Cognitive ERQs
The influence of technology on the emotion and cognition
1st PARAGRAPH Digital technology can influence both positive and negative emotions in people. The importance of studying how digital technology influences emotion can help us understand how to control them aswell as prevent them from effecting our cognitive processes. When people see other people profile online we often compare aspects of our lives to what others show in their online profiles, to try to understand our value and place in this world. Although all people do this to some extent some people do it more and they are considered high in SCO (social comparison orientation) This may lead to negative cognitive bias which will affect their mood and ultimately the way they make decisions. Most social media platforms allow for a lot of Social comparison to occur trough status updates, posts and stories. Because of this social media may attract people with a high SCO tendency. People are strongly motivated to post their best self online because it makes them seem enjoyable, which may cause high SCO individuals to negatively compare themselves to them leading them to think that the others are better or fun or more popular than them and therefore influencing their emotions which leads to impaired cognition VOGEL 2015 A: to test two predictions about the use of digital technology with cognition and emotion 1. people with a high SCO will use Facebook more intensely because it allows for increased social comparison. 2. Increased oppurtunities for comparison will cause them to have negative self-esteem and negative moods, M: 2 different experiments 1. 150 undergrads completing a survey which had and SCO measure and multiple questions on how much and how intensely they used Facebook. 2. to investigate the impact of Facebook on low and high SCO individuals's emotions. Ppts broken into 3 groups: 1st group- had to look at the profile of same sex acquaintances they know since high school for 5 min 2nd group-the ppts looked at their own profile for 5 min 3rd group- control- had an unrelated search tast SCO, self esteem, emotional balance and self perception were all monitored. R: 1st experiment- Strong positive correlation between those using Facebook more intensely and having a high SCO 2nd experiment- those with low SCO had no difference in their self esteem or mood in any of the groups. However people with high SCO recorded significantly lower scores for self esteem and self perception after 5 minutes of looking at another persons profile. C: digital technology influence emotion CRITICAL THINKING Positive: Good control over participants effect because of the use of a control group in the second experiment Negative: the study has Correlation but not causation meaning that there is some bidirectional ambiguity, and we can't know for sure if people use facebook because they have a high SCO or if people have a high SCO because they use Facebook. INTERMISSIONS: It is also believed that the availability heuristic is involved in the influence of social media on thinking and decision making, that is people are often basing their self esteem on the things they can readily member which are often the most extreme. CHOU AND EDGE 2014 A: To investigate the influence of the availability heuristic on what Facebook users think of other people, M: -The participants were picked randomly and were all asked to complete a survey which asked questions about how intensely they used Facebook and a series of questions about how they feel about certain statements through a 10 point likert scale such as, "my friends are happier than me". -The amount of time they spent with real world friends they know and online Facebook friends they don't know was also measured R: ppts who used Facebook more were more likely to agree that others were more happy than them. On the other hand, those who spent the most time in the real world were unlikely to agree that people were happier than them C: the results of the study suggest that a more intense use of Facebook and less time spent with real friends in the real world would result in a more negative outlook on their life as ppts who used the social media platform agreed that others were more happier than them. CT for chou and edge: Negatives: Lack of population validity- study just set in America but because culturally individualistic societies have their own way of doing things if you place this study in a collectivist culture like in china for example where people tend to interact with each other on social media but in a collectivist environment it might mean that they see each other in person and interact more alongside interacting on social media so we can assume that thinking and decision making/ emotion/bias in technology might not have a large influence on ppl in china Strength: even though they only got undergraduate students they do differ in some way as they study a range of subjects, we cannot say they are all the same as they may differ in personality Negative CT for both: -The participants are all of a younger generation and are less experienced in general, therefore are not great representatives fo the demographic on Facebook, reducing predictive validity and generalisability. -Both studies use surveys that are self moderated which can lead to a lot of social desirability bias, where people suggest they use Facebook less than they actually do and could influence results.
TWE is one cognitive process (memory) reliable
1st paragraph: -Memory is reliable to some extent. the debate of whether memory is reliable or not has been going on amongst psychologists for decades. -studying the reliability of memory can help us understand how to maximise our memories efficiency and potentially help us from situations where we recall wrong memories Schema theory suggests that we reconstruct our memories from cognitive schemas when we need to. Describe: -Schemas are units of memory that contain basic information about events, places, things, people or beliefs. Schemas allow us to reconstruct our memories, analyse the world around us and live efficiently. Explain: -However, due to recent findings, reconstructing our memories of past events can lead to distortion and incorrect recall of the correct story. BREWER AND TREYENS1981 Aim: To investigate the role of schema in reconstructive memory of places M: -30 student volunteers go in an office space -one at a time they were placed in an office space that was filled with objects appropriate to an office schema (type writer, desk) but also contained object that did not fit an offiice space -After 35 seconds participants were moved into another room and asked to recall everything they could remember from the office R:-Recall was good for objects expected to fit with an office schema, (such as the desk) but many participants added objects which could be in an office schema, (such as a stapler) but which were not actually present. Interestingly, recall for some incongruent objects such as the skull was also good, but other items like the picnic basket were rarely recalled. C: The results show that people can reconstruct their memories of an office room to remember the items without actually remembering the room itself, which is why they remembered the items LOFTUS AND PALMER 1974 A: to test whether leading questions in eyewitness testimonies would change the estimation of speed M: The participants all watched 7 films of cars crashing (accidents), and independent measures design was used. They were then given a questionnaire asking them to estimate the speed of the cars, except one word was different, instead of using "hit", some said "smashed", "collided" and "bumped" and "contacted" R: Results showed that the estimation of the speed of the cars increased as the severity of the word in the question increased. "Smashed" has the highest average estimate, whereas "contracted" has the lowest. C: The formation of questions could have triggered different schemas within the participants, where the word "smashed" may activate a different schema, causing a distortion in the participant's memory of the accident. This distortion of memory is based on reconstruction so that it is not the actual details of the accident that are remembered but rather what is in line with a cognitive schema of a severe accident. In conclusion, memory of events can be distorted using leading questions. Weakness: -The participants were all students and hence inexperienced drivers hence reducing predictive validity -Lab experiment so low ecological validity -Lacks mundane realism because the videos were not real car crashes hence possibly triggering different schemas which reduces predictive validity.
