Cognitive Flashcards
1
Q
explain the parts of the multi store model and how memories are encoded into each store
A
- sensory register
- either moves to STM through the process of attention or decays
- stays in STM through rehearsal or decays
- transferred to the LTM
- memories are retrieved from the LTM by the STM
2
Q
what is capacity?
A
- the maximum amount of information that can be retained in memory
3
Q
what is duration?
A
- how long information remains in the store
4
Q
explain the role of the sensory register
A
- a stimulus from the environment passes into the sensory reg
- duration is up to 2s
- limited capacity
5
Q
explain the role of the STM
A
- encodes acoustically
- duration is up to 30s
- capacity of 7+-2
- maintenance rehearsal keeps info in
6
Q
explain the role of LTM
A
- stores semantically
- unlimited capacity
- information is retrieved from LTM by passing back into the STM
7
Q
who is HM?
A
- henry molaison
- had his hippocampus removed in attempt to remove his epilepsy
- his STM was unaffected
- unable to encode new LTMs
- LTM was damaged, he barely remembered his parents deaths
8
Q
how does HM support the MSM?
A
- supports the view that STM and LTM are 2 seperate stores
9
Q
who is CW?
A
- clive wearing
- received brain damage to his hippocampus after a viral infection
- STM up to 20s
- he couldn’t ‘make new memories’
10
Q
how does CW support the MSM?
A
- suggests his inabiloty to ‘make new memories’ was due to his inability to rehearse info into his LTM
11
Q
who was KF?
A
- had a motorbike accident
- he could still add items to his LTM despite his STM being damaged
- STM was so damaged he couldnt even repeat back 2 digits
- supports the WMM
12
Q
+ evidence: explain an example of credibility of the MSM
A
CW AND HM
- supports the independence of the 2 stores and how they are linked
13
Q
+ evidence: explain an example of validity of the MSM
A
GLANZER AND CUNITZ
- lab experiment
- digit span test
- found that words earlier on in the list were put into the LTM due to rehearsal time and so were easier to retrieve
- words later in the list went into STM so ppts struggled to retrieve them
14
Q
- evidence: explain an issue with evidence of the MSM and give opposing evidence
A
- HM and CW are unique cases
- HM had a previous head injury so we can question whether it was really his surgery that caused his memory issues
- KF is opposing evidence that supports the WMM
15
Q
- evidence: explain an issue with the MSM being reductionist
A
- oversimplifies human memory
- the WMM shows that the STM is more than a unitary state
16
Q
explain the parts of the WMM
A
- central executive: works as a control centre, divides and switches attention.
- phonological loop: has 2 components called the phonological store which holds words we hear, and the articulatory control process which holds words we’re about to say.
- visuospatial sketchpad: stores visual and spatial info
- episodic buffer: communicates with the WMM components and the LTM
17
Q
what is dual-task performance?
