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Memory Practice

A-Level Psychology — Memory Practice

18 MCQ practice problems on memory. Select an answer, submit, and review the explanation. Questions follow A-Level examination style (AQA specification) and cover the multi-store model, working memory model, levels of processing, reconstruction, forgetting theories, eye-witness testimony, and cognitive interviews.

What These Questions Test

These problems test your understanding of models of memory, the factors that affect memory accuracy, and the application of memory research to real-world contexts such as the legal system.

Typical question types:

  • Multi-store model: Identify the three stores and their characteristics (encoding, capacity, duration). Explain how information transfers between stores. Evaluate the model using supporting and contradicting evidence.
  • Working memory model: Identify the four components and their functions. Explain how the central executive coordinates the subsystems. Compare the WMM to the STM in the MSM.
  • Levels of processing: Craik and Lockhart (1972): deep (semantic) processing leads to better recall than shallow (structural) processing. “Levels” is a continuum, not discrete stages. Evaluation: circular reasoning (depth is defined by recall).
  • Reconstructive memory: Bartlett’s “War of the Ghosts”: memory is not a recording but a reconstruction influenced by schemas. Loftus: misleading questions alter memory. Post-event discussion can introduce errors.
  • Forgetting theories: Interference: proactive (old interferes with new) and retroactive (new interferes with old). Retrieval failure: cues are needed to access LTM. Decay: memory fades over time (weak evidence).
  • Eyewitness testimony: Loftus & Palmer: misleading questions change EWM. anxiety: complex effects (Yerkes-Dodson). The cognitive interview: four techniques to enhance recall.
  • Applied memory: The role of memory research in improving identification procedures (cognitive interview, video line-ups, avoiding leading questions).

Approach Strategy

  1. Structure your evaluation. For each model or theory, state what it explains well, what it fails to explain, and the quality of the evidence supporting it.
  2. Use specific research. Name researchers, dates, and key findings. “Loftus and Palmer (1974) found that the verb used in a question (‘smashed’ vs ‘hit’) affected the estimated speed and the memory for broken glass.”
  3. Link theory to application. The exam often asks how memory research can be applied to improve EWM. The cognitive interview is the key application.
  4. Distinguish between models. The MSM stores information in separate stores. The WMM has components that work together. Levels of processing is a different framework entirely (depth of processing, not separate stores).

Intuition

Memory is not a single system — it is a collection of systems working together. The MSM is a useful first approximation, but the WMM shows that short-term memory is more complex than a single box. Levels of processing adds another dimension: it’s not just where you store information, but how deeply you process it in the first place.

Think of memory like a library catalog system. The MSM is like having different rooms for different types of books. The WMM is like the catalog system itself — it organises and retrieves books efficiently. Levels of processing is like how carefully you read the book in the first place — the more deeply you engage with it, the easier it is to find later.

Common Mistakes

  1. Confusing the MSM and WMM stores. The MSM has sensory register, STM, and LTM. The WMM has central executive, phonological loop, visuo-spatial sketchpad, and episodic buffer. They are different models, not just different names for the same things.
  2. Overlooking the role of the central executive. The central executive is the most important component of the WMM but also the least understood. It allocates attention and coordinates the subsystems. Don’t ignore it because it is harder to describe.
  3. Assuming decay is the main cause of forgetting. There is little direct evidence for decay. Interference and retrieval failure have much stronger empirical support. Don’t present decay as the primary explanation.
  4. Confusing proactive and retroactive interference. Proactive: old learning interferes with new (e.g. old phone number interferes with remembering new one). Retroactive: new learning interferes with old (e.g. learning new phone number makes you forget old one). The direction of interference is the key.

Cross-References