Lipscomb Cognitive Psychology Test 2

Illusions of learning

- reading and rereading material gives the illusion that you are learning the material - familiarity effect: rereading causes material to become familiar, so the 2nd or 3rd time it is able to recognize, but it does not mean that you will be able to remember it later -highlighting becomes automatic and results in less deeper thinking about the material

In class we discussed the case of Clive Wearing. What memory deficits did he have? What evidence is there that he is implicitly learning things, though not explicitly?

-his problem was that he couldn't form new LTM -he always wakes up for the "first time" -he remembers how to do stuff but does not intentionally remember

What is the phonological loop?

-holds verbal and auditory information; consists of two components: the phonological store (which has a limited capacity and holds information for only a few seconds) and the articulatory rehearsal process (which is responsible for rehearsal that can keep items in the phonological store from decaying) -(the word length effect) occurs when memory for lists of words is better for short words than for long words -(articulatory suppression) the repetition of an irrelevant sound results in a phenomenon called articulatory suppression, which reduces memory because speaking interferes with rehearsal

What is the visuospatial sketchpad?

-holds visual and spatial information (when you form a picture in your mind or do tasks like solving a puzzle or finding your way around campus, you are using your visuospatial sketch pad) -(comparing objects) measured subjects' reaction time to decide whether pairs of objects were the same or different -(recalling visual patterns) look at the pattern for 3 seconds then turn the page and indicate which of the squares need to be filled in to duplicate this pattern -(holding a spatial stimulus in the mind) this demonstration involves visualizing a large "F" which has two types of corners, "outside corners" and "inside corners," two of which are labeled

What is the primacy effect and how is it seen as evidence for a separate LTM system?

A possible explanation of the primacy effect is that subjects had time to rehearse the words at the beginning of the sequence and transfer them to LTM. -The explanation for the recency effect is that the most recently presented words are still in STM and therefore are easy for subjects to remember.

How is Baddeley's model and the Atkinson-Shiffrin model different? How are they alike?

According to Atkinson and Shiffrin's modal model, it should only be possible to perform one of these tasks, which should occupy the entire STM. But when Baddeley did experiments involving tasks similar to those in the previous demonstration, he found that subjects were able to read while simultaneously remembering numbers. The model included both structural features and control processes.

Know the major components of Atkinson-Shiffrin's model of memory. What are control processes?

Atkinson and Shiffrin's modal model of memory consists of three structural features - sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. Another feature of the model is control process such as rehearsal and attentional strategies.

What is the duration and capacity of LTM? How is information coded?

Capacity = very large Duration = lifelong Coded in visual, auditory, and semantic (Anything more than 30 secs ago falls within LTM)

Know what the terms encoding and retrieval mean. What are retrieval cues and why are they important?

Encoding: Getting info into LTM (methods affect retrieval)• Retrieval: Getting info out of LTM (facilitated by retrieval cues which aid memory)

Masuda and Nisbett (possible essay): Know the basic method used in the 2 experiments and the major findings. What do these studies demonstrate about the role of culture and cognition?

Experiment 1: -Japanese and American participants viewed animated vignettes -Recalled what they saw -Recognition test of items with original background/without background/With novel background -Results: Japanese participants more likely to refer to background, more statements about relationships of object to field, behavior of objects, more time-related and feeling-related comments, recognized objects more accurately when with background Experiment 2: -Viewed animals more familiar to Americans (ocean more familiar to Japanese?) -Rated how much they liked animals, then timed recognition test with familiar/unfamiliar backgrounds -Japanese more likely to make errors with objects with novel background -Japanese (but not Americans) faster with objects in original backgrounds Implications? "Japanese perceive, and subsequently remember, objects in relation to their contexts to a greater degree than Americans do. Indeed, the evidence suggests that American perception of objects was remarkably independent of their contexts" (p. 933).

What is the difference between explicit and implicit memory? Make sure you could recognize examples of each of the different forms of explicit and implicit memory (semantic, episodic, priming, conditioning, procedural memory).

