Exam 2

Chapter 6: Memory and Learning

1. Implicit & Explicit Memory

  • Implicit Memory: Unconscious memory influencing behavior without awareness.

    • Examples include procedural memory (skills) and priming (influence of exposure).

  • Explicit Memory: Conscious recollection of facts/events.

    • Divided into two types:

      • Episodic Memory: Personal experiences and specific events.

      • Semantic Memory: General knowledge and facts.

2. Recall vs. Recognition Tasks

  • Recall: Retrieving information without explicit cues.

    • Types of recall:

      • Free Recall: Retrieving information without cues.

      • Cued Recall: Retrieving with hints or cues.

  • Recognition: Identifying previously learned information, typically easier than recall.

  • Recollection vs. Familiarity:

    • Recollection: Retrieving specific details about the memory.

    • Familiarity: A sense of knowing without details.

3. Reasons for Forgetting Information

  • Decay: Information fades over time if not accessed.

  • Interference: Memories compete leading to retrieval challenges:

    • Proactive Interference: Old memories interfere with new ones.

    • Retroactive Interference: New memories interfere with old ones.

4. Superior Autobiographical Memory

  • Factors contributing to superior memory:

    • Structural brain differences.

    • High rehearsal levels of personal events.

    • Strong encoding and retrieval processes.

5. Levels of Processing (LoP)

  • LoP Theory: Deeper processing leads to better retention.

    • Levels:

      • Shallow Processing: Focus on surface features (appearance, sound).

      • Deep Processing: Focus on meaning for enhanced memory.

6. Spacing Effect

  • Information retention is better when study sessions are spaced over time rather than crammed, aligning with the forgetting curve.

7. Serial Positioning Curve

  • Demonstrates two effects:

    • Primacy Effect: Better recall of early items due to rehearsal.

    • Recency Effect: Better recall of later items due to their recentness.

8. Mnemonics

  • Mnemonics enhance memory by creating associations:

    • Techniques include acronyms and imagery.

    • Method of Loci: Associating items with locations along a mental path.

9. Testing Effect (Retrieval Practice)

  • Actively recalling information strengthens memory more effectively than passive review.

10. Environmental Context

  • Context Effect: Memory recall is enhanced when the learning environment matches the testing environment.

11. Mood and Memory Interaction

  • Mood-Congruent Memory: Easier recall of information matching the current mood.

  • Mood-Dependent Memory: Recall is easier when mood during encoding matches retrieval mood.

12. Transfer Appropriate Processing

  • Memory performance improves when cognitive processes at encoding match those at retrieval; deep processing is particularly beneficial.

Chapter 7: Memory Construction and Distortion

1. The Seven 'Sins' of Memory

  • Transience: Memory fades over time.

  • Absent-Mindedness: Lapses in attention lead to forgetting.

  • Blocking: Temporary inability to retrieve known information.

  • Misattribution: Confusing source of information.

  • Suggestibility: Incorporating misleading information into memory.

  • Bias: Distortion based on beliefs or attitudes.

  • Persistence: Unwanted recall of distressing memories.

2. Memory Reconstructive Nature

  • Memory is reconstructive, influenced by schemas, context, and current knowledge, making it prone to errors.

3. Schemas & Scripts

  • Schemas: Cognitive frameworks for organizing information, aiding in encoding and retrieval.

  • Scripts: Specific schemas for routine events including expectations and sequences.

4. DRM Procedure

  • A memory test showing that participants often recall related, but unpresented words, leading to false memory formation.

    • Connected to source monitoring errors.

    • Activation-Monitoring Framework: Associative networks contribute to false memories.

    • Fuzzy Trace Theory: Gist memories lead to false recollections.

5. Eyewitness Memory Studies

  • Memory can be altered by external influences (e.g., misleading questions), leading to false memories.

6. Misinformation Effect

  • The alteration of original memories by misleading post-event information.

7. Imaging Actions & False Memories

  • Imagination and reading vivid narratives can produce detailed but false memories due to similar neural activation.

8. Cognitive Interview

  • An interview method that enhances recall by reinstating context and encouraging detailed recall while avoiding leading questions.

9. Reducing False Memories in Eyewitness Testimony

  • Techniques include cognitive interviews, minimizing suggestive questioning, and promoting context reinstatement.

10. Weapon Focus Effect

  • Presence of a weapon narrows attention to it, reducing memory for other details.

11. Stress/Anxiety Impact on Memory

  • High stress can impair memory for peripheral details but enhance recall of central details.

