IB PSYCHOLOGYUnit 3 Resource Packet:

Cognitive Level of Analysis

Name:_____________________________________________ Period:__________IB Psychology SL Commack High School Mr. Stone

Please Note:You are responsible for all information in this packet, supplemental handouts

provided in class and on the eboard as well as your homework, and class discussions.

Name: _________________________________ Date: __________ Period: ___________IB Psychology SL Mr. Stone Unit 3: Cognitive L.O.A.

IB Psychology SLThe Cognitive Level of Analysis

Possible Unit Questions

1. Explain how principles that define the cognitive level of analysis may be demonstrated in research.

2. Discuss ethical considerations related to research studies at the cognitive level of analysis.

3. Discuss research methods used at the cognitive level of analysis. Evaluate the strengths and limitations of these methods.

4. Identify and evaluate schema theory with reference to research studies.

5. Evaluate two models or theories of one cognitive process with reference to research studies.

6. Evaluate how biological factors may affect one cognitive process.

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

8. With reference to relevant research studies, to what extent is one cognitive process reliable?

9. Discuss the use of technology in investigating cognitive processes.

10. To what extent do cognitive and biological factors interact in emotion?

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

Name: _________________________________ Date: __________ Period: ___________IB Psychology Mr. Stone Unit 3: Cognitive L.O.A.

The Cognitive PerspectiveThe IB Psychology syllabus introduces the cognitive perspective as follows:

The main focus of the cognitive perspective is centered around the description of the nature and development of the representations of knowledge. Cognitive psychology springs from three main

points of view: the theory of information processing, the inability of behaviorism to provide a comprehensive account for all aspects of human behavior, and the invention of the computer.

Theories of information processing attempt to explain complex behavior through the use of computer analogies. (p. 57)

In order to gain a basic understanding of the cognitive perspective, you are to log on to the following website and answer the questions from the information you find.

http://setis.library.usyd.edu.au/stanford/entries/cognitive-science/or

The IB Psychology folder on the network server

Vocabulary: Define the following words that are in this article. interdisciplinary mental representations representational structures computational procedures algorithms analog epistemology metaphysics presuppositions naturalistic a priori (a Latin phrase)

Answer the following questions:

1. What other disciplines make up the field of Cognitive Science?

2. When did this perspective formally organize itself?

3. What are the antecedents of the cognitive perspective?

4. Why was there a 50-year gap in the development of the cognitive perspective?

5. Who are considered to be the founding fathers of cognitive psychology and how is this different than behaviourism?

6. What is the most popular current analogy for how the mind works?

7. What does the article mean by saying that “Cognitive science then works with a complex 3-way analogy among the mind, the brain, and computers.”

8. How are the neural networks of our minds different than a computer’s networks?

9. List the three challenges in the critique of cognitive science. Give your own elaboration on two of those challenges. What do you think that they mean?

Name:______________________________________ Date: ____________ Period: ___________IB Psychology SL Cognitive Level of Analysis

Cognitive Level of AnalysisCognitive Level of Analysis Aim: What are the principles that define the cognitive level of analysis?Aim: What are the principles that define the cognitive level of analysis?

Reading to be ParaphrasedReading to be Paraphrased One QuestionOne Question My summaryMy summary

When people are thinking about how best to solve a mathematical problem, trying to remember the title of a book, observing a beautiful sunset, retelling a joke they have heard, or think about what to do tomorrow, they are involved in cognitive processing. Cognitive psychology concerns itself with the structure and functions of the mind. Cognitive psychologists are involved in finding out how the human mind comes to know things about the world and how it uses this knowledge. Cognitive neuroscience combines knowledge about the brain with knowledge about cognitive processes. Cognition comes from the Latin word cognoscere, which means “to know.” Ulric Neisser (1967) has defined cognition as “all the processes by which the sensory input is transformed, reduced, elaborated, stored, recovered and used.”

The mind can be conceptualized as a set of mental processes that are carried out by the brain. Cognitive processes include perception, thinking, problem solving, memory, language, and

attention. The concept of cognition refers to such processes. Cognition is based on one’s mental representations of the world, such as images, words, and concepts. People have different experiences and therefore they have different mental representations – for example, of what is right or wrong, or about what boys and girls can

and cannot do. This will influence the way they think about the world.

One of the most fundamental principles of cognitive psychology is that human beings are information processors and that mental processes guide behavior. One goal of cognitive research is to discover possible principle underlying cognitive processes. Psychologists see the mind as a complex machine – rather like an intelligent, information-processing machine using hardware (the brain) and software (mental images or representations).

According to this line of thinking, informational input to the mind comes via bottom-up processing – that is, from the sensory system. This information is processed in the mind by top-down processing via pre-stored information in memory. Finally, there is some output in the form of behavior.

Psychologists recognize the importance of cognition in understanding the complexity of human behavior. Cognitive theories and models are applied to real-world scenarios. Health and sports psychologists have demonstrated that there is a subtle relationship between how people think about themselves and how they behave – for example how they manage to deal with challenged. From social psychology we know that people who have fixed ideas about other people – this is called stereotyping – may be more prone to discriminate.

Another finding from cognitive research is that people’s memories may not be as infallible as they think because of the reconstructive nature of memory. Researchers have discovered that people do not store exact copies of their experiences, but rather an outline which is filled out with information when it is recalled. It seems that people may sometimes have what are called false memories, because individuals cannot distinguish between what they have experiences and what they have heard after the event. Apparently, the brain is able to fabricate illusions which are so realistic that we believe they are true.

