Cognitive Psychology Notes: Memory Encoding & Storage, Problem Solving, Language, Reasoning, and Decision Making

A set of practice flashcards covering memory encoding/storage, short- and long-term memory, working memory, problem solving, language, reasoning, and decision making based on lecture notes.

Which brain structure in the temporal lobe stores new memories?

Hippocampus.

Which brain regions encode new memories and retrieve old ones?

Prefrontal regions.

Verbal materials are encoded mostly in which hemisphere, and pictures/visual material in which hemisphere?

Verbal: left hemisphere; visual/pictures: right hemisphere.

What is anterograde amnesia?

Inability to form new memories after onset.

In Sperling’s visual memory experiments, how many letters could subjects recall from a briefly shown array?

About 4–6 letters.

What procedure did Sperling introduce to test memory for partially cued lines after the brief display?

Partial-report procedure.

Iconic memory refers to which sensory store and where is it localized?

Visual sensory memory; fades quickly, localized in the primary visual cortex.

Auditory sensory memory lasts roughly how long, and where is it stored?

Echoic memory lasts about 10 seconds; in the primary auditory cortex.

What is mismatch negativity (MMN)?

An ERP component indicating a change in neural response when a deviant auditory stimulus occurs.

What is memory span in STM?

The number of items that can be immediately repeated back—a measure of STM capacity.

What does the depth of processing theory propose about memory?

Memory depends on how deeply information is processed; deeper processing leads to better retention.

Baddeley’s model of working memory includes which two slave systems?

Visuospatial sketchpad and phonological loop.

What role does the central executive play in Baddeley’s model?

Regulates attention, coordinates the slave systems, and transfers information between them.

Articulatory loop activates which brain area and supports what function?

Broca’s area; rehearsal of verbal information.

What is the function of the phonological store?

Stores verbal information in phonological form.

The delay-period match-to-sample task demonstrates the involvement of which area in maintaining information in working memory?

Area 46 (frontal cortex).

What is the word-length effect?

Longer words are harder to recall; related to the time needed to subvocally rehearse them.

What does the 'fan effect' describe in memory?

More associations with a concept slow retrieval/recognition of the target memory.

What neural mechanism underlies learning and memory formation, involving synaptic strength?

Long-term potentiation (LTP) in hippocampus and cortex.

What are the two key types of memory discussed as explicit vs implicit memory?

Explicit (declarative) memory and implicit (non-declarative) memory.

Where are new explicit memories formed and where are old memories stored?

New explicit memories form in the hippocampus; older memories stored in the cortex.

Which brain structure is key for procedural memory and motor control?

Basal ganglia.

Newell and Simon describe problem solving in terms of what three elements?

Goal directedness, subgoal decomposition, and operator application.

What is a problem space?

The set of states from the initial state to the goal state, including intermediate states.

What are three ways to acquire new problem-solving operators?

Discovery (basal ganglia and prefrontal cortex), learning by being told, and observing others.

What is means-end analysis in problem solving?

A strategy that creates a new goal and applies operators to reduce the largest difference between current and goal state.

What is a subgoal operator?

An operator designed to eliminate a difference between the current state and the goal, unblocking progress.

What does GPS stand for in AI/problem-solving models?

General Problem Solver.

Why do prefrontal patients struggle with Tower of Hanoi problems?

They have difficulty inhibiting predominant responses, leading to habitual hill-climbing instead of proper subgoal planning.

What is functional fixedness?

Tendency to view objects only by their conventional use, hindering creative problem solving.

What is the Einstellung effect?

A bias to use familiar strategies; incubation and cognitive control can help overcome it.

In the Wason selection task, which two cards must be turned to test a conditional rule of the form 'If A, then B' ?

The A card and the B card (commonly the E and the 7 in the standard example).

Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area are associated with which language functions?

Broca’s area with speech production; Wernicke’s area with language comprehension.

Conduction aphasia is associated with damage to which brain region and what does it affect?

Parietal regions; difficulty repeating speech and producing spontaneous speech.

What is linguistic competence vs performance?

Competence is abstract knowledge of language; performance is the actual use of language.

What is a pro-drop language?

A language where pronouns may be omitted when understood from context; its status as a language universal is debated.

