Cognitive Studies

Simons (2016)

-3,000 older adults -3 training groups, 1 no contact control group speed of processing task, memory task, reasoning task; each 10 hours of training -outcomes tested immediately, after 1 year, 5, 10 slight improvements each time (only train-specific) -no cross-over

Buchanan and Lovallo (2001) Procedure

48 participants that were evenly of 24 males and females Each group was assigned to take 20 mg of cortisol or a placebo. Then each group was sat in front of a TV monitor and were told to focus on 60 pictures that were going to be shown to them. The 60 pictures where a mixture of arousing pleasant, arousing unpleasant, and non-arousing (neutral) pictures. 1 week later they were all brought back into the lab and were given a memory test where they had to describe the images to two scorers "blind" to the type of treatment each participate recieved. Ranked how emotionally arousing the pictures shown to them were.

Loftus and Palmer (1974)

A: Find out if questions asked subsequent to an event can cause a reconstruction in one's memory P: 7 films showed, P's filled out questionnaire after each and gave an account of each. 1 Q. asked about the vehicle's speed using one of these words: hit, smashed, collided, bumped, contacted F: smashed had an avg. speed estimate of 40.8 and contacted 31.8 (lowest) C: Form of a question can markedly and systematically affect a witness' answer to the Q. - causes a change in the subject's memory representation of the accident E: large sample size, BUT students used (non-representative), Lab, non-traumatic, non-generalizable, easy to replicate SO: suggests memory from traumatic events is unreliable and can be altered by misleading info.

Glanzer and Cunitz (1966)

A: tested the hypothesis that short term memory and long term memory are two separate stores in a free recall experiment P: 240 army enlisted men presented with a list of 15 words to memorize with counting down activity while only half of the group had a 30-second distraction task

Effectiveness of Longitudinal Study

Advantage: They are effective in determining variable patterns over time They can ensure clear focus and validity They are very effective in doing research on developmental trends They are more powerful than cross-sectional studies They are highly flexible. They can provide high accuracy when observing changes Disadvantages: They require huge amounts of time They risk gathering data that is not 100% reliable They would risk experiencing panel attrition They require a large sample size They can be more expensive compared with cross-sectional studies

Anderson and Pichert (1978)

Aim- To determine the influence of schema processing on both encoding and retrieval. Method- Participants heard a story which contained information about a house. Half of the participants were asked to adopt a home-buyer schema when hearing the story, and the other half, a typical burglar schema. A distracting task was performed for 12 minutes before testing recall. After a further 5 minute delay, half the participants were then given the alternative schema (i.e. home-buyers were given burglar schemas and vice versa), and the other half were asked to retain their original schema, and recall was retested. Results- Points directly linking to alternative schemas increased by 10%, whilst those relating to previous schemas declined. When it comes to this study, the ecological validity is fairly high because people often find themselves in a mindset and mold the world to meet that mindset Although it was done in a lab, it is still applicable to our daily lives as we often think of the world through our own schema

HM Milner and Scoville (1957)

As a child, H.M. was involved in a bicycle accident, which led to him experiencing severe epileptic seizures. At the age of 27, his seizures had became so unbearable that he decided to get surgery. In 1953, neurosurgeon Dr. Scoville performed a surgery on patient H.M. in an attempt to relieve him of his seizures. Scoville removed parts of H.M.'s temporal lobes, including his hippocampus or hippocampal gyrus. Used longitudinal study and method triangulation.

Englich and Mussweiler (2001) Results

Average rating for the realistic nature of the case was 7.17 with a standard deviation of 1.3 However, the judges' average rating was 4.53 and a standard deviation of 2.29 The low anchor group with a sentence of two months, the average sentence was 18.78 months with a standard deviation of 9.11 However, in the high anchor condition with 34 months, the average sentence was 28.70 months with a standard deviation of 6.53. Researchers were able to infer a cause-and-effect relationship between the sentence and the value of the anchor because the study was a true experiment There was a confounding variable because of the use of an independent samples design causing the possibility of participant variability to play a role in the results The pilot group served as a control group for the other two groups by using System 2 thinking by helping establish anchors The other groups showed System 1 style thinking The sample size was small so it is hard to generalize the findings and the sample was limited in courtroom experience therefore, the results can be generalized to less experienced judges

Stone (2010)

Black basketball players were rated to make team contributions through good positional and athletic ability White basketball players were rated to make team contributions through hustle and smart plays. They concluded that the participants' ratings were constant with the stereotypes portrayed in sports media In media, it is reported that black men possess more natural athletic ability and are better at basketball, and white men make up their lack of natural ability with their effort and intelligence. Confirmation bias is likely to explain these evaluations because the participants rated the athletes based on the stereotypes that came with their race The participants gave stereotype-consistent ratings because they focused on the details of the game that would confirm their existing racial stereotypes

Buchanan and Lovallo (2001) Results

Both groups found the emotionally arousing images easier to recall then the neutral images The cortisol group recalled more significantly the emotionally arousing images than the control group or the neutral images Our emotions (like fear and stress) do have an affect on our cognition Increase in cortisol from the drug and the arousing pictures influenced how reliable our memory is for emotional information. Our emotion increases our memory reliability When we fear, our amygdala is activated, triggering the HPA axis and stress hormones are released due to "fight or flight" response. Stress hormone cortisol shows to have an effect on our memory consolidation which refers to our memory going from STM to LTM The Cortisol has negative and positive effects.

