Cognitive psychology

Cognitive psychology

1. cognitive psychology examines the effects of information processsing on our behaviour. It believes that information is input via our 5 senses , encoded in the brain and so that it can be retrieved via memory recall

2. multi-store memory model

   • sensory memory
     • modality specific
     • 2 seconds
     • very limited
   • short term memory
     • capacity: 5-9
     • Duration: 15-30 seconds
     • mode of representation: auditory
   • long term memory
     • limitless capacity
     • limitless duration
     • mode of representation: semantically

3. working memory model

   • phonological loop
     • primary acoustic store- auditory memory traces
     • articulory loop- revives memory traces
   • visuospatial sketch pad- 3-4 objects
     • inner scribe- retrieval and rehersal
     • visual cache- information about form and colour
   • central executive
     • supervisory system which controls other parts and is modality free

4. classic study

   • Baddeley 1966b
     • Aim: To investigate the influence of acoustic and semantic word similarity on learning and recall in short-term and long term memory
     • Participants: 72 men and women from the applied psychological Research panel in Cambridge using independent design
     • proceadure:
       • semantically similar words, semantically dissimilar words, acoustically similar, acoustically disimilar
       • There where four trials of the same list. one word every three seconds with a 2 second switchover and then had to recall the list of words followed by 15 min copying task and a final task
       • found that LTM is effected by semantic similarity and those words that are encoded acoustically need to have semantic meaning to have it retained

5. contemporary study

   • Sebastian and Hernandez-Gill
     • Aim: To investigate the development of the phonological loop in children between 5 and 17 using digit span. they also wanted to compare the results to a previous study with dementia parents. They also wanted to look at storage capactiy
     • Procedure
       • 750 participants from schools across Madrid and where native Spanish. divided into 5 age groups. There digit recall was tested
       • results
         • 5 years group- 3.76 (stnd dev .52)
         • 15-17 5.83 (stnd dev .84)
         • digit span increased with age and shorter with Spnaish

6. Tulving

   • Epsiodic
     • autobiographical so contains information about events and dates
   • Semantic
     • semantic memory relates to meanings we attach to symbols including words and language such as 24 hours in a day

7. case study of HM

8. reconstructive memroy

   • confabulation: elaborated on things
   • rationalisation: adding cultural reasoning
   • shortens the story