Psy 3051 FINAL ME

In what ways do encoding and retrieval interact to affect long-term memory?

A match in circumstances (e.g., mood, environment, physiology, processing) between study and test will result in more cue overlap from study to test, aiding long-term memory retrieval.

How is the examination of brain activity involved in the study of cognition?

A number of brain activity recording techniques are used by cognitive neuroscientists to better understand how brain activity is tied to cognition. All rely in some way on neuron activity, with some (single-cell recordings, EEG) measuring the electrical signals from neurons and others (PET, fMRI) recording images of neuron activity in larger areas of the brain.

Would a perception/action researcher be interested in explaining the moon illusion? Why or why not?

A perception/action researcher would only be interested in this illusion in terms of any behaviors it might influence.

What re the advantages to having a perceptual system that has automatic input of all environmental stimuli but only consciously processes a small portion of those stimuli?

A primary advantage is that we can focus our attention on (or attention can be captured by) any stimuli in the environment because all are being received. Thus, we have the ability to consciously process any stimulus in our environment.

What is superior autobiographical memory?

A seemingly rare ability found in a few individuals with extremely strong memories of episodes in their lives. These individuals are able to report what occurred in their lives when questioned with a random date in their lives.

How does perception aid in action?

According to the perception/action approach, perception is conducted as a means to achieve goal-directed behaviors. Thus, perception and action are intricately tied together.

What types of retrieval practice are the most effective? Which of the encoding effects described in the Encoding Effects section do you think may be involved in the more effective retrieval practice techniques.

Active, explanatory, questioning practice activities and spaced retrieval practice will result in the most benefit to long-term memory retrieval. These techniques connect with the level of processing (deep encoding) and spaced repetition effects.

How can different types of brain damage or deterioration affect memory accuracy?

Amnesia can occur due to brain injury or disease. It can happen suddenly, caused by an accident or illness, or progressively, as in Alzheimer's disease. Both retrograde amnesia (loss of memory for events before the injury) or anterograde amnesia (loss of memory for events after the injury) can occur.

What is an affordance?

An affordance is a possibility for behaviors in a given environmnet.

Describe some of the limitations of using the clinical case study method in cognitive neuroscience.

Because the brain damage is not controlled in these cases, it can be difficult to connect deficits with a specific brain region. It is also difficult to provide good tests of hypotheses about how brain function affects cognitive abilities.

Godden and Baddeley (1975) found that when people both studied and were tested above water, they remembered more than when they studied above water and were tested underwater. Explain why these results were not due simply to poorer memory when tested underwater.

Because they also included a group that studied and was tested underwater that produced similar memory results to the group that studied and was tested above water, they can rule out this alternative explanation of their results.

In what way do illusions illustrate the normal processes of perception?

Because we use cues to interpret stimuli, those cues can sometimes lead to an inaccurate interpretation when they conflict with or are not an accurate representation of the environment.

What type of brain activity is detected in PET and fMRI scans? Why is an fMRI scan preferred to a PET scan in most cases?

Blood flow to active regions of the brain is recorded in these techniques. fMRI scans are typically preferred because they are less invasive than PET scans. The subject or patient does not need to ingest anything to conduct an fMRI scan.

How has the use of brain recording techniques allowed researchers to test causal relationships between brain activity and cognitive functions?

Brain recording techniques allow for the measurement of brain activity during the manipulation of cognitive tasks.

What are the main advantages and disadvantages of the different approaches?

Cases studies allow for thorough study of a unique individual or group, but they do not allow for tests of causal relationships, and the results may not generalize beyond the individual or group being studied. Correlational studies allow study of behaviors of large groups of individuals but do not allow researches to fully test the cause of those behaviors. Experiments allow for tests of causal relationships but due to control of extraneous factors may not generalize to real-life behaivors.

What are the limits of our memory?

In some cases, the limits of memory are based on our limits of attention in terms of what we can encode effectively and focus on for appropriate cues for retrieval. Over the short term, our attention limits influence what we can focus on in working memory (or store in STM). Over the long term, we seem to be able to store unlimited amounts of information, but we are limited in what we can retrieve at any given time.

You see a light approaching the road at night. According to the likelihood principle, which of the following are you most likely to perceive: (a) a deer crossing the road wearing a headlight, (b) a UFO, or (c) an approaching car? Explain.

