Memory & Cognition is a core part of A-Level Psychology. Revise the key concepts and common mistakes below, then lock them in with the free games.
Key concepts
EpisodicTime-stamped autobiographical events with context and emotion.
SemanticGeneral knowledge of facts, meanings and concepts.
ProceduralMemory for motor skills — implicit and hard to verbalise.
InterferenceForgetting where similar memories disrupt each other.
Retrieval FailureCue-dependent forgetting when cues at encoding are absent at recall.
Encoding SpecificityTulving 1983 — recall is best when cues match encoding context.
EWTEyewitness testimony — recall of a witnessed event.
Leading QuestionA question whose form suggests a particular answer.
Post-Event DiscussionTalking after an event, which contaminates memory.
Weapon FocusAnxiety narrows attention onto a weapon, away from face.
Cognitive InterviewGeiselman's four-stage technique improving EWT accuracy.
Yerkes-Dodson LawPerformance peaks at moderate arousal — inverted-U.
MSMMulti-Store Model — sensory register, STM, LTM in a linear chain.
WMMWorking Memory Model — STM as multiple active components.
Common mistakes to avoid
Questions where students often pick the tempting wrong answer — make sure you know the right one:
What is the capacity of short-term memory according to Miller?✗ 7 plus or minus 2 seconds. ✓ 7 plus or minus 2 items (chunks).
Which component handles visual and spatial information?✗ The phonological loop. ✓ The visuospatial sketchpad.
Who proposed the Multi-Store Model in 1968?✗ Baddeley & Hitch ✓ Atkinson & Shiffrin
KF's case argues against which MSM assumption?✗ LTM is permanent ✓ STM is unitary
How are phobias MAINTAINED according to Mowrer's two-process model?✗ Through classical conditioning continuing over time. ✓ Through operant conditioning - avoidance reduces anxiety (negative reinforcement).
Practise Memory & Cognition — free games
Test yourself with these quick revision games for this topic:
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