YEAR 12 - PSYCHOLOGY UNIT 3

Role of Ethics Committee

• approve the research proposal to ensure research proposal meets ethical guidelines and benefits outweighs risk/discomfort

• monitor the progress of research studies and ongoing data management and stop a study from continuing is they suspect ethical guidelines are being breached

• investigate complaints of unethical conducts from participants or the general public

The Ethical Guidelines

• Protection from Harm - Physical and Psychological

• Informed Consent

• Withdrawal Rights

• Deception

• Confidentiality

• Privacy

• Voluntary Participation

• Debriefing

Protection from harm - Physical and Psychological

• Researchers responsibility to protect participants physical and psychological welfare

• If participants does encounter distress researcher stop the experiment and provide participant access to counselling

• The experimenter ensure they act professionally and with integrity at all time

Informed Consent

• Researcher must obtain written informed consent from each participant

• Under the age of 18 or legally unable to give consent, parent must complete the consent form

• Consent forms must inform the participants about their rights (i.e withdrawal rights)

• Participants (Parents/Guardians) must be informed about the true nature and purpose of the experiment

Withdrawal Rights

• Participants has the right to withdraw from experiment at any time without any negative consequence

• Also right to withdrawal their results

• Withdrawal rights must be explained to each participants before beginning the research

Deception

• Misleads or withholds information from the participants

• Only permissible in some cases where giving participants information might influence their behaviour affecting the accuracy of the results

• When used there must be no foreseeable harm to participants must be thoroughly debriefed at the end

Confidentiality

• How

• Researchers ensure information collected during the research is protected and remains private

• Participants results cannot be made available to anyone outside the study unless participants consent has been obtained

• Participants personal information is not identified in the results

Privacy

• What

• Collecting personal information that is relevant to the research and accessed by those who have permission

• Cannot disclose personal information unless informed consent has been obtained

Voluntary Participation

• A participant must be willing to take part or not in an experiment

• Must not experience any pressure or coercion to participant

Debriefing

• Must be debriefed

• Must correct any mistaken attitudes or beliefs and explain any deception

• Provide access to information, results and conclusions, and provide access to support through counselling

The Three R’s of Animal Ethics

• reduction: comparable levels of information from the use of fewer animals

• refinement: methods that alleviate or minimise potential pain and distress

• replacement: methods that permit the given purpose of an activity or project to be achieved without the use of animals or with the use of non-sentient animals (those that lack a nervous system. Simulations/models also. 

Sensation

• the passive detection of environmental stimuli by the sense organ/receptors and conversion of sensory information into an electrochemical signal that will elicit a perception

Perception

• is the active process of interpreting and organising selected sensory information in the brain and giving it meaning

The Process of Sensation

• sensation is a passive, physical response as it does not engage with the brain

• the three stages

  • reception

  • transduction

  • transmission

The Process of Sensation - Reception

• the detection of stimuli/energy (sensory information) from the environment by sensory receptors within sense organs

The Process of Sensation - Transduction

• the changing (or conversion) of the stimulus (sensory information) into electrochemical energy (aka neural impulses)

  • nb: this step is necessary because the nervous system can only transmit and process the energy in electrochemical form as individual impulses of electrochemical energy

The Process of Sensation - Transmission

• the movement of electrochemical energy (neural impulses usually via sensory neurons) from sensory receptors to the brain to be processed and interpreted

The Process of Perception

• perception is an active, psychological process (engages with the brain) by which the meaning is given to incoming sensory information

  • perception is the process through which people take raw sensations from the environment to interpret them, using knowledge, experience, and understanding of the world, so that the sensations become meaningful experiences

• the three steps are

  • selection

  • organisation

  • interpretation

Salience

• something is salient when we pay attention to certain sensory information at attracts our attention

• aka something that stands our from the rest like a black sheep in a herd of white sheep

The Process of Perception - Selection

• crucial features of information are selected for further processing and insignificant content is disregarded

