Cognitive Approach Flashcards
Models of Memory
Multi Store Memory Model- Proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) who divided memory into 3 storage systems
- Sensory Memory - It is the buffer that connects our senses with our short-term memory when stimuli are present. Lasts for a time scale of 1-2 seconds until attention takes it to STM
- Short Term Memory - Can only hold 7 pieces of information for about 15 seconds. It takes rehearsal to maintain there, however it can be consolidated to LTM.
- Long Term Memory - Can store vast amounts of information over a long period of time. It can retrieve information (remembering) but it can also decay it (forget)
Memory - Memory is the brain’s ability to encode, store, process, and recall information
Models - Used in psychology to describe complex phenomena that can develop through research
Studies: Bahrick (1975) and Bartlett (1932)
Bahrick (1975) - Long Term Memory –> highschool graduates
Aim: The study aimed to explore the durability of long-term memory related to recognizing high school classmates.
Participants: The study involved 392 American adults, who had graduated from high school at various times ranging from recent graduates to those who had graduated up to 48 years earlier.
Procedure: Participants underwent a series of memory tests that assessed their ability to recall and recognize former classmates:
Free Recall Test: Participants were asked to name as many classmates as they could without any cues.
Recognition Tests: Two tests were conducted where participants were either shown a picture or given a name, and they had to confirm whether the individual was in their graduating class.
Matching Test: Participants matched yearbook pictures with the names of the classmates.
Picture Cueing Test: Participants had to write the name of the student based on their yearbook picture.
Findings: The results demonstrated impressive long-term memory retention, with participants who had graduated more than 15 years ago achieving about 90% accuracy on recognition tests. Even those who had graduated 48 years ago showed 70%-80% accuracy in recognizing classmates. These findings underscore the long-lasting but gradually diminishing nature of memory over decades, highlighting the enduring capacity of long-term memory for recognition.
Bartlett (1932) - Reconstruction by cultural schemas
Aim: The aim was to examine how people reconstruct memories in ways that reflect their cultural backgrounds.
Participants: The study included 20 English college students.
Procedure: Bartlett employed two main methods in his study: serial reproduction and repeated reproduction.
Serial Reproduction: In this method, the first participant read the Native American folk tale “The War of Ghosts” and then reproduced it on paper. The second participant read this reproduction (not the original) and reproduced it again. This process was repeated through 6-7 cycles with different participants.
Repeated Reproduction: Here, the same participant was asked to reproduce the story from memory multiple times over several years.
Findings: Bartlett found that with each reproduction, whether serial or repeated, the story underwent modifications that made it conform more closely to the English cultural schema of the participants. For example, “hunting” in the original story gradually became “fishing,” and “canoes” turned into “boats.” These changes highlighted how elements foreign to the participants’ cultural experiences were transformed into more familiar terms.
Conclusion: Bartlett concluded that memory is reconstructive and heavily influenced by an individual’s cultural schemas. This study demonstrated that memories are not static but are shaped and reshaped by existing schemas, illustrating the dynamic nature of human memory.
Reconstruction of Memory
Reconstruction of Memory - A theory that believes that remembering happens through actively creating a whole out of partial information
Schemas - These are mental representations that organize experiences in our brains in order to process information easier
Schemas in Reconstruction - It’s believed that schemas alter (reconstruct) new information to make it more accessible to individuals when they want to remember this information. This is called assimilation.
Assimilation is the cognitive process of changing new, learned information to match our schemas
Studies: Barlett (1932)
Schema
Schemas - These are mental representations that organize experiences in our brains in order to process information easier
Schemas and Memories - This theory suggests that what we already know will influence the outcome of the information we process
For this reason when we remember something, it will probably be influenced by our schemas
Studies: Bartlett (1932)
Thinking and
Decision-Making
Thinking and Decision Making - Refers to using information in order to select something out of two options
Models are used to explain the complexity of this process
Dual Processing Model - Divides thinking and decision making into two systems
System 1 (intuitive): It’s rapid, automatic, non-logical, prone to biases
System 2 (rational): It’s slow, controlled, logical, not prone to biases
Overiding Systems - System 2 can correct system 1 if an individual can be convinced that their intuition is wrong. Alter et al. shows this in his study.