In this situation, the most likely object causing this stimulus is (c) an approaching car. The likelihood principle states that we interpret stimuli based on the most likely event.

How do case studies of individuals with cognitive deficits inform us about the connection between cognition and brain function?

Individuals who have suffered a brain lesion can help us connect cognitive deficits to specific areas of the brain. By examining the area(s) of the lesion and which cognitive deficits the individuals have, researchers can make hypotheses about the primary function of different areas of the brain. Much of the early knowledge of localization of function in the brain came from such clinical case studies.

What is the most likely cause when information is lost from STM?

Interference is the most likely cause (either proactive or retroactive interference).

Is memory a process, structure, or a system?

Memory has been thought of as both a process and a structure. Researchers have viewed memory in terms of processes (encoding, storage, and retrieval), structural storage units (sensory, short-term, and long-term memory), and systems (working-memory system with multiple subsystems.

What are mnemonics? In what way are they useful in improving memory performance?

Mnemonics are techniques for improving memory for a set of items. They rely on well-known or unusual images to remember the information.

List for cognitive processes studied by cognitive psychologists.

Processes involved in understanding and using information are studied by cognitive psychologists. These generally include attention, memory, perception, language, concept formation, imagery, and judgement and decision making. These processes include the neurobiological processes involved.

How do prospective-memory tasks differ from other forms of intentional retrieval?

Prospective-memory tasks involve remembering to complete a task in the future. The person retrieving the task must put himself or herself into a retrieval mode at the appropriate time to retrieve the task, instead of having someone else (e.g., and instruction from a researcher) initiate retrieval.

What three events influenced the development of the field of cognitive psychology?

The three main influences on the development of cognitive psychology as a unified field are (1) Chomsky's arguments against a behaviorist description of language development, (2) the development of computer technology models of information processing, and (3) the publication of Ulric Neisser's book tying together different topics of study under the field of cognitive psychology.

Are there differences in the ways we store and retrieve memories based on how old the memories are?

Yes. There are important differences in memories we store for short term and memories stored over the long term. The main distinction between these types of memories is the duration of storage: less than a minute for short-term memories and a lifetime for long-term memories. In addition, short-term memories seem to be coded primarily with verbal codes, and long-term memories seem to be coded primarily with semantic codes. Finally, the capacity of short-term memory seems to be limited (about five to nine chunks of information), whereas long-term memory seem to have an unlimited capacity.

How have psychologists approached the study of cognition?

Explanations of cognitive processes have been developed within three general approaches: representationalist, embodied, and biologically motivated. Representationalist theories of cognition generally view the mind as a symbolic processor, similar to a computer. In these views, information is conceptualized as abstract representations that may be acted on by metal operations. Embodied approaches envision the mind as something situated within a body and an environment context. These approaches examine cognition as interactions between individuals and their environment. Biologically motivated approaches to cognition focus on theories based on neurologically inspired elements.

Why does forgetting occur and what can you do to prevent it?

Forgetting likely occurs due to interference from other information during retrieval and lack of consolidation of memories as they are stored.

Why does forgetting occur?

Forgetting likely occurs due to interference from other information stored in long-term memory and from lack of consolidation, where memories are strengthened as they are stored in neuron connections and in different areas of the brain.

What descriptions of attention have helped researchers study attention?

Attention has been described as a filter, a spotlight, a limited mental capacity, and as feature glue.

How does our automatic processing affect what we pay attention to?

Automatic processing can interfere with an attentional task, as it does in the Stroop task. However, according to Treisman's model and Schneider and Shiffrin's model, automatic processing can also aid in cognitive tasks by either preparing our attention or requiring less attention as tasks become more automatic.

Which storage subsystem seem to be dominant in terms of features of information stored in working memory?

The phonological loop appears to be the dominant subsystem for storing information.

Explain the encoding specificty principle.

The principle states that a match in circumstances from study to test will improve memory performance.

How do we define attention?

Attention can be difficult to define because it overlaps with many other cognitive processes. One proposed definition is the focus of our consciousness to the exclusion of other things.

The results of the Stayer and Johnston study showed that driving abilities are inhibited when subjects talked on the phone. What do these results mean for new laws requiring "hands free" cell phone use while driving?

