Memory, Intelligence, Cognitive strategies/obstacles

Memory (what is it)

The persistence of learning over time through the encoding (getting info in brain), storage (retention), and retrieval (getting info back later) of information

Describe the 3 stage multi-store model of memory formation

1. Record info as a sensory memory 2. Process info into short term memory, where we encode it through rehearsal 3. Info moves into long-term for later retrieval

Alan Baddely's memory model

Visuospatial sketchpad (holds and manipulates visual and spatial info), central executive (controls info flow, sets goals, and directs attention), and phonological loop (briefly stores and rehearses verbal content)

Neurogenesis

The formation of new neurons

Long-term potentiation (LTP)

An increase in a nerve cell's firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation; a neural basis for learning and memory

Neurotransmitter lacking in patients with Alzheimer's

ACh

Explicit memory

Retention of facts and experiences that we can consciously know and "declare"

Implicit memory

Retention of learned skills or classically conditioned associations independent of of conscious recollection

Prospective memory

Remembering to perform an action in the future

Automatic processing

Unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of familiar and well-known info, such as sounds, smells, or word meanings

Effortful processing

Encoding that requires attention and conscious effort

Sensory memory (duration and different types)

Sensory memory feeds our active working memory and is fleeting. Iconic memory is a momentary sensual memory of usual stimuli; a photographic or picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second. Echoic memory is a momentary sensory memory of an auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3-4 seconds.

Short term memory

What we can briefly remember. It's been found that we can remember about 7 (+-2) bits of information at a time. Without rehearsal, short term memory does not last longer than 3 seconds.

Effortful processing strategies that can help remember new info

Chunking (organizing items into familiar units)

Mnemonics (memory aids that use vivid imagery)

Hierarchies (broad categories divided into narrower concepts)

Distributed practice and spacing effect

Distributed practice is rehearsal over time. Information is retained better when encoding is distributed over time. Spacing effect is the tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long=term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice. It moves info into long term memory.

Shallow and deep processing

Shallow - encoding on a basic level, based on the structure or appearance of the word.

Deep - encoding semantically, based on the meaning of the words, tends to yield the best retention

Semantic and episodic memory

Semantic - explicit memory of facts and general knowledge

Episodic - explicit memory of personally experienced events

Frontal lobe

processes memories sent from other parts of the brain

Hippocampus

The "save" button for explicit memories.

Damage to left side - can't remember verbal info

Damage to right side - can't remember visual designs and locations

Cerebellum

Framing and storing implicit memories

Basal Ganglia

Procedural memories

Amygdala

Emotional arousal can sear some events into the brain (like 9/11)

Flashbulb memory

A clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event

Context v state dependent memory

Context-dependent involves an individual's external environment while state-dependent involves the individual's internal conditions

Serial position effect

The tendency to remember the first and last items in a list better than the ones in the middle.

Primacy Effect is specifically about remembering the first item in a list.

Encoding failure

When info does not get stored in long-term memory. Can happen because of lack of attention, shallow processing, or insufficient rehearsal. Ex. Forgetting someone's name after meeting them at a party

Retrieval failure

Might have info in your memory, but you can't recall it in stressful situations. The retrieval cues are missing. Ex. Can't remember test material during the test, even if you know the answer

Proactive interference

Old info interferes with new info. Ex. Changing password and typing in old password

Retroactive interference

New info interferes with old info. Ex. Learning French and then Spanish, can't remember some French words but can remember the Spanish words.

Remember: PORN

Proactive

Old Information

Retroactive

New Information

Herman Hebbinghaus' "Forgetting Curve"

The forgetting curve illustrates the decline of memory retention over time. Showed that retention drops sharply shortly after learning. Most significant drop off after 20 minutes.

Repression

"Motivated forgetting" (developed by Freud). If we experience traumatic events, we're more likely to forget it. However, most researchers believe repression rarely occurs, if at all.

Algorithms

A defined set of step-by-step procedures that provides the correct answer to a particular problem. It's very accurate, but can be time-consuming. Ex. Recipe for cooking a particular dish

Heuristics

Mental shortcuts that allow people to solve problems and make judgements quickly. Some drawbacks are that they can introduce errors, bias, and irrational decision-making. Lead to stereotypes.

Availability heuristic

Making decisions based on how easy it is to bring something to mind. Ex. Want to go on vacation, but think of plane crashes, so decide it's safer to travel by car, even though it's not.

Representativeness heuristic

Making a decision by comparing the present situation to the most representative mental prototype. When you are trying to decide if someone is trustworthy, you might compare them to the other mental examples you hold.