What are language universals (LU) according to Chomsky?

Innate constraints on the possible structures of natural language shared across all languages.

What is the critical period for language acquisition?

A period roughly from ages 2–12 during which language is learned most easily; after that, mastery is harder.

What is the Whorfian hypothesis (linguistic determinism)?

The idea that language influences thought and perception.

What is the difference between crystallized and fluid intelligence?

Crystallized: acquired knowledge; Fluid: reasoning and problem-solving abilities.

Which brain structure in the temporal lobe is essential for consolidating new memories?

The hippocampus, a seahorse-shaped structure deep within the temporal lobe, is critically involved in the formation of new long-term explicit memories, including episodic (events) and semantic (facts) memories. It acts as a memory 'gateway' by consolidating new information from short-term into long-term storage.

Which brain regions are primarily involved in the executive control of encoding new memories and retrieving old ones?

The prefrontal cortex, particularly regions like the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC), are crucial for the active encoding of new memories and the strategic retrieval and monitoring of old ones. They are involved in executive functions such as attention, planning, and inhibiting irrelevant information during memory tasks.

Which cerebral hemispheres are primarily responsible for encoding verbal materials versus pictures and visual-spatial materials?

For most right-handed individuals, verbal materials (like words and sentences) are predominantly processed and encoded in the left cerebral hemisphere, which is specialized for language. Conversely, pictures and visual-spatial materials are typically processed and encoded more extensively in the right cerebral hemisphere, which excels in visual and spatial tasks.

What is anterograde amnesia, and what is its primary symptom?

Anterograde amnesia is a condition characterized by the profound inability to form new long-term explicit memories after the onset of a brain injury or disease. Individuals with this condition can recall events that occurred before the injury but struggle to learn and remember new information, often due to damage to the hippocampus or surrounding medial temporal lobe structures.

In Sperling’s visual memory experiments using the full-report procedure, approximately how many letters could subjects reliably recall from a briefly shown array?

In George Sperling’s classic experiments on visual sensory memory (iconic memory), subjects could typically recall only about 4–6 letters from a briefly presented array when asked to report all letters (full-report procedure), even though they felt they saw more.

What experimental procedure did Sperling introduce to accurately measure the capacity of visual sensory memory for briefly presented stimuli, and what did it reveal?

Sperling introduced the partial-report procedure, where subjects were cued (e.g., with a tone) immediately after the brief display to recall letters from only one specific row. This procedure demonstrated that subjects typically had access to almost all the letters in the visual array for a very brief moment, suggesting a larger capacity for iconic memory than initially estimated by the full-report method.

What is iconic memory, how long does it last, and where is it initially localized in the brain?

Iconic memory refers to the very brief, high-capacity visual sensory store. It rapidly fades, typically within 250-500 milliseconds, and is initially localized in the primary visual cortex (V1) before more processed information moves to higher visual areas.

How long does auditory sensory memory (echoic memory) last, and where is it primarily stored?

Auditory sensory memory, known as echoic memory, lasts significantly longer than iconic memory, typically up to 2-4 seconds (and some research indicates up to 10 seconds for complex stimuli). It is stored primarily in the primary auditory cortex and is crucial for processing continuous sounds like speech.

What is mismatch negativity (MMN) in the context of auditory processing?

Mismatch negativity (MMN) is an event-related potential (ERP) component in neuroscience that reflects an automatic neural response to any discriminable change or 'deviant' in a repetitive sequence of auditory stimuli. It occurs even when the listener is not paying attention and is localized in the auditory cortex, providing an objective measure of auditory processing and discrimination.

What is memory span, and what does it measure in short-term memory (STM)?

Memory span in short-term memory (STM) refers to the maximum number of discrete items (e.g., digits, letters, words) that an individual can immediately recall in correct order after a single presentation. It is a classic measure of STM capacity, typically around 7 ext{ items} ext{ (plus or minus 2)} for digits, as proposed by George Miller.

What does the depth of processing theory propose regarding the encoding and retention of memory?

