PYB2: Social Psychology: Social Influence Revision Material

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PYB2 Social Psychology Social Influence

• Revision Material

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Cognition The Law

• Face recognition - Processes involved in
  recognition of faces, explanations of face
  recognition including feature analysis versus
  holistic forms.
• Eye-witness testimony - Factors affecting the
  reliability of eye-witness accounts and
  eye-witness identification.
• Amnesia - Explanations of amnesic syndromes
  including head trauma, ECT, surgery, alcohol,
  age-related dementia. Retrograde and anterograde
  amnesia.
• Recovered and false memories - Controversy
  surrounding the recovery of repressed memories.
  Evidence relating to repression and the
  implanting of false memories. Ethical and
  theoretical implications of the false memory
  debate.

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Face Recognition
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Study Bahrick (1984)

• Aim To investigate face recognition
• Method participants looked at 20 faces for 5
  seconds each then were tested to see which ones
  they recognised from 10 sets of 10 photos (2 of
  the original set shown, 8 distractor photos)
• Results participants got 29 correct. (In a
  more realistic version using old classmates got
  38 correct)

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Face Recognition Explanation 1 Feature
Analysis

• bottom up theory
• Argues analysis of individual features is used in
  face recognition

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Feature analysis supporting evidence

• Ellis et al (1979) found descriptions of
  unfamiliar faces are more likely to focus on
  external features (e.g. hair). More likely to use
  internal features (e.g. eyes) with familiar
  faces.
• Shepherd, Davies Ellis (1981) participants
  were shown pictures of faces which they then had
  to describe from memory. Features used most often
  were hair, eyes, nose, mouth, eyebrows, chin,
  forehead.

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Face Recognition Explanation 2 Holistic Form

• top down theory
• We use the whole face in face recognition,
  including features, spacing configuration of
  features semantic information raised by the
  face.
• We store the whole face as a template.

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Holistic Form Bruce Youngs model (1986)
recognition of familiar face

• Face is structurally encoded (mental description)
• FRUs are raised (Facial Recognition Units
  contain structural (semantic physical)
  information about the face)
• Person Identity Node (releases information about
  the person occupation, interests, liked or
  disliked.
• Name generation (accessed last and stored
  separately)

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Holistic form supporting evidence (1)

• Haig (1984) participants took longer to
  recognise faces when the spacing between features
  or the configuration of features has been
  changed.
• Yin (1969) participants took longer to
  recognise faces which were inverted (turned
  upside down).

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Holistic form supporting evidence (2)

• Young Hay (1986)
• Aim to investigate how faces are processed
• Procedure cut photos of famous people in half
  and joined them together to make a new face.
  Measured time and accuracy of naming top and
  bottom halfs.
• Findings participants took longer to recognise
  the two people in the new composite face as it
  produced a new holistic face
• Conclusion Face recognition depends on the
  whole face

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Holistic form supporting evidence (3)

• Young, Hay Ellis (1985)
• Aim to test the holistic model
• Procedure participants kept a diary and
  recorded problems encountered in face
  recognition.
• Findings 1008 incidents were recorded there
  were no incidents where participants were able to
  name the person without knowing any other
  information about them. 190 cases where knew info
  but not name, 233 cases where felt familiarity
  but no personal information recalled.
• Conclusion supports sequential nature of
  holistic model

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Holistic form supporting evidence (4)

• Clinical studies of people with Prosopagnosia
  Capgras syndrome support holistic model. They
  show how face recognition is about more than
  individual features, it involves emotional and
  cognitive processes.
• Prosopagnosia disorder where patients have lost
  ability to recognise human faces, even their own
  in extreme cases. They feel the emotion of
  recognition but do not get conscious cognitive
  recognition that they need to know who it is.
  McNeil Warrington (1991) reported the case of a
  farmer with prosopagnosia who could however
  identify each of his 36 sheep without hesitation.
• Capgras syndrome is a disorder where patients
  believe that doubles have replaced people they
  know. Is different to Prosopagnosia as these
  patients experience conscious cognitive
  recognition but not the emotion of recognition
  that allows us to feel that we really know the
  person. Blount (1986) refers to the case of a man
  who was so sure that his father had been abducted
  and replaced by a humanoid robot that he slit his
  fathers throat to look for the wires which made
  him work.