This is very clearly demonstrated in perception, defined as the cognitive process that interprets and organizes information from the senses to produce some meaningful experience of the world. Factors such as context, frequency, or seem to influence the way people interpret an ambiguous object or event. This means that what people think is objectively experienced may instead be the result of the brain’s interpretation of the object or event.

A second principle of cognitive psychology is that the mind can be studied scientifically by developing theories and using a number of scientific research methods. This is demonstrated in theories and models of cognition which are discussed and continuously tested. Sometimes new findings result in amendments to original work models, or a model or theory is simply rejected because the empirical evidence no longer supports it. Cognitive psychologists have to a large extent used the experimental method because it was assumed to be the most scientific method. However, the experimental tasks did not always resemble what people did in their daily lives. Even in the 1960s, Ulric Neisser said that cognitive psychology had become too artificial and that researches should not forget that cognition cannot be isolated from our everyday experience, This is why cognitive psychologists now study cognition in the laboratory as well as in daily context.

A third principle that defines the cognitive level of analysis is the cognitive processes are influenced by social and cultural factors. One of the first to say this was the British psychologist Frederic Bartlett, who coined the term schema, which is defined as a mental representation of knowledge. Bartlett was particularly interested in how cultural schemas influence remembering. He found that people had problems remembering a

story from another culture, and that they reconstructed the story to fit in with their own cultural schemas. In his research, he demonstrated that memory is not like a tape recorder, but rather that people remember in terms of meaning and what makes sense to them. This is also why memory is subject to distortions, according to Bartlett, who showed how this principle could be investigated scientifically.

Studying the Mind:Traditionally, cognitive researchers have favored the controlled experiment that takes place in the laboratory. The strength of this method is that all variables can be controlled, but the problem is that experimental research may suffer from artificiality. Today, researchers use a variety of other methods, including case studies. This might be a person with an extraordinary memory, or people with brain damage who have lost the ability to understand language. Since cognitive processes are localized in the brain, modern neuroimaging technologies (eg: CAT fMRI) offer possibilities to look into brain processes that no researcher could even dream of 100 years ago. Neuroscientists can now study which brain areas are active when people make decisions, and how cognitive processes can be disrupted by brain damage – for example, amnesia or Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers then use their data to support or refute cognitive models – or to propose new models.

Name:______________________________________ Date: ____________ Period: ___________IB Psychology Cognitive Level of Analysis

Action robot to copy human brain “It will not look like a standard robot - it will be desk-based with a robotic arm and cameras for eyes ” - Prof Mark Lee

How the human brain makes certain decisions are to be adapted to build a new robot which will think for itself.

Aberystwyth University academics are working on the machine which they hope will recognise objects and retrieve them using an arm and cameras for eyes.

However, it is unclear at present what it could be used for ultimately.

Scientists said they aimed to "unravel" how a part of the brain worked and would then use that information to develop the machine.

Led by Professor Mark Lee, the team from Aberystwyth is joined by academics from six other universities on the five-year project.

Financial backing worth some £1.9m has come from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council - Aberystwyth's share is £470,000.

Most robots are programmed to make certain decisions, but are unable to think for themselves.

According to Prof Lee, the project's purpose was to try to "unravel" the way in which the brain worked and to then build a robot that could "think" for itself.

"Humans and animals adapt their actions according to what surrounds them, and are able to do several things at the same time and learn from their mistakes," he said.

"With this project we hope to solve this problem of multi-tasking by using our knowledge of how the brain works."

The robot would also be able to detect items, assess their significance and prioritise, focusing on the most important.

However, Prof Lee said that it would not look like a standard robot but be desk based with a robotic arm and cameras for eyes.

"All these capabilities will be combined within an overall control system that makes use of a central selection mechanism, just as we believe occurs in the brain," he added.

"Our understanding of how the brain works is also key to the next stage which will involve teaching the robot how to react to things that change around it.

"For example, something which could potentially distract it from the task it has been set. It will also be able to learn from its mistakes just as humans do.

"Once the robot has been constructed we will then stand back and ask the question 'what general features of the model gave it its ability to integrate its behaviours successfully?'

"By doing this we hope to be able to transfer our work into a wider range of robots designed for many different tasks."

The full project team is made up of mathematicians, control engineers, computer modellers and neuroscientists from universities including Bristol, Sheffield, Oxford and Cambridge.

Name:______________________________________ Date: ____________ Period: ___________IB Psychology Cognitive Level of Analysis

Article Action Robot to Copy Human Brain” article

Be a thinker:

1. Do you think it will it ever be possible to develop robots that can think like humans?

2. In the chart below compare the human mind to that of a computer.

Human Computer

3. What do you consider to be the major difference between the computer and a human being?

4. Discuss whether you think it will ever be possible to construct a robot that can be exactly like a human?

Name: _________________________________ Date: __________ Period: ___________

IB Psychology SL Mr. Stone Unit 3: Cognitive L.O.A.

