The Cognitive Level of Analysis

Black Box

Stimulus/input

Response/behaviour/output

As we take notes…

• An image will be handed around the class from desk to desk.

• You are to copy the image as best you can• Then pass you copy to the person behind you

(or up to the top of the row as the case may be)• Do NOT let other people see your images• Keep the image passed to you – I will collect

them at the end of class.

Cognition

• Cognition – all the mental structures and processes involved in the reception storage and use of knowledge.

• Includes:• Attention• Perception• Memory• Decision-making• Problem solving• Language

Brain-mind parallels

• Brain – hardware• Mind – software• Both receive information (input) process it in a

number of steps and deliver some output• Cognitive Psychology – aims to study how

information changes as it advances through the various stages through scientific methods

How can something that is unobservable be scientifically measured?

• Behaviourism – Watson - a reaction to the non-observable dilemma in cognitive psychology, only observed behaviour as an indicator of cognitive states – rejected cognitive studies

• Classical conditioning – Pavlov – Learning process in which a naturally occurring stimulus is paired with a neutral stimulus in evoking a response. The previously neutral stimulus will generate the response without the presence of the natural stimulus.

• Operant conditioning – Skinner- The learning process through which the consequence of an operant response affects the likelihood that the response will be produced again in the future. Also called instrumental conditioning

Learning as cognition

• Associative learning – the creation of associations between stimuli or behaviour and consequences

• Observational learning – Bandura – associative learning occurs through observation of others

• Each of these is an attempt to discover the thinking process of an observed subject – cognitive psychology

• World Wars I and II showed that conditioning was not sufficient in training troops for their roles in combat or support. The types of decisions required for more complex learning to occur.

Cognitive psychology

• Psychologists began to view cognition as a communication channel with limited capacity – led to the computer model of human cognition.

• Thinking could be discovered by inferring information processing models to interpret observable behaviours. Cognitive psychology was born.

Principles of the Cognitive Level of Analysis

• Learning outcomes:• Outline principles that define the cognitive

level of analysis• Explain how principles that define the

cognitive level of analysis may be demonstrated in research

Key assumptions of the cognitive level:

• 1) Mental processes can and should be studied scientifically

• 2) Mental representations guide behaviour

Mental processes can and should be studied scientifically

• Viewing mental processes in terms of information processing has made it possible to formulate testable theories about unobservable cognitive structures and processes.

• Such models and theories can be tested by conventional scientific methods – not relying on introspective methods

• The study of mental processes has enabled psychologists to study important psychological phenomena that behaviourism found difficult to address

• The application of modern scientific observation methods such as MRI and fMRI have enabled more scientific observation of cognition

• Studying at the cognitive level can be triangulated with the biological and socio-cultural levels for a more comprehensive explanation of phenomena

Mental representations guide behaviour

• There are cognitive mediators that intervene and process stimuli between input and response.

• This processing is affected by the way the world is represented in our memories

• Schemas – cognitive structures that organize our knowledge of objects, events, ourselves, and others.

• We use these schemas to confront reality with some stored knowledge and preconceived patterns for interpretation.

War of the ghostsOne night two young men from Egulac went down to the river to hunt seals and while they were there it became foggy and calm. Then they heard war-cries, and they thought: "Maybe this is a war-party". They escaped to the shore, and hid behind a log. Now canoes came up, and they heard the noise of paddles, and saw one canoe coming up to them. There were five men in the canoe, and they said: "What do you think? We wish to take you along. We are going up the river to make war on the people." One of the young men said,"I have no arrows." "Arrows are in the canoe," they said. I will not go along. I might be killed. My relatives do not know where I have gone. But you," he said,turning to the other, "may go with them." So one of the young men went, but the other returned home. And the warriors went on up the river to a town on the other side of Kalama. The people came down tothe water and they began to fight, and many were killed. But presently the young man heard one of the warriors say, "Quick, let us go home: that Indian has been hit." Now he thought: "Oh, they are ghosts.“He did not feel sick, but they said he had been shot. So the canoes went back to Egulac and the young man went ashore to his house and made a fire. And he told everybody and said: "Behold I accompanied the ghosts, and we went to fight. Many of our fellows were killed, and many of those who attacked us were killed. They said I was hit, and I did not feel sick." He told it all, and then he became quiet. When the sun rose he fell down. Something black came out of his mouth. His face became contorted. The people jumped up and cried. He was dead.

Schema Theory• Schema Theory – new encounters with the world are rarely actually new.

Instead, the way we process information at any particular moment or the way we act in specific settings is determined by relevant previous knowledge and stored in our memories in the form of schemas.

• Scripts – schemas that provide information about the sequence of events that occur in a more or less unchanging order in particular contexts.

• Self-schemas – schemas that organize information we hold about ourselves. i.e. memories that tell us about our weaknesses and strengths

• Social schemas – (eg. Stereotypes) schemas that prepare our experiences with information representing generalized groups or types of people.

Bartlett (1932)

• Participants heard an unfamiliar North American folk tale

• Afterwards, they were asked to retell the story many times

• The recalled story was distorted in a number of ways; specifically alterations and omissions, changes in length and words

• The retelling of the story was influenced by the participants’ personal cultural background

What is a schema?