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Exam question Face Recognition - (June 2001) a
Distinguish between holistic and feature-based
models of face recognition (3)

• June 2001 (A01 2, A02 1)
• (A01) 1 mark each for contrasting feature of
  each model. Most likely difference that
  holistic model proposes recognition of face as a
  whole while feature theory says faces are
  analysed by individual features. Marks can be
  awarded for other differences e.g. importance of
  contextual information in holistic model which
  isnt accounted for in feature theory.
• (A02) for application as in reference to the
  process of face recognition.

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Exam question face recognition - (Jan 2002) a
Apart from the appearance of facial features,
suggest 2 other types of visual information from
the face which are important in recognition (2)

• Jan 2002 (A01 1, A02 0)
• 1 mark each for any two from position/spacing of
  features (1), configuration of features (1),
  expression (1), skin colour (1). Can accept
  outline of face (1)

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Exam question face recognition - (June 2005) b
- In an experiment it was found that it took
longer to recognise the faces of celebrities that
were shown inverted than faces shown the right
way up. Does this finding support the feature
analysis or the holistic forms explanation for
face recognition? Justify your answer. (3)

• June 2005 - AO1 0, AO2 3
• Holistic forms (1) plus up to two marks for
  because the image does not match the template
  (1), because the orientation/configuration of the
  face made identification slower (1), so that the
  participants must have used not only features in
  recognition/if participants had relied on
  features only there would have been no difference
  (1) Accept alternative wording.

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Eye-witness Testimony (EWT)
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Eye-witness testimony why is it important?

• Devlin Committee (1976)
• Analysed all identity parades in England and
  Wales in 1973
• Of over 2000 ID parades, 45 led to
  identification of suspect, 82 of those
  identified were convicted.
• In 350 cases eye-witness testimony was only
  evidence yet 74 were convicted
• Committee recommended that juries should not
  convict on the basis of eye-witness testimony
  alone.

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Eye-witness testimony which factors explain why
it is unreliable?

• Reconstructive nature of memory (schemas
  stereotypes)
• Language/ leading questions
• Context
• Emotional factors/stress
• Age
• Stereotyping

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(1) Reconstructive nature of memory

• Allport Postman 1947 When an actual
  perceptual fact is in conflict with expectations,
  expectation may prove a stronger determinant of
  perception and memory than the situation itself.
  In other words, we see what we expect to see and
  this forms the basis of our memory.
• When memories are adjusted to conform to our
  expectations, beliefs stereotypes called
  confabulation
• We use schemas (mental representations of
  situations, events etc) to organise our memories.

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(1) Reconstructive nature of memory Study
Bartlett (1932) - War of the Ghosts

• Participants listened to the story (a North
  American folk tale), then told another, and so
  on.
• On retelling, details were changed to become more
  familiar.
• Memory was shaped by British culture, the more
  often it was recounted, the more British it
  became (e.g. canoe became boat)

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(2) Language/leading questions

• Loftus et al (1970s) researched how a witnesss
  memory for events could be distorted at interview
  found that
• Leading questions can influence recall
• Non-existent items can be inserted into memory
• Memories can be transformed by deleting and
  replacing information

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(2) Language/leading questionsStudy Loftus
(1974)

• Aim to investigate the effect of leading
  questions on eye-witness testimony
• Method participants were shown a clip of a car
  accident and were asked different questions
  involving leading language (e.g. how fast was the
  car going when it hit or smashed the object).
  They were then asked if they saw any broken
  glass.
• Results Participants estimated 34mph for hit
  and 40.8mph for smashed. 14 of the hit
  participants reported seeing broken glass,
  compared to 32 of the smashed condition.
• Conclusion language/ leading questions can
  affect peoples memories for events.

