Studied by 45 people
cognition
thinking and mental processes (memory, desision making, problem solving, and language)
3 basic procceses in memory: encoding
bringing in information from enviornment and proccessing it
3 basic procceses in memory: storage
holding information in memory over time
3 basic procceses in memory: retrieval
locating and pulling back information from consiousnesss from memory
attention
info most attended to will encoded best and therefore **remembered better (**requires effort)
The cocktail party effect
in a crowded enviornment, we can focus on one conversation while blocking out the rest; however when your name (or something relavent to you) is said, your attention shifts
3 basic types of encoding: structural
encoding what the stimulis looks like
3 basic types of encoding: phonemic (acoustic)
encoding what the stimulis sounds like
3 basic types of encoding: semantic
encoding the meaning of the stimulis
elaborative encoding (deep form of encoding)
making connections between new and old info
self-referent encoding
a form of encoding that involvs making connections between new info and yourself
levels of proccessing Model of memory (#1)
how deeply we encode information determines how well we recall info. (deeper = better recall)
shallow v.s deep encoding
shallow - visual + acoustic
deep- semantic + ellaborative + self referent
information proccesing model (memory model 2)
our memory is made of 3 memory stores; sensory memory; short-term memory; and long-term memory
sensory memory:
brings in info through all 5 senses for < 1 second (each sense has its own register)
sensory memory: iconic memory
sensory memory of visual stimuli (~1/10 sec)
sensory memory: echoic memory
sensory memory of auditory stimuli (~3-4 sec)
short term memory (STM) (AKA working memory)
how is information primarily retained?
what is the primary type of encoding?
what is the capacity of STM?
What is the duration of STM?
information selectively atteneded to is sent here from sensory memory.
how is information primarily retained?
rehersal/repetition (maitnence rehearsal)
what is the primary type of encoding?
acoustic
what is the capacity of STM?
7 +/- 2 items
What is the duration of STM?
20 seconds.
chunking
grouping items (= increases the amount of info we can call)
Long term memory (LTM)
what is the capacity of LTM?
what is the duration of LTM?
What is the primary type of encoding?
what is the capacity of LTM?
unlimited
what is the duration of LTM?
forever
What is the primary type of encoding?
semantic (semantic +visual = best)
what is consolidation? when does memory consolidation typically occur?
solidifying a memory;making it permanent
during sleep (Specifically REM)
Flashbulb memories
detailed, vivid memories of emotionally significant evenets (usually when we first heard the information)
schemas
mental representations of emotionally significant events (usually when we first heard the info)
Parallel distributed proccessing (PDP) Model. (AKA Connectionist model)
memory model 3
our memory consists of an interconnected network of facts/memories where new info is added to the “web” “network”. therefore, increased interconnectedness produces better memory (semantic network = “web” of interconnected facts)
mnemonic devices
stratergies for enhancing memory that involve unusal associations
acrostics & acronyms
phrases (please excuse my dear aunt sally)
a word formed by using first letters (P.E.M.D.A.S)
Link method (story method)
forming a mental image of items to be remembered in a way that links together
method of loci (memory palace)
taking an imaginary walk around a familiar path where images of items to be remembered are accociated with certain location
overlearning
continued rehersal of material after you first appear to have it mastered + overcoming the forgetting curve
context dependant learning
remember info best in the same similar phsyical location as where info was learned
state dependant learning
remembering info best in the same psychological state as when we learned the info
mood congruency
info proccesing / recall is faciliated if a person’s emotional state is similar to the tone of info; or same emotional state
distributed / spaced practice
vs
massed practice
studying in small chunks
studying in large intervals
the serial position curve (serial position effect)
primary effect:
echoic memory
serial position effect:
better recall of items at the begginin og a list and at the end of a list “U SHAPED retention curve”
primary effect- better recall of items at the beggining of a list
recency effect: better recall of items at the end of a list
tip of the tongue phenomenon
retreival of incomplete info
constructive memory
using existing knowlege / schemas / expirences to fill in the gaps in info during encoding and rerieval ex:mandella effect
elizabeth loftus’ research & misinformation effect
memories are never a perfect recall, can change due to framing and new information provided. (car hitting, smashing v.s bumped).
misinformation effect- when memory is altered by misleading post event info
reality monitoring
the process of deciding whether memories are based on external sources (one’s perceptions of actual events) or internal sources (one’s thoughts and imaginations)
ex: “can you check if i unplugged the hair straightener or did i just imagine that”
source………
monitering
monitering error
amnesia
making attributions about the orgins of memory (who told me? where did i read it?) (error = mistake, amnesia = don’t know)
ex: “ ………”
“that was my story?”
destination memory
recalling to whom one has told what
forgetting curve - hermann ebbinghaus
researched forgetting
made list of nonsense syllables
rehearsed until memory
never looked again
tested retention
learning curve
most forgetting happens: within 1st hour
after about 9 hoyrs, memory is relatively constant
retention = proportion of material retained (remembered)
recall
vs
recongnition
no cues (ex: free response)
selection from an array of options
(ex: multiple choice)
method of savings (AKA relearning)
less time / fewer trials are needed to memorize/remember info after having forgotten
ineffective encoding
you didn’t really forget…..you never encoded it in teh first place
decay
gradual erosion of memory (fading; you dont use it, you loose it)
retroactive interferance
new (similar) info impairs recall of old info
proactive interference
old info impairs learning/ recall of **new (**similar ) info
transfer appropriate processing model (memory model #4)
encoding specifity principle-
how well we remember info is based on how encoding matches retrieval
the best retreival cues are those that match the way the info is encoded
motivated forgetting (repression)
pushing memories into the unconsious (psychodynamic approach)
retrospective memroy
remembering events from the past or previously learned information
prospective memory
remembering to perform actions in the future
episodic memory
memories of specific events that happened **while you were present. (**i remember when..)
