M&L Flashcards
What is declarative (explicit) memory, what is it made up of?
Memory where you can put it into words, pin point what exactly occurred:
Long term: (episodic and semantic)
Short term/working memory
What is episodic memory?
Memory of experiences you have had
What is non-declarative (implicit memory), what is it made up of?
Memory where it cannot be defined:
Conditioning, motor skills, priming
What did Tulving (1972) outline in his fundamental theory of memory?
Different types of memory - episodic and semantic memory.
What did Tulving (1985) outline?
Different memory systems:
Episodic - semantic - procedural
Defined by different levels of consciousness:
Autonoetic - Noetic - Anoetic
What are the examples of evidence for the existence of episodic memory and semantic memory in anterograde amnesic patients?
Spiers et al (2001) reviewed 147 cases with Hippocampal damage - in anterograde amnesic patients found deficits in episodic memory but only minor deficits in semantic memory.
What evidence is there concerning retrograde amnesia and the effect this has on memory?
Tulving (2002) and his patient KC:
Had severe anterograde amnesia and temporally graded retrograde amnesia
Very bad episodic memory, but okay semantic memory
Evidence for different types of memory regarding median temporal lobe damage?
Median temporal lobe is area surrounding (and including) hippocampus. deficits are seen in both semantic and episodic memory in patients with MTL damage
Verfaellie et al (2000)
Evidence for differences in memory for Temporal lobe epilepsy?
Viscontas et al (2000)
Bad episodic memory
Fairly intact semantic memory
Evidence for specific semantic memory loss?
Patient EL - left anterior temporal lobe atrophy
Semantic loss but no episodic loss
What did Prince et al (2007) show through imaging studies about different areas of the brain being used for different types of memory?
Hippocampus activated for episodic
Posterior temporal for semantic
Posterior frontal cortex for both
Difference in familiarity and recollection?
familiarity is a sense of knowing without context (semantic?)
Recollection is remembering contextual details - episodic memory
- More effortful and attention demanding, the hippocampus may play a role
What may Deja vu represent?
A difference between recognition and familiarity
What did Knowlton and Squire (1995) show about recollection and familiarity?
In Jon - a patient with amnesia, he struggled with long term recollection but not with familiarity.
What did Harand et al., (2012) show about hippocampus in episodic memory?
Hippocampus is involved in long-term episodic memories
However episodic that is repeated can become ‘semanticised’ and the hippocampus is not associated with this.
Evidence of remembering and knowing in OCD?
Obsessional checking itself may cause remembering and knowing to shift - this may exacerbate issues
e.g. after checking lots of times the shift has gone to familiarity rather than remembering (can’t remember whether the light is off for example)
What is the proposed role of the hippocampus in ‘what and ‘where’ distinctions of memories?
The hippocampus appears to have a role in binding the two distinctions together - Diana (2007)
What is the evidence (no study) for source memory and hippocampus
Hippocampus damage leads to worse source memory e.g. male or female voice.
How do episodic memory and semantic memory relate?
semantic memory is built up by episodic repetitions of experiences, episodic relies on semantic memory as it allows us to make sense of the meaning of episodes.
What did Moscovitch et al., (2006) show about the role of the hippocampus in semantic memory?
The hippocampus may be involved in the initial encoding of semantic memories. Semantic knowledge is dependent on episodic memory as well.
Evidence for the combination and non-distinction of episodic and semantic memory?
Burianova et al., (2010) evidence for a single neural network containing episodic, semantic and autobiographical memory.
Two types of consolidation?
Synaptic consolidation - structural changes in synaptic connections.
Systemic consolidation - gradual independence from the hippocampus
Evidence for consolidation?
Retrograde amnesia is temporarily graded - dependent on time Bayley et al., (2006)
What is consolidation?
Baddeley et al., 2009: Time-dependent process by which a new memory is gradually woven into the fabric of memory
What are the multiple trace theory/transformation hypotheses in terms of consolidation?
Moscovitch et al (2006) and Winocur et al (2010) suggested that semantic memory does have gradual development and independence from the hippocampus (Sytemic consolidation) but that episodic memory relies on the hippocampus forever.
What evidence is there regarding reconsolidation, what has it shown?
Chan & LaPaglia (2013) showed that re-actovating memories will make them more vulnerable to distortion - make them more malleable.
What are retrieval cues? What types are there?
Information utilised at the time of recall that affects the performance of recall:
Environmental context
Semantic links
State and mood
What is encoding specificity, what evidence is there regarding it?
The fact that memory improves when information available at encoding is also available at recall (Thompson and Tulving 1973)
Same paper provided evidence that semantic context improves performance at recall and recognition
Evidence regarding multiple cues?