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(2) Language/leading questionsStudy Loftus
(1975)

• Aim to investigate the effect of leading
  questions on eye-witness testimony
• Method participants were shown a clip of a car
  accident and were asked questions involving false
  information (e.g. referred to a barn which wasnt
  there)
• Results 17 of the misled group reported seeing
  a barn, less than 3 of the control group did.
• Conclusion language/ leading questions can
  affect peoples memories for events

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(2) Language/leading questions

• Loftus work is very important as
• It shows how fragile eyewitness testimony is
  can easily be distorted by questions after memory
  was formed.
• Provided evidence that juries should be more
  careful before accepting the validity of what eye
  witnesses say
• Useful for police showed that they need to be
  very careful when questioning eyewitnesses in
  order to prevent memories from being distorted by
  their questions.

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(3) Context

• Lab research indicates recall is better if person
  is in the same context as when the information
  was encoded.
• Study Malpass Devine
• Method participants were shown an act of
  vandalism then were interviewed 5 months later.
  One group were reminded of date, room immediate
  reactions control group were given no info.
• Results Those given contextual info remembered
  significantly more correct info.

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(4) Emotional factors/stress

• Contradictory evidence
• Clifford Scott (1978) - people who saw a film
  of a violent attack remembered less than group
  who watched a less violent attack.
• Yuille Cutshall (1986) found witnesses of
  real life incident had very accurate recall 5
  months later. 2 misleading questions had no
  effect.

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(4) Emotional factors/stressStudy Loftus (1979)

• Loftus (1979) weapon focus when a witnesss
  attention is drawn to the weapon in a crime scene
  and so very few other details are recalled.
• Method participants were asked to wait in a room
  outside a laboratory for a few minutes. While
  there they were waiting they either
• Overheard a low-key discussion about equipment
  failure, followed by a man coming out holding a
  pen with grease on his hands, or
• Overheard a heated argument and sounds of
  breaking glass and crashing chairs, followed by a
  man coming out holding a paper-knife covered with
  blood.
• Participants were then shown 50 photos and asked
  to identify the man who had left the laboratory.
• Findings 49 participants who saw the man with
  the pen identified him correctly, 33
  participants who saw the man with the knife
  identified him correctly.
• Conclusion the participants concentrated on the
  weapon which distracted their attention from the
  man. Loftus argued that anxiety caused by the
  weapon narrowed their focus of attention which
  means that their recall for peripheral details is
  not very accurate.

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(5) Age

• Memory function best between 20-65 years of age
  therefore children could be less reliable
  witnesses.
• Maria et al (1979) studied memory for events
  with 4 groups of young people. Found recall
  increased slightly with age but no significant
  difference in accuracy.
• Fivush Shukat (1995) claimed very young
  children are able to give very accurate accounts
  of personal experiences.

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(6) Stereotyping

• Studies show constructive memory is a refection
  of our individual social beliefs.
• Errors are more likely when the suspects race is
  different to the witness (Baddeley 1982)
• Gender stereotyping also influences memory
  participants in a study assumed a bag snatcher
  was male when they were female (Gruneberg 1992)

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(6) Stereotyping Study Allport Postman (1947)

• Aim To investigate effects of stereotyping on
  memory.
• Method Participants white Americans divided
  into groups of 7. One participant from each group
  shown picture argument on a subway train,
  described it to next participant and so on.
• Results Over 50 of those receiving final
  description reported that the black man was
  holding the razor. Some reported that he was
  holding it in a threatening manner.
• Conclusions We see what want to see based on our
  existing knowledge, beliefs expectations.

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Eye-witness testimony how can we improve its
reliability?