• An organized mental representation of information about the world, events or people, stored in long term memory

• Does not have a physical existence (but may be related to the organization of neurons in the brain)

What is schema theory?

• The term schema was first used by Jean Piaget in 1926. (but there have been many with similar ideas before him)

• Explains how people develop ideas from simple ideas into complex ones

• Schemas are formed and revised by relating experiences to each other

The construction of schemas according to Jean Piaget

• We try to understand a new or different object or concept by using one of our pre-existing schemas

• During assimilation, we try to fit new objects into existing schemas (a type of recognition, it provides us with comfort and security)

• During accommodation, we change our schemas to fit the characteristics of a new object (learning)

Schema activity

1. A child sees a chihuahua for the first time and incorporates it into his schema of a dog. Is this an example of assimilation or accommodation?

2. A child calls a cat a dog because it has four legs but is corrected. Is this an example of assimilation or accommodation?

Characteristics of schema• Consists of concepts that

are related to each other• Encodes general knowledge

that can be applied to many different situations

• Can be hierarchical, i.e. consist of sub-schemata/different levels

• Is unprincipled, i.e. can be organized in infinite ways

Hierarchical Schema

Procedure Schema

Going skiing

Go to mountains

Put on down jacket

Buy lift ticket

Ski down slope

Drink hot chocolate

Activity 2

1. Create a mind map about a concept of your own choice. Organize it thematically around one theme. Then create a hierarchical mind map, going from the general topic to the specific. Which of the mind maps do you prefer?

2. Procedure schemas are schemas for certain skills or events. Create a schema for events that happen when you are visiting a restaurant

Compare your schemas…

• How can two schemas be different? Account for these divergent formations

• How can two different schemas lead to conflicts or other difficulties?

What does schemas do?

• They guide our behaviour

• They predict likely happenings

• They help us to make sense of current experiences

• They help us to adapt to changing environments

What does schemas do?

• They allow us to form expectations about situations, the world and people

• They simplify reality• They organise our

knowledge and assist recall

Memory and Cognition

Visual Memory

• Try to remember as many of the following objects as possible.

Primacy and Recency

• Once you have viewed the last number, try to write them out in order.

6

15

12

7

3

9

10

2

1

5

4

14

8

11

13

Here is the total sequence• 6• 15• 12• 7• 3• 9• 10• 2• 1• 5• 4• 14• 8• 11• 13

Grouping

• Read and memorize the words on list 1• List 1: • read, pages, letters, school, study, reading,

stories, sheets, cover, pen, pencil, magazine, paper, words

• How many words on list 1 appear in list 2?• List 2:• house, pencil, apple, shoe, book, flag, rock,

train, ocean, hill, music, water, glass, school

Read and memorize the following three lists of words.

• List 1• alligator - apple - arrow - baby - bird - book -

butterfly - car - corn - flower - hammer - house - money - microscope - ocean - pencil - rock - shoes - table - window

• List 2• anger - belief - boredom - chance - concept -

effort - fate - freedom - glory - happiness - honor - hope - idea - interest - knowledge - mercy - mood - moral - theory - truth

• List 3• ator - botam - crov - difim - firap - glimoc -

ricul- hilnim - jolib - kepwin - leptav - lumal - mib - natpem - peyrim - rispaw - stiwin - tubiv - vopec - yapib

What makes one set of words easier to remember?

Memory

• Memory involves three processes:• Encoding (putting it in)• Storage (holding it)• Retrieval (getting it out)

Encoding

• Encoding involves forming a memory code

• This can be accomplished through sensation or meaning but usually requires attention – you must make a conscious effort to remember things.

Storage

• Storage involves maintaining encoded information in memory over time.

• Storage degrades over time and some methods of encoding have been shown to increase the durability or stored information.

Retrieval

• Retrieval involves the recovering information from memory stores.

• Retrieval can be improved with the proper cues and techniques like chunking.

• Next-in-line effect – When taking turns to speak, people often don’t remember what was said before their turn, this is because attention gets diverted while preparing to speak and is not paid to encoding the previous speaker’s subject. – the Party Principle

• Attention – focussing awareness on a narrowed range of stimuli or events. It is selection of input and is crucial to everyday functioning.

Models or Theories of Memory

• Evaluate two models or theories of one cognitive process (memory)

Model 1: Levels of Processing Model

• Based on Craik and Lockhart (1972)• Focussed on how we encode information rather than the

stages of storage. Memory is a byproduct of perception and the deeper the level of processing, the more durable the memory is.

• Structural encoding – how the item appears eg. Is the word in capital letters?

• Phonetic encoding – how the item sounds eg. Does the word rhyme with another word?

• Semantic encoding – what the item means eg. What is the definition of the word?

Craik and Tulving (1975)• Participants answered a series of questions concerning random

words ranging from the structural to the phonetic to the semantic.• Participants were then surprised with a list of words that included

the target terms from the earlier questions along with new words as distractors – their task was to identify the words used in the earlier question set

• Words included in semantic questioning were recognized most• Words included in phonetic questioning were recognized second most• Words included in structural questioning were recognized least.

• This pattern was consistent in recognition and recall exercises.

