Cognitive Psychology Overview

Cognitive Psychology Overview

1. Main idea

   • Computer analogue

2. Individual differences & Development

   • Schemas
     • Experiences
   • Autobiographical memory
   • Processing speed

3. Practical investigation

   • Primacy & Recency effect

4. Key studies

   • Sebastian & Hernandez-Gil (2012)
     • Digit span
     • Spain
     • Childern aged 5-17
     • No learning or