UNIT 4: Cognition Flashcards
long term potentiation
-synaptic connections between neurons get stronger with frequent use
-neurological underpinning of memory formation.
storage
- explain how memories are formed
retrieved
information is remebered
Multi-store Model of Memory
-model on how memory is processed
- in a linear way
sensory memory store
- 1ST STOP
- information first enters here
- divided into sub systems (iconic, echoic)
Iconic
visual stimulus
echoic
auditory stimulus
Short term memory
- 2ND STOP
- information is encoded acoustically
- STM has a limited capacity (5-9 items) and duration (30 seconds)
encoding
processed into the brain
Long term memory
- 3RD STOP
- If we rehearse the information enough it enters the LTM
-information is encoded semantically (based on its meaning) - unlimited capacity/storage/duration
- Memories are retrieved from LTM when we are remembering
- LTM is divided into subdivisions: explicit and implicit
memory consolidation
any process by which the brain turns short-term memories into long-term memories
explicit memory
-is our LTM of facts and experiences we consciously know and can verbalise
- Further divided into semantic and episodic memory
Semantic
facts and knowledge
episodic
personal and experiences of events
implicit memory
is our LTM for skills and procedures to do things
- procedural is a subsection of this
Automatic
- unoconcious
- usually occurs with experience e.g driving to work every day without conscious awareness of some of the journey.
Effortful
requires focus and attention (conscious effort) e.g. driving somewhere unfamiliar.
Working Memory Model
- how working memory (our primary memory system) uses multiple systems to process information into LTM
- As information enters the sensory memory, it is divided up into slave systems known as:
- phonological loop
- visuospatial sketchpad
- central executive
- These different ‘slave systems’ can process information simultaneously, however, stimulus that requires the same slave system can result in processing difficulties.
phonological loop
responsible for processing auditory information.
visuospatial sketchpad
responsible for processing visual and spatial information.
EX: Remembering where you parked your car
central executive
processes information from the slave system to the LTM (the organiser)
Levels of Processing Model
how well we remember information depends on how deeply we process it
shallow encoding
this is structural/visual encoding - focuses on the physical characteristics i.e. lines, edges and curves.
Phonemic Encoding
auditory processing
deep encoding
when we make associations with the new information and our memories. Semantic encoding is part of this deep processing (the meaning).
prospective memory
remembering to perform an action at a certain time
EX: remembering to take medicine after breakfast
STM strategies
- Serial Position Effect
Recency Effect - Chunking
- Mnemonic Devices
- Method of Loci
Chunking
- STM has a limited capacity to increase this you can use the chunking strategy
- This is when we break items down into smaller, more manageable chunks
chunking example
Example:
+44775448616
+44 775 448 616: breaking it into sections
Mnemonics
- STM encodes based on sound
- ## mnemonics are memory devices usually involving imagery or rhyme.
method of loci
- where information is associated with a visualisation of a familiar path or route.
LTM memory strategies
-Serial Position Effect
-Spacing Effect
-Distributed vs Mass Practice
-Primacy Effect
-Hierarchies and Categories
Hierarchy
systems in which items are grouped and arranged in categories or concepts
Spacing Effect
the tendency to remember things better if the learning is spread over a long time period (distributed practice), rather than over a short time period (mass practice)
massed practice
learning a lot in a short period of time (cramming)
distributed practice
learning is spread over a long time period
Serial position effect
tendency to remember the first few and last few words in a list, and forget those in the middle of the list.
Primacy effect
The tendency to recall earlier words
recency effect
The tendency to recall the later words
Maintenance Rehearsal
This is the process of consciously repeating something.
Elaborative rehersal
Linking new information to what one already knows.
memory retention
the ability to remember information over a period of time
Autobiographical Memory
Memories of your life’s experiences and events
highly superior autobiographical memory
their brains store information most people would have ignored ‘shoes worn on the first day of school’ or the ‘day of the week when you ate at your now favourite restaurant’.
memory consolidation
how the brain transforms short-term memories into long-term memories
retrieval
how people use memory to recall and recognize facts, ideas, and experiences
recall
remembering without cues
recognition
remembering with the aid of cues
Retrieval Cues
consists of:
-context dependent
-mood-congruent memory
-state dependent
context dependent memory
our recall is often better when we recall information in the same physical setting in which we encode it.
state dependent cues
our recall is often better when we recall information in the same physiological state in which we encoded it.
mood congruent memory
your mood also impacts memory retrieval - if you are currently feeling happy, it is likely any memories you recall will be of the same mood.
testing effect
-Testing an individual’s memory makes the memory stronger and easier to retrieve
-Successful retrieval is more likely if information is retrieved over and over again as practice.
source amnesia
-we have a memory of something but we fail to remember the source
-often people think they have experienced something, when actually you are remembering someone else’s story
infantile amnesia
Children are unable to remember anything before the age of 2
Anterograde amnesia
an inability to form new memories.
Retrograde amnesia
an inability to retrieve past memories.
Misinformation effect
-Misleading information, or even conversations we have with people post event can be weaved into our memories and become part of our reality.
Tip-of-the-tongue
-Inadequate Retrieval
-When we know that we know something but can’t seem to pull it completely out of memory
Proactive interference
**-Old interferes with new
**
-Occurs when something you have learnt before, disrupts recall of something new.
retroactive interference
-New interferes with old
-Occurs when new information interferes with remembering old information.