Weaknesses of LOP theory

• How can processing depth be measured?• Does not explain rather it only describes –

studies show that semantic encoding leads to elaborate and networked memory codes, improving recall and preventing decay

• Does not address the retrieval phase of memory – semantic encodings can be recalled with phonetic cues

The Levels-of-Processing Theory proposes that the deeper the level of processing, the longer lasting the memory code is.

• There are other ways of enriching encoding of memories:

• Elaboration – linking a stimuli to other information at the time of encoding – this can often be accomplished by thinking of examples.

• Visual Imagery – the creation of visual images to represent the words to be remembered.– Easier for concrete words rather than conceptual ones. – Shows that memory is improved when constructed with

two codes rather than one – visual and verbal.

• Self-referent encoding – by making information personally meaningful, stronger memory codes are created.

• Studies have shown that a series of words were recalled better when subjects were asked to evaluate whether the words applied to them personally. Self-referent encoding appears to enhance recall by promoting elaboration and better organization of information.

Model 2: The multistore model of memory (MSM)

• Based on Atkinson and Schiffrin (1968)• An early example of information-processing

approach• Memory consists of three types of memory

stores:– Sensory stores– Short-term store– Long-term store

Stores are arranged in linear fashion

• Sensory to STS – attention• STS to LTS – rehearsal• STS to STS – rehearsal• LTS to STS – retrieval• The stores differ in their:– Duration – how long info is stored– Capacity – how much info can be stored– Coding – in what form is the info stored

Sensory stores

• Unlimited/unknown capacity• Comprised of all the information picked up by our

senses and is registered and stored according to the mode of sensation:

• Visual info – iconic memory, stored as visual form – decays in less than 1 sec

• Auditory info – echoic memory, stored as acoustic form – decays in 2 to 4 secs

• Only sensation that is attended to is transferred to STS

Short Term Stores

• Very limited capacity – 7 units at a time• Duration is between 2 to 30 secs.• Duration can be increased with rehearsal or

else the information decays• Only information that is rehearsed a critical

number of times is transferred to LTS

The Magic Number

• George Miller (1956) – “The Magical Number Seven Plus or Minus Two” discovered that people could not remember more than seven items in unrelated tasks.

• Short term memory can be increased through chunking – a group of familiar stimuli stored as a single unit. Long term memory can be used to identify these chunks.

Short term memory - STM

• Short-term memory – a limited capacity memory store that can maintain unrehearsed information for up to 20 seconds.

• Events that have just occurred and are still in consciousness is referred to as short-term memory.

• Those that have occurred and that are no longer in the consciousness but that can be brought back through recall or recognition are referred to as long-term memory.

Duration of STM

• Rehearsal – the process of repeatedly verbalizing or thinking about information.

• Rehearsal can keep memory stored in the short term indefinitely.

• Loss of short term memory is due to decay and interference from competing stimuli.

Long Term Stores

• Unlimited/unknown capacity • Decay rate can be as long as a lifetime –

unknown• LTS uses semantic code – the meaning, rather

than the form of the information is stored.

Relevant research studies

• Peterson and Peterson (1959) • Participants presented with a three letter set• Participants then immediately had to begin counting

backwards by threes from a given number• After a varying amount of time, the participants were

asked to recall the three letter set• The process would be repeated with a different three

letter set and the length of time the counting distraction would take place would be extended by three seconds.

• The accuracy and speed of the recall was recorded

Serial Position Curve and Free Recall

• Free recall – Recalling items from a serial list in any order after a set duration

• Serial Position Curve – the linear curve generated on a graph by plotting accuracy of recalled items from a list in the order of their presentation from first to last.

• The curve generated seemed to support the argument for STS and LTS models of memory

Transfer into LTM• Transfer from STM to LTM can be illustrated with free recall• When asked to recite a list of more than 10 unrelated terms 2

effects show up:• Primacy effect – the enhanced recall of items at the beginning

of the list• Recency effect – the enhanced recall of items at the end of the

list

Primacy and Recency

• The items recalled from the end of the list came from STM

• The items from the beginning of the list came from LTM

• There is more opportunity for rehearsal of beginning items

• This is true even when subjects were given a distracting task while recalling.

Glanzer and Cunitz (1966)• Participants were presented with a list of 15 words• Group 1 recalled the word list immediately (IFR)• Group 2 recalled the list after a 30 second delay – participants

were asked to count down by threes from a given number to prevent rehearsal (DFR)

• The serial position curve was obtained from the data in the IFR condition. Explain why using MSM theory.

• The DFR condition showed a pronounced reduction in the recency effect while the primacy effect was maintained. Can you explain this using MSM theory?

• Glanzer (1972) also showed that by increasing the rate at which the lists were presented, the primacy effect could be dampened.

Biological support for MSM

• Some cases of individuals with brain damage indicates support for the LTS and STS models of storage.

• Damage to some systems appears to leave other systems intact – eg. HM Study – (Milner 1966) Wearing Study (Baddeley 2009)

• Alzhiemer’s Syndrome also provides some evidence to support MSM as it degrades the brain’s capacity to store into gradually.

• Anterograde amnesia – produced by lesions in the hippocampus, patients have little trouble remembering events prior to the lesion event, but cannot create new long term memories after that.