  • the degree of salience depends on familiarity, visual and aural stimulation, needs and interests, and expectations

The Process of Perception - Organisation

• selected information is sorted and categorised into related groups or categorises and meaningful patterns, based on qualities, positions, and properties

The Process of Perception - Interpretation

• the process of attaching (or assigning) meaning to the organised groups or categories, using our existing information (schema) about the world, in an attempt to understand them

• perception is also influenced by other factors such as culture, heredity, context, motivation, and age

Attention

• the mental capacity to concentrate on specific stimuli while ignoring other stimulus

  • attention ca be a voluntary process as well as involuntary

Memory

• the cognitive function through which information, and past experiences are actively processes, stores, and retrieved

Selective Attention

• attend to one chosen stimulus whilst ignoring/disregarding others

Divided Attention

• the ability to concentrate on or attend to two or more stimuli at a time (simultaneously)

Cherry, 1953: Cocktail party effect

• Colin Cherry’s (1953) Cocktail Party Effect demonstrates the role of attention in memory by explaining how individuals can focus on one conversation in a noisy environment while filtering out background noise. His research highlights the limitations of divided attention and the importance of selective attention in processing information.

• In his dichotic listening task, participants heard two different messages played simultaneously in each ear and were asked to shadow (repeat) one message while ignoring the other. Results showed that participants could successfully recall the shadowed message but could only detect basic physical features (e.g., voice pitch, gender of the speaker) of the unattended message, without processing its meaning.

• This supported the idea that selective attention filters incoming information, allowing certain details to be processed while others are lost.

  • Cherry concluded that divided attention is limited, meaning the brain struggles to fully process multiple competing stimuli at once.

• His findings contributed to early filter theories of attention, which explain how attention acts as a bottleneck, prioritising certain stimuli for deeper processing while blocking out irrelevant information.

Cherry, 1953: Cocktail party effect - Strength

• cherry’s findings laid the foundation for Broadbent’s Filter Model (1958), which proposed that attention acts as a selective filter, and Treisman’s Attenuation Model (1964), which suggested that unattended information is weakened but still processed

• explains how people can engage in conversations in noisy environment, contributing to research on multitasking and divided attention

Cherry, 1953: Cocktail party effect - Weakness

• lack of ecological validity: the artificial nature of dichotic listening tests may not fully capture real-world application processes

• does not explain how certain unattended stimuli can still break through. While his dichotic listening task showed that participants could detect basic physical features of the unattended message but not its meaning, it did not account for exceptions, such as hearing one’s name in a crowded room. Suggesting that Cherry’s early selection filter model was too rigid

Real-World Application - Cherry, 1953

• Speech Recognition Systems (e.g., Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant)

  • Use noise-filtering algorithms to separate a speaker’s voice from background noise.

  • Mimic selective attention by prioritizing speech signals over irrelevant sounds.

• Hearing Aids & Auditory Processing Disorders

  • Modern hearing aids use directional microphones to amplify important sounds while suppressing background noise.

  • Helps individuals with auditory processing difficulties by improving speech clarity in noisy environments.

Memory

• is an active information processing systems in which the brain (via neurons) processes, encodes, stores, and retrieves that information for uses

  • the cognitive function through information and past experiences are actively processed (encoding), stores, and retrieved

Encoding

• the from in which information is stored (learning it, by perceiving it, and relating it to part knowledge)

Storage

• the retention of information within the stores of memory (maintaining it overtime)

Retrieved

• the movement of information from the long term store of memory to conscious awareness, accessing the information when needed.

the multi-store memory

the multi-store is an explanation of memory proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) which assumes there are three unitary (separate) memory stores, and that information is transferred between these stores in a linear sequence

sensory memory/ register

• Also known as sensory register, this is all the information received in the form of sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch. It is the first store of memory as it is how we first interpret information in our environment. If we pay attention, it will reach our short-term memory.

• Duration

  Information is held just long enough to encode it into a usable form and transfer it to the short term store for further processing. If we pay attention to information for too long, we’ll miss new crucial information. This is why the duration is so short.

