Module 6: Learning and Memory
Imagine you are a psychologist and you have been brought to the stand to serve as an expert witness in court. The defense is arguing that James Healy is innocent, and did not rob Big Bucks Bank of America; however, the prosecution is arguing that Mr. Healy is guilty, and did in fact rob Big Bucks Bank of America. At this point in the case, the jury is incredibly confused because they have heard very different accounts of the robbery from two witnesses.
Take a moment to read the testimony from each witness.
Witness 1: Sadie Clemmons
Called to the stand by the Prosecution
Testimony of Sadie Clemmons:
I remember walking into the bank, and thinking that it was quite crowded. This is why I decided to go to the water fountain before getting in line. As I headed to the water fountain, I caught a glimpse of a man who looked a little out of place. He was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, with the hood on. He also kept looking around. Back and forth, back and forth, like he was waiting for something. I could not see his face until the hood fell back slightly, revealing a Caucasian man in his early twenties, who I believe was about 5 feet, 10 inches tall. His face was skinny, and his expression was panicked looking. I remember getting a strange intuition as I passed by him. Between this encounter, and the long lines, I decided to leave the bank instead of withdrawing my money. I didn’t actually see the robbery when it happened, but as I look at Mr. Healy sitting in front of me today, I am confident the man I saw at the bank was him.
Witness 2: Tyrone Johnson
Called to the stand by the Defense
Testimony of Tyrone Johnson:
When I walked into the bank on the day of the robbery, I remember thinking that there must be a sporting event about to happen, because there were so many people wearing sweatshirts supporting the local baseball team. A lot of people were wearing black or red sweatshirts because those are the team’s colors. As I got ready to ask the bank teller to assist me in depositing money into my account, I got bumped out of the way by a 6 foot tall, skinny man in a sweatshirt. I caught a glimpse of his face, and he looked about thirty-five. The next thing I knew, everyone around me was down on the ground and being told to stay still or they would be in danger. I have to admit, it was complete chaos, and the robber could have been any number of those fans in sweatshirts.
Now that you have read the testimonies, use your knowledge about learning and memory to provide your own expert testimony that clarifies possible reasons why the two witnesses recalled different facts about the robbery. You will prepare a script of your analysis, and then create an audio recording that reflects what you would say on the witness stand. Since you have not been given any details about the witnesses, be creative and identify possible learning and memory strengths or weaknesses that may impact their ability to recall information.
In your analysis, you should use at least ten of the following terms:
- Acquisition
- Amnesia
- Automatic encoding
- Cognition
- Effortful encoding
- Emotional intelligence
- Encoding
- Insight
- Interference
- Long-term memory
- Multiple intelligences
- Negative reinforcement
- Positive reinforcement
- Punishment
- Reinforcer
- Retrieval
- Short-term memory
- Storage
Once you have completed the written transcript for your expert witness account on learning and memory, record the analysis using recording software. When you are recording the audio file, be sure to speak slowly and clearly. Use the audio recording information found in the Developmental Module to help you create the expert witness account.
Before you begin, access the Robbery Witnesses Checklist to make sure that you include all of the items required for full credit. You may need to use resources outside of this course to complete this assignment. If so, please submit a Works Cited document.
Reflection
Take a moment to reflect on the following questions, then respond to them in a brief four-to-five sentence paragraph.
- Describe a time when you remembered facts or events differently from someone else. Based on what you know about learning and memory, why do you think this happened?
- What type of learning most motivates you to continue doing something? Explain.
Once you have completed your script, audio recording, and reflection, please submit your work to the dropbox.
Once you have completed this module, please complete the module test.