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Y1: Psychology: Cognitive > Key Question > Flashcards

Flashcards in Key Question Deck (19)
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1
Q

What is the key question?

A

How can psychologists’ understanding of memory help patients with dementia?

2
Q

What is dementia?

A

A disease that causes progressive mental deterioration characterised by memory loss.

3
Q

Why is this issue important?

A
  • It causes memory loss and so can lead to things like relatives forgetting your name
  • There are around 50,000 people in the UK with Alzheimer’s
  • Predicted to increase to over 2 million by 2051
  • £26 billion per year - burdens NHS
  • And so need to find ways to stop it
4
Q

Briefly describe how the Multi Store Model can explain Alzheimer’s.

A
  • Impairment in the STM which may lead to information decaying before there is a chance to encode
  • New LTM wouldn’t be formed as a result
  • LTM may experience decay if there is retrieval failure
5
Q

Briefly describe how the Multi Store Model can help people with Alzheimer’s.

A
  • Labeling things when in an unfamiliar environment (e.g. cupboards and what they contain)
  • Saves them the worry of having to rehearse the objects
6
Q

Evaluate a strength of the MSM as a way of understanding Alzheimer’s.

A

P - Research from Clive Wearing’s case study supports
E - He suffers from retrograde amnesia and can’t form new long term memories
E - This supports the existence of separate stores and how it might affect someone with Alzheimer’s

7
Q

Evaluate a weakness of the MSM as a way of understanding Alzheimer’s.

A

P - MSM is too simplistic
E - It reduces memory down to 3 components with little detail on the complex functions and processes of each and doesn’t account for when rehearsal is not needed to form a new LTM
E - Therefore the explanation of memory as a whole is not sufficient enough and so reduces credibility at helping us understand Alzheimer’s

8
Q

Briefly describe how the Working Memory Model can explain Alzheimer’s.

A

Baddeley’s research suggests that…

  • Alzheimer’s impairs the central executive
  • When trying to perform dual tasks there were deficits
  • When performing tasks that required separate stores there was normal functioning
9
Q

Briefly describe how the Working Memory Model can help people with Alzheimer’s.

A
  • Do things one at a time
  • Don’t overload their senses
  • Limit distractions when talking to them (e.g. turning off the TV)
10
Q

Evaluate a strength of the WMM as a way of understanding Alzheimer’s.

A

P - Baddeley conducted dual task experiments on Alzheimer’s patients (verbal/visual - together and apart)
E - The performance of Alzheimer’s didn’t differ from other groups when separate but did when combined
E - The central executive is responsible for the coordination of slave systems so impairment highlights problems

11
Q

Evaluate a weakness of the WMM as a way of understanding Alzheimer’s.

A

P - Low task validity
E - Experiments involve artificial tasks such as recalling a sequence of digits in the right order
E - Therefore this lacks mundane realism of how memory may be impaired from Alzheimer’s patients and so reduces credibility of explaining memory in everyday life

12
Q

Briefly describe how Tulving’s theory can explain Alzheimer’s.

A
  • Alzheimer’s affects episodic memories more than semantic as they are more durable and so are less likely to change
  • More recent episodic memories are also more susceptible to cue retrieval failure than ones from years ago as they have been reinforced many more times
13
Q

Briefly describe how Tulving’s theory can help people with Alzheimer’s.

A
  • Use cues to help them remember (e.g. getting them to listen to music they like, or smells they may recognise)
  • Telling them names of their grandchildren when showing a photo album
14
Q

Evaluate a strength of Tulving’s theory as a way of understanding Alzheimer’s.

A

P - Kenealy’s (1997) research supports
E - Found that ppts recalled more words when in the same mood as when they learned when in a different mood - supporting Tulving’s theory of cues
E - States that cues are important for memory and can help Alzheimer’s patients by keeping them in same environment with same cues

15
Q

Evaluate a weakness of Tulving’s theory as a way of understanding Alzheimer’s.

A

P - A test was carried out to test cognitive impairments
E - Patients are presented with items (e.g. glove, cup, key) They are asked about each other the items and they are then hidden. A few minutes later patients are asked to recall them and are given cues however it doesn’t lead to recall if the memory isn’t encoded in the first place
E - This suggests Tulving’s theory may help an Alzheimer’s patient to recall a LTM but not ones that haven’t been encoded, so may not be as useful as hoped

16
Q

Briefly describe how Reconstructive memory can explain Alzheimer’s.

A

If memories are reconstructed from past events using their current schemas (which have been altered by their dementia) then someone with Alzheimer’s may not make sense.

17
Q

Evaluate a strength of Reconstructive memory as a way of understanding Alzheimer’s.

A

P - Reconstructive memory can be scientifically tested
E - Operationalising memory in the form of a story having features that can be counted each time they are recalled will measure accuracy
E - Therefore reductionism of testing memory is scientific as it allows for things to be measurable leading to easy replication

18
Q

Evaluate a weakness of Reconstructive memory as a way of understanding Alzheimer’s.

A

P - Low validity
E - The theory doesn’t explain why memory is reconstructive due to only describing that this occurs when we revisit a memory that becomes influenced by our schemas
E - And so cannot explain how reconstruction may be affected by the development of Alzheimer’s

19
Q

Are there any other theories that could be more useful to understanding Alzheimer’s?

A

P - There are drugs that can temporarily alleviate symptoms or slow progression
E - There is a loss of nerve cells that use acetylcholine. Falling levels of this neurotransmitter are linked to worsening symptoms
E - Drugs have been created to slow the breakdown of acetylcholine in the brain - contradicts cognitive as it suggests it’s more biological