Discuss methods used to study the interaction between technologies and cognitive processes
Correlational studies use research designs to measure two or more relevant variables between them without the researcher controlling either of them. They aim to find out if there is positive or negative correlation between these two variables and whether they indirectly affect each other. Correlational research can be used when experimental research is not possible because the variables cannot be manipulated or it would be unethical to use and experiment. Correlational designs also have the advantage of allowing the researcher to study behaviour as it occurs in everyday life. Two studies that uses correlational research is Vogel ET al and Chou and Edge VOGEL 2015 sued a correlational study to compare self perception to SCO A: to test two predictions about the use of digital technology with cognition and emotion 1. people with a high SCO will use Facebook more intensely because it allows for increased social comparison. 2. Increased oppurtunities for comparison will cause them to have negative self-esteem and negative moods, M: 2 different experiments 1. 150 undergrads completing a survey which had and SCO measure and multiple questions on how much and how intensely they used Facebook. 2. to investigate the impact of Facebook on low and high SCO individuals's emotions. Ppts broken into 3 groups: 1st group- had to look at the profile of same sex acquaintances they know since high school for 5 min 2nd group-the ppts looked at their own profile for 5 min 3rd group- control- had an unrelated search tast SCO, self esteem, emotional balance and self perception were all monitored. R: 1st experiment- Strong positive correlation between those using Facebook more intensely and having a high SCO 2nd experiment- those with low SCO had no difference in their self esteem or mood in any of the groups. However people with high SCO recorded significantly lower scores for self esteem and self perception after 5 minutes of looking at another persons profile. C: digital technology influence emotion CRITICAL THINKING Positive: Good control over participants effect because of the use of a control group in the second experiment Negative: the study has Correlation but not causation meaning that there is some bidirectional ambiguity, and we can't know for sure if people use facebook because they have a high SCO or if people have a high SCO because they use Facebook. CHOU AND EDGE 2014 Used correlational to compare use of Facebook with their perception of people as the effect of availability bias A: To investigate the influence of the availability heuristic on what Facebook users think of other people, M: -The participants were picked randomly and were all asked to complete a survey which asked questions about how intensely they used Facebook and a series of questions about how they feel about certain statements through a 10 point likert scale such as, "my friends are happier than me". -The amount of time they spent with real world friends they know and online Facebook friends they don't know was also measured R: ppts who used Facebook more were more likely to agree that others were more happy than them. On the other hand, those who spent the most time in the real world were unlikely to agree that people were happier than them C: the results of the study suggest that a more intense use of Facebook and less time spent with real friends in the real world would result in a more negative outlook on their life as ppts who used the social media platform agreed that others were more happier than them. CT for chou and edge: Negatives: Lack of population validity- study just set in America but because culturally individualistic societies have their own way of doing things if you place this study in a collectivist culture like in china for example where people tend to interact with each other on social media but in a collectivist environment it might mean that they see each other in person and interact more alongside interacting on social media so we can assume that thinking and decision making/ emotion/bias in technology might not have a large influence on ppl in china Strength: even though they only got undergraduate students they do differ in some way as they study a range of subjects, we cannot say they are all the same as they may differ in personality Negative CT for both: -The participants are all of a younger generation and are less experienced in general, therefore are not great representatives fo the demographic on Facebook, reducing predictive validity and generalisability. -Both studies use surveys that are self moderated which can lead to a lot of social desirability bias, where people suggest they use Facebook less than they actually do and could influence results.