Explicit (aka Declarative, Conscious): memories that can be consciously reported, intentionally remembered -Episodic LTM (personal events): intentionally retrieved -Semantic LTM (facts, knowledge): intentionally retrieved Implicit (aka Nondeclarative, Not Conscious): memories used without conscious awareness (evidence from brain injuries) -Priming: when the presentation of one stimulus changes a response to subsequent stimulus (word fragment task and picture fragment task) -Procedural Memory: memories for things you have learned to do (motor skills, athletics, Clive Wearing) -Classical Conditioning: a form of learning process (Pavlov's Dog)

Describe how explicit/implicit memory can be studied (word fragment, picture fragment task). What pattern of results in these tasks is seen as evidence of implicit learning?

Explicit: Memories that can be consciously reported, intentionally remembered- Explicit memory subsystems: - Semantic LTM - Episodic LTM - Autobiographical Implicit: memories used without conscious awareness Types of implicit memory: Priming—when the presentation of one stimulus changes a response to a subsequent stimulus Example: word fragment task/ picture fragment task Procedural memory-Classical conditioning

What are differences in how those in the East and West approach the experience of struggle as part of the learning process?

For the most part in American culture, intellectual struggle in schoolchildren is seen as an indicator of weakness, while in Eastern cultures it is not only tolerated but is often used to measure emotional strength.

organization

Helps you form retrieval cues, forces deeper processing and better memory (Bower et al.) -Preventing it reduces remembering (Bransford and Johnson)

What are the characteristics of the visual sensory memory system (in terms of capacity, duration, ability to keep things in memory at will, etc.). What important role does sensory memory play in perception?

Iconic Memory refers to visual sensory memory. Last for about 0.3 seconds. Images are retained just long enough to recognize and process the sensory information.Films: 64 frames per second. Sensory memory accounts for our ability to recall something after it was spoken, even if it was not originally the subject of attention.

Kruger and Dunning: Potential essay material. Know the basic method and results used in the experiments. How were the results different for people in the upper quartile and the lower quartile? Experiment 3 tested one potential explanation for why the "competent" underestimate themselves and "incompetent" overestimate themselves. How? And what did they find? In Experiment 4, what did the "training" study demonstrate?

Key findings... -Unskilled overconfident -Skilled under-confident -Exposure to others' work helps the skilled be more accurate -Exposure to others' work does not help unskilled be more accurate -Training helps unskilled be more accurate

laptops vs. handwriting

Laptops introduce distractions-Typing can encourage shallow processing (word-for-word mindless transcribing vs summarizing/synthesizing)

In general, what have metacognition studies shown about less skilled learners?

Less skilled learners more likely to -Have inaccurate metacognitive knowledge -Neglect to engage in metacognitive monitoring and control -Be less accurate in monitoring judgments (e.g., overconfident about time needed to learn; how well material understood; how they compare to others).

Levels of processing

Maintenance rehearsal is shallow, best for temporary STM storage-Elaborative rehearsal involves deep processing, best for LTM storage

Generation effect:

Memory for material is better when a person generates the material him- or herself, rather than passively receiving it.

Compare/contrast the procedure of the partial report and whole report method used by Sperling. What were the results in each condition?

Partial report method A procedure used in Sperling's experiment on the properties of the visual icon, in which participants were instructed to report only some of the stimuli in a briefly presented display. A cue tone immediately after the display was extinguished indicated which part of the display to report. Whole report method Subjects are asked to report as many letters as possible from the entire 12-letter display. Using the Sperling paradigm, letters were flashed on and off and then the cue tone was resented after a short delay. The result of the delayed partial report experiments was that when the cue tones were delayed for 1 second after the flash, subjects were able to report only slightly more than 1 letter in a row. Sperling concluded that a short-lived sensory memory registers all or most of the information that hits our visual receptors, but that this information decays within less than a second.

retrieval cues

Stimuli that are used to bring a memory to consciousness or into behavior

The testing effect:

Testing yourself is better than just rereading/studying. Results of the Roediger and Karpicke (2006) experiment (this is different than the 2008 study in your book). Note that at longer times after learning, the performance of the testing group is better than the performance of the rereading group.