  • Iconic (visual): ½ a sec

  • Echoic (sound): 3-4 sec

• Capacity

  • Unlimited however we have no conscious control

• 2 main sensory registers:

  • Iconic memory - this processes visual information (what we see) such as shape, size, or colour

  • Echoic memory - this registers (stores) auditory information

short term memory (stm)

• STM provides a temporary store for information that is the current focus of attention. STM integrates attended information from sensory memory with information retrieved from LTM. 

• Without maintenance rehearsal, STM traces decay rapidly within 15-30 seconds

• Limited to between five and nine pieces or 'chunks' of information (7+/-2) 

• Encoding is mainly auditory I.e. mainly encodes information acoustically

• Maintenance rehearsal (repetition) - mentally repeat info when we want to keep it active in STM to achieve a present goal or activity.

  • Encoding is mainly auditory I.e. mainly encodes information acoustically. 

long term memory (ltm)

• LTM is a relatively permanent storage of information. Transfer of information from STM to LTM occurs through encoding processes, including maintenance rehearsal and elaborative rehearsal

• duration - Indefinitely or permanent 

• capacity - unlimited

• be encoded meaningfully so encoding is semantic, but also visually and auditory.  

  • Elaborative rehearsal involves the process of linking new information, in a meaningful way, with information already stored in LTM

the two types of long term memory

• Declarative (explicit) Long Term Memory

• Procedural (Implicit) Long Term Memory  

Declarative (explicit) Long Term Memory 

• Long Term Memory for facts, knowledge, experiences and events, that can be consciously recalled and expressed in words i.e. we declare it verbally, or musically.  

  • So, knowing a piece of information that can be consciously brought to mind and declared. 

  • So, being able to recall events, facts, concepts, experiences and dates.  

  • So, knowing that! So, knowing the meaning of words as well as general knowledge. 

Semantic Long Term Memory 

• Semantic memory refers to unpersonalised factual knowledge. 

• Semantic memory is understanding the outside word and meanings - so knowing - memories of facts or knowledge. 

• Semantic memory re knowledge of music is all about the notes, pitches, rhythms, theory, history, musicians, that gets built up over time and becomes more advanced with more knowledge, becoming quite a complex framework of knowledge.  

  • So its all the knowledge we store about the world - or in this case - music! 

  • This includes knowledge about the meaning of words, as well as general knowledge.  

  • It involves conscious thought and is declarative. 

• Knowing that London is the capital of England, is semantic memory. Knowing the times tables. 

 

Episodic Long Term Memory 

• Episodic memory is remembering - an important event, a movie, a particular piece of music - personalised memories experiences or events.  Episodic memory is responsible for storing information about specific events (i.e. episodes) that we have experienced in our lives (i.e. life experiences). 

• More so, these memories involve re-experiencing events from our lives, so can be retrieved with conscious effort. 

  • For example, what do you remember about your first day of high school? We see the location, the rooms, we hear music that was played, we think about friends and teachers that were there, we remember the smell of places or the food we ate that day, etc. 

• We run the day back more or less chronologically in our minds as 'episodes' (of course with time, the chronology becomes a bit fuzzy - it decays). 

  • Visual, auditory, motor and cognitive elements are connected together in the brain to form various 'episodes' of the day. 

 

working memory model

• Building on this research, Alan Baddeley and Graeme Hitch (1974) developed an alternative model of short-term memory which they called working memory (WM). 

• The working model of memory proposed by Baddeley and Hitch (1974) showed that short term memory is more than just one simple, unitary store and comprises different components.  

• It comprises the central executive, which controls attention and coordinates the phonological loop (handling auditory information), and the visuospatial sketchpad (processing visual and spatial information). 

• Later, in 2000, the episodic buffer was added to integrate information across these systems (like episodes in a TV series) and link to long-term memory.  