Rubin and Wallace (1989) showed that multiple cues improved performance.
Why is it useful that memory is not an exact reproduction of events?
Retain overall meaning rather than trivial details (efficiency)
Utilise past memories to imagine the future Schacter and Addis (2007)
Is memory reproductive or constructive?
Constructive. Schacter and Addis (2007). not an exact replication but open to distortion
Evidence for the fact that memories allow us to predict the future?
Amnesic patients struggle to predict the future.
Race et al., (2011), 20 ptps. and Tulving (1985) one patient
What is different about implicit memory?
Different neural structures from declarative memory. Corkin 1984
They are characterised by what they are not: Not, declaritive/episodic/do not rely on MTL
Follow a general principle of plasticity - adaptive improvement of function by experience Reber 2013
What is procedural memory? Two subsets?
Perceptual motor abilities: Typing, athletic skill, musical skill
Cognitive: Computer programming, chess, reading, language.
Initially effortful but then shift to automatic
Often non-declarative.
What did spiers et al., (2001) show in terms of procedural memory and Amnesic patients?
Amnesic patients had no difficulty learning new procedural tasks
What is priming?
When the exposure to one stimulus influences the response to another. Repetition priming for example is when an encountered previous stimulus will speed the rate at which a ptp will recognise the same stimulus. Lasts a long time.
What is perceptual priming?
Form of repetition priming - Visual or Audio similarity between primer and target
What is meant by the fact that there is a porous distinction between implicit and explicit memory?
The boundary is not so solid, declaritive memory may contribute to implicit tasks, Kessler and Moscovitch (2013) showed there is an explicit element to some lexical decision and word stem completion tasks.
What is an alternative view of implicit/explicit memory?
It may be that the classic distinctions are too simplistic, the distinction may come down to things such as the speed of encoding, flexibility of learning and degree of relational processing.
What is working memory?
A temporary storage system, that contributes to attentional control. Baddeley (2007)
memory that is short term that allows us to underpin the tasks we are doing as we go about our normal business. Martin Farrell (2016)
What kind of things does Working memory affect?
Prose writing
Reading ability
Academic attainment
Mathematical ability
To name a few.
Conditions in which WM deficits are associated?
ADHD
DCD
Dyslexia
Normal ageing declines
The multicomponent model of WM?
Central executive (contributing to the episodic buffer)
Visuospatial sketchpad (contribute to Visual semantics)
Episodic buffer (Contribute to episodic LTM, and visuospatial sketchpad/phonological loop)
Phonological loop (Contribute to language)
What is the phonological loop component of WM?
The verbal-auditory WM component
Has a capacity of about 2s (afterwards memory decays)
What is articulatory suppression?
The phenomena of the decay of memory when the phonological loop is being used in another way (it cannot go into the phonological store)
Evidence for the phonological loop?
Classic evidence: word-length effect - words that take longer (more syllables or long vowels) are not recalled as well Baddeley et al., (1975). Similar sounding words that sound alike are remembered less effectively - the same parts of the brain (for articulatory movements) is involved in remembering, and therefore greater confusion (phonological similarity effect) only through visual presentation (inwardly articulate).
Neuropsychologial evidence: Patient PV (baddeley and Vallar 1984) - phonological store damaged (verbal WM), articulatory fine, LTM fine, Visuospatial fine
How does LTM affect the Verbal STM (WM)?
Performance recall is better with real words so there must be some affect of LTM on verbal STM.
What may be the functional use of the phonological loop?
May be used to learn language as the sounds are unfamiliar.
PV (who does not have verbal WM) struggled to learn new languages.
What is visual-verbal fractionation?
Evidence?
A differentiation between verbal and visual WM.
Patient PV verbal not intact but visuospatial is okay.
Smith and Jonides 1997 - different pattern of neural activation (left/right hemispheres) in visuospatial and verbal tasks
Structural components of the visuosptial sketchpad?
Visual chache - passive store of form and colour
Inner scribe: active spatial rehearsal process
Similar to phonological store and loop.
What functional real-world applications is visuospatial memory related to?
Route finding, map reading, driving and even body image (Darling et al.,)
What is change blindness, what kind of evidence is there for it?
There is only a small capacity of WM, this means that changes seen that are not the focus of your attention are often not noticed (gorilla/card trick) change blindness Rensink et al., (1997)
What is the role of the central executive?
Controls our attention and allocates resources to the different components of the WM model, planning and control. Particularly important to non-automatised tasks.
What ways can you test the central executive
I.e. can be used for inhibition, shifting, updating.