The depth of processing theory, proposed by Craik and Lockhart, suggests that the durability of a memory trace depends on the 'depth' to which information is processed during encoding, rather than just the amount of rehearsal. Deeper, more meaningful, and elaborative processing (e.g., semantic analysis) leads to more robust and longer-lasting memories compared to shallow processing (e.g., structural or phonemic analysis).

According to Baddeley and Hitch’s influential model, which two primary 'slave systems' are components of working memory?

Baddeley and Hitch’s model of working memory, an active system for temporary storage and manipulation of information, includes two primary 'slave systems' controlled by a central executive: the visuospatial sketchpad (for visual and spatial information) and the phonological loop (for verbal and auditory information). A third slave system, the episodic buffer, was added later.

What is the primary role of the central executive within Baddeley’s model of working memory?

In Baddeley’s model of working memory, the central executive is a supervisory system that regulates attention, coordinates the activities of the phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad, and facilitates the transfer of information between them and with long-term memory. It is responsible for decision-making, planning, and problem-solving.

Which brain area does the articulatory loop activate, and what function does it support within working memory?

The articulatory loop, a component of the phonological loop in Baddeley's model, primarily activates Broca’s area (involved in speech production) to support the subvocal rehearsal (silent repetition) of verbal information, preventing its decay from the phonological store.

What is the specific function of the phonological store within the phonological loop of working memory?

The phonological store, a component of the phonological loop, acts as a temporary reservoir for verbal information, holding it in a phonological (sound-based) form. It has a limited capacity and a rapid decay rate, lasting only a few seconds unless information is actively refreshed by the articulatory loop.

Which specific brain area is demonstrated to be crucial for maintaining information in working memory during the delay period of tasks like the delayed match-to-sample?

The delayed match-to-sample task, where a subject must remember a stimulus over a brief delay and then choose it from a set of options, demonstrates the critical involvement of Area 46 (the middle frontal gyrus, a part of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) in actively maintaining information in working memory during the delay period.

What is the word-length effect in memory, and what causes it?

The word-length effect is the empirical finding that short-term memory span is negatively correlated with the length of the words to be recalled; people tend to remember fewer longer words compared to shorter words. This effect is attributed to the limited time available for subvocal rehearsal within the phonological loop: longer words take more time to rehearse, leading to more decay before articulation.

What does the 'fan effect' describe in the context of memory retrieval?

The 'fan effect' describes the phenomenon where the more facts or associations 'fanned out' from a particular concept or node in memory, the longer it takes to retrieve any single one of those facts. This is because multiple associations create interference, increasing the search time and likelihood of competition during retrieval.

What is the key neural mechanism involving synaptic strength that is widely believed to underlie learning and long-term memory formation?

Long-term potentiation (LTP) is a persistent strengthening of synapses based on recent patterns of activity. It is widely considered a primary neural mechanism underlying learning and the formation of long-term memories in key regions like the hippocampus and various areas of the cerebral cortex by making neural communication more efficient.

What are the two most fundamental types of memory, distinguished by whether retrieval is conscious or unconscious?

Memory is broadly categorized into two main types: Explicit memory (also known as declarative memory) refers to conscious recollection of facts and events. Implicit memory (non-declarative memory) refers to unconscious or automatic forms of memory, such as skills, habits, priming, and classically conditioned responses, which influence behavior without conscious recall.

Where are new explicit memories initially consolidated, and where are older, well-established explicit memories eventually stored?

New explicit memories, especially episodic memories, are initially formed and consolidated in the hippocampus and surrounding medial temporal lobe structures. Once consolidated, these memories are gradually transferred and stored as more stable, distributed representations across various regions of the cerebral cortex for long-term retention.

Which brain structure is critically involved in procedural memory and the acquisition of motor skills and habits?

The basal ganglia, a group of subcortical nuclei, is a crucial brain structure for procedural memory, which involves learning motor skills, habits, and routine procedures. It plays a significant role in motor control, sequencing movements, and acquiring stimulus-response associations.

According to Newell and Simon, what are the three core elements that characterize problem solving?

Newell and Simon, pioneers in artificial intelligence and cognitive psychology, described problem solving in terms of three fundamental elements: 1) Goal directedness (behavior is organized to achieve a specific endpoint), 2) Subgoal decomposition (large problems are broken down into smaller, manageable subgoals), and 3) Operator application (actions or cognitive steps applied to move from one state to another).