 

The Central Executive ('The Boss')

• The central executive is an attentional system rather than a memory system as it directs attention to the task at hand (particular stimuli) and filters out irrelevant information.  

• The central executive controls the two other main systems (Visuospatial sketchpad and phonological loop) which are often called the slave systems - cause they are a slave to da boss!   

• Puts together the sounds and vision of the two 'slave systems' who are doing all the working.  

• Drives the whole system and allocates data to the slave systems, decides what you pay attention to and what to ignore. 

• So, controls our attention and enables us to perform mental manipulation of data i.e. cognitive tasks.  

 

Visuospatial Sketchpad 

• Visual working (short term) memory. 

• Storage of what we see. 

• Uses vision to see and process information in a visual or spatial form. 

• Responsible for manipulating visual images. 

• This is the store you use to help picture what your bedroom would look like if you shifted the furniture around.  

The Phonological Loop 

• Auditory working (short term) memory.  

• Storage of what we hear. 

• Processes spoken and written material.   

• Manipulation of speech based information. 

• This is the store that helps us to understand a sentence of more than a few words; it retains the words from the beginning of the sentence until we have heard the words at the end. 

• It can be used to remember a written phone number or a conversation with a friend. 

Episodic Buffer 

• Helps retrieve semantic information from LTM to integrate it with information that is in the phonological loop and visuo-spatial sketchpad (i.e. the working memory), and to select and encode information into LTM. 

• Filters auditory and visual information between the central executive and long term memory. 

• Acts as a 'backup' store which communicates with both long term memory and the components of working memory 

• Temporarily holds all information and integrates it - what happened, when (linking all memory together in an order – think of it like episodes in a TV series) so you can use it in your 'short-term memory'. This explains how and why we can 'multi-task'. 

The Case Study of Henry Molaison

• h.m suffered severe epilepsy from an early age

• in 1953, in an attempt to control intractable epilepsy, portions of the Temporal Lobe of HM’s brain were surgically removed including most of hippocampus and amygdala in both hemispheres of his brain in an attempt to control is seizures

• hm could not form new (declarative) LTM after this - only lived within the confines of the Working Memory (STM)

what did h.m’s case study prove?

• proved the existence of stm and ltm, and that ltm was associated to an area of the medial temporal lobe function

• proved the existence of procedural long-term memory and the declarative long-term memory

  • the kind of ltm that was affected was his declarative (explicit) memeory, but not his prodecural memory as he could recall skills and learn new skills

• proved that different parts of the brain are involved in forming and storing memory both stm and ltm

relates to brain structures

• memory is not stored in one part of the brain but across different, interconnected brain regions

relates to brain structures - declarative ltm

• conscious knowledge - explicit memories, which are about events that happened to you (episodic), as well as general facts and information (semantic) - there are three important areas of the brain, the hippocampus, the neocortex and the amygdala

relates to brain structures - prodedural ltm

• unconscious - implicit memories, such as skills based knowledge or motor memories, rely on the basal ganglia and AMYGDALA

relates to brain structures - short term/working memory

• relies most heavily on the prefrontal cortex

function/ role of hippocampus (long term memory formation and memory retrieval)

• consolidating short-term memory into long-term memory (encoding new memories), then shifting those memories into other parts of the brain for storage

• it also assists in the retrieval of those memories when needed. so, indexed for later access/retrieval

• damage to the hippocampus can affect the ability to form new memories (anterograde amnesia) in particular declarative (or explicit) long term memory (i.e. facts, events, dates)

  • h.m. could not transfer new information from his st/wn to his ltm - particularly declarative memory, which is different to procedural memory as this remained, and could not form new semantic knowledge

the role of the cerebellum

• the cerebellum is a separate structure located in the hindbrain (rear base of brain)

• the cerebellum’s main role is to process procedural long term memories. in particular, procedure requiring movement and coordination of movement i.e. skills/action

• it is most important in fine motor control, the type that allows us to use chopsticks or press the piano keys a fraction more softly. it is also involved in posture and coordination, as well as classical conditioning (conditioned responses)

the role of amygdala

• the amygdala plays a part in how memories are stored as information storage is influenced by emotions and stress

