1. Cognition

2. Memory

3. Information Processing Model Thinks of the brain like a computer Simplified version of reality Three steps: ◦Both take in information (encoding) ◦Both store information (storage) ◦Both get the information back out to be used (retrieval)

4. Atkinson/Shiffrin Info Proccessing 1. record information that might be remembered in sensory memory (< 30 seconds) 2. Information that is processed goes to short-term memory, where it is encoded through rehearsal (roughly 1 minute) 3. Rehearsed info moves to long-term memory to be retrieved later

5. Modified (modern) Info Processing

6. 2 updates in the modern model ◦Some information is processed unconsciously, automatically, and directly to long-term memory (skips steps 1 and 2) ◦“short-term” changed to “working” – focuses on important aspects of sensory memory and combines them with previously learned items from long-term memory; also solves problems

7. Really Modern Theory Connectionism: memories are specific activation patterns of neural networks

8. Encoding: Automatic Processing Can be automatic or effortful Automatic processing depends on parallel processing Used for ◦Space: Visually, where was information on the page? Where did you turn to get to the store? ◦Time: You automatically remember what order things happened in (what if this were not true?)

9. ◦Frequency – how many times things happen ◦Well-learned information – such as words in your native language Processing that initially takes effort can become automatic (like reading) Automatic processing can make mistakes, similar to top- down processing

10. Spring is the The most beautiful Time of the year

11. Encoding: Effortful Processing Requires attention and conscious effort Makes more durable memories Rehearsal helps: repeating material more often increases retention Repeating material after you have learned it (overlearning) also increases retention Demonstration of rehearsal

12. Spacing Effect Information is retained better when rehearsal is spread out over time Study enough to learn something, then come back the next day to practice The longer the time between practice sessions, the better the retention years later Rehearsing by testing also improves retention (sometimes better than studying) CRAMMING IS NOT AS EFFECTIVE AS STUDYING EVERY DAY

13. An Experiment on the Spacing Effect Midterms are coming! Optional experiment to help you prepare: Study 5 days a week for 10 minutes on two units/week and keep a log of your time The next Monday, stop by before or after school and take a short review quiz Get at least one point added to your midterm for each completed quiz and log pair This week: units 1 and 2

14. Serial Positioning Effect Demonstration of the serial positioning effect People immediately remember the last item of a list best (recency effect – term still in working memory) People later remember the first item of a list well (primacy effect – more rehearsal, less interference) Items in the middle of the list are remembered relatively poorly

15. Figure 7A.6 The serial position effect Immediately after Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd introduces this long line of officials to Afghan President Hamid Karzai, President Karzai will probably recall the names of the last few people best. But later Karzai may recall the first few people best. From Craik & Watkins, 1973 © 2010 by Worth Publishers

16. Types of Encoding: Semantic Semantic encoding is based on meaning Memorizing meaningful information requires 1/10 th of the effort needed to process nonsense info (demonstration) Rephrasing in your own words is semantic encoding Self-reference effect: information that we relate to ourselves is remembered best Most effective type of encoding

17. Types of Encoding: Visual Vivid images are encoded well – causes rosy retrospection, or only remembering the best parts of an experience Works best on concrete words that have definite images Many mnemonics are visual - ex: peg-word system, method of loci

18. Types of Encoding: Acoustic Based on sound of words Rhyming can help encode more effectively and permanently ◦Ex: “If the glove don’t fit, you must acquit,” “Twenny fo’, no more po’” Example of acoustic mnemonic: keyword system – find a word that sounds like what you need to remember Setting to music also helps

19. A few more mnemonics First letter method – ex: PEMDAS, My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas, All Cows Eat Grass ◦Useful for when the order of terms is important Substitution method – substitute each number for a letter (companies do this with phone numbers all the time) or substitute each word for a number (usually the number of letters that are in the word)

20. Organizing Information: Chunking Organizing information into meaningful units makes it easier to remember Ex: Take 10 seconds to remember these numbers: 14921776151719452001 Try it again with chunking: 1492 1776 1517 1945 2001 Acronyms in the first-letter method (ROY G. BIV)

21. Organizing Information: Hierarchies Start with broad concepts and divide them into narrower ideas down to individual facts Recall is better for words put into meaningful groups Taking notes in outline form is effective (most textbooks are organized this way)