12. Amnesia Types

  • Anterograde Amnesia: Inability to form new memories.

  • Retrograde Amnesia: Loss of previously formed memories.

Chapter 8: Language and Comprehension

1. Broca’s vs. Wernicke’s Aphasia

  • Broca’s Aphasia: Impaired speech production, comprehension intact; linked to frontal lobe damage.

  • Wernicke’s Aphasia: Impaired comprehension, fluent but nonsensical speech; linked to temporal lobe damage.

2. Language Structure Components

  • Phonemes: The smallest sound units (e.g., /k/ in "cat").

  • Morphemes: The smallest units of meaning (e.g., prefixes, roots).

  • Syntax: Rules governing sentence structure.

3. Semantics vs. Pragmatics

  • Semantics: Meaning of words/sentences.

  • Pragmatics: Contextual influences on language use, considering implied meanings and social cues.

4. Language Perception Factors

  • Coarticulation: Overlapping phonemes contextually alters sound perception.

  • Categorical Perception: Distinguishing phonemes into distinct categories regardless of continuous acoustic signals.

5. Top-Down Processing in Language

  • Utilizes context, prior knowledge, and expectations for interpretation.

    • Word Superiority Effect: Words aid in recognizing letters.

    • Phoneme Restoration Effect: Fills in missing phonemes based on context.

6. Priming and Word Recognition

  • Priming: Previous exposure to a word facilitates recognition of related terms (e.g., “doctor” makes “nurse” easier to recognize).

7. Deep vs. Surface Structure

  • Deep Structure: Underlying meaning of a sentence.

  • Surface Structure: Actual wording/syntax conveying that meaning.

8. Anaphoric Inference

  • Linking references back to previous text elements for continuity and coherence in understanding.

9. Schemata in Passage Comprehension

  • Schemas enhance information integration and inference of missing details while aiding recognition of familiar structures.

10. Situation/Mental Model

  • Definition: Internal representations aiding comprehension of narratives.

  • Dimensions:

    • Temporality: Track sequence of events.

    • Spatiality: Recognize locations and relationships.

    • Causality: Understand cause-and-effect connections.

    • Protagonist & Intentionality: Focus on character goals and motives.

11. Speech Errors

  • Mistakes in spoken language, often predictable (e.g., phoneme exchanges).

12. Theory of Language Production Processes

  • Conceptualization: Planning the message.

  • Formulation: Structuring message with grammar.

  • Articulation: Producing speech sounds physically.

13. Tip-of-the-Tongue State

  • A feeling of knowing a word but being temporarily unable to retrieve it; reflects semantic network organization.

14. Alignment Theory in Conversations

  • Proposes conversational partners align their linguistic and conceptual representations for smoother communication.

15. Models of Bilingualism/Multilingualism

  • Separate Systems Model: Each language has its own cognitive system.

  • Shared Systems Model: Languages share cognitive resources and neural systems.

16. Complexity of Human Language vs. Animal Communication

  • Human language involves grammar, syntax, and abstract idea expression, lacking in animal communication systems.

17. Influence of Reading Goals on Comprehension

  • Study-Oriented Goals: Foster deeper processing and focus on coherence.

  • Entertainment-Oriented Goals: Lead to faster reading and personal relevance focus.

Chapter 9: Concepts, Categorization, and Misconceptions

1. Prototype vs. Exemplar Approaches

  • Prototype Approach: Based on an "average" representative.

  • Exemplar Approach: Based on specific instances encountered.

2. Levels of Conceptual Hierarchies

  • Hierarchies consist of:

    • Superordinate Level: Broad categories (e.g., Animal).

    • Basic Level: General categories (e.g., Dog).

    • Subordinate Level: Specific categories (e.g., Golden Retriever).

3. Cognitive Economy

  • Efficient use of detail level for categorization.

4. Feature Comparison View of Concepts

  • Concepts defined by shared features; distributed-only and hub views vary in structuring features across networks.

5. Stereotypes

  • Simplified categories used to organize social information.

Chapter 10: Mental Imagery and Behavior

1. Spatial vs. Propositional Views of Imagery

  • Spatial View: Imagery possesses map-like qualities.

  • Propositional View: Imagery relates to language and symbolic representation.

2. Effects on Memory

  • Concreteness Effect: Concrete words are remembered better.

  • Picture Superiority Effect: Images improve recall due to dual-coding.

  • Bizarreness Effect: Unusual images improve recall through distinctiveness.

3. Imagery and False Memories

  • Imagining or visualizing events can lead to vivid yet inaccurate memories.