psychology - cognitive approach

Flashcard 1: Peterson and Peterson (1959)

• Aim: To investigate the duration of short-term memory (STM) without rehearsal.

• Method: Participants were presented with trigrams (three-letter nonsense syllables) and required to recall them after varying time intervals (3, 6, 9, 12, 15, or 18 seconds) while performing a distraction task to prevent rehearsal.

• Findings: Recall of the trigrams decreased significantly as the time intervals increased. After 18 seconds, the recall rate was very low.

• Conclusion: STM has a limited duration of approximately 18 seconds without rehearsal, supporting the notion that information decays quickly when not actively maintained.

• Theory Tested: This study supports the Multistore Model of Memory, particularly the characteristics of STM.

Flashcard 2: Glanzer and Cunitz (1966)

• Aim: To examine the serial position effect in free recall and its implications for memory stores.

• Method: Participants were shown a list of words and were asked to recall them immediately (immediate free recall) or after a delay (delayed recall). The delay involved a distraction task.

• Findings: Participants recalled more words from the beginning (primacy effect) and the end (recency effect) of the list than from the middle. The recency effect diminished with the delay.

• Conclusion: The results demonstrate that items at the beginning of a list are stored in LTM (primacy effect), while items at the end are still in STM (recency effect).

• Theory Tested: This study provides support for the Multistore Model of Memory by illustrating the distinction between LTM and STM through the serial position effect.

Flashcard 3: Robbins (1996)

• Aim: To investigate the effect of the articulatory suppression on working memory tasks.

• Method: Participants performed a reasoning task while concurrently repeating an irrelevant sound or word (articulatory suppression) or did not engage in repetition (control group).

• Findings: The articulatory suppression group performed significantly worse on the reasoning task compared to the control group, indicating that verbal rehearsal was impeded.

• Conclusion: Articulatory suppression disrupts the phonological loop component of working memory, confirming its role in maintaining verbal information.

• Theory Tested: This study supports the Working Memory Model, particularly the phonological loop's function in processing and storing verbal information.

Flashcard 4: Cain et al (2016)

• Aim: To explore the relationship between working memory capacity and reading comprehension in children.

• Method: The study involved assessing the working memory capacity of children through various tasks, and then evaluating their reading comprehension abilities based on texts they read.

• Findings: Higher working memory capacity was significantly associated with better reading comprehension performance, as children with greater capacity could understand and integrate the information from texts more effectively.

• Conclusion: Effective working memory is crucial for processing and understanding written information, linking cognitive capacity with academic performance.

• Theory Tested: This study supports the Working Memory Model, emphasizing the importance of working memory in cognitive tasks related to language and comprehension.

Flashcard 5: Landry and Bartling (2011)

• Aim: To investigate the effect of articulatory suppression on the retention of verbal information in working memory.

• Method: Participants were asked to recall a list of consonant letters, either under normal conditions or while repeating a sequence of numbers (articulatory suppression condition).

• Findings: The group engaging in articulatory suppression recalled significantly fewer letters than the control group who did not repeat numbers, indicating that rehearsing the letters was disrupted.

• Conclusion: Articulatory suppression negatively impacts the ability to retain verbal information, highlighting the importance of rehearsal in memory maintenance.

• Theory Tested: This study reinforces the Working Memory Model by demonstrating the disruption of the phonological loop when rehearsal is prevented.

Flashcard 6: Bransford and Johnson (1972)

• Aim: To investigate how providing context influences comprehension and memory recall.

• Method: Participants were presented with a passage without a title and asked to recall the content. A second group received a title before reading the same passage.

• Findings: Participants who received the title before reading showed significantly better recall of the information compared to those who did not.

• Conclusion: Activating a schema prior to exposure to material enhances understanding and memory retrieval by providing a mental framework for organizing new information.

• Theory Tested: This study supports Schema Theory, illustrating how context aids in memory formation and retrieval.

Flashcard 7: Stone et al (1997)

• Aim: To explore the effects of confirmation bias on individuals' processing of information.

