Cognition

Question 1

memory

Answer 1

organisation storage and retrieval of information, internal records of previous events or experience, involves paying attention to surroundings and converting it into form that can be stored (encoded) in brain and retrieved when required

Question 2

multi-store model of memory

Answer 2

Atkinson and Shifrin, perception -> sensory memory store (echoic memory (3-4s)or iconic memory (1-2s)) -attention> short term memory (30s) if rehearsal occurs to keep in short term memory then encoding occurs into long term memory, if no rehearsal occurs it is forgotten, in LTM if unable to retrieve it is forgotten,

Question 3

encoding

Answer 3

changing info into a form that can be stored in the long term memory (attention to information is necessary)

Question 4

sensory memory

Answer 4

information stored for a short period (30s), stores all incoming sensory information in memory registers for different senses

Question 5

short term memory

Answer 5

information that has been attended to from sensory info, stored for a short period of time (30s) in STM, if rehearsed it is encoded into LTM, holds all current into (thoughts/experiences), can also retrieve info from LTM

Question 6

long term memory

Answer 6

relatively permanent storage of info, unlimited amount of capacity, forgotten if unable to retrieve

Question 7

Iconic/echoic memory

Answer 7

iconic stores visual memory for up to 1-2s

echoic stores all auditory memory for up to 3-4s

Question 8

types of rehearsal

Answer 8

maintenance rehearsal: meaningless rote repetition of materials to be remembered (saying over and over again 1, 1, 1, 1, to remember 1)
elaborating rehearsal: applying meaning to new words in order to retain them in memory e.g 2207 = birthday so more likely to remember number sequence
chunking: materials combined into larger meaningful group e,g cat, dog, horse = animals rather than cup,phone,star (unrelated so harder to remember)

Question 9

LTM- procedural memory

Answer 9

“How to” of memory, way you do things e.g wrtiging name, how to ride a bike, occurs automatically/ unconsciously, also known as implicit memory not conscious

Question 10

LTM - declarative memory

Answer 10

“What of memory, recalling facts/events (known as explicit memory requires conscious effort to recall

• episodic memory: memory of own set of autobiographical events/ personal experiences linked to sensations and feelings/emotions (birthday party memories)
• semantic memory: factual knowledge obsessed about outside world (multiplication tables, rules etc)

Question 11

working model of memory - specifically STM Baddeley and Hitch

Answer 11

central executive: boss/leader of STM, controls and coordinates other components (sketch pad, loop, buffer) controls attention and sends incoming info to relevant areas, briefly stores all sensory info
- visuospatial sketch pad: stores and manipulates information of visual & spatial nature (slave system to central executive)
- phonological loop: other slave system to central executive, sites / manipulates auditory information, processes incoming info, stores/plans, speech production
episodic buffer: added later, links info across sketchpad and loop, forms integrated units of visual,spatial and verbal information with time e.g memory of story/movie

Question 12

measures of memory

Answer 12

recall: involves being able to access info without being cued e.g short answer questions
recognition: involves identifying after experiencing it again e.g multiple choice questions
relearning: involves relearning information that has previously been learned (often makes it easier to remember/retrieve info in future, can improve strength of memories)
forgetting: failure to access info that has previously been stored in memory

Question 13

retrieval failure theory

Answer 13

cue dependent forgetting: info is in memory it just can’t be accessed, failure to use correct/appropriate cues at a certain time
TOT: tip of tongue phenomena

Question 14

interference theory

Answer 14

when two peices of information are too similar it oeads to interference causing us to forget the difference

• proactive interference: interference of old memories on retrieval of new information
• retroactive interference: new info interferes with ability to recall old information

Question 15

motivated forgetting

Answer 15

strong desire to forget certain things because memory is too traumatic, anxiety provoking, self protection defence

• repression: keeping distressing/unpleasant thoughts buried in unconscious and prevent from entering conscious (occurs unconsciously)
• suppression: deliberate effort to keep distressing thoughts out of conscious awareness

Question 16

decay theory

Answer 16

forgetting occurs bc memory trace tends to gradually fade away/decay overtime, contributes to loss of info in sensory memory and STM via displacement

Question 17

organic theories of forgetting

Answer 17

forgettingm amnesia or memory loss occurs due to some type of brain damage e,g blow to head, misuse of alcohol/drugs, ageing etc, damage to different areas of the brain can lead to different forms of memory loss

Question 18

learning

Answer 18

relatively permanent change often of behaviour, that occurs as a result of experience

Question 19

stimulus response theories

Answer 19

early approaches explore learning as a result of humans/animals responding to stimuli in the environment, shift occurs from behaviour being result of external stimuli to a focus on internal cognitive mental processes

Question 20

classical conditioning

Answer 20

an associations forming between two stimuli, one of which is not normally associated with the response, therefore appearance of stimulus alone results in response behaviour

• conditioning: association made by learner between a stimulus and response
• stimulus any variable present in environment that may trigger a response
• response: action/behaviour that is exhibited

