1. hatredmurderhurtdestroykickingrapistfightwoundedkillingdespairtable singer businessmarkerbookriverservicehonestpathwaycopy

2. The Reliability of Memory THE IB SYLLABUS SAYS: With reference to relevant research studies, to what extent is one cognitive process reliable (i.e. To what extent is memory reliable?)

3. The reliability of one cognitive process: Memory How reliable is memory? The legal system uses eyewitness testimony (EWT) which relies on the accuracy of human memory to decide whether a person is guilty or not. Normally, juries in courts of law take EWT very seriously, but recently, the use of DNA technology has demonstrated what some psychologists have claimed for years, eyewitnesses can be wrong.

4. The reliability of one cognitive process: memory Research has demonstrated that memory might not be as reliable as we think. Memories may be influenced by other factors than what was recorded in the first place, due to the reconstructive nature of memory. Definition: The term reconstructive memory refers to the brains active processing of information to make sense of the world Repression may also occur and this further puts into question the reliability of memory.

5. To what extent are recovered memories accurate? Sigmund Freud (1915) was an influential psychodynamic psychologist. Using evidence gained from his case studies of people suffering from mental disorders, Freud was convinced that forgetting was caused by repression According to Freud, people who experience anxiety provoking events may use defense mechanisms, such as repression, to protect their conscious self from knowing things that they cannot cope with. They send dangerous memories to the unconscious, which means they deny that the ever happened.

6. However, the memory will continue to haunt them in symbolic forms in their dreams until a therapist is able to retrieve the memory using specific techniques, such as dream analysis and hypnosis Some researchers who are critics of Freud claim that these techniques can create false memories, which people consequently believe to be true. But there is some research from cognitive psychology suggesting that repression does exist, such as research by Levinger & Clark (1961) (see below). However, it is important to differentiate between the repression of everyday memories, and memories for severely traumatic events such as experiences of child abuse, or witnessing a murder Are recovered memories accurate?

7. Conscious The small amount of mental activity we know about (current thinking processes) Preconscious Things we could be aware of if we paid attention to them Unconscious Things we are unaware of and plays a major role in our behavior pain Freud’s levels of consciousness

8. Repression Freudian idea that forgetting happens for a reason Thoughts & memories that are painful are forced out of conscious mind to the unconscious mind conscious unconscious

9. Key Study: Levinger & Clark (1961) Aim: To examine whether repression can cause the forgetting of certain words Procedure: PPs shown two intermixed wordlists Some words had Negative emotional connotations and some were Neutral They then compared recall for the two types of word –*What does the concept of repression suggest should happen? Findings & Conclusions: they found PPs had poorer recall of emotionally negative words (e.g. ‘fight’, ‘fear’), and concluded that this was because the words with negative emotional connotations were repressed

10. hatred murder hurt destroy kicking rapist fight wounded killing despair tablesinger business marker book river service honest pathway copy Words used in Levinger & Clark’s study:

11. Evaluation: –Solid experimental methodology used –Research support: Klein (1972) found PPs had poorer recall for a wordlist when they had been insulted by the experimenter during learning, support the idea that repression of emotionally negative material occurs –Levinger & Clark’s experimental findings have problems: –Bradley and Baddely, (1990) replicated Levinger & Clark study and found recall for negative words higher after a delay –Klein’s (1972) PPs might have been distracted during learning or demotivated during recall (methodological flaws) –Also the serial position of the words may have influenced recall in Levinger & Clark’s study –This research has Low E.V.

12. Repression: –In summary: Experimental evidence (Lavinger & Clark, 1962) and the case study evidence (Freud, 1915) is weak –Repression probably does happen, but not often; Freud’s suggestion that most forgetting is repression is not sustainable –evidence is lacking for repression as an important process in in everyday forgetting, however, it may play a role in forgetting traumatic experiences....

13. Which ones did we recall more of (mean of words recalled for the class)? 1. Negative emotional words …… 2. Neutral words…… Reflection: Based on Levinger & Clark’s study and Freud’s concept of repression, what can we conclude about the extent to which memory is reliable? …………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………….. ………………………………………………………….. ………………………………………………………….