The Cognitive Level of Analysis

“The Cognitive Revolution”1. Around the 1950’s psychologists began to explore cognition to further

understand behavior.2. Prior to this, “______________________” was studied and this shift was called the

Cognitive Revolution. 3. Cognitive Psychologists suggested that humans form internal mental

representations to guide behavior. 4. Topics such as memory, perception, artificial intelligence, amnesia and social

cognition are studied.

Basic Information:1. Cognitive psychology is concerned with how people acquire, store, transform,

use and communicate information.

2. Cognitive psychologists rejected the _________________________ which stated that mental events or states were unsuitable for scientific research.

3. Believe that one cannot fully explain behavior in terms of stimulus-response connections (like behaviorism does)

4. This approach deems the person as important as environmental or biological stimuli alone.

Key Concepts of Cognitive Psychology : Schema TheoryInformation ProcessingMemoryHeuristics and Problem SolvingCognitive DissonancePerception, attention, memory, language

Basic Assumptions of Cognitive Psychology: (Be sure to memorize all three!)

1.Mental processes guide behavior.a. Psychologists see the mind as a complex machine - rather like an intelligent,

information processing machine using hardware (brain) and software (mental images or representations).

b. Cognitive processes actively ______________ and _______________information that we receive - humans are NOT passive responders to their environment.

c. ___________________ memories, perception and information processing arise out of this idea.

2. Mental processes can and should be investigated scientifically. a. Cognitive Psychologists believe that you cannot simply learn about behavior

through _________________________ interactions. b. Therefore, cognitive psychologists develop theories and use a number of

scientific research methods to learn about human cognition.

3.Cognitive Processes are influenced by social and cultural factors.a. Ex. Frederic Bartlett, who coined the term _________________ , states that

cultural schemas influence remembering. b. _____________: A mental representation of knowledge!

Cognitive Processes: 1. The human mind is sophisticated and has the ______________________________

abstract symbols, words and images.

2. These mental representations are organized into ____________________, and allow us to think about situations and imagine what may happen.

3. _____________________________________ are how we store images and ideas in memory.

A Theory of Cognitive Process: Schema Theory

1. Created by Frederic Bartlett (1886-1969), he carried out studies on ______________________ to show how humans process information using pre-existing “________________.”

2. Read a Native American story “The War of the Ghosts” to 20 English participants and found that as the story was read more to them their recall of the story dropped from 330 words to about 180 and often substituted bits of the story to match previous experiences. The recalled story gradually became more Western as items such as the ‘canoe’ was changed to a ‘boat’. The ghosts were often forgotten because they are not an important feature of Western culture.

3. This indicates that memory is influenced by our ________________________, which in turn is created by the culture in which we live

4. Schema Theory is a cognitive process about information processing. They are “_____________________________________________________”.

5. It can describe how specific knowledge is ______________ and ____________ in memory so that it can be accessed and used when it is needed.

6. One cannot see a schema inside someone else’s head, but psychologists believe it gives us insight into the mind nonetheless.

7. Schema theory suggests that _____________________________________________ and so when it a certain situations we use our schemas as templates dictating how to react or behave.

8. Cognitive Schema : can be defined as ______________ of knowledge, beliefs, and expectations about particular aspects of the world.

Strengths:It is clear that schema theory pertains to how we categorize information and interpret stories and make inferences. It has contributed to our understanding of “____________________” (Bartlett) Social psychologists often refer to “social schemas” in explaining the origins of prejudice and stereotyping.It supports the idea that culture can affect our way of thinking (memory).

Limitations: It is not clear how schemas are acquired in the first place and how they actually influence our cognitive processes.Furthermore, some say that the concept of schemas are too vague (Cohen, 1993) and thus are not useful.

Name: _________________________________ Date: __________ Period: ___________

IB Psychology SL Unit 3: Cognitive L.O.A.

Aim(s):Aim(s):Discuss how social or cultural factors affect one cognitive process.Discuss how social or cultural factors affect one cognitive process.

Identify and evaluate schema theory with reference to research studies.Identify and evaluate schema theory with reference to research studies.

Do NowDo Now::What stories do you remember from your childhoodWhat stories do you remember from your childhood?

BARTLETT'S STUDY OF RECONSTRUCTIVE MEMORY

Aims: To investigate the effect of schema on participants' recall of a story. A schema includes expectations, attitudes, prejudices and stereotypes. This experiment was based to test Bartlett schema theory, which states that memory involves active reconstruction. Therefore parts of the event recalled are real but other bits consist of our knowledge of the world and past memories.

Procedures: 20 English participants took part in a natural experiment. They were presented with a range of stories (or folk tales) from different cultures, making it difficult for Western participants to understand fully their significance. One of the stories was the Native Indian story called 'The War of the Ghosts'. They were then asked to recall the story after periods of time.

Findings: Participants' recall of the story got shorter and shorter after multiple presentations. After about 6 PRESENTATIONS it had been REDUCED FROM 330 WORDS TO 180. Participants frequently added in their own interpretation. For example, the reference to the canoe was often changed to a boat, and the whole theme of ghosts was often forgotten.

Conclusion: Bartlett concluded that accuracy was rare in recalls. The changes in the recalled story showed that the participants were actively reconstructing it using their existing schemas. The recalled story gradually became more Western as items such as the canoe was changed to a boat. The ghosts were often forgotten because they are not an important feature of Western culture. This indicates that memory is influence by our existing knowledge, which in turn is created by the culture in which we live.