Question 21

classical conditioning components

Answer 21

neutral stimulus: any stimulus that
that produces no relevant responses prior to classical conditioning
unconditioned stimulus: any stimulus that consistently leads to reflexive response (unlearned stimulus)
conditioned stimulus: previously neutral stimulus that, after becoming associated with the unconditioned stimulus, eventually comes to trigger a conditioned response.
unconditioned response: unlearned, reflexive, involuntary response to a stimulus
conditioned response: reflexive, involuntary response that has become associated with a stimulus by which it was not previously caused
unconditioned response -> conditioned response
neutral stimuli -> conditioned stimuli

Question 22

classical conditioning effects

Answer 22

acquisition: initial stage of learning when a response is first established and gradually strengthened, during this phase a neutral stimulus is repeatedly paired with unconditioned stimulus
extinction: when occurrences of conditioned response decrease/disappear, occurs because not enough conditioning was conducted or too much time passed from when last conditioned
spontaneous recovery: learned response an suddenly re-emerge even after period of extinction (period of rest/lessened response)
stimulus generalisation: tendency for conditioned response to evoke similar responses to other stimuli after response has been conditioned (e.g conditioned stimulus=white mouse, stimulus generalisation=white rabbit, ferret, rat etc)
stimulus generalisation: ability to differentiate between a conditioned stimulus and other stimuli that have similar characteristics that have not been paired with unconditioned stimulus

Question 23

operant conditioning definition

Answer 23

learning explained by consequences

Question 24

reinforcement/punishment

Answer 24

reinforcement: causes behaviour to occur more frequently

punishment causes behaviour to occur less frequently

Question 25

positive/negative reinforcement

Answer 25

positive reinforce the: add pleasant stimulus to increase/maintain behaviour
negative reinforcement: remover unpleasant/bad stimulus to increase/maintain behaviour (e,g no homework)

Question 26

positive/negative punishment

Answer 26

positive punishment: add unpleasant/bad stimulus to decrease behaviour leg add detention/ seating plan
negative punishment: removing pleasant stimulus to decrease behaviour e,g take away device/ fun activities

Question 27

observational learning

Answer 27

not concerned with internal mental processes, observable behaviours are the focus, reciprocal determinism: environment causes behaviour and learning, behaviour can change environment,

Question 28

factors involved in observational learning (ARRRM)

Answer 28

attention: observers cannot learn unless they pay attention to what’s happening around them
retention: observers must be able to rem,enter what was happening around them at the time of observation
reproduction: observers must be capable (physically/psychologically) to reproduce the act
motivation/reinforcement: observers will only perform what they have observed if they have the motivation/reason to do so, presence of reinforcement is an important aspect to motivation (prize,reward etc)

Question 29

social learning theory

Answer 29

learning is the function of observing, retaining and replicating behaviour observed in others, occurs through observing actions & consequences of others, behaviour and determining whether to imitate them or not

Question 30

modelling (observational learning)

Answer 30

occurs when one observed the behaviour and consequences of another to influence their own thoughts, actions and feelings

Question 31

behaviour modification therapy

Answer 31

application of classical and operant conditioning techniques, can be used to treat psychological problems e.g fears/phobias or mental illnesses

Question 32

token economy

Answer 32

artificial systems of research and reinforcement where symbolic markers (tokens e.g fake money) are used to reward behaviour, markers can be exchanged for something more tangible e,g goods/privileges, widely used in classrooms, prisons, psychiatric hospitals,

Question 33

token economy advantages

Answer 33

more effective than simple reinforcement schemes as participants have to repeat desired behaviour to earn prize, accumulation of markers leads to secondary reinforcer so behaviour changes are likely to continue

Question 34

token economy limitations

Answer 34

difficulty of maintaining improvement in behaviour once token economy has been removed e.g after/outside classroom, token needs to be replaced with other social reinforcers which is often unsuccessful

Question 35

systematic desensitisation

Answer 35

application of classical conditioning to fears/phobias in humans, the goal is to replace undesirable behaviour (fear/anxiety) with more productive, desirable behaviours/responses, fear is replaced with relaxed response

Question 36

steps of systematic desensitisation

Answer 36

1. Learn and practice relaxation techniques
2. Create fear hierarchy (list least fear provoking situation in relation to phobia to most fear provoking situation)
3. graded exposure: gradually introduce these situations (starting from least fear provoking and implement relaxation techniques until person is comfortable enough to move onto next least frightening situation
4. Only proceed to next lowest fear provoking scenario only when fear/anxiety is at a 0 for multiple times

Question 37

Cognitive behavioural therapy

Answer 37

techniques based on premise that cognitions (thoughts) influence feelings and behaviours and subsequent behaviours/emotions influence cognition, the way individuals perceive a situation is more closely connected to their reaction than the situation itself
the goal is to identify maladaptive thoughts/feelings/emotions, used to treat depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, PTSD, OCD, cost effective benefits outweigh costs relative to other treatments e,g medication

Question 38

components of behavioural therapy

Answer 38

cognitive component: based on theory that distressing emotions and behaviours are result of maladaptive thinking, aims to replace dysfunctional thoughts with ones that can be managed
behavioural compliment: behaviour modification, relaxation, other behavioural change techniques