AP Pyschology Notes

Nature Vs Nurture:

• Nature:
  • Genetics.
  • Noam Chomsky: Genetic factor for language.
• Nurture:
  • Everything else: Environment, School, Friends, etc.
  • Work upon genetic characteristics.
  • John B. Watson: Can shape someone from the outside in.
• Epigenetics:
  • Rat Licking Studies:
  • High Lickers vs. Low Lickers: Nurture physically altered their genetic expression; rats take on mom’s behaviors.
  • Rat Memory:
  • Enriched Environment led to enhanced LTP.
  • Long Term Potentiation:
    • Ability for neurons to recall memory.
    • Effect of Nurture on Nature.
• Takeaways:
  • Nature and nurture work together.
  • Epigenetics is the effect of nurture on nature.
• Identical vs. Fraternal Twins:
  • Identical: Same DNA, Same Sex, Monozygotic (One Egg).
  • Raised in similar environments, similar due to genetics.
  • Fraternal: Different DNA, Same or Opp. Sex, Dizygotic (Two Eggs).
  • Raised in same environment, similar due to genetics.
• Heritability:
  • Amount of variation among individuals that can be attributed to genetics.
  • Differences in academic performance attributed to genetic factors.

Nervous System:

• Broken into:
  • Central NS (Brain and Spinal Cord):
  • "Center of body", "Central to your survival".
  • All Bones.
  • Peripheral NS:
  • Nerves.
  • Carry info and out to the Central NS.
  • Somatic NS:
    • Soma (Body).
    • Communicates sensory information to CNS.
    • Motor neurons take info on what to move and how to move from CNS to muscles.
  • Autonomic:
    • Works automatically.
    • Regulates involuntary functions: Heart Rate, BPM, etc.
    • Sympathetic (Fight or Flight):
    • Instinct such as increased in HR and BP in Fight or Flight (Epinephrine, Cortisol).
    • Dilate pupils.
    • Less digestion and saliva.
    • Parasympathetic (Rest and Digest):
    • Gradually calms after Sympathetic.
    • Does everything opposite of Sympathetic.

Neurons and Glial Cells:

• 1 neuron: 10 Glial Cells.
  • Structure, Insulation, Communication, Waste Transportation.
  • Form NS.
  • Do not process information.
• About 900 Billion Cells communicate.
• Helper Cells.
• Send and receive chemical signals from each other and neurons communicate w/o electricity (not shown on EEG).
• Types of Neuron:
  • Reflex Arc: Nerve Pathway that allows body to respond without thinking.
  • Motor Neuron:
  • Reflex: Muscle flex or relax.
  • Can react to involuntary or voluntary signals.
  • Efferent Signals exit Brain (Outside).
  • Sensory neuron:
  • Sensation or sound; different for each sense.
  • Can respond to non-chemical stimuli; e.g., Neuron in back of eye responds to wavelengths of Light.
  • Afferent Signals Arrive at Brain (Inside).
  • Spinal Reflex Arc:
  • Receptor Site in Peripheral NS.
  • Receive a sensation, take it to spinal through sensory neuron.
  • How loud it is (Sensation).
  • In between sensory neuron and motor neuron: Interneuron activates muscle; How quick a motor neuron does this (Reflex).

Neuron Anatomy:

• Building blocks of NS.
• Some have specificity.
• They receive, carry, and send messages (done in milliseconds).
• Soma:
  • Body of the cell.
  • Encompasses Nucleus.
  • Protruding tentacles are dendrites.
• Axon:
  • Tube that messages or impulses go down.
  • Can vary in size.
  • Some axons have Myelin Sheath: Fatty substance that encases neurons, protects and insulates axons, speeding up transmissions; some disorders linked to creation or determination of myelin.
• Axon Terminal:
  • Little bubbles (Terminal Buttons).
  • Communication between neurons.
  • Vessels inside the buttons called synaptic vessels.
  • DSATs.

