psych exam 3

what is memory?

the ability to store and retrieve information

human memory by analogy to external memory systems

plato: memory as wax tablet
more recently: tape recording/writing
currently: computer

encoding

coding and putting information into memory

storage

maintaining information in memory over time

retrieval

recovering information from memory

levels of processing theory

Craik and Tulving
attention is critical to encoding memories
deeper levels of processing=longer lasting memories

processing levels

shallow (visual)
phonemic/sound
deep (semantic)

semantic encoding

deep and has meaning

visual imagery encoding

getting information into memory by changing it to mental pictures

organizational encoding

several pieces of information into memory by categorizing them according to their relationships

implications of encoding content for good study skills

avoid superficial processing: rereading/underlining
engage in deep processing: personal relevance/relate

sensory memory: types? capacity and duration?

visual and auditiory
capacity: fairly large
duration: visual (250ms) auditory (4 sec)

short-term memory: capacity and duration?

capacity: limited
duration: unrehearsed information for several seconds

long-term memory: capacity and duration?

capacity: unlimited
duration: very long (few minutes or years)

capacity of short term memory: magic number and chunking

magic number: 7 +/- 2
chunk: a meaningful group of information

interaction of short term and long term memory

we encode and organize information in short term memory in terms of what we know in long term memory

transferring information into long term memory

the result of processing
transfers through rehearsal

serial position effect

better memory for items at the beginning and end of a list

primacy effect

first items in the list remembered (long term memory storage)

recency effect

last items in the list remembered (short term memory storage)

what is long term memory?

composed of explicit and implicit memories, theoretically unlimited

explicit memory

intentionally retrieving past experiences; semantic and episodic

semantic memory

memory for facts

episodic memory

memory for experiences

implicit memory

the influence of past experience on behavior and performance without conscious recollection; procedural and priming

procedural memory

memory that allows you to do things

priming

an enhanced ability to think of a stimulus because of recent exposure to it

support for distinction between explicit and implicit memory

anterograde amnesia: explicit memory is impaired and implicit memory is similar to normal

Ebbinghaus's forgetting curve

rapid forgetting in the beginning, forgetting slows down after a while

forgetting due to decay

forgetting occurs simply due to the passage of time

forgetting due to interference

forgetting is due to the presence of other information interfering with retrieval or storage

proactive interference

previous memories interfering with retrieval of new ones

retroactive interference

recent memories interfering with retrieval of old ones

what is a retrieval cue?

a stimulus for remembering

false memory

an inaccurate memory that feels as real as an accurate memory

schema

something in common to all members of a category

memory misattribution

assigning a recollection or idea to the wrong source

suggestibility

the development of biased memories from misleading information

implications of constructive nature of memory

police interviewers; share all details first then ask questions after

what is learning?

a relatively permanent change in knowledge or behavior as a result of experience

classical conditioning

the pairing of two stimulus

operant conditioning

the pairing of a response and a consequence

acquisition

when conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus are repeatedly paired the neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus

extinction

decrease in the conditioned response when the unconditioned stimulus is no longer paired with the conditioned stimulus

spontaneous recovery

the reappearance of the conditioned response after extinction without further pairings of the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus

generalization

when a stimulus similar to the conditioned stimulus also evokes a conditioned response

discrimination

the ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and other stimuli that are irrelevant

role of cognitive processes in classical conditioning

learning the predictability of the second event (conditioned stimulus predicts the unconditioned stimulus); more predictable=stronger conditioned response

role of biological predispositions in classical conditioning

biologically prepared to learn some associations more easily than others

Thorndike's law of effect

responses followed by a pleasant outcome increase in occurrence and those followed by an unpleasant outcome will decrease in occurrence

positive reinforcement

adding something desirable

positive punishment

adding something aversive

negative reinforcement

removing something aversive

negative punishment

removing something desired

shaping

slowly reaching the desired behavior by reinforcing small steps toward the behavior

fixed ratio

reinforce behavior after a set number of responses

variable ratio

reinforce behavior after an unpredictable number of responses

fixed interval

reinforce the first response after a fixed time interval

variable interval

reinforce the first response after a varying time interval

different response rates for different partial reinforcement schedules

ratio schedules result in higher response rates
variable schedules result in steadier response rates
continuous reinforcement=more prone to extinction

observational learning

learning by observing others; also called social learning

what is problem solving?

the analysis and transformation of information to achieve a goal

process of problem solving

represent the problem
try to plan potential solutions
evaluate/select a solution
try to execute solution and evaluate results

represent the problem

initial representation
goal state
operators
intermediate problem states

initial representation

represents given or starting conditions

goal state

represents final or goal situation

operators

moves made from one state to another

intermediate problem states

states generated by applying operators

solution approaches

trial and error
analogies
algorithms
heuristics
difficulty

mental set

tendency to approach a problem type in a particular way, even if it is not the best current approach

functional fixedness

the tendency to perceive an item only in terms of its most common use

failure, what to do if you get stuck?

try to reformulate problem or try to plan potential solution

expertise and problem solving

expertise is domain specific
comes with experience

some aspects of expertise

chunking, planning, recognizing analogies

availability heuristic

estimate the probability of an event based on how easy it is to think of relevant cases

implications of availability heuristic

we underestimate the frequency of hard to remember events and overestimate the frequency of easy to remember events

conjunction fallacy

the co-occurrence of two instances is more likely than a single one.

representative heuristic

estimate the probability of an event based on how well the event represents what we think is typical

2 errors of representative heuristics

gambler's fallacy and ignoring base rates

gambler's fallacy

odds of an event happening increase if they haven't occurred recently

ignoring base rates

we often fail to consider how often things usually happen; especially when we apply them to ourselves

framing effects in decision making

how a problem is framed affects how we respond to it

how framing as gains or losses tends to affect decision

when we seek gains we avoid risks
when we cut losses we choose risks

sunk-cost fallacy

we are reluctant to waste something we have paid for

what is intelligence?

verbal ability, social competence, and practical problem solving

is intelligence one or many things?

there is general capacity or "g" factor and there are also different types (both views are correct)

eugenics movement (late 1800s)

efforts to control reproduction to gradually improve hereditary characteristics

US immigration and test bias (early 1900s)

U.S. classified many Eastern-Europeans as "feeble-minded"

Binet - practical, educational use

looked for tasks that emphasized differences in ability to reason and solve problems

Ratio IQ

mental age/chronological age x 100

current meaning of intelligence scores

deviation IQ; a relative standing within age group

Stanford-Binet

the widely used American revision of Binet's original intelligence test

WISC

Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children

WAIS

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale

nature, nurture, and intelligence

evidence for both environmental and genetic influences

evidence for genetic influences

identical twins raised separate

evidence for environmental influences

nonidentical twins raised together

reaction range

the idea that heredity sets limits on intelligence and environmental factors determine where an individual lands within those limits

group differences in intelligence? what causes them?

stereotype threat
biases in testing
environment

stereotype threat

the general idea that race effects the scores on intelligence tests