Studies: Alter et al. (2007)
Alter et al. (2007) - Dual Processing Model
Aim: The aim was to assess whether presenting information in a hard-to-read font would trigger deeper cognitive processing, thereby enhancing performance on tasks that require careful thought and analysis.
Participants: Participants included individuals who completed the Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT), which is designed to challenge intuitive responses with tricky questions that favor analytical thinking.
Procedure: The CRT was presented to participants under two conditions:
Condition 1: CRT presented in an easy-to-read font.
Condition 2: CRT presented in a difficult-to-read font, intended to create a sense of disfluency and increase cognitive load.
Findings: The study found that participants performed better when the CRT was presented in the difficult-to-read font. This disfluency triggered System 2 to engage more actively, leading participants to question their intuitive responses and think more deeply about their answers. This result suggests that when the text is harder to process, it slows down cognitive processing, forcing a shift from quick, intuitive System 1 processing to slower, more deliberate System 2 processing.
Biases in Thinking and
Decision-Making
Thinking and Decision Making - Refers to using information in order to select something out of two options
Most humans rely on cognitive shortcuts during this process, which results in biases
Biases - These are tendencies to respond in a certain way based on pre-existing beliefs
Heuristics - A term that explains the situation where individual make quick decisions at the expense of being occasionally wrong
Availability Heuristics - Refers to the tendency of judging the likelihood of an event happening based on how easily examples of that event come to mind
For example, if someone is asked, “Is it more common to die from a car crash or airplane crash?” they will most likely say “airplane crash” as they know more examples of this happening.
Study: Fox (2006)
Fox (2006) - Availability Heuristics
Aim: to assess how the number of opportunities given to express criticisms influences students’ overall evaluation of a course, drawing on the concept of availability heuristics, which suggests that people judge the frequency or importance of an event by the ease with which examples come to mind.
Participants: The experiment involved 64 university students who were divided into two groups.
Procedure: Field Exp. All participants were asked to fill out a feedback form about the course, providing suggestions for improvement and then rating the overall quality of the class out of 7.
Group 1: This group was provided with only two slots to list suggestions for course improvement.
Group 2: This group was given ten slots to list suggestions for improvement.
Findings: The results indicated a notable difference in how the two groups rated the course. Group 1, which had fewer slots for suggestions, rated the class higher (average score of 4.92) compared to Group 2, which had more slots and gave a lower average score of 5.52. This outcome suggests that participants in Group 2, who struggled to come up with ten improvements, perceived fewer problems with the course due to the difficulty in recalling issues. This difficulty in recalling was misinterpreted as evidence that the course was generally good.
Ethics: deception
Emotions and Cognitions
Emotions - These are subjective experiences that consist of physiological arousal and cognitive appraisal
Sometimes this arousal is so strong that it induces flashbulb memories
Flashbulb Memories - A detailed, vivid, and photograph-like remembrance of a moment in time and the context in which this episode was experienced
FBM happens when theres a high degree of surprise, consequence and emotional arousal
Study: Brown and Kulik (1977) - Flash Bulb Memories
Brown and Kulik (1977) - Flash Bulb Memories
Aim: The aim of the study was to explore the nature of flashbulb memories and determine why certain events are remembered with great clarity and detail.
Participants: The study involved 80 participants, who were a mix of African Americans and Caucasian Americans.
Procedure: Survey. Participants were asked about their memories of 10 events, some of which were highly public and emotional (e.g., the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.) and others that were personal events of great significance. The researchers focused on the participants’ ability to recall specific details about where they were, what they were doing, and who they were with when they first learned of these events.
Findings: Brown and Kulik found that participants were able to recall highly detailed memories for the emotionally charged public events, particularly those which had personal significance. For instance, African American participants had especially vivid memories of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. The study introduced the concept of “Now Print!” mechanism, suggesting that emotional arousal triggers a biological process that makes the central details of an event more memorable.
Ethics Protection of participants
