U7: Cognitive Psychology: Memory, Language and Problem Solving Flashcards
modal model
memory is divided into three separate storage areas: sensory, short term, and long term
each type of memory has four components: storage capacity, duration of code, nature of code, and way by which information is lost
sensory memory
gateway between perception and memory, store is limited, sensory memory is either iconic or echoic, certain items enter short term
iconic sensory memory
visual sensory memory, store lasts for only a few tenths of a second
echoic sensory memory
auditory sensory memory, store lasts three or four seconds
visual persistence
sensory information in sensory memory remains in attention briefly; the speed of the rope or fan causes sensory information to run together
George Miller
found that information stored in the STM is primarily acoustically coded
short term memory
can hold about 7 items (plus or minus 2); items in short term are maintained by rehearsal
maintenance rehearsal
simple repetition to keep an item in short-term memory until it can be used
elaborative rehearsal
involves organization and understanding of the information that has been encoded in order to transfer the info to LTM
mnemonic device
short words or phrases that represent long strings of info
dual-coding hypothesis
states that it is easier to remember words with associated images than either words or images alone
method of loci
aid for memory; involves imagining moving through a familiar place, and in each place, leaving a visual representation of a topic to be remembered
self-reference effect
it’s easier to recall things that are personally relevant
encoded
when items in the short term memory are stored and able to be recalled later in the long term memory
decay
a way items in short term are forgotten through the passage of time
interference
when short term memory items are forgotten because they are displaced by new info
retroactive interference
where new info pushes old info out of short-term memory
proactive interference
when old information makes it more difficult to learn new info
serial position effect
feature of short term memory where we store information from a list sequentially; it’s easier to remember the first few and last few items in a list better than the ones in the middle
primacy effect
remembering the first items of a list
recency effect
remembering the last items of a list
chunking
grouping items of information into units (defined by George Miller)
long term memory
the repository for all our lasting memories and knowledge
information is semantically encoded, visually encoded, and/or acoustically encoded
- information is stored as…. episodic memory, semantic memory, procedural memory
semantically encoded
the way in which our LTM is encoded – in the form of word meaning
episodic memory
memory for events that we ourselves experiences
semantic memory
declarative, comprises facts, figures, and general world knowledge
procedural memory
consisting of skills and habits
declarative (explicit) memory
a memory a person can consciously consider and retrieve (episodic and semantic memory)
nondeclarative (implicit) memory
memory beyond conscious consideration and would include procedural memory, priming, and classical conditioning
context-dependent memory
states that information is more likely to be recalled if the attempt to retrieve it occurs in a situation similar to the situation in which it was encoded
state-dependent memory
information memorized when under the influence of a drug is easier to access when in a similar state than when not on that drug
spreading activation
suggests that when trying to retrieve information, we start the search from one node. Then, that activated node spreads its activation to other nodes around it to an extent related to the strength of association between that node and each other
flashbulb memory
occurs in long term; a very deep, vivid memory in the form of a visual image associated with a particular emotionally arousing event
memory reconstruction
occurs when we fit together pieces of an event that seem likely
source confusion
likely cause of memory reconstruction; we attribute the event to a different source than it actually came from
framing
repeated suggestions and misleading questions can create false memories
language
the arrangement of sounds, written symbols, or gestures to communicate ideas
key features: language is arbitrary, has a structure that is additive, has a multiplicity of structure, is productive, and is dynamic
phonemes
the smallest units of speech sounds in a given language that is still distinct in sound from each other
morphemes
what phonemes combine into; the smallest semantically meaningful parts of language
semantics
words meaning or word choice
prosody
rhythm, stress, and intonation of speech
holophrases
single terms that are applied by the infant to broad categories of things
overextension
an infant calling any passing woman “mama,” and it results from the infant not knowing enough words to express something fully
underextension
when a child thinks that his or her “mama” is the only “mama”
telegraphic speech
two or three-word groups
overgeneralization errors
errors in which the rules of language are overextended “I goed to the store”
Chompsky’s transformational grammar
organization of language; differentiates between the surface structure of language and deep structure of language
surface structure of language
the superficial way in which the words are arranged in a text or speech
deep structure of language
the underlying meaning of words
Chompsky’s critical periods and innate language acquisition device
he proposed an innate language acquisition device, which facilitates the acquisition of language in children, and a critical period for learning of language
BF Skinner on Language
explored the idea of the “language acquisition support system,” which is the language-rich or language-poor environment the child is exposed to while growing up
theory of linguistic relativity
Whorf and Sapir; states that speakers of different languages develop different cognitive systems as a result of their differences in language
concept
a way of grouping or classifying the world around us
typicality
the degree to which an object fits the average
prototype
the typical picture that we envision
superordinate concept
very broad concept and encompasses a large group of items (i.e. concept of “food”)
basic concept
smaller and more specific concept (i.e. “bread”)
subordinate concept
even smaller and more specific than a basic concept (i.e. rye bread)
cognition
the mental processes involved in acquiring, organizing, remembering, using, and constructing knowledge
reasoning
the drawing of conclusions from evidence, can be further divided into deductive and inductive reasoning
deductive reasoning
the process of drawing logical conclusions from general statements
syllogisms
deductive conclusions drawn from two premises
can be sound (the conclusions follows from the premises), unsound, valid (the conclusion is true), or invalid
inductive reasoning
the process of drawing general inferences from specific observations
divergent thinking
process of widening and thinking of many choices, brainstorming
convergent thinking
requires narrowing of many choices available
heuristics
intuitive rules of thumb that may or may not be useful/correct in a given situation
availability heuristics
means that the rule of thumb is judged by what events come readily to mind (i.e. people thinking air travel is more dangerous than care because plane crashes are more frequently reported)
representativeness heuristic
we judge objects and events in terms of how closely they match the prototype of that object or event
algorithms
systematic, mechanical approaches that guarantee an eventual answer to a problem
insight
the sudden understanding of a problem that usually involves conceptualizing the problem in a new way
mental set
fixed frame of mind that we use when approaching problems; make using insight harder
functional fixedness
example of mental set, the tendency to assume that a given item is useful only for the task for which it was designed
confirmation bias
the search for information that supports a particular view, also hinders problem-solving by distorting objectivity
hindsight bias
the tendency after the fact to think you knew what the outcome would be, also distorts our ability to be situations objectively
belief perseverance
a person sees only the evidence that supports a particular position, despite evidence presented to the contrary
framing
the way a question is phrased; can alter the objective outcome of problem-solving or decision-making
creativity
the process of producing something novel yet worthwhile