Sparrow 2011 Results

Completed changed the concept and brought forth the idea of digital amnesia Expectation of recall=negative effect People can't recall simple/basic information without the web Attempts to replicate have missed Reliable? Low ecological validity... may not be for the entire generation.

Shaw & Porter (2015) Results and Ethics

Criminal False memories: Of the participants assigned to the criminal condition, 21 (70%) were classified as having false memories of being involved in the criminal event resulting in police contact. Non criminal false memories: Of the participants assigned to the noncriminal condition, 23 (76.67%) were classified as having false memories. True memories: The 60 participants reported a mean of 91.98 (95% CI = [82.04, 101.92]) details for their true memories. On average, they provided 85.75 (95% CI = [76.48, 95.02]) general details and 6.23 (95% CI = [4.95, 7.51]) cognitive-operations details. The questionnaire consent form and cover letter instructed caregivers to not discuss any of the events with the participants under any circumstances until the end of the study.

Glanzer and Cunitz (1966) Results

F: P's recalled primacy and recency of list better,- serial reproduction curve C: primacy words stored differently to recency words, so separate memory stores E: well-controlled, all-male participants of 1 profession, lacks ecological validity- not everyday memorization SO: provides evidence for the MSM: primacy effect shows LTS and recency effect shows STS

HM Milner and Scoville (1957) Findings

Milner concluded that the hippocampus plays a critical role in the conversion of short term memories to long term memories Researchers also found that short term memory is not stored specifically in the hippocampus, as H.M. was able to recall information for a period of time after rehearsing it They also concluded that the medial temporal region is not where permanent memory is stored, but it plays an important role in organizing permanent memories, as H.M. was able to recall some memories from long before his surgery Implicit memory is responsible for several other types of memories, such as procedural and emotional, as well as skills and habits. supports MSM

Brewer and Treyens (1981) Results

Most participants recalled the schematic objects (e.g. desk, typewriter) but some also reported things you would normally see in an office but were not included in the one in the experiment. Many also reported seeing the skull, the very unusual object resulted in a better recall then predicted by the schema theory.

West (2017) Procedure

Must complete a minimum of 30 minutes of training at least five days a week, some completed more than this amount. Required to keep a record of their daily training progress. Researchers took MRI scans of each participant before and after the six months, as well as cognitive tests, in order to measure their hippocampal volumes The control group had no contact with the researchers during the six months outside of the required pre and post testing.

Simons 2016 Limitations

Of studies "proving" brain-training games work... -small/specific samples (non-representative) -inadequate control group (confounding variables) -selective reporting (not include ALL measures and tasks used; can't evaluate effectiveness) -missing critical tests (to show the diff between control and experimental groups, must truly test improvements)

Shaw & Porter (2015) Procedure

One hundred twenty-six undergraduate students at a Canadian university were included in the screening phase of this study. This study was broken into 2 phases to attempt to convince young adult participants that they had committed a crime when they were between the ages of 11 and 14. Eligibility was based on the caregiver reporting that the participant had experienced at least one highly emotional event in the specified time frame, had not experienced any of the target criminal events, and had never had police contact. The same researcher, who used a scripted interview for all sessions, conducted all interviews. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two false-memory conditions

Englich and Mussweiler (2001) Procedure

Researchers used an independent samples design which allowed them to use the same case study for both high anchor and low anchor The sample was 19 young trial judges: 15 males and 4 females average age 29 and 9 months of experience They were presented with an alleged rape case but one group was told the demanded sentence was 2 months and the other group was told the demanded sentence was 34 months. Before proceeding with the study, there was a pilot study which sought the advice of highly experienced trial judges and the case materials were then tested on 24 senior law students. The senior law students on average, recommended a 17 month prison term which was later used to determine the anchors. The participants were given copies of the penal code as well as, the case materials and we asked to form an opinion about the case after reading the materials After forming an opinion they were asked to answer a questionnaire One group was told the demanded sentence was 2 months while the other group was told that the demanded sentence was 34 months On the questionnaire they were asked: Do you think the sentence was too low, adequate, or too high? What sentence would you recommend? How certain are you about your sentencing decision? (a scale of 1-9) How realistic do you think this case is? (a scale of 1-9).

Sparrow 2011 Procedure

Sixty students at Harvard 40 different trivia facts to be researched Half told to save and remember what they said, other half erase and don't get to remember anything: 2x2 design. Other study they were asked where they recalled their information from Consisted of 34 students from Columbia University 30 trivia facts; Asked which folder it was apart of and told to write down where they remember it from.