Objections to the MSM

• Some objections to the MSM model:• The importance of rehearsal has been shown to be

not always effective (maintenance rehearsal)• Different types of encoding are used at different

stages of the STS or LTS; STS uses semantic encoding whereas the LTS uses phonetic, structural, and semantic.

• The mind can communicate information between memory stores in multiple ways that cannot be accounted for in the linear model of the MSM.

Model 3: Working memory model

• Smaller, interacting subdivisions of STS have been identified that have led to more detailed models of memory – working memory model – Baddeley and Hitch (1974). These models view the STS as more active and important than a mere linear relay system

• LTS has also been divided into smaller components based on the storage of different types of information:– Declarative memory – facts and concepts (semantic memory)

and events (episodic memory)– Procedural memory – storage of skills– Overemphasis on structures rather than functions or processes

of memory

Uses of STM- Working Memory

• STM handles a greater variety of tasks other than just recall.

• Phonological rehearsal loop – remembering a phone number by repeating it over and over again

• Visuospatial sketch pad – mentally rearranging the furniture in your room

• Executive control system – mentally weighing all the pros and cons of buying a car.

Fig 2. The Working Memory Model Components (Baddeley and Hitch, 1974)

Empirical Evidence for the Working Memory Model

• What evidence is there that working memory exists, that it is made up of a number of parts, that it performs a number of different tasks?

• The working memory model makes the following two predictions:

• 1. If two tasks make use of the same component (of working memory), they cannot be performed successfully together.

• 2. If two tasks make use of different components, it should be possible to perform them as well together as separately

Key Study: Baddeley and Hitch (1976)

• Aim: To investigate if participants can use different parts of working memory at the same time.

• Method: Conducted an experiment in which participants were asked to perform two tasks at the same time (dual task technique) - a digit span task which required them to repeat a list of numbers, and a verbal reasoning task which required them to answer true or false to various questions (e.g. B is followed by A?).

• Results: As the number of digits increased in the digit span tasks, participants took longer to answer the reasoning questions, but not much longer - only fractions of a second. And, they didn't make any more errors in the verbal reasoning tasks as the number of digits increased.

• Conclusion: The verbal reasoning task made use of the central executive and the digit span task made use of the phonological loop.

Long term memory - LTM

• Long Term Memory – an unlimited capacity that can hold information over lengthy periods of time.

• Many scientists believe that LTM is a permanent store of data. Loss of memory is an issue of recall rather than decay.

There is some supporting evidence for this:

• Flashbulb memories – vivid and detailed memories of momentous events

• Where were you when Princess Diana died?• Where were you when the towers fell?

• Hypnosis recall – under hypnosis, patients have long scripted detailed memories of events.

• Electrical Stimulation of the Brain (ESB) – when parts of the temporal lobe are stimulated, they can trigger very vivid memories.

• “I smell burnt toast!”

However, there is some evidence that these factors may not support

permanent storage:

• Flashbulb memories are often not accurate• Hypnosis aided recall is often inaccurate and

distorted as well• ESB led to hallucinations and fantasies as well

as memories

• These debates over duration and capacity of memory have led many to believe that LTM and STM are not separate functions with separate decay mechanisms but are the same system with higher levels of activation for some information and less for others.

Emotion and Cognition – FBM’s

• Evaluate one theory of how emotion may affect one cognitive process.

• Discuss how social or cultural factors affect one cognitive process.

What are the defining characteristics of a flashbulb memory? Why do we remember them so well?

• They:• Form in situations where we encounter surprising and

highly emotional information• Maintained by means of overt rehearsal and covert

rehearsal• Last longer, more vivid, more consistent and more

accurate than regular memories• Involve a special neural mechanism which stores

memory uniquely and in a specialized storage.• We remember not the memory but its reception context.

Summarize Brown and Kulik’s (1977) study. What kind of study is it?

• Aims: To determine the correlation with the type of FBM and the race of the participant

• Method: 40 black and 40 white American citizens were asked questions about the same 10 events. 9 assassinations of prominent people, and a tenth self-selected event from memory. Questions regarded the conditions they were in when they first heard of the event and how often the covertly or overtly rehearsed the event.

• Results: JFK assassination recalled 90%, Civil Rights Movement leader assassinations recalled more by black participants. Most participants recalled the death of a parent.

• Conclusions: FBM’s are formed by personally emotionally consequential and/or unexpected results and are very durable.

• Study would be a survey/interview

Are FBM’s specific to a culture or society? Explain your answer using the research presented in the text.

• According to Conway et al (1994) it would seem that FBM’s are specific to culture as they showed greater FBM’s for British events by British people rather than people from other cultures.

What are some objections to FBM theory?

• It has been shown that FBM’s are not as durable and reliable as they were first suggested

• There is no evidence that a special mechanism exists for FBM formation and storage and it is difficult to test this.

• Neisser and Harsch (1992) found that the reception method and context for the Challenger disaster had changed from 21% hearing of it though T.V. to 45% in 2.5 years.

• Talarico and Rubin (2003) also found that memories of the 9/11 attacks did not differ significantly from other memories formed at the same time and tested over various durations. The two memory sets were consistent with each other.

How has FBM theory been changed? What evidence caused this theory to be modified?

• Brown and Kulik overestimated the durability and consistency of FBMs.

