3.1 Cognitive Level of Analysis: Cognitive Processes

Principles that define the cognitive level of analysis 1 st Principle 1. Mental processes guide behavior –Bottom –up processing (from the sensory system) –Top-down processing (in the mind, via pre-stored information in the memory) –Output (in the form of behaviour) –Dweck- mindset determines behavior Memory is not infallible Memory –Reconstructive nature –False memories Perception –Process that interprets and organizes information to produce some meaningful experience of the world. –Necker Cube pg. 68

2 nd Principle The mind can be studied scientifically –experimental method (artificial??) –daily context Case studies –Technology fMRI 3 rd Principle Cognitive processes are influenced by social and cultural factors. –Schema Mental representation of knowledge –What did Bartlett say about schema, culture, and memory? Memory Distortions

Be A Thinker Pg. 69 Will It Ever be possible to develop robots that can think like humans?

A theory of a cognitive process: Schema Theory Schema theory: theory about information processing Cognitive schema: networks of knowledge, beliefs, expectations about particular aspects of the world. Assumption: Human processing is influenced by what we know (schema). Can you give an example of this? How is this related to distortions?

Schema Theory and Memory Processing Memory Processes –Encoding: transforming sensory information into meaningful memory –Storage: creating a biological trace of the encoded information in memory –Retrieval: using stored information

Evaluation of Schema Theory What are the positive aspects and limitations of schema theory? Pros –Helps understanding how people Categorize, interpret, make inferences have memory distortions have memory distortions Have “social schemas” (prejudice, stereotyping)

Cons –Not Clear How are schemas acquired? How do they actually influence cognitive processes? –Too vague to be useful (opinion)

A model of memory: the working memory model Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) –Multi-store model: Sensory Memory (modality specific) Short-term Memory (needs attention, rehearsal) Long-term Memory (needs encoding) –Can you explain the Multi-store model?

The Working Memory Model (Baddeley and Hitch) 1974 Based on Multi-store model The Central Executive (controlling system that coordinates the “slave systems”) –Limited capacity –Modality free (can process any sensory information)

Attention control Most important function of CE. –Automatic level habit, controlled by environmental stimuli. Ex. Cycling to school –Supervisory attention level Emergencies New situations that require different strategies Ex. Approaching car while cycling

Episodic Buffer Temporary and passive display store until the info is needed. Processing takes place elsewhere Ex. Recalling the details of a landscape

The Phonological Loop Articulatory control system (inner voice) –Holds information in a verbal form Ex. Repeating a phone # to yourself –Holds words ready as you prepare to speak Phonological store (inner ear) –Holds speech-based material in a phonological form.

Visuospatial Sketchpad Inner eye Visual and spatial information from –Sensory memory –LTM

Evidence of working memory Working memory widely accepted Dual-task techniques where participants are asked to perform: –Cognitive task that uses most of capacity of working memory. (telling a story) –Second cognitive task (memorizing list of #) –If both tasks interfere with each other They use same component in STM

Evidence of working memory (cont.) Baddeley and Hitch (1974) Dual-task memory experiment –Findings: Evidence that STM has more than one unitary store Working memory doesn’t easily breakdown with another concurrent task.

Evaluation of the working memory model More satisfactory explanation of storage and processing than STM of multi-store model. Active storage and processing –Useful in understanding a wide range of tasks Ex. Reading comprehension and mental arithmetic –Multi-tasking

Pickering and Gathercole (2001) pg. 75 Working memory and early learning Working Memory Test and Battery for Children –What did they find? How useful? What other studies analyze working memory and its implications for learning? Holmes et al. (2008) Math and visual patterns test Eysenck (1988) Intelligence linked to working memory

Long Term Memory System –Explicit/Declarative Memories Semantic Memories (general knowledge) Episodic Memories (personal experience) Hippocampus important –Implicit/Non-declarative Memories Procedural memories (skills, habits, “knowing how”) Emotional memories –Amygdala –Hard to forget, Post-traumatic stress disorder

Brain damage and Memory Case of Clive Wearing What insight did we gain from his case? Episodic and semantic memory lost Implicit memory OK Emotional memory OK Evidence of Distributed memory system Case of HM –Inability to form new memories –MRI Scanner

Cultural Factors in Cognition What new societal factors in the modern age are affecting our cognitive abilities? How do children learn the basics of culture?

Cross-cultural research What role does schooling play on remembering? Cole and Scribner (1974) –US vs. Liberian children –How was schooling a factor? ChunkingNarrative Rogoff and Wadell (1982) Mayan Children Memory linked to relevance to daily lives

Reliability of Cognitive Process: Memory How reliable is memory? –Reconstructive nature of memory Processing to “make sense” of world What were Freud’s views on memory? –Repression What is a criticism of “retrieving” memories by therapists? –False Memory Syndrome Foundation

Empirical Testing of Reliability of Memory Bartlett- Remembering (1932) –Serial Reproduction What were some characteristics of the changed story? –Shorter –Story remained coherent (yet distorted) –Story became more conventional Describe Bartlett’s conclusions? –Schema and Imaginative Recostruction

Loftus and Car Crash Experiment –What did Loftus test? –Results and conclusions? –Criticisms?

Technology and Cognitive Research Discuss why the PET scan is particularly useful for Alzheimers detection. How do MRI’s work?