Hermann Ebbinghaus
*1st memory researcher
*Meaningless string of letters- memory studies, to study capacity for memory storage
Edward Titchener
*Structuralism- goal is to break consciousness down into basic structures.
Spanned: Functionalism, Behaviorism, and Gestalt Psychology
*Introspection
*Wundt-trained
Noam Chomsky
*A linguist
*Critique of B.F. Skinner's 1957 book Verbal Behavior
- opposed that language is acquired by reinforcement.
-Novel word combinations
-error in growth
Mental chronometry
reaction time (how mental processes are organized)
Eye Movement
reading and language comprehension, online method (can be measured as the subject is taking part in experiment in real time)
Brain imaging- connect cognitive processes with brain activity
Ebbinghaus's Memory Research
Method of Savings
Method of Savings
1.) Memorize and initial List
2.) Compare the number of times it takes to re-memorize it
3.) Savings measures the number of trails saved when rememorizing a previously learned list.
Forgetting Curve
without practice we forget rapidly, then at a certain point, the forgetting platuaes.
3 stages of memory:
1.) Encoding- Putting new information into memory
2.) Storage- retaining the information over time
3.) Retrieval- recovery of the stored material over time
Tip of the tongue phenomenon- problem with retrieval
Memory Encoding
Putting new information into memory
Memory Storage
retaining the information over time
Memory Retrieval
*recovery of the stored material over time Tip of the tongue phenomenon- problem with retrieval
Recency effect
easier to remember elements at the end of a list or series
Primacy Effect
Easier to remember elements at the beginning of a list or series
Clustering
easier to remember elements when grouped or clustered according to categories
Iconic Memory
(Visual) memory
Echoic Memory
(auditory) memory
Working Memory (Short Term Memory)
*Link between sensory memory and long term memory
*Maintenance rehearsal
George Miller: 7 +/-2 chunks can be stored in memory
Long-term Memory
*Permanent storehouse of your experiences, knowledge, and skills
Elaborative rehearsal
a way to organize material and organize it with
Procedural memory
HOW things are done, e.g. how to tie shoe laces
Declarative memory
EXPLICIT/FACT memory
-Semantic - meaning of words and concepts
-Episodic memory- memories of specific events or episodes you have personally experiences.
Encoding for Verbal information:
Short Term:
-Phonological or acoustic (rather than visual)
*More errors with similar sounding letters (e.g., D and T) than with similar looking letters (e.g., D and O)
Long Term Memory
Encoded on the basic meaning
Collins and Loftus, the spreading activation model
-The shorter the distance, the closer the words were related in the semantic memory.
Semantic Feature Comparison
Smith, Shoben and Rip
The semantic feature- comparison model
-Concepts are represented by sets of features
-Some features are required for concepts, and some are typical of concepts
-Response time depends on overlap
A robin is a bird - much overlap quick true
A horse is a fish
Levels-of-processing theory (depth-of-processing theory)
*One memory system
*3 levels of information processing
-Physical (visual, focusing on appearance size and shape, demands least amount of effort)
-Acoustical (focusing on sound combination)
-Semantic (focusing on meaning of words- demands most effort)
Dual- Code Hypothesis
*Proposed by Paivio
*Information encoded in 2 ways: visually and verbally
-Abstract information is encoded verbally Concrete information is encoded visually and verbally
-Virtue ? verbally
-Elephant ? visually and verbally
Memory
dynamic interplay between what we experience and what we already know.
Schema (Schemata)
Conceptual framework that organize knowledge; existing schemata can lead to distortions in memories
Decay Theory
without rehearsal, information will eventually be forgotten
Inhibition Theory
forgetting is due to the activities that take place between the original learning and the time of recall
Proactive inhibition
what you learned earlier interferes with what you learn later. (e.g. if you learn French as a second language, then learn Spanish as a third language, you may find that you begin using French words, some of the time you are speaking in Spanish)
Retroactive inhibition
when you forget what you learned earlier when you learn something new (e.g. if you learn list A, then you learn list B, you may find you cannot remember list A anymore)
Encoding specificity
- assumption that recall will be best if context at recall approximates the context during the original encoding.
State dependent learning- suggests recall will be better is psychological or physical state is the same at time of learning.
The method of loci
system of associating information with some series of information that you are already familiar with (e.g. if you have to learn 10 words, mentally place these words on a pathway between your dorm room and your classroom, once you can remember where you pl
The mental set
water jar problem- the idea that past experience impede current problem solving
Functional fixedness
associating a single function to an object (thinking inside the box)
Creativity
cognitive ability that results in new ways of viewing problems or situation
Guilford Test of divergent thinking
Producing as many creative answers to a question as possible- an individual's thoughts diverge among multiple paths of possibility.
heuristics
rules of thumb
Availability heuristic
how likely something is
The Representativeness heuristic
categorizing things based on whether they fit into
Phonemes
Smallest sound units of language
Morphemes
smallest units of meaning in a language
Semantics
meaning of words and sentences
Syntax
grammatical arrangement of words in sentences
Learning Theory: (B.F. SKINNER)
Language is acquired through classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and/or modeling
Early Cognitive Theories: (PIAGET)
Capacity for symbolic thought (sensorimotor period)
Nativist Theories: (NOAM CHONSKY)
*Language Acquisition Device (LAD)
- Innate, biologically based mechanism for language acquisition
-Built in advanced knowledge of rule structures in language
The surface structure (NOAM CHONSKY)
the word order of the words in the sentence
The deep (or abstract) structure (NOAM CHONSKY)
form that specifies the meaning of the sentence
Transformational grammar (NOAM CHONSKY)
changing one structure into another
Transformational rules (NOAM CHONSKY)
how the structures go together
Linguistic relativity (Whorfian) hypothesis
- Perception of reality is determined by content of language
Charles Spearman
actor analysis- general, unitary factor, or "g" for general intelligence
Louis Thurston
primary mental abilities (e.g. verbal comprehension, number, perceptual speed, general reasoning)
Robert Sternberg's triarchic theory
3 aspects of intelligence:
1.) Componential
2.) Experiential
3.) Contextual
Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences
1.) Linguistic
2.) Logical- mathematical
3.) Spatial
4.) Musical
5.) Bodily/ kinesthetic
6.) Interpersonal
7.) Intrapersonal
Fluid Intelligence- Raymond Cattell
the ability to quickly grasp relationships in novel situations, and to make correct deductions from them (e.g. solving analogies) (Increases throughout childhood and adolescence, levels off in young adulthood, and declines steadily on old age)
Crystallized intelligence- Raymond Cattell
ability to understand relationships or solve problems that require knowledge based on schooling or other life experiences (Increases throughout lifespan)
Serial processing vs. Parallel processing
computers as a model for the human mind
Used to believe that the mind processed information serially, on level at a time. PDP believes information is processed through a parallel distribution across the brain.
McClelland and Rumelhart
parallel distributed process (PDP)
Meta
ability to reflect about something
Metacognition
thinking about thinking