WACE EXAM PSYCH

Stimulus energy

receptors detect info from environment. Electrochemical energy is transmitted to parts of brain where mental representations of world are generated.

Stimulus

Anything that influences organism. Stimuli interacts w/ body via sensory receptors. (sensory info)

Sensory organs

specialized organs in body containing sensory neurons functioning as sensory receptors.

Sensory receptors

specialized cells in body that detect sensory info.

Sensation

specialised receptors in sense organs detect & respond to stimulus energy that stimulates them via conversion of sensory info to electrochemical energy, then transmission of it occurs to specialized parts of brain.

Reception

stimulus energy is received by sense organs/receptors of body

Transduction

receptor cells convert stimulus energy into electrochemical energy. Brain is unable to process sensory info so conversion into electrochemical must occur

Transmission

receptor cells send nerve impulses (electrochemical energy) to primary sensory cortex/brain for interpreting as perception begins.

Perception

giving meaning to sensory info, resulting in personal interpretation. Proceeds once electrochemical energy reaches brain where info is subsequently selected, organized & interpreted. It is active process allowing us to adapt to enviroment & everyday life.

Selection

crucial features of info are selected for further processing; insignificant content is disregarded. Happens as brain cannot process all extensive info it receives.

Organisation

selected info is categorized allowing for arrangement of meaningful patterns. Categories differ between individuals due to past experiences.

Interpretation

meanings are assigned to groups of patterns & mental representations are now available.

Attention

mental capacity to concentrate on specific stimulus while ignoring other stimuli. Can be voluntary & involuntary.

Memory

cognitive function where info & past experiences are actively processed, stored & retrieved.

Selective attention

concentrating on chosen stimuli while disregarding others. We cannot give full attention to all stimuli at same time, so we have to select what we attend to.

Divided attention

ability to concentrate on two or more stimuli simultaneously.

Selective Attention Example: Driving in Traffic

Driver focuses on road & surrounding vehicles while ignoring distractions like billboards/conversations in car.

Selective Attention Example: Studying w/ Music

Individual ignores background music or ambient noise, concentrating solely on work.

Selective Attention Example: Spotting Friend in Crowd

Person selectively looks for friend, filtering out other people & distractions.

Divided Attention Example: Cooking While Watching TV

Person prepares meal while also watching TV show, dividing attention between both tasks.

Divided Attention Example: Walking & Texting

Someone walks through crowded area while texting, paying attention to both phone & surroundings.

Divided Attention Example: Waiter Taking Multiple Orders

Waiter listens to & remembers several customers’ orders while navigating busy restaurant environment.

Cocktail Party Effect (Cherry, 1953)

an individual's ability to perceive multiple simultaneous conversations through divided attention while also being able to selectively focus on one conversation, filtering out rest.

Experiment One

Examined participants' ability to process two simultaneous spoken messages w/out headphones. Listened to single tape containing two different speeches, instructed to repeat one speech verbatim (shadowing). Could replay tape multiple times but couldn’t take notes. Researchers recorded correctly identified words & phrases. Despite finding task challenging—some replaying up to 20 times—participants succeeded in separating speeches.

Experiment Two

Investigated auditory attention using headphones, w/ different speeches played in each ear. Participants repeated one speech aloud while listening (shadowing). Managed w/ slight delays but recalling meaning was more difficult. Failed to describe unattended speech, (what was played in other ear).

Overview of Experiment

Aim: explore how individuals selectively attend to & process auditory info in situation w/ competing messages. Sample: Adult participants w/ normal hearing abilities & no known auditory impairments. IV: Content of auditory speeches. (context, characteristics). DV: Participant ability to selectively attend to & recall specific details from one message while ignoring other. Includes recall accuracy & reaction time.

Conclusions of Cocktail Party Experiment

Demonstrates mechanisms for processing sensory info & selecting relevant details. Demonstrates ability to allocate (selective) attention. Highlighted divided attention in noisy environments & selective attention in focusing on single conversation while disregarding others.

Comparison of sensation and perception

Sensation is a physical process that occurs through the senses (1) while perception is a psychological process that occurs in the brain
(1).
Sensation is a passive process (1) while perception is an active process (1)
• Sensation is the same for all individuals (1) while perception is different (1)

Memory

processing, storage & retrieval of info acquired through learning.