22. Storage: Sensory Memory Our senses temporarily record all the information that they take in Iconic (visual) memory lasts a few tenths of a second Echoic (auditory) memory lasts 3-4 seconds

23. Storage: Working Memory Short term memory dies within 20 seconds with no rehearsal The capacity of working memory is the “Magical Number Seven, plus or minus two” (only four items without rehearsal)

24. Storage: Long-Term Memory The brain does not store distinct memories in specific locations Memories are stored in groups of neurons that communicate at synapses In sea slugs, learning increases serotonin production at some synapses, which makes them more effective Long Term Potentiation (LTP) (increase in neuron’s firing potential): Stimulating memory-circuits makes them more sensitive ◦ sending neurons fire with a lower threshold ◦ receiving neurons grow more receptor sites

25. Drugs that enhance the production of the protein CREB may enhance LTP and therefore memory Drugs that boost NT glutamate may also improve memory After LTP, disrupting the brain won’t destroy old memories but will destroy very recent memories that have not had time to be processed

26. Stress Hormones and Memory Amygdala increases activity and proteins available in memory-forming areas Memories of traumatic experiences tend to be permanently imprinted very quickly “Flashbulb memories” of surprising/significant events are clear and relatively accurate, but they can be rewritten with rehearsal Prolonged stress can shrink the hippocampus, decreasing memory potential Sudden stress may block older memories from being called up

27. Long-Term Memory: Implicit Memory AKA nondeclarative (can be used without being described) Some implicit memories are procedural – remembering how to do something Learning without awareness No conscious recall Motor skills and classical conditioning use implicit memory Formed in the cerebellum

28. Long-Term Memory: Explicit Memory AKA declarative (people can talk about them) Uses conscious recall Facts and general knowledge; also personal experiences Processed in hippocampus during slow-wave sleep ◦Left hippocampus is better at verbal info ◦Right is better at visual-spatial info

29. Contrasting Explicit and Implicit Memories Explicit is explainable, implicit is impossible to explain We retain implicit memories from infancy and early childhood but not explicit memories ◦hippocampus develops later ◦most memories are stored with words that young children don’t know Many brain-damaged amnesia patients retain the ability to retrieve and encode implicit memories but not explicit

30. Encoding/Storage Problems Alzheimer’s Disease: a senile plaque of proteins builds up on neurons and kills them. Interferes with storage and encoding by killing parts of networks where memories are stored and areas that process new memories Korsakoff’s Syndrome – vitamin deficiency associated with alcohol abuse. Associated with a smaller hippocampus and steady decline in the ability to lay down new memories and retain old ones, as well as confabulation (making up information to fill in gaps in memories)

31. Retrieval Recall Recognition Relearning more quickly ◦All signs of memory

32. Retrieval: Cues Cues are words, sounds, smells, sights, or context that you associate with something When you see a cue, the association calls up a memory The more cues you have the better you remember

33. Retrieval: Context Effects You remember things better in the same context in which you learned them Experiments underwater vs on land May explain déjà vu – the experience may have the same context as something you’ve done before

34. Retrieval – State-Dependent Memories Returning to your emotional/mental state at the time the memory was encoded may help you retrieve the memory We tend to retrieve memories that are congruent with our moods (remember negative events when we are sad)

35. Forgetting: Encoding failure If we don’t pay attention to something, we won’t remember it Older adults don’t encode things as quickly as younger adults

36. Forgetting: Encoding failure

37. Forgetting: Storage Decay At first retention drops dramatically, but after a while it levels off Physically, LTP changes wear off Newer learning disrupts original learning

38. Forgetting: Retrieval failure Interference ◦Proactive – old learning disrupts new learning (go to last semester’s classes by mistake), aka forward-acting ◦Retroactive – new information disrupts old information (forgetting former classmates’ names after meeting new people) ◦Retroactive interference doesn’t happen to info learned in the hour before sleep

39. Forgetting: Retrieval Failure Motivated forgetting – we forget details that don’t fit with our current views Repression – Freud says we forget painful memories to protect ourselves ◦Happens rarely if ever – most emotional memories don’t go away

40. Memory Construction Misinformation effect – telling someone false information will cause them to remember it instead of the truth Imagination effect – imaging events can cause us to remember them as real Source amnesia – we forget where we got a memory from (a story, real life, a dream)

41. Thinking

42. Language

43. Phonemes: building blocks of sound Phoneme – basic unit of sound ◦“b” ◦“k” ◦“d” ◦“m” ◦“ah” ◦And so on We know which differences in speech are meaningful and which are not

44. Phoneme practice How many phonemes in the word “cat”? How many in the word “ball”? How many in the word “hope”? How many in the word “psychology?”

