Cognitive 325 Week 7a - Remembering

Cognitive Psychology Overview

Cognitive Psychology
- Focus on understanding mental processes such as perception, attention, and memory.
Cognitive Neuroscience
- Study of how cognitive processes are linked to brain activity.
Memory Systems
- Different types of memory including sensory, short-term, and long-term memory.
Memory Errors
- Investigate the common errors in memory retrieval and recall.
Concepts and Imagery
- Explore how concepts are formed and the role of imagery in cognitive processes.
Language
- Study of language acquisition, processing, and its cognitive implications.
Problem Solving/Experimentation
- Analysis of problem-solving strategies and experimental methodologies in cognitive research.
Judgments, Decisions, and Reasoning
- Understanding the cognitive basis of how decisions are made.
Intelligence & Creativity
- Investigating the cognitive aspects of intelligence and creativity.

Goal: Examine why memorization is vital and review memory tests.
Topics:
- Long-term Memory
- Different forms of memory (Explicit vs. Implicit)
- Memory forgetting and interference processes
- Amnesia and its cognitive implications

Short-term Memory (STM)
- Receives input from sensory memory and long-term memory.
- Limited capacity; normally lasts <20 seconds without rehearsal.
Types of Memory:
- Sensory Memory: Lasts less than a second.
- Short-term Memory: Acts as working memory; retains information <1 minute.
- Long-term Memory: Lasts a lifetime; can store declarative (facts, events) and non-declarative (skills, tasks) memory.
  - Declarative Memory: Includes episodic (events, experiences) and semantic memory (facts, concepts).
  - Non-declarative Memory: Includes procedural memory, priming, and conditioning.

Information in conscious awareness; very short retention without rehearsal.
Rehearsal: Vital for maintaining information in STM and transferring it to long-term memory.
- Without rehearsal, information is lost; STM has limited capacity.

Utilized to demonstrate memory capacity and recall precision.
- Whole Report: Report all letters seen.
- Partial Report: Report a specific row identified by a tone.
- Delayed Partial Report: Report one row after a delay; results tend to decline significantly when the delay is introduced.

General rule: humans can remember approximately 7 items.
Chunking: Technique to group items into larger, familiar units to enhance memory.

Primacy Effect: Superior recall for beginning information (long-term retention).
Recency Effect: Superior recall for ending information (short-term retention).
Asymptote: Average recall for middle sequence items.

Decay: Memory traces fade over time without rehearsal.
Interference:
- Proactive Interference: Older information obstructs retrieval of newer information.
- Retroactive Interference: Newer information obstructs retrieval of older information.

Anterograde Amnesia: Difficulty forming new memories; usually preserves older memories and skills.
Retrograde Amnesia: Loss of memories prior to an injury or specific event.

Encoding: Attention is crucial for forming memories.
Retention Interval: The time frame for how long the information is retained. Methods include:
- Intentional learning; incidental learning; mood induction; rehearsal strategies.
Retrieval Methods:
- Direct: free recall, serial recall, recognition.
- Indirect: implicit memory tests, word stem completion, speeded reading tests.