Because the "hands free" and handheld cell phone groups both showed equally lowered performance in the study, these results suggest that requiring hands-free phone devices will not be sufficient to keep people from having lowered driving performance while talking on a cell phone.

What is cognitive psychology?How did it develop as a field?

Cognitive psychology is the study of how our mind receive store, and use information. This includes theory and research about perception, attention, memory, language use, decision making, and problem solving. The roots of the discipline may be traced to philosophy and physiology before the twentieth century. However, modern cognitive psychology primarily developed since the mid-twentieth century. This was in part a reaction to the behaviorist tradition within psychology but also is a reflection of developments within other disciplines, including biology, linguistics, and computer science.

Describe three methods of encoding that can increase retrieval from long-term memory?

Encoding based on meaning (level of processing), spaced over time (spaced repetition), and with important information first (serial position curve) will increase retrieval from long-term memory.

Which methods of encoding information are effective in increasing retrieval from long-term memory?

Encoding information deeply (based on meaning), spaced over time, and with important information first will aid retrieval from long-term memory.

Describe the three primary processes of memory.

Encoding is the process of getting information into memory. Storage is the process by which information is held in memory. Retrieval is the process by which information is remembered.

Briefly explain the logic used in Donders's subtractive method.

Donders compared reaction times in two situations: one in which subjects are asked to press a single button when a light comes on and one in which subjects must choose between two buttons to press depending on which side (right or left) the light appears on. IN the first situation, the reaction time included the motor processes involved in pressing a button at a specific time. In the second situation, the reaction time involves everything from the first situation PLUS the decision-making process needed to decide which button to press. By subtracting the first reaction time from the second, what is left is the time it takes to decided which button to press - in other words, the time it takes to "think."

What type of neuron activity is record in single-cell, EEG, and MEG recordings?

Electrical activity from a single neuron or multiple neurons is recorded with these techniques.

What factors contribute to memory inaccuracies?

In general, normal memory processes can contribute to memory errors. For example, use of schemata, scripts, and our previous knowledge of events and concepts to reconstruct memories can result in errors. In cases of eyewitness memory, exposure to misleading information or inaccurate suggestions can result in memory errors.

In what way do implicit-memory tasks measure memory without intention?

In implicit-memory tasks, subject are given a task related to a study episode but with no instruction to retrieve the study episode.

Explain why controlled experiments cannot always be conducted to determine how different types of brain damage cause cognitive deficits.

In order to conduct an experiment of this type, one would need control over brain damage that occurs. This would be unethical in humans. However, animal models can provide some information about how brain damage affects behavior; thus, experiments are possible to conduct with animal subjects.

Describe the primary difference between recall and recognition tasks.

In recall tasks, one attempts to retrieve information without any additional cues or with some cues connected with the information to help guide one's retrieval. In recognition tasks, on is presented with information that one must judge in terms of whether one has studied it or not.

Do we control our perceptions or can we perceive automatically?

In some cases perception happens automatically, without our control (e.g., in experiencing perceptual illusions), but there are situations where we control perception (e.g., in perceiving a way to accomplish a behavioral goal).

What is the purpose of perception?

The purpose of perception is to interpret the world around us. However, the means by which this occurs is varied and described in different ways by the different approaches researchers take in studying perception.

How effective are mnemonics in increasing long-term memory retrieval?

If one trains in the use of mnemonics, these techniques can significantly improve memory for lists of information. However, they will not necessarily improve memory for all types of information.

How does our memory influence us unintentionally?

Implicit-memory retrieval involves unintentional retrieval of information. Implicit memory can be based on episodes (such as a study list) or procedures (such as a skill like driving a car).

What are the main differences between case study, correlational, and experimental designs?

In a case study, researchers are interested in learning about different aspects of the behavior of an individual or group. In a correlational study, researchers are interested in learning about relationships between measured variables. In an experiment, researches are interested in learning about a cause and effect relationship between variables to test hypotheses about the causes of behaviors.

What can be learned about cognition through measurements of neuron activity in the brain?

Like clinical case studies, researchers can connect specific brain areas with cognitive abilities. However, measurements of brain activity also allow researchers to provide better tests of hypotheses about brain function because experiments can be conducted with brain activity as the dependent measures.

In what way is automaticity involved in Logan's instance theory?

