Key Studies and Vocabulary - COGNITIVE

Question 1

What are visual illusions?

Answer 1

are important evidence that our mental models of the world are inaccurate.

Question 2

What are digit span studies?

Answer 2

Digit span studies where people are asked to recall lists of numbers in order show that people can only store about 7 bits of information at once, and get overloaded if asked to deal with more than this at once

Question 3

What are serial position studies?

Answer 3

Serial position studies where pps are asked to recall long lists of words show that (1) our capacity for processing information is very limited; and (2) that we tend to have better recall of information that comes first and last in a sequence(the primacy and recency effects).

Question 4

define cognition

Answer 4

thinking or information processing in the mind.

Question 5

define perception

Answer 5

the cognitive process of taking in information through the senses and making sense of it to produce a mental model which embodies the things were see, hear, touch, taste and so on.

Question 6

define attention

Answer 6

the cognitive process of selecting from the vast amount of information available to us, the small amount of information that will be processed further.

Question 7

define memory

Answer 7

the cognitive processes that store information while it is in use or store it for use at a later time.

Question 8

define mental model

Answer 8

a representation of the world around us that exists in our mind. It is based on information acquired from the world, but does not always represent the world accurately. Compared to the actual world, our mental models are usually incomplete and contain biases and distortions.

Question 9

define capacity limitations

Answer 9

there is a limit to how much information a person can process at once.

Question 10

what research methods are used in cognitive psychology?

Answer 10

relies heavily on laboratory experiments using artificial stimuli like visual illusions and lists of words, letters and numbers

Question 11

What studied are important to consider when thinking of the multi-store model?

Answer 11

Murdoch (1962), Glanzer and Cunitz (1966) and Rundus (1971); Baddeley (1966); Milner et al. (1968); Shallice and Warrington (1970) and; Craik and Tulving (1975)

Question 12

Why is Murdoch (1962), Glanzer and Cunitz (1966) and Rundus (1971) important when studying the multi-store model?

Answer 12

Murdoch (1962), Glanzer and Cunitz (1966) and Rundus (1971) together showed that STM and LTM are separate memory stores, because things that affect STM do not affect LTM and vice versa. They also showed that rehearsal was an important way of storing information in LTM.

Question 13

Why is Baddeley (1966) important when studying the multi-store model?

Answer 13

Baddeley (1966) showed that STM and LTM encode information in different ways because people make different sorts of mistakes when recalling from STM and LTM.

Question 14

Why is Milner (1968) important when studying the multi-store model?

Answer 14

Milner et al. (1968) showed that STM and LTM are separate because a brain-injury patient (HM) had a normal STM but an impaired LTM. They also showed that there is probably more than one LTM store

Question 15

Why is Shallice and Warrington (1970) important when studying the multi-store model?

Answer 15

Shallice and Warrington (1970) showed that STM probably consists of more than one store because their patient (KF) could retain in STM things that he saw but not things he heard

Question 16

Why is Craik and Tulving (1975) important when studying the multi-store model?

Answer 16

Craik and Tulving (1975) showed that rehearsal on its own was not enough to store things in LTM. You also have to think deeply about the information

Question 17

define encoding

Answer 17

changing information into a form the memory system can use.

Question 18

define storage

Answer 18

retaining information for later use.

Question 19

define retrieval

Answer 19

bring stored information from LTM to STM so it can be used.

Question 20

define capacity

Answer 20

the amount of information a memory structure can use.

Question 21

define duration

Answer 21

the length of time for which a memory structure can retain information.

Question 22

define sensory store

Answer 22

a very short-term store where information is kept before it can be encoded into STM.

Question 23

define short-term memory

Answer 23

the memory store where information is kept whilst it is in current use. It has limited capacity and limited duration.

Question 24

define long-term memory

Answer 24

the memory store where all the information we have previously encoded is kept so that it can be used in future if needed.

Question 25

define rehearsal

Answer 25

the process of mental repetition.

Question 26

define primacy effect

Answer 26

the tendency for people to have better recall of the first few bits of information in a series. It is caused by encoding into LTM.

Question 27

define recency effect

Answer 27

the tendency for people to have better recall of the last few bits of information in a series. It is caused by retention in STM.

Question 28

what research methods are used in studying the multi-store model?

Answer 28

Evidence for the multistore model comes mainly from serial position experiments in the lab, and case studies of brain injury patients like HM and Clive Wearing

Question 29

What studies are used to study the working memory model?

Answer 29

Shallice and Warrington (1974), Baddeley et al. (1975) and Robbins et al. (1966)

Question 30

Why is Shallice and Warrington (1974) considered when studying the working memory model?

Answer 30

Shallice & Warrington (1974) studied a brain injury patient, KF, who had an impaired STM span for digits, but a normal STM span for meaningful non-speech sounds. This suggests that there are separate STM stores for different types of information

Question 31

Why is Baddeley et al. (1975) considered when studying the working memory model?