Memory Process: Encoding

conversion of info by receiving, processing & combining it, into form that can be neurologically represented, to reach senses via chemical & physical stimuli.

Memory Process: Storage

retention of encoded info over time in memory

Memory Process: Retrieval

recovery of stored info in response to cue, bringing it into conscious awareness for use

Memory Process: Decay

fading of memory over time.

Atkinson & Shiffrin (1968) Multi-Store Model of Memory

Memory consists of SM, STM & LTM. Info moves through all stores & in linear sequence; All stores operate at same time. Stores are separate but interrelated. Describes memory in terms of its structural features & control processes.

Structural feature

permanent, built-in feature of memory that does not vary in different situations

Structural feature: Storage Capacity

How much info can be stored in that component.

Structural feature: Storage Duration

How long info can be stored for.

Structural feature: Function/Encoding

What is done w/ info.

Control process

activity that is consciously performed to assist memory process. How info is remembered.

Sensory Register

Receives sensory info from environment. Enables perceptual continuity for world around us.

When we direct attention to info in SR, it transfers to STM where we become consciously aware of it.SR holds info for short time after stimulus disappears, allowing trace of it to remain in memory briefly.Allows individuals to recall detail about stimulus immediately following its presentation.

SR: Function/Encoding

Sense-specific (e.g., visual, auditory/acoustic)

SR: Capacity/Duration

All sensory experience, unlimited, 0.2-4 secs, occasionally up to 10

STM: Function/Encoding

Mainly auditory/ acoustic

STM: Capacity/Duration

7 ± 2 items, 5-9, 18-20 secs, up to 30, longer if renewed/maintenance rehearsal

LTM: Function/Encoding

Mainly semantic (meaning-based)

Sensory Register Duration

Sensory info remains in SR long enough for us to attend to & select info to be transferred to STM for processing.

Iconic Memory

Visual SR for incoming visual info that stores for 0.2-0.4 secs (Shape & colour)

Echoic Memory

Auditory SR for incoming auditory info that stores sounds in o.g. form for 3-4 seconds

STM

Temporary memory store for info received from SR & LTM.

Receives info from SR & transfers to & from LTM. Maintains info in conscious awareness for immediate use.

Long Term Memory (LTM) Duration

Unlimited, Relatively permanent, some info be lost over time

Long Term Memory (LTM)

Tends to be more important/personal info (sematic) Receiving info from LTM involves bringing info back into STM/conscious awareness (retrieval).

Info storage for re-access & use later.

Procedural/Implicit Memory

Learnt actions & skills that we store & retrieve unconsciously. Operate automatically & requires little effort to retrieve. Acquired through practice & repetition.

Declarative/Explicit Memory

Memory of facts/events/experiences. Info is intentionally & consciously recalled/retrieved. Generally, more complex than procedural memories.

Episodic Memory

Autobiographical (memory of time & place) events or personal experiences. May be related to facts if memory is also of how/where you learn them.

Semantic Memory

Memory of meaning/ facts/ knowledge.

Working Memory Model (Baddeley & Hitch)

described STM as a complex, active, dynamic store that simultaneously holds multiple pieces of info while they are being manipulated.

Working Memory Model features

WM consists of central executive which integrated info from slave systems; phonological loop & visuospatial sketchpad. Later adding episodic buffer. Proposed that storage capacity & processing capacity are 2 separate aspects of WM.

Phonological Loop

Encodes & stores auditory info (spoken & written info)

Phonological Loop: Phonological Store

Auditory memory traces subject to rapid decay

Phonological Loop: Articulatory Loop

Revive memory traces

Phonological Loop Duration

Only stores sound for 2 seconds w/out rehearsal - but can be rehearsed to keep in WM

Phonological Loop

Verbal info is held in sound-base & rehearsed by repeating

Phonological Loop: Word Length Effect

As length of words increase number of words remembered declines

Visuo-spatial Sketchpad

Stores limited amount of visual & spatial info for brief time e.g., colour, motion, pattern & position

Visuo-spatial Sketchpad: Visual info

Anything you can see/visualize (properties of object)

Visuo-spatial Sketchpad: Spatial info

Visual location of objects in space (position)

Central Executive (CE)

Controls attention, deciding what deserves attention & what should be ignored, rehearsal, reasoning & making decisions about how to balance two tasks simultaneouslyOnly able to perform one task at time.