Evaluation: The intervals at which the participants were asked to recall the story often changed between different participants. Therefore the results are NOT ENTIRELY RELIABLE.

As the experiment was a natural experiment it meant that it lacked control of OTHER FACTORS which may have affected the results.

DEMAND CHARACTERISTICS may have created bias. For example, the strangeness of the story may have indicated the participants to the research hypothesis, so they knew how they were expected to react. They may have also felt the desire to behave in the way the experimenter wants them to. These factors add up to a lack of INTERNAL VALIDITY.

However, Bartlett's research into memory was pioneering as he was the first person to suggest that memory was an ACTIVE CONSTRUCTION PROCESS.

The idea of a schema is very VAGUE, and schemas differ from person to person, therefore results cannot be generalized.

Other studies have supported Bartlett's theory:

BOWER ET AL found that when people read a short passage about characters in a restaurant, they later recalled information that had not actually been in the passage. Suggesting that they were reconstructing the passage based on their restaurant schema.

ALLPORT + POSTMAN also found that people reconstructed a story told to them about a white man threatening a black man with a razor, to make the black man the one with a razor. This fitted their stereotypical schema of black people in the 1940's.

Directions:Directions: Use the space below (continue on next page) to summarize Bartlett’s Use the space below (continue on next page) to summarize Bartlett’s contributions to Cognitive Psychology and identify and evaluate schema theory with contributions to Cognitive Psychology and identify and evaluate schema theory with reference to research studies. Remember to write it as a true IB test question - start your reference to research studies. Remember to write it as a true IB test question - start your response with one main assumption of Cognitive L.O.A!response with one main assumption of Cognitive L.O.A!

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Name: _________________________________ Date: __________ Period: ___________

IB Psychology Unit 3: Cognitive L.O.A.

Loftus and Palmer (1974) StudyBackground:

Psychologist Elizabeth Loftus has been particularly concerned with how subsequent information can affect an eyewitness’s account of an event.

Her main focus has been on the influence of (mis)leading information in terms of both visual imagery and wording of questions in relation to eyewitness testimony.

Loftus’ findings seem to indicate that memory for an event that has been witnessed is highly flexible. If someone is exposed to new information during the interval between witnessing the event and recalling it, this new information may have marked effects on what they recall. The original memory can be modified, changed or supplemented.

Aim: To test their hypothesis that the language used in eyewitness testimony can alter memory. Thus, they aimed to show that leading questions could distort eyewitness testimony accounts and so have a confabulating effect, as the account would become distorted by cues provided in the question.

To test this Loftus and Palmer (1974) asked people to estimate the speed of motor vehicles using different forms of questions. Estimating vehicle speed is something people are generally poor at and so they may be more open to suggestion.

Procedure: Forty-five American students formed an opportunity sample. This was a laboratory experiment with five conditions, only one of which was experienced by each participant (an independent measures design).

Participants were shown slides of a car accident involving a number of cars and asked to describe what had happened as if they were eyewitnesses. They were then asked specific questions, including the question “About how fast were the cars going when they (hit/smashed/collided/bumped/contacted ) each other?”

Thus, the IV was the wording of the question and the DV was the speed reported by the participants. A week after the participants saw the slides they were asked “Did you see any broken glass?” There was no broken glass shown in the slides.

Findings: The estimated speed was affected by the verb used. The verb implied information about the speed, which systematically affected the participants’ memory of the accident.

Participants who were asked the “smashed” question thought the cars were going faster than those who were asked the “hit” question. The participants in the “smashed” condition reported the highest speeds, followed by “collided”, “bumped”, “hit”, and “contacted” in descending order.

When people were asked a week after viewing the film whether they saw any broken glass at the scene (there was none), people in the smashed group were more likely to say yes. Therefore, a leading question that encouraged them to remember the vehicles going faster also encouraged them to remember that they saw non-existent broken glass. The question appears to have modified the memory itself.

Conclusions: This research suggests that memory is easily distorted by questioning technique and information acquired after the event can merge with original memory causing inaccurate recall or reconstructive memory.

The addition of false details to a memory of an event is referred to as confabulation. This has important implications for the questions used in police interviews of eyewitnesses.

Criticisms: The research lacks mundane realism, as the video clip does not have the same emotional impact as witnessing a real-life accident and so the research lacks ecological validity *.

* Ecological Validity: Ecological Validity is the degree to which the behaviors observed and recorded in a study reflect the behaviors that actually occur in natural settings. Essentially the questions become how much a study can be related to or reflect everyday life and/or are the methods, materials and setting approximate to the real world that is being examined?

In addition, ecological validity is associated with "generalizability". Essentially this is the extent to which findings (from a study) can be generalized (or extended) to the "real world". In virtually all studies there is a trade-off between experimental control and ecological validity. The more control psychologists exert in a study, typically the less ecological validity and thus, the less they may be able to generalize. For example, when we take people out of their natural environment and study them in the lab, we are exerting some control over them and, as a result, possibly limiting how much we can generalize the findings to all people in natural settings. Read more: http://www.alleydog.com/glossary/definition.php?term=Ecological%20Validity#ixzz2mhQDFCeL

Loftus, E. F., & Palmer, J. C. (1974). Reconstruction of auto-mobile destruction: An example of the interaction between language and memory. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behaviour, 13, 585-589.

Name: _________________________________ Date: __________ Period: ___________

IB Psychology Unit 3: Cognitive L.O.A.