• They are long lasting but not permanent• Not significantly different than regular memory• Are more vivid than regular memory• Recalled with higher confidence• Surprise was not found to have a significant impact on FBM

formation (Luminet 2009) eg. The moonlanding vs. 9/11 attacks• Only 2 keys are event emotionality and event importance• Emotionality does not affect effect encoding but becomes an

important factor in rehearsal and social sharing.

What is the difference between collectivist and individualist societies? How would this impact the formation of FBM’s?

• Individualist societies: persons are unique and autonomous and have distinctive qualities such as their emptions. Sharing and expressing these emotions is an important part of reinforcing and establishing uniqueness – this would increase overt and to some extent covert rehearsal.

• Collectivist societies: Identity is defined by the characteristics of collective groups. Individualistic expressions are corrosive to the collective identity and are therefore inhibited. People are not encouraged to focus on their inner states or reflect on emotional states – this would decrease overt and covert rehearsal

• Basabe and Ros (2005) found that in collectivist societies:– Lower emotions– Lower mental ruminations– Less sharing of emotions

What are some possible problems with the research into cultural factors and emotional memories?

• ???????

Organization of LTM

• There are many ways the brain stores information in LTM.

• These methods can be discovered through studying how people organize their long term recollections:

• Clustering and Conceptual Hierarchies• Schemas and Scripts• Semantic Networks• Parallel Distributed Models

Remember these words…..• Tree• Chemistry • Hammer• Leaf• Physics• Trunk• Biology• Roots• Wrench• Drill

Clustering and Conceptual Hierarchies

• Clustering – the tendency to remember similar or related items in groups

• When asked to recall a group of 60 words, people tend to instinctively group them into categories.

• Conceptual Hierarchies – classification system based on common properties

• If you ask a sports fan to list all 30 teams in the NFL, they will do so by division and conference.

Schemas and Scripts

• Schema – an organized cluster of knowledge about something taken from previous experience with things like it.

• Scripts – organized information about common activities.

Semantic Networks

• Semantic network – nodes representing concepts, joined together by pathways that link related things.

• When we think of a word, our brain automatically activates related concepts to that word.

Parallel Distributed Processing Models (PDP’s)

• Similar to semantic networks, PDP’s assume that thinking depends on patterns of activation in interconnected networks, like a computer.

• Different than semantic networks in that specific memories correspond to a pattern of activation in these networks.

Retrieval

Retrieval

• One phenomenon linked to retrieval is the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon – the temporary inability to remember something you know accompanied by the feeling that it is just out of reach.

• This experience shows that retrieval is sometimes frustrated by the retrieval of similar memories that interfere with access to the target memory.

Retrieval Cues

• Retrieval cue – a stimulus that that triggers other codes to move from LTM to STM/Working memory

• This can be accomplished by using context cues – placing yourself in the context of the original encoding event to trigger the recall of the target information.

• This explains flashbacks – the involuntary triggering of associated memories when encountering a previous context.

• State-specific memory – memories stored when the body is in one state (eg. Drunk) will be recalled the next time a person is in that state.

• Retrieval may be increased by organizing, chunking, or relating items in various ways rather than simply rehearsing them this is known as elaborative rehearsal.

• If this is done effectively, when one item is recalled (the definition of retina) then other items related by enriched encoding will also be automatically recalled (the definitions of iris, cornea, lens, fovea, etc.)

Elaborative Rehearsal• The light turned _______________. (red, green)• I saw the ____________ in the zoo. (tiger, book)• He went to the _____________. (moon, bathroom)• I wash my hands with _______________. (lava, soap)• I cut the paper using ____________. (my hand, scissors)• I lost my _______________ in the book. (brain, page)• Good ______ makes me feel like dancing. (music, food)• My __________ wakes me up every morning. (elephant,

alarm) • He walked the __________ in the park. (walk, dog)• Use the _______ to unlock the door. (fish, key)

• The light turned _______________, so I sped away in my new Mustang• I saw the ____________ in the zoo, and it looked so sad just sitting there

staring.• He went to the _____________ and he looked really really sick, I think he

threw up. • I wash my hands with _______________, but I can’t get the smell of

onions out of them.• I cut the paper using _________________ and they were so dull they just

ripped the edge.• I lost my ___________________ in the book, because it was so boring I

couldn’t stay awake.• Good _________________ makes me feel like dancing, but only if I know

no one is watching.• My __________________ wakes me up every morning, and I grab it and

throw it against the wall.• He walked the ________________ in the park every day until it bit the

nice old lady from across the street.• Use the _______________ to unlock the door and don’t forget to turn off

the alarm after you open the door or else the siren will go off.

• Green• Tiger• Bathroom• Soap• Scissors• Page• Music• Alarm• Dog• Key

Misinformation Effect – the ability to incorrectly alter recollections of events in predictable ways.

The Misinformation Effect can be accomplished in three steps:– Exposure to the original event – playing tape of

car accident– Presentation of information about the event, both

accurate and inaccurate – grilling subjects about their recollections of the car crash

– Testing for inaccurate recall – subjects recall incorrect details like broken glass

This effect has several causes:

• The new information overwrites the old memory and destroys it.

• The new information creates a second memory which the brain cannot distinguish between the original.

• The Misinformation Effect highlights an aspect of recall accuracy called source monitoring.

