Cognition Exam 3

Case of HM

• underwent surgery to treat seizures

• part of temporal lobe removed (hippocampus and amygdala)

• no longer able to create new memories

Anatomic Dissociation

different tasks are supported by different parts of the brain

Anterograde Amnesia

inability to create new memories (i.e. can’t remember new things)

Explicit Information

facts/events that are explicitly stored and consciously recalled

• semantic and episodic

Semantic Memory

general knowledge of principles/rules, usually unable to recall when/where this info came from (e.g., when/where you learned to ride a bike)

Episodic Memory

information acquired in specific episodes (time/place) (e.g., recalling when you last rode a bike)

encoding is rapid and often automatic

requires retrieval, influenced by cues

prone to error

Hierarchical Theory

theory of explicit memory organization

concepts are nodes that attach to each other through links

Spreading Activation Theory

theory of explicit memory organization

activating one concept automatically activates related concepts

light up one node and neighboring ones also light up

State of Activation

property of Semantic Network

each unit (concept/node) has an amount of “activation energy” (0-1) in a given moment

Output Function

property of Semantic Network

a node can activate its neighbor passing the total amount of energy (1) or half of its energy (0.5)

Pattern of Connectivity

property of Semantic Network

nodes are connected by varying levels of strength

Activation Rule

property of Semantic Network

each concept has an ________ that determines how the inputs should be combined to activate the concept

Learning rules to change weights

property of Semantic Network

the semantic network is dynamic and as we acquire new knowledge we change activation rules

some examples more typical than others

property of Semantic Network

Canary is a more typical representation of the concept “bird” so the activation between canary and bird is stronger

Default Values

property of Semantic Network

there are explicit values associated with each concept (e.g., property “to fly” associated with “bird”)

Spreading Activation resistant to Faulty Input

property of Semantic Network

“Big Mac, fast food and green arches out front” —> still activates concept of McDonalds even with wrong piece of info

Semantic Priming

property of Semantic Network

word helps recall other words due to their association

hearing “nurse” —> think of “doctor”

Implicit Information

• part of long-term memory responsible for knowing how to do things

• motor skills and sequence of actions

  • “how info” as opposed to “what/when/where info”

• repetition priming

  • recently used info more available for reuse

• conditioning effect

  • classical and emotional conditioning

Depth of Processing

important determinant for what information will be encoded

superficial level: physical characteristics

deeper level: semantic characteristics

Increases Encoding

• attributing meaning to what is to be encoded

• associating information be encoded with information that is already encoded

Intensity

characteristic that increases likelihood of an emotional event being encoded

Flashbulb Memory

memories encoded when something emotionally intense happens, not always accurate

Does Not Increase Encoding

• repetition of information to be encoded

• wish to remember (incidental vs intentional task study)

Memory Retrieval

active reconstructive process, use prior knowledge of how things work to fill in missing details of event when rretrieving

Transfer Appropriate Processing

matching cues to strategy used to encode

False Memory

retrieval of information that was never encoded

• car crash video (Loftus and Palmer)

• reconstructive nature of memory creates these during encoding (e.g., memorizing list having to do with sleep and remembering “sleep” being on it but it isn’t)

Suggestibility

false memories created due to influence of others (e.g., eyewitness testimony with leading questions)

Misattribution

confusing the source of information encoded (e.g., Donald Thompson rape allegation)

Occlusion

memory is hidden/covered by another memory leading to it being forgotten

Decay

fading of unused information over time

can happen to all memories but some are stronger so they last longer

Repression

active forgetting to not remember suffering/trauma

Persistence

involuntary recall of unwanted memories (PTSD)

Spontaneous Recovery

cues recovering memories that were “lost” or forgotten

doesn’t prove theory that everything we see is recorded

Levels of Language

Letters

Phonemes

Words

Sentences/text

Chomsky

competence: people’s knowledge of grammar

performance: way people talk

universal grammar

Word-Chain Grammer

rules determined by the strength of association between words

limitations: grammatical sentences even with unassociated words; “colorless green ideas sleep furiously”

not a good representation of language functioning —> don’t use grammar when Googling

