COGNITIVE individual differences and developmental factors Flashcards
what are the individual differences that affect cognitive processes
processing speed and schemas (culture), episodic memory and case studies of brain damaged patients
how is processing speed an individual difference
- Sebastian and Hernandez Gil - compared digit spans of Spanish children to British children
- found that culture affected memory
- English had one more digit to their memory span (thought due to less syllables)
why is Sebastian and Hernandez-Gil’s study a strength for explaining individual difference
- used strict controls - excluded participants with hearing, reading, or language impairments
- could have an effect on results
- increases internal validity
how are schemas an individual difference
- affected by upbringing and nurture
- schemas represent stereotypical beliefs about objects/ events
- reconstructive memory is affected by cultural variation
- Baddeley’s War of the Ghosts - paddles and canoes became boat and oars
why is Bartlett’s study a weakness to explain individual differences
- only tested on participants from Cambridge
- all similar cultural backgrounds
- makes the results not generalisable - ethnocentric
how is episodic memory an individual difference
- individual to the person - life memories
- individuals have unique memories about people, places, events and times
why is episodic memory a strength for individual differences
- psychologists used this to encourage dementia patients to talk about past events
- dementia usually have episodic memories
- cause less strain than recalling factual information
how is case studies of brain damaged patients an individual difference
- some people may have damage from birth/ illness/ accident
- areas damaged will result in different cognitive processes impaired
why is case studies a weakness
- they are unique to individuals so can’t compare them as if they are the same
what are the developmental factors
development of the phonological loop and development of Alzheimer’s disease
how is phonological loop a developmental factor
- deals with verbal information
- affected by age (younger = shorter digit span)
- capacity increases with age
what is the strength of the phonological loop as a developmental factor
Sebastian and Hernandez-Gil found digit span increased with age of Spanish children
- peaked around 17 years old
- supports the increase between 5 and 17
what is the weakness of the phonological loop being a developmental factor
- evidence is limited - only Spanish children from Madrid (ethnocentric)
- may differ in other Spanish children - can’t generalise
how is the development of Alzheimer’s a developmental factor
normal age process = loss of general cognitive functioning
- Alzheimer’s increases this loss
- initially deteriorates new memories
- cognitive process decline rapidly
what is the strength of the development of Alzheimer’s
- knowledge of the limitations leads to useful applications
- can implement practical ways to tackle memory loss
- applying need to rehearse (MSM) leads to routines