• The Cognitive Interview (Fisher Geiselman 1992)
• Hypnosis
• Police Reconstructions

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(1) The Cognitive Interview (Fisher Geiselman
1992)

• The Cognitive Interview is based on 4 general
  retrieval mnemonics ( memory aids)
• Mentally reinstate environmental personal
  context of crime. (inc. sights, sounds, smells,
  feelings, emotions)
• Encourage reporting of every detail, however
  trivial it seems.
• Recount the incident in a different order.
• Report from different perspectives (e.g. from
  view of other bystanders or even the criminal)

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The Cognitive Interview Study Geiselman et al
1995)

• Aim to compare answers given in cognitive
  interview with those given in standard police
  interview hypnosis
• Method Participants watched short film about a
  violent crime. 2 days later divided into 3 groups
  and interviewed by a police officer.
• Result Those interviewed in standard police
  interview made average of 29.4 correct
  statements, 41.1 correct if used cognitive
  interview 38 correct if used hypnosis.
• Conclusion supports the cognitive interview as a
  way of obtaining more accurate eye-witness
  testimony

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(2) Hypnosis

• Hypnosis helps witnesses to relax and, in theory,
  allows the hypnotist to reconstruct the details
  in the mind of the witness.
• Supporting evidence 1977 a bus driver whose bus
  containing 26 children had been hijacked, was
  successfully hypnotised to recall all but one
  digit on the hijackers van, the 3 suspects were
  all tracked down.
• Evidence against (Orme et al 1984) analysed
  results of large number of studies in eye-witness
  testimony hypnosis found no evidence that
  hypnosis reliably aided recall. In fact can lead
  to more confabulation and memory for false
  details.

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(3) Police Reconstructions

• Often used for crimes such as murder, robbery and
  missing persons.
• Aim to obtain witnesses who have not yet come
  forward to jog the memory of other witnesses
  (restating context)
• Based on idea of cue-dependent recall,
  participants wear similar clothes, reconstruction
  takes place at same place at similar time of day.
• Often lead to useful information being
  remembered, but can also lead to confabulation
  (adding false details to the memory of the event.)

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Exam question (Jan 2005) c Pauline and Selina
both witnessed a serious accident in which a
motorist knocked down a pedestrian. A few days
later they were each interviewed by different
police officers. One officer asked Pauline, Did
you see the mobile phone the driver was using?
The other officer showed Selina a photograph of
the accident scene and asked her to describe in
detail what she had seen. He also asked what she
was doing before, during and after the accident.
Briefly explain two factors affecting eye-witness
testimony in the example above. (4)

• 1 mark each for applying a relevant factor to the
  scenario, plus 1 mark each explaining its effect.
  Likely answers include the following four
  factors
• (i) The officer questioning Pauline uses a
  leading question (1) this is likely to distort
  her recall of the accident/implant a false
  memory/reduce her reliability as an eyewitness
  (1)
• (ii) The officer questioning Selina uses
  questions as in a cognitive interview (1) this is
  likely to increase the accuracy of her
  recall/increase her reliability as an eyewitness
  (1)
• (iii) The officer questioning Selina enables her
  to restore the context (1) this is likely to
  increase the accuracy of her recall/increase her
  reliability as an eyewitness (1)
• (iv) The accident was serious and probably
  emotionally upsetting for the witnesses (1) this
  might increase or decrease reliability of the
  witnesses (1).

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Exam question (Jan 2007) - Jill witnessed a
stabbing on her way home from work. An hour
later, at the police station, she was asked
whether the man who committed the crime had a
moustache. She was not sure. Later, when she
walked home past the crime scene, she suddenly
remembered more about the attackers appearance.
Identify two psychological factors which might
have influenced Jills memory of the incident.
Refer to the description above in your answer. (4
marks)

• 1 mark each (up to 2) for identifying relevant
  factors plus 1 mark each for appropriate link to
  description.
• Likely factors emotion/stress weapon focus
  leading question/interview style context.

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Amnesia

• Clive Wearing has one of the worst cases of
  amnesia in the world. A renowned conductor living
  in London, he was at the peak of his profession
  when he contracted the herpes simplex (cold sore)
  virus in 1985.
• Very rarely this virus can cross the blood-brain
  barrier and cause encephalitis or inflammation of
  the brain. The virus destroyed the hippocampus
  (the area of the brain crucial for memory and
  learning) leaving him with dense amnesia.
• Clive is now 67 years old and living in a brain
  injury unit where he has constant supervision.

