Cognitive Approach SAQs Flashcards
Explain one model of memory with reference to one study
Multistore model–> introduced by atkinson and shiffrin (1968)
they argue that humans have 3 MULTIPLE memory stores:
- sensory store
-short-term store
-long term store
* each store has different qualities in different areas.
- duration= length info is stored (how long)
-capacity= volume of info stored (how much)
-coding= kinds of info stored (what)
*the sensory store has an unlimited capacity and they are unique to a specific sense; one sensory store for one sense.
- there is visual info which is stored in Iconic memory
-auditory info is stored in echoic memory
- in sensory store, info decays rapidly; Iconic lasts no more than a second; echoic lasts no more than 4 seconds.
in order for information to be transferred from sensory store it must be given attention
*short term memory has a limited capacity and duration/
-on avg it can only hold 7 units of infor at a time for a max of 30 seconds.
- the control process of rehearsal maintains info in the stm
- enough rehearsal can result in a transfer to long term memory, which has an UNLIMITED capacity and duration.
- information moved from the long term memory to short term (GOES BACKWARDS) undergoes the control process of retrieval AKA WORKING MEMORY
STUDY THAT SUPPORTS = HM AND MILNER (1966), apmrce it
-it shows that STM and LTM are two distinct stores.
- unable to form LTM but can form stm
Explain schema theory with reference to one study.
Schema= a cognitive framework or concept that helps organize and interpret information.
-schema theory is a theory of knowledge organization, of how information and knowledge are stored in the brain.
-schemas can effect memory- hence distortion, which is when people use stored knowledge to make sense of the incoming information.
study: Brewer and Treyens (1981)
Aim: to investigate whether people’s memory for objects in an office is influenced by existing schemas about what is expected in an office.
procedure:
-30 college students were brought individually into a laboratory and were asked to wait in an office containing dozens of objects, such as office objects (typewriter, desk etc) and atypical objects (a skull, pair of pliers)
-Ss remained in office for 30 seconds
-when taken out, they were asked to write what they recalled
- Ss recalled on average 88 items. 19 (22%) on avg were items not located in the room, such as books and a telephone. (WHICH WERE NOT IN THE ROOM)
conclusion: this shows how our schema helps us identify and understand an office setting and predict what we will find in it.
(+) for schema= provides an explanation for how knowledge is stored in the mind
(-)= unclear how schemas are acquired and how people choose between schemas.
explain one model of thinking and decision making with reference to one study
thinking and decision making
THINKING modifies information/generates new knowledge
DECISION making is about making a choice.
Tversky and Kahneman
system 1= operates automatically and quickly, with little or no effort and no sense of voluntary control.
system 2= allocates resources, thinking is slow and analytical
heuristics are shortcuts in thinking and decision making
lead usually to cognitive bias
Aim: Investigate how the availability heuristic affects judgement
Procedure: Participants were asked, “If a random word is taken from
the English language, is it more likely that the word starts with the
letter K, or that K is the third letter?“
Results: Over two thirds (105 out of 152 participants) thought it was
more likely that words in English would begin with the letter K. In
fact, there are about twice as many words in the English language
that have K as the third letter than there are words that begin with K.
Conclusion: The results of this study are likely due to the
availability heuristic. It is much easier to think of words that begin
with the letter K (such as kangaroo, kitchen, kidnap) than words that
have K as the third letter (such as acknowledge, ask). Because
participants find it easier to recall words that begin with K, they
incorrectly assume that there are more such words.
Evaluation: This is a simple study that is easy to replicate, and the
results are highly reliable. It could be argued that this study has low
ecological validity, as estimating the prevalence of words that begin
with a particular letter is an artificial task that would not happen in
real life. The participants in this study were all American college
students, so the results might not generalize to other cultures or age
groups.
Explain one ethical consideration in one study of one cognitive process
HM AND MILNER (1966)
Explain the use of one research method in one study of one cognitive process.
HM AND MILNER = CASE STUDIES
Explain the working memory model with reference to one study
Baddeley and hitch (1974) proposed the working memory model as an alternative to the short term store in atkinson and Shiffrin’s ‘multi-store’ memory model (1968)
they believe that STM is a single store and is broken down into many components. This model attempts to describe a more accurate model of the STM
-The central executive:
controlling system that monitors and coordinates the operations. –> most important job is attentional control which is done in two ways
1) automatic level, which is based on habit and controlled more
2) supervisory attentional level: deals with emergencies, or creates new strategies
THEN, THERE IS THE “working memory model”
episodic buffer : the role of the buffer is to act as a temporary and passive display, till information is needed.
phonological loop: is divided into two components
a) articulatory control system, or inner voice –> this holds information in a verbal form
b) Phonological story, or inner ear–> this holds speech information/
THE visuospatial sketchpad is also called the inner eye; deals with visual and spatial info from either sensory memory or LTM.