Directions:Directions: Use the space below (continue on next page) to evaluate one of the principles Use the space below (continue on next page) to evaluate one of the principles (assumptions) of the Cognitive Level of Analysis and explain how this principle (assumption) (assumptions) of the Cognitive Level of Analysis and explain how this principle (assumption) may be demonstrated in research (Loftus & Palmer). Remember to write it as a true IB test may be demonstrated in research (Loftus & Palmer). Remember to write it as a true IB test question - start your response with one main assumption of Cognitive L.O.A!question - start your response with one main assumption of Cognitive L.O.A!

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Name: _________________________________ Date: __________ Period: ___________

IB Psychology Unit 3: Cognitive L.O.A.

Aim(s):Aim(s):Evaluate two models or theories of one cognitive process.Evaluate two models or theories of one cognitive process.

Do NowDo Now::What lesson do you remember most from this class, this year? What lesson do you remember most from this class, this year?

Why do you remember these over the others?Why do you remember these over the others?

Memory:Most people take memory for granted – that is until they forget something. Yet the fact that we remember more often than we forget tends to lead us to overlook the

underlying complexity of memory as a cognitive process. Many important researchers contributed to what we understand about memory and how our brains

store, acquire and process memories.

Short Term Memory (STM): Information is selected by attention from sensory memory into STM. This allows us to retain information long enough to use it. Peterson and Peterson (1959) have demonstrated that STM lasts approximately between _______________________, unless people rehearse the material, while Miller (1956) has found that STM has a limited capacity of around 7+/-2 ‘chunks’ of information.

Long Term Memory (LTM): LTM provides the lasting retention of information, from minutes to a lifetime. Long term memory appears to have an almost _______________________. LT information seems to be encoded mainly in terms of ______________________.

A. The “ Multi-Store Model ”: 1. Similarly to the analogy that our brain processes information similar to a

__________________, Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) proposed a _______________________________ model of memory.

Sensory Memory Short Term Memory Long Term Memory

Models are based on two assumptions:1. Memory consists of a number of separate “stores”2. Memory processes are sequential: attention coding rehearsal

A. The “ Multi-Store Model ” Continued : 1. Only a small amount of information makes past the sensory memory to

________________ Memory (STM). The capacity of STM is limited to around 7 items for 6-12 seconds.

2. Rehearsal is an important factor if info is to get to __________________ Memory (LTM).

3. LTM is described as a vast storehouse of information. Memories may often be distorted when they are retrieved but we fill in the gaps as predicted by schema theory.

4. Criticism to Atkinson-Shiffrin : The model is too simplistic. Does not accommodate for the subdivisions of STM and LTM memory stores.

5. Evidence of Multi-Store Memory Model: - ______________________ refers to the finding that recall accuracy varies as a

function of an item's position within a list. - When asked to recall a list of items in any order (free recall), people

tend to begin recall with the end of the list, recalling those items best (the _______________).

- Among earlier list items, the first few items are recalled more frequently than the middle items (the _________________).

-- One suggested reason for the primacy effect is that the initial items One suggested reason for the primacy effect is that the initial items presented are most effectively stored in ________________________ presented are most effectively stored in ________________________ because of the greater amount of processing devoted to them.because of the greater amount of processing devoted to them.

-- One suggested reason for the recency effect is that these items are One suggested reason for the recency effect is that these items are still present in __________________ when recall is solicited. Items that still present in __________________ when recall is solicited. Items that benefit from neither (the middle items) are recalled most poorly. benefit from neither (the middle items) are recalled most poorly.

Serial Position EffectSerial Position Effect

B. The “Working Memory Model” Created by Baddeley and Hitch (1974) in which they proposed their ‘working memory model’ as an alternative to the short-term store in Atkinson & Shiffrin's 'multi-store' memory model (1968). This model builds off of the multi-store model. However, they believe that STM is a single store and is broken down into many components. Attempts to describe a more accurate model of Short Term Memory (STM).

1. _________________________ : Controlling system that monitors and coordinates the operations of other components, which are called “slave systems”

a. Most important job is “_______________________” which is accomplished in two ways:

i. Automatic level is based on habit and controlled more or less automatically by stimuli from the environment.

ii. Supervisory Attentional Level: deals with emergencies or creates new strategies when the old ones are no longer sufficient.

2. The Episodic Buffer : the role of the buffer is to act as a temporary and passive display store until the information is needed – much like a television screen.

Chart to the Chart to the LeftLeft: This : This graph shows graph shows the serial the serial position effect. position effect. The vertical The vertical axis shows the axis shows the percentage of percentage of words recalled, words recalled, the horizontal the horizontal axis shows theiraxis shows their position in the position in the

3. The Phonological Loop: divided into two componentsa. Articulatory Control System , or _________________, which can

hold information in a verbal form. (ex. When you try to remember a telephone # and repeat it to yourself.)

b. Phonological Store, or _________________. It holds speech-based material in a

phonological form.

4. The Visuospatial Sketchpad: also called the _________________; and deals with visual and spatial info from either sensory memory or LTM.

Name: _________________________________ Date: __________ Period: ___________

IB Psychology Unit 3: Cognitive L.O.A.

Aim(s):Aim(s):Explain how biological factors affect one cognitive process: Explain how biological factors affect one cognitive process:

Brain Damage Brain Damage Memory. Memory.

