IB Psychology Cognitive Approach overview

SL overview of the cognitive approach.

Who proposed the multi-store memory model (MSM)?

Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968)

Outline the steps of the MSM.

Differences in memory stores MSM

• Duration: how long information can be stored

• Capacity: how much information can be stored

• Coding: in what form information can be stored

Main ways information can be encoded MSM

Visual, acoustic, semantic (meaning)

Difficulty of testing MSM

It is only assumed that LTM has an unlimited capacity, as research has been unable to measure this accurately

Contradictory evidence in MSM

• While it makes sense that memories in the LTM are encoded semantically, it does not make sense to think of procedural memory as being encoded semantically.

• MSM does not explain many important aspects of memory like distortion or why traumatic experiences can result in extremely vivid memories with no rehearsal involved

Strengths and limitations of evidence to support MSM

• There is a large base of research that supports the idea of distinct STM and LTM systems (e.g. brain-damaged case study participants)

• Some research into STM duration has low ecological validity, as the stimuli participants were asked to remember bear little resemblance to items learned in real life

Problems with rehearsal concept MSM

• Increased rehearsal is no guarantee that information will be stored in LTM

• Rehearsal is overly simplistic

• Low ecological validity because rote rehearsal is not typically employed in everyday life

Who introduced the Working Memory Model (WMM)?

Baddeley and Hitch (1974)

What differentiates WMM from MSM?

WMM suggests that STM consists of multiple different stores. This was suggested from studies which use dual-task technique to test participants’ abilities to perform tasks related to different sensory inputs at the same time.

What are the components of the WMM?

• Central executive

• Phonological loop

• Episodic buffer

• Visuospatial sketchpad

• LTM storage

Central executive function

Attention control. CE is responsible for monitoring the operation of the ‘slave systems’ (phonological loop, episodic buffer, VS sketchpad) and decides what information to give attention to.

Phonological loop function

Holds auditory information (written and spoken). The phonological store is like an inner ear and hold speech-based information, while the articulatory control system is like an inner voice and rehearses information from the phonological store.

Visuospatial sketchpad function

Stores visual and spatial information. The visual cache stores information about what things look like while the inner scribe processes spatial and movement information.

Episodic buffer function

Backup store that is fed by the slave systems and is linked to central executive. It holds information temporarily and combines different types of information (e.g. verbal and visual) with time sequencing, such as the memory of a story, event, or movie scene.

Support for WMM

• Considerable experimental evidence

• Brain scans have shown that a different area of the brain is active when carrying out verbal tasks than when carrying out visual tasks

• Case studies of patients with brain damage support the theory that there is more than one STM store

• Helps to understand why we are able to multitask in some situations but not others

Weaknesses of WMM

• Role of central executive is unclear

• How the various components of the model interact is unclear

• Unclear about how LTM works

• Does not explain memory distortion or the role of emotion in memory formation

Similarities between MSM and WMM

• Argue that rehearsal is necessary for the transfer from STM to LTM

• Neither explains memory distortion

• Neither explains role of emotion in memory

• Agree that STM is limited in capacity and duration

Differences between MSM and WMM

• WMM argues that STM is not just one store but a number of different stores

• WMM focuses only on STM

• WMM explains multitasking

• WMM argues that different modalities are processed differently (visual vs auditory)

Schema

Culturally bound cognitive structures based on past experience that organise knowledge stored in our memory. Schemas become the filer through which we experience and interpret the world around us.

Reconstructive memory

Claims that we actively process memory. When info is encoded, it is integrated and stored into preexisting cognitive schemas as key data points. Therefore, when memory is retrieved, the key data points in the schema are activated, rather than the complete memory itself. Therefore, memory is an active reconstruction of an event rather than a complete record.

Strengths of schema theory

• Testable. By priming one’s schema, we are able to determine whether the schema helps or interferes with learning.

• Lots of empirical evidence to support schema theory

• Has been applied to help us understand how memory works. May explain distortion, consumer behaviour, cognitive therapy for depression, etc.

• Applied across cultures with no apparent bias in research

• Helps predict behaviour and identify trends like leveling and sharpening to predict what types of info someone will recall

Weaknesses of schema theory

• Some argue that the concept of schema is too vague and hypothetical to be useful

• fMRI simply show brain activity and do not clarify what the individual may be processing

• Unclear how schemas are acquired and how they influence cognitive processes

• Does not account for completely new information that cannot be linked with existing knowledge

  • Cannot therefore explain things like language acquisition in early life

Dual process model

States that humans have two systems for thinking: system 1 (intuitive) and system 2 (rational)

System 1

Unconscious, quick, makes use of shortcuts, slightly sloppy but generally reliable

System 2

Intentional, calculated, slower but more accurate than System 1

Cognitive misers

Creatures with a desire to use as little energy as possible to think

Ego depletion

Occurs when a task is too lengthy or difficult over time and willpower is diminished

Cognitive load

Amount of things happening in a brain at one time. If the cognitive load is too high, energy cannot be allocated to solving a problem.

Law of Least Effort

If there are several ways of achieving a goal, people will choose the least demanding course of action

Cognitive Biases evaluation

• Cultural and gender differences in biases

• Difficulties in studying cognitive processes (isolation of variables, artificial nature of experiments)

• Links to dual process theory

  • Cognitive biases occur due to the interplay between system 1 and system 2 processing—system 1’s heuristic usage leads to systematic errors or biases

Who proposed flashbulb memory?

Brown and Kulik (1977)

Flashbulb memory

A highly detailed, exceptionally vivid ‘snapshot’ of the moment when a surprising and emotionally arousing event occurred

Special-mechanism hypothesis

Argues for the existence of a special biological memory mechanism that, when triggered by an event exceeding critical levels of surprise, creates a permanent record of the details and circumstances surrounding the experience.

Importance-driven model

Variation of the flashbulb memory model stating that personal consequences determine the intensity of emotional reactions

Strengths of flashbulb memory theory

• Biological support for theory, although it is correlational in nature and thus cannot demonstrate cause-effect

• Insights can be applied to trauma therapy and witness testimony

Weaknesses of flashbulb memory theory

• Some studies suggest that flashbulb memories are not as accurate or enduring as initially proposed

  • Neisser argues that it is one’s level of confidence rather than accuracy which defines FBM

• Biological mechanism is not well explained