Inhibition - stroop effect
Shifting - shifting rules
Updating - have to stop remembering some things and then pick up new things to remember.
What is the role of the episodic buffer?
binding of information between sub-systems (phonological and visuospatial systems) distinct from the central executive Allen baddeley and hitch (2011/2006), may bind info to LTM as well
Involved in the integration of visuospatial and phonological Wang et al., (2015)
May be the component that leads to conscious experience - leads to the binding of all the aspects of the memory system.
What is autobiographical memory?
The memory that defines us, the memory of the events of our own life, stretches across the lifetime (not not equally)
What are the four functions of autobiographical memory?
Directive
Social
Self-representational
Adaptive
What is the directive function of autobiographical memory? What are schemas?
Using past-experiences being used to shape future and present decisions and directions
Memories of personal experiences can be used to develop successful schemas. Schemas are clusters of memories around a certain activity i.e. all the memories of driving a car.
What is the social function of autobiographical memories?
Helps the maintenance and development of social bonds by providing material for people to converse about. People with impairments in AM, have trouble forming and maintaining relationships
What is the self-representative function of AM?
Personal memories are used to create and maintain a coherent self-identity over time. A stable self-identity can allow for reflection of past experiences and can lead to self-insight and growth
What is the adaptive function of AM?
Recalling past experiences can help to modulate our mood. This can contribute to the development of emotional resilience. Depression can alter this function - so that the depressed person does not recall positive memories
Two main ways to study AM?
Diary method
- keep a diary of self-judged important memories and these are then presented in a recognition task.
Problems: Sampling bias, practice effects - act of recording may alter memory
Memory probe task
- Use cues (list of words) to recall AMs, then asked to describe them in as much detail as possible. recent research has used visual and olfactory cues.
What are the three distinct periods of AM across lifespan?
Childhood Amnesia - Forget early memories, not accountable by forgetting in normal age.
Reminiscence bump (late teens - early thirties)
Recency
Evidence for the effect of language on memory?
Morrison and Conway (2010), recalled memories with a cue word - showed that first memory associated with a word was a few months after the word was first learned.
Why is there a reminiscent bump in AM?
This is when people start to form a sense of self (self-representation function of AM)- there is a lot of firsts e.g. graduation, relationships, moving in with someone (rubin et al (1998). It is a period of transition.
What is the evidence regarding cross-lifespan differences in distinct cultures?
the three distinct periods of large numbers of memories remain but the content of the memories are different.
How is autobiographical knowledge organised?
Lifetime periods - e.g. when you studied psychology at Leeds
General Events - Repeated events e.g. my trip to the new forest, or a single event - trip to paris
Event specific knowledge - more specific than the others - adds to memory vividness, a specific event.
What is the working self?
Similar to the working memory - acts as a central control process, controlling access to the autobiographical knowledge base. Leads to emotional resilience.
It has a reciprocal relationship.
The working self controls access to the autobiographical memory which controls access to its components - episodic memory and long term self (made up of autobiographical knowledge base - lifetime periods etc., and the conceptual self - personal scripts, self-guides and beliefs.
Evidence, and quick description showed from Charlesworth et al., (2015)
Two groups, one first presented with a past event that has personal meaning, the other talked about solar system.
Then given a fluency task, 1 min to write as many statements I am statements as they can
The experimental group produced significantly more than the control. They also produced more psychological than social or physical ‘I am’ statements.
Shows Self-concept and episodic AM knowledge interact. Shows ‘the self’ is dynamic and responds to our needs of the moment.
We use AM to increase access to self concepts
AM is most closely associated with psychological selves.
What did Wang and Conway (2004) show about bicultural individuals on AM retrieval?
Did a study on American/Chinese individuals, when American self primed: more individual self concepts accessed, when Chinese primed: more social interaction memories retrieved.
What did Marian and Kaushanskaya (2004) show about cross culture differences and the effect on self concepts, in relation to language.
English bilinguals who emigrated to US, interveiew of two parts, one in Russian and one in english, - two groups with the order reversed
More self-orientated narratives produced in the English language
Emotional intensity was higher when the language at encoding was matched to retrieval, regardless of the language used.
Concluded that language influences cognitive styles in bilinguals.
Effect of first-person third-person recall of traumatic events in PTSD?
In PTSD traumatic events are often recalled in third-person observer perspective which may offer short term relief as patient can remove oneself from the memory, but may impede long-term recovery.
What is the total tie hypothesis of learning? Experimental evidence?
Learning is time-dependent
Ebbinghaus (1885)
He learned a new syllable (nonsensical syllables) and then tested how long it took for him to remember them all.