Neural Firing:

• Shift in electrical energy to create an action potential (electric impulse down an axon).
• When it reaches the end (terminal buttons), neurotransmitters are released into the synapse, then lock onto the next one.
• Excitatory vs. Inhibitory:
  • Excitatory: Makes the next neuron more likely to fire.
  • Inhibitory: Makes the next neuron less likely to fire.
• Basics:
  • Not active neuron (resting potential): $-70$ Millivolts.
  • Polarized (positive outside, negative inside).
  • Firing Threshold.
• All or None Law:
  • Once at Threshold, neuron will fire, will fire at the same intensity every time.
• Action Potential:
  • $30$ Positive Millivolts
  • Depolarization (Positive inside, negative outside).
• Refractory Period:
  • Brief Period where Neuron cant fire again.
• Reuptake:
  • Sending Neurons recollect transmitters.

Neurotransmitters and the Endocrine System:

• Hormones in Endocrine System NOT NEUROTRANSMITTERS
• Glutamate:
  • Most abundant excitatory neurotransmitter.
  • Enhances learning and memory by strengthening synaptic connections; how excited you would be if you were glued to your mate.
• GABA (Gamma Aminobutyric Acid):
  • Most abundant inhibitory neurotransmitter.
  • Associated with various anxiety-related disorders; Get A Brake Adjustment (Brakes of CNS).
• Acetylcholine (ACh):
  • Found in both the central and peripheral nervous system.
  • All movement, involved in learning/memory.
  • Alzheimer's → Diminish ACh functioning; To hit an ACE in tennis, you need ACEtylcholine, To ACE a test, you need ACetylcholine.
• Dopamine (Pleasure):
  • Linked to the anticipation of pleasurable or rewarding activities; Involved in movement, attention, and learning.
  • Lack of dopamine → Parkinson’s; Excess of dopamine → Schizophrenia.
• Endorphins:
  • Painkiller, stimulated by intense or prolonged exercise; Endorphins End Pain.
• Epinephrine (Adrenaline):
  • Both a neurotransmitter + hormone → energy boost; “Fight or Flight” Response.
• Norepinephrine (Noradrenaline):
  • Arousal, alertness, highest sensitivity, etc.; Heavily involved in the sleep cycle; Low levels associated with depression.
• Serotonin:
  • Role in mood, appetite, sleep, dreams, etc.; Low levels → depression; Serotonin → Avoid rotten moods, foods, etc.

Agonists vs. Antagonists:

• Agonists: Likely to make that neuron fire.
  • Direct Agonists mimic the neurotransmitters and bind with the receptor. Indirect can block reuptake, know as reuptake inhibitors.
  • Prozac: Inhibits the reuptake with serotonin; Floods synapse with serotonin.
  • Cocaine: Reuptake with dopamine, more dopamine in synapse for longer periods of time.
• Antagonists: Block receptors (Inhibitors).
  • Inhibits the actions of neurotransmitters in various ways; Often bind to the receptor, don’t stimulate.
  • Botox: Antagonists; Blocks ACh.
  • Thorazine: Blocks dopamine receptors.
• Examples:
  • Heroin: Direct Agonist for Endorphins; Mimic so brain can’t distinguish heroin from endorphins.
  • Nicotine: Agonists for ACh; Stimulates skeletal muscles, increased HR.
  • Black Widow Venom: Agonist for ACh; Continuously causes ACh released at the neuromuscular junction.

Psychoactive Drugs:

• Alter mental states.
• Activate dopamine-producing neurons in the brain’s reward systems.
• Increase in dopamine → Greater reward.
• Effects:
  • Create tolerance: Need more and more to have the desired original effect.
  • Physical Dependence: Repeated use, need drug to prevent withdrawal.
• Blood-Brain Barrier: Allows some chemicals to pass from the blood into the brain; Prevents other chemicals from entering.

