Memory

According to the multi-store model (Atkinson and Shiffrin, 1968), the predominant coding in short-term memory and in long-term memory respectively is best described as:

• AVisual in STM and acoustic in LTM
• BAcoustic in STM and semantic in LTM✓
• CSemantic in STM and acoustic in LTM
• DSemantic in both STM and LTM

Answer: Baddeley's research showed STM is largely coded acoustically (acoustically similar words are confused in immediate recall) while LTM is largely coded semantically (semantically similar words are confused after a delay).

Which pair correctly states the capacity and duration of short-term memory as described on the AQA specification?

• ACapacity 7±2 items; duration approximately 18–30 seconds without rehearsal✓
• BCapacity unlimited; duration up to a lifetime
• CCapacity 7±2 items; duration approximately 2 hours
• DCapacity 1–2 items; duration about 4 seconds

Answer: Miller estimated STM capacity at 7±2 chunks, and Peterson and Peterson (1959) found STM duration is roughly 18–30 seconds when rehearsal is prevented. Unlimited capacity and lifelong duration describe LTM.

Tulving distinguished types of long-term memory. A memory for a specific event such as your first day at school, including the time, place and emotions involved, is an example of:

• AProcedural memory
• BSemantic memory
• CEpisodic memory✓
• DWorking memory

Answer: Episodic memory stores personal events ('episodes') and is time-stamped and consciously recalled. Semantic memory holds general knowledge and facts, while procedural memory holds skills such as riding a bike, recalled without conscious effort.

Knowing how to ride a bicycle without being able to easily put the actions into words is an example of which type of long-term memory?

• AEpisodic memory, which is declarative
• BSemantic memory, which is declarative
• CSensory memory, which is modality-specific
• DProcedural memory, which is largely non-declarative✓

Answer: Procedural memory stores motor skills and actions that are performed automatically and are difficult to explain verbally; it is non-declarative. Episodic and semantic memory are declarative (can be consciously stated).

In Baddeley and Hitch's (1974) working memory model, which component is the limited-capacity attentional system that allocates resources and directs the slave systems?

• AThe phonological loop
• BThe central executive✓
• CThe visuo-spatial sketchpad
• DThe episodic buffer

Answer: The central executive is the supervisory, limited-capacity attentional component that controls and coordinates the slave systems (the phonological loop and visuo-spatial sketchpad). It does not store information itself for long.

Within the working memory model, the phonological loop is subdivided into the phonological store and the articulatory process. The articulatory process is best described as:

• AThe 'inner voice' that allows maintenance rehearsal by sub-vocal repetition✓
• BThe 'inner ear' that holds spoken words briefly
• CThe 'inner scribe' that records spatial arrangement
• DThe store that integrates visual and verbal information with time sequencing

Answer: The articulatory process (the 'inner voice') allows sub-vocal rehearsal to keep verbal information active, with a capacity of about two seconds' worth of speech. The phonological store is the 'inner ear'; the inner scribe and the episodic buffer belong to other components.

McGeoch and McDonald's (1931) study, in which recall was worst when newly learned material was similar to the original list, provides evidence for which explanation of forgetting?

• ARetrieval failure due to absence of cues
• BInterference, specifically that similarity increases interference✓
• CTrace decay in short-term memory
• DRepression of anxiety-provoking memories

Answer: Participants who learned a second list of synonyms showed the poorest recall of the first list, showing that greater similarity between materials increases interference. This supports interference theory rather than cue-dependent forgetting.

Godden and Baddeley's (1975) deep-sea diver study, where divers recalled best when the learning and recall environments matched, is most often used to illustrate:

• AState-dependent forgetting
• BProactive interference
• CContext-dependent forgetting and the encoding specificity principle✓
• DThe serial position effect

Answer: Divers who learned and recalled in the same environment (both on land or both underwater) recalled more than those whose environments mismatched, demonstrating context-dependent retrieval failure consistent with Tulving's encoding specificity principle. State-dependent cues are internal, not environmental.

Loftus and Palmer's (1974) first experiment showed that changing the verb in the question 'About how fast were the cars going when they ___ each other?' affected speed estimates. Which verb produced the HIGHEST mean estimate?

• AContacted
• BHit
• CBumped
• DSmashed✓

Answer: 'Smashed' produced the highest mean estimate (about 40.8 mph) and 'contacted' the lowest (about 31.8 mph). This demonstrates how leading questions can distort eyewitness memory through response-bias or substitution.

Johnson and Scott's (1976) 'weapon focus' study is often cited as evidence that anxiety can REDUCE the accuracy of eyewitness testimony. The proposed mechanism is that:

• AHigh anxiety always enhances the encoding of all details (the Yerkes-Dodson optimum)
• BAttention narrows onto the weapon, impairing recall of the perpetrator's face✓
• CAnxiety triggers post-event discussion that contaminates memory
• DAnxiety causes source confusion between schemas

Answer: Witnesses who saw a man holding a knife were less accurate at identifying him than those who saw a pen, suggesting anxiety/arousal narrows attention onto the weapon at the expense of other details. The Yerkes-Dodson law predicts an inverted-U, not that anxiety always helps.