STUDY : STROOP (1935)
this supports the use of dual-task techniques
Aim: to investigate whether the automatic process of reading words (SYSTEM 1) interferes with naming a color (system 2)
Method: Lab
Procudure: Ss got several word lists which only included colors. So Ss were asked to say the color of the word despite what the word said
Results” when color and word were different the Ss made more errors
SO!!!!!!!!! TASK 1 IS INTERFERING WITH TASK 2
- if two tasks interfere with each other so that one or both are impaired, it is believed that both tasks use the same component of STM
Explain the multi store model with reference to one study
Multistore model–> introduced by atkinson and shiffrin (1968)
they argue that humans have 3 MULTIPLE memory stores:
- sensory store
-short-term store
-long term store
* each store has different qualities in different areas.
- duration= length info is stored (how long)
-capacity= volume of info stored (how much)
-coding= kinds of info stored (what)
*the sensory store has an unlimited capacity and they are unique to a specific sense; one sensory store for one sense.
- there is visual info which is stored in Iconic memory
-auditory info is stored in echoic memory
- in sensory store, info decays rapidly; Iconic lasts no more than a second; echoic lasts no more than 4 seconds.
in order for information to be transferred from sensory store it must be given attention
*short term memory has a limited capacity and duration/
-on avg it can only hold 7 units of infor at a time for a max of 30 seconds.
- the control process of rehearsal maintains info in the stm
- enough rehearsal can result in a transfer to long term memory, which has an UNLIMITED capacity and duration.
- information moved from the long term memory to short term (GOES BACKWARDS) undergoes the control process of retrieval AKA WORKING MEMORY
STUDY THAT SUPPORTS = HM AND MILNER (1966), apmrce it
-it shows that STM and LTM are two distinct stores.
- unable to form LTM but can form stm
explain reconstructive memory with reference to one study
reconstructive memory is sometimes referred to as distortion .
- this is when people use their stored/previous memory to help make sense of the world, SO, if something is unclear they will use their previous information to fill in the blanks
study: Brewer and Treyens (1981)
Aim: to investigate whether people’s memory for objects in an office is influenced by existing schemas about what is expected in an office.
procedure:
-30 college students were brought individually into a laboratory and were asked to wait in an office containing dozens of objects, such as office objects (typewriter, desk etc) and atypical objects (a skull, pair of pliers)
-Ss remained in office for 30 seconds
-when taken out, they were asked to write what they recalled
- Ss recalled on average 88 items. 19 (22%) on avg were items not located in the room, such as books and a telephone. (WHICH WERE NOT IN THE ROOM)
conclusion: this shows how our schema helps us identify and understand an office setting and predict what we will find in it.
(+) for schema= provides an explanation for how knowledge is stored in the mind
(-)= unclear how schemas are acquired and how people choose between schemas
explain one bias in thinking and decision making with reference to one study
Tversky and Kahneman
system 1= operates automatically and quickly, with little or no effort and no sense of voluntary control.
system 2= allocates resources, thinking is slow and analytical
heuristics are shortcuts in thinking and decision making
lead usually to cognitive bias
Aim: Investigate how the availability heuristic affects judgement
Procedure: Participants were asked, “If a random word is taken from
the English language, is it more likely that the word starts with the
letter K, or that K is the third letter?“
Results: Over two thirds (105 out of 152 participants) thought it was
more likely that words in English would begin with the letter K. In
fact, there are about twice as many words in the English language
that have K as the third letter than there are words that begin with K.
Conclusion: The results of this study are likely due to the
availability heuristic. It is much easier to think of words that begin
with the letter K (such as kangaroo, kitchen, kidnap) than words that
have K as the third letter (such as acknowledge, ask). Because
participants find it easier to recall words that begin with K, they
incorrectly assume that there are more such words.
