Cognitive Proceses Lectures 4-6 Flashcards
What is declarative memory? What are the components of declarative memory (semantic and episodic memory)?
Declarative memory (“knowing what” or explicit memory):
→Memory of facts and events
→Memories that can be consciously recalled or declared
Semantic memory:
→Explicit knowledge of the meanings of words, facts, ideas
→Structured record of facts, meanings, concepts, knowledge about the external world
→Independent of personal experience
→A sense of ‘knowing’ rather than just remembering
Episodic Memory:
→Memory of our personal experiences and life events in a serial form
What is non-declarative/procedural/implicit memory?
Non-declarative/procedural/implicit memory: is ‘knowing how’
→Unconscious memory of skills and how to do things
→Memory of how to use objects or movements of the body e.g. tying a shoelace, playing piano, riding a bike
Outline the hierarchical network models (Collins & Loftus) for semantic memory:
→Concepts are categorised and their properties are noted in a network system
→Logical hierarchical structure with interconnected nodes
→No redundancy: each concept only stored once
→Presenting a concept leads to activation of the appropriate node and to a spread of activation of related nodes
In the structure of long-term memory, what are scripts, schemas, and stereotypes?
Scripts:
→Generalized mental representations of events in time
→Examples: birthday party script, wedding script
Schemas:
→Generalized mental representations and concepts describing a class of objects, events, or scenes
Stereotypes:
→Fixed, over generalized belief about a group or class of people
What did Bartlett’s ‘War of the Ghosts’ study reveal?
→Demonstrated that previous knowledge and cultural expectations could distort memory of an unfamiliar text
→Assimilation: details of the story were unconsciously changed to become more consistent with the participant’s cultural expectations
→Leveling: The text became shorter as details that were seen as unimportant were omitted
→Sharpening: Participants changed the order of the story and used cultural terms more familiar to them, also emphasized some emotions/details but not others.
What does Craik and Lockhart’s (1972) Levels of Processing Theory suggest?
Levels of Processing Theory:
→Deep semantic (meaningful) processing leads to better long-term memory and better recall than shallow processing.
How does classical conditioning and priming affect implicit memory?
Classical conditioning:
→Stimuli can be associated with certain feelings and evoke a response→ Dentist drill→pain→anxiety
Priming:
Display or mention of one concept leads to activation of other concepts
How does the level of processing affect memory of the stimulus? (Level of Processing Theory)
Stimuli processed in a ‘deeper’ manner are better remembered than stimuli that are processed in a ‘shallow’ manner.
What is procedural memory?
→Memory for how to do things
→Not verbalisable, not available to conscious awareness
→Learnt through gradual incremental experience, not ‘one-trial’ learning
→Operates automatically, does not need conscious attention
Outline the differences in explicit versus implicit memory tests:
Explicit memory tests:
→Intentional recognition and recall→Subjects explicitly told to memorise and to engage in intentional retrieval
Implicit memory tests:
→Subjects are NOT told to remember how to perform a task→They are just told to perform the task
→Implicit memory is demonstrated when participants are more likely to identify or complete old items
What evidence suggests that there is dissociation (implicit and explicit memory tasks function based on different systems) between implicit and explicit memory tasks/systems?
→Implicit memory is not better for more deeply processed stimuli
→Implicit memory is better preserved over delay
→Implicit memory was preserved very well in amnesic patients with poor explicit memory.
What are flashbulb memories?
→A particularly vivid, highly-detailed, long-lasting memory ‘snapshot’ of the moment in which a surprising and consequential (emotionally arousing) piece of news as heard.