Categories of Psychoactive Drugs:

• Depressants:
  • Slow or inhibit CNS functions; Create sleep, relieve anxiety, etc.; Can be deadly if combined.
  • Alc: Agonist for GABA; Depressing Judgement/Self Control brain centers.
  • Opioids/Opiates: Agonist for endorphins; Ex: Heroin, Oxy, Fentanyl; Incredibly addictive, powerful withdrawal.
• Stimulants:
  • Active SNS (sympathetic); Increase brain activity, arouse behavior, increase alertness.
  • Caffeine: Promotes alertness, etc.; Antagonists for Adenosine (blocks sleep effects).
  • Coke: Dopamine indirect agonist, elevates serotonin, noepi; Intense euphoria, alertness, self-confidence; Crash out after; Addictive.
• Hallucinogens (Psychedelics):
  • Create sensory distortions and perception distortions, alter mood, and affect thinking; Still experimental phase.
  • THC: Very mild; Produces sense of well-being, euphoria, dreamy; Interferes with muscle coordination, learning, memory, cognitive function.

The Brain - Hindbrain:

• Medulla:
  • Part of Brain Stem.
  • Controls:
  • Autonomic: HR, Breathing, BP.
  • Reflexes: Swallow, Sneezing, Vomiting.
• Pons:
  • Bridge that connects the brain stem and cerebellum.
  • Helps coordinate and integrate movements on each side of the body.
  • Role in sleep.
• Reticular Activating System (RAS):
  • Network of nerve fibers involved in attention, arousal, alertness.
• Cerebellum:
  • Balance/Equilibrium.
  • Coordinated sequences of movement.
  • Implicit memory (Without conscious thought).
• Midbrain:
  • Nerve system connecting low and high portions of the brain.
  • Relays info b/w brain, ears, and eyes.

The Limbic System:

• Includes:
  • Thalamus (Center):
  • Sensory switchboard
  • Receives/sorts sensory info (no smell info).
  • Hypothalamus:
  • Fight or flight.
  • Initiate full feeling and feeding.
  • Fornification (Sexual motivation).
  • Near main reward pathways.
  • Amygdala:
  • Anger.
  • Aggression.
  • Afraid (Fear Responses).
  • Hippocampus:
  • Converts short-term into long-term memory.
  • Processing and Retrieving (Facts and Events) Memory.
  • Spatial Memory (Imagining your house..).
  • Dysfunction: Alzheimer's, Anterograde Amnesia (Can't create memories).

Cerebral Cortex:

• Brain consists of two hemispheres, each with four lobes.

Left Hemisphere (FPOT):

• Frontal:
  • Prefrontal Cortex:
  • Highest cognitive functions.
  • Thinking, planning, decision-making, impulse control.
  • Undergoes massive organization during 19-25.
  • Motor Cortex:
  • Involved in initiated voluntary movement.
  • Contralateral (Left hemisphere controls the right side of the body).
  • More precise movement gets more tissue on this strip.
• Parietal:
  • Somatosensory Cortex:
  • Represents the sense of touch.
  • Contralateral.
  • More sensitive, more tissue on this strip.
• Occipital:
  • Primary Visual Cortex:
  • Main vision perception area.
  • Injury to this → Blindness.
• Temporal:
  • Primary auditory cortex:
  • Identify the fundamental elements of music, such as pitch and loudness.
  • BASIC AUDIO.
  • Auditory Association cortex:
  • Associated audios or perception of audio.
  • COMPLEX AUDIO.
  • Language:
  • Broca’s Area (Only to left):
    • Expressive Speech; Broca’s aphasia → Can’t express speech properly.
  • Wernicke’s Area:
    • Understanding speech or understanding language; Wernicke’s aphasia → can't comprehend or understand the speech.