A
- we can do 2 tasks at once as long as they use different processing systems
18
Q
+ evaluation: explain an example of supporting evidence for the WMM
A
KF
- could recall verbal info but not visual immediately after presentation
- supports the idea that seperate WMM stores are used for phonological and visual info
19
Q
+ evaluation: explain an example of a comparison of the WMM
A
- provides an explanation for parallel processing unlike the MSM
- for example, where processes in a cognitive task occur at once
20
Q
- evidence: explain an example of validity for the WMM
A
BADDELY
- lab experiment lacks ecological validity
- digit span tests of acoustically similar words isn’t an ordinary task
- doesnt reflect how memory works in normal situations
21
Q
- evaluation: explain an example of simplicity of the WMM
A
- too simplistic and vague
- its unclear what the role of the central executive is or its exact role in attention
22
Q
explain the parts of tulvings LTM
A
- episodic memory: events from a persons life, retrieval is dependent of the context in which it was learnt
- semantic memory: facts about the world, independent from the context in which theyre learnt
- procedural memory: implicit knowledge of tasks that dont require concious recall to perform
23
Q
+ evidence: explain an example of supporting evidence for TLTM
A
CW
- lost his episodic memory but his semantic memory stayed in tact
- remembers his love for deborah, but doesnt understand why he feels so strongly towards her
- procedural memory stayed in tact
- he could still play piano and conduct a choir
24
Q
+ evidence: explain an example of lab evidence for TLTM
A
BADDELY
- ppts struggled with remembering semantically similar words
- it confused their LTM
- semantically dissimilar words weren’t confusing
- suggests part fo the LTM works semantically
25
- evidence: explain an example of opposing evidence for TLTM
SQUIRE AND ZOLA
- examined children and adults with amnesia
- ppts episodic and semantic memory seemed to be equally impaired
- supports the idea that 2 the memory stores aren't seperate
- they suggested that the medial temporal lobe is used for both types of memory
26
- evidence: explain an example of generalisability of evidence for TLTM
CW
- case study
- no way to test his memory before brain damage
- hard to use 1 person and apply their findings to the entire population
27
explain the parts of reconstructive memory
- schemas: patterns of thought or behaviour that are used to interpret the world
- assimulation: changing our existing schemas to fit what we've learnt
- accomodation: changing our memories to fit our existing schemas
- confabulation: unconciously filling in gaps in our memory
28
explain the war of the ghosts
- native american ghost story
- he asked ppts to read it and recall it through serial reproduction
- ppts shortened the story from 330 words down to 180 words
- confabulated detailed like 'hunting seals' became 'fishing'
- they rationalised aspects of the story by missing out the ghosts and just describing a battle between native american tribes
29
explain allport and postman
- ppts shown a drawing of an argument ona train
- they were asked to describe it to another ppt through serial reproduction
- the black man in the image was dressed better than the white man but ppts tended to reverse their appearances
- some even said the black man was holding a knife
30
+ evaluation: explain an example of supporting evidence for RM
WoTG
- ppts confabulated detailes like 'hunting seals' became 'fishing'
- replaced canoes with boats
31
+ evaluation: explain an example of how we can apply RM to real life
- carers could use familiar music from the part or old activities to activate schemas that dementia sufferers are comfortable with
- validation therapy: going along with delusional ideas in order to avoid distress when a patients schemas conflict with the real world
32
- evaluation: explain an example of an issue with the supporting evidence for RM
WoTG
- unusual story that probably didnt make sense to ppts
- may cause demand characteristics as ppts are trying to guess what is indended
- so results might be unreliable
33
- evaluation: explain an example of how the supporting evidence for RM lacks mundane realism
WoTG
- conducted using an artificial task of remembering a story
- cambridge uni students being asked to recall native american ghost stories
- makes it hard to apply the theory to real world behaviours like dementia as the tasks used to support it dont reflect real life
34
what are the 5 types of extraneous varibales?
- demand characteristics
- situational factors
- participant variables
- order effects
- observer effects
35
what are demand characteristics?
- when ppts realise the aim of the study and then act unnaturally
36
what are situational factors?
- when ppts are affected by the environment that they're in
37
what are participant variables?
- when the results of a study are more affected by a ppts individual characteristics rather than the IV
38
what are order effects?
- when the results of a study are improved by the repetition of a task rather than the IV
39
what are observer effects?
- when ppts complete a task differently because they know someone is watching them
40
what are the 3 experimental designs?
- repeated measures
- independent measures
- matched pairs
41
what are case studies?
- in depth investigations of an individual or small group
42
what are 2 strengths of case studies?
- depth and rich yield of data can bring high levels of validity
- provide information about the different functions of the brain
43
what are 3 weaknesses of case studies?
- lack generalisability because they look at unique unusual cases that dont represent the majority (NOT BECAUSE ITS 1 PERSON!)
- lack reliability becauee the ppts are so unique its hard to find anyone to replicate the study on
- researcher bias
44
what is the cognitive classic study?