Do NowDo Now::In what ways do you think your brain impacts your memory? In what ways do you think your brain impacts your memory?

A. HippocampusHippocampus :

Added in

• Research by Kandel found that the hippocampus is important in the formation of ____________________ memories (fact based info)

• Case studies have shown that damage here results in the inability to form new explicit memories but still can form new _____________ memories (procedural and/or emotional memories)

B. Amygdala:

• Found to play a role in the storage of __________________ memories• According to LeDoux, certain memories have emotional significance

and this might explain why memories based on emotional events are remembered better.

• Could give us insight into PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and why some have problems forgetting, because emotional memories are difficult to get rid of.

Biological Connection to MemoryBiological Connection to Memory

The Amygdala Emotional memory The Hippocampus Explicit memory

c.c. Brain Damage and Memory Brain Damage and Memory1. Clive Wearing: he suffers from both anterograde and retrograde amnesia.

- Anterograde amnesia: the inability to make new memories- Retrograde amnesia: the inability to remember old memories

- MRI scans show damage to Clive’s hippocampus and some frontal regions.

Video Clip(s): Clive Wearing “The Man with no Long Term Memory”

Directions: In the space provided take notes on the video(s).

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Supporting Study:

Sacks - Clive Wearing (2007)

Background: Clive Wearing was a musician who got a viral infection - encephalitis. This left him with serious brain damage in the hippocampus (biological cause), which

caused memory impairment (effect on cognition) He suffered from anterograde and retrograde amnesia

Results: He could not transfer information from STM to LTM. His memory lasted 7-30 seconds, and he was unable to form new memories. Wearing still had the ability to talk, read, write, conduct and sight-read music

(procedural knowledge) Wearing’s episodic memory and some of his semantic memory were lost. MRI scans of Wearing’s brain showed damage to the hippocampus and some of the

frontal regions.

Conclusion: The case of Clive Wearing provides insight into the biological foundation of different

memory systems, which is a cognitive process. Wearing’s case highlights the interaction between cognition and physiology as it

establishes the link by illustrating the effect of physiological causes in the brain (brain damage occurring in hippocampi region, on the social and cognitive interactions of the individual.

Evaluation:

2. “H.M.” (1926-2008) was one of the most famous and important case studies to modern cognitive neuroscience and our understandings of memory.

Described by Brenda Milner and William Scoville (1957)

(1953) HM had a partial resection of his medial temporal lobe (MTL) as an attempt to stop his epileptic seizures.

After the surgery he suffered from severe anterograde amnesia (inability to make new memories after the trauma): although his working memory and

procedural memory were intact, he could not commit new events to long-term memory.

He also suffered moderate retrograde amnesia, and could not remember most events in the 3–4 -day period before surgery, and some events up to 11 years before, meaning that his amnesia was temporally graded.

However, his ability to form long-term procedural memories was still intact; thus he could, as an example, learn new motor skills, despite not being able to remember learning them.

Supporting Study: Milner & Scoville (1957) – HM

Background: H.M first fell off a bicycle at 9 years old resulting in brain damage. Epileptic seizures started at age 10 Major seizures happened since age 16 Drugs failed to control seizures

Method: At age 27 (1953) H.M had brain surgery to control his epilepsy and to stop

seizures. He had a bilateral medial temporal lobectomy. They removed tissue from the temporal lobe, including the hippocampus. H.M. was studied extensively for 40 years. In 1997, researchers used an MRI scan

Results: After the operation, HM had anterograde amnesia – he was unable to create

new memories Nothing could be stored in his long-term memory (LTM). His childhood memories were intact Memories immediately before the operation were lost. His working memory was intact. MRI Scan Results (1997) – Brain damage was pervasive and included the

hippocampus, the amygdala, and other areas close to the hippocampus.

Conclusion: The hippocampus is needed for memories to be transferred to long-term

memory.

Connection of study to question The case of HM reveals the interaction of cognition (memory) and physiology

(brain damage in the hippocampus) in amnesia. Brain damage in relevant areas caused memory impairment

This study suggests that certain brain regions are responsible for the cognitive process of memory

Evaluation:

Other Theories on Memory:Craik and Lockhart (1972)

The _________________________________________ was presented as an alternative to theories of memory.States that stimulus information is processed at multiple levels simultaneously depending upon its characteristics. Furthermore, the "deeper" the processing, the more that will be remembered.

Example: Information that involves strong visual images or many associations with existing knowledge will be processed at a deeper level. - Similarly, information that is being attended to receives more processing than other stimuli/events.

The theory also supports the finding that we remember things that are meaningful to us because this requires more processing than meaningless stimuli.

THE STUDY - Craik and Lockhart (1972)

Aim: To investigate how deep and shallow processing affects memory recall.

Method: Participants were presented with a series of 60 words about which they had to answer one

of three questions. Some questions required the participants to process the word in a deep way (e.g.

semantic) and others in a shallow way (e.g. structural and phonemic). For example: Structural /

visual processing: ‘Is the word in capital letters or small letters? Phonemic / auditory processing:

‘Does the word rhyme with . . .?’ Semantic processing: ‘Does the word go in this sentence . . . .

Participants were then given a long list of 180 words into which the original words had been mixed.

They were asked to pick out the original words.

