UNIT 3: COGNITIVE APPROACH Flashcards
Explain Multi Store Memory model
sensory memory store
less than a second, iconic and echoic
in order to be transferred to other stores, we must give it attention
does not process info: just decided whether to keep it or discard it
short term memory
15-30 seconds
7 things, +/- 2
transferred to long term memory if needed
if not, it is forgotten, when used again, brought back to the short term and rehearsed: retrieval
processing loop: coding
transfer to long term memory if enough rehearsal
long term memory;
after the information has been processed in short term memory
unlimited capacity and duration
storage and duration are not known
the two types (explicit and implicit)
Explain Working Memory Model
the memory that we are using when we are working on something
based on the multi store model
challenged the view that short term memory is a single store
central executive
supervises and coordinates
decides which information is attended to and which parts to send it to
mental tasks such as arithmetic and problem solving
verly limited capacity
attentional control
supervisory attentional level
phonological loop
deals with spoken and written material
1.5-2 seconds
preserves the information as it came in
phonological store (inner ear) hold sound in a passive manner
articulatory rehearsal process (inner voice) speech production
by subvocally pronouncing we can turn visual stimuli into sounds to rehearse information better
visuo spatial sketchpad
stored and processes information in a visual or spatial form
used for navigation
what it looks like and how it is laid out
episodic buffer
backup store that communicates with both long term and STM
keeps in order and sequence, integrates information from other components and links to STM
temporary and passive until the information is needed so there is no processing
predictions of WMM
if two tasks make use of the same component, they cannot be performed successfully together
if two tasks make use of different components, it should be possible to perform them as well together as separately
Which studies can be used for models of memory
Landry and Bartling
Glanzer and Cunitz
Landry and Bartling aim, sample, procedure, findings and application,
Aim:
The aim was to investigate if articulatory suppression would influence recall of a written list of phonologically dissimilar letters in serial recall.
Procedure:
34 undergraduate students were tested individually (in order to eliminate confounding variables). They were either assigned to the control group or the experimental group. In the experimental group, participants first saw a list of letters that they had to recall while saying the numbers ‘1’ and ‘2’ at a rate of two numbers per second (an articulatory suppression task). The control group saw the list of letters but did not carry out the articulatory suppression task. There were 10 lists, each randomly constructed of 7 letters. Before the experiment started, each participant viewed one practice list in order to become acquainted with the procedure.
Each condition was repeated 10 times, and an average score for accuracy of recall was collected.
Findings:
The results showed that the scores from the experimental group were much lower than the scores from the control group. The mean percent of accurate recall in the control group was 76% compared to a mean of 45% in the experimental group.
Application to theory:
In line with the Working Memory Model, articulatory suppression is preventing rehearsal in the phonological loop because of overload. This resulted in difficulty in memorizing the letter strings for participants in the experimental conditions whereas the participants in the control condition did not experience such overload.
Glanzer and Cunitz aim, sample, procedure, findings and application
Aim:
The aim of this research was to investigate the recency effect in free recall.
Procedure:
This was a laboratory experiment where one group of participants first heard a list of items and then immediately had to recall them in any order.
In the other group of participants, they heard the same list of words, however there was a delay between the hearing of the words and the recalling.
FIndings:
If participants were given a filler task just after hearing the last words (delay), the recency effect disappeared but the primacy effect remained. Which means they remembered the first words better than they remembered the last ones. They remembered the first ones better because the information might have been transferred to long term memory with rehearsal.
Application to theory:
The recency effect could be due to the words still being active in STM for the group that had to do immediate recall.
Schema Theory
schemas are a concept or framework, built up from experience, about an object, event, person or group
after the schema has been created, it influences the organization of our knowledge and our ability to recall
schemata (a cluster of schemas): influence the way we interpret, ragnize, communicate and remember information
we integrate new information with existing, stored information → affect cognitive process → errors (cognitive misers, schemas make it easier)
schemas organize knowledge, guide behavior, predict likely happenings, assist recall, help make sense of things
they simplify reality and are often culturally specific
social schemas: mental representations about various groups of people
scripts: schemas about sequences of events (going to the airport)
self schemas: representations about ourselves
3 stages of learning a schema
encoding: transforming sensory information into something we can deal with
storage: creating a trace of encoded information
retrieval: accessing and using store information
piaget’s schema: children use existing schemas to learn, either by
accommodation: an existing schema is replaced
assimilation: adding new information to a scheme
schematic processing: pattern recognition where there are none
bottom up: perception is not biased by prior knowledge
top down: schemas act as a lens or filter for information
Study to use for schema theory
Brewer and Treyens
Brewer and Treyens aim, sample, procedure, findings
Aim:
To study the role of schema in encoding and retrieval of episodic memory. The basic assumption of schema theory is that individuals’ prior experience will influence how they remember new information.