Discuss the use of one or more methods used in the cognitive approach
Correlational studies use research designs to measure two or more relevant variables between them without the researcher controlling either of them. They aim to find out if there is positive or negative correlation between these two variables and whether they indirectly affect each other. Correlational research can be used when experimental research is not possible because the variables cannot be manipulated or it would be unethical to use and experiment. Correlational designs also have the advantage of allowing the researcher to study behaviour as it occurs in everyday life. Two studies that uses correlational research is Vogel ET al and Chou and Edge VOGEL 2015 sued a correlational study to compare self perception to SCO A: to test two predictions about the use of digital technology with cognition and emotion 1. people with a high SCO will use Facebook more intensely because it allows for increased social comparison. 2. Increased oppurtunities for comparison will cause them to have negative self-esteem and negative moods, M: 2 different experiments 1. 150 undergrads completing a survey which had and SCO measure and multiple questions on how much and how intensely they used Facebook. 2. to investigate the impact of Facebook on low and high SCO individuals's emotions. Ppts broken into 3 groups: 1st group- had to look at the profile of same sex acquaintances they know since high school for 5 min 2nd group-the ppts looked at their own profile for 5 min 3rd group- control- had an unrelated search tast SCO, self esteem, emotional balance and self perception were all monitored. R: 1st experiment- Strong positive correlation between those using Facebook more intensely and having a high SCO 2nd experiment- those with low SCO had no difference in their self esteem or mood in any of the groups. However people with high SCO recorded significantly lower scores for self esteem and self perception after 5 minutes of looking at another persons profile. C: digital technology influence emotion CRITICAL THINKING Positive: Good control over participants effect because of the use of a control group in the second experiment Negative: the study has Correlation but not causation meaning that there is some bidirectional ambiguity, and we can't know for sure if people use facebook because they have a high SCO or if people have a high SCO because they use Facebook. CHOU AND EDGE 2014 Used correlational to compare use of Facebook with their perception of people as the effect of availability bias A: To investigate the influence of the availability heuristic on what Facebook users think of other people, M: -The participants were picked randomly and were all asked to complete a survey which asked questions about how intensely they used Facebook and a series of questions about how they feel about certain statements through a 10 point likert scale such as, "my friends are happier than me". -The amount of time they spent with real world friends they know and online Facebook friends they don't know was also measured R: ppts who used Facebook more were more likely to agree that others were more happy than them. On the other hand, those who spent the most time in the real world were unlikely to agree that people were happier than them C: the results of the study suggest that a more intense use of Facebook and less time spent with real friends in the real world would result in a more negative outlook on their life as ppts who used the social media platform agreed that others were more happier than them. CT for chou and edge: Negatives: Lack of population validity- study just set in America but because culturally individualistic societies have their own way of doing things if you place this study in a collectivist culture like in china for example where people tend to interact with each other on social media but in a collectivist environment it might mean that they see each other in person and interact more alongside interacting on social media so we can assume that thinking and decision making/ emotion/bias in technology might not have a large influence on ppl in china Strength: even though they only got undergraduate students they do differ in some way as they study a range of subjects, we cannot say they are all the same as they may differ in personality Negative CT for both: -The participants are all of a younger generation and are less experienced in general, therefore are not great representatives fo the demographic on Facebook, reducing predictive validity and generalisability. -Both studies use surveys that are self moderated which can lead to a lot of social desirability bias, where people suggest they use Facebook less than they actually do and could influence results.
TWE is memory reconstructive
Define: -Memory is reconstructive to a large extent -Reconstructive memory is a phenomenon that occurs due to schema theory - Schema theory suggest that we reconstruct our memories from cognitive schemas when we need to Describe: -Schemas are units of memory that contain basic information about events, places, things, people or beliefs. Schemas allow us to reconstruct our memories, analyse the world around us and live efficiently. Explain: -However, due to recent findings, reconstructing our memories of past events can lead to distortion and incorrect recall of the correct story. SIG: Studying the reliability of memory can help understand how to maximise our memories efficient, It can also help with eyewitness testimony in courst BREWER AND TREYENS1981 Aim: To investigate the role of schema in reconstructive memory of places M: -30 student volunteers go in an office space -one at a time they were placed in an office space that was filled with objects appropriate to an office schema (type writer, desk) but also contained object that did not fit an offiice space -After 35 seconds participants were moved into another room and asked to recall everything they could remember from the office R:-Recall was good for objects expected to fit with an office schema, (such as the desk) but many participants added objects which could be in an office schema, (such as a stapler) but which were not actually present. Interestingly, recall for some incongruent objects such as the skull was also good, but other items like the picnic basket were rarely recalled. C: The results show that people can reconstruct their memories of an office room to remember the items without actually remembering the room itself, which is why they remembered the items LOFTUS AND PALMER 1974 A: to test whether leading questions in eyewitness testimonies would change the estimation of speed M: The participants all watched 7 films of cars crashing (accidents), and independent measures design was used. They were then given a questionnaire asking them to estimate the speed of the cars, except one word was different, instead of using "hit", some said "smashed", "collided" and "bumped" and "contacted" R: Results showed that the estimation of the speed of the cars increased as the severity of the word in the question increased. "Smashed" has the highest average estimate, whereas "contracted" has the lowest. C: The formation of questions could have triggered different schemas within the participants, where the word "smashed" may activate a different schema, causing a distortion in the participant's memory of the accident. This distortion of memory is based on reconstruction so that it is not the actual details of the accident that are remembered but rather what is in line with a cognitive schema of a severe accident. In conclusion, memory of events can be distorted using leading questions. Weakness: -The participants were all students and hence inexperienced drivers hence reducing predictive validity -Lab experiment so low ecological validity -Lacks mundane realism because the videos were not real car crashes hence possibly triggering different schemas which reduces predictive validity.