Information mutation

• The Misinformation Effect can be amplified as each version of events is altered by each repetition. Eg. The Rumor Mill

• Source monitoring – the process of making attributions about the origins of memories.

• Usually, people have to decide at the time of retrieval what the source of an item is.

• This is also related to reality monitoring – the process of deciding whether memories are based on external sources or internal sources (i.e. imagination)

• These recall problems can be lessened through:

• Enriching the memory with lots of sensory information

• Enriching the memory with lots of contextual information

Eyewitness Testimony and Memory

• “Discuss , with reference to relevant research studies, the extent to which one cognitive process is reliable.”

“Memory is an active reconstruction process rather than a passive reproductive process” What implications

does this have for eyewitness testimony?

• Eyewitness testimony was considered an accurate and reliable reproduction of events as they occurred. In some cases, this evidence is essential for convictions. Loftus et al (1974) shows that this is not the case and that eyewitness testimony is subject to individual bias based on schematic information. This schematic based bias can be activated according to particular vocabulary during questioning.

Identify the independent and dependant variables in the Loftus and Palmer (1974) study. Also, identify other

variables the should have controlled.

• Independent variable – verb used in the critical question

• Dependant variable – estimates of the speed by the participants (mph)

• Other variables controlled – Sound in the film clips? Relevant personal histories of the participants? Body language of the questioner?

Assess the ecological validity of these studies. How useful does this make their findings? Could the ecological validity have been

enhanced with a different design?

• If the body undergoes physiological changes during the intensity or trauma of witnessing an actual accident, then this factor would be absent when viewing an accident on film in a laboratory. There would also be acclimatization after viewing a series of accidents, you would expect the seventh viewing to elicit less intensity in the viewer.

• Since there is no reproduction of the actual intensity of witnessing an accident, the usefulness of these findings is limited. Designing an experiment that deceives the participants into thinking that they are witnessing an actual accident would invoke trauma that might render the experiment unethical.

What is the weapons effect? What does this show about anxiety and memory?

• Weapons Effect – when recalling the identification of individuals, witnesses were significantly less accurate when the individual was holding a weapon rather than another object. This shows us that anxiety can divert our attention and corrupt our encoding of details in memory.

In a chart, summarize the following studies and indicate whether each one supports or refutes the reliability of

eyewitness memory.

Supports eyewitness testimony reliability?

Study and description Refutes eyewitness testimony reliability?

Ihlebaek (2003) – Memory of a robbery was better when viewed as a video than witnessed in real time, this shows that the ecological problems with laboratory witness studies are significant.

Eysenk and Keane (2010) – Compared laboratory versus real-life witness scenarios. Found that real-life witnesses are often the victims themselves – presumable heightening the emotional trauma, this stress was absent in viewing video of an event, and that memory distortions most often involve peripheral details rather than central ones.

Yuille and Cutshall (1986) – interviewed actual witnesses to a robbery 5 months after it occurred. Despite intentionally misleading questions during recall, their later reports matched their initial police reports closely.

What concept were we dicsussing?

• Experiment!

1. What is the relationship between political orientation and false memories? How do they influence each other?

2. Define “rich false memories” – why are they significant and what are some important parts that are required for them to be formed?

3. What is the effect of images on false memory formation?4. What is “imagination inflation”?5. Define SMF? How does it work?6. What is different about the Slate article study compared to other studies on

false memories?7. What is the value of N?8. Identify three controlled variables in this study.9. Compare the recall results from the false memories to the true ones and also

compare them between political groups.10. Evaluate the natural validity of this study. What are the real world

implications of its results that are mentioned and think of some of your own.11. What is the relationship between political orientation and acceptance of

false memories in Study 2?12. How does Loftus et al. view the results of what they have discovered?

Cognitive factors in emotion

• Discuss to what extent cognitive and biological factors interact in emotion

What is Schacter and Singer’s (1962) Two Factor Theory of emotion?

• There are 2 factors that determine specific emotions:– Physiological arousal– Emotional interpretation/labelling

• The strength of the arousal determines the intensity of the emotion, the labelling of the context determines which emotion it will be.

What are some criticisms of TFTE? Does this mean that the study can be thrown out?

• Schacter and Singer used pulse rate as an operational definition of physiological arousal – more sophisticated than that.

• The arousal experienced by adrenaline injections has been shown to be negative rather than neutral (Marshall and Zimbardo 1979)

• There have been replication failures• The ecological validity of the study is relatively low – cannot be

fully replicated in real life where we often know the origin of arousal in the environment.

• The model generated by the study had led to informative research.

List the different categories of appraisal identified by Lazarus (1982). Examine your own experiences with emotion, do you feel that the concept of core-relational themes is accurate or useful?

• Primary appraisal – personal relevance of situations, positive and negative valences only with accompanying approach and avoidance reactions.– Motivational relevance – is the situation relevant to my goals? If yes,

than an emotion is felt– Motivational congruence – is the situation beneficial to my goals? If

yes, then positive emotion, if no then negative emotion– Accountability – who is responsible for a situation?

• Secondary appraisal – an evaluation of the coping strategies available in response to a situation– Problem-focused coping – Can I cope with the situation by changing

it?– Emotion-focused coping – Can I change the way I feel about the

situation?– Future expectancy – Will the situation eventually change on its own?