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Explanations for amnesia
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Types of amnesia

• Anterograde normal memory for events up to the
  event, severely impaired memory after the
  incident often no recovery. E.g. case of H.M.
  had brain surgery for epilepsy but was left
  unable to transfer any new information to the
  LTM.
• Retrograde loss of memory for events before the
  incident which caused the amnesia. Initially
  after regain consciousness after head trauma can
  have impairment of memory going back months or
  years. This is usually restored but the few
  seconds/ minutes beofre the incident often
  permanently lost.

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(1) Head trauma

• Severe blow to the head often leads to a period
  of unconsciousness. Afterwards may feel confusion
  suffer post-traumatic amnesia may have
  difficulty recognising people objects. Usually
  temporary confused state but individual likely to
  have no memory of accident or events prior to
  accident.

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Head traumastudy Yarnell Lynch 1970

• Aim to investigate effect of head trauma on
  memory in American football players.
• Method American football players who had been
  concussed during the game were asked about the
  match immediately after their accident 3-20
  mins later.
• Results Showed accurate knowledge about the
  game when asked immediately (info still in STM),
  but unable to answer accurately when asked 3 20
  mins later.
• Conclusion Memory traces were unable to be
  consolidated in the LTM due to the Head Trauma,
  so the memories were lost.
• N.B. use this for 5 mark outline study on
  amnesia question.

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(2) ECT Electro-convulsive therapy

• ECT causes similar memory impairment to trauma
  patients. ECT treatment for depression
  electrodes pass current through the brain leading
  to a seizure brief loss of consciousness.
  Afterwards, leads to a headache confusion
  inability to recall events immediately prior to
  ECT caused to disruption to consolidation of
  memory traces.
• Study Squire Cohen (1982) analysed memory
  problems of ECT patients. Asked to identify TV
  programmes between 1957-1972, found recent
  memories most affected.

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(3) Surgery

• Study H.M case study where tissue removed from
  both sides of the brain.
• Scoville Miller (1957) found 8 other patients
  with similar memory problems to H.M.
• Rare nowadays because mental disorders are rarely
  treated by surgery surgery techniques are less
  invasive.
• Surgery now usually done on one side of the brain
  only.

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(4) Alcohol/ Korsakoffs syndrome

• Korsakoffs syndrome leads to severe anterograde
  amnesia means unable to form new memories but
  can remember some old ones.
• Usually caused by thiamine (vitamin B1)
  deficiency through alcoholism.
• Leads to impairment of movement, emotional
  cognitive functioning amnesia.
• Study Bloom Lazerson (1988) tested cognitive
  deficits with cards of geometric shapes
  patients were unable to learn new strategies for
  solving cognitive problems.

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(5) Age/ Alzheimers

• Age
• Gradual decrease in memory function. Age affects
  working memory, visual-spatial memory, LTM
  prospective memory. (Baddeley 1994)
• Study Baddeley et al (1994) tested people
  aged 16-80 on verbal visual recognition tasks.
  Saw a gradual decline in performance age 16-31
  75 correct, 80 50 correct.
• (b) Alzheimers
• Brain degeneration. Most common symptoms
  confusion memory impairment. Biggest problems
  LTM for events (recent events are especially hard
  to recall), poor semantic memory poor STM.
  There is no effective treatment.

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Exam question (Jan 2006) - Tracey and Matt are
young members of a support group for amnesia
sufferers. Tracey has anterograde amnesia and
Matt has retrograde amnesia. Outline the memory
problems likely to be experienced by (i) Tracey
(ii) Matt.Explain one likely cause of each type
of amnesia.

• Tracey will be unable to store new
  information/remember events which occurred after
  her operation/disorder (A01 1). Cause brain
  surgery/disease/alcohol (A02 1), plus
  elaboration, eg of damage to hippocampus, herpes
  simplex, meningitis, identification/detail of
  Korsakoffs syndrome or reference to relevant
  case study (A01 1).
• Matt will be unable to remember events
  before/leading up to and during the event/injury/
  treatment (A01 1). Cause head trauma/concussion/E
  CT (A02 1) possibly because of failure of
  consolidation (A01 1).