14. Quick quiz: Repression 1.What is repression? 2.How did Freud gather evidence for his concept of repression? 3.What is the structure of consciousness according to Freud? 4.What two types of repression is it important to differentiate between? 5.Give the aims procedures, findings and conclusions of Levinger & Clark’s (1961) study 6.What were the findings of Klein’s (1972) study, and how does this support Levinger & Clark’s findings? 7.What did Bradley and Baddely, (1990) find when they replicated Levinger & Clark’s (1961) experiment and included a delay? 8.Make three evaluative points about Levinger and Clark’s (1961) study 9.What does research into repression tell us about the reliability of memory?

15. The victims of child abuse may not want to remember the traumatic experience, but is it possible to totally forget these things? (remember repressed memories can resurface) There is a controversy around the recovery of false memories. Terr (1994) documented cases where people say they have retrieved false memories of childhood sexual abuse during therapy, and also witnessing traumatic events – such as the case of George Franklin (see video)(see video) The False Memory Syndrome Foundation was founded in 1992 to provide support to families that had been shattered by accusations of childhood abuse by their children after their children had been through therapy. The recovery of false memories for traumatic events

16. The cognitive psychologist Elizabeth Loftus does not deny that child abuse happens, but she has argued that some of the recovered memories may simply be created by misleading post event information during therapy. Her laboratory research has shown that it is possible to manipulate peoples memories (see her research below) Loftus (2002) wrote an article on the case of the Washington Sniper, who killed a number of people. The police asked people to come forward with information on the murderer and many reported having seen a ‘white van’ in the vicinity of the shootings. In fact, the snipers van was ‘dark green’. Loftus tried to find out where the myth of the ‘white van’ came from. She discovered that a bystander mentioned a white van in an interview. After this, other people reported that they has seen a white van. According to Loftus, a false memory had been create by the misleading post-event information.

17. Reflection: Based what you have read about the recovery of traumatic repressed memories, and the role of misleading post event information, to what extent is memory reliable? ………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………

18. Empirical Research into the reliability of memory In his book remembering (1932) Bartlett argued that memory is reconstructive and that schemas influence recall. He also demonstrated the influence of culture on memory. Bartlett’s (1932) classic study of reconstructive memory using the native American folk tale ‘The war of the Ghosts’.

19. Native American Canoes

23. Reflection: Based on the findings and conclusions of Bartlett's (1932) research on reconstructive memory, to what extent is memory reliable? …………………………………………………… …………………………………………………… …………………………………………………… …………………………………………………… …………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………

24. Experiment http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxwgH GCrrS4&feature=PlayList&p=973E9EEB3 37DAEE3&index=1http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxwgH GCrrS4&feature=PlayList&p=973E9EEB3 37DAEE3&index=1 Watch the clip and answer the question on the clip

25. Loftus research on the reliability of eyewitness testimony One of the leading researchers into eyewitness testimony (EWT) is Elizabeth Loftus. Loftus supports Bartlett’s idea of memory as reconstructive. Loftus claims that the nature of questions can influence witnesses memory. She suggests that Leading Questions – ‘a question phrased in a manner that tends to suggest the desired answer’ influences recall This is misleading post (after) event information facilitate schema processing which may influence the accuracy of recall Video: PSY_VIDEOS\memoryClips\EyeWTPSY_VIDEOS\memoryClips\EyeWT

26. Loftus and Palmer (1974a) Laboratory experiment 1 into the effect of leading questions on reconstructive memory Aim: To investigate the role of leading questions in recall Procedure: An independent measures design was used 45 students shown video clips of car accidents Then asked questions: Critical question was ‘About how fast were the cars going when they HIT each other?’ ‘Hit’ replaced with either ‘ smashed ’, ‘ collided ’, ‘ bumped ’ or ‘ contacted ’. VerbMean estimate (mph) Smashed40.8 Collided39.3 Bumped38.1 Hit34.0 Contacted31.8 Findings: IV: ………… ……………. DV: ………… ……………. Conclusions: The use of different verbs activates different schemas in memory, so that the participant hearing the word ‘smashed’; may actually imagine the accident as more severe than the participant hearing the word ‘contacted’. What are the implications of these findings? Title of study: “Reconstruction of Automobile Destruction : An Example of the Interaction Between Language and Memory”

