Cog Exam 3
Discuss evidence showing that autobiographical memories are different from other types of memories. PAGE 228
Autobiographical memories are multidimensional, including spatial, emotional, and sensory memories. In an experiment showing the difference between autobiographical memory and laboratory memory, participants were shown photos they had taken and photos they had not taken. These both activated many of the same structures of the brain (the medial temporal lobe and an area of the parietal cortex). Additionally, their own photos caused more activation in the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus. The pictures taken by themselves elicited memories presumably associated with taking the picture and activated a more extensive network of brain areas than pictures taken by someone else.
How are flashbulb memories different from everyday memories? PAGE 235
Flashbulb memories were believed to be more accurate, but they are being forgotten in the same pattern. Many flashbulb memory researchers have expressed doubt that flashbulb memories are much different from regular memories. This is supported by an experiment where a group of college students were interviewed the day after 9/11. Results showed that participants remembered fewer details and made more errors at longer intervals after the events, with little difference between the results for the flashbulb and everyday memories.
What is spreading activation and how does it relate to the idea of priming? PAGE 278
Spreading activation is activity that spreads out along any link that is connected to an activated node. The result of spreading activation is that the additional concepts that receive this activation become primed and so can be retrieved more easily from memory.
What is embodied cognition and provide evidence that supports it. PAGE 290
The embodied approach states that our knowledge of concepts is based on reactivation of sensory and motor processes that occur when we interact with the object. Past research provides evidence for a link between perceptual and motor responses in the human brain. Participants were asked to read actions words while brain activity was studied. The results showed that activation is more extensive for actual movements, but the activation caused by reading the words occurs in approximately the same areas of the brain.
Multiple trace model of consolidation PAGE 211 and bottom of 213
The multiple trace model of consolidation proposes that early in consolidation, the hippocampus communicates with cortical areas. In contrast to the standard model, the multiple trace model proposes that the hippocampus remains in active communication with the cortical areas, even for remote memories. Results from one study show that remote memories are highly represented in the cortex and that both recent and remote memories are represented in the hippocampus as well, as proposed by the multiple trace model.
Limitations of this hierarchical model PAGE 279
The theory can not explain the typicality effect. The concept of cognitive economy was questioned because of evidence that people may store specific properties of concepts right at the node for that concept. There are also sentence verification errors.
Discuss Collins and Quillan's hierarchical model. PAGE 277 FIGURE 9.12
Their goal was to develop a computer model of human memory. The model uses color to indicate specific concepts; properties of concepts are indicated at the nodes for each concept; and additional properties of a concept can be determined by moving up the network, along the lines connecting the concepts. More specific concepts are on the bottom and more general concepts are at higher levels.
Does sleep enhance consolidation? PAGE 214
There is evidence that consolidation appears to be enhanced during sleep. The results of past research showed that students in the sleep group (went to sleep within 3 hours of studying words) forgot much less material than students in the awake group (remained awake for 10 hours after studying words). An alternative explanation is that we sleep in order to selectively consolidate memories for things that might be most useful to remember later.
Compare / contrast transfer-appropriate processing with levels of processing theory PAGE 207
Transfer-appropriate processing is like encoding specificity and state-dependent learning because it demonstrates that matching conditions during encoding and retrieval improves performance. Transfer-appropriate processing shows that deeper processing at encoding does not always result in better retrieval, as proposed by levels of processing theory.
transfer-appropriate processing PAGE 207
Transfer-appropriate processing is the result of better performance when the type of processing matches in encoding and retrieval. One study showed that participants who focused on the word's sound during the first part of the experiment did better when the test involved focusing on sound.
Discuss research regarding memory errors due to attention and suggestion. PAGE 249
Weapons focus is the tendency to focus attention on a weapon that results in a narrowing of attention. Participants were more likely to recall details of the perpetrator, the victim, and the weapon when a gun was present but not fired. The presence of a weapon that was fired distracted attention from other things that were happening. In terms of suggestion, when witnesses receive confirming feedback from an officer, they are more confident in their choice. This is known as the post-identification feedback effect.