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Exam question (Jan 2007) - Describe and discuss
at least two explanations for amnesia. (10 marks)

• AO1 Up to 5 marks. 1 mark each for identifying
  explanations/causes, plus up to 1 mark each for
  accurate elaboration. 1 mark for description of
  relevant study.
• Likely causes Likely elaboration
• (Accidental) head trauma reference to brain
  damage/concussion
• Brain surgery reference to hippocampus
• Disease reference to herpes simplex
• ECT reference to treatment for depression
• Chronic alcoholism/alcohol abuse reference to
  Korsakoffs
• Dementia reference to Alzheimers
• AO2 Up to 5 marks for discussion which might
  include
• Analysis of causation of amnesia syndromes, eg
  lack of vitamin B in diet of alcoholics.
• Explanations of anterograde, retrograde and pure
  amnesia, appropriately linked to causes (1 mark
  each).
• Evaluation of explanations by stating the
  implications of (briefly outlined) studies.
• Application of explanations to examples e.g. H.M.
  and /or relevant studies such as case studies of
  H.M. and Clive Wearing, and experimental studies
  such as Yarnell Lynch (1970) (concussion),
  Squire Cohen (1982)(ECT), Bloom Lazerson
  (1988)(Korsakoffs).

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Recovered and False Memories
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Recovered and False Memories2 sides to the
debate

• Evidence that memories can be repressed and later
  recovered. Is it possible for people to have
  experienced traumatic events, for which they have
  no conscious recollection for years, then recall
  them through therapy?
• Evidence that false memories can be implanted.
  Can a person have a false memory implanted which
  becomes as strong as a real memory?
• N.B. 10 mark debate questions very popular on
  this topic make sure you describe discuss
  BOTH sides of the debate, as well as refer to
  ethical, theoretical and legal implications of
  the issue.

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(1) Repression

• Repression is a Freudian defence mechanism
• Memories are kept in the unconscious if they are
  too traumatic or emotionally upsetting to be in
  our conscious thought.
• They can affect our behaviour in later life.
• Freud believed many of his female patients who
  has psychoanalysis were suffering neuroses due to
  repression of childhood sexual encounters.
• A Recovered memory is the emergence of an
  apparent recollection from childhood of which we
  had no previous knowledge. Often linked to
  memories of child sexual abuse.

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(1) Evidence for Repression

• Levinger Clark (1961)
• Aim to investigate repression.
• Method participants learnt associated word list
  with negative neutral words.
• Results participants took longer to remember
  word associated with negative terms
• Conclusion supports idea that negative thoughts
  are buried in the unconscious

• Williams (1994)
• Aim to investigate repression
• Method - Case study of 129 women who had been
  abused between ages 10mnths to 12 years old.
  Interviewed 17 years later at ages 18-31.
• Results - 31 failed to report their abuse
  although it was known by medical authorities.
• Conclusion the women had repressed their
  traumatic memories.
• Evaluation may have been other reasons for
  failure to report.

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(2) False memory

• A False memory is the memory of an event which
  didnt happen, but which is believed to have
  happened by the person. This typically involves
  sexual abuse.
• False Memory Syndrome when this memory takes
  over the life of the individual and has an affect
  on the other areas of their life.

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(2) False memory - evidence

• Theory is based on the reconstructive nature of
  memory
• Evidence Jean Piaget had an early memory of a
  kidnap attempt on him, discovered age 15 his
  nurse had made it up.

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(2) False memory - evidence

• Loftus Ketcham (1994) - Lost in the shopping
  mall
• Aim to investigate whether false memories can
  be implanted
• Method small sample of 5 people made to believe
  they had been lost in a shopping mall when young,
  with help of parents family members.
• Results Participants memories were uncertain
  at first, but became stronger.
• Conclusion It is possible to implant false
  memories
• Evaluation small sample, ethical issues
  (deception, lack of informed consent), cant
  generalise from this to cases of abuse.