• The summary of all of these factors leads to the core-relational theme (CRT)

**does interaction and correlation mean the same thing?***

Summarize the experiment performed by Herrald and Tomaka (2002). Identify the independent and dependant variables and

assess the study for any possible ethical issues.

• Aim: to observe the relationship between emotional states, cognitive appraisals, and physiological arousal by manipulating subjects emotional states using Appraisal Theory principles and comparing their resulting physiological changes.

• Method: subjects were asked to comment on topics while a confederate induced emotional states through Lazarus’ CRT principles. Their physiological arousal was measured through heart-rate and blood pressure.

• Results: Subjects responded to the CRT appraisal manipulations of the confederate and their changes in physiological state corresponded with specific emotions. Positive emotions did not elicit as strong a change as negative emotions

• Conclusions: Lazarus’ theory was confirmed and specific emotions corresponded with specific arousal patterns.

• IV: confederate emotional manipulations• DV: resulting emotions of subject AND physiological data• Ethics: is it ethical to intentionally induce negative emotional states in people?

Deception was used.

Could the experiment performed by Spiesman et al. (1964) be used to support or refute the appraisal

theory of emotions?

• Support – there was a strong link indicated between the emotional content of the film as induced by the sound and text and the GSR of the participants. The extent to which the viewer could be made to identify with the character in the film could induce a primary appraisal

• Refute – the viewers of the film could not possible have has any personal relationship or consequence to the people depicted in the film. Why, then would they have any emotional response at all?

Are emotional appraisals performed consciously or unconsciously by people? Explain how the works of Ohman

(2002) and Whalen et al. (1998) answer this question.

• Research seems to indicate that emotional appraisal occurs unconsciously.

• Ohman (2002) showed that people reacted to images flashed for 30 milliseconds, faster than could be comprehended consciously. Whalen (1998) showed that emotion centers of the brain (amygdala) were active even though fearful facial expressions were only flashed for 30 milliseconds.

• This shows that recognition can occur at unconscious levels

Forgetting

How quickly do we forget?

• The first scientific studies of forgetting were conducted by Hermann Ebbinghaus in 1885

• He made himself memorize 420 lists of 14,000 nonsensical three letter words, then he measured the accuracy of his recall over time.

He discovered that:

• Memory decayed ….

• 40% in 20 mins.• 55% in 60 mins.• 65% in 9 hrs.• 25% in 1 month

There are three measures of forgetting:

• Retention – simple recalling of information• Recognition – recognition of information from

a list• Relearning – the amount of time saved in

learning things you previously knew

Why we forget:

• Ineffective encoding• Decay• Interference• Retrieval failure• Motivated forgetting

Ineffective Encoding

• Retrieval is impossible for information that was not encoded initially.

• If there was a lack of attention during encoding, the information may not have been stored.

• We know we tried to learn something, but we can’t remember it because we failed to encode it effectively.

Decay

• Memory traces fade with time. • This is because there is decay of the physiological

mechanisms for memories.• What studies have discovered is that it is not the

duration of the time interval between encoding and retrieving that extends decay, but the complexity, amount, and type of information people take in during the interval.

Interference• People forget information

because of competition from other material.

• Interference is greatest when the things learned during the retrieval interval are more similar to the original target memory.

• There are 2 kinds of interference:

• Retroactive interference – occurs when new information impairs the retention of previously learned information

• Proactive interference – occurs when previously learned information interferes with the retention of new information.

Retrieval Failure

• Failure to remember information is due to a failure to match the retrieval cue to the target information

• A good retrieval cue is appropriate for the original encoding - encoding specificity

• If the information was encoded phonetically, the cue should be phonetic.

• If the information was encoded semantically, the cue should be semantic.

Motivated Forgetting

• According to Freud, people often keep embarrassing, unpleasant, or painful memories buried in their unconscious.

• Motivated forgetting is also known as repression – keeping distressing thoughts buried in the unconscious.

Biological factors and cognition

• Explain how biological factors affect one cognitive process

Alzheimer's Disease – a serious progressive brain disease that is irreversible – the progression takes between 2 and 15 years

Symptoms:• Memory impairment plus impairment in one other area:• Speaking and understanding language• Focussing attention• Movement• Altered personalityRelated/associated patient experiences:• Depression• Confusion• Hallucinations• Delusions• Sleeplessness• Loss of appetitePrevalence:• 10% of population over 65• 30%-50% of population over 70• Over 50% of population 80 and over

AD and Memory processes

• Episodic memory affected more prevalently (memory for events and experiences) from more recent to more distant biographical memories

• Semantic memory – general knowledge of the world, concepts and language. Also affected by AD

• However, procedural memory - memory of motor and cognitive skills - remains mostly intact

Progression of AD

• One of the first structures affected by AD is the medial temporal lobe (MTL) which has been shown to play an important role in episodic memory – fMRI studies have shown that AD patients have decreased activation in the MTL (Schwindt and Black, 2009) particularly the hippocampus. The hippocampus is important for the formation of new memories.