What is being done to reduce identification in police lineups? PAGE 252
Witnesses are told that the perpetrator may not be in the lineup they are viewing. Fillers are being used. These people look similar to the suspect. The blind lineup technique is being used, where someone who doesn't know who the suspect is administering the lineup. Finally, witnesses are asked to rate their confidence immediately after their identification.
free recall vs. cued recall
free recall = a procedure used when a participant is simply asked to recall stimuli cued recall = when the participant is presented with retrieval cues to aid in recall of the previously experienced stimuli Cued recall produces better memory performance
What is cognitive economy and how does it relate to the model? PAGE 277
Cognitive economy is a way of storing shared properties just once at a higher-level node. For example, in the model, the properties of "can fly" and "has feathers" are only located at the node for "bird" because this property holds for most birds. If these properties were at a node for every bird, it would use up too much storage space.
What evidence can you cite that suggests these memory systems interact? PAGE 174
Episodic and semantic memories are often intertwined through both how knowledge (semantic) affects experience (episodic) and the makeup of autobiographical memory. First, our knowledge guides our experience and this then influences the episodic memories that follow from that experience. Autobiographical memories have both episodic components (relived specific events) and semantic components (faces related to these events).
Discuss research that indicates the basic level is not privileged. CHAPTER 9 NOTES
Expertise can affect the categorization term people use. There is evidence to support this in an experiment done with bird experts and novices. When looking at pictures of birds, experts used specific categorization. The novices used basic categorization. For non-bird pictures, both groups used basic categorization.
Short answer question about the sensory-functional hypothesis. PAGE 286
How has the sensory-functional hypothesis been disproved in research? Multiple studies have been conducted that result in the conclusion that many effects of brain damage can't be explained by the simple distinction between sensory and function. For example, one patient performed poorly on perceptual tests but was better at identifying animals than artifacts.
Describe research that has experimentally produced source errors. How can gender stereotypes influence source errors? PAGEs 237-238
One experiment tested participants' ability to distinguish between famous and nonfamous names. Half were given a test to identify names shortly after seeing the list. The other half were tested 24 hours after seeing the list of names. The results showed that waiting 24 hours before testing increased the changes that a nonfamous name would be labeled as famous. Participants knew that they had heard the name before, but couldn't remember where (source monitoring problem).
Are certain categories psychologically privileged? PAGE 274
One research proposed that the basic level is psychologically special because going above it to the global level results in a large loss of information but going below it to the specific level results in little gain of information.
PDP PAGE 280
Parallel distributed processing propose that concepts are represented by activity that is distributed across a network. The circles are units. The lines are connections that transfer information between units and are roughly equivalent to axons in the brain. The hierarchical network represents properties of concepts at the network's nodes, where connectionist networks indicate these properties by activity in the attribute units on the far right, as well as by the pattern of activity in the representation and hidden units in the middle of the network. Connectionist networks are created by a learning process that shapes the networks so information about each concept is contained in the distributed pattern of activity across a number of units.
Remember / know procedure PAGE 176
Participants are presented with a stimulus they have encountered before and are asked to respond with either remember if the stimulus is familiar, know if they stimulus seems familiar, or don't know if they remember the stimulus at all. The procedure distinguishes between the episodic components of memory (indicated by a remember response) and semantic components (indicated by a know response).
research on encoding specificity PAGE 204
Participants do best when testing conditions match study conditions.
Describe the study of the War of the Ghosts and how it provides evidence about how our memory is constructed. PAGE 239
Participants were asked to read a story and then recall it as accurately as possible. He then used repeated reproduction. He found that the recalled stories tended to reflect the participant's own culture. The results suggest that memories can be comprised of details from various sources, which is related to source monitoring.
Reconsolidation in humans PAGE 218
Past research has provided evidence of reactivation in humans. One group of participants are shown different objects on two different days, and then asked to remember the first days' list. A separate group does the same, except on the second day they are tested in a different room by a different experimenter with a different basket. For the reminder group, results showed that the original memory was not eliminated but it was changed.
Does emotion improve memory? PAGE 232 Figure 8.7
Past research has shown that stress hormones released after an emotional experience increase consolidation of memory for that experience. In an experiment, recall for emotional pictures is better than for neutral pictures when subjects are exposed to stress. There is no significant difference between emotional and neutral recall in the no-stress condition. This result has been related to enhanced memory consolidation for the emotional pictures.