In problem solving, what is a 'problem space'?

A problem space is a conceptual representation of all possible states (configurations of the problem) that can be reached from the initial state to the desired goal state, including all intermediate states. It also includes the set of legitimate operators (actions or rules) that can be applied to move from one state to another.

What are three common ways in which individuals can acquire new operators for problem solving?

New problem-solving operators can be acquired through three primary ways: 1) Discovery, by actively exploring the problem space (often involving brain regions like the basal ganglia and prefrontal cortex for exploration and learning); 2) Learning by being told, where instructions or rules are verbally communicated; and 3) Observing others, through imitation or social learning.

What is 'means-end analysis' as a strategy in problem solving?

Means-end analysis is a powerful problem-solving heuristic that involves identifying the largest difference between the current state and the goal state, and then creating a new subgoal to reduce that difference. This often involves applying a specific operator or sequence of operators to achieve the subgoal, iteratively moving closer to the final solution.

What is the function of a 'subgoal operator' in the context of problem solving?

A subgoal operator is an action or step taken specifically to eliminate a perceived difference between the current state and a desired intermediate state (subgoal), thereby unblocking progress towards the overall main goal. Subgoal operators are crucial for solving complex problems that cannot be solved in a single step.

What do the initials 'GPS' stand for in the context of AI and problem-solving models?

GPS stands for 'General Problem Solver.' It was an influential computer program developed by Newell, Shaw, and Simon in the late 1950s and early 1960s. GPS was designed to solve a wide variety of well-defined problems using means-end analysis, and it represented an early attempt to model human problem-solving processes computationally.

Why do patients with prefrontal cortex damage typically struggle with complex logical sequencing problems like the Tower of Hanoi?

Patients with damage to the prefrontal cortex often struggle with tasks like the Tower of Hanoi because they have impaired executive functions, particularly difficulty with planning, working memory, and inhibiting predominant but incorrect responses (e.g., the 'hill-climbing' heuristic). This makes it hard for them to follow a structured subgoal plan that might involve moving away from the goal temporarily to achieve a long-term solution.

What is functional fixedness, and how does it impede problem solving?

Functional fixedness is a cognitive bias that hinders problem solving by causing individuals to perceive objects only in terms of their conventional or customary function. This limits their ability to imagine novel or alternative uses for an object, making it difficult to solve problems that require creative repurposing of tools or materials (e.g., Duncker's candle problem).

What is the Einstellung effect, and what can help overcome this bias?

The Einstellung effect (or 'set effect') is a cognitive bias where individuals become fixated on a familiar strategy or a previously successful solution, even when a simpler or more effective method exists for a new problem. This mental 'set' can hinder flexible thinking and lead to less optimal solutions. Techniques like incubation (a break from the problem) and engaging cognitive control can help overcome it.

In the Wason selection task, which two specific cards must be turned over to logically test a conditional rule of the form 'If P, then Q'?

In the Wason selection task, to logically test a conditional rule of the form 'If P, then Q' (e.g., 'If a card has a vowel on one side, then it has an even number on the other side'), one must turn over the card representing P (to check if Q is true) and the card representing NOT Q (to check if P is false with a false Q). In the standard example with E, K, 4, 7 cards, you would turn the 'E' card (P) and the '7' card (not Q).

What are Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area primarily associated with in terms of language functions?

Broca’s area, located in the left frontal lobe, is primarily associated with speech production, articulation, and grammar. Damage to this area results in Broca's aphasia, characterized by non-fluent, effortful speech. Wernicke’s area, located in the left temporal lobe, is primarily associated with language comprehension. Damage here results in Wernicke's aphasia, characterized by fluent but meaningless speech and severe comprehension deficits.

Conduction aphasia is associated with damage to which brain region, and what is its primary effect on language?

Conduction aphasia is a type of aphasia typically associated with damage to the arcuate fasciculus, a bundle of nerve fibers connecting Broca's and Wernicke's areas. Individuals with conduction aphasia exhibit relatively good language comprehension and fluent speech, but they have a severe and characteristic difficulty repeating words or phrases, especially non-meaningful ones.

