Cognition

Memory

Information Processing Model

Thinks of the brain like a computerSimplified version of realityThree steps:

◦Both take in information (encoding)◦Both store information (storage)◦Both get the information back out to be used (retrieval)

Atkinson/Shiffrin Info Proccessing

1. record information that might be remembered in sensory memory (< 30 seconds)

2. Information that is processed goes to short-term memory, where it is encoded through rehearsal (roughly 1 minute)

3. Rehearsed info moves to long-term memory to be retrieved later

Modified (modern) Info Processing

2 updates in the modern model

◦Some information is processed unconsciously, automatically, and directly to long-term memory (skips steps 1 and 2)

◦“short-term” changed to “working” – focuses on important aspects of sensory memory and combines them with previously learned items from long-term memory; also solves problems

Really Modern Theory

Connectionism: memories are specific activation patterns of neural networks

Encoding: Automatic Processing

Can be automatic or effortfulAutomatic processing depends on parallel processingUsed for

◦Space: Visually, where was information on the page? Where did you turn to get to the store?

◦Time: You automatically remember what order things happened in (what if this were not true?)

◦Frequency – how many times things happen◦Well-learned information – such as words in your native language

Processing that initially takes effort can become automatic (like reading)

Automatic processing can make mistakes, similar to top-down processing

Spring is theThe most beautiful Time of the year

Encoding: Effortful Processing

Requires attention and conscious effortMakes more durable memoriesRehearsal helps: repeating material more often increases

retentionRepeating material after you have learned it

(overlearning) also increases retentionDemonstration of rehearsal

Spacing Effect

Information is retained better when rehearsal is spread out over time

Study enough to learn something, then come back the next day to practice

The longer the time between practice sessions, the better the retention years later

Rehearsing by testing also improves retention (sometimes better than studying)

CRAMMING IS NOT AS EFFECTIVE AS STUDYING EVERY DAY

An Experiment on the Spacing Effect

Midterms are coming! Optional experiment to help you prepare:

Study 5 days a week for 10 minutes on two units/week and keep a log of your time

The next Monday, stop by before or after school and take a short review quiz

Get at least one point added to your midterm for each completed quiz and log pair

This week: units 1 and 2

Serial Positioning Effect

Demonstration of the serial positioning effectPeople immediately remember the last item of a list best

(recency effect – term still in working memory)People later remember the first item of a list well

(primacy effect – more rehearsal, less interference)Items in the middle of the list are remembered relatively

poorly

Figure 7A.6 The serial position effect Immediately after Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd introduces this long line of officials to Afghan President Hamid Karzai, President Karzai will probably recall the names of the last few people best. But later Karzai may recall the first few people best.

From Craik & Watkins, 1973© 2010 by Worth Publishers

Types of Encoding: Semantic

Semantic encoding is based on meaning Memorizing meaningful information requires 1/10th of the

effort needed to process nonsense info (demonstration)Rephrasing in your own words is semantic encodingSelf-reference effect: information that we relate to

ourselves is remembered bestMost effective type of encoding

Types of Encoding: Visual

Vivid images are encoded well – causes rosy retrospection, or only remembering the best parts of an experience

Works best on concrete words that have definite imagesMany mnemonics are visual - ex: peg-word system,

method of loci

Types of Encoding: Acoustic

Based on sound of wordsRhyming can help encode more effectively and

permanently ◦Ex: “If the glove don’t fit, you must acquit,” “Twenny fo’, no more

po’”Example of acoustic mnemonic: keyword system – find a

word that sounds like what you need to rememberSetting to music also helps

A few more mnemonics

First letter method – ex: PEMDAS, My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas, All Cows Eat Grass◦Useful for when the order of terms is important

Substitution method – substitute each number for a letter (companies do this with phone numbers all the time) or substitute each word for a number (usually the number of letters that are in the word)

Organizing Information: Chunking

Organizing information into meaningful units makes it easier to remember

Ex: Take 10 seconds to remember these numbers: 14921776151719452001

Try it again with chunking: 1492 1776 1517 1945 2001Acronyms in the first-letter method (ROY G. BIV)

Organizing Information: Hierarchies

Start with broad concepts and divide them into narrower ideas down to individual facts

Recall is better for words put into meaningful groupsTaking notes in outline form is effective (most textbooks

are organized this way)