• the amygdala attaches emotional content to memory

• it plays a part in determining where the memories are stored, however it is unlikely that the amygdala itself stores memories

• amygdala seems to facilitate encoding memories at a deeper level when the event is emotionally arousing

• activation of amygdala results in a stronger memory trace for later recall. the amygdala strengthens episodic memories stored in other regions of the brain

rehearsal as a strategy to improve memory

• rehearsal - mental activities associated with committing information to memory

• the two are maintenance rehearsal and elaborative rehearsal

maintenance rehearsal

• involves continuously repeating the information over and over again, to keep it active in short-term memory) *allows information to be stored in stm for longer than the usual 15-30 seconds)

• maintenance rehearsal typically involves rote repetition, either out loud or mentally (silently)

• BASICALLY - maintenance rehearsal is about repetition of information either verbally and/or mentally to keep meaningless information active in STM

  • remembering information for immediate use by mentally repeating the information to be remembered, it is unlikely information rehearsed using rehearsal will be encoded into the ltm

elaborative rehearsal

• elaborative rehearsal involved new material with information that already exists in ltm, thus making the information more meaningful

• examples of elaborative rehearsal strats: self-referencing - linking new information to the self or to personal experiences

  • mind mapping - connect/ling new information to a central pre-existing idea/central theme

the forgetting curve (ebbinghaus, 1885)

• ebbinghaus researched repetition, in particular, the rehearsal of meaningless information and memory repetition overtime

• the steep drop in memory retention shows that most learnt information is lost/forgotten/decays within the first hour.

  • in fact, more than half of the information learnt is lost within the first four after learning (44%)

  • this rapid loss is followed by a slow decline over the next day (33% left) and by 6 days (25%) until the decline reaches the plateau

ebbighaus (1885) application to assessment

• so, to delay decay, repeat information often within the first day, and first day

• to avoid one must repeat information just before an assessment

• so, what to do? repeat test information just before test an repeat information more often to delay decay

MSM - A&F 1968 - strength

Supported by Case Studies (HM, Clive Wearing) –

• HM had severe LTM impairment but an intact STM, suggesting separate stores.

• Clive Wearing could recall past procedural memories (e.g., playing piano) but had no ability to form new episodic LTM, reinforcing the model.

Serial Position Effect (Glanzer & Cunitz, 1966) –

• Words at the beginning (primacy effect, LTM) and end (recency effect, STM) of a list are remembered better than those in the middle.

• Shows distinct STM and LTM stores, supporting MSM.

MSM - A&F 1968 - weakness

Overemphasises Rehearsal –

• Suggests that rehearsal is the main way to transfer info to LTM, but not all LTM relies on rehearsal.

• Example: Flashbulb memories (vivid, emotional memories) are stored without rehearsal.

Ignores Memory Processing –

• Levels of processing theory (Craik & Lockhart, 1972) suggests deeper processing (e.g., understanding meaning) leads to better memory retention than shallow rehearsal.

WMM - B&H 1974 - strength

Explains Dual-Task Performance –

• People can do two tasks at once if they use different components (e.g., listening while driving).

• Baddeley & Hitch (1976) found participants could recall digits (phonological loop) while reasoning (central executive), showing STM isn’t unitary.

Cllinical & Neurological Support –

• Case Study: KF (Shallice & Warrington, 1970) –

  • KF had damaged verbal STM but intact visual memory, proving separate components for verbal & visual processing.

• Brain scans show different brain areas activate for verbal (phonological loop) vs. visual tasks (visuospatial sketchpad).

WMM - B&H 1974 - weakness

Limited LTM Explanation –

• Focuses on STM processes but doesn’t explain how info is transferred to LTM, unlike MSM.

  Difficult to Test Directly –

• Some components (e.g., central executive) are hard to isolate in experiments, making them less testable compared to MSM.