lecture 5 - cognition ii

8/3/2019 Lecture 5 - Cognition II

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PL1101E: Introduction to Psychology 1

Cognition IIMemory, Language and Thinking

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Lecture Outline

Memory

Remembering

Forgetting

Language

Elements andStructure

Acquisition

Language andThought

Thinking

Concepts

Reasoning

Problem Solving Mental Imagery

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Types of Memory

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Remembering

Retrieval cue A stimulus that is used to

help retrieve the targetedmemory.

Recall Information must be

pulled from memory withvery few external cues.

Retrieval failure recallhas failed (at least

temporarily). Tip of the tongue

phenomenon.

Serial Position Effect willbe discussed in tutorial.

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Recall:

In recall, a specific piece of information must

be retrievedsuch as that needed to answera fill-in-the-blank question or write an essayon a test.

Try to recall the names all the seven dwarvesin Disneys Snow White and the SevenDwarves.

Remembering

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Remembering

Encoding specificity Memory tends to improve if

related information (suchas surroundings orphysiological state)

available when the memoryis first formed is alsoavailable when the memoryis being retrieved. State-dependent learning

Memories formed duringa particular physiologicalor psychological statewill be easier to recallwhile in a similar state.

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Recognition: Matching information with stored information.

Occurs when people are:

Presented with a stimulus and asked whether they have been exposed to itpreviously,

Asked to identify it from a list of alternatives.

GoofySleepySmartyScaredy

DopeyGrumpyWheezyBashful

MeanieDocHappyAngry

SneezyCrazy

Which of the following are the names of the seven dwarves in theDisney movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarves?

Answer this recognition question:

Remembering



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Remembering

Constructive processing

Retrieved memories are often altered, revised, orinfluenced by newer information.

E.g. spread of rumours.

Hindsight bias

False belief, through revision of older memories to

include newer information, that one correctlypredicted the outcome of an event. E.g. I knew all along that Spain will win the World Cup!

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Remembering

Eyewitness testimony What people see and hear about an event after the fact can

easily affect the accuracy of their memories of that event.

Misinformation effect The tendency of misleading information presented after an event to

alter the memories of the event itself.

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Forgetting

Why do we forget?

Encoding failure Failure to process information into memory.

Trace Decay Theory Memory trace

Physical change in the brain that occurs when a memory is formed.

Decay Memory loss due to the passage of time, during which the memory

trace is not used.

Disuse Unused memories will eventually decay and disappear.

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Forgetting

Interference Theory Proactive interference

Previously acquiredinformation prevents or

interferes with theretrieval of newerinformation.

Retroactiveinterference

Newly acquiredinformation prevents orinterferes with theretrieval of olderinformation.

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Language

What is it?

A system of symbols and rules for combining thesesymbols in ways that can generate an infinite number

of possible messages and meanings.

Psycholinguistics

The scientific study of the psychological aspects of

language.



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Language

Adaptive Functions

Evolved as people gathered to form largersocial units.

Development of language made it easier forhumans to adapt to environmental demands

Allows us to share thoughts, feelings, needs,etc. with others.

Powerful learning mechanism.



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Elements and Structure

Grammar Rules governing the structure and use of a language. Includes syntax and morphology.

Syntax Rules for combining words and phrases in sequences thatwould be grammatically correct.

Morphemes

The smallest units of meaning within a language. E.g. the word reading contains two morphemes read

and ing. How many morphemes does the word cats have?

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Semantics Rules for determining the meaning of words and sentences.

Phonemes

Basic sound units in language. E.g. the word caught contains 3 phonemes, /k/, /:/, and /t/,even though it written with 6 letters.

Pragmatics Practical and social communication aspects.

Conversational turn taking. Gestures. Intonation.

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PL1101E: Introduction to Psychology 167 Feb 11


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Age

1-3 months

Speech Characteristics

Infant can distinguish speech fromnonspeech sounds and prefers speechsounds (phonemes). Undifferentiated cryinggives way to cooing when happy.

Course of Normal Language Development in Children

Acquisition



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Age

4-6 months


Babbling sounds begin to occur. Thesecontain sounds from virtually everylanguage. Child vocalizes in response toverbalizations of others.


Acquisition



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Age

7-11months


Babbling sounds narrow to include only thephonemes heard in the language spoken byothers in the environment. Childdiscriminates between some words withoutunderstanding their meaning and begins toimitate word sounds heard from others.


Acquisition



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Age

12 months


First recognizable words typically spoken asone-word utterances to name familiarpeople and objects.


Acquisition



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Age

12-18 months


Child increases knowledge of wordmeanings and begins to use single words toexpress whole phrases or requests.


Acquisition



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Age

18-24 months


Vocabulary expands to between 50 and 100words. First rudimentary sentences appear,usually consisting of two words with little orno use of articles (the, a). This condensed,or telegraphic speech is characteristic offirst sentences throughout the world.


Acquisition



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Acquisition

Can animals learnlanguage?

Studies have beensomewhat successfulin demonstrating thatanimals can develop a

basic kind of language,including someabstract ideas.

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Acquisition

Controversy existsover the lack ofevidence that animalscan learn syntax,

which some feelmeans that animalsare not truly learningand using language.

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Language and Thought

Linguistic relativity hypothesis (Whorf,1956) (a.k.a. the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis).

Thought is governed by language.

Inuit have 23 words for snow.

English only 1 (but not true sleet, slush, flurriesetc.)

Hopi have 1 word for all flying things (i.e. aphids,airplanes, and aviators are all the same).

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Language and Thought

Cognitive universalism

Theory that concepts are universal andinfluence the development of language.