Creativity and Divergent Thinking

Creativity is the ability to produce novel and valuable ideas. Divergent thinking is the ability to consider many different options and think in novel ways to solve problems. Drawbacks are that they can lead to a lack of structure and be time-consuming.

Mental sets

A tendency to only see solutions that have worked in the past. Can make it difficult to come up with solutions and can impede the problem-solving process, even though they are very quick and usually yield a correct solution.

Priming

Involves the exposure to certain stimuli that can subtly influence subsequent thoughts and actions. Ex. If individuals are primed with words related to success, they might approach problems more creatively

Framing

The way information, questions, or problems are presented and structured. Ex : treatment has a 90% survival rate v 10% mortality rate

Sunk cost fallacy

Makes you feel as if you should continue pouring money, time, or effort into something because you've already "sunk" so much into it already. Ex. Finishing a book or movie you dislike just because you've started it.

Gambler's Fallacy

When you believe that the outcome of a random event is influenced by previous outcomes, despite each event being independent. Leads to poor decision making.

Prototypes

Mental representations of the most typical or ideal example of a category, like thinking of a robin when asked to name a bird. Can lead to oversimplification and stereotyping

Schemas

Broader cognitive frameworks that help us organize and interpret information based on past experiences and knowledge. Can lead to rigidity in thought.ex. When you go to a restaurant, you expect to be seated, given a menu, order food, eat, and then pay.

Assimilation

Integrating new info into existing schemas. When encountering something new, individuals try to fit it into what they already know. Ex. A child who knows about dogs might see a cow and call it a dog because it has 4 legs and fur.

Accommodation

Altering existing schemas or creating new ones in response to new info. Ex. Child learns that a cow is not a dog, so it makes a new schema for cows.

Achievement test v aptitude test

An achievement test will reflect what you've learned (ex AP test)

An aptitude test will predict what you'll be able to learn (ex. A college entrance exam)

Flynn effect

New generations score consistently higher on old tests than each previous generation

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)

Most widely used intelligence tests. It contains verbal and performance subtexts.

Reliability, split-half reliability, and test-retest reliability

Reliability is the extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on 2 halves of the test, on alternative forms of the test, or on retesting. Split-half is an agreement of odd numbered question scores and even numbered question scores. Test-retest - retest with the same test.

Validity (predictive, constructive, and content)

Validity is the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to.

Predictive - the success with which a test predicts the behaviors it's designed to predict

Constructive - how much a test measures a concept or a trait

Content - the extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest

Reconsolidation

Process that occurs when we recall a memory and then it gets stored again. During reconsolidation, the memory can be updated with new information before it's saved back into long-term memory. This allows our memories to adapt and change based on new experiences, but it also means our memories can be less accurate

Misinformation effect

Occurs when a person's memory of an event becomes less accurate due to the into of misleading information after the event. Psychologist Elizabeth Loftus found how easily memories can be altered by post-event information.

Source amnesia

A memory error where people remember information but can't remember where they got it from. Can lead to confusion about the origin of information.

Deja vu

The eerie feeling that you have experienced a current situation before, even though you know it's new

Retrograde amnesia

Refers to the loss of pre-existing memories, typically those formed before the onset of amnesia. Means individuals with retrograde amnesia may forget events, people, or information that they knew before a particular incident, like a head injury or trauma.

Anterograde amnesia

Inability to form new memories after the onset of a condition. Ex. The piano player we saw in the documentary. Associated with damage to the hippocampus.

Confirmation bias

Looking for things that support your belief

Belief perseverance

You have a claim or belief about something and ignore information that disproves it.

Insight

Eureka moment

Functional fixedness

Can only see one function of something

Overconfidence leads to…

Planning fallacy (assume you're better at something than you are so when you plan it out, you give it less time than it needs) and sunk cost fallacy

Cattel-Horn-Intelligence Theory

A theory of general ability based on fluid intelligence, crystallized intelligence, and general intelligence.

Fluid intelligence

Ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease with age (Gf)

Crystallized intelligence

Accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age (Gc)

General intelligence

Underlies all mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test.

Theory of multiple intelligences

Howard Gardner created it. Different people exhibit different kinds of intelligence. There are 8 relatively independent kinds, including musical, naturalistic, linguistic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, kinesthetic, spatial, logical - mathematical

Triarchic Theory

Robert Sternberg agrees that there are different kinds of intelligences, but he thinks there are 3 kinds: analytical intelligence, creative intelligence, and practical intelligence

Savant syndrome

A condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill, like drawing or computation

Emotional intelligence

The ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions