PSYC2013Notes

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PSYC2013:Cognitiveandsocialpsychology

Textbookused• CognitiveProcesses:Eysenck,M.W.,&Keane,M.T.(2015).Cognitive

Psychology:Astudent’shandbook(7thedition).NewYork:PsychologyPress.• SocialandDevelopmentalPsychology:White,F.A.,Hayes,B.,&Livesey,D.

(2015).Developmentalpsychology:FromInfancytoadulthood(4thedition).Sydney:PearsonEducationAustralia.

Section1:Cognitiveprocesses

Lecture1:TheoriesandmethodsincognitivepsychologyTextbook:Eysenck&Keane)Chapter1:ApproachestohumancognitionWhatiscognitivepsychology?:Theinternalprocessesinvolvedinmakingsenseoftheenvironmentanddecidingwhatactionmightbeappropriate• Itinvolvestryingtounderstandhumancognitionbyusingbehavioural

evidence• Metalprocessarenotdirectlyobservable(drawsonotherdisciplinesto

providemetaphors)andhappensinthebrain(brainstructureandfunction)

Frameworks/metaphorsincognitivepsychology1950s-80sInformationprocessing

Ø Computermetaphor:themindisasymbolprocessingsystemwherethesymbolisusedtorepresentthingsintheworld

Ø Informationprocessing=acquisition,storageandmanipulationofsymbolstomeettaskdemands

Ø Representbottomupprocessing(processingthatisdirectlyinfluencedbyenvironmentalstimuli)

Ø Representsserialprocessing(processinginwhichoneprocessiscompletedbeforethenextonestarts)

1980stonow Ø Neutralmetaphor:themindisnetworkofinterconnected

v Investigatingcognition:Anoverviewofthemajortheoreticalandmethodologicalapproachesusedtoinvestigateunobservablecognitiveprocesses.

v Memory:Overviewofdifferenttypesofshort-termandlong-termmemoryandtheencoding,storageandretrievalprocessesthatdistinguishthem.Reviewoftheoriesoftheorganisationanddevelopmentofdifferentmemorysystemsandbehavioural,neuropsychologicalandneuroscienceevidenceinvestigatingthem.Applicationsoftheoriesofmemorywillbebrieflyconsidered.

v Attention:Overviewofearlydebatesaboutthelocusofattention,thenatureofautomaticityandtheroleofattentioninskilledbehaviouranddual-taskperformance.Discussionoftheoriesofpre-attentiveprocessesinvolvedinvisualsearchandattentionalcapture.Considerationoftheimplicationsofinattentionalblindnessandchangeblindnessforunderstandingconsciousnessandtheemergentnatureofattention.

v Thinking:Anoverviewofhigher-ordercognitionastheuseandrepresentationofknowledge.Phenomenaandtheoriesofproblemsolving.Anintroductiontodecisionmakingandjudgmentresearch,withanemphasisonhowourbiasesandheuristicsinfluenceourchoices.

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Connectionistframework

processingunits(neurons)whichcontrolsthetransmissionofactivationandinhibitionwithinthesenetworks

1990stonowcognitiveneuroscience

Ø Neuroimaging:manycognitivefunctionscanbelocalisedtoparticularneuralregionsandidentifyingandinvestigatinghowtheseareasrespondtoexperimentalmanipulationsprovidesinsightintothebrainmechanisms

Representationofmetalprocesses• Levelofdescriptionofcomplexsystems

o Computational:Whatneedstobecomputedforthetasktobecarriedout

o Conceptual–representationandalgorithms:theforminwhichinformationisrepresentedandthestepsorproceduresthatoccurtotransforminputsintooutputs

o Hardware:physicalmeansbywhichtherepresentationandalgorithmarerealised

• Brainversusminddebate?(needconvergingmethodologytoassessboth)Measuringcognitiveprocesses Method DisadvantageExperimentalcognitivepsychology

Ø Developtheoriesofcognitiveprocessesunderlyingatask

Ø Usebehaviouralevidencetotesttheories(i.e.faceinversioneffect–behaviouralmethodforinvestigatingfaceprocessing)

Theoriesoftenabstractandtestrelyoninferences

Cognitiveneuropsychology

Ø Usepatternsofimpairmentafterbraininjurytoinferthefunctionalorganisationofthebrain

Ø Disassociationsbetweendifferenttaskimpliesthattheyreplyondifferentneuralsystems)

Ø Oftenrelyon“singlecase”

Ø Assumes“isomorphism”betweenphysicalandfunctionalbrainorganisation

Computationalmodelling

Ø Thisapproachinvolvesdevelopingcomputationalmodelstofurtherourunderstandingofhumancognitions;suchmodelsincreasinglytakeaccountofourknowledgeofbehaviourandthebrain

Ø requiresprecisespecificationofalldetailsofthemodel

Ø Oftenhavetospecifydetailsthatarenotpartoftheory

Ø Thefactthatthetaskcanbedonethatwaydoesnotmeanit’showpeopledoit

Cognitiveneuroscience(seductiveallure)

