, which describes the way in which a person makes sense of an ambiguous stimulus. The physical context describes the event's derived location.
It's easier to recongise things when they're in a familiar context, such as seeing a teacher in the classroom rather than in a bar. This is because the context gives cues, letting you take advantage of the encoding specificity principle. This states that maximum recall will occur when the context at recall matches the context at encoding. - 21Detail salienceThis describes the significance of particular details to the incident. More salient details are more likely to be remembered, and these guide which aspects of testimony can be believed.
Details which are critical to the backstory of the event are known as central details, and these are remembered better than peripheral details.
In a study, participants are shown a video wherein a man walks into a bank, pulls out either a checkbook or a gun, and leaves with money. The central detail of what the man was holding was well remembered, but peripheral details (e.g. details of his shirt, hand, or face) weren't remembered as well. This study also gave evidence of the weapon focus effect, as the gun was better remembered than the checkbook. This effect describes the particularly-high recall of threatening central details.
It is unknown exactly why this effect occurs. Fuzzy trace theory suggests that central details decay more slowly than peripheral details. - 22What is the significance of neurogenesis in childhood amnesia?Neurogenesis, or the creation of new neurons in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus, during early years is thought to negatively effect the creation of enduring memories, as synaptic connections within the hippocampus may be replaced. This is described by the neurogenesis hypothesis.
This theory attempts to explain why non-human animals show childhood amnesia, as this shows that human concepts (cognitive self, language development) cannot fully explain the phenomenon.
A study has shown that mice with high levels of neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus show very fast rates of forgetting.
Some species have also shown increased ability to form long-lasting memories after the decline of neurogenesis. - 23What is the cognitive self and its influence on memory?The cognitive self describes the way in which a person recognises themselves as individuals and develops a self-concept. It has been argued that autobiographical memories can only be created once a child develops a cognitive self, and a sense that some events have personal significance.
For example, in a study, young children showed good performance on a memory test for personal events only after reaching self-recognition. - 24Social-cultural developmental theoryThis suggests the significance of language and culture to the development of memory. Language is used to communicate memories, and recalling memories (via language) from a time before the person had developed language is difficult.
This is thought to be influenced by the mother's elaborativeness, or the degree of detail to which the mother reminisces about the past with their children. Mothers who were more elaborative when their child was in preschool often caused their children to have earlier first memories.
Individualistic cultures foster children who recall more personal experiences and feelings, while collectivist cultures foster children who better recall memories of interpersonal relations. - 25Two-stage theoryThis theory argues that absolute childhood amnesia exists for about the first 2 years of life, and relative amnesia exists for the rest of pre-school years.
Absolute amnesia ends with the onset of the cognitive self, and relative amnesia ends with the development of language.
As children age, they're able to remember more detailed memories from these times, which may reflect the rapid development of language.
This theory does not take into account the neurogenic hypothesis. - 26What is the reminiscence bump?This is the way in which adults have particularly high recall of events from their adolescence and early adulthood.
This is thought to be influenced by your life script, or your cultural expectations about major life events. This guides and organises the retrieval of autobiographical memories. Most of these are positive (e.g. falling in love, marriage, having children). - 27What evidence supports the effect of life scripts?When older people identified the most positive and negative events in their lives, negative events didn't exhibit a reminiscence bump, but positive events which are included in the life script did. 68% of positive events were on the life script, and few negative ones were. They also reported the positive events as more central to the person's life story and identity.
The distribution of life script events over a person's lifespan has been seen to resemble the occurrence of the reminiscence bump. - 28What evidence contradicts the effect of life scripts?Researchers have noted that life script events are also predictable. Subsequent findings support the idea that predictable events (as distinguished by culture) are very well-remembered. However, particularly unexpected events are also well-remembered, which may be reflective of the reminiscence bump shown in events which are directly relevant to a person's identity.
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- Language & Memory Flashcards on The Everyday Memory Movement - INCOMPLETE, created by Jamie Otten on 16/01/2019.
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- Jamie Otten · Jan 2019
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- Jan 16, 2019
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