Answer 31

Baddeley et al. (1975) tested WM span with words of different lengths. They found that when the words were shorter, pps could retain more of them in WM. This supports the idea that the capacity of the PL is limited by time rather than number of bits of information.

Question 32

Why is Robbins et al. considered when studying the working memory model?

Answer 32

Robbins et al. (1996) gave participants chell problems to solve, and rated the quality of moves suggested by the pps. The pps were given different tasks to do at the same time at the chess problems. When the other task did not compete for WM (e.g. tapping on the table) the quality of moves remained high. However, when the other task involved either the VSS or the CE, the quality of moves went down. This supports the idea that WM has a limited capacity and is prone to processing conflicts

Question 33

define working memory

Answer 33

a cognitive system that explains how we store and process the information we are using in the present moment. Unlike STM in the multistore model, it is an active processor of information.

Question 34

define phonological loop

Answer 34

an element of the WMM that stores information about sound and speech. It acts as our ‘inner voice’ and we use it when we are rehearsing information.

Question 35

define visuo-spatial sketchpad

Answer 35

an element of the WMM that stores information about vision (what we can see) and location (e.g. where things are). It acts as our ‘mind’s eye’ and we use it both when we are making sense of the world around us and when we work out something in out head (e.g. imagining how to get from one place to another)

Question 36

define central executive

Answer 36

an element of the WMM that controls the PL and the VSS and does information processing (e.g. hard mental work like mental arithmetic). It decides which incoming info will be processed, and tells the PL and VSS what to do. It can ‘help out’ the PL or the VSS but it also has a limited capacity. Unlike the PL and VSS, it is modality free: it can process info in any form.

Question 37

define processing conflict

Answer 37

a problem that occurs when two or more mental tasks compete for the same element of WM and the capacity of WM is therefore exceeded. Processing conflict causes errors and forgetting from WM.

Question 38

What research methods are used when studying the working memory?

Answer 38

WM has been researched using both lab experiments and case studies of brain injury patients.

Question 39

What studies do we need to consider when thinking of the working memory and dyslexia?

Answer 39

Henry (2012) and Katsui et al. (2001)

Question 40

why is Henry (2012) considered when studying working memory and dyslexia?

Question 41

why is Katsui et al. (2001) considered when studying working memory and dyslexia?

Answer 41

Katusi et al. (2001) compared rates of dyslexia in Japan and the UK. Dyslexia-type problems were more likely to be diagnosed in the UK than Japan. They suggested that this might be because Japan has three different writing systems, and not all of them require the reader to link the graphemes with sounds. Consequently, people learning to read Japanese are less likely to run into problems decoding text into sounds.

Question 42

define specific learning disability

Answer 42

a problem in learning that only affects one area of functioning. In dyslexia it is reading/spelling/writing that are difficult, but other intellectual capacities are normal or high

Question 43

define deficit

Answer 43

a comparative lack. If we say that a person has PL deficits we are saying that, compared to the average person, they have a lower PL capacity and/or duration

Question 44

define alphabetic writing system

Answer 44

a writing system where the marks on the page represent sounds. English and most European countries use alphabetic writing systems based on either the Roman, Cyrillic or Greek alphabet. Many countries outside Europe use at least one non-alphabetic system, such as Kanji, in Japan, where each symbol represents a whole idea. Chinese languages such as Mandarin work similarly

Question 45

define orthography

Answer 45

the relationship between sound and letter in an alphabetic writing system. English has a ‘deep’ orthography, as the same letter or letter combination can have many different sounds (e.g. cough, slough, dough, through…) Finnish has a ‘shallow’ orthography, where each letter can only have one sound. Unsurprisingly, dyslexia rates are lower in Finland.

Question 46

what research methods are used when studying working memory and dyslexia?

Answer 46

Correlational research is often used to compare dyslexia learners with other groups to see how their cognition functions.

Question 47

what research methods are used when studying how to support dyslexic individuals?

Answer 47

Field experiments (RCTs) are often used to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions to help dyslexic learners.

Question 48

What studies are considered when studying the theories of long-term memory (Tulving 1972)?

Answer 48

Ostergaard (1989), Vargha-Kadem et al. (1997), Tulving (2002)

Question 49

Why is Ostergaard (1989) considered when studying theories of LTM?

Answer 49

Ostergaard (1989) reports a case study of a boy named CC, with damage to the temporal lobes, including the hippocampus. Although CC showed no apparent sensory or cognitive impairments he showed rapid forgetting of what happened to him, and made limited progress in his school work. However, CC showed normal learning for a computer game where he had to control with a joystick. This gives further support to the idea that procedural memories are stored separately from declarative ones.