Split Brain Procedures:

• Corpus Callosum: Nerves connecting two hemispheres; Constant communication b/w two hemispheres.
• Split Brain to relieve life-threatening epilepsy.
• Sperry/Gazzaniga saw how corpus callosum impacted behavior/mental processes.
• LVF (Left Vision Field)…
• Brain lateralization: Some things are lateralized to specifically either hemisphere
  • Left Hemisphere:
  • Language (Expression, Comprehension, etc.).
  • Interpreter.
  • Right Hemisphere:
  • Spatial Thinking Abilities.
  • Controlling and Recognizing Emotions; Creating/Appreciating Art/Music; Facial Recognition.

Neuroplasticity:

• Neurogenesis: Creation of new cells; Exercise stimulates while Social Isolation decreases.
• Long Term Potentiation: LTP is a type of Structural Plasticity; Cells fire together wire together; When a network fires together repeatedly, the neural pathway becomes more efficient; Changes in physical structure to make more efficient; LTP bio basis of learning.
• Functional Plasticity: Brain can shift functions from damaged area to undamaged areas; Ex: Jody Miller (removed aged 3), Gabby Giffords (gun violence).

Brain Scans:

• Learned through autopsies, case studies, surgery, brain scans.
• What does each tell us about the brain structure or function?
  • Structure.
  • fMRI (both structure and function).
  • Function.
  • EEG (electroencephalograph): Measures electrical activity coming off the surface of the brain; Can be used to identify issues or various sleep disorders.
  • fMRI (both structure and function): Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Measures changes in oxygen levels as brain areas activate/deactivate.

Stages of Sleep Cycles:

• Full Cycle is $90-120$ mins.
• Each cycle involves four different stages; We transition to deeper stages, later we transition back to more active stages.
• Some involve Rapid Eye Movement (REM) or NREM.
  • Awake: Beta Waves.
  • NREM:
  • NREM 1 (Alpha Waves): Light sleep.
  • NREM 2 (Theta Waves).
  • NREM 3 (Delta Waves): Gets shorter throughout the night; Night Terrors; Sleepwalking/talking; Vague partial images and stories.
  • REM (Dream Sleep): Beta Waves; Nightmares, dreaming; Paradoxical sleep (muscles paralyzed); Gets longer throughout the night.

Why We Sleep:

• Restoration theory of sleep: Our body wears out during the day, uses up hormones, energy, neurotransmitters; Sleep necessary to restore and re-energize muscles, brain tissues.

Memory Consolidation of Sleep:

• Restore/Rebuild memories; Occurs during REM sleep; Sleep deprived → Struggle physically/cognitively; Remember prior day events better when well-rested; Rats (Maze) do better when well-rested.

Energy Conservation Theory of Sleep:

• Based on an evolutionary approach (Adaptive Theory); Sleep protects us; Evolution led to sleep leading to preserving energy and protecting us; Helps animals adapt to their environment when we sleep.

Dream Theories:

• Psych Theories:
  • Sigmund Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams: Proposed that dreams are the road to the unconscious mind filed with content that we cannot face while conscious.
  • Manifest content: The actual events and imagery of a dream as recalled by the dreamer upon waking.
  • Latent Content: Interpretation of the actual dream.
• Bio/Info Processing Theories:
  • Dreams provide a way to sort out day’s events and collect memories, storage; Activation synthesis model; REM helps activate brain and develop connections, create storyline.

Common Disorders of Sleep:

• Insomnia: Inability to fall/stay asleep; Causes: Stress; Irr. Sleep Schedule; Pain, diet, meds, illness; Treatment: Stress management; Meds, pain treatment, habits.
• Sleep Apnea: Stops breathing while asleep → snore or gasp for air; Never feel rested, etc.; Types: Obstructive: Throat relaxes and is pressed down on the ear pipe → can’t breathe; CNS: Brain doesn't send proper signals for breathing; Complex (Treatment Emergent Central Sleep Apnea): Both CNS and Obstructive at the same time; Causes: Thick neck, narrow airway, nasal obstruction; Treatment: Lose weight, surgery, push oxygen to encourage breathing.
• Narcolepsy: Falls into uncontrollable sleep attacks; Drowsiness, Muscles paralysis (cataplexy) During REM Sleep; Triggered by strong emotions; Genetic cause; Treated by meds.
  • Adult needs 7-9 hours of sleep.
  • Teen needs 8-10 hours.