Craik and Lockhart Strengths and Weakness

Strengths: Confirms that memory improves with deeper processing. Shows that encoding is not a simple process. Imaging studies have given the theory credence Weaknesses: Better described than explained because it gives a framework derived from different studies instead of an explanation to prove it. Shallow processing does NOT always mean loss of a memory. Memory-related illnesses cannot be included

Brewer and Treyens (1981) Procedure

The participants consisted of 30 university students who all arrived individually to a laboratory where they were asked to wait in an office containing objects that fit into the office schema (e.g. a desk, typewriter, coffee pot, calendar), it also had objects that did not conform to the office schema (a skull, a piece of bark, a pair of pliers, wine and a picnic basket). - After participants were left in the room for 35 seconds, they were taken out and brought into another room where they were asked to write down everything they remember seeing in the office.

Stone (2010) Procedure

The participants each listened to a 20-minute recording of a college basketball game and read a written transcript They were given the name and picture of each player Half of the participants were given the photo of a black athlete and the other half were given a photo of a white athlete DV: the race of the athlete IV: the evaluation of the athlete The researcher told them to listen carefully so they could evaluate performance Evaluated on natural ability, performance, and contributions of the player

Loftus and Pickrell (1995)

This study found that false memories of being lost in a mall as a child could be implanted and "recalled" by 25% of participants.

Luby et al (2012)

This study has high ecological validity because of the way in which the observations are performed, despite being in a laboratory setting the situation was realistic and was a real occurrence that could happen independent of the study. Luby found that income in childhood is related to smaller white and grey brain matter as well as smaller hippocampus and amygdala sizes. Regarding the hippocampus, the income and parental hostility affected its size, distorting the size of both the left and right hippocampus. Though, in homes with low income and supportive parents hippocampal sizes were slightly larger than those in homes with low income and hostile parents. This study displayed the effect of poverty on brain development. Through the use of multiple different screening methods information that was gathered could be accumulated to most accurately represent the income-to-needs differences. Researchers could discern that stressful events throughout life affected the way in which children's brains developed over the most critical time in brain development. Income was more related to white and grey matter; while, caregiver attention was more effective towards hippocampal size.

Luby et al (2012)

This study was based off the income-to-needs ratio for each family that the children came from. The income-to-needs ratios was operationalized through the use of an equation: total family income divided by federal poverty level based on family size in the year closest to the collection of data. This data was obtained through the Preschool Depression Study data, particularly, the total income and number of people in the household that was reported by the children's caregiver. Annually the students were assessed using the Preschool Age Psychiatric Assessment (parent interview, for children aged 3-8) and the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Assessment (child and parent interview, for children aged 9 and above). Both of these interviews had the goal of assessing the stressful and traumatic experiences of the child. The second wave of testing was an observation. Researchers observed caregivers and children as they performed a waiting task. The child had to wait 8 minutes before opening a brightly wrapped gift package while the parent completed a questionnaire. The interactions were assessed based on whether the parent gave positive or negative reinforcements while the child was waiting. Through assessing this data the level of hostility from the parents was taken into account when viewing the income-to-needs ratio. The last aspect of the procedure in this study was Magnetic Resonance Image (MRI) acquisition. An MRI of the head was used to measure the amount of grey and white matter volumes as well as the sizes of the hippocampus and amygdala.

Cohen 1981 - Results

When participants recalled details about the video, they remembered details that seemed to be consistent with the commonly accepted stereotypes of the careers. (i.e those who thought she was a librarian were more likely to remember she wore glasses)

Craik and Lockhart

developed the levels-of-processing theory of memory as an alternative to the MSM. the non-structured approach, focuses on processes. The greater the processing of information during learning, the more it will be retained and remembered. Processing will be automatic unless attention is focused on a particular level.

intermediate processing

phonemic encoding: emphasizes what a word sounds like

West 2017 Results

researchers found only the Super Mario group had an increase in both grey brain matter and a better short term memory In both the Super Mario and piano lessons group, there were significant interactions with the cerebellum and the dlPFC in the scans when compared to the control group The control group experienced a shrink in their hippocampal volumes. Promotes evidence of positive effects of 3D computer gaming Learning landmarks in the video game often interacts with the encoding and retrieval of spatial memory This come from an internal cognitive map, which heavily relies on the hippocampus, thus enhancing the grey brain matter Furthermore, the navigation used between different points in the 3D game is positively correlated with hippocampal grey matter in older adults

deep processing

semantic encoding: based on the meaning of the words; tends to yield the best retention

shallow processing

structural encoding: emphasizes the physical structure of the stimulus

Primacy Effect

tendency to remember information at the beginning of a body of information better than the information that follows

Recency Effect

tendency to remember words at the end of a list especially well

Schema Theory

theory stating that people mold memories to fit information that already exists in their minds

Cohen 1981 - Aim

to determine whether stereotypes can affect memory of a person