Cognitive Processing - Cognitive Approach Flashcards
what are the two types of schema theory things?
scripts and memory
schema theory and scripts
Scripts refer to the discussion of how things work. Scripts are patterns of behavior learned through interactions with the environment. E.g. a script on how to eat spaghetti.
schema
Schemas are mental representations derived from prior experience and knowledge. Bottom-up information derived from the sense is interpreted by the top-down influence of relevant schemas in order to determine which behavior is most appropriate. Schema models help predict what to expect based on past occurances. Used to organize knowledge, assist recall, guide our behavior, and help make sense of current experiences.
Schema simplifies everything. If handed a phone and asked to call the doctor, one does not say, “I don’t know. I have never used THIS phone before!” Instead, a schema for how a phone works that allows people to use the phone, regardless of the brand.
What does schema theory describe?
the theory of how humans process new incoming information, relate it to pre-existing knowledge and then use it. It is based on the assumption that humans are active processors of information, not passively responding to information. Interpreting and integrating it to make sense based on past experiences, this is done subconsciously. When information is missing, the brain tries to fill in the blanks based on existing schemas. Resulting in obvious mistakes.
schema theory and memory
assuming that the cognitive processes are influenced by social and cultural factors. Barlett was the first to show how cultural schema influences remembering. He expressed that memory isn’t a photograph or audio recording but made up to make more sense to them.
Bartlett (1932) type of study / method
lab experiment with observation
Bartlett (1932)
AIM: Investigate how the memory of a story is affected by previous knowledge
PROCEDURE:
P. told a native american legend - P. were british, thus unfamiliar with the names and concepts
P. allocated one of two conditions
Repeated reproduction: P. heard story and told to reproduce it after a short time & then repeat this after a period of days, weeks, months and years
Serial reproduction: Recall story & repeat to other P.
FINDINGS:
No significant difference between the way groups recalled story
Three patterns of distortion - 1) became more consistent w/ P.’s own cultural expectations. 2) became shorter (after 6/7 reproductions, it was 180 words). 3) change the order of the story in order to make sense of it using terms more familiar to the culture of P. - and added details/emotions
what did bartlett conlude from his study?
that schemas are complex unconscious knowledge structures.
Memory process derived from Schema theory
ENCODING: sensory information into memory
STORAGE: biological trace of encoded information in memory (consolidated or lost)
RETRIEVAL: using stored information (thinking, problem-solving, decision-making).
Brewer and Treynes (1981)
AIM: Investigate role of schema in the encoding and retrieval of memory
PROCEDURE:
86 university psych students
Seated in a room made to look like an office - P. asked to wait in the professor’s office while the R. checked to make sure the previous participant had completed the experiment (did not realize experiment had already begun)
All P. had the same vantage point
After 35 seconds P. called into another room & asked to remember what was in the office - P. given a questionnaire asking if they expected to be asked to recall the office
P. allocate 1 of 3 conditions
Recall: asked to write & describe as many objects possible - location, shape & size
After, given a verbal recognition test in which they had to rate items in a booklet for how certain they were that the object was in the room
Drawing: P. given an outline of room & asked to draw what they could remember
Verbal recognition: P. asked to read a list of objects and simply asked whether they were in the room/not
FINDINGS:
93% did not expect to recall
When P. asked to recall by writing/drawing: more likely to remember items congruent w/ an office - more likely to forget incongruent items (skull, bark, screwdriver) in comparison to the verbal recognition
When asked to select items on a list, P. more likely to remember incongruent items even though they might not have recalled it in verbal recall
But also had a higher rate of identifying congruent items not in the room
Multi-Store Memory Model
memory consists of a number of separate locations where information is stored. It also suggests that memory processes are sequential. Additionally, it expresses that each memory store operates in a single, uniform way. The short term memory (STM) is used as a way by which information gains access to long term memory (LTM).
strengths of multi sotre memory model
significant research to support the theory - experimental research and biological case studies
historical importance
limitations of multi store memory model
over-simplified
does not explain memory distortion.
does not explain why some things may be learned with a minimal amount of rehearsal.
several times rehearse a lot to remember information and it is not transferred to LTM.
Peterson and Peterson (1959)
MSM
AIM: Investigate duration of STM & provide empirical evidence for M-SMM
PROCEDURE:
Lab experiment - 24 P. had to recall trigrams, meaningless three-consonant syllables
Prevent rehearsal - P. asked to count backwards in 3s/4s from a specified number until a red light appeared
FINDINGS:
Longer interval delay, less trigrams recalled - P. could recall 80% after 3s, less than 10% after 18s
STM has limited duration when rehearsal is prevented
STM is different from LTM in terms of duration - supports M-SMM
Working Memory Model
kind of mental workspace, providing a temporary space to hold relevant information for use in any cognitive task. Once the task is completed, the information disappears, making space for new information.
Brewer and Treyenes (1981)
WMM
AIM: Investigate if articulatory suppression would influence recall of written list of phonologically dissimilar letters in serial recall
PROCEDURE:
34 undergraduate psychology students
participants randomly allocated into two groups
control group- didn’t perform articulatory task, saw list for 5 seconds and waited another 5 before answering
experimental group- performed task with articulatory suppression task
participants tested individually
asked to recall list of letters
10 lists each consisting a series of 7 random letters that didn’t sound alike, each series presented one at a time
had answer sheet with 7 blanks in a row
FINDINGS:
ex. group lower scores than control group
mean % of control group 75% compared to ex. group 45%
Strengths of Working Memory Model
Supported by considerable experimental evidence.
Different area of the brain is active when carrying out verbal tasks
Case studies of patients with brain damage support theory: more than one STM store.
Understand why we are able to multitask in some situations and not in others.
limitations of working memory model
Role of central executive is unclear
Suggested that it has its own limited capacity
Impossible to measure this separately from the capacity of the phonological loop and the visuospatial sketchpad.
How the various components of the model interact not clear
Only explains short-term memory
Very little about the processes involved in long-term memory.
Doesn’t explain memory distortion or the role of emotion in memory formation.
Thinking and Decision Making
There are several components of thinking (problem-solving, creativity, reasoning, and decision-making). Decision-making is needed during problem-solving to reach a conclusion. Problem-solving is thinking that is directed toward solving specific problems by means of a set of mental strategies.
The Dual Process Model
two systems for thinking. System 1 and System 2
System 1 of Thinking
Context dependant - focus on existing evidence & ignores absent evidence
Concerns everyday decision making
Generates impressions & inclinations
Not logic bases & prone to error
Operates quickly/automatically w/ little/no effort
System 2 of thinking
Abstract
Conscious reasoning
Logical and reliable
Slow & requires effort
Transfers info from one situation to another
Wason (1968)
Dual Processing Model
AIM: Illustrate intuitive system one thinking → prove S1 is prone to error
PROCEDURE:
Participants shown four cards, two numbers and two colored cards & asked which card(s) must be turned over to test idea that if a card shows an even number, it is red
FINDINGS:
Most choose 8 & red, incorrect
Decision based on matching bias, in an abstract problem we tend to be overly influenced by wording/context of the question
Evan & Wason (1976) found that when asked, P. could not clearly explain their choice - provides important evidence for the dual process model
strengths of dual processing model
Different types of thinking may be processed in different parts of the brain.
The Wason selection task and other tests for cognitive biases are reliable in their results.
limitations of dual processing model
Overly reductionist → does not clearly explain how modes of thinking interact
System 1 and System 2 definitions are not always clear.