Logan suggested that after many experiences/instances with a task, the information about that task is retrieved automatically when one is placed in the task context.

Which study-test delays show a memory advantage due to retrieval practice?

Longer study-test delays show the testing effect (better memory for information that received retrieval practice). Short delay (e.g., five minutes) have not shown a benefit of retrieval practice?

What is the role of receptor cells in perception?

The receptor cells serve the important role of converting stimulus energy (e.g, light, sound waves) to neural signals that can be received and processed by the brain.

People report a "moon illusion" such that the full moon appears larger when it is lower in the sky and above us. Why does this occur?

One possible explanation of this illusion is that we misinterpret the size of the moon based on the comparison of retinal images of objects near the horizon (e.g, building and tress that can be seen along with the moon when it is low in the sky). When the moon is high in the sky, there are typically no other objects to compare it with. However, the explanation of the moon illusion is still debated within research in perception so there is no one right answer to this question.

Describe two other perspective on working memory besides the Baddeley model.

Other perspectives include describing working memory as the activated portion of LTM and describing working memory through the brain activity that accompanies encoding, storage, and retrieval of memories in the short term.

What is perception?

Perception is the cognitive processes through which we interpret the stimuli in the world around us.

How do perception/action approaches to cognition differ from computational approaches?

Perception/action approaches consider perception as a means to achieve behavioral action goals.

Why do we sometimes perceive things incorrectly?

Perceptual illusions occur through the natural processes of perception. In fact, they help illustrate the way that perception typically occurs in cases where illusion do not results.

How are the representationalist and biological approaches connected?

The representationalist approach proposes that information is represented in the mind. The biological approach suggests a physiological means of representing information in the brain.

What is a serial position curve?

The resulting curve when memory performance is graphed according to an item's position in an encoded list: The first items and the last items tend to show higher performance.

Explain how the partial-report method allows researchers to more accurately estimate the capacity of sensory memory than a whole-report method.

The partial-report method allows for a report of a smaller amount of information that the whole set of stimuli presented. Because information is lost from sensory memory so quickly, it is difficult for one to report what is stored in sensory memory before it is lost. The partial-report method allows researchers to estimate how much information is stored before it is lost by extrapolating form the part the subject is asked to report to the whole set of stimuli presented.

Describe the four subsystems of Baddeley's model of working memory. Which subsystem controls our focus of attention?

The phonological loop (verbal information) and visuospatial sketchpad (visual information) serve as storage units of information in working memory. The episodic buffer stores episodic information and connect with LTM. The central executive acts as the control system to determine what our attention is currently focused on.

Does memory work like a video camera, fully recording each experience? Why or why not?

Research has shown that memory is reconstructive, putting the pieces of our memories back together when we retrieve them. The memory errors seen in individuals support this idea, rather than a "video camera" mechanism of memory.

In general, what has been learned about the organization of brain activity using cognitive neuroscience technqiues?

Research has uncovered the localization of function in the brain, and how different areas are specialized for different tasks.

Imagine you are focusing your attention on a person in a crowd For each of the three models of attention - filter model, spotlight model, feature-integration model - explain how this task would work.

The filter model suggest you filter out all the other people to focus on the relevant person. The spotlight model suggests you move your "spotlight" of attention around the crowd and then focus it on the relevant person once he or she is identified. The feature-integration model suggests that the features of the people in the crowd are automatically processed and you bind those features together with your attention to identify the individuals in the crowd to find the relevant person.

How do the two stages of the feature-integration model of attention differ?

The first stage is an automatic processing stage that does not require attention in identifying features in a scene. The second stage is a controlled processing stage requiring attention that binds features together to allow for object identification and scene understanding.

Which methods of retrieving information are effective in increasing memory performance?

Retrieval practice (i.e., practicing retrieval of information you wish to remember over the long term) will aid later retrieval from long-term memory.

What is retrieval practice? What effect does it have on long-term memory?

Retrieval practice is the activity of retrieving information one wishes to remember over the long term. It will increase later memory performance for the practiced information (compared with simply rereading the information).

In what ways does memory fail in normal individuals?

