Exam 3 Flashcards
What is a flashbulb memory?
Memory for the circumstances in which
you first learned about a very surprising
and emotionally arousing event.
is there such a thing as true flashbulb memories?
Research shows that memory
for highly emotional events is not more
accurate than ordinary memories
The difference between perception vs. mental imagery (top-down vs. bottom-up)
Perception requires both bottom-up and
top-down processing.
Mental imagery and perception are not
the same
Mental imagery is exclusively top-down in
nature.
Mental imagery
the mental representation of stimuli when those stimuli are not physically present in the environment.
visual imagery
the mental representation of visual stimuli
auditory imagery
the mental representation of auditory stimuli
Clinical Psychology- Imagery
Create positive images that replace intrusive,
distressing mental images in PTSD
STEM disciplines- Imagery
Spatial ability is a type of visual imagery
Using spatial images in reasoning is really
useful in STEM-related fields
The history of mental imagery in the field of psychology
Cognitive Revolution – mental imagery
rediscovered BUT:
- Mental imagery is difficult to study
- Not directly observable.
- Imagery fades quickly
How to study mental imagery
If a mental image resembles a physical
object, then people should make
judgments about a mental image in the
the same way that they make judgments about the corresponding physical object.
Example of how to study mental imagery
Mental Rotation Task
Shepard & Metzler (1971) findings
found that reaction times for deciding whether pairs of figures are the same increased the more they had to mentally rotate the image
Analog Code
Involves creating a mental image of an object that closely resembles the actual, perceptual image on your retina.
Propositional Code
Involves storing mental images in an abstract, language-like form that does not physically resemble the original stimulus.
Pylyshyn
mental images are not a necessary component of imagery