Storage: Sensory Memory

Our senses temporarily record all the information that they take in

Iconic (visual) memory lasts a few tenths of a secondEchoic (auditory) memory lasts 3-4 seconds

Storage: Working Memory

Short term memory dies within 20 seconds with no rehearsal

The capacity of working memory is the “Magical Number Seven, plus or minus two” (only four items without rehearsal)

Storage: Long-Term Memory

The brain does not store distinct memories in specific locationsMemories are stored in groups of neurons that communicate at

synapsesIn sea slugs, learning increases serotonin production at some

synapses, which makes them more effectiveLong Term Potentiation (LTP) (increase in neuron’s firing

potential): Stimulating memory-circuits makes them more sensitive◦ sending neurons fire with a lower threshold◦ receiving neurons grow more receptor sites

Drugs that enhance the production of the protein CREB may enhance LTP and therefore memory

Drugs that boost NT glutamate may also improve memory

After LTP, disrupting the brain won’t destroy old memories but will destroy very recent memories that have not had time to be processed

Stress Hormones and Memory

Amygdala increases activity and proteins available in memory-forming areas

Memories of traumatic experiences tend to be permanently imprinted very quickly

“Flashbulb memories” of surprising/significant events are clear and relatively accurate, but they can be rewritten with rehearsal

Prolonged stress can shrink the hippocampus, decreasing memory potential

Sudden stress may block older memories from being called up

Long-Term Memory: Implicit Memory

AKA nondeclarative (can be used without being described)

Some implicit memories are procedural – remembering how to do something

Learning without awarenessNo conscious recallMotor skills and classical conditioning use implicit

memoryFormed in the cerebellum

Long-Term Memory: Explicit Memory

AKA declarative (people can talk about them)Uses conscious recallFacts and general knowledge; also personal

experiencesProcessed in hippocampus during slow-wave sleep

◦Left hippocampus is better at verbal info◦Right is better at visual-spatial info

Contrasting Explicit and Implicit Memories

Explicit is explainable, implicit is impossible to explainWe retain implicit memories from infancy and early

childhood but not explicit memories◦hippocampus develops later◦most memories are stored with words that young children don’t

knowMany brain-damaged amnesia patients retain the ability

to retrieve and encode implicit memories but not explicit

Encoding/Storage Problems

Alzheimer’s Disease: a senile plaque of proteins builds up on neurons and kills them. Interferes with storage and encoding by killing parts of networks where memories are stored and areas that process new memories

Korsakoff’s Syndrome – vitamin deficiency associated with alcohol abuse. Associated with a smaller hippocampus and steady decline in the ability to lay down new memories and retain old ones, as well as confabulation (making up information to fill in gaps in memories)

Retrieval

RecallRecognitionRelearning more quickly

◦All signs of memory

Retrieval: Cues

Cues are words, sounds, smells, sights, or context that you associate with something

When you see a cue, the association calls up a memoryThe more cues you have the better you remember

Retrieval: Context Effects

You remember things better in the same context in which you learned them

Experiments underwater vs on landMay explain déjà vu – the experience may have the same

context as something you’ve done before

Retrieval – State-Dependent Memories

Returning to your emotional/mental state at the time the memory was encoded may help you retrieve the memory

We tend to retrieve memories that are congruent with our moods (remember negative events when we are sad)

Forgetting: Encoding failure

If we don’t pay attention to something, we won’t remember it

Older adults don’t encode things as quickly as younger adults

Forgetting: Encoding failure

Forgetting: Storage Decay

At first retention drops dramatically, but after a while it levels off

Physically, LTP changes wear off Newer learning disrupts original learning

Forgetting: Retrieval failure

Interference◦Proactive – old learning disrupts new learning (go to last

semester’s classes by mistake), aka forward-acting◦Retroactive – new information disrupts old information (forgetting

former classmates’ names after meeting new people)◦Retroactive interference doesn’t happen to info learned in the

hour before sleep

Forgetting: Retrieval Failure

Motivated forgetting – we forget details that don’t fit with our current views

Repression – Freud says we forget painful memories to protect ourselves◦Happens rarely if ever – most emotional memories don’t go away

Memory Construction

Misinformation effect – telling someone false information will cause them to remember it instead of the truth

Imagination effect – imaging events can cause us to remember them as real

Source amnesia – we forget where we got a memory from (a story, real life, a dream)

Thinking

Language

Phonemes: building blocks of sound

Phoneme – basic unit of sound◦“b”◦“k”◦“d”◦“m”◦“ah”◦And so on

We know which differences in speech are meaningful and which are not

Phoneme practice

How many phonemes in the word “cat”?How many in the word “ball”?How many in the word “hope”?How many in the word “psychology?”