Evaluation: This is a simple study that is easy to replicate, and the
results are highly reliable. It could be argued that this study has low
ecological validity, as estimating the prevalence of words that begin
with a particular letter is an artificial task that would not happen in
real life. The participants in this study were all American college
students, so the results might not generalize to other cultures or age
groups.
explain one study of the influence of emotion on one cognitive process.
study: Sharot et al (2007)
flashbulb memories are vivid, precise, concrete, long lasting memories of a personal circumstance surrounding a shocking
event
▪ Studied 24 people who were in Manhattan on
September 11th, 2001.
▪ People downtown (closer to the attack) were
more likely to report more detailed
memories such as sights, sounds and smells
related to the attack.
▪ Subjects in midtown Manhattan were more
likely to report second-hand accounts of the
attack (television reports, etc.).
▪ Brain activity viewed under an fMRI revealed
that participants closer to the attack (those
with a first-hand experience) had more
activity in their amygdala when compared to
those participants farther away from the
attack.
As a baseline, all participants
recalled a personal experience from
slightly before the attacks while
under the fMRI.
▪ Those downtown reported more
vivid memories and having more
confidence in those.
▪ The results of the study suggest that
a specialized neural mechanism for
FBM does not exist. FBM is a
function of first-hand, high emotional
experience and the result of
amygdala activation.
explain one ethical consideration in one study of the reliability of cognitive processes.
study: Sharot et al (2007)
flashbulb memories are vivid, precise, concrete, long lasting memories of a personal circumstance surrounding a shocking
event
▪ Studied 24 people who were in Manhattan on
September 11th, 2001.
▪ People downtown (closer to the attack) were
more likely to report more detailed
memories such as sights, sounds and smells
related to the attack.
▪ Subjects in midtown Manhattan were more
likely to report second-hand accounts of the
attack (television reports, etc.).
▪ Brain activity viewed under an fMRI revealed
that participants closer to the attack (those
with a first-hand experience) had more
activity in their amygdala when compared to
those participants farther away from the
attack.
As a baseline, all participants
recalled a personal experience from
slightly before the attacks while
under the fMRI.
▪ Those downtown reported more
vivid memories and having more
confidence in those.
▪ The results of the study suggest that
a specialized neural mechanism for
FBM does not exist. FBM is a
function of first-hand, high emotional
experience and the result of
amygdala activation.
Ethically wrong as she is asking people to recall tragic incidents
explain the use of one research method in one study of the reliability of cognitive processes.
AMPRCE HM AND MILNER
RESEARCH METHOD = CASE STUDY
Explain one ethical consideration in one study of the effect of emotion on cognition
study: Sharot et al (2007)
flashbulb memories are vivid, precise, concrete, long lasting memories of a personal circumstance surrounding a shocking
event
▪ Studied 24 people who were in Manhattan on
September 11th, 2001.
▪ People downtown (closer to the attack) were
more likely to report more detailed
memories such as sights, sounds and smells
related to the attack.
▪ Subjects in midtown Manhattan were more
likely to report second-hand accounts of the
attack (television reports, etc.).
▪ Brain activity viewed under an fMRI revealed
that participants closer to the attack (those
with a first-hand experience) had more
activity in their amygdala when compared to
those participants farther away from the
attack.
As a baseline, all participants
recalled a personal experience from
slightly before the attacks while
under the fMRI.
▪ Those downtown reported more
vivid memories and having more
confidence in those.
▪ The results of the study suggest that
a specialized neural mechanism for
FBM does not exist. FBM is a
function of first-hand, high emotional
experience and the result of
amygdala activation.
Ethically wrong as she is asking people to recall tragic incidents
Explain the use of one research method in one study of the effect of emotion on cognition
study: Sharot et al (2007)
flashbulb memories are vivid, precise, concrete, long lasting memories of a personal circumstance surrounding a shocking
event
▪ Studied 24 people who were in Manhattan on
September 11th, 2001.
▪ People downtown (closer to the attack) were
more likely to report more detailed
memories such as sights, sounds and smells
related to the attack.
▪ Subjects in midtown Manhattan were more
likely to report second-hand accounts of the
attack (television reports, etc.).
▪ Brain activity viewed under an fMRI revealed
that participants closer to the attack (those
with a first-hand experience) had more
activity in their amygdala when compared to
those participants farther away from the
attack.
As a baseline, all participants
recalled a personal experience from
slightly before the attacks while
under the fMRI.
▪ Those downtown reported more
vivid memories and having more
confidence in those.
▪ The results of the study suggest that
a specialized neural mechanism for
FBM does not exist. FBM is a
function of first-hand, high emotional
experience and the result of
amygdala activation.
Ethically wrong as she is asking people to recall tragic incidents