Question 50

Why is Vargha-Kadem et al. (1997) considered when studying the theories of LTM?

Answer 50

Vargha-Kadem et al. (1997) report the cases of Beth and Jon, two otherwise normal children with apparently impaired episodic memory. Although both made progress in their school work, and had no obvious problems with language, literacy or factual knowledge, neither was ever able to recall much of the day’s events, what they had watched on TV and so on. This dissociation between episodic and semantic memories supports Tulving’s claim that the two systems are separate from each other.

Question 51

Why is Tulving (2002) considered when studying theories of LTM?

Answer 51

Tulving (2002) reports a case study of KC, who had extensive amnesia following brain injury. The amnesia was selective, so KC could recall the difference between stalactites and stalagmites but not the death of his brother. KC could be taught to complete incomplete words, but could never recall being taught to do so. Again, this implies a dissociation between episodic and semantic memories which suggests they are encoded by separate LTM systems.

Question 52

define procedural memory

Answer 52

stored knowledge that allows a skill to be performed (e.g. riding a bike). Procedural memories and not open to direct conscious inspection (i.e. we cannot explain how we ride a bike, we just do it).

Question 53

define declarative memory

Answer 53

stored knowledge that is open to conscious inspection (e.g. knowing that Paris is the capital of France, or recalling the trip we took to France with school).

Question 54

define episodic memory

Answer 54

stored knowledge about experiences of events, such as remembering what happened on our tenth birthday. Episodic memories are linked to specific times and places, and are holistic, in that they combine information from different senses (e.g. what we saw, heard, felt etc.) in such a way that it cannot be separated out and recalled in isolation. Episodic memories tend to be context-dependent

Question 55

define semantic memory

Answer 55

stored knowledge that allows us to understand the world. This includes the capacity to recognise the nature and purposes of objects, as well as a wealth of facts about the world and the people in it.

Question 56

what research methods are used when studying theories of LTM?

Answer 56

Research in this area relies heavily on case studies of people with brain damage or who show unusual cognitive features.

Question 57

what studies are used to study reconstructive memory and schema theory?

Answer 57

Bartlett (1932), Cordua et al. (`1979), Wynn and Logie (1992)

Question 58

why is Bartlett (1932) considered when studying reconstructive memory and schema theory?

Answer 58

Bartlett (1932) gave his British participants a short Naive American folk tale called ‘the War of the Ghosts’ to read. This story sounds odd to British people because it refers to unfamiliar ideas in unfamiliar ways (i.e. it does not match their cultural schemas for ghost stories). The PPs were asked to recall the study repeatedly over sometimes long intervals. Bartlett noted that, with each retelling, the story became shorter, more coherent and more ‘western’ (e.g. details like seal hunting were changed to fishing). This shows that people unconsciously alter information in line with their pre-existing schemas

Question 59

why is Cordua et al. (1979) considered when studying reconstructive memory and schema theory?

Answer 59

Cordua et al. (1979) showed children videos or male and female doctors and nurses and later asked them about what they had seen. When they had seen female doctors and male nurses, the children tended to reverse the genders, recalling male doctors and female nurses. This shows how the children’s gender schemas had a powerful effect on their memories.

Question 60

why is Wynn and Logie (1992) considered when studying reconstructive memory and schema theory?

Answer 60

Wynn and Logie (1992) tried to recreate Bartlett’s (1932) study by asking PPs repeatedly to recall their early experiences at university. Although their stories did get shorter over time, the changes observed by Bartlett did not occur. This might be because the experiences the PPs were recalling were already consistent with their relevant schemas, which was not the case for Bartlett’s PPs.

Question 61

define schema

Answer 61

an organised set of information in LTM that is used to understand typical objects, situations and people we encounter in the world. Schemas distill the common features of things. They are very useful because they allow us to understand unfamiliar objects, situations or people and to predict what is likely to happen. However, there is a tendency for people to forget or distort new information which does not fit their existing schemas. This can result in reconstructive errors in recall, either through rationalisation or confabulation.

Question 62

define reconstructive memory/error

Answer 62

the process of remembering things by using our schemas to recreate the original stimulus or event. During reconstruction, we make ‘efforts after meaning’, trying to recall things in the way that makes the most sense to use. This is where errors can occur because our schematic knowledge might be different from what actually happened, so what we ‘remember’ is not accurate, but we remain unaware of this

Question 63

define confabulation

Answer 63

a type of reconstructive errors where people unconsciously use their schemas to fill in the gaps in their memory.

Question 64

define rationalisation

Answer 64

a reconstructive error where people consciously work out what probably happened based on their schemas.

Question 65

what research methods are used in studying reconstructive memory and schema theory?

Answer 65

Researchers into reconstructive memory often make use of field studies with more naturalistic materials than in typical cognitive psychology experiments.