Cognitive psychology Flashcards
what is pre attentive processing?
processing info without conscious effort
what is selective attention?
focusing on specific stimuli while ignoring others
what are the three stages of the general model of attention?
sensory memory, selector, working memory (active processing)
what is the cocktail party effect?
you notice personally relevant information (e.g. name) even when attention is directed elsewhere
what does the filter model of attention suggest?
information is selected based on early sensory properties and higher level processing occurs before reaching working memory
what is attentive processing?
requires active focus and is limited
what is a conjunction search?
when a target is defined by multiple features
what does late selection theory suggest?
that info is processed for meaning before attention is fully directed
what is the difference between bottom up and top down processing?
bottom up processing is influenced by the physical properties of stimuli. top down processing is driven by the perceiver’s goals, expectations, and semantic attributes
what is automatisation?
when tasks can be performed automatically and do not require attention
what is spaced based and feature based attention?
space based attention is based on selecting regions of space to focus on. feature based attention is focusing on particular features
what is inattentional blindness?
failure to notice unexpected events or changes as attention is directed elsewhere, even when the change is clearly in view
what is change blindness? what study was an example of this?
failure to notice changes in ones environment
the door study
if an unexpected object is closer and the same colour as the task object are participants more or less likely to notice it?
more likely
what is overt attention?
where someones eyes are fixated
what is covert attention?
where someones attention is focused
what is spatial neglect?
a condition where damage to one hemisphere of the brain causes a deficit in attention to the opposite side of space
what is simultagnosia?
the inability to perceive more than one object at a time
what is episodic memory?
is autobiographical memory, which includes personal experiences and events from ones life
what is semantic memory?
general knowledge that is not tied to personal experiences
what is prospective memory?
remembering info which involves performing actions in the future
what is the name of the memory store for how to perform tasks and skills?
procedural memory
what are the two ways that memory failures can happen?
decay and interference
what are the three memory stages?
sensory, short term, long term
what is iconic memory? what store is it within?
stores visual info, like colour and shape. sensory memory
what is echoic memory? what store of memory is it in?
is auditory memories and is within sensory memory
what is the capacity rule for STM?
7 + or - 2
what is rehearsal?
repeating info over and over again to keep it within STM for longer
what is the primacy effect?
words at the beginning of a list are recalled well because they are repeated more
what is the recency effect?
words at the end of a list are recalled well because they are still stored in STM
what does a faster rate of presentation effect?
primacy effect as there is less time for rehearsal
what does a filler task do to serial position effects?
it decreases the recency effect as the STM is occupied with other things
what is chunking and what is it helpful for?
chunking is dividing info into meaningful chunks and helps increase STM capacity
out of physical/visual, rhyme, or semantic processing, which is the worst and best form of processing?
best: semantic
worst: physical/visual
what is a conceptual framework which helps understand events?
schema
what is a retrieval failure?
when info is unable to be retrieved as we have lost access to it
what is a psuedomemory?
a false memory but feels like it has actually been experienced
what is flashbulb memory?
vivid and detailed memories associated with emotionally charged events, but are not accurate over time
what is the misinformation effect?
providing people with misleading info after an event which leads to fake memories
what is source amnesia?
difficulty remembering how and where info was acquired
what is confabulation?
honest lying. creating false memories without intending to deceive
what is anosognosia?
lack of awareness or concern about a memory deficit
what is the role of the hippocampus?
helps form memories about events
what helps form memories about emotional components?
amygdala
what is the function of the neocortex?
memories are stored here and then distributed
what is declarative memory? What is its two components?
is verbalisable factual info
divided into semantic and episodic memory
what are the two kinds of interference?
retroactive: when learning something new gets in the way of the old learning
proactive: when the old interferes with the new
what are the two forms of rehearsal?
maintenance: repeating the stimuli in their original form
elaborative: linking stimuli in meaningful ways
what is explicit memory and what is its other name?
declarative memory
process of recalling info intentionally
what is implicit memory? what is an example of it? what are the two subcategories?
process of recalling info we do not remember deliberately such as the steps to unlock a door
priming: ability to identify stimulus better after previous encounter with a similar stimuli
procedural: memory of motor skills and habits
what are the three processes of memory?
encoding, storage, retrieval
what can help retrieval failures?
retrieval cues
what are the two forms of encoding specificity?
context dependent learning: better retrieval when the external context of the original matches the retrieval context
state dependent learning: better retrieval when the same psych or physiological state were experienced in the encoding phase and then in the retrieval state
what are the three Rs of measuring memory?
recall, relearn, recognition
what is long term potentiation? what neurotransmitter aids this?
neurons that fire together, wire together
glutamate
what is reterograde amnesia?
lose some memories of the past
what is anterograde amnesia?
inability to form new memories
what cognitive impairments are experienced by those with alzheimer’s?
memory and language
do old or new memories decay first with those with alzheimer’s?
new memories
what is source monitoring?
efforts to identify the origin (sources) of a memory
how can false memories be implanted?
suggestive memory techniques
what is the misinformation effect?
providing people with misleading info after an event which can lead to false memories
can people with amnesia that impacts explicit memory form new procedural memories?
yes