Discuss one model of thinking and decision making
Define: -Thinking and decision making are one of the many cognitive processes that humans have -Being such a broad and complex cognitive process, models are used to simplify the understanding of it, One early model of thinking and decision making is the Dual process model Describe: Dual process model - suggests that there are two ways we make decisions: Rational and intuitive Rational: Slow, motor accurate mode of thinking which produces a lower level of certainty but is usually correct Intuitive: quick, efficient and fast way of thinking that generally saves time and is what we mostly use in our daily lives. Usually begins with an assumption or heuristic which is then used to make decisions about situations in our lives, until an experience proves that the assumption is wrong. Define: -Thinking and decision making are one of the many cognitive processes that humans have -Being such a broad and complex cognitive process, models are used to simplify the understanding of it, One early model of thinking and decision making is the Dual process model Describe: Dual process model - suggests that there are two ways we make decisions: Rational and intuitive Rational: Slow, motor accurate mode of thinking which produces a lower level of certainty but is usually correct Explain -Rational- low certitude but reliable -Intuitive- quick but prone to making errors which may have greater consequences as intuitive has a higher feeling of certitude SIG: -Some people for example students have some big decisions to make. it is useful to understand factors which might influence our decision making without us realising, especially if these factors could influence the quality of our decisions. KVARAN ET AL A: to demonstrate system one and two thinking as distinct models of thinking and decision making M: Participants randomly allocated 3 conditions 1. Experimental- primed to think intuitively 2.Analytic condition- primed to think rationally 3. Control group- no priming -Participants were all given a moral dilemma and had to answer either yes or no (yes being the obvious answer because it is morally correct) Results: Ppts in analytic groups were more likely to say yes. Ones in experimental were likely to say no. Control group was about the same as the experimental group. S: Strong study, clear casual relationship emphasised by the control of extraneous variables W: -Could be participant effects, even though participants were primed to think a certain way they could have chosen the morally right answer to look good. Link: Despite having a high rate of accuracy both modes of thinking are very prone to cognitive biases. Intuitive thinking begins with heuristic and and so does bias. One bias in anchoring bias where one uses the first information given to them as an "anchor" to base further decisions. TVERSKY AND KAHNEMAN A: To investigate the influence of anchors bias in estimating math problems M: PPts were split into two groups, ascending and descending (mention numbers 1x.......x8 and 8x.......1) and were asked to estimate the value of the problem in 5 seconds. ascending group would use 1 as the anchor and the descending group would use 8. R: results showed a significantly higher estimate for th descending group C: in conclusion despite the accuracy and certitude of intuitive thinking, there are still fallacies and anchoring Bias is one of the many drawbacks of it S: -Simple experiment and easy to replicate hence high reliability - high internal validity as no room for ppts effects or extreneous variables W: -Lacks mundane realism as the experimental conditions are extremely artificial and resemble no real life experience even remotely. This reduces the real life applicability of the results
Discuss one bias in thinking and decision making
Define: -Thinking and decision making are one of the many cognitive processes that humans have however they are prone to biases, this can be described through intuitive thinking and anchoring bias -Being such a broad and complex cognitive process, models are used to simplify the understanding of it, One early model of thinking and decision making is the Dual process model Describe: Dual process model - suggests that there are two ways we make decisions: Rational and intuitive Rational: Slow, motor accurate mode of thinking which produces a lower level of certainty but is usually correct Intuitive: quick, efficient and fast way of thinking that generally saves time and is what we mostly use in our daily lives. Usually begins with an assumption or heuristic which is then used to make decisions about situations in our lives, until an experience proves that the assumption is wrong. Explain -Rational- low certitude but reliable -Intuitive- quick but prone to making errors which may have greater consequences as intuitive has a higher feeling of certitude SIG: -Some people for example students have some big decisions to make. it is useful to understand factors which might influence our decision making without us realising, especially if these factors could influence the quality of our decisions. KVARAN ET AL A: to demonstrate system one and two thinking as distinct models of thinking and decision making M: Participants randomly allocated 3 conditions 1. Experimental- primed to think intuitively 2.Analytic condition- primed to think rationally 3. Control group- no priming -Participants were all given a moral dilemma and had to answer either yes or no (yes being the obvious answer because it is morally correct) Results: Ppts in analytic groups were more likely to say yes. Ones in experimental were likely to say no. Control group was about the same as the experimental group. S: Strong study, clear casual relationship emphasised by the control of extraneous variables W: -Could be participant effects, even though participants were primed to think a certain way they could have chosen the morally right answer to look good. Link: Despite having a high rate of accuracy both modes of thinking are very prone to cognitive biases. Intuitive thinking begins with heuristic and and so does bias. One bias in anchoring bias where one uses the first information given to them as an "anchor" to base further decisions. TVERSKY AND KAHNEMAN A: To investigate the influence of anchors bias in estimating math problems M: PPts were split into two groups, ascending and descending (mention numbers 1x.......x8 and 8x.......1) and were asked to estimate the value of the problem in 5 seconds. ascending group would use 1 as the anchor and the descending group would use 8. R: results showed a significantly higher estimate for the descending group C: in conclusion despite the accuracy and certitude of intuitive thinking, there are still fallacies and anchoring Bias is one of the many drawbacks of it S: -Simple experiment and easy to replicate hence high reliability - high internal validity as no room for ppts effects or extreneous variables W: -Lacks mundane realism as the experimental conditions are extremely artificial and resemble no real life experience even remotely. This reduces the real life applicability of the results
Discuss Schema Theory
Define: -based upon the concept of cognitive schemas -Cognitive schemas are units of memory that contain basic information about beliefs, people, thing or places. Describe: Schemas are used for 3 things: 1. Social Cognition 2. Interpreting events around us and predicting behavior 3. Reconstructing memory Explain: -Using schemas to reconstruct memory means that the brain can store less information about or day to day lives. -This efficiency is good because: Information in our daily lives are not high value, schemas are usually right, when they are wrong consequences are usually minimal Sig: Schema theory plays an important role in explaining how our memory works as well as an explanation for why our memories aren't an accurate record BREWER AND TREYENS 1981 Aim: To investigate the role of schema in reconstructive memory of places M: -30 student volunteers go in an office space- one at a time -They were placed in an office space that was filled with objects appropriate to an office schema (type writer, desk) but also contained object that did not fit an offiice space -After 35 seconds participants were moved into another room and asked to recall everything they could remember from the office R:-Recall was good for objects expected to fit with an office schema, (such as the desk) but many participants added objects which could be in an office schema, (such as a stapler) but which were not actually present. Interestingly, recall for some incongruent objects such as the skull was also good, but other items like the picnic basket were rarely recalled. C: The study demonstrates how our schemas- like an office schema help to identify and understand a office place and predict what we will find in it. STRENGTH: Good control of extraneous variables and also the use of multiple mediums of answering= causal relationship WEAKNESS: Deception and lack of mundane realism reduces predictive validity and trustability LOFTUS AND PALMER 1974 A: wanted to see the role of leading questions in influencing the memories of eyewitnesses. M: -ppts were shown 7 car crash films between 5-30 sec and given questions asking to estimate speed of car, critical word of 'hit' changed between each film to words "bumped" "contacted" "collided" "smashed" R: highest estimation of speed when given "smashed" and lowest with "contacted" C: -ppts referenced different schemas based on the critical word, hence causing a different estimation. - The distortion of memory is based on reconstruction so that it is not the actual etails of the incident that are remembered but rather what is in line with a cognitive schema of a severe accident. -In conclusion, memory of events can be distorted using leading questions. Weakness: -The participants were all students and hence inexperienced drivers hence reducing predictive validity -Lab experiment so low ecological validity -Lacks mundane realism because the videos were not real car crashes hence possibly triggering different schemas which reduces predictive validity.
