cognitive psychology Flashcards
what is the importance of encoding, storing and retrieving information?
encoding is the process of getting information into memory. storing is when the information is stored in the sensory, short term or long term memory. retrieval is accessing information from memory.
what are some strategies to improve encoding?
REPITITION: repeating the terms over and over until the are memorized
CHUNKING: putting the terms into groups (eg all muscles start with T)
TEACHING OTHERS: teaching others is a form of repetition. it can help you to understand further by explaining terms in a way others can understand.
VISULISATION: images, flow charts, or diagrams of the structures she needs to remember.
STORYTELLING: a story out of the structures that are easier to memories or a catchy song made from the terms.
ACRONYMS: the first letter of the terms can be memories
What is the difference between sensory, short term and long term memory?
Sensory memory can hold a vast amount of information but only in a short amount of time (millisecond to a second).
Short term memory can hold usually 5-7 items for around 1 minute
Long term memory can hold information from a Day to a year.
what is the difference between procedural, episodic and semantic memory?
PROCEDURAL: the skills and habits we can do without being conscious eg walking, riding a bike, playing drums
SEMANTIC: the concepts and facts we can talk about eg recalling the months of the year.
EPISODIC: the experiences we can talk about eg recalling what happened to you before school today
which parts of the brain are involved in moving short term to long term memory?
short term memory is stored in the hippocampus and is then transferred to the cerebral cortex
what are some factors that can reduce a persons ability to to make new memories?
Distractions while learning: distractions cause split attention meaning memories do not enter the short term memory or get stored into long term.
Alcoholism: alcoholism can damage the hippocampus
sleep deprivation: when not receiving enough sleep the ability to focus can be effected
advancing age: for example being over 60 years old
How do you learn lines for a school play?
to memories lines you will need to use encoding. one strategy to improve encoding is repetition: repeating the lines over and over until they are memorized.
How does age affect memory?
as we age we have less neurotransmitters to make memories. The connections between the synapses are also weaker so memories are not formed as well
Hippocampus shrinks which is important in transferring short term memory to long term memory
what is an independent variable?
the independent variable is what will influence the dependent variable eg the effect sleep deprivation causes. the independent variable is the hours of sleep each person has
what is the dependent variable?
the dependent variable is the outcome of the independent variable. eg the impact of sleep deprivation.
what is a control group?
the control group is the group that does receive new treatment being studied. eg when studying the cause of sleep deprivation the control group will have the minimum hours of sleep.
why is a control group important?
the control group is important so that the study results can be compared to results from the controlled group.
What is subjective and objective?
a subjective outcome is dependent on who is assessing the outcome. while objective is based on evidence, it is factual. (The score of an English essay is subjective while the score of a maths test is objective)
What is a limitation to accurate data in a memory test?
the participant changing their answer on purpose eg if they don’t want to seem over-confident of their memory which can be interpreted as being arrogant
the participant having a different internalised perception of each score so the confidence they have in their memory that they rate as a 5 may be quite different to the confidence another person has, who also rates their memory as a 5.
what is an extraneous variable?
A variable not involved in the study that can make an impact on the results (situational or participant variable)
what is the difference between a situational and participant variable?
a participant variable is a characteristic or aspect of a participant that effects the study results eg stress or age can effect performance. while a situational variables are factors in the environment that can effect study results eg temperature or noise can effect participants performance.
how can external validity be improved in a study?
gathering a wide range of people eg different race, gender, age. making the study more representative of the population.
how can internal validity be improved?
degree to which the study accurately measures what it set out to
what is the difference between memory and learning?
learning is the development of knowledge or skills. memory is being able to encode, store and retrieve this information.
who is Henry Molaison?
Henry Molaison had a section of his brain surgically removed in the attempt to cure his seizures. His hippocampus was removed making him loose the ability to make new memories.
what is the magic 7?
magic 7 is millers theory where numbers where humans are likely to remember 7 +/- 2 things at a time. (5-9 things 7 being the average)
what is primacy and recency?
primacy is the information presented at the beginning and recency is what is presented at the end of a learning episode. primacy and recency tends to be remembered better than in the middle of learning.
what is the difference between objective and subjective data?
objective data is when data is proven by fact eg Canberra is the capital of Australia. while subjective data is when data is based on an individuals opinion eg I like the dress
what is the multi store model?
sensory memory, short term memory, long term memory
what is the displacement theory?
old memories are lost as new memories are made in the short term memory and the short term memory can only hold (5-9) things at a time.
what is the serial position effect?
primary and recency are more likely to be remembered than what is mentioned in the middle.
what is the serial position effect?
primary and recency are more likely to be remembered than what is mentioned in the middle.
One theory to describe how long term memory is forgotten?
John bergstron came up with the interference of forgetting. old memories could be replaced with new memories and the memories could be mixed up.
the impact of Alzheimer disease? form of dementia
Alzheimer disease causes shrinking of the hippocampus meaning new memories are unable to be made. it also causes toxic changes in the brain destroying its health.
how culture impacts memory?
memory is linked to culture as what you can remember depends on your beliefs and when you where born eg people who didn’t have phones growing up remembered their close ones numbers while nowadays people can use smartphones we don’t have to remember their numbers as we can find them in contacts.
why observational groups or focus groups are used to obtain data about cultural differences?
to make a comparison and learn that age and beliefs have an impact on memory
disadvantages and advantages to focus groups being used to study cultural differences?
disadvantage:
people could feel pressured by others opinions and how they differ to their beliefs
advantage: rather than using the Delphi technique focus groups can help to give further explanation and understanding as to why peoples cultures are different and the effect it has.
the impact of false eyewitness testimonies?
this can lead to false conviction of innocent people, these people can then be punished which can cause them harm and cause distress for them and their family and the close ones while the criminal could still be out committing crime.
how to improve eyewitness testimonies
The “Double-blind” Procedure/Use of a Blind Administrator: A “double-blind” lineup is one in which neither the administrator nor the eyewitness knows who the suspect is. This reduces the experimenter effect so the biases of the administrator are not affecting the choices of the eyewitness. This means the administrator will not interact with the eyewitness in a way that makes them more likely to choose the suspect.
concussions linked to memory?
concussions can cause a brief period of amnesia. it is important that if you have a concussion that you avoid things like bright lights which can cause permanent brain damage.
how technology helps improve memory
researches have found that using electrical signals through implanted wires in the brain can boost memory.
oral traditions
oral traditions are passed on in a few ways. telling people their beliefs, drawing or painting, ceremonies
strokes impact
strokes can cause damage to short term memory making it hard to remember things for a long enough time and encode information to make new memories