- baddely
45
explain baddelys sample and procedure
- sample of 72, there were m and f
- from cambridge uni
- wanted to focus of LTM
- does LTM prefer encoding semantically or acoustically?
- 1 word shown for 3s
- list of 10 words
- interfererence task involved remembering a short series of numbers to ensure the STM was blocked and the LTM could be isolated
- recall task
- 15 min break where they did another unrelated task
- surprise retest after
46
explain the results of baddelys digit span tests
- ppts found it easier to recall semantically dissimilar words
- so the LTM prefers to encode semantically dissimilar words
47
evaluate the generalisability of baddely
+ large sample of 72, anomolies will be averaged out
- ethnocentric, only british volunteers from cambridge
48
evaluate the reliability of baddely
+ standardised procedures, word lists of 10, each word shown for 3s
+ showed words on slides rather than saying them to ensure those with hearing impairments had a fair chance
49
evaluate how we can use baddelys findings to apply to real life
+ revision techniques, use mind maps that make semantic links rather than reading passages aloud
50
evaluate the validity of baddely
- ecological validity, recalling the order of words is artificial and doesnt reflect how memory may work in the real world
51
what is the cognitive contemporary study?
- sebastian and hernandez-gil
52
what was Aim 1 of S+Hg?
- analyse how the phonological loop develops in children 5-17yrs
53
AO1 of Aim 1 S+Hg
- 570 ppts
- 5-17yrs
- volunteers from various schools in madrid
- tested individually during their break times at school
- digit span memory test
- heard a sequence of numbers, 1 number per second
- if recalled correctly, another digit was added
- digit span increased from 3.7 at 5yrs to 5.9 at 17yrs
54
what was Aim 2 of S+HG?
- how digit span is affected in elderly ppts
55
AO1 of Aim 2 of S+Hg
- 25 healthy elderly ppts
- 25 elderly alzheimer dementia ppts
- 9 elderly fronto-temportal dementia ppts
- alzheimers had a digit span of 4.2, healthy had a digit span of 4.4
- alzheimers ppts performed better than 5yr nut didnt significantly differ from other age groups
56
what was Aim 3 of S+Hg?
- comparison between english and spanish speaking ppts
57
AO1 of Aim 3 of S+Hg
- differences in digit span only occured after 7yrs
- thats when subvocal rehearsal starts
- the longer the word, the harder it is to remember
58
evaluate the generalisability of S+Hg
+ large sample of 570, findings are representative across the spanish education system
- ethnocentric as ppts all from madrid
59
evaluate the reliability of S+Hg
+ standardised procedure, digit span tests
60
evaluate the validity of S+Hg
- low ecological validity, digit pan tests are an artificial test of memory
61
evaluate the ethics of S+Hg
- alzheimers and under 16s are vunerable
- hard to get fully informed consent
62
what caused HMs epilepsy?
- a head injury when he was 7
63
what parts of HMs brain were removed and what are their functions?
- hippocampus (stm to ltm)
- amygdala (emotional regulation)
64
what did HM suffer with after his surgery, and what did he say about it?
- severe anterograde and retrogade amnesia
- 'like waking up from a dream... every day is alone in itself'
65
what types of memories could and couldnt HM make?
- could learn semantic and procedural memories
- couldnt create episodic memories
66
whats an example of a new semantic memory HM made?
- moon landings
67
what task did milner get HM to do to test his procedural memory?
- star drawing task
- he grew more skilled at it each time even though he didnt remember doing it before
68
what past events did HM have memory of (semantics)?
- ww2
- wall street crash
69
evaluate the generalisability of HM
- he was a one-off unique case
- nobody tested HMs memory before the operation so we'll never know how normal he was
70
evaluate the reliability of HM
+ standardised procedures like puzzles, replicated by later researchers which showed consistent results
71
evaluate the applications of HM
+ its now clear that there ae different memory functions that take place in different parts of the brain
+ stm, ltm, procedural, semantic
72
evaluate the ethics of HM
+ informed consent, he was asked many times daily for over 50yrs