When I shined the laser light on the wall and moved it back and forth really fast during class... it appeared to make a line of continuous light.... WHY?

The continuous line is caused by Persistence of vision: continued perception of a visual stimulus even after it is no longer present.

How is the concept of metacognition related to the Buddhist concept of mindfulness?

The purpose of mindfulness is to -cultivate self-knowledge (similar to metacognitive knowledge) -become more self-aware in the moment (similar to metacognitive monitoring) -respond skillfully rather than mindlessly react (similar to metacognitive control)

See the section at the end of the chapter about memory loss in movies. How is memory loss (and the terminology used to describe it) often portrayed inaccurately in movies?

The use of terminology in movies that is not the same as that used by psychologists is illustrated in "Memento", where Lenny's problem is identified as a loss of STM. This reflects a common belief that forgetting things that have happened within the last few minutes or hours is a breakdown in STM. Cognitive psychologists identify STM as memory for what has happened in the last 15-20 seconds. According to that definition, Lenny's STM was fine because he could remember what had just happened to him. His problem was that he couldn't form new LTM, so like Clive Wearing and H.M., he could remember the immediate present but forgot everything that had happened more than a few minutes previously.

Massed Practice

a practice schedule in which studying continues for long periods, without interruption-1 full minute

Spaced Practice

a practice schedule that alternates study periods with brief rests-3×20 seconds (1. Elaborative rehearsal, 2. Re-reading, 3. Test yourself)

episodic buffer

a storage component of working memory that combines the images and sounds from the other two components into coherent, story-like episodes

state-dependent learning

learning that becomes associated with the conditions under which it occurred, so that it is best remembered under the same conditions

Maintenance Rehearsal

repeating over and over-this type of rehearsal results in poor memory, so you don't remember the number when you want to call it again later

Check out the "Working memory and the Brain" section in the chapter (beginning on pg. 150). What role does the prefrontal cortex play in working memory?

single neurons within the prefrontal (PF) cortex maintain representations of task-relevant stimuli in working memory so it is important for holding information for brief periods of time

Self reference effect:

tendency for an individual to have better memory for information that relates to oneself in comparison to material that has less personal relevance Leshikar self reference experiment

serial position effect

tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list

primacy effect

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

recency effect

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

What do studies of patients like H.M., Clive Wearing, and K.F. tell us about the structure of memory?

that there is evidence that STM and LTM are separated in the brain, but also some evidence for overlap; the strongest evidence for separation is provided by neuropsychological studies

central executive

the part of working memory that directs attention and processing

What is a "Brown-Peterson" procedure? Why does the procedure involve counting backwards by 3s (i.e., what's the point of counting?)? Why does the procedure involve varying the amount of time that people count backward by 3s (i.e., what does this tell us about the duration of STM?)

the task is to remember the three letters in the beginning and when you hear the number, repeat it and begin counting backwards by 3s from that number -counting backwards by 3s prevents the person fro rehearsing the letters -this involves recalling from STM -the method of recall is to determine the duration of STM

encoding specificity

the tendency for memory of information to be improved if related information (such as surroundings or physiological state) available when the memory is first formed is also available when the memory is being retrieved

Elaborative Rehearsal

thinking of meaning of an item, making connections to something in LTM, coming up with examples -this type of rehearsal results in better memory than maintenance rehearsal

cramming

trying to memorize a lot of information in a very short period of time Take breaks (spacing effect) -Spread learning over time (allows for consolidation, minimizes fatigue and interference, allows time for forgetting to happen)

What is metacognition? Understand the difference between metacognitive knowledge, monitoring, and control.

"Thinking about thinking" Metacognitive knowledge: Knowledge about how you learn best -Metacognitive monitoring: evaluating ourselves "in the moment" and judging learning/performance -Metacognitive control: Adjusting attention/behavior to address results of monitoring