Morphemes: Building blocks of meaning

A morpheme is the smallest possible unit of meaning◦“bat”◦“man”◦“ed”◦“s”◦“violet”

What are (is) the morpheme(s) in the word “cow”?What are (is) the morpheme(s) in the word “present”?What are (is) the morpheme(s) in the word “jumped”?What are (is) the morpheme(s) in the word “Asian?”What are (is) the morpheme(s) in the word “dishwasher?”

Grammar: Semantic Rules

Semantic rules affect meaning ◦Ex: adding “ed” to the end of a verb means it happened in the

past◦Changing the endings of verbs to match plural nouns

Grammar: Syntax Rules

Syntax is the order in which words are usedIn English, we put adjectives before nouns and subjects

before verbs – “The blue skirt,” but this is not true in other languages “La falda azul”

“A verb crumpled the milk”◦This is grammatical, but it doesn’t make sense – syntax without

semanticsSometimes syntax leaves room for interpretation

◦“The boy saw the man with the telescope.”◦This is useful for humor

Hot Potato

1 – Say a sentence that is syntactically correct but does not have semantic meaning

2 – Describe your weekend plans in telegraphic speech.3 – Give three examples of morphemes4 – Give an example of a semantic or syntactical rule in a

language other than English5 – Say five different phonemes6 – Use one of the vocabulary words from this unit in a

sentence

Stages of Speech production

Babbling stage – 4 months, babies are capable of producing any phoneme in any language

10 months – most babbling uses phonemes of the language spoken in the child’s home

10 months – babies stop being able to distinguish phonemes that are not part of their native language

Stages of Speech Production

One-word stage – (1 year) Children pack a sentence’s worth of meaning into a single word

Children learn about 1 word/week◦“NO!”◦“down”◦“uh-oh”

◦Children’s pronunciations are simplified because of their physical limitations – they understand differences between adult pronunciations of words

Stages of Speech Production

Two-word (telegraphic) stage (18 months)– generally begins with nouns, verbs, and adjectives, in proper order

Children learn about 1 word/day◦“doggie run”◦“want juice”◦“allgone sock”

Try to say something with telegraphic speech

Theories of Language Acquisition

Skinner: Language is learned through operant conditioning◦Association – put sounds with symbols and meaning◦Imitation – learn by repeating what is heard◦Reinforcement – children are reinforced for correct grammar and

vocabulary usage

Problems with Skinner’s idea◦Children say things they have never heard before and have not

been taught (“I hate you, Daddy!”)◦Overgeneralization – application of rules when they do not apply◦Child: “My teacher holded the baby rabbits and we petted them”◦Mother: “Did you say your teacher held the baby rabbits?”◦Child: “Yes”◦Mother: “Did you say she held them tightly?”◦Child: “No, she holded them loosely”

Theories of Language Acquisition

Noam Chomsky: humans are born with innate language abilities

Universal grammar is at the root of every language (all languages have the same parts of speech and types of sentences

At 7 months we learn to recognize statistical patterns of language, such as where sounds divide into words and which syllables commonly go together

The Critical Period

The younger a person is, the easier it is for them to learn a language and the more native-like their pronunciation will be

Children who are not exposed to language before age 7 have difficulty learning any language◦Typically deaf children born to hearing, non-signing parents

Languages can be learned after the critical period, but it takes a lot more effort

Bilinguilism

People who speak multiple languages often describe themselves differently in one language vs the other◦Score differently on personality tests

Show better understanding of their first language than monolinguals do

Linguistic Determinisim

Theory: Our vocabularies determine what we can thinkIgnores visual aspect of thinkingStudies:

◦gendered languages describe objects differently◦Korean children who learn verbs before nouns do better at

solving problems with tools (actions), but English-speaking children are initially better at categorizing things (nouns)

Visual Thinking

Cognitive maps can be made of places we are familiar with and places we have never been

Visual imagery can be measured on clarity and our control in manipulating it