Chapter 7: Semantic memory and stored knowledge Flashcards
semantic memory
knowledge, facts, stores our basic information
retrieval of episodic vs semantic memory
Retrieval of episodic memory is normally conscious whereas retrieval of semantic has no conscious effort; episodic= self knowing, semantic= knowing awareness
true or false: brain damage affects semantic memory more than episodic
false
retrograde amnesia
Forgetting events prior to amnesia
semantic dementia
a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by gradual deterioration of semantic memory
Collins and Quillian’s
first systematic model of semantic memory, hierarchical model
problems with collins and Quillians model
Problems with the model is its not as flexible, its oversimplified that a concept of semantic memory is representative of a single node, and it implies that each concept has a single fixed representation which isn’t true
typicality effect
he finding that the time taken to decide a category member belongs to a category is less for typical than atypical members
Two reasons why there are individual differences in deciding which items belong to a given category
Ambiguity- individuals may use different criteria for categorization
Vagueness- individuals may use different cut-offs to separate members from nonmembers
collins and loftus
assumed semantic memory is organized on the basis of semantic relatedness or semantic distance, spreading activation model. activation of any given concept causes activation to spread to other related concepts
categorization at superordinate level vs basic level vs subordinate
Categorization at superordinate level is fastest, less cognitive processing, categorization at the basic level is often preferred because it combines informativeness and distinctiveness, categorization at the subordinate level is often preferred to categorization at the basic level by those possessing relevant expertise
Concept representations of semantic memory have the following characteristics:
They are abstract in nature and are thus detached from input (sensory) and output (motor) processes
They are stable in that any given individual uses the same representation of a concept on different occasions
Different people generally have fairly similar representations of any given concept
Situated simulation theory
concept processing is influenced by the context or setting
emotional stimuli
Emotionally positive stimuli automatically elicits approach tendencies and emotionally negative stimuli elicits avoidance tendencies
hub and spoke model
consists of several modality-specific brain areas in which sensory and motor processing occur
meta-analysis
a form of statistical analysis based on combining the findings from numerous studies on a given research topic
category specific deficits
disorders caused by brain damage in which semantic memory is disrupted for certain semantic categories
transcranial magnetic stimulation
a technique in which magnetic pulses briefly disrupt the functioning of a given brain area; administration of several pulses in rapid succession is known as repetitive transcranial stimulation (rTMS)
scripts
a type of schema relating to the typical sequences of events in various common situations (i.e having a meal in a restaurant)
frame
a type of schema in which information about objects and their properties is stored
Two major types of information in semantic memory:
Abstract concepts generally correspond to individual words
Broader more flexible organizational structures based on schemas and scripts
semantic dimentia
severe problems in accessing the meaning of words and objects but good executive functioning in the early stages of deterioration
why do schemas play an important role
Schemas play an important role in readings and listening because they allow us to fill in the gaps in what we are reading or hearing and so enhance our understanding, help to prevent cognitive overload
stereotypes
schemas incorporating oversimplified generalizations often negative about a group
rationalization
a term introduced by Bartlett to refer to the tendency in story recall to produce errors conforming to the rememberer’s cultural expectations
ecological validity
the extent to which research findings (especially laboratory ones) can be generalized to everyday life
examples of superordinate level, basic, and subordinate level
superordinate: four footed animal
basic level: dog
subordinate: collie
normal people prefer what level vs experts
normal people prefer basic level because it combines informativeness and distinctiveness, experts prefer subordinate level because it is more informative