Language may reflect relative importance ofcertain concepts in different cultures.

Does not mean that different cultures cannotperceive differences in snow, colours, or flyingobjects etc.

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Thinking

What is it?

Create and manipulate mentalrepresentations.

Representations are things that stand for otherthings.

Mental Representations Images, ideas, concepts, and principles.



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How do you view these structures?Two houses of worship (A & B), two similar examples of architecture (B & C),or three buildings: all illustrate the use of concepts.

A. B. C.

28PL1101E: Introduction to Psychology

Concepts

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Concepts

Concepts The terms categories and concepts are often used

interchangeably.

Ideas that represent a class or category of events or

objects. Enable us to organise complex phenomena into

simpler, and therefore more easily usable, cognitivecategories.

Help us classify newly encountered objects on thebasis of our past experiences

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Concepts

Types of Concepts

Superordinate concepts The highest level or most general form

E.g. plants, furniture

Basic level concepts

Still general, but probably used most often by people.

E.g. trees, chairs

Subordinate concepts Most specific category.

E.g. flame-of-the-forest, sofa

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Concepts

Formal conceptsA.k.a. classical concepts

Defined by specific rules E.g. even numbers: any number that does not leave a

remainder when divided by 2.

Natural concepts Real world categories.

Fuzzy, hard to find explicit rules. Often have exceptions

E.g. ostrich, kiwi are not typical birds as they cant fly.

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Prototypes: typical, highly representativeexamples of a concept. High agreement exists among people in a particular culture about which examples of aconcept are prototypes, as well as which examples are not.

Ranking of Exemplars:

Most to Least Typical

Concept Category

Furniture Vehicle Weapon Vegetable

Most Typical

Least Typical


Concepts

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Ranking of Exemplars:Most to Least Typical

Concept Category

Furniture Vehicle Weapon Vegetable

Most Typical

Least Typical

Chair

SofaTableDresserDeskBedBookcaseFootstoolLampPianoRadioStove

Car

TruckBusMotorcycleTrainTrolley CarBicycleAirplaneBoatTractorRaftSled

Gun

KnifeSwordBombGrenadeSpearCannonBow&ArrowClubTankFistsRocket

Peas

CarrotsString beansSpinachBroccoliAsparagusCornCauliflowerLettuceBeetsEggplantOnion


Concepts

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Concepts

Protoypes

Most prototype theories of categorisation do notconsider specific exemplars to be a prototype

Abstract, average entity.

An example of a concept that closely matches thedefining characteristics of the concept.

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PL1101E: Introduction to Psychology

Reasoning

Deductive Reasoning

Reasoning from the top down (from general principlesto a conclusion about a specific case).

Begin with set of premises.

If premises are true, then conclusion cannot be false.

Inductive Reasoning

Reasoning from the bottom up, starting with specificfacts and trying to develop a general principle.

Involves likelihood, not certainty.

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Reasoning

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Reasoning

Inductive and deductive reasoning may beused at different points in the scientificprocess

Inductive Reasoning Observations and previous research findings lead

to the development of tentative explanations andtheories.

Deductive Reasoning Specific hypotheses are derived from theories and

tested.

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Problem Solving

Problem Solving

Behaviour and processes that occur in order to attaina particular goal.

Methods

Mechanical solutions

Trial-and-error keep trying until something works.

Rote applying a set of rules. Algorithms type of rote solution, will always lead to solution if

there is one.

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Problem Solving

Heuristics

Rule of thumbdeveloped from priorexperience.

Does not guaranteesuccess, but will workmost of the time.

E.g. workingbackwards, subgoals,means-end analysis.



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Problem Solving

Problem Solving Barriers

Functional fixedness

Tendency to see common objects only in terms oftheir typical functions E.g. spoons and coins can also function as screwdrivers.

Confirmation bias People tend to remember things which support

their beliefs and ignore contrary evidence.

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Problem Solving

Mental set

Tendency to persistusing methods whichworked before.

Unable to think outsidethe box.

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Mental Imagery

The minds eye.

Internal representations that stand for objects or eventsand have a picture-like quality.

A representation of a stimulus that originates inside your brain,rather than from external sensory input.

Example: dreams

Used in everyday life E.g., giving directions, describing things or places to people.

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Mental Imagery

Mental Rotation Task(Shepard & Metzler,1971):

Asked people to judge

whether two objects weredifferent, or merely thesame object rotated todifferent spatialorientations



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References

Shepard, R. N., & Metzler, J. (1971).Mental rotation of three-dimensionalobjects. Science, 171, 701-703.

Whorf, B. L. (1956). Science andlinguistics. In J. B. Carroll (Ed.),Language, thought and reality: Selected

writings of Benjamin Lee Whorf.Cambridge: MIT Press.



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Summary

Remembering is influenced by

Retrieval cues and encoding specificity.

Reconstructive processes during retrieval.

Forgetting could be due to

Encoding failure.

Trace decay and disuse.

Interference.

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Summary

Language can be analysed at many differentlevels, such as syntax, morphology, andphonology.

There is no evidence supporting a strong form ofthe linguistic relativity hypothesis.

There is presently no concrete evidence thatanimals can learn and use human-likelanguages.

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Summary

Mental representations such as imagery andconcepts are used in thought processes.

Concepts categorise objects and events around

us so that it is easier for us to interact with theworld.

Problem solving behaviour involve the use of

mechanical solutions and heuristics, and are alsosometimes hampered by functional fixedness,biases, and mental sets.

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Take Home Message

See you in PL3233 Cognitive Psychology!

lecture 5 - cognition ii

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