Cognitive Paper 1 ERQs Flashcards
Cognitive processing ERQ Studies
Chou & Edges 2010s - thinking & decision-making
Mueller & Oppenheimer 2010s - memory encoding distortion
Blacker 2010s - visual working memory
Reliability of cognitive processes ERQ Studies
Mueller & Oppenheimer 2010s - memory encoding distortion
Chou & Edges 2010s - biases in thinking and decision-making
Emotion & Cognition ERQ Studies
Chou & Edges 2010s - emotions causing bias in thinking and decision-making
Blacker 2010s - emotions enhancing visual working memory
Methodology Studies
Chou & Edges 2010 - correlational study/survey (quantitative)
Mueller & Oppenheimer 2010s - true experiment (quantitative)
Blacker 2010s - true experiment (quantitative)
Contextual Knowledge of the positive/negative influences of technology on cognitive processes
- technology definition
- cognitive processes definition
- reasons for why evaluating effect of technology is important
- why is technology usage increasing
- biological explanations for why technology may affect cognitive processes
- linking studies to cognitive theories (e.g. systems of thinking, working memory)
- implications of research findings on original theories
Contextual Knowledge of methodology in cognitive psychology
- appropriateness of method for its aim
- strengths & limitations of research methods
- theoretical assumptions/biases from research methods
- balance between ecological and internal validity
- difficulty of determining cause/effect relationships
- researcher/participant/sampling biases
- sample choice & size
- generalisability of findings
- validity and reliability of research
Chou & Edges 2010s thinking & decision-making Study
Aim
- investigate role of social media in increasing availability heuristic to bias cognitive processes of thinking and perceptions of one’s social life
Participants/Research
- over 400 US students
- Survey
Method
..
Results
..
Implications
- social media technologies distort the actual realities of people’s social lives to be exaggerated causing people to misjudge their social lives & happiness negatively in comparison
- more time spent on FB means more examples of people having fun social lives were more plentiful or available and thus more likely to disproportionately compare themselves and assume less happiness of their own lives
Evaluation:
Chou & Edges 2010s emotions causing bias in thinking and decision-making
Aim
- investigate role of social media in triggering emotional responses to bias cognition & perceptions of one’s social life
Participants/Research
- over 400 US students
- Survey
Method
..
Results
..
Implications
- social media technologies distort the actual realities of people’s social lives to be exaggerated causing people to misjudge their social lives & happiness negatively in comparison which is exacerbated by the emotionally charged nature of social media presentation & happiness
- more time spent on FB meant more exposure to emotionally charged stimulus thus more likely to disproportionately compare themselves and assume less happiness of their own lives
Mueller & Oppenheimer 2010s memory encoding distortion Study
Aim
- investigate effects of electronic devices & technology on cognitive processes of memory & learning
Participants/Research
- true
- over 100 students
- condition 1: laptop to take notes
- condition 2: pen & paper to take notes
Method
- participants instructed to take notes on lectures
- then tested the following week on the lectures, & could not revise their notes at home
- Half of the people in the laptop condition, & handwritten condition were then randomly assigned to revising their notes for 10 minutes before being tested
Results
- Both participants in handwriting & laptop conditions which did not revise their notes did had no significant difference in performance
- However, when the handwritten participants which revised their notes did significantly better than those who revised their computer notes as these were more convoluted & verbatim notes
Implications
- hand written notes forces students to process the information, synthesise, & condense information thus encoding better w/ better test results
- however, laptop notes were more unsynthesized & more verbatim meant less depth in semantic processing & easier to forget thus worse in test
- Digital technology negatively affects memory by reducing the depth of encoding when learning information, as information can be transcribed instead of synthesised & summarised due to the seeming advantages of technology
Evaluation:
Pros:
- random allocation to IV conditions reduced selection bias
- highly standardized thus easily replicated to ensure reliability
- significant implications on the nature of learning & can inform better learning methods
- increasingly relevant as technology is introduced into classrooms (ipads maybe mitigate this issue & find middle ground)
Cons:
- homogenous sample limiting generalisability
- low ecological validity
- independent samples design means that participant variability may play a role in the differences between the groups’ performance
- low internal validity as a week passed between the two tests. and not possible to control confounding variables
Blacker 2014 visual working memory Study
Aim
- investigate effects of video games on visuospatial working memory
Participants/Research
- true
- over 30 male students who hadn’t played games within the last year
- Split into 2 conditions: action game // non-action game
Method
- Visuospatial working memory was tested, before & after gaming, by a change detection task
- participants played the video game for 1 hour everyday for 30 days
Results
- action game showed significant improvement in the change detection task
- non-action had no improve in the change detection task
Implications
- Visuospatial working memory improved as a result digital technology of an action game, as the action game required the development of the visuospatial working memory to be successful at action game
Evaluation:
Pros:
- action video games may be potential tool to improve cognitive skills such as working memory which could be applied to educational, and clinical contexts
- control condition avoided confounding variables, ensuring that results were due to the action games specifically
- random group allocation
- operationalisation of variables of change in detection task is widely agreed upon in psychology to measure working memory HOWEVER relying solely relying on 1 measure for working memory will not capture the full complexity of working memory
Cons:
- sample limited generalisability to older age groups as cognitive processes deteriorate, and younger uni students have greater neural plasticity
Blacker 2014 emotions enhancing visual working memory Study
- the study indirectly has ramifications of emotional influences by examining action video games which emotionally engage players
- emotional responses to action games heighting attention may influence the development of working memory due to emotions making these action games more significant
Aim
- investigate effects of emotionally activating video games on visuospatial working memory
Participants/Research
..
Method
..
Results
..
Implications
- Visuospatial working memory improved as a result digital technology of an emotionally charged action game, as the action game required the development of the visuospatial working memory to be successful at action game
Evaluation:
Pros:
- action video games may be potential tool to improve cognitive skills such as working memory which could be applied to educational, and clinical contexts
- control condition avoided confounding variables, ensuring that results were due to the action games specifically
- random group allocation
- operationalisation of variables of change in detection task is widely agreed upon in psychology to measure working memory HOWEVER relying solely relying on 1 measure for working memory will not capture the full complexity of working memory
Cons:
- sample limited generalisability to older age groups as cognitive processes deteriorate, and younger uni students have greater neural plasticity