• Method: Participants read a description of a hypothetical basketball game and were asked to evaluate whether the player was good or bad based on the information presented.

• Findings: Participants tended to focus on information that confirmed their initial beliefs about the player while disregarding contradictory evidence.

• Conclusion: Confirmation bias leads individuals to favor information that supports their preconceived notions, affecting their judgment and decision-making processes.

• Theory Tested: This study provides insights into cognitive biases, particularly confirmation bias in the context of information processing and decision-making.

Flashcard 8: Kahneman and Tversky (1974)

• Aim: To investigate biases in decision-making under conditions of uncertainty.

• Method: Participants were presented with various scenarios involving economic decisions and probabilities, including framing effects.

• Findings: The study demonstrated that the way information is presented (framing) significantly impacts decision-making, resulting in different choices based on the same underlying information.

• Conclusion: People are influenced by cognitive biases and heuristics that lead to inconsistent choices, illustrating the limitations of rational decision-making.

• Theory Tested: This study supports Prospect Theory, highlighting how individuals evaluate potential losses and gains in unpredictable situations.

Flashcard 9: Roth (1979)

• Aim: To replicate and extend previous research on cognitive biases in decision-making, particularly focusing on how individuals interpret risk.

• Method: Participants were presented with various situations where they had to assess the risk and make decisions involving potential gains or losses.

• Findings: Findings indicated that people's risk assessments were heavily influenced by framing effects, similar to previous studies by Kahneman and Tversky.

• Conclusion: This study further establishes the existence of cognitive biases and how they distort perceptions of risk and decision-making.

• Theory Tested: It supports the principles of Prospect Theory, illustrating the psychological mechanisms behind risk assessment in economic decisions.

Flashcard 10: Loftus and Palmer (1974)

• Aim: To investigate the malleability of memory and how language influences eyewitness testimony.

• Method: Participants viewed a video of a car accident and were then asked questions about it, including the critical question where they were asked how fast the cars were going when they "hit" or "smashed" each other.

• Findings: The wording of the questions influenced participants' speed estimates, with those hearing "smashed" estimating higher speeds than those hearing "hit."

• Conclusion: The study demonstrates that memory can be distorted by the information and wording provided post-event, challenging the reliability of eyewitness testimony.

• Theory Tested: This study supports the misinformation effect and shows how memory is not a perfect record but rather susceptible to influence and reconstruction.

Flashcard 11: Shaw and Porter (2015)

• Aim: To examine the development of false memories through social influences.

• Method: Participants were interviewed multiple times about personal experiences, with some being fed misinformation to lead them to falsely remember events that never happened.

• Findings: A substantial number of participants generated detailed false memories consistent with the incorrect information they received, even believing these events to be true.

• Conclusion: The findings suggest that social interaction and suggestive techniques can create robust false memories, demonstrating the vulnerability of memory.

• Theory Tested: This study provides support for the False Memory Theory, indicating how memories can be constructed based on external influences rather than actual experiences.

Flashcard 12: Buchanan and Lovallo (2001)

• Aim: To explore the effects of emotional arousal on memory recall.

• Method: Participants were presented with emotionally charged and neutral words and were tested for recall after some time.

• Findings: It was found that emotionally charged words were recalled better than neutral words, indicating that emotion enhances memory recall.

• Conclusion: Emotional arousal plays a significant role in the encoding and retrieval processes of memory, leading to better recall of emotionally significant information.

• Theory Tested: This study supports the Arousal Theory of Memory, which posits that higher emotional arousal enhances memory retention and recall.

Flashcard 13: Luby et al (2013)

• Aim: To investigate the relationship between stress and memory in children using neuroimaging techniques.

• Method: The study assessed children's memory performance under stress and measured brain activity using MRI scans while they performed memory tasks.

• Findings: The results indicated that higher levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, were associated with decreased memory performance and altered brain activation patterns.

• Conclusion: Stress negatively impacts memory performance, particularly in children, highlighting the interplay between biological factors and cognitive processes.

• Theory Tested: This study supports the Stress-Effects on Memory Theory, which elucidates how psychological stress can affect cognitive functions, including memory.