Ø Usingevidencefrombehaviourandthebraintounderstandhumancognition

Differentmeasuresreflectdifferentaspectsofbrain

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Ø Take“snapshots”ofbrainactivitywhilepeopleareperformingcognitivetasks(i.e.PETandfMRI)

Ø Localisationofbrainfunctions

functions;andtechniquesrequireapplicationofeffectiveapplicationofcognitivepsychologicalmethods

Theoriesandmethodsofcognitivescience

• Differentmethodsinvolvedifferentlevelsanddirectionsofinferenceanddifferentstrengthsandweaknesses

• Needconvergingevidence–andamethodofintegratingit• Cognitivemodelsprovideamediating,functionallevelofdescriptionthat

helpstointegratedataandtesthypothesesLecture2+3:MemorysystemsandprocessesTextbook:Eysenck&Keane(2015–7thedition)Chapter6Learning,memoryandforgettingThethreestagesofmemory• EncodingàStorageàRetrievalDefiningmemory/kindsofknowledge• Sensorymemory:briefliteralcopiesofevents

o Iconicmemory:asensorystorethatholdsvisualinformationforapproximately500millisecondsorlonger

o Echoicmemory:asensorystorethatholdsauditoryinformationforapproximatelytwoseconds

• Shorttermmemory:“buffer”fortemporarymaintenanceofinformationo TworeasonsforrejectingsevenitemsasthecapacityofSTM;

– Needtodistinguishbetweenitemsandchunks(groupsofitemsthathavebeencollectedtogetherandtreatedasasingleunit)

– EstimatesofSTMareofteninflatedbecauseparticipants’performancedependsonrehearsalandLTM

• Longtermmemory:o facts/conceptsàabstract,semantico episodes/eventsàautobiographical,specificmemoryofaparticular

timeandplace

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o procedureàknowledgeofhowtodothingsthatareoftenunabletobeverbalisedorconsciouslyaccessed

Traditionalviewofmemory:Multistoremodel• Multistoremodel:Astructuralviewofmemory

• Accordingtothemulti-storemodel;

o Environmentalstimulationisinitiallyprocessedbythesensorystores,thataremodalityspecific(i.e.vision,hearing)

o Informationisheldverybrieflyinsensorystores,withsomebeingattendedtoandprocessedfurtherbytheshorttermstorm

o ThereisadirectrelationshipbetweentheamountofrehearsalintheSTMandthestrengthofmemorytraceinLTM.

• Shorttermandlongtermmemoryrelyonseparatememorysystemswithdifferentproperties

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• Limitationofthemulti-storeapproacho OverlysimplifiedinitsassumptionthatbothSTMandLTMstoresare

bothunitary(i.e.eachstoreoperatedinssingle,uniformway)– SeeanapproachinthesingleSTMisreplacedbyaworking

memorysystemconsistingof4components+severallongtermmemorysystem

o IncorrectinitsassumptionthatSTMactasagatewaybetweensensorystoresandLTM

– Processingisnotentirely“bottomup”pathway(i.e.informationprocessedintheSTMhasalreadymadecontactwithinformationintheLTM)

– Semanticinfluencesofcontext(LTM)onSTMtasks• Sentencerecall• Releasefromproactiveinterference(recallimproves

whenitemsfromadifferentsemanticcategoryarepresentedandextentofimprovementdependsonsimilarityofsemanticcategories)

o Proactiveinterference-thetendencyofpreviouslylearnedmaterialtohindersubsequentlearning)

o Levelofprocessing(i.e.theassumptionthatinformationintheSTMmemoryrepresentsthe“contentofconsciousness”)

– Falsifiedbyimplicitlearning(learningwithoutconsciousawarenssofwhathasbeenlearned)

– Craik&Lockhart(1972)Investigatedincidentalmemory(nottoldtotrytoremember)formaterialpresentedwithdifferent“orientingtasks”i.e.printtype,soundsandmeaning

– Memorybestwhenencodingtaskrequires‘deep’ratherthan‘shallow’processingNOTduesimplytolongerencodingtimefordeeperencodingtask

Interactivememoryarchitecture:(ACT)Adaptivecontrolofthoughtmodel

• Longtermmemory

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o Declarativememory:semanticandepisodicmemoryo Proceduralmemory;

– Memoryforhowtodothings– Notverbalisableoravailabletoconsciousawareness

• Workingmemoryo Thesysteminwhichincominginformationisprocessedand

integratedwithexistingdeclarativeandproceduralmemoriesWaysofthinkingaboutWorkingmemory

Component MeasurementBaddely:componentofworkingmemory

CentralexecutiveSlavesystem

Dualtask,backwardspanSimplespantask

Executivefunction UpdatingShiftingInhibition

i.e.runningspan

Psychometric:capacitytheory

Workingmemorycapacity=storage+processing

Complexspantask(greaterexternalvalidity–“reallifetask”*simplespantaskàonlytestingefficiencyofrehearsal