Eye Anatomy:

• Lens in front of your eye inverts the image in front of your eye, projected on the back of the eye upside down
• Lens focuses image onto center of retina (fovea) for clarity.
• Blind Spot: Area where optic nerve enters the eye.
• Slera: shell.
• Cornea: Windshield.
• Lens: Clear, flexible.
• Iris: Colored part of eye.
• Pupil: Light hole.
• Retina: Rods, black and white, peripheral.
• Fovea: Focus of movie screen; Center helps to see color comes Cones.

Waves:

• Randy’s Mom Is Very Ultra Xtra Gay -- Radio Microwave Infrared Visible UV XRay Gamma
• Sound waves or light waves have different dimensions.
  • Length: Frequency, Type of Signal, shows color or hue.
  • Height: Amplitude, Intensity.

Colorblindness:

• Happens in eye -- Difficulty distinguishing between colors
• Genes for cone formation (color) on X chromosome -- Males more likely for color blindness

Color Vision Theories:

• Trichromatic Theory: Proposed by Hermann von Helmholtz.
  • Works for eyes --- sensation (Observed and measured objectively)
  • Three types of cones in the fovea (all in ratio creates new colors).
  • S-cone: blue
  • M-cone: green
  • L-cone: red
• Opponent Processing Theory: Ewald Hering -- Works for brain (Perception - cannot be measured independently).
  • Afterimage : Happens in mind, does not exist out, would need a before image
  • Sets (Opponents Theory) -- Red-Green
  • When green is overstimulated then that means red neural circuit is inhibited
  • Yellow-Blue
  • Black- White

Hearing:

• Hearing is mechanical -- Objects bang and transduced into a neural signal.
• Transduction: the process of external stimuli becoming internal emotions of perceptions

Ear Anatomy:

• Outer Ear:
  • Pinna: Acts as a shell to help focus signal
  • Ear Canal: Like a cave
• Middle Ear:
  • Ear Drum (Tympanic Membrane): Literally a drum, air vibrations
  • Three Bones Attached
  • Hammer: Malleus
  • Anvil: Incus
  • Stirrup: Stapes
• Inner Ear:
  • Cochlea: Size of a pea; Filled with fluid; Bangs against oval window; Wave crashes on corti (Pitch); Inside cochlea
  • Tiny hairs (cilia)
  • Neurons overstimulated for too long, can be inhibited or have a prolonged refractory period
  • Maximum
  • Highest intensity : $150$ dB
  • Lowest : $3-5$ dB
  • Highest frequency : $20000$ Hz
  • Lowest : $25$ Hz

Hearing Theories

• Place Theory: Interprets different cilia stimulated as different pitches -- explains high pitch
• Frequency Theory: Frequency of stimulation -- nerve fire at certain rate -- explains low pitch
• Spatial Coding : Stirrup/Stapes bangs against oval window, sets wave inside cochlea; Nerve cell attached to root sends signals; time is important

Smell (Olfaction):

• Odorant molecules bind with receptor sites in olfactory receptor neurons
• Olfactory receptor sites have axons that group together to go to the olfactory bulb that processes the smell information
• Smell bypasses the thalamus, goes to other structures
• Tied to emotional structures and memory structures
• Taste (gustation)
• Bumps on tongue (papilla)
  • Each papilla has hundreds of taste buds.
  • Each taste bud has receptors that look for taste molecules
  • Young kids have more taste buds, more age -- less buds
  • Salty Receptors: Stimulated by table salt
  • Sour: Responds to acids (citrus, etc.)
  • Sweet: Stimulated by a few chemicals (sugar, etc.)
  • Bitter: Stimulated by combinations of foods
  • Unami - Response to savory (MSG)