semantic memory
memories of factual info; generalized knowledge
procedural memory
memories of psychial skills (crebellum and basal ganglia play a large role)
declarative memory (explicit memory)
(created through EFFORTFUL PROCCESING)
Factual information (semantic/ episodic memories are included here) (hippocampus/frontal lobe largely responsible for formation)
nondeclaritave memory (implicit memory)
actions, skills, classically conditioned repsonses, emotional responses (procedual memories fit here)
long term potentiation
increase in synapatic strength, practice/ reviewing strengthens synaptic connections to improve memory (less stimulation is requried to release same amount of neurotransmitter
retrograde amnesia
loss of memory prior to onsent of amnesia
anterograde amnesia
loss of memory of events occuring after the onset of amnesia (inability to form new memories) (due to h
which structutres and neurotransmitters are involved in memory funtion
hippocampus (consolidation )
thalamus
prefrontal cortext
amygdala
cerellebulm / basal ganglia
assoication cortext
acetylcholine
glutamate
functional fixedness
the tendency to percieve an item only in terms of its most commun use; the inibality to use objects in different ways
mental set
Persistence in using problem-solving strategies that have worked in the past. This is a barrier when it prevents you from seeing other ways of solving a problem.
fixation
focusing on only one aspect of a problem; inibality to see a problem from another perspectives
unnecesary constraints
tendency to impose our own "rules" that are not part of the problem
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algorithm
a methodical, step by step process for trying all possible solutions to a problem
(can be very time consuming; if a solution exists, you are guaranteed to find the solution)
ex: guessing a password
Heuristics
a “rule of thumb” or “mental shortcut” used in problem solving or desision making (much quicker)
decomposition (AKA forming subgoals)
breaking down a problem into smaller parts
using analogies
making a connection between the current problem and a problem you have already solved and then using a similair stratergy to solve
incubation
setting the problem aside for a little while and coming back to it later (can lead to insight or breaking of a mental set)
multiattribute deision making
(AKA Additive strategy )
attributes
utility
attributes:
factors to be considered in decision making
utility:
personal value of each attribute (weighing pros and cons)
availability heuristic
a mental shortcut in desision making based on how readily (quickly) relavent instances come to mind (based on headlines, recent experiences etc)
representative heuristic (incl. prototype)
mental shortcut where someoene makes a desision based on how something fits thier schema or prototype of a concept (basis for explaning sterotypes)
prototype: best example of a category (icon for the schema allows for quick comparisons)
overconfidence
the tendency to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs, judgements, abilities that may lead to poor desision making and/ or decreased performances
belief perserverance
"clinging" to one's initial beliefs after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited.
*In a free response, be sure to state the opinion first, then the discrediting information, and last that the initial belief remains. *
the gambler’s fallacy
the belief that the odds of a chance event increase if the event hasn’t occured recently. (random events will correct themselves)
ex: “we have had 3 girls, the next one HAS TO be a boy”
confirmation bias
the tendancy to only seek info, recall info , or interpret info in wats that is likely to support one’s desision and beliefs
framing effect
desision making can be affected by how choices are structures (i.e: wording of questions)
phonemes
smallest element of sound
ex: cat = c/a/t
that = th/a/t
morphemes
smallest unit of language that provides meaning
prefix + base word
ex: cat ( 1 morepheme ) v.s cats (2 morephnes)
ex: un - friend- ly (3 morephenes)
syntax
rules that govern the arrangment of words '
ex: subject-verb-object NOT verb-object - subject (in english)
sam ate pizza not ate pizza sam
semantics
rules that govern the meaning of words and phrases
Surface Structure
string of words
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Deep Structure
underlying meaning(s)
milestones in language development:
Cooing
Babbling
One-word stage
Two-word stage (Telegraphic speech)
Subject-verb-objects
cooing- giggling; gurgling
babbling- repeating syllables over and over
one word stage- names ; objects (must be physical objects/people)
two word stage (telegraphic speech)- subject + verb (very obvious communication
subject-verb objects- simple sentences
overextension and underextension
when a child incorrectly uses a word to describe a wider set of objects or actions
ex- every meal was a snack
whena child incorectly uses a word to describe a narrower set of objects or actions
ex- “go to daddy’s car”
“ daddy has a truck”
overregularization
over generalizing gramatical rules ex: i goed to the store
metalinguistic awarness
the ability to “understand” language; understanding literal meaning vs implied meaning
behaviorist theories (of language acquisition)
= learning (nurture)
a. imitation / modeling
b. reinforcement/rewards (and punishments)
chomsky’s language acquisition device (LAD) (Nativist theory of language acquisition)
an innate mechanism or proccess that faciliates the learning of a language
critical period (of language development)
an optimal period early in life when exposure to certain stimuli or expierences produces normal development
linguistic relativity (whorfian hypothesis) and linguistic determinism.
hypothesis that states that one’s language influecnes the nature of one’s thoughts and perceptions ex: inuit and snow; spanish verbs
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