Reconsolidation and PTSD PAGE 219
Past research reactivated a person who is suffering from PTSD memory for the traumatic event and then administered the drug propranolol, which blocks activation of stress hormone receptors in the amygdala. It was found that the propranolol group experienced much smaller increases in heart rate and skin conductance. Presenting propranolol when the memory was reactivated a week earlier blocked the stress response in the amygdala, and this reduced the emotional reaction associated with remembering the trauma.
research on state-dependent learning PAGE 205
Research indicated that participants do better when their mood at retrieval matches their mood during encoding.
research on retrieval cues PAGE 203
Research indicates that when self-generated retrieval cues were presented, participants remembered words better than when using other-person-generated retrieval cues
Discuss evidence that shows that new memories are fragile PAGE 208, 210
Research shows that when recalling two lists, participants who had a delay between the two lists remembered more than those who were not given a delay. Immediately presenting the second list to the group without a delay interrupted the forming of a stable memory for the first list. The standard model of consolidation suggests that the participation of the hippocampus is crucial during early stages of memory because it is replaying the neural activity associated with a memory and sending this information to the cortex.
How does the standard model of consolidation explain retrograde amnesia? PAGE 211
Retrograde amnesia is the loss of memory for events that occurred right before a head injury. The standard model says that memories from before a head injury did not have enough time to consolidate before the injury occurred.
Discuss three hypotheses regarding why memory is better between 10-30 years old. CHAPTER 8 NOTES / PAGE 228
Self-image hypothesis suggests that memory is better when your identity is being formed. Cognitive hypothesis proposes that many life changes in early adulthood followed by stability causes better encoding. Cultural life script hypothesis suggests that culturally expected life events happen during this age. It may serve as an organizing principle to encode / receive autobiographical memories.
Concepts, categories, and categorization PAGE 265
concepts = a mental representation of a class or individual category = groups of objects that belong together because they belong to the same class of objects categorization = the process by which objects are placed in categories
Define encoding and retrieval. Identify where these processes occur in the modal model of memory. PAGE 192
encoding = the process of acquiring information and transferring it to LTM retrieval = brining information into consciousness by transferring it from lTM to working memory
Flashbulb memories
enhanced memory for the moment when you heard about a shocking event
Repeated recall PAGE 233
examines memory the day after an event, then test it again after a delay (days, months, or years later)
recall CHAPTER 7 NOTES
organization is converted to a retrieval cue testing effect = allows you to better encode information
Maintenance rehearsal and elaborative rehearsal PAGE 432
maintenance rehearsal = involves repetition without any consideration of meaning or making connections to other information elaborative rehearsal = involves thinking about the meaning of an item to be remembered or making connections between that item and prior knowledge.
retrieval CHAPTER 7 NOTES
moving information from LTM to STM
degree of information processing CHAPTER 7 NOTES
organization = organize the content so it is meaningful to you visual imagery = making associations to better remember
What are pragmatic inferences, schemas, and scripts? How do these concepts explain source monitoring errors? CHAPTER 8 NOTES / PAGE 242
pragmatic inference = fill-in details based on what was implied but not explicitly stated schemas = knowledge about some aspect of the environment script = knowledge about a sequence of actions occurring in a location These concepts show that false memories arise from the same constructive process that produces true memories. Construction can cause memory errors, while at the same time providing the creativity that enables us to do things. This creativity helps us to fill in the blanks when there is incomplete information.
Prototypes and exemplars. How does the typicality effect show evidence in favor of prototypes? CHAPTER 9 NOTES
prototype = based on an average from a category exemplar = based on a specific example from a category Evidence shows that in the sentence variation task, there are faster responses for prototypical objects. Prototypical items are used to identify objects. They may be used because they can be primed.
Reconsolidation PAGES 216
reconsolidation = retrieving a LTM can make it fragile such that it can be manipulated Existence in rats = when a memory is reactivated, it becomes fragile, just as it was immediately after it was first formed. A reactivated memory becomes fragile until it is reconsolidated.
What is source monitoring? How is cryptoamnesia related to source monitoring and source misattribution? PAGE 236
source monitoring = the process of determining the origins of our memories, knowledge, or beliefs source misattribution = source monitoring errors where memory is attributed to the wrong source Cryptoamnesia is the unconscious plagiarism of the world of others. This is related to source monitoring and source misattribution because a person will believe they created something, when really it is present in memory because it has been heard before.
consolidation PAGE 208
the neural process of encoding memories to LTM
self concept CHAPTER 7 NOTES
try to relate new information to yourself (survival, self-reference, generation effect)