Distinguish between linguistic competence and linguistic performance according to Chomsky.

Linguistic competence, as proposed by Noam Chomsky, refers to an individual's abstract, internalized knowledge of the rules of their language (grammar, phonology, syntax). It represents the ideal speaker-hearer's underlying linguistic ability. Linguistic performance, in contrast, refers to the actual use of language in concrete situations, which can be influenced by non-linguistic factors like memory limitations, distractions, or fatigue, leading to speech errors or hesitations that do not reflect a lack of competence.

What is a 'pro-drop' language in linguistics?

A pro-drop language (or 'pronoun-dropping' language) is one where subject pronouns can be optionally omitted from a sentence when their identity can be inferred from the verb conjugation or context. For example, in Spanish, 'Hablo' means 'I speak' without explicitly stating 'yo' (I). The universal status of this feature across all languages is a subject of ongoing debate in linguistics.

What are language universals (LUs) according to Noam Chomsky, and what is their significance?

According to Noam Chomsky's theory of Universal Grammar, language universals (LUs) are innate, species-specific constraints on the possible structures and rules of natural language. These universal principles are believed to be hardwired in the human brain (part of the 'language acquisition device'), accounting for the rapid and relatively effortless learning of complex language structures by children across diverse linguistic environments.

What is the 'critical period' for language acquisition, and what happens if language exposure occurs outside this period?

The critical period for language acquisition is a hypothetical maturational window, generally thought to be roughly from ages 2 to 12. During this period, the brain is optimally prepared to acquire language naturally and master it with native-like fluency. After this window closes, acquiring a first or second language becomes significantly more difficult, requiring greater effort and rarely leading to full native proficiency.

What is the Whorfian hypothesis (or linguistic determinism)?

The Whorfian hypothesis (also known as linguistic determinism or linguistic relativity) is the idea that the language one speaks influences or even determines the way one thinks, perceives the world, and categorizes reality. The strong version posits that language strictly determines thought, while the weaker version suggests that language influences thought but does not strictly dictate it.

What is the distinction between crystallized intelligence and fluid intelligence?

Crystallized intelligence refers to accumulated knowledge, facts, skills, and vocabulary acquired through education and experience. It generally increases with age and is assessed through tasks like vocabulary tests or general knowledge questions. Fluid intelligence, in contrast, refers to the ability to reason, think flexibly, solve novel problems, and understand complex relationships independently of acquired knowledge. It is involved in abstract thinking and typically declines somewhat in older adulthood.

What is short-term memory (STM)?

Short-term memory (STM) is a temporary storage system that holds a small amount of information in an active, readily accessible state for a brief period (typically seconds to less than a minute) without rehearsal. It allows for the immediate conscious processing of information.

What is long-term memory (LTM)?

Long-term memory (LTM) is a system for permanently storing and retrieving vast amounts of information over extended periods, ranging from minutes to a lifetime. LTM has a virtually unlimited capacity and includes both explicit and implicit forms of memory.

What is declarative memory?

Declarative memory, also known as explicit memory, is a type of long-term memory that involves conscious recollection of facts, events, and concepts. It is 'declarable' because the information can be verbally expressed or consciously brought to mind.

What is non-declarative memory?

Non-declarative memory, also known as implicit memory, is a type of long-term memory that does not require conscious recollection. It influences behavior and performance automatically, without awareness, and includes procedural memory, priming, and classical conditioning.

What is episodic memory, a subtype of explicit memory?

Episodic memory is a type of explicit memory that involves the conscious recollection of specific personal experiences, events, and their associated contextual details (e.g., when and where they occurred). It allows us to mentally 'travel back in time' to re-experience moments.

What is semantic memory, a subtype of explicit memory?

Semantic memory is a type of explicit memory that stores general world knowledge, facts, concepts, and vocabulary without reference to the specific time or place of learning. It includes our understanding of language, history, science, and common sense.

What is procedural memory?

Procedural memory is a type of implicit memory that stores information about how to perform motor skills, habits, and complex procedures. It is often developed through repetition and practice and is demonstrated through action rather than conscious recall (e.g., riding a bike).

What is priming in the context of implicit memory?