Discuss Cognitive Processing
Define: - Cognitive processes are high order functions that our brain carries out including memory, problem solving and planning, decision making -The most important cognitive process, memory has been debated in its reliability. -Many believe its an accurate record but recent psychology has suggested otherwise Describe: -Schema theory suggests that we reconstruct our memories from cognitive schemas, when we need to, -Schemas are a unit of memory that contain basic information about events, places, things, people or beliefs. Explain: -Schemas allow us to reconstruct our memories, analyse the world around us and live efficiently. -However due to recent findings reconstructing our memories of past events can lead to distortion and incorrect or incomplete recall of the story Significance: -Studying the reliability of memory can help understand how to maximise our memory's efficiency. It can help for example eye witness testimony in court and students taking exams. Studies: BREWER AND TREYENS 1981 A: to investigate schemas on reconstructing memories of places M: -30 student volunteers go in an office space- one at a time-They were placed in an office space that was filled with objects appropriate to an office schema (type writer, desk) but also contained object that did not fit an offiice space -After 35 seconds participants were moved into another room and asked to recall everything they could remember from the office R: -Recall was good for objects expected to fit with an office schema, (such as the desk) but many participants added objects which could be in an office schema, (such as a stapler) but which were not actually present. Interestingly, recall for some incongruent objects such as the skull was also good, but other items like the picnic basket were rarely recalled. C- shows how our schemas- like an office schema help to identify and understand an office place and predict what we will find in it Critical thinking: STRENGTH: The study had a control over the variables and prevented participant effects WEAKNESS: Low mundane realism and deception through omission as participants did not know they were meant to observe the office. however, (COST BENEFIT ANLAYSIS) by knowing they were meant to memorise objects in rooms may effect the results so this can outweigh the ethical cost. TRANSITION: Brewer and Treyens investigated it from a memory side, whereas Loftus and Palmer are doing it from an Eyewitness point of view. 2nd Study: LOFTUS AND PALMER A: to test whether leading questions in eyewitness testimonies would change the estimation of speed M: The participants all watched 7 films of cars crashing (accidents), and independent measures design was used. They were then given a questionnaire asking them to estimate the speed of the cars, except one word was different, instead of using "hit", some said "smashed", "collided" and "bumped" and "contacted" R: Results showed that the estimation of the speed of the cars increased as the severity of the word in the question increased. "Smashed" has the highest average estimate, whereas "contracted" has the lowest. C: The formation of questions could have triggered different schemas within the participants, where the word "smashed" may activate a different schema, causing a distortion in the participant's memory of the accident. This distortion of memory is based on reconstruction so that it is not the actual details of the accident that are remembered but rather what is in line with a cognitive schema of a severe accident. In conclusion, memory of events can be distorted using leading questions. Weakness: -The participants were all students and hence inexperienced drivers hence reducing predictive validity -Lab experiment so low ecological validity -Lacks mundane realism because the videos were not real car crashes hence possibly triggering different schemas which reduces predictive validity.
Discuss the influence of technology on Cognitive Processing
Digital technology can influence Cognitive processing through our thinking and decision making. Internet services such as google and YouTube hold huge amounts of information that are easily at our finger tips Define: -Thinking and decision making are one of the many cognitive processes that humans have -Being such a broad and complex cognitive process, models are used to simplify the understanding of it, One early model of thinking and decision making is the Dual process model Describe: Dual process model - suggests that there are two ways we make decisions: Rational and intuitive Rational: Slow, motor accurate mode of thinking which produces a lower level of certainty but is usually correct Intuitive: quick, efficient and fast way of thinking that generally saves time and is what we mostly use in our daily lives. Usually begins with an assumption or heuristic which is then used to make decisions about situations in our lives, until an experience proves that the assumption is wrong. Define: - As we process vast amounts of information everyday we usually use system 1 thinking (rational) this also applies in our use of digital technology and because of this we are more prone to bias for example availability bias where we will tend to use the first amount of information given to us on social media and this can influence our thinking and decision making VOGEL 2015 A: to test two predictions about the use of digital technology with cognition and emotion 1. people with a high SCO will use Facebook more intensely because it allows for increased social comparison. 2. Increased oppurtunities for comparison will cause them to have negative self-esteem and negative moods, M: 2 different experiments 1. 150 undergrads completing a survey which had and SCO measure and multiple questions on how much and how intensely they used Facebook. 2. to investigate the impact of Facebook on low and high SCO individuals's emotions. Ppts broken into 3 groups: 1st group- had to look at the profile of same sex acquaintances they know since high school for 5 min 2nd group-the ppts looked at their own profile for 5 min 3rd group- control- had an unrelated search tast SCO, self esteem, emotional balance and self perception were all monitored. R: 1st experiment- Strong positive correlation between those using Facebook more intensely and having a high SCO 2nd experiment- those with low SCO had no difference in their self esteem or mood in any of the groups. However people with high SCO recorded significantly lower scores for self esteem and self perception after 5 minutes of looking at another persons profile. C: digital technology influence emotion CRITICAL THINKING Positive: Good control over participants effect because of the use of a control group in the second experiment Negative: the study has Correlation but not causation meaning that there is some bidirectional ambiguity, and we can't know for sure if people use facebook because they have a high SCO or if people have a high SCO because they use Facebook. INTERMISSIONS: It is also believed that the availability heuristic is involved in the influence of social media on thinking and decision making, that is people are often basing their self esteem on the things they can readily member which are often the most extreme. CHOU AND EDGE 2014 A: To investigate the influence of the availability heuristic on what Facebook users think of other people, M: -The participants were picked randomly and were all asked to complete a survey which asked questions about how intensely they used Facebook and a series of questions about how they feel about certain statements