27. Loftus and Palmer (1974b) Laboratory experiment 2 to see whether misleading post event information can lead to the creation of false memories Aim: To see whether misleading post event information can lead to the creation of false memories Procedure: An independent measures design was used 150 students all shown a video clip of car accident Split into groups of 50 1 st group asked “How fast were the cars going when they hit each other?” 2 nd group asked “How fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other?” 3 rd group was the control group – they were not asked to estimate the speed of the accident Findings: One week later they were asked a critical question, “Did you see any broken glass?” (there was no broken glass in the video clip) The 2 nd group who were initially asked “How fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other?”. On average gave higher speed estimates and that they recall seeing broken glass. Response SmashedHitControl Yes1676 No344344 Still the highest – although most people said no to the question IV: ………… ……………. DV: ………… …………….

28. Overall Findings & Conclusions Different words had an effect on the estimation of speed as well as the perception of the consequences of the accident. Loftus and Palmer (1974) explained that ‘smashed’ provides participants with verbal information that activates schemas for a severe accident. The higher rates of participants seeing broken glass is connected to this, the participant is more likely to think that there was broken glass involved when they were asked the leading question containing the word ‘smashed’ Loftus’s research also indicates that it is possible to create a false memory using misleading post-event information (i.e. – the questions asked after the event, causes memory to be easily distorted leading to inaccurate recall) This is also known as confabulation –confusion of true memories with false memories. Evaluation of the experiment: Strengths Limitations video#

29. Strengths Loftus and her colleagues have made an important contribution to our understanding of the fallibility of EWT. It seems clear from the research that memory for event can be fundamentally altered in light of misleading post event information. This has had important implications for the way in which the police question witnesses, and also in the courtroom. Loftus used experimental methodology, so that cause & effect can be observed, making the study easily replicable. Loftus & Palmer (1974b) also used a control condition in their study: the 3 rd group were not asked about accident but asked about whether they saw broken glass or not, for reliability of results. The use of experiment 2 enabled Loftus to make sure that the results of the experiment were not merely due to demand characteristics. Limitations There are problems with the use of closed questions, which means people have to answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ – research suggests people recall information better when asked questions in a logical order – such as the ‘Cognitive Interview’ developed by Geiselman et al (1985) to be used by the police to get detailed accounts from eyewitnesses. – when this technique is used EWT can be much more accurate. All the research participants were from the US, so the sample is culturally biased The research also raises the question of how well people are able to estimate speed, and this may have influenced the results Her research has also been criticized for its low E.V. & artificiality, in real life, events that might have to be recalled later in a court of law, often take place unexpectedly and in an atmosphere of tension. It is difficult to recreate such conditions in the laboratory for practical and ethical reasons, and it is quite possible that eyewitnesses remember real events differently from staged events An evaluation of Loftus research into EWT

30. Yullie and Cutshall (1986) criticism of Loftus’s research… Yullie and Cutshall (1986) have criticized Loftus’s research for a lack of ecological validity. Performing research on memory in the laboratory does not reflect how and when people remember in real life, they argue. They used Loftus’s technique in interviewing people who had witnesses a real robbery and found that misleading questions did not seem to distort peoples memory. Instead, they found that the memory for details in this real life situation was quite amazing. This was seen in particular in witnesses who had been close to the event. In fact, it seems that the wording of the question had no effect on recall, and those who were most distressed by the situation had the most accurate memories. Furthermore, there is also research into ‘flashbulb memories’ which are particularly vivid, detailed and long lasting memories of the circumstances surrounding an event, such as 9/11 (see video ) video

31. Reflection: Based on the findings and conclusions Loftus’s research on EWT, to what extent is memory reliable? …………………………………………………… …………………………………………………… …………………………………………………… …………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………

32. Test Yourself… 1. Which of the following was not a cue word in the experiment by Loftus and Palmer? a)Smashed b) Contacted c)Knocked d)Hit The correct answer is… c) Knocked

33. Test Yourself… 2. The DV in the first experiment was… a) Estimate of speed b) The verb ‘smashed’ c) The question about broken glass d) The film The correct answer is… a) Estimate of Speed

