Week 1: Information Processing and Memory

What is meant by 'Inside the black box' in cognitive psychology?

Stimuli are not objective; they are mentally represented and interpreted, and responses can be chosen rather than automatically produced.

What does Chomsky's theory suggest about language learning?

Learning language involves mental structures and an innate structure related to human nature.

How is the mind compared to a computer in functionalism?

The mind is seen as a system that carries out operations using a mental symbol system, involving concepts and rules for combining them.

What is the computational level in functionalism?

It is defined in terms of functions rather than physical realization and is the dominant approach toward studying human cognition.

What are the stages of information processing in Sternberg's 1966 memory scanning task?

1. Encode: Transform the probe into a mental representation. 2. Search Memory: Retrieve information by comparing the probe to each item in the memory set. 3. Decide: Determine if the probe matches an item in the memory set. 4. Respond: Execute the motor action to indicate the decision.

What does Sternberg's 1966 memory scanning task measure?

It measures how people access information in their short-term memory by determining if a test item was part of a previously memorized sequence.

What does the term 'serial exhaustive process' refer to in memory scanning?

It refers to the method where items are scanned one at a time, and all items are scanned even if a match is found early.

What were the results of Sternberg's memory scanning task regarding reaction time?

Reaction time increased linearly with the number of items in the memory set, and the slope was the same for both targets and foils.

What are the three memory stores in the Modal Model by Atkinson & Shiffrin?

1. Sensory Memory: Briefly holds sensory input. 2. Short-Term Memory (STM): Temporarily holds 7 ± 2 items for ~15-20 seconds. 3. Long-Term Memory (LTM): Stores information indefinitely with unlimited capacity.

What is the role of rehearsal in memory processes?

Rehearsal is needed to prevent decay in Short-Term Memory and to transfer information from STM to Long-Term Memory.

What are the forgetting mechanisms in different memory stores?

Sensory Memory: Decays quickly if not attended to. STM: Loses information due to displacement or decay without rehearsal. LTM: Forgetting occurs due to interference or retrieval failure.

What is the key insight about information flow in memory stores?

Information flows sequentially through the memory stores, but active processes like rehearsal and retrieval strengthen memory retention.

What is the serial position effect?

It refers to the tendency to recall the first (primacy effect) and last (recency effect) items in a list better than those in the middle.

What is anterograde amnesia, and which case study is associated with it?

Anterograde amnesia is the inability to form new long-term memories, as seen in the case of HM.

What distinguishes Clive Wearing's amnesia?

Clive Wearing has anterograde amnesia and cannot form new long-term memories, but his short-term memory is intact.

What is the significance of KF's case in understanding memory?

KF can form long-term memories but has no short-term memory, showing a primacy effect but no recency effect.

What are the main approaches to research within cognitive psychology?

1. Experimental psychology: Manipulating variables and measuring effects on behavior. 2. Computational modeling: Using symbolic/production systems. 3. Connectionism: Networks of neuron-like units. 4. Cognitive neuropsychology/neuroscience: Studying brain damage versus imaging intact brains.

What is the importance of manipulating variables in experimental psychology?

It helps in measuring the effects on behavior, allowing researchers to understand cognitive processes.

What does connectionism in cognitive psychology refer to?

It refers to the use of networks of 'neuron-like' units to model cognitive processes.

What is modularity in cognitive neuropsychology?

Modularity, as proposed by Fodor, suggests that the mind consists of distinct modules that handle different cognitive functions.