through a 10 point likert scale such as, "my friends are happier than me". -The amount of time they spent with real world friends they know and online Facebook friends they don't know was also measured R: ppts who used Facebook more were more likely to agree that others were more happy than them. On the other hand, those who spent the most time in the real world were unlikely to agree that people were happier than them C: the results of the study suggest that a more intense use of Facebook and less time spent with real friends in the real world would result in a more negative outlook on their life as ppts who used the social media platform agreed that others were more happier than them. CT for chou and edge: Negatives: Lack of population validity- study just set in America but because culturally individualistic societies have their own way of doing things if you place this study in a collectivist culture like in china for example where people tend to interact with each other on social media but in a collectivist environment it might mean that they see each other in person and interact more alongside interacting on social media so we can assume that thinking and decision making/ emotion/bias in technology might not have a large influence on ppl in china Strength: even though they only got undergraduate students they do differ in some way as they study a range of subjects, we cannot say they are all the same as they may differ in personality Negative CT for both: -The participants are all of a younger generation and are less experienced in general, therefore are not great representatives fo the demographic on Facebook, reducing predictive validity and generalisability. -Both studies use surveys that are self moderated which can lead to a lot of social desirability bias, where people suggest they use Facebook less than they actually do and could influence results.
Discuss the influence of technology on the reliability of cognitive processing
Digital technology can influence the reliability of our Cognitive processing through biases when thinking and decision making. Internet services such as google and YouTube hold huge amounts of information that are easily at our finger tips Define: -Thinking and decision making are one of the many cognitive processes that humans have -Being such a broad and complex cognitive process, models are used to simplify the understanding of it, One early model of thinking and decision making is the Dual process model Describe: Dual process model - suggests that there are two ways we make decisions: Rational and intuitive Rational: Slow, motor accurate mode of thinking which produces a lower level of certainty but is usually correct Intuitive: quick, efficient and fast way of thinking that generally saves time and is what we mostly use in our daily lives. Usually begins with an assumption or heuristic which is then used to make decisions about situations in our lives, until an experience proves that the assumption is wrong. Define: -When we use system 1 thinking we are prone to biases. When technology came out it seemed to have made this problem worse because people began to rely on an external source, since we are more likely to use system 1 thinking on social media we can fall into he trap of biases one for example being Availability bias where we are more likely to believe that what we may see on social media is the truth. VOGEL 2015 A: to test two predictions about the use of digital technology with cognition and emotion 1. people with a high SCO will use Facebook more intensely because it allows for increased social comparison. 2. Increased oppurtunities for comparison will cause them to have negative self-esteem and negative moods, M: 2 different experiments 1. 150 undergrads completing a survey which had and SCO measure and multiple questions on how much and how intensely they used Facebook. 2. to investigate the impact of Facebook on low and high SCO individuals's emotions. Ppts broken into 3 groups: 1st group- had to look at the profile of same sex acquaintances they know since high school for 5 min 2nd group-the ppts looked at their own profile for 5 min 3rd group- control- had an unrelated search tast SCO, self esteem, emotional balance and self perception were all monitored. R: 1st experiment- Strong positive correlation between those using Facebook more intensely and having a high SCO 2nd experiment- those with low SCO had no difference in their self esteem or mood in any of the groups. However people with high SCO recorded significantly lower scores for self esteem and self perception after 5 minutes of looking at another persons profile. C: digital technology influence emotion CRITICAL THINKING Positive: Good control over participants effect because of the use of a control group in the second experiment Negative: the study has Correlation but not causation meaning that there is some bidirectional ambiguity, and we can't know for sure if people use facebook because they have a high SCO or if people have a high SCO because they use Facebook. INTERMISSIONS: It is also believed that the availability bias is involved in the influence of social media on thinking and decision making, that is people are often basing their self esteem on the things they can readily member which are often the most extreme. CHOU AND EDGE 2014 A: To investigate the influence of the availability heuristic on what Facebook users think of other people, M: -The participants were picked randomly and were all asked to complete a survey which asked questions about how intensely they used Facebook and a series of questions about how they feel about certain statements through a 10 point likert scale such as, "my friends are happier than me". -The amount of time they spent with real world friends they know and online Facebook friends they don't know was also measured R: ppts who used Facebook more were more likely to agree that others were more happy than them. On the other hand, those who spent the most time in the real world were unlikely to agree that people were happier than them C: the results of the study suggest that a more intense use of Facebook and less time spent with real friends in the real world would result in a more negative outlook on their life as ppts who used the social media platform agreed that others were more happier than them. CT for chou and edge: Negatives: Lack of population validity- study just set in America but because culturally individualistic societies have their own way of doing things if you place this study in a collectivist culture like in china for example where people tend to interact with each other on social media but in a collectivist environment it might mean that they see each other in person and interact more alongside interacting on social media which reduces the chance of availability bias to take its effect so we can assume that thinking and decision making/ emotion/bias in technology might not have a large influence on ppl in china Strength: even though they only got undergraduate students they do differ in some way as they study a range of subjects, we cannot say they are all the same as they may differ in personality Negative CT for both: -The participants are all of a younger generation and are less experienced in general, therefore are not great representatives fo the demographic on Facebook, reducing predictive validity and generalisability. -Both studies use surveys that are self moderated which can lead to a lot of social desirability bias, where people suggest they use Facebook less than they actually do and could influence results.