Universal Grammar Rules

inherited at birth

all languages have some of the same laws: gender, question, negative, past/present, acceptable and unacceptable phrases

no anatomical structure identified to posses this

Phrase-Structure Grammar

Chomsky

model is flexible: represents complex nature of language

model captures complex meaning: sentences represent larger meaning

deep vs surface structure: “the professor’s antics stunned the class” OR “the class was stunned by the professor’s antics¨

Arbitrary

property of language

letters C-H-A-I-R are arbitrarily linked to object “chair”

Structured

property of language

pattern of rules that define how words should be organized in sentences in order to communicate

“boy the from dog ran the angry” breaks the rules = doesn’t communicate anything

Generative

property of language

basic units used to build infinite meanings

Dynamic

property of language

language is always changing, evolving, and adapting

Orthographic processing

recognition of letters when reading a word

Dual Route Model

reading occurs through two mechanisms

• lexical route

• letter to phoneme route

Lexical Route

one of two mechanisms reading occurs through

written words —> spelling entry (lexicon) —> meaning

read words because you already know them (from lexicon)

Letters to Phoneme Route

one of two mechanisms reading occurs through

graphemes —> phonemes

“sounding out” unfamiliar words

Acquired Dyslexia

brain damage that impairs reading ability in people that were able to read before

Surface Dyslexia

type of acquired dyslexia

lexical route impaired

• can read: nonwords and regular words (with predictable grapheme-phoneme conversion)

• cannot read: irregular words or exception words

  • colonel, island, yacht (require previous knowledge that isn’t accessible)

Phonological Dyslexia

type of acquired dyslexia

letter-phoneme route impaired

• can read: regular and irregular words stored in lexicon

• cannot read: nonwords and unknown words (things that would need to be sounded out)

Principle of Minimal Attachment

biased to add new words to a node that already exists than create new nodes, leads to the simplest/most straightforward interpretation of sentences

Surface Code

one of four levels of representation in text processing

representation of words in exact order they appear

don’t typically memorize this

“While Anna dressed the baby played in the crib”

Textbase

one of four levels of representation in text processing

semantic level where meaning of sentences and how they connect is inferred

• the sky darkened as the tornado touched down a few miles away

  • he turned to look out the window

    • she said, “Richard, it’s over”

      • he turned to look out the window

Proposition

one of four levels of representation in text processing

most basic unit of meaning in representation

abstract idea that represents the whole text

• “The dog ate the bone," —> [EAT(dog, bone)]

knowledge stored in this format

• graduation: cap, gown, ceremony, professors

• knowledge converted into words, visual images, sounds, etc

Situation Model

one of four levels of representation in text processing

coherent representation of words in text —> summary

lasts longer than surface code/textbase

use prior knowledge to fill in gaps/make inferences/make it make sense

salient aspects

• main characeer

• location/setting

• time

• cause of events

• goals of main characters

Crystallized Knowledge

accumulated knowledge and experiences used to solve new/complex problems

stabilizes/increases with age

Fluid Knowledge

accumulated knowledge/experiences that change/fade over time

Misinformation

false information disseminated regardless of intent to mislead

older adults are more prone to share this on social media

Disinformation

misinformation that is deliberately disseminated regardless of intent to mislead

High Misinformation Susceptibility

age, vocabulary, lacking trust in science, neuroticism, cognitive flexibility, motivated reasoning (individuals’ preexisting beliefs and selective endorsement of informaiton)

Content-Driven Measure of Susceptibility

characteristics of misinformation —> source credibility, emotional appeal, social cues, belief consistency, presentation cues

Content-Free Measure of Susceptibility

factors unrelated to content of misinformation, focus on individual characteristics and cognitive biases

cogntive style, emotional state, individual bias, analytical thinking

Script

Schemas that represent typical event sequences in familiar settings

when events violate these expectations, they attract more attention and are processed more deeply making them easier to remember