The amount of time he put in correlated with accuracy.
What is the research regarding last minute cramming?
It is effective for superficial short-term memories, but not for longer more established memories Kornell (2008)
Evidence regarding spaced learning sessions?
Optimal spacing increases with longer retention interval - spacing increases length of time learned info stays. Capeda et al., (2008).
Explanation for the increased effect of spaced learning on retention period?
Greene (1989) - pay less attention to material due to familiarity of material and therefore do not learn
Bjork & Bjork (1992) - over time memories become less accessible and so over time have to pay more attention to a less accessible memory.
Effect of successful testing in learning, and evidence?
The more successful testing of items in learning increases learned information. May be due to incraesed retrieval effort and strengthening of retrieval routes - Pyc and Rawson (2009, 2012)
Evidence regarding different levels of processing in memory and learning?
Studies have shown that in conditions where you have to know if it rhymes or if it fits in a sentence (i.e. you have to pay attention to nature of word) increases remembered words. Craik et al., (2007)
What are limitations of finding in terms of evidence of different levels of processing?
Shallow processing can still lead to better learning with certain testing methods.
Depth is a vague term, cannot be described or objectively measured
Merely a description, doesn’t provide explanation
What are Encoding spcificity and Transfer Appropriate Processing in terms of learning?
EC - Encoding specificity - memory enhanced when the cues are the same at recall and encoding
TAP - Memory is enhanced when the processes engaged at encoding match that at recall
benefits of the organisation of of material?
Organising into categories benefits later recall
When words presented in hierarchical structures recall was improved (bower et al., 1969)
Findings regarding LTM (what we already know) and the organisation of memory on recall?
Lots of evidence for the effect that people use organisation and LTM to better remember things.
Chase and Simon (1973):
- Showed chess positions to people who were masters of chess, people who were proficient and people who were beginners. The more knowledgeable could remember better when they were as part of a game, but there was no difference when they were randomly places about the board.
Findings concerning interest in a subject and recall of knowledge?
Memory is better recalled when the subject is interested in the area of recall.
fMRI indicates the activation of reward centres in the brain which may offer some explanation.
Findings concerning attention and it’s effect on memory?
Attention is important during encoding and retrieval, however more important during encoding.
Craik et al 1996.
Learning strategies identified as useful by Dunlosky et al. (2013)?
Practice testing and distributed practice were the most useful
Also interleaved practice, Elaborative interrogation and self-explanation were moderately useful.
What is errorless learning? How is it applied in amnesic patients and why is it useful?
It has been shown that Amnesic tend to reproduce their own mistakes. Baddeley and Wilson (1994) showed that actually amnesic patients by trial number 3 can be as good at remembering as elderly patients, however as trials continue they get worse or only continue to reach the same as before. (may be because they repeat their mistakes)
Errorless learning: I am thinking of a word beginning with QU, the word is QUOTE, write that down.
Errorful learning: I am thinking of a word beginning with QU, can you guess what that word is?
In Errorful learning this can lead to the learning of errors (as they feel familiar) and the subsequent recall of those errors. This does not happen in errorless learning.
Effect of sleep on memory?
Sleep enhances declarative and procedural memory.
Longer sleep is better but even shorter naps can improve retention
Effects can be seen even years later (particularly in the case of emotional material, (Wagner et al., 2006))
Diekelmann & Born (2010) showed different sleep phases affect different forms of memory consolidation
Mnemonic of factors that contribute to forgetting?
TABMSBP - Schacter
Transience - time or interference
Absent-mindedness - failure to give attention to encoding
Blocking - temporary inaccessible memory
Misattribution
Suggestibility
Bias
Persistence
Bahrick (1984) theories on forgetting?
Have about 2 years of forgetting then the forgetting levels off (the permastore part).
Results of brewer et al (1998) on forgetting and brain activation?
Items with higher MTL activation at encoding were better recalled.
Individuals with temporal lobe epilepsy struggle in what way in terms of memory?
Patient SK, Kemp et al., (2012):
Short term sessions is okay (didn’t perform too poorly on standard memory tasks) However had accelerating forgetting.
What is decay, what type of memory may be particularly affected by decay?
Not recalling memory causes it to be forgotten.
May be particularly important in WM (Peterson & Peterson)
It is the central tenet in the Time-based resource sharing model (Barrouillet et al., 2004)
Limitations to the idea of decay?
Hard to provide evidence for, can’t really be picked apart from interference, would need to put people into a ‘mental vacuum’
McGeoch (1932) attacked decay theory:
- Does not specify mechanism
- Just because you can’t recall something once doesn’t mean it can’t be recalled later
What is retroactive interference?