• 1)Baddeley(1974-2012):componentsofworkingmemory

o Definedworkingmemoryasàthesysteminwhichincoming

informationisprocessedandintegratedwithexistingdeclarativeandproceduralmemories(asthecentralexcecutive)

o Ratherthanapassiveshort-termstore,workingmemoryconsistsofmultiplespecialistcomponents;

– CentralExecutiveLimitedcapacity,modalityfreecontrolsystemresponsibleforco-ordination,selection,allocationofattentionalresourcesetc

– Independent“Slavesystems”:• Phonologicalloop:maintainsverbalinformation• Visuospatialsketchpad:maintainsvisual/spatial

informationo Assumptions;

– Iftwotasksusethesamecomponent,theycannotbeperformedsuccessfullytogether

– Iftwotaskusedifferentcomponents,itshouldbepossibletoperformthemaswelltogetherasseparately

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o Measurement;– Dual-taskstudiesi.e.playersselectedcontuationmovesfrom

variouschesspositionwhileperformingoneofthefollowingtasks;

• Repetitivetapping(controlcondition)• Randomnumbergeneralisation(alsoinvolvescentral

excecutive)o Limitations:

– “Slave”systemsmayreflecttask-specificstrategiesegrehearsal– Centralexecutivemeasuredbyrandomnumbergeneration,

dualtaskdecrementsàInadequatemeasuresof‘executiveprocesses’

– Model‘fractionates’workingmemory(Morerecentversionsaddanextrabox:‘episodicbuffer’:blursdistinctionbetweenworkingmemoryandLTM)

• 2)Executivefunctions(e.g.Miyakeetal2010)ofthecentralexecutiveo Hardtogetaconsesnsusonthenumberandnatureofexecutive

processeso Roleofcentralexcecutive;

§ Controlandregulatethoughtandaction§ Associatedwithfrontallobesegdeficitsinpeoplewithbrain

injurytotheseareas§ IdentifiedwithneuropsychologicaltestsegWisconsinCard

SortBUTthesearevery‘impure’measureso Miyakeetal.(2000)identifiedthreeindependentexecutiveprocesses:

§ Inhibitionfunction:;usetodeliberatelyoverridedominantresonsetoresistdistraction(i.e.strooptaskwhichinvolvesnamingthecoloursinwhichthewordisprinted)

§ Shiftingfunction:usetoswitchflexiblybetweentasksormentalstates(i.e.switchbetweenmultiplyingtodividingnumbersinalternativetasks)

§ Updatingfunction:usedtomonitorandengageinrapidadditionordepletionofworkingmemorycontent

• 3)Psychometricapproach–measuringtheworkdonebyworkingmemory

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o Avalidmeasureoftheroleofworkingmemorycapacityin‘realworldtasks’needtoassessSIMULTANEOUSdemandsofBOTHstorageandprocessing

o Simplevscomplexspantasks§ Complexspanrequirebothprocessingandstorage§ Canbeimplementedindifferentdomainsegverbal,numerical,

spatial§ Showhighercorrelationswithcomplextasksthansimplespan§ Evidenceofbothgeneralanddomain-specificcontributions§ Complexspantaskbetterpredictorthansimplespantask§ Domain-generalanddomain-specificcontribution

Individualdifferencesinworkingmemory• Avalidmeasureoftheroleofworkingmemorycapacityin‘realworldtasks’

needtoassessSIMULTANEOUSdemandsofBOTHstorageandprocessing• Complexspanmeasurespredictperformanceinreal-worldtasks:

o Sanchez&Wiley(2006):Individualshigherinworkingmemoryarelessvulnerableto‘seductivedetails’effect(i.e.irrelevantknowledge)

o Kaneetal.(2007):Individualshigherinworkingmemoryarelessvulnerableto‘mindwandering’andsustainattentioninmoredemandingandchallengingtasks

• Cowan2010:PerformanceinmanyWMtasksreflectsboth‘pure’WMcapacity/executiveprocesses+theeffectsofstrategiesegrehearsal,chunking,attentiono Whenstrategiesareeliminated,estimatesofworkingmemoryof

capacityislessthan7+/-o 3-4chunksacrossmanytasks,modalitiesetco Cowantheorised:Unitarymemoryview

§ Workingmemory=theinformationcurrentlyactiveinLTMBUTislimitedbyconstraintsonattention/centralexecutive

• ‘Pure’measuresofWMcapacity/executiveprocessingpredictdevelopmentalchangesandindividualdifferencesinfluidintelligence

Workingmemory:Structureversusprocesses• (Ranganathetal2003)Ratherthanmultiplememorysystems,perhaps

thereisasinglestoreofmemory‘content’• BUTtheprocessesthatoperateonitdifferasafunctionoftask

demands/effortrequiredetco thememoryrepresentationssupportingbothSTMandLTMare

storedin(oraccessedthrough)posteriorbrainregionsinvolvedininitialperception/encoding

o Frontalareasareinvolvedintheattentional/executiveprocessesrequiredformaintenance,updating,shiftingattention,resistinginterferenceetc