Spice is a chemical burn, not taste

Embodied Cognition:

• Body isn’t just a collector of information -- body works with brain to digest and process
• Sensory Neurons/Afferent - Arrive at brain from body
• Motor Neurons/Efferent - Exit the brain to Body
• Kinesthetic Awareness - Awareness on how body moves
• Sense of balance created by Vestibular system -- Three Canals in cochlea help brain process which direction body is moving in -- Motion sickness caused by vestibular sense and eyes telling brain different thing
• Gate control theory of pain -- Limit to how much pain one can perceive, sent by afferent signals Sign carried by Myelinated fibers, myelin helps insulation go faster Spinal cord prioritizes certain sensations over others

Sensation vs. Perception

• Sensation: Involves receiving info, transduction, and sending it to the brain for process.
• Schemas and perceptual sets are internal factors that filter perceptions of the world
  • Schema: Mental framework for organizing and understanding our world - Guide our perception
  • Perceptual set: Readiness to perceive something or having expectations
• External Factors:
  • Contexts, experiences and cultural expectations
• Perception:
  • Involves organizing and interesting that sensory information Influenced by whether one relies on opinions or expectations internally or from external sources
  • Bottom up processing: Relies on external sensory information - Information processing of basic elements or features
  • Top down processing:
    • Relies on internal prior expectations
    • Information that process more complex info (experience, expectations, and motives) to fill in gaps

Gestalt Principles

• Gestalt:
  • (Organized Whole) - Helps explain how humans organize their perceptual world
  • Closure: Principle of making a whole or completed by filling the gaps
  • Figure and ground: Figure is the object and ground is the surrounding
  • Proximity: Items close together group more easily than far apart
  • Similarity: Items more alike group more easily than items are different
• Attention:
  • Interaction of Sensation and Perception that is affected by internal and external processes
    • Selective attention: Focused attention on certain stimuli
    • Cocktail Party Effect:
      • Where people attend to mentions of their names or specific topics
      • Inattention
      • Can lead to a type of blindness to aspects of the environment

Depth Cues and Perceptual Constancies

• Binocular depth cues: Two eyes
  • Retinal Disparity: Determine depth based on difference based on each eye
  • Convergence: Determine depth based on how both eyes rotate inward
• Monocular depth cues: Use one eye to give illusion of flat or one dimensional
  • Relative clarity: Based on atmosphere moisture
  • Relative size: Two objects equal in size, but closer is bigger, farther is smaller
  • Texture gradient: Closer has better detail, father has worse detail
  • Linear perspective: Parallel lines, closer is where lines do not converge, farther is where they do converge
    • Interposition
    • where one object partially or fully overlaps another object, making the overlapped object appear farther away.
• Visual Perceptual Constancies:Maintain perception of object even when images of objects in visual field change
  • Color, Brightness, Shape, Size
• Apparent Movement: Visually perceived even when objects is not actually moving
  • Phi Phenomenon: Illusion of movement -- Lights in welcome sign of school
  • Stroboscopic Movement: Still Images - Flipbook

Concepts and Prototypes:

• Concepts: Form Basis of Thought - Mental groupings based on shared features/come from experience
  • Based on classes of stimuli based on hierarchy of superordinate (general), intermediate (more specific), subordinate (specific)
    • Concrete/Formal Concepts - Defined by set of rules or characteristics
    • Natural/Abstract Concepts - Abstract, fluid Prototype: - Ideal example of any given concept
• Schema: Mental framework for organizing and understanding our world
  • Guide our perception - Assimilation:
    • Taking in new information but not changing the schema in light of it
    • Placing new information in an already existing framework
  • Accommodation:
    • Taking in new information and changing schema to incorporate it
    • Changing an existing schema or creating a new one