What are the two theories concerning this ?
retroactive interference: The formation of new memories can interfere with the original memory.
Two factors, Melton & Irwin (1940):
- Unlearning: earlier memories are weakened or destroyed by later learning
- Response competition: Earlier representations remain after learning, but there is competition for which to be remembered.
Evidence supporting interference?
Barnes & underwood (1959)
If asked to recall one list (and then given a second similar list) then the memory of the first list is impaired in comparison to those not given a second list.
What is proactive interference?
Interference of earlier memories affecting later memories, just the opposite of retroactive.
Evidence supporting proactive interference?
Underwood (1957):
If there is a list one and then a list two (and you are asked to recall list two) then the presence of list one will cause impaired recall
Findings concerning Anterograde amnesia and Retroactive interference?
Dewar et al., (2010)
Using amnesic patients they undergo an encoding phase followed by either a distraction task or a rest.
Could not remember after the distraction task (apart from one patient) and most could after the wakeful resting.
Evidence regarding Recollection (hpc) and familiarity (extra-hippocampal), and decay?
Sadeh (2014)
Hpc may be invulnerable to interference but vulnerable to decay.
Familiarity may be more vulnerable to interference.
What is the strong form of forgetting, what is availability vs accessibility
Strong form of forgetting is forgetting with no possibility of recall at all.
Availability is whether it can be accessed at all
Accessibility is whether it can be accessed at that particular moment
What may be the explanation for the tip of the tongue phenomena?
May reflect insufficient activation of speech output representations rom semantic memory (Burke et al., 1991)
What is misattribution?
A sign of commission (getting it mixed up)
Potentially serious consequences i.e. erroneous identification of criminals.
What is the DRM paradigm?
A false memory effect, people claim to have seen a word from a list that they have not, for example.
People with recovered or repressed memories i.e. being abducted by aliens show higher levels of this effect.
What is suggestibility?
Similar to misattribution, however needs an explicit suggestion.
Evidence for suggestibility in wade et al (2002)?
Photoshop images onto a hot air balloon, ask if people remembered the event (it did not happen)
Some ptps will recall the event, AND some details.
Findings concerning schemas (long term memory about the world) and the recall of episodic memory?
Detailed episodic memory tends to be lost
Schematic memory does not - we rely on this memory to recall longer past events.
Bergman and Roediger (1999)
What is memories positivity bias?
More likely to remember positive things.
This happens more with increasing age
What is confabulation?
Clinically significant false statements that patients make without the intention to deceive.
Explanation for confabulation?
Faulty attempts to balance the conflicting demands between reality and the patients experience. Memory and control problems.
It I possible to see this in healthy individuals as well (although over a longer time)
What is persistence?
Not being able to stop remembering things.
What is hyperthymestic syndrome?
Automatic process of reliving autobiographical memory.
Patient AJ remembers almost every day of her life, in detail, constant reminders are distracting and troubling, can’t forget unpleasant memories.
Useful features of forgetting?
Prevents ‘mental clutter’ - free up resources to remember what we need.
Memory is constructive - useful in terms of present and future.
Why is important to study reading?
Lack of reading skill present a disadvantage in contemporary life
Also an excellent example of the interaction between different cognitive systems ie. perception, attention and memory.
Evidence regarding reading to children (4-5yrs)?
Reading 3-5 days a week led to the reading skills about six months older than their age.
If this was done everyday then it extends to a year older than their age.
1970 British cohort study showed improvements in mathematics and cognitive ability tests as well.
Linked to Russell group universities (correlational).
Evidence the troop effect provides?
Reading must be implicit, automatic
Ways to measure reading?
Eye-movemets
RT tasks
What is the fixation point in eye-movements and reading?
Fixation point is where you are 100% focused, however you can also see some of the letters around it.
Difference in eye-movements seen in skimming and fully reading?
Skimming, has much less fixation points.
What is the EZ reader model?
The next eye movement is programmed after you have only partially fixated the current word.
Can attend to two words at a given fixation, although only one word is processed (a serial processing model).
If the next word is predictable from the context it is skipped.
Factors affecting the ease of word processing?
Frequency (if it is said a lot it is processed faster)
Length: short words processed faster than long words
Regularity: Words with regular spelling-to-sound correspondences e..g table are processed faster than words with irregular spelling e.g. Yacht
What is the Dual-Route Cascade (DRC) model?
Reading aloud model: two main routes from print to sound:
Indirect (non-lexical) route:
- Operates serially from left to right, converts letters to sounds one at a time
- Grapheme-Phoneme conversion (GPC) - This is what the LETTERS sound like
Direct (lexical) route:
- Operates in parallel, (back and forward)
- divided into semantic system (knowledge when used before) and orthographic (RULES) system.