Repression
Memories forgotten due to distress
-It is the unconscious forgetting of painful memories that occurs as a defence mechanism to protect our self-concept and minimise anxiety.
Forgetting Curve
-Time is a factor in forgetting
-Memories weaken over time. If we learn something new, but then make no attempt to relearn that information, we remember less and less of it as the hours, days and weeks go by.
Alzheimer’s Disease
-Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia
-brain disease that results in neuron connections being lost, particularly in the hippocampus
Constructive Memory
-A psychological concept that analyses how the brain creates memories
-memories may not fully recall real happenings or events since they can be altered by new information
Imagination Inflation
-A type of memory distortion that occurs when imagining an event that never happened increases confidence in the memory of the event.
cognition
mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering and communicating information
concepts
mental groupings of similar objects/events/ideas or people
prototype
an exemplar/mental image of the best example of a category. We use this to quickly match stimulus.
Metacognition
Thinking about how you think / being aware of one’s awareness.
-executive function- cognitive processes that allow individuals to generate, organise, plan and carry out goal-directed behaviours
creativity
The ability to think about a problem or idea in new and unusual ways; to come up with unconventional solutions.
divergent thinkers
produce many answers to the same question; a feature of creative thinking.
EX: Brainstorm
convergent thinkers
use problem solving strategies directed toward one correct solution to a problem.
Algorithm
a problem solving strategy that involves a slow, step-by-step procedure that guarantees a solution.
heuristics
-mental shortcuts
-Heuristics are a much faster problem solving strategy, but can result in an incorrect solution
Availability Heuristics
This is based on the assumption that whatever is available in LTM is remembered because it has occurred frequently in the past and so is more likely to occur in the future.
EX: We tend to think shark attacks are more dangerous as they are in the news more, but bees have killed more people
representativeness heuristic
cognitive shortcut that individuals use to judge the likelihood of an event based on how similar it is to a prototype in their minds.
EX: thinking a grandma is nice and helpful just because its a grandma
Gambler’s fallacy
expecting that a run of blacks on a roulette table makes landing a red more likely the next time due to a (incorrect) perception that there is balance.
Fixation
the inability to look at a problem from a fresh perspective
Mental Set
a type of fixation. It is the tendency to approach a problem in only a certain way that has been successful in the past
Functional Fixedness
a failure to use an object in an unusual way
EX: A failure to realise you can turn a screw with a coin
Creative thinking is hindered by functional fixedness
framing effect
cognitive bias where an individual’s choice from a set of options is influenced more by how the information is worded or framed, rather than by the information itself
sunk cost fallacy
our tendency to continue with an endeavor we’ve invested money, effort, or time into—even if the current costs outweigh the benefits
Priming
-phenomenon in which exposure to a stimulus, such as a word or image, influences how one responds to a subsequent, related stimulus
-It is the act of preconditioning the mind for a particular theme or idea through prior exposure.
Intelligence
the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations
‘general intelligence’ (or ‘g’ for short)
it defines a set amount of intelligence that underlies all mental abilities and is measurable by a single score of an intelligence test.
Fluid intelligence
the cognitive abilities requiring speed or rapid learning that tends to diminish with age.
Crystallised intelligence
the learnt knowledge and skills, such as vocabulary, that tends to increase with age.
standardised
a procedure whereby test norms are established, which allows for the test to be administered and scored consistently (same procedure and environment) for all future test takers.
EX: SAT
Achievement Test
a test designed to assess what a person has already learned
EX: AP Psychology Final Exam.
Aptitude Test
designed to predict a person’s future performance or their capacity to learn
EX: SAT tests predict how well you do at university
reliable
we should obtain the same score no matter where, when or how many times we take it
Test-retest method
the same exam is administered to the same group on two different occasions, and the scores are compared.
- to test reliability
Split-half method
the score on one half of the test questions is correlated with the score on the other half of the questions to see if they are consistent.
validity
then it measures what it is designed to measure
Construct validity
the extent to which the test actually measures the behaviour or cognition it is designed to assess. Basically, is it measuring/predicting what it is supposed to be measuring/predicting?
Predictive Validity
a measure of the extent to which a test’s result can predict future results. The SAT’s have been designed to predict how well someone will perform in his, her, their first year of university.
Growth mindset
a focus on learning and cognitively growing.
Fixed mindset
-if you believe that intelligence is fixed
-Charecterised by low optimism about people’s capacity for change and growth
IQ (intelligence quotient)
-which is the child’s mental age divided by their chronological age, multiplied by 100
-IQ scores serve primarily to identify students for educational support services. Sadly, IQ scores are still referred to today to limit access to jobs, military ranks, educational institutes and even immigration to some parts of the world.
Flynn effect
IQ scores across much of the world have generally increased steadily over time
- explained by nurture: more access to education, smaller families, better health care and advances in technology
Stereotype threat
when people think that they are being tested on something that is a stereotype, they begin to feel anxious and fulfil this negative perception.
Stereotype threat example
research has shown that women often underperform on driving tests when being observed by men, because they are aware that there is a stereotype that women are poor drivers. The stress of knowing this, actually makes them perform worse.
Stereotype lift
if you are confident that your group or ‘type’ does well on a task, being exposed to situations that create stereotype threat in outgroup members may actually improve your performance.
mental age
the chronological age for which a given level of performance is average or typical
chronological age
a person’s age in terms of years, months, and days