Problem-Solving: Algorithms and Heuristics

• Algorithm:Address problems by attempting all possible solutions until correct one is found
• Heuristics:Address problems by using mental shortcuts to make judgements - Don’t guarantee solution, more error prone
  • Representativeness Heuristic: Lead to error judgement where decisions are made according to prior expectations or stereotypes -- Matches prototype
  • Availability Heuristic: Can lead to error in judgement when decisions are made by recalling the first or most vivid example -- Based on how quickly it comes to mind
• Decision making can be influenced by prior experience that were successful (mental set) or by circumstances surrounding a decision (framing)
• Hinder from good decisions:
  • Gambler's fallacy: False belief that you can predict a chance event based on past chance events -- Sunk cost fallacy: Bad decision based on money, time, or effort that had already been spent

Executive Functions and Creativity

• Executive functions are cognitive processes that allow individuals to generate, organize, plan and carry out goal directed behaviours and thinking -- Controlled by prefrontal cortex
• Creativity: Way of Thinking -- Alternative Uses Test: Name as many possible uses for a common object (uniqueness) --- Can be enhanced with expertise, imagination, motivation and a creative environment

Experimental vs. Non-Experimental Methods

• Experiment: Manipulation of independent variable, random assignment of participants, measure differences in dependent variable

• Nonexperimental:

  • Case study: In depth analysis, includes surveys and observation of a creative person
  • Correlation: Strength and direction of relationship between creativity and personality
  • Meta analysis: Stats method that combines results of several creativity studies

• Divergent thinking: Generating many different alternatives or considering many ideas and make associations

• Convergent thinking:

  • Using narrowing down options to find a single solution
    • Hindered by functional fixedness
    • Failing to solve a problem because you are stuck on object’s common use

Explicit (Declarative) Memory

• Episodic memories of unique personal experiences.
• Semantic memories of information we know and facts.
• Prospective memory,intent to remember for upcoming events.
• Conscious awareness.

Implicit Memory

• Procedural skills or habits.
• Classically conditioned associations.
• Priming (exposure unconsciously influences future).
• Without conscious awareness.

Multi-Store Memory Model: Atkinson/Shriffrin

• Short Term/Working Memory:
  • Limited info -- Temp maintained
  • Used for many cognitive tasks
  • Central Executive Boss - Planning and Decision making
  • Phonological Loop (language area) -- Verbal input comes - Phono loop
  • Visuo spatial sketchpad (Visual Semantics) Visual input

Sensory Memory (Iconic/Echoic):

• Iconic:
  • Brief memories for visual input -- Decays quickly
• Echoic:
  • Brief memories for auditory input -- Decays less quickly
• Sensory Memory + Attention - Short Term Memory Short Term Memory - Storage of Info that we attend to from sensory memory - Capcity of $7 (+-2)$ - Stored for $15-20$ seconds

Levels of Processing: STM vs. LTM - Craik and Lockhart

• Shallow processing leads to less lasting memory (less durable) - Focus on physical features
  • Maintenance rehearsal:
    • Keeps in STM for long
    • Structural:
      • Encoding using basic visual qualities of word/concept
    • Phonemic:
      • Encoding using basic auditory sound qualities the word
• Deep processing leads to more lasting memory (more time) - Build meaning (semanticity) - Effortful processing - Encodes into LTM
  • Semantic:
    • Encoding meaning of word
    • Relate to experiences as well

Method of Loci and Study Design

• Method of Loci:
  • Mnemonic that relies on spatial relationships between loci to encode and later retrieve
    • Correlational studies different from experimental in that variables are not controlled and random assignments to conditions not used
• Cause and effect cannot happen without experiment