Priming is an implicit memory phenomenon where exposure to a stimulus (e.g., a word, an image) influences a subsequent response to that same or a related stimulus, often without conscious awareness. It can make future responses faster or more accurate.

What is classical conditioning as a form of implicit memory?

Classical conditioning is a form of implicit memory in which an individual learns to associate two stimuli, resulting in a conditioned response. For example, a dog associates a bell with food, eventually salivating to the bell alone.

What is memory consolidation?

Memory consolidation is the process by which a new memory trace, initially unstable and vulnerable, is gradually transformed into a more stable, long-lasting representation in the brain. This process involves the hippocampus and leads to the eventual transfer of memories to cortical areas.

What is retrograde amnesia?

Retrograde amnesia is a form of amnesia where an individual loses the ability to access memories formed before the onset of an injury or disease. The severity can vary, from losing a few months' worth of memories to losing memories spanning several years, often with a temporal gradient (older memories are less affected).

Who was patient H.M., and what did his case reveal about the role of the hippocampus in memory?

Patient H.M. (Henry Molaison) was a crucial case study in neuroscience. Due to bilateral removal of his hippocampus and adjacent medial temporal lobe structures to treat epilepsy, he developed profound anterograde amnesia. His case demonstrated that the hippocampus is essential for forming new explicit memories but not for procedural memory or the long-term storage of existing memories.

What is chunking, and how does it affect memory capacity?

Chunking is a memory strategy that involves grouping individual pieces of information into larger, meaningful units or 'chunks,' often based on existing knowledge. This strategy effectively expands the capacity of short-term memory by allowing more information to be held within the same number of 'slots' (e.g., remembering a phone number as a few chunks rather than individual digits).

Distinguish between maintenance rehearsal and elaborative rehearsal in terms of their effectiveness for long-term memory.

Maintenance rehearsal is a shallow processing technique that involves simple, rote repetition of information to keep it active in short-term memory. It is effective for short-term retention but generally leads to poor long-term memory unless combined with deeper processing. Elaborative rehearsal is a deeper processing technique that involves connecting new information with existing knowledge, analyzing its meaning, and creating associations (e.g., making analogies or relating it to personal experience). This leads to much better long-term retention.

What is the function of the episodic buffer in Baddeley’s revised model of working memory?

The episodic buffer is a component added to Baddeley's model of working memory. It acts as a limited-capacity, temporary storage system that integrates information from the visuospatial sketchpad, phonological loop, and long-term memory into coherent, multi-modal 'episodes.' This integration is crucial for conscious awareness, linking information, and solving complex problems.

What is long-term depression (LTD), and what is its role in memory?

Long-term depression (LTD) is a process that leads to a long-lasting decrease in the strength of synaptic connections. It is considered a complementary mechanism to long-term potentiation (LTP) and is crucial for memory formation by allowing for fine-tuning of neural circuits, clearing out old or irrelevant memories, and enabling new learning by weakening existing unhelpful associations.

What is the primary role of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in working memory?

The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is a key brain region for working memory. It is primarily involved in the active maintenance, manipulation, and executive control of information held in mind, as well as planning, decision-making, and goal-directed behavior. It's particularly active during tasks requiring selection, sequencing, and monitoring of information.

What is the role of the NMDA receptor in memory formation?

The NMDA receptor (N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor) is a type of glutamate receptor found at synapses in the hippocampus and cortex that plays a critical role in synaptic plasticity, particularly long-term potentiation (LTP). Its activation, requiring both glutamate binding and strong depolarization, allows calcium ions to enter the neuron, triggering cascades that strengthen the synapse and contribute to learning and memory.

What is metacognition in the context of memory?

Metacognition refers to 'thinking about thinking' or awareness and understanding of one's own cognitive processes. In memory, it includes knowing what you know (e.g., 'feeling of knowing'), how well you can recall something, and strategies for improving memory, such as knowing when to rehearse or when to seek additional information.

What is context-dependent memory?

Context-dependent memory describes the phenomenon where memory retrieval is enhanced when the context (e.g., physical environment, sensory cues) during retrieval matches the context present during encoding. For example, studying for a test in the same classroom where the test will be taken can improve recall.