Episodic Buffer

Enables different components of WM to interact w/ LTM Allows us to remember events in sequence like story, rather than discrete segments. Limited in capacity & storage, holds about four chunks of info, combines auditory & visual-spatial info, connects w/ LTM

Recall

measure of retention that involves retrieving stored info using few or no cues for assistance

State-dependent Cues (internal cues)

Relate to person’s internal state at time of learning. If in same state when trying to recall info, you are more likely to remember it.

Context-dependent Cues (external cues)

Relate to environment where learning took place. Being in same location or surroundings helps recall info.

Remembering

Process of bringing info back from LTM into conscious awareness (retrieval).

Free recall

Recall info in any order w/ no cues.

Serial recall

Recall info in order it was learnt w/ no cues, e.g. remembering songs on album in listening order.

Serial position effect

More likely to recall first & last pieces of info in list & forget middle.

Cued recall

Recall info w/ some cues or hints for assistance. E.g. recall 7 dwarfs: given first letters of all names.

Recognition tests

Involves identifying previously learnt info from list of distractors by matching stimuli to stored memories. Identifies info that wasn’t remembered to be later encoded.

Method of savings

Measures amount of info saved from previous learning. If info is learned faster second time, can be assumed some info was retained from first learning.

Relearning

Learning info that was previously learnt & stored in LTM. Assesses whether info was retained from o.g. learning.

Forgetting Curve (Ebbinghaus, 1885)

Ebbinghaus was sole participant. After memorising list (no of trials recorded), he attempted to recall list at varying intervals. Supports decay theory & illustrates how memory retention declines over time w/out reinforcement.

Rapid Initial Forgetting

W/in first few hours/days after learning, nearly 50% of new info can be forgotten/lost w/out review.

Slower Rate of Forgetting

After initial rapid drop, rate of forgetting decreases. Memories that are meaningful or reinforced last longer.

Retention Improves w/ Repetition

Revisiting & reinforcing info at spaced intervals strengthens memory. Each review resets forgetting curve, making it shallower & allowing for better long-term retention.

STM - Trace Decay Theory

Suggests forgetting occurs due to automatic decay of memory trace, due to limited duration of STM. When info is transferred from SR to STM, memory trace is established. Memory trace gradually erodes over time & rehearsing info is thought to counteract this process.

Types of Forgetting: Retrieval failure

Inability to consciously recall info stored in LTM due to absence of retrieval cues to trigger memory retrieval.

Types of Forgetting: Interference

Info in LTM store cannot be retrieved due to it being disrupted by similar info. More similar info & closer time of learning, more likely interference is to occur.

Proactive interference

Previously stored info inhibits ability to encode & store new info w/ retrieval of new learning.

Retroactive interference

New learning interferes w/ retrieval of previously stored info.

Motivated forgetting

Suppression of memories from conscious awareness to minimise emotional distress.

Psychological repression

Involuntary/subconscious process of forgetting.

Thought suppression

Deliberate/conscious effort to forget.

Levels of Processing of Memory (Craik & Lockhart, 1972)

Endurance & strength of LTM’s depend on depth of cognitive processing (how long memories last for). Depth: meaning derived from stimuli.

Shallow processing

Structural encoding: encoding physical info based on appearance. Phonemic coding: encoding of auditory info. Maintenance rehearsal used to hold info in STM for longer. Results in short-term memories that are difficult to recall.

Deep processing

Elaborative rehearsal allows for deep processing because info is encoded semantically. Semantic encoding: attaching meaning to info & linking info to prior knowledge in LTM. Easier to recall info encoded via deep rather than shallow processing.

Craik & Tulving (1975): Aim

How deep & shallow processing affect memory recall.

Craik & Tulving (1975): Participants

60 students, University of Toronto. Convenience sampling.

Craik & Tulving (1975): Materials

List of 60 words, three questions & list of 180 words that incorporated o.g. 60 words.

Craik & Tulving (1975): Design

IV: type of encoding used to memorise list of words (structural, phonemic, semantic). DV: number of words recalled.

Craik & Tulving (1975): Procedure

Participants chose to be part of study told was testing perception. Randomly allocated into three conditions: structural, phonemic, & semantic encoding. All provided list of 60 words & required to answer one question for each word.

Craik & Tulving (1975): Structural condition

Asked “Is word in capital letters or lower case?”