Can use both routes when reading aloud, but we also, when the words are familiar will probably just use the direct route.
Advantages/Disadvantages of the DRC model?
Adv:
- Can explain dyslexia and also unimpaired reading.
- Explains that you go from left to right (lots of evidence)
Disadvantages:
- Doesn’t necessarily explain the learning of language
What is the connectionist (single route) model?
- don’t need two routes.
- this computer model can explain dyslexia and other features of reading
What are the types of dyslexia?
Acquired: consequent upon brain injury
Developmental: Disorder manifest in difficulty in learning to read.
Surface dyslexia: can’t link word to meaning:
- Struggle with irregular words
- Confuse homophones (pronounced the same but w/ different meaning)
- Spell words phonologically
- They read with GPC, but may struggle with the indirect route.
Phonological dyslexia:
- No problem reading previously learned words, but non-words and unfamiliar words are very hard to read. Can’t use GPC rules
Differences in the orthography of the English language as compared to others?
English has the least consistent alphabetical orthography, compared to other languages
Differences in the learning speed of reading skill sin English as compared to other languages?
Slower in English as compared to Spanish and Czech (Caravolas et al., 2013)
Difficulties (that are overcome) presented to listeners when they are trying to understand verbal language? (4)
- Speed:
- normally 10 phonemes per second, we can cope with 50-60 - Invariance (the same phoneme can sound different deadening on the context it occurs):
- Assimilation: Phonemes actually take on acoustic properties of neighbouring phonemes
- Co-articulation: the way in which a phoneme is produced is influenced by neighbouring phonemes
- Variability in the individual way of speaking i.e. accents e.t.c.
- Degraded speech: environmental noise
What is speech segmentation?
Perceiving where each word and sentence begins and ends.
How do we divide the speech stream?
- Possible-word constraint: use our knowledge of words to segment what we hear to match words we know.
ie. we can tell wuffapple has apple in, but not as easy to tell if fapple does. - Co-Articulation: can predict what is coming next
- Segmentation:
- Stress-based segmentation: segment speech by identifying which syllables are stressed. (English)
- Syllable-based segmentation: Detecting syllables that a re clear and unambiguous (Dutch). Can find BA in BALANCE and BAL in BALCONY
What is the lexical identification shift?
An effect seen when ambiguous phonemes are more likely to be assigned to a given category when doing so produces a word
Gaining (1980) observed this when providing a word ending
What is the phonemic restoration effect?
The fact that we use sentence context to determine what we think a word may be:
Warren and Warren (1970) cough followed by eel, changed on the context of the sentence
What is the cohort model of speech perception?
Three stages:
- Access stage: perceptual system is used to gather a candidate set of items
- Selection stage: one item is chosen for the set
- Integration stage: semantic and syntactic properties of chosen words are used to integrate it into a sentence.
What is the uniqueness point in the cohort model?
The part in the speech stream (the set of possible items the word could be) where it could not be any other word.
What is the isolation point in the cohort model?
The part when people correctly identify the correct word - but may not be completely confident about it. (earlier than uniqueness point)
What is lexical access in the cohort model?
point where you draw out all the information you know about a word: phonological, syntactic, semantic
Integration in the cohort model?
Start of the comprehension process proper. It is when syntactic properties are integrated into the rest of the sentence (does it make sense in the context).
Experimental tasks that test the cohort model of speech perception?
Shadowing task: play distorted words with distortion in the background, see what word people say (50% of the time they have corrected the word to one they know)
Listening for mispronunciations task: Participants listen to speech where a sound is distorted & detect changes.
- More sensitive to changes at the start of words.
Strength and weaknesses of the cohort model of speech perception?
Strengths:
- Pay attention to competition effects between words
- Membership of initial cohort is not necessarily all or nothing
- Revised model better accommodates data
Weaknesses:
- Revisions make it more non-scientific (harder to disprove and test)
- Unclear how the early identification of words takes place
What is the trace model of speech perception?
Bottom-up (sub lexical e..g stress) and Top-down processing interact during speech perception:
three levels, at the bottom the feature level, in the middle the phoneme units and at the top word units.
Units on the same level may inhibit, units between levels may have excitatory.
Evidence for top-down processing in speech perception?
Dahan et al., 2001):
Spoken instructions on the word that needs to be clicked on. Visual presentation of images of low and high frequency.
Will look at the most frequent word first, will click on the real word when it is heard. Makes predictions.
Strengths of the trace model?