• The second area affected by the progression of AD is the parietal lobes - loss of the brain cells that produce acetylcholine (Ach)

AD Pathology• Autopsies of AD affected brains show two key

features in the areas that produce acetylcholine:• Amyloid plaques – a sticky protein that results

from the improper breakdown of its precursor protein. These build up and damage the membranes of dendrites and axons. Plaque formations are composed of a core of amyloid beta proteins and decomposed neuron tissues that accumulate between neurons. Most AD patients accumulate amyloid proteins prior to the onset of AD

AD Pathology

• Neurofibrillary tangles - an abnormal form of the tau protein causes flawed structural support for neurons forming tangles in the cell bodies and dendrites.

• Overall, these two factors contribute to atrophy, or decaying of brain structures. As this decay progresses, imaging techniques like fMRIs can provide support for the claim that we have different structures for systems like long-term memories.

• Left – normal brain – 65 years old• Middle – John Grimsley, NFL linebacker, died 48 years

old from accidental gunshot• Right – 78 year old professional boxer, severe dementia

Simple experiment

• Split the class into three equal groupings:• Group one stays in the room• Groups 2 and 3 must leave• Take out a sheet of paper

Rate the comprehensibility of this passage (1-7)

The procedure is actually quite simple. First you arrange items into different groups. Of course one pile might be sufficient depending on how much there is to do. If you have to go somewhere else due to lack of facilities, that is the next step; otherwise, you are pretty well set. It is important not to overdo things. That is, it is better to do few things at once than too many. In the short run this may not seem important but complications can easily arise. A mistake can be expensive as well. At first the whole procedure will seem complicated. Soon, however it will become just another facet of life. Itis difficult tot foresee any end to the necessity for this task in the immediatefuture, but then, one never can tell. After the procedure is completed onearranges the materials into different groups again. The n they can be put intotheir appropriate places. Eventually they will be used once more and the

whole cycle will then have to be repeated. However, that is part of life.

Rate the comprehensibility of this passage (1-7)

Washing ClothesThe procedure is actually quite simple. First you arrange items into different groups. Of course one pile might be sufficient depending on how much there is to do. If you have to go somewhere else due to lack of facilities, that is the next step; otherwise, you are pretty well set. It is important not to overdo things. That is, it is better to do few things at once than too many. In the short run this may not seem important but complications can easily arise. A mistake can be expensive as well. At first the whole procedure will seem complicated. Soon, however it will become just another facet of life. Itis difficult tot foresee any end to the necessity for this task in the immediatefuture, but then, one never can tell. After the procedure is completed onearranges the materials into different groups again. The n they can be put intotheir appropriate places. Eventually they will be used once more and the

whole cycle will then have to be repeated. However, that is part of life.

Rate the comprehensibility of this passage (1-7)

The procedure is actually quite simple. First you arrange items into different groups. Of course one pile might be sufficient depending on how much there is to do. If you have to go somewhere else due to lack of facilities, that is the next step; otherwise, you are pretty well set. It is important not to overdo things. That is, it is better to do few things at once than too many. In the short run this may not seem important but complications can easily arise. A mistake can be expensive as well. At first the whole procedure will seem complicated. Soon, however it will become just another facet of life. Itis difficult tot foresee any end to the necessity for this task in the immediatefuture, but then, one never can tell. After the procedure is completed onearranges the materials into different groups again. The n they can be put intotheir appropriate places. Eventually they will be used once more and the

whole cycle will then have to be repeated. However, that is part of life.

The topic of the previous slide?

• Washing Clothes

Now, without communicating to others in the class….

• Recall as much of the passage you read and rated as you can.

Bransford & Johnson (1972)

• Comprehension - Participants presented with the “washing clothes” passage without a title rated it as less comprehensible than participants that were presented with the title

• Recall – of the 18 ideas contained in the passage…– The “title before” group recalled 5.8 on average– The “no title” group recalled 2.8 ideas– The “title after” group recalled 2.6 ideas

• What does this tell us about the role of schemas in encoding memory?

Schemas – “energy saving device”

• Macrae et al 1994• Asked participants to perform 2 tasks at once:• Group 1 – form an impression of a person based on a list of 10

characteristics and a name while performing a comprehension task

• Group 2 – form an impression of a person based on a list of 10 characteristics, a name, AND AN OCCUPATION while performing a comprehension task

• Results – participants given job titles scored higher on comprehension tasks

• Eg. – Nigel Doctor – intelligent, caring, reliable, hard-working – etc.

Schemas and memory…

• How do schemas affect memory encoding and recall?

• Brewer & Treyens (1981)• Individual participants were asked to wait in an office.

After 35 seconds, participants were taken to another room where they were asked to recall everything in the room in which they had been waiting.

• People showed a strong tendency to recall objects consistent with a typical “office schema”.

• Few people remembered items inconsistent with a typical “office schema”

Write down as many items as you can remember

What did you remember?

Chair?:

Desk?:

Skull?

Wine bottle?

Coffee pot?

Wine basket?

Books?

One cognitive process….

• Memory - an active reconstructive process rather than a passive reproductive one.

To what extent….. is memory reliable?

Of all the studies we have looked at, which ones support the reliability of memory and which call it into question?

Assignment

• In pairs…• You are to create an experiment that can be

performed on the class that will demonstrate schema theory or memory recall.

• You must report to the class your:• hypothesis, • independent and dependant variables,• results• And a response to final question – How does your

experiment show to what extent memory is reliable?