AQA AS Psychology Paper 1: Memory 2022

A teacher showed her Year 12 Psychology class a video clip of a girl shopping in a busy high street with her boyfriend. Near the end of the clip, the girl had her handbag stolen by a man in a black jacket. Later, 10 of the students were interviewed about the events in the video clip using a cognitive interview. The remaining 9 students were interviewed using a standard interview. 0 5.1) One technique used in the cognitive interview is that witnesses are asked to 'report everything'. Identify one other technique that could have been used by the teacher in the cognitive interview. Write down the instructions that the teacher might have read out to the students when using this technique. [3 marks] Possible content: • reverse order: 'Please tell me everything you can remember about the robbery, starting from the point the girl was robbed back to the beginning of the video' • change perspective: 'Tell me everything that the boyfriend/another shopper saw when the robbery took place.' • context reinstatement: 'Tell me how you were feeling at the time you watched the video of the robbery.' 0 5.2) Explain how the study might have been improved by using a random sample of students from Year 12. [4 marks] Possible content: • this reduces the likelihood of investigator effects/research bias • this would mean that she is more likely to get a range of students in her sample, not just psychology students • the likelihood of demand characteristics might be reduced, improving internal validity • her sample would be more representative of the student population and allow her to make a wider conclusion about the effectiveness of the cognitive interview. • the teacher would select a random sample using either a hat/lottery/computer method and a list of all the Year 12 students 0 5.3) Calculate the mean accuracy score for the cognitive interview condition. Give your answer to two significant figures. [3 marks] Scores are 12, 13, 11, 8, 11, 14, 11, 13, 15 and 18 Correct workings: 13+13+11+8+11+14+11+13+15+18 = 127 127/10 = 12.7 Answer = 13 0 5.4) Briefly outline one limitation of the cognitive interview. [2 marks] Possible limitations: • requires special training and police forces do not have enough time to invest in training the officers to use it • reference to research support suggesting not all aspects of the cognitive interview are as useful as others, e.g. Milne and Bull (2002) • amount of inaccurate information gathered is also increased, e.g. Köhnken et al., (1999) • not all techniques are appropriate for use with children, e.g. change perspective not possible until children are no longer egocentric. Kai and Neri were discussing a report of an armed robbery in the newspaper. Kai: "I think all the witnesses would have trouble recalling what they had seen as the robbers were really dangerous." Neri: "I'm not so sure. When I had a car accident I was in danger, but I was able to give lots of detail." 06) Discuss what research has shown about the effects of anxiety on eyewitness testimony. Refer to the conversation above in your answer. [12 marks] Possible content: • students might refer to the Yerkes-Dodson law which suggests moderate anxiety is associated with better recall than very high or very low anxiety • in Johnson & Scott (1976) weapon focus experiment more participants correctly identified a person when they were holding a pen (49%) than when they were holding a knife covered in blood (33%) • Loftus and Burns (1982) found participants who saw a violent version of a crime where a boy was shot in the face had impaired recall for events leading up to the incident • however, in a real-life study Yuille and Cutshall (1986) found witnesses who had been most distressed at the time of a shooting gave the most accurate account five months later. Also, Christianson and Hubinette (1993) found victims of genuine bank robberies were more accurate in their recall than bystanders. Possible application: • Kai's comment may be linked to research that shows anxiety reduces accuracy, eg Loftus (1979) • Neri's comment may be linked to research that anxiety improves accuracy, eg Yuille and Cutshall (1986) or Christianson and Hubinette (1993). • the different comments may both be linked to the Yerkes-Dodson curve. Possible discussion points: • the contradictory nature of the research, e.g. the Yerkes-Dodson curve / Deffenbacher's meta-analysis showed inconsistent effects of anxiety • lack of ecological validity in laboratory studies • problems of control might also be relevant, e.g. in Yuille & Cutshall's study those who experienced the highest levels of stress were closer to the event, which might have helped their recall • practical applications of research could also be relevant. • alternative explanations for changes in accuracy e.g. surprise (Pickel, 1998) / neurotic vs stable personalities (Bothwell et al., 1987).