TWE does emotion influence cognition/ Discuss the influence of emotion on cognitive processes
Emotion influence cognition to a large extent. Amongst the cognitive processes that humans have, emotion can influence a lot of them, especially memory and decision making. It is possible that strong emotional responses could improve the reliability and duration of memory, Some people remember dramatic events with every detail even though it happened a decade ago. Additionally it is important to understand how emotions influence cognition as it can help people understand the reliability of their memories when undergoing emotional events. According to brown and Kulik's Flashbulb memory theory, intense emotions associated with events that are unexpected and particularly significant to the individual could trigger a special mechanism adding an intense emotional component to the memory. This extra component could therefore change the way the information is stored, making it more durable more detailed and more accurate. Describe: Flashbulb memory consists of Two components: 1 -Element of surprise - researchers proposed "special mechanism" hypothesis that suggested biological factors that led to the creations of these memories although they did not know what these mechanisms were 2- Event had to have personal meaning for the person- if there was the combination of a strong emotional response based on surprise and personal meaning then the result is a flashbulb memory CAHILL ET AL A: To test the impact of a beta blocker (which blocks adrenaline receptors) on memory for emotional stimuli M:-Follow up study where 35 ppts were either given a placebo (15) or propanol (20). Propanol is a beta blocker that blocks adrenaline receptors before seeing slides with either the neutral or emotional version of a story R: ppts taking placebo demonstrated much better recall for the emotional story compared to the neutral story. ppts taking propanol demonstrated no improvement for recall in the emotional story compared to the neutral storyppts in all four conditions reported the same subjective sense of emotional engagement with different versions of the story C: the study demonstrated that the participants who received a placebo when hearing the emotional story it triggered a special type of encoding that allowed them the remember more correct details, therefore supporting Flashbulb memory. This was stopped in the beta-blocker condition because it acted as an antagonist and didn't allow the amygdala to go through its special encoding mechanism CRITICAL THINKING for cahill: Low ecological validity and mundane realism, not only was it done in a lab but they were asked to memorise a story which is completely random and an artificial way to test memory. Positive: Lack of demand characteristics- didn't tell them that they need to memorise a study TALARICO AND RUBIN 2003 A: To investigate the durability, accuracy and vividness of flashbulb memories. M: Around 50 students from a university were interviews the day after the 9/11 attacks on New York and were asked to record details about how and when they heard the news. the ppts were divided into 3 groups who all received a follow up interview asking the same questions: Group 1: recalled their memories 7 days after Group 2: 42 days Group 3: 224 days R: There was a steady decline in the details remembered as time passed, but the perceived vividness of the flashbulb memory was significantly higher than that of everyday memory -Furthermore, the vulnerability of both types of memory to distortion was the dame as over time, the participants remembered different details about the event C: The study suggests that flashbulbs memories are special in some way and that they are remembered as more vivid than normal memories despite having the same vulnerability to distortion and decay. CT: Positives: - strong study as it shows how flashbulb memories are different from every day memories. - High ecological validity after doing it with an actual event Negatives: -Results contradict the statements made by flashbulb memory theory that the memories are more durable and accurate because in the experiment they decayed over time.
Discuss one or more models of memory
Memory is a complex cognitive process that psychologists have been studying for years. In order to simplify the complexity, psychologists use models. An early model of memory developed was called the multi store model of memory developed by atkinsons and shriffin in the 1970s. A later model is memory created was the working model of memory, an extension to the Multi store model. Sig: it is important to test the claims that human processing may be similar to that found in computers. This assumption can be described as 'mechanistic reductionism' - reducing the complex processing in the brain to simpler processing found in a machine MULTI STORE MODEL The multi store model of memory developed by Atkinson and shriffin first to suggest that there are 3 stores of memory in the human brain Describe: -argues that we are bombarded with stimuli that paid attention to they pass through sensory and short term memory -the capacity of short term memory is assumed to be limited to around 7 items (7+/-2) and its duration is normally about 6-18 seconds but with rehearsal it may stay in stm for up to 30 seconds -This information is held until other information displaces it or if we rehearse it it is moved to long term memory -when we remember something we are moving that information from long term memory to short term memory in order to be used Explain: THE SERIAL POSITION CURVE :-Suggests we are likely to remember the first information given to us (primacy effect) and the most recent information (recency effect) given to us and forget the information given in the middle. GLANZER AND CUNITZ A:to test the multistore model explanations for the occurrence of the serial position curved M: - 2 separate studies -one where the participants were asked to recall a list of 20 words where the words were recited with a different time gap between them (3,6,9s_- seconds where ppts were asked to recall a list of 20 words with a time gap at the end of the reciting before the recalling (0,10,30s). The participants all participated in both studies R: the results showed there was a clear increase in the primacy effect when the gap between each word increased (6 seconds and 9 seconds), and in the second study the recency effect was significantly reduced the longer the delay was between the end of the list and recall. C: in conclusion the study demonstrates how the MSM works. CT: -great control of extraneous variables allows us to accurately suggest that the IV has and effect on the DV Negative: -Lacks mundane realism, the tasks aren't a real reflection of how memory works and therefore reduces predictive validity THE WORKING MEMORY MODEL Define: -The WMM is an extension to the MSM developed by Atkinson and shriffin. It elaborated the STM of the MSM and suggests that it has multiple parts and areas responsible for the different aspects of the STM called "slave systems" Describe: -Central executive as control for all the systems -Phonological loop for all hearing and speaking related information, consists of the phonological store and the articulacy store. The articulacy control holds verbal information and the phonological store holds auditory memory traces. -The visual spatial sketchpad for visual information and manipulation -The episodic temporarily holds several sources of information active and the same time, whole you consider what is needed in the present situation. This means auditory and visual information together swell as information for LTM. PALESU ET AL A: To investigate neural correlates for the phonological store and the Articulatory store M: all the participants participated in 2 tasks, one where the participants had a second to decide if a letter rhymed with B, which only involved the articulatory store. The second task involved the participants having to memorise a string of letters then deciding if any of them Rhyme with B, utilising both the articulatory store and the phonological store. -The ppts were all PET scanned during the tasks R: The results show that the rhyming only task caused an increased in the Brodmann's area 44, which correlates with he articulatory store, and the rhyming and memory task caused an increase in Brodmann's area 44 and the supra marginal gyro which correlates with he phonological story C: in conclusion this is how the WMM works and that it is plausible because the areas correlated with their respective areas in the brain suggesting that the memory has multiple stores in the STM CT: -Correltional study so no definitive casual relationship -However, they did find areas in the brain that may be corresponding with the WMM -Also lacks mundane realism with the tasks and ecological validity which influence participants ability to recall and compare within their minds.