Strengths:
Accounts for:
- categorical speech perception:
- Lexical identification shift
- Word superiority effect in phoneme naming
Assumes contribution of both top-down and bottom up processes
predicts word frequency effects
Copes well with noise
Weaknesses of the trace model of speech perception?
Exaggerates importance of to-down effects - mispronunciation have a strong negative effect on speech perception
may be too flexible to be tested
Only tested on a set of short words, yet to be tested in more complicated vocabularies
How is common ground used in speech perception?
What is egocentric heuristic?
Used a lot, we assume we have mutual knowledge and beliefs.
Egocentric heuristic is when people interpret what they know depending on their own knowledge rather than the knowledge they share with the speaker.
Used more when we know the speaker.
Why are tongue twisters hard to say?
Sounds that require similar vocal tract movements are hard to process.
Require rapid sequence of overlapping neural patterns (to motor system) is difficult for the brain to process.
What strategies do we use to reduce processing demand while planning what to say?
Preformulation: producing phrases used before.
Underspecification: using simplified expressions i.e. instead of specifying a location, just say ‘there’
Repetition.
Limitations in Freudian slip theory?
Although some examples some sense, interns of his ideas of repressed thoughts, desires and so on. many do not.
whereas Freud stressed the intrusion of thoughts from the outside the language system , most research suggests they actually represent the inner workings of the language system,
Types of speech errors?
categorised in terms of types (substitutions, additions e.t.c) and the types of specific units involved (words, morphemes and phonemes). e.g:
Word substitution - correct word replaced by word with similar meaning
Word-exchange error: ‘I let the house out of the cat’.
Morphene-exchange errors - inflections are attached to the wrong words. I randomed some samply (the ‘ed’ and ‘ly’ has switched words).
What causes speech errors?
Misapplication of language rules.
What do the existence of speech errors tell us about language?
They tell us about the way language is planned. Speech must be planned before it is spoken.
What are speech disfluencies?
Various breaks and irregularities the occur within the flow of otherwise fluent speech. e.g:
False starts: words and sentences cut off mid-utterance
Fillers: uhh, erm, umm
Repaired utterances: speakers correct there own slips or mispronunciations
Effects of stutter on functioning an emotional state?
Fear of having to enunciate specific vowels or consonants.
Fear of it happening in social situations
Target of bullying
Self imposed isolation, anxiety and shame.
Basic three levels of speech production process?
Conceptualisation
Formulation
execution
What is the WEAVER model?
Speech production is a serial process. feed-forward manner.
Highest level is semantic, conceptual level. Semantic knowledge is activated.
Second level is lemma level. Grammatical properties i.e. singular
Lowest level Lexeme level. This is the actual form of the spoken words
Evidence for the WEAVER model?
Tip of the tongue effect. lemma has been activated but the word form (lexeme) cannot be accessed.
Strengths and limitations of the WEAVER model?
Strengths:
- Detailed predictions about the speed with which words are produced in various situations
- Speech production is normally error free, so the focus on error free, makes sense.
Weaknesses:
- Cannot account for some phonological effects: sounds of words influence the words speakers produce, semantic word substitution involves related words.
Findings of Ferreira and Griffin (2003), concerning semantic and phonological competition will effect lexical selection?
Uses homophones (sound the same but different meanings and spellings).
Task is to name pictures as fast as they can, ptps listened to sentence before they saw the picture. the sentence was either semantic competitor (nun for priest) or homophone (phonological) (none/nun for priest)
Results: for both the semantic and phonological intrusions there were mistakes. Both must affect our speech production.
What is the spending-activation theory?
Speech production occurs at all four levels:
Semantic level - the meaning
Syntactic level - the grammatical structure
Morphological level - The morphemes (basic units of words - can be an affix or a root (word) ie. cat or the ‘s’ in cats)
Phonological - basic units of sound within the sentence (phonemes)
Evidence regarding speech errors and the spreading activation theory/
They support the theory (Bell)
Errors typically belong to the same level of processing.
Parallel activation will lead to anticipation errors (word exchange/spoonerisms)
Exchange errors are constrained to units relatively close together.
Weaknesses and strengths in the spreading activation model?
Strengths:
1. The four levels are consistent with empirical evidence
- tries to make precise predictions about the errors occurring in speech production
- Predicts nature and number of speech errors
Weaknesses:
- Focus on individual words rather than broader issues relating to message construction
- Focused on errors and does not explain the amount of time taken to produce words
- Theory predicts too many errors when irrelevant words are activated simultaneously with relevant words.
Compare and contrast the WEAVER and spreading activation models of speech production.
Weaver has serial processing, spreading activation has parallel.