34. Test Yourself… 3. In Experiment 1, how many experimental conditions were there? a) 1 b) 3 c) 5 d) 7 The correct answer is… c) 5

35. Test Yourself… 4. In Experiment 2, how many experimental groups were there? a) 1 b) 2 c) 3 d) 4 The correct answer is… b) 2

36. Test Yourself… 5. In Experiment 2, participants were tested immediately and then asked to return for some more questions. How long afterwards was this? a) 1 day b) 3 days c) 1 week d) 2 weeks The correct answer is… c) 1 week

37. Test Yourself… 6. In Experiment 2, which group saw the most broken glass? a) The ‘smashed’ group b) The ‘collided’ group c)The ‘hit’ group d) The control group The correct answer is… a) The ‘smashed’ group

38. Test Yourself… 7. Which of the following is true? a) Experiment 1 and 2 were both repeated measures b) Experiment 1 and 2 were both independent measures c) Only Experiment 1 was repeated measures d) Only experiment 1 was independent measures The correct answer is… b) Experiment 1 and 2 were both independent measures

39. Test Yourself… 8. The participants in this study were: a) Children b) Students c) Teachers d) Adults The correct answer is… b) Students

40. Seminar on the reliability of memory On Tuesday, in groups, you will lead a 10 to 15 minute seminar on your assigned topic The main topic of your seminar is the extent to which memory is reliable You will prepare questions for the discussion, but there is no requirement to produce a handout this time. We will sit around in a circle, and you will share your knowledge of the section you have been assigned, and lead the discussion when it comes to your section In order to take part, you have to have produced your own notes for the seminar on the whole packet, which is your ‘ticket’ to enter

41. Seminar Rubric Creation This is the rubric you created, and it will be used as a self assessment of the seminar

42. Seminar Topics 1.Based on Levinger & Clark’s study and Freud’s concept of repression, what can we conclude about the extent to which memory is reliable? () 2.Based what you have read about the recovery of traumatic repressed memories, to what extent is memory reliable? ( 3.Based on the findings and conclusions of Bartlett's (1932) research on reconstructive memory, to what extent is memory reliable? () 4.Based on the findings and conclusions Loftus’s research on EWT, to what extent is memory reliable? ()

43. Things to consider… Present the research Evaluate the research, and discuss the research in relation to the essential question ’two what extent is memory reliable’ NO NOTES are to be brought into the discussion, so you need to learn the packet, and the questions you will ask, particularly for your section.

44. Research… Freud (1915) Levinger & Clark (1961) Klein (1972) (Bradley and Baddely, 1990) Bartlett’s (1932) Loftus (2002) (Terr, 1994) Loftus & Palmer (1974a) Loftus & Palmer (1974b) Geiselman et al (1985) Yullie and Cutshall (1986)

45. Reflection Exercise 1.Log into your school email, get the rubric and use the highlighter tool on the rubric for a self assessment and then send it to marshalldy@ismanila.org *make sure your name appears in the document name*marshalldy@ismanila.org 2. In the body of the email: Write a paragraph commenting on your personal performance, and for the group as a whole, highlight what went well, and what could be improved Then write a few well structured paragraphs (Mini SAQ), from memory on the topic of: ‘Discuss the reliability of one cognitive process’ (HW/ Participation grade task)

46. How fast do you think the white SUV was going when it came into contact with the truck? How fast do you think the white SUV was going when it smashed into the truck?

47. How fast do you think the white SUV was going when it came into contact with the truck? How fast do you think the white SUV was going when it smashed into the truck?

48. http://www.psychexchange.co.uk/_hotpotatoes/14022565711253738927.ht mhttp://www.psychexchange.co.uk/_hotpotatoes/14022565711253738927.ht m http://www.psychexchange.co.uk/_hotpotatoes/16794688201244238917.ht mhttp://www.psychexchange.co.uk/_hotpotatoes/16794688201244238917.ht m http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-SBTRLoPuo&feature=related (EWT 13 mins – good vid)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-SBTRLoPuo&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4V6aoYuDcg&feature=channel (part 2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtDt-THaH_o&feature=related (short version) http://www.psychexchange.co.uk/videos/view/20015/ (video)http://www.psychexchange.co.uk/videos/view/20015/