Schacter (2002) described seven "sins" of memory as normal memory failures: transience (normal loss of information over time), absentmindedness (forgetting due to lack of attention), blocking (forgetting due to interference from other information), source misattribution (memory errors due to misattribution of the source of information), suggestibility (memory errors due to suggestions from outside sources), bias (memory errors due to our own experiences after the information was originally encoded), and persistence (unwanted memories of information that persist).

How do our sensory systems affect our perception of the world?

Sensory systems do the job of turning sensations into perceptions that help us understand what we are encountering in the world. Sensory systems turn stimulus energy into neural signals that can be processed in the brain.

List the three hypothetical storage structures of memory from shortest to the longest stage.

Shortest: sensory memory; intermediate: short-term memory; longest: long-term memory.

What is one way you can increase your retrieval from long-term memory as you study for an upcoming exam?

Sleeping between study and test will aid consolidation and strengthen long-term memories.

Can all behavior be explained in terms of brain activity?

Some studies suggest that it can, at least for simple behaviors. However, the answer to this question is not yet known.

In what ways does LTM differ from STM?

Storage duration and capacity in LTM appears to be unlimited, whereas it is clearly limited in STM. In addition, the primary mode of storage of information in LTM seems to be the meaning of the information, whereas verbal coding is the dominant storage mode in STM.

How do systems consolidation and synaptic consolidation differ?

Systems consolidation is a slow process (days, weeks, months) where the storage of the pieces of memories shifts from the hippocampus to the cortical areas of the brain. Synaptic consolidation is a faster process (hours, days,) that occurs in the connections (i.e., synapses) between the neuron cells in the brain.

Describe the four parts of a sensory system.

The four parts of a sensory system are (1) sense organ (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin), (2) receptor cells in each sense organ that receive stimulus energy and convert it to neural signals, (3) nerve conduit that carries the neural signal from the sense organ to the brain, and (4) brain area(s) that processes the neural signals received from the sense organ.

How have researchers studied memory errors?

The DRM procedure has been used to study how memory errors occur and what influences their creation. In the procedure, themed lists are presented and subjects typically show false memories for the themes that are not presented. Researchers have also studied memory for events by presenting subjects with a video or slides of an event, questioning them about the event or exposing them to other accounts of the event, and then testing their memory for the event they saw. These studies have helped us understand the factors that influence witness memory accuracy.

How does the Gestalt approach to perception differ from the computational approach to perception?

The Gestalt approach to perception focuses almost entirely on top-down processing in the form of organizational principles of the world that we use to interpret stimuli in the environment. Adding cues or features together, as in the computational approach, is seen as providing an incomplete perception of objects and scenes.

Consider the moon illusion. Would the Gestalt approach to perception explain this illusion differently than the computational approach? Why or why not?

The Gestalt approach would provide a different explain of this illusion because it would not consider cues such as retinal image size to explain the illusion.

What does it mean for something to be more than the sum of its parts?

The Gestalt idea of perceiving the whole is proposed as a contrast to the computational approach where the parts are added together to achieve perception of the whole stimulus (e.g, as in feature detection models and encoding of geons). In the Gestalt approach, perception is viewed as a process that organizes stimuli into a coherent whole based on top-down processing in the form of organizing principles.

In what ways are the biological features of the brain important in the study of cognition?

The activity of neurons provides a physical structure of mechanism for cognitive processes to take place in the mind. Features of neuron processing are considered when current models of cognition are developed.

Describe how Treisman's attenuation model would explain how you can study with background music playing without it interfering with your task. How would this model describe your ability to hear your text alert on your phone without losing concentration in your studying?

The attenuation model suggests that the strength of less relevant stimuli (such as background music) is reduced as it passes through the filter such that less attention is paid to it. However, information does make it through, and stimuli that have a low threshold in the dictionary unit (like the important sound of your text alert) can capture attention.

What is the capacity of STM? What can on do to increase this capacity?

The capacity of STM seem to be about five to nine chunks of information. The capacity can be increased with chunking (i.e., organizing the information into fewer units according to meaning). For example, more letters can be stored in STM if they are chunked into words when they are encoded.

What core principles is the scientific method founded on?

The core principles are determinism, empiricism, parsimony, and testability. Determinism is the assumption that events in the world have identifiable causes. Empiricism is the assumption that those causes can be understood through observation of the world. Parsimony is the assumption that simpler causes are more likely to be true. Testability is the assumption that theories about causes can be tested through observation of the word.