Weaver has non-interactive processing. Spreading activation has interactive (any level an influence processes at any other level.
Weaver stages of processing are discrete, spreading activation has different types of information processed together.
What are prosodic cues?
Cues in communication relating to rhythm, stress and intonation.
Two strategies on how we establish a common ground? Bard et al., (2007)
Shared responsibility: the speaker expects the listener to say something if there is a problem with the speakers assumption
Cognitive overload: The speaker tries to keep track of both their own knowledge as well as the knowledge of the listener
People typically rely on shared responsibility.
Two positions the speaker may take in planning their speech to establish common ground? Horton and Keysar (1996)
Initial design model:
- Speakers initial plan for an utterance takes into full account of the common ground
Monitoring and adjustment model:
- speakers plan their utterances initially on the basis of information available to them without considering the listeners perspective. They then monitor and correct their plans to account for common ground.
What are context effects in emotion and language?
The fact that language serves as the context to reduce the ambiguity of emotion (visually)
Language-as-context
What is the basic emotion approach in emotion psychology?
Belief that emotional categories are universal biological states.
They are triggered by dedicated preserved neural circuits (inside out)
Expressed as clear and unambiguous bio-behavioural signals involving facial expression e.t.c
Recognised by hardwired neural machinery. It is universal.
What is the emotion paradox regarding the basic emotion approach to emotion?
Findings from some studies have found that not everyone classifies emotion in the same way. It may not look the same, feel the same or have the same neurophysiological signature.
Facial behaviours viewed in isolation can be ambiguous and structural information from the fcae is necessary but not all-sufficient for emotion perception
Theories regarding emotions as nominal categories or the language-as-context hypothesis?
Emotion categories are of a nominal kind. They are man-made categories that are acquired and imposed on us. These categories serve to reduce ambiguity of facial behaviours to allow for quick and easy perceptions of emotions.
Evidence for the language-as-context hypothesis/
If you ask people to ‘free-label’ emotions on caricatures of emotion then the exact label will vary across ptps, without much agreement.
If asked to do the same with labels then the agreement between ptps will be very high.
Constraint of language will define how people categorise emotion.
Morphed faces are encoded as angrier when those faces are paired with the word angry and also if asked to explain why they are angry. Language cues affect the perceived emotion of the face.
What is semantic satiation?
Semantic satiation is the phenomenon in which repetition causes a word or phrase to temporarily lose meaning for the listener, who will then perceive speech as repeated meaningless sounds. (repeat a word over and over again).
Evidence regarding semantic satiation and language-as-context?
Lindquist et al (2006):
Ptps found it more difficult to make perceptual judgements about face s depicting emotions when semantic satiation used.
Findings regarding the cerebral hemispheres and language?
Mostly processed in the left. However some more complex parts are processed in the right, i.e. humour, emotion.
Pinker (2007) proposal regarding neuroanatomical structures role in emotional processing?
Involvement of basal ganglia - control in impulse control and motor functions.
Experimental evidence regarding Left and right hemispheres and emotional language?
Aphasic pts w/ left hemisphere damage more accurately read emotional words
In healthy ptps all words are read better when processed on left, but emotion words particularly well processed on right side.
What are Event-related potentials?
A Brian response that is the result of a cognitive or perceptual process. Measured using EEG
Evidence regarding emotional language and ERPs?
Kissler et al (2007)
ERPs were recorded as subjects read. Emotional words associated with bigger brain responses.
Surprise recall task showed emotion words better remembered.
What is the emotional stroop and taboo stroop?
Emotional - people asked to name the colour of word when presented with emotional and non-emotion cues. Response latency increased in emotional words.
Taboo is the same with taboo words.
Eilola and Havelka (2011) findings regarding emotional/taboo stroop task and bilinguals?
Native speakers show enhanced emotional arousal to negative and taboo words. Second-language did not significantly (words were recognised equally).
Our experiences are dependent on language
What is emotional prosody?
Refers to patterns of stress and intonation in a language - used to communicate emotional state.
Our voice betrays our emotional state.
What is the N400, what does it reflect?
(Emotional prosody)
A negativity peaking around 400ms following word onset that reflects semantic processing effort.
It is larger when prosody is incongruous (i.e. happy voice and sad semantic content)
Sex differences and prosody?
Women show an N400 effect and activity in left IFG to words with incongruous as compared with congruous emotional prosody when only one of the two types is task relevant. (not asked to judge congruence)
If the task is to judge the congruence between prosody and meaning then the comparison in men and women is comparable
Men and women may differ in how automatically they access and integrate emotional-prosodic information. When they were asked to focus there was no difference