45. Morphemes: Building blocks of meaning A morpheme is the smallest possible unit of meaning ◦“bat” ◦“man” ◦“ed” ◦“s” ◦“violet”

46. What are (is) the morpheme(s) in the word “cow”? What are (is) the morpheme(s) in the word “present”? What are (is) the morpheme(s) in the word “jumped”? What are (is) the morpheme(s) in the word “Asian?” What are (is) the morpheme(s) in the word “dishwasher?”

47. Grammar: Semantic Rules Semantic rules affect meaning ◦Ex: adding “ed” to the end of a verb means it happened in the past ◦Changing the endings of verbs to match plural nouns

48. Grammar: Syntax Rules Syntax is the order in which words are used In English, we put adjectives before nouns and subjects before verbs – “The blue skirt,” but this is not true in other languages “La falda azul”

49. “A verb crumpled the milk” ◦This is grammatical, but it doesn’t make sense – syntax without semantics Sometimes syntax leaves room for interpretation ◦“The boy saw the man with the telescope.” ◦This is useful for humor

50. Hot Potato 1 – Say a sentence that is syntactically correct but does not have semantic meaning 2 – Describe your weekend plans in telegraphic speech. 3 – Give three examples of morphemes 4 – Give an example of a semantic or syntactical rule in a language other than English 5 – Say five different phonemes 6 – Use one of the vocabulary words from this unit in a sentence

51. Stages of Speech production Babbling stage – 4 months, babies are capable of producing any phoneme in any language 10 months – most babbling uses phonemes of the language spoken in the child’s home 10 months – babies stop being able to distinguish phonemes that are not part of their native language

52. Stages of Speech Production One-word stage – (1 year) Children pack a sentence’s worth of meaning into a single word Children learn about 1 word/week ◦“NO!” ◦“down” ◦“uh-oh” ◦Children’s pronunciations are simplified because of their physical limitations – they understand differences between adult pronunciations of words

53. Stages of Speech Production Two-word (telegraphic) stage (18 months)– generally begins with nouns, verbs, and adjectives, in proper order Children learn about 1 word/day ◦“doggie run” ◦“want juice” ◦“allgone sock” Try to say something with telegraphic speech

54. Theories of Language Acquisition Skinner: Language is learned through operant conditioning ◦Association – put sounds with symbols and meaning ◦Imitation – learn by repeating what is heard ◦Reinforcement – children are reinforced for correct grammar and vocabulary usage

55. Problems with Skinner’s idea ◦Children say things they have never heard before and have not been taught (“I hate you, Daddy!”) ◦Overgeneralization – application of rules when they do not apply ◦Child: “My teacher holded the baby rabbits and we petted them” ◦Mother: “Did you say your teacher held the baby rabbits?” ◦Child: “Yes” ◦Mother: “Did you say she held them tightly?” ◦Child: “No, she holded them loosely”

56. Theories of Language Acquisition Noam Chomsky: humans are born with innate language abilities Universal grammar is at the root of every language (all languages have the same parts of speech and types of sentences

57. At 7 months we learn to recognize statistical patterns of language, such as where sounds divide into words and which syllables commonly go together

58. The Critical Period The younger a person is, the easier it is for them to learn a language and the more native-like their pronunciation will be Children who are not exposed to language before age 7 have difficulty learning any language ◦Typically deaf children born to hearing, non-signing parents Languages can be learned after the critical period, but it takes a lot more effort

59. Bilinguilism People who speak multiple languages often describe themselves differently in one language vs the other ◦Score differently on personality tests Show better understanding of their first language than monolinguals do

60. Linguistic Determinisim Theory: Our vocabularies determine what we can think Ignores visual aspect of thinking Studies: ◦gendered languages describe objects differently ◦Korean children who learn verbs before nouns do better at solving problems with tools (actions), but English-speaking children are initially better at categorizing things (nouns)

61. Visual Thinking Cognitive maps can be made of places we are familiar with and places we have never been Visual imagery can be measured on clarity and our control in manipulating it