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Recovered and False Memoriesethical legal
implications of the debate

• Ethical Implications (p38)
• Accusations made against family members
• ?
• Legal proceedings retractions
• ?
• Self-help pressure groups
• British False Memory Society (BFMS)
• Features of accusations
• Consequences of accusations

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Recovered and False Memoriestheoretical
implications of the debate

• Frankland Cohen (1999) proposed a set of draft
  guidelines
• Stress that there is no doubt that child sexual
  abuse does exist and that some cases of recovered
  memory are recollections of events that have
  really happened.
• State that psychologists should avoid actively
  seeking for memories of abuse and be alert to the
  dangers of suggestion.
• State that memories may be literally/historically
  true or false, or may be partly true,
  thematically true, or metaphorically true, or may
  derive from fantasy or dream material.

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Exam question (Jan 2007) - Outline what is meant
by a false memory. Explain why false memories
occur. (4 marks)

• 2 marks for definition - any 2 from the
  experience of recalling events which actually did
  not happen but are believed to be true.
• Plus 2 marks for explanation, such as because
  memory is not a complete and accurate record of
  events/reconstructive is influenced by effort
  after meaning/stereotypes/expectations/schemas
  because some people are motivated/encouraged to
  recall such events memories can be implanted
  confabulation might occur appropriate example
  which aids explanation and may be a study, eg
  falsely recalling abuse, Piagets nurses story,
  Loftus Ketcham mall study.

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Exam question (June 2005) Describe and discuss
the ethical and theoretical implications of the
false memory debate. (10 marks)

• AO1 5 marks. 1 mark each for identifying (plus 1
  each for elaborative detail) ethical and
  theoretical implications
• Ethical risk of false accusations (eg of child
  abuse) risk that genuine victim will not
  bebelieved alleged bias/irresponsibility of some
  therapists recovering false (or even true)
  memories might make things worse for the supposed
  victim) reference to ethical guidelinesfor
  therapists attempts to resolve the debate by
  empirical studies risk being unethical upsetting,
  over-intrusive.
• Theoretical concepts of implanted memories and
  recovered repressed memories difficulty of
  verification of events long past likelihood that
  possible witnesses will not provide objective
  evidence difficulty in finding/researching
  empirical evidence for implanting and repression.
• AO2 5 marks for
• Analysis of issues including why they arise, eg
  the desire of troubled individuals for
  explanations, the need for therapists to provide
  them, analysis of consequences including family
  breakdown, analysis of how false memories might
  be implanted or reconstructed.
• The use of evidence to evaluate ethical
  implications.
• The use of evidence to evaluate explanations of
  factors. Relevant studies include Williams
  (1994), Loftus Ketcham (1994), Loftus Palmer
  (1974) and the Piaget abduction anecdote.
• Analysis of the implications of studies (eg
  Loftus Ketcham show that implanting false
  memories is quite easy).
• Evaluation of studies (eg in the Williams study,
  some forgetting might have resulted from the
  victims being so young that recall of a range of
  events was likely to be poor).

60
Exam question (June 2004) - Discuss whether or
not such recovered memories are likely to be
false. Refer to empirical evidence. (10 marks)

• AO1 One mark each for identifying different
  explanations (implanted memories, repressed
  memories), plus 1 mark each for factual
  elaboration, which could include detail of
  studies (1 mark each). Relevant studies
  include Williams (1994), Loftus Ketcham
  (1994). Accept other evidence such as Loftus
  Palmer (1974) and the Piaget abduction anecdote.
• AO2 Six marks for .
• The use of evidence to support the effect of
  factors (eg the shopping mall study to support
  the false memory explanation).
• Reasoned application of the two explanations
  to an example
• Evaluation of the two explanations, eg in terms
  of how well-supported by evidence.
• Evaluation of the methodology of studies,
  eg Williams study flawed because
  participants may refuse to report abuse even if
  they remember it.