Discuss one or more ethical considerations raised by the cognitive approach
P1: Define: -Ethical considerations are an important part of the design of any study. -The cognitive approach studies mental processes such as memory and how emotion may effect this -Studies do this by Manipulating people's memories - or challenging their memories - may have a negative effect on their self-esteem or self-confidence. -However through these studies even though ethical considerations may have been raised we have learnt a lot about the cognitive approach Describe: One ethical consideration raised while discussing emotion and cognition is protecting from harm - it is essential that participants are not put at any additional risk to physical or psychological harm -participants should leave in the same condition they arrived in Sig: -Ethical considerations are put in place because psychology is studied to improve our understanding of others and develop useful strategies for a higher quality of life, harming participants is not part of this vision STUDY 1: TALARICO AND RUBIN A: To test the durability, accuracy, and vividness of flashbulb memories M: -54 students at duke university the day after 9/11 asked to record details about how and when they heard the news -Divided into 3 groups of 18. Follow up sessions asking to recall what they recited (group 1 is 7 days, group 2 is 42 days and group 3 is 224 days after) R: -The marked decrease over time in the number of details remembered correctly -Marked increase of the number of inconsistent details while recallling Critical Thinking: Cost: This ethical consideration was raised because could heighten the effect of long term emotional harm in the participants- reminding them off a traumatic event Benefit: Consideration is likely breached because is more unethical to stimulate emotion in participants in the lab Benefit: Potentially makes it more realistic by increasing mundane realism because the task was a real world event EXPLANATION 2: -The ethical consideration of protection from harm is also demonstrated in Cahill et all CAHILL ET ALL A: To test the impact of a beta blocker on memory for emotional stimuli M: in the follow up study 35 volunteers 15 given placebo 20 proponal. Proposal is the beta blocker that blocks adrenaline receptors Participants were then given either a neutral or emotional version of the same story then asked to recall R: participants taking placebo demonstrated better recall for emotional storu Participants taking propanol demonstrated no improvement in recall for the emotional story compared to the neutral story. Ethical P: the study complies to protection from harm by using propanalol which leaves the system quickly. N: Low ecological validity and mundane realism Comparison: Talarico and rubin- Doesn't protect from long term harm where as Cahill does Talarico and Rubin has high ecological validity and mundane realism where as Cahill does not
Ethics on emotion and cognition
P1: Define: -Ethical considerations are an important part of the design of any study. -The cognitive approach studies mental processes such as memory and how emotion may effect this -Studies do this by Manipulating people's memories - or challenging their memories - may have a negative effect on their self-esteem or self-confidence. -However through these studies even though ethical considerations may have been raised we have learnt a lot about the cognitive approach Describe: One ethical consideration raised while discussing emotion and cognition is protecting from harm - it is essential that participants are not put at any additional risk to physical or psychological harm -participants should leave in the same condition they arrived in Sig: -Ethical considerations are put in place because psychology is studied to improve our understanding of others and develop useful strategies for a higher quality of life, harming participants is not part of this vision STUDY 1: TALARICO AND RUBIN A: To test the durability, accuracy, and vividness of flashbulb memories M: -54 students at duke university the day after 9/11 asked to record details about how and when they heard the news -Divided into 3 groups of 18. Follow up sessions asking to recall what they recited (group 1 is 7 days, group 2 is 42 days and group 3 is 224 days after) R: -The marked decrease over time in the number of details remembered correctly -Marked increase of the number of inconsistent details while recallling Critical Thinking: Cost: This ethical consideration was raised because could heighten the effect of long term emotional harm in the participants- reminding them off a traumatic event Benefit: Consideration is likely breached because is more unethical to stimulate emotion in participants in the lab Benefit: Potentially makes it more realistic by increasing mundane realism because the task was a real world event EXPLANATION 2: -The ethical consideration of protection from harm is also demonstrated in Cahill et all CAHILL ET ALL A: To test the impact of a beta blocker on memory for emotional stimuli M: in the follow up study 35 volunteers 15 given placebo 20 proponal. Proposal is the beta blocker that blocks adrenaline receptors Participants were then given either a neutral or emotional version of the same story then asked to recall R: participants taking placebo demonstrated better recall for emotional storu Participants taking propanol demonstrated no improvement in recall for the emotional story compared to the neutral story. Ethical P: the study complies to protection from harm by using propanalol which leaves the system quickly. N: Low ecological validity and mundane realism Comparison: Talarico and rubin- Doesn't protect from long term harm where as Cahill does Talarico and Rubin has high ecological validity and mundane realism where as Cahill does not