What environmental factors have been found to influence our attention abilities?

The current limits on mental resources influence our attention abilities. Arousal states can affect the capacity of our mental resources. The difficulty of a task and our interest in a task can also affect our attention abilities.

According to the research in this area, what is the duration of sensory memories?

The duration of sensory memory is believe to be about one second for visual information and a little longer (about four seconds) for auditory information. However, due to the differences in how these modes of stimuli are presented, it is difficult to know if there is a different duration for visual and auditory information or if the differences found is research are caused by modality of the information.

What does embodied cognition mean?

The embodied cognition approach assumes that cognition serves the purpose of allowing us to interact bodily in the world and developed around the structure of the human body for that purpose.

What role does the episodic buffer serve in working memory?

The episodic buffer stores episodic information and connects with LTM.

How do researchers study what someone is and is not paying attention to?

There are multiple methods. One task involves a target search to determine the ease of this task and the amount of attention it require. Another method involves two tasks with interference on these tasks measured as someone performs them together versus separately.

What behaviors do psychologists observe to study cognition?

There is a range of behaviors studied by cognitive psychologists. A common measure is accuracy for a task (such as memory or perceptual judgments). Another common measure is the speed to complete a task (such as identify a word or solve a problem). There are also behaviors specific to an area of cognitive psychology (such as measurement of brain activity in cognitive neuroscience).

How many different types of memory are there?

There is no clear answer to this question, as it is unclear which types of memory as distinct from other types. However, researchers have attempted to identify several different types of memory: memory based on duration (short-term vs long-term) and memory based on content (episodic, semantic, and procedural memory). There is also memory based on retrieval task (recall and recognition), memory based on reference to the self (autobiographical memory), memory based on vivid details and emotional context (flashbulb memory), memory based on intentionality of retrieval (explicit vs implicit memory), and memory for future tasks (prospective memory). However, this list of memory types is based on current ideas of how memory can be classified and not meant to be inclusive of all forms of memory that researchers have studied in the past or will study in the future. The answer to this question remains under investigation.

In what way is a cognitive system designed to transfer tasks from controlled to automatic processing adaptive?

This a more efficient system because more mental resources are available for controlled tasks when automatic processes take over for other tasks.

Explain what is means to interpret scenes based on cues present in those scenes.

This describes the computational approach to the study of perception. Cues in the stimuli such as basic features, linear perspective, and retinal size help us interpret the size and distance of objects in the environment and also help us identify those objects.

Explain why it might be difficult for many students to use the mood-dependent memory effect to improve exam performance.

This effect might be difficult to implement because it relies on a match in mood from study to test. Many students are calm when they study but anxious when tested, so it can be difficult to match mood from study to test.

Does research connecting brain activity with cognitive task performance gain causal information or merely correlation information? Explain.

This knowledge is primarily correlational due to measurement of the relationship between two measured variables (brain activity and cognitive performance on a task). However, some causal information ca be gained by manipulating the cognitive task the subject performs to examine how this affects the brain activity being measured.

What does it mean that attention is a "limited mental resource"?

This means that our available cognitive resources for paying attention have a particular level at any given moment such that if we divide them across tasks requiring attention, performance on the tasks can suffer.

What types of research methods are useful in the study of cognition?

Three main types of research designs are employed in research in cognition: (1) case studies that focus on the behaviors of a distinct individual or group, (2) correlational studies that examine relationships between sets of dependent (or response) variables, and (3) experiments that test causal relationships between variables through the manipulation of independent variable and control of the conditions under which the dependent (or response) variables are measured. Researches may also use quasi-independent variables (group subjects based on a particular characteristic such as gender or age) to compare groups for the dependent variable when manipulation of a variable is not possible.

How is top-down processing involved in the Gestalt approach to perception?

Top-down processing is involved in the use of knowledge to mentally organize scenes (e.g, by proximity, similarity).

What are two commonly used dependent measures in cognitive psychology?

Two commonly used dependent measures in cognitive psychology are accuracy and reaction time.

What kind of memory helps us focus on a task?

Working memory involves information about a task currently in our focus of attention. Thus, it aids in the completion of tasks we are currently attending to, while also helping us keep track of other things in our environment and ignore things that are irrelevant.