Models, studies & evaluation — A-Level Psychology
Memory consists of three distinct stores, each with different encoding, capacity, and duration characteristics.
Replaced the unitary STM with a multi-component system that actively processes information rather than passively storing it.
Participants recalled fewer long words than short words in serial recall. Supports the idea that the articulatory process rehearses items in a time-limited loop — longer words take longer to rehearse, so fewer fit.
Two tasks using the same component (e.g., two visual tasks) interfere more than two tasks using different components (e.g., one visual + one verbal). This supports the idea of separate subsystems with independent resources.
Participants watched car crash videos. Those asked "How fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other?" gave higher speed estimates than those asked about "contacted." A week later, the "smashed" group were more likely to report (falsely) seeing broken glass.
Conclusion: Post-event information can alter and distort memory. Leading questions create a response bias and can actually change the memory trace itself.
Participants who witnessed a person carrying a bloodied knife had poorer recall of the person's face than those who saw someone carrying a pen. Anxiety narrows attention to the source of threat (the weapon), impairing memory for peripheral details.
However: Christianson & Hubinette (1993) found real-life witnesses to bank robberies had accurate memories. Real-life anxiety may enhance rather than impair memory.
Four techniques: (1) mental reinstatement of context, (2) report everything, (3) recall in different order, (4) recall from different perspective. Designed to improve accuracy by accessing multiple retrieval cues.