Procedure:
The sample was made up of 86 university psychology students. Participants were seated in a room that was made to look like an office. The room consisted of objects that were typical of offices: a typewriter, paper and a coffee pot. There was also a table with tools and electronics. There were shelves along one wall and then the other walls were decorated with posters and a calendar. There were some items in the room that one would not typically find in an office - for example, a skull or a toy top. Finally, there were items that were omitted - such as books. Each participant was asked to wait in the professor’s office, not realizing that the study had already begun.
After 35 seconds the participants were called into another room and then asked what they remembered from the office. When they finished the experiment, they were given a questionnaire. The important question was “Did you think that you would be asked to remember the objects in the room. 93% said “no.”
30 participants carried out written recall and then verbal recognition; 29 participants carried out drawing recall; 27 carried out verbal recognition only.
Findings:
They found that when the participants were asked to recall either by writing a paragraph or by drawing, they were more likely to remember items in the office that were congruent with their schema of an office - that is, the “expected items” were more often recalled. The items that were incongruent with their schema of an office - e.g. the skull, a piece of bark or the screwdriver - were not often recalled. When asked to select items on the list, they were more likely to identify the incongruent items; for example, they didn’t remember the skull when doing the free recall, but gave it a 6 on the verbal recognition task. However, they also had a higher rate of identifying objects which were schema congruent but not in the room.
In both the drawing and the recall condition, they also tended to change the nature of the objects to match their schema. For example, the pad of yellow paper that was on a chair was remembered as being on the desk. The trapezoidal work table was recalled as square.
Application to theory:
It appears that schema played a role in both the encoding and recall of the objects in the office
Explain the Dual Processing Model:
Thinking is divided into two systems: system 1 and system 2
system 1: focus on what it sees, ignores absent evidence, base decisions on past experiences and established schemas, quick, but error prone, generates impressions, takes shortcuts (heuristics), seems to be our default thinking, intuitive, automatic and fast
system 2: requires concentration and effort, works with abstract concepts, works through logic, uses conscious reasoning, more reliable but slow, when system 2 is otherwise engaged, we will believe almost anything, rational, control, slown
not opposed, both systems work together
95% system 1, 5% system 2
system 1 uses less energy, cognitive load is not heavy and requires less focus
Study to talk about dual processing theory:
Tversky and Kahneman (anchoring)
What is anchoring bias
the tendency to rely on the first piece of evidence/information we obtain and disregard other vital information. can be used as a reference for later
what is framing effect
the way our perception of the same information is affected by the way it is presented or “framed”, either positive or negative
Tversky and Kahneman (anchoring)
Aim:
The aim was to investigate the effect of anchoring bias. High school students were used as participants.
Procedure:
They were either assigned to the ascending (1 X 2 X 3 X 4 X 5 X 6 X 7 X 8) or descending (8 X 7 X 6 X 5 X 4 X 3 X 2 X 1) condition. They were asked to estimate the results in 5 seconds.
Findings:
The participants assigned to the ascending condition estimated lower values because they saw the anchor of low value. The median for these conditions was 512 and the median for the descending condition, with the high anchor value, was 2250. The actual result is 40320.
Application to theory:
When we are in system one thinking, (represented by the fast 5 second timer), our brain is susceptible to various cognitive biases. In this case, the participants were subjected to anchoring bias.
Emotion and Cognition
two factor theory
emotions are a result of two stage processing
physiological response (heart, sweat) due to evolution
cognitive interpretations
Theory of cognitive appraisal
emotions are extracted from our evaluations of events
controles quantity and intensity of emotions
evaluating it against other events
Two Pathways theory:
fast pathway
stimulus to thalamus and amygdala
produces emotional response
pain, danger
slow pathway
processes more deeply, allows modification
longer route thalamus→ sensory cortex→ association cortex→ hippocampus → amygdala
amygdala creates a response then stores
our brains simultaneously produces quick reaction and triggers interpretations
flashbulb memory: vivid and detailed episodic memory of highly emotional events that appear to be recorded like a camera
surprise
personal consequences → triggers maintenance mechanism, rehearsal, consolidation and reinforcement of memory
personal consequentiality determines intensity of emotional memory
Study for Emotion and Cognition
Brown and Kulik