Results: Participants recalled more words that were semantically processed compared to

phonemically and visually processed words.

Conclusion: Semantically processed words involve elaboration rehearsal and deep processing

which results in more accurate recall. Phonemic and visually processed words involve shallow

processing and less accurate recall.

Name: _________________________________ Date: __________ Period: ___________

IB Psychology Unit 3: Cognitive L.O.A.

Aim(s):Aim(s):Discuss how Social and Cultural Influence affect one Cognitive Process.Discuss how Social and Cultural Influence affect one Cognitive Process.

Evaluate the extent to which the cognitive process is reliable.Evaluate the extent to which the cognitive process is reliable.

Do NowDo Now::Do you believe eyewitness testimony is reliable? Explain. Do you believe eyewitness testimony is reliable? Explain.

Discuss how Social and Cultural Influence affect one Cognitive Process:Discuss how Social and Cultural Influence affect one Cognitive Process:It should be of no surprise that cognition is influenced by the environment around you.

With globalization and modern technology it requires all of us to have specialized education- think about how much we have to learn and need to memorize from school (math, psychology, language etc.)

According to Jerome Bruner, children of any culture learn the basics of culture through schooling and daily interaction with members of the culture in which they live.

A. The role of schooling on rememberingResearch has shown that memory tests done on Western cultures do not always give the same data in other regions of the world.

1. Cole & Scribner (1974): Memory strategies in different cultures:- Compared word recall between US and Kpelle people of rural Liberia. - Realized that they could not use the same words for both cultures so they started to observe daily activities of Kpelle people, so words were more relevant.

- Compared data from school vs. non-school children in Liberia.

- Asked children to recall as many items as possible from 4 categories: utensils, clothes, tools, and vegetables.

Results : a. Children without schooling could not increase recall even after practicing.

Remembered 10 items the first time and only 2 more after 15 practice trials

b. Children with schooling learned list just as quickly as US children and used similar techniques such as “_____________________”

c. In a later trial, the researchers presented the objects in a story (narrative). The illiterate children recalled the objects more so.

d. Other studies confirm these results (Rogoff & Wadell, 1982) found that Mayan children could easily recall objects if put into a meaningful story format.

Reliability of one cognitive process: Memory:Reliability of one cognitive process: Memory:

How reliable is memory? Recently legal systems have learned more towards DNA evidence because of the inconsistencies of memory.

“____________________________” allows one to explain how memory may be influenced by other factors:

Frederic Bartlett : his “______________________” experiment showed how culture effects the reconstructive process of memory and how schemas influence memory recall. Stated the more complicated the story, the more elements will be forgotten or distorted.

Elizabeth Loftus : The most horrifying idea is that what we believe with all our hearts is not necessarily the truth (Loftus, 1996). Dr. Elizabeth F. Loftus, a professor of psychology and expert researcher on the malleability and reliability of repressed memories, is an instrumental figure in cognitive psychology.

She has done innumerable studies of over 20,000 subjects showing that eyewitness testimonies are often unreliable and that false memories can be triggered in up to 25 percent of people merely by suggestion or giving of incorrect post event information (Niemark,1996).

The aim of this study was to investigate later information, particularly famed questions, influences a witness's memory for that event. In asking her subjects to recall an event, she attempts to replicate how eyewitnesses reconstruct their memories.

She showed people film of traffic accident and quizzed them about that they saw. First, she showed her subjects a video of a car accident. Then, in her experimental groups she would

either ask the participants to estimate how fast the car was going when it “smashed” or “hit.” the car.  Depending on how the question was posed, they answered differently whether they had seen glass or not.

__________________ effect : incorporating misinformation into ones memory of the event. Her research demonstrates a flaw in the validity of _____________________________________.

They argue that two kinds of information go into a person's memory of an event (Loftus & Palmer, 1974).

1. Is the information obtained from perceiving an event (e.g. witnessing a video of a car accident).2. Is the other information supplied to us after the event (e.g. the question containing hit or smashed).

Over time, the information from these two sources may be integrated in such a way that we are unable to tell from which source some specific detail is recalled. All we have is one 'memory'. This explanation is often referred to as the _________________________.

Name: _________________________________ Date: __________ Period: ___________

IB Psychology Unit 3: Cognitive L.O.A.

Aim(s):Aim(s):Discuss the use of technology in investigating cognitive process. Discuss the use of technology in investigating cognitive process.

Do NowDo Now::Look in your Yellow Review Books and turn to question 3.7 to address the aim. Look in your Yellow Review Books and turn to question 3.7 to address the aim.

Technology & Cognitive Processes: 1. PET scan: has allowed neuroscientists to develop methods to detect the signs of

Alzheimer’s earlier than ever before.

a. research as NYU has developed a brain-scan-based computer program that illustrates early

warning signs of memory degradation in Alzheimer’s by showing diminishing metabolic

activity in the hippocampus.

2. MRI and fMRI: both provide 3-D pictures of brain structures. b. Based on oxygen consumption, the more an area uses oxygen

the more active it is.c. Used to see what areas are active when cognitive processes

such as reading, problem solving and memory are happening. d. Even used in marketing popular products “neuromarketing”

(ex. Clinton Kilts, Pepsi/Coke taste test at Emory: showed that the ventral putamen was involved in selecting sodas)

Name: _________________________________ Date: __________ Period: ___________

IB Psychology Unit 3: Cognitive L.O.A.