Quantitative: Measurable/numbers; Qualitative: Not measured

Hemispheric Specialization and Encoding

• Hemispheric Specialization: Specific tasks assigned to specific hemisphere (Left Language -- Self Reference Effect: Relate something to some personally relevant to you
• Semantic

Memory Studies and the Forgetting Curve

Sperling's Partial Report

• Whole report condition were presented with 4x3 letter grid Recall all letters as many as possible
• Partial report condition with 3x3 grid Tone sounded when letters disappeared and indicated which line to recall
• Found: Iconic memory lasts less than a second but holds a lot of info

Digit Span Tests

• assesses verbal short-term memory by presenting a sequence of numbers
• Found about magic number $7 +- 2$

Ebbinghaus's Forgetting Curve

• Memorized nonsense syllables not regular to avoid semantic connection
• Tested at various intervals Found one third stored permanently in LTM

Karl Lashley Study:

• Memories are distributed throughout cortex - Rats Maze destroyed parts of the brain

Henry Molaison Study:

• Removal of portions of the hippocampus in limbic system prevent new memory formation
  • Anterograde Amnesia:
    • Problem moving information from short term into long term memory (future memories can’t be created) Hippocampus damage
    • Examples: Henry Molaison Study Patient R.B (suffered stroke damage to hippocampus)
  • Retrograde Amnesia : (Can’t remember past)
    • Retrieving explicit memories from long term to working memory (STM) - Damage to some part of cerebral cortex Both Amnesias
    • Global Amnesia

Hippocampi and Memory Accuracy (Conscious Minds influence)

• Have two one in each hemisphere- Explicit memory - Possible neurogenesis (growing a new neuron)

• Librarian is the hippocampi (remember where things are) shelves like the cerebral cortex- Memory that’s a mishmash of things you asked to remember

• Memories may not be 100% accurate

• Based on guidelines to find memory- Conscious mind only hears the finished product biases influences memories fools hippocampus Confirmation bias: Memory that supports what we are thinking- Hindsight bias: Current cognitive and emotional needs will rewrite a memory supports your mood (can’t retrieve cheery memory when mad) Overconfidence : Mind convinced what it produces is correct

Recall vs. Recognition and Retrieval Factors:

• Types of Retrieval:
  • Recognition: MCQ -- Questions or answer choices can give clues that introduce biases -- Less susceptible to factors that influence accuracy Recall - FRQ Questions

Retrieval Factors:

• Mood Congruent Memory:
  • Emotions influence which memory is retrieved
• Context dependent:
  • Setting (sights smells etc) help retrieval
• State dependent:
  • Memory pathways active in right state Distributed practice (done over time)Massed practice (All happens at once)

Retrieval Strategies:

Metacognition -- Incubation -- Retrieval -- Testing Effect;

Thinking about thinking -- Give mind enough time to remember -- Long term potentiation (testing) -- test taking; gives you an epi -- time taking study -- ask yourself what you learned and try to retrieve it (Whiteboard method) Bar chart: Non numerical column don’t touch

Forgetting and Memory Errors

• Plasticity: Brain learns new things and changes
• Forgetting based on evolutionary (forgetting adaptation) bio (plasticity) psychodynamic (repression of bad memories) ideas- Social
  • Context-dependent retrieval- Cognitive - Proactive and Retroactive
    • New information corrupts or blocks information that was processed at an early time Self consistency bias (Retroactive) - Old information prevents corrupts or intertwines with current or recent info Memory Confabulation Memory error where a person unconsciously creates false memories
• Humanatic
  • Barriers to the person wanting to remember Behavioral Association between dopamine and stimuli disconnected- Amnesias:
    • Infantile Amnesia:
      • Can’t remember much as a baby
    • Psychogenic Amnesia:
      • Memory problem without physical cause or trauma
    • Source Amnesia:
      • Difficulty remembering where you learned something - AnterogradeAmnesia:
      • Difficulty encoding or inability to encode new memories Retrieval Factors: - Retrograde Memories: Event blocks or