Cognitive Psychology Flashcards
What are the three major research methods used in cognitive psychology?
- Reaction time: stimulus-response
- Eye movements: measures information processing
- Brain imaging: associates various cognitive processes with parts of the brain
Who was Herman Ebbinghaus and what was his contribution to psychology?
Memorized non-sense syllables; then memorized others as a distraction; measured how much of the original list he remembered; compared the number of times he had to read the list in order to re-memorize it; if faster, concluded that he remembered some (called method of savings); also came up with forgetting curve (drops quickly without practice and then plateaus)
What is the method of savings?
Attributed to Herman Ebbinghaus:
Memorized non-sense syllables; then memorized others as a distraction; measured how much of the original list he remembered; compared the number of times he had to read the list in order to re-memorize it; if faster, concluded that he remembered some
What is the forgetting curve?
Attributed to Herman Ebbinghaus; ability to remember chartered in a curve; drops quickly without practice and then plateaus
What three mental processes are involved in memory?
- Retrieval
- Recall
- Recognition
What is the generation-recognition model?
Recall task taps the same basic process of accessing information in memory as does a recognition task; recall = additional processing step
What is the storage theory of memory?
States that there are several memory systems:
- sensory (includes iconic and echoic)
- short-term/working
- long-term
What is the partial-report procedure?
Discovered by George Sperling when he was investigating sensory memory; flashed 3 x 3 cards but asked to report 1 row (unknown by participant); they could generally report it accurately; determined that sensory memory can hold 9 but by time repeated four, memory had receded
What was George Sperling’s contribution to psychology?
Identified that sensory memory can hold 9 items using partial-report method:
flashed 3 x 3 cards but asked to report 1 row (unknown by participant); they could generally report it accurately; determined that sensory memory can hold 9 but by time repeated four, memory had receded
(previously, flashed 3 x 3 matrix of numbers - ask to name - got mostly 4 - decided that was the max number of items that the sensory memory could hold)
What is maintenance rehearsal?
Information from sensory memory will stay in short term memory if you keep repeating it
What is elaborative rehearsal
Organizing material and associating it with information already have in long-term memory
What are the two component parts of long term memory according to the storage theory of memory?
- Procedural: remembering how things are done
- Declarative: where explicit memories are stored
a. Semantic: general knowledge/words
b. Episodic: events/episodes experienced
What does the ABC song reflect?
Encoding verbal material in short term memory more likely to be based on sound than meaning
What is the semantic verification task?
Used to map long-term memory; asked whether a simple statement is true or false; measure how long it takes to respond (called response latency) to find out how information is stored.
What is response latency?
The time it takes to respond to a prompt.
What was Collins and Loftis’ contribution to psychology?
Proposed spreading activation model:
Studied long-term memory: shorter distance between words, closer they are in memory (looks like a web); indicated by speed of response
What are the two competing theories with the storage theory of memory?
- Levels of Processing or Depth of Processing Theory (Craik and Lockart)
- Dual-Code Hypothesis (Paivlo)
What is the levels of processing or depth of processing theory?
How long you remember material depends on the way you process material (only one memory system); three ways/levels that info can be processed:
1. Physical/visual
2. Acoustical/sound
3. Semantic/meaning
Deeper stages require connecting with info already stored; deeper level = remembered longer
What did Craik and Lockart contribution to psychology?
The levels of processing or depth of processing theory
How long you remember material depends on the way you process material (only one memory system); three ways/levels that info can be processed:
1. Physical/visual
2. Acoustical/sound
3. Semantic/meaning
Deeper stages require connecting with info already stored; deeper level = remembered longer
What is the dual-code hypothesis?
Info can be stored/encoded in two ways:
1. Visually
2. Verbally
Abstract information is encoded verbally (ex. concept of virtue); concrete information is encoded visually and verbally (ex. elephant)
What was Paivlo’s contribution to psychology?
Dual-code hypothesis
Is memory completely reliable?
No - what we remember and what we experience are not exact replicas; largely based on schema/schemata and how we make meaning
What is decay theory?
If information is long-term memory is not used/rehearsed, it will eventually be forgotten (doesn’t take into account impact of learning new information)
What is inhibition theory?
Suggests that forgetting is due to the activities that have taken place between original learning and later attempted recall. Two kinds:
- Proactive inhibition: what you learned earlier interferes with what you learn later (teacher with siblings)
- Retroactive inhibition: occurs when you forget what you learned earlier as you learn something new
What is proactive inhibition?
what you learned earlier interferes with what you learn later (teacher with siblings)
What is retroactive inhibition?
occurs when you forget what you learned earlier as you learn something new
What is encoding specificity?
Explains why sometimes it seems like we’ve forgetting something; actually just need the right “trigger” (recall is easier if information present at time of encoding is present at time of retrieval)
What is the theory of state-dependent learning?
Suggests that recall will be better if your psychological and/or physical state at the time of recall is the same as your state when you memorized the material
What is the method of loci?
Associating information with some sequence of places with which you are familiar
What is Elizabeth Loftus’ contribution to psychology?
She proved that eye witness memory is often erroneous; now focusing on accuracy of repressed memories that resurface