Aim(s):Aim(s):Evaluate one theory of how emotion may affect one cognitive process.Evaluate one theory of how emotion may affect one cognitive process.

To what extent do cognitive and biological factors interact in emotion?To what extent do cognitive and biological factors interact in emotion?

Do NowDo Now::Look in your Yellow review book and look at questions 3.8 and 3.9 which address theLook in your Yellow review book and look at questions 3.8 and 3.9 which address the

two aim questions.two aim questions.

Cognition and Emotion:Tries to answer the questions about why we easily remember some things but not others:

Famous brain researcher, Antonio Damasio, explains that emotions are purely physical signals of the body which react to _______________ stimuli. Feelings arise when the brain interprets these emotions.

Emotions consist of three components: 1. _______________________________

2. _______________________________

3. _______________________________

To what extent do cognitive and biological factors interact in emotion:The _______________________ appears to be critical in emotional perception and memory. Studies of animals and humans indicate that stress hormones such as adrenaline are released when strong emotions are evoked.In the ____________________ (1999) Joseph LeDoux described two biological pathways of emotions in the brain.

1. Short route: from thalamus to amygdala2. Long route: passes via the neocortex/amygdala and hippocampus

- the amygdala receives input and projects them to areas of the brain stem that help control emotional responses such as the “fight or flight” response.

- According to LeDoux, it is advantageous that the amygdala is flexible in where it receives and transmit emotional information. Allows us to perceive danger quickly and further evaluate stimuli which are not threatening (think before you act)

Brown & Kulik (1977): Flashbulb TheoryA ________________________ is a memory created in great detail during a personally significant event, often a shocking event of national or international importance.

They found highly emotional memories (e.g. hearing bad news) were often vividly recalled, even some time after the event.

Ex: A great many people can remember where they were when they heard of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001

Other Cognitive Theories/Concepts : A. Cognitive Dissonance Theory

a. Cognitive Dissonance Theory : the theory that we act to reduce the discomfort (dissonance) we feel when two of our thoughts (cognitions) are inconsistent

b. Festinger & Carlsmith’s famous study ( ) developed the cognitive dissonance theory to explain the results of their experiment.

The Experiment : First, they asked people perform a  boring task (separating spools into groups of 12 and turning a square peg ¼ a turn). Then,  in two experimental groups they gave participants either $1 or $20  to tell an evaluator that they enjoyed the experiment.

They found that the subjects in the $1 were more likely to actually believe that they enjoyed the experiment.

Explain - why that is?

B. Free Will vs. Determinism:

Cognitive Psychology developed as a reaction against ______________________ which emphasizes determinism.

However, the cognitive approach states that a person____________ thinks about their behavior therefore they should be able to change these ______________ on their own free will.

Some refer to cognitive psychologists as “_____________________________”

_________________: Thesis of determinism is true and is compatible with freedom, because freedom requires two elements: capability (“I can”) and desire (“I want to”). A free act is a voluntary act that nothing prevents me from performing.

The CLOA does address both biological and environmental influence, yet does not say that we are simply born pre-programmed or simply passive responders to our surroundings!

C. Cognition and Therapy:

Albert Ellis' Rational Emotive Therapy (1973,1993) is a clinical application of cognitive principles blended with behavioral principles. This cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) rests on the idea that inappropriate and self-defeating beliefs are the root of psychological disorders.

Aaron Beck , another cognitive psychotherapist, has a similar view on therapy based on the belief that anxiety promoting patterns of thinking are what cause anxiety and depressive disorders (Beck, 1976; 1993).

Controversies and Criticisms:The largest controversy within the perspective is in ____________________ of the approach.

– Some say that lack of experimental evidence for the approach make the perspective overly simplified and theoretical.

__________________ – the validity that a principle observed in a laboratory setting has outside of that setting, in the field, in the real world. OR a studies ability to be generalized to the masses.

Since there is difficulty in saying what conditions are natural or normal (some field experiments may be conducted under very unusual circumstances, while laboratories are human social situations too)

Other’s praise the perspective’s ability to explain behaviors that the learning perspective cannot and for its functional explanation of psychology. Furthermore the cognitive approach is particularly strong when it is combined with ideas from other approaches.

Methods Used:Laboratory experimentation Clinical interviews Verbal protocols Ethical considerations Easiest Method to write about: Lab experimentation

Laboratory Experiments- used as the primary method of research for cognitive psychologists- Strength: ______________________________________________________________________- Limitation: _____________________________________________________________________

Brain Technology : - Today, fMRI and CT scans offer the possibilities to look into brain processes within the ‘active’ brain, giving us insight into the workings of the mind.

Evaluation/Analysis of C.L.O.AStrengths: - It investigates many areas of behavior ignored by the learning perspective, using rigorous scientific methods.

-Explanations at a functional, psychological level rather than a reductionist approach. -It has combined with other perspectives to strengthen its explanations - e.g. neuropsychology.

Weaknesses : - Overly simplistic - computer model disregards the complexity of human behavior. - Overly hypothetical - Objectification of its participants - Question of mundane vs. psychological reality - Sampling is YAVIS (Eyseneck) Young, attractive, verbal, intelligent, successful, the syndrome of personal qualities that counselors, therapists, and people in general supposedly find most appealing in their clients or associates.