Ch 11 - Human Information Processing, Memory And Learning

Question 1

The 5 Senses

Answer 1

Taste
Touch
Smell
Sight (70%)
Hearing 

All sense can adapt: habituation

Question 2

Information Processing Model

Answer 2

1 - Sensory Threshold - 5 Senses; receptors and sensory store.
Sensory threshold - basis of all perception, depends on intensity of stimulus
Absolute threshold - minimum level at which a receptor will act
JND - Minimum Level we notice a change

2 - Attention Mechanism - if info significant enough, picks up attention and we might then use it

3 - Motor Programmes - Reflexes

4 - Perception - Basis of knowledge and experience

5 - Central Decision Maker - 1 decision at a time, multi tasking is just quickly switching back and forth

Question 3

Two Types of Attention

Answer 3

Selective - 1 piece of information at a time - central decision maker can only make one decision at a time

Divided - Trying to pay attention to a number of different stimuli

• Subconsciously monitoring more than 1 channel
• Peripheral senses to monitor surroundings

Question 4

Cocktail Party Effect

Answer 4

Talking to 1 person, hear name somewhere else across the room, you can then tune into their conversation and actually rewind it in you head.

You are constantly monitoring your surroundings subconsciously

Question 5

Vigilance

Answer 5

State of sustained watchfulness/attention and alertness. Closely related to physiological arousal

Related to our central Nervous system

• Degree of activation of CNS - controlle by circadian rhythm.

Simple tasks are performed better at high levels of arousal.

Harder tasks are performed better at lower levels of arousal

Question 6

Hypo-Vigilance

Answer 6

Linked to micro-sleeps

Causes; boredom, cruise, complacency, monotony, increased temperature, shortly after eating, Low eating, low lighting, constant noise

Affects; Complacency, decreased sensory perception, decreased performance, decreased speed and accuracy, behavioural changes, muscular heaviness, decreases situational awareness

Reduce effects; talk, walk, checks, scan

Proactive outlook on sleep

Question 7

Hyper vigilance

Answer 7

Causes; stressors, high workloads

Effects; Decreased situational awareness, decreased ability

Hypoxia and Hypervigilance can balance each other out / cancel each other out

Question 8

Memory

Answer 8

3 Types of Memory; Sensory store, short term/working memory, long term

Question 9

Sensory Store

Answer 9

Receiving information from 5 senses, each sense has its own. Makes a short story copy and can therefore rewind it if we need to.
Ecoic - Audible short term memory, 2-8s store (radio call ATC)

Iconic - Visual short term memory (0.5-1s store)

If we don’t need the info, we disregard it (in one ear out of the other)

Question 10

Short Term / Working Memory

Answer 10

<1%/1% sensory info received is transferred to working memory

Between 15-30 seconds

Limited to 7 +/- 2 pieces at a time (5-9)
- Chunking - more info, longer

Distractions effect STM, very sensitive to interruptions

Question 11

Long Term Memory

Answer 11

Permanent and unlimited store

You do not lose info from Memory - just access

3 types; Implicit, Somantic, Episodic/Explicit

Question 12

Episodic / Explicit

Answer 12

Experience and life events stored here

Unreliable and highly influenced, changeable

Alzheimer’s and amnesia effect this (only this)

Question 13

Implicit / Procedural / Motor Memory

Answer 13

Stored actions (sitting/standing) - procedures and motor programmes

Subconscious store, more accurate than episodic explicit

Question 14

Somantic Memory

Answer 14

Another type of explicit

Where we store knowledge (languages)

More reliable and accurate than episodic

Easier to retrieve it (lasts longer)

Question 15

Downsides of LTM

Answer 15

Loss of access unless you rehearse or repeat it regularly

To remember things sometimes you need triggers

• Effected by experiences
• Suggestion
• Desires
• Expectations

Question 16

How to Remember

Answer 16

Rhymes

Mnemonic

Chunking

Overlearning - Practice a lot

Association - Context, link method

Question 17

Learning

Answer 17

Process of changing behaviour and gaining knowledge and or skills through study, experience or being taught

Question 18

4 Key ways of Learning

Answer 18

Classic conditioning - pavlovs dog - traininged or learnt to use a different stimulus but same outcome

Operant Conditioning - Through positive and negative feedback, learn from mistakes

Insight Learning (cognitive) - cognitive processes, eureka moment, past knowledge and experience to solve problems

Imitational/ Observational / Model Learning - monkey see monkey do, most common form of training

Question 19

Factors that effect learning ability

Answer 19

Interruptions 
Motivation
Fatigue/sleep
Sickness
Discomfort
Age (harder to learn when older - new studies contradict that)
Stressed / Anxiety
Teacher / Instructor 
Communication 

Quality of learning is promoted by feedback, when you know you are doing well you are more likeyl to do well

Question 20

Mental / Cognitive Schemas

Answer 20

File into a cabinet - each cabinet = scheme

More we know about the scheme, easier it becomes to remember

Schemas are units of information that are categorised

Only downsides have to be thinking of correct schema when receiving new information otherwise it will be lost

Question 21

Learning a new skill

Answer 21

Skills are an acquired expertise at a task, performance with increased accuracy and reduced errors

• Motor skills and motor programmes are stored in procedural memory

Question 22

Anderson’s Model (acquiring new skill)

Answer 22

1. Cognitive - Learning theoretical knowledge behind skills
2. Associative - Practice - practical side (repetition)
3. Autonomous (automatic) - Complete task automatically

Effected by; concentration, motivation, stress, lack of practice - you can slip from autonomous to associative

Non declarative knowledge, cant explain how it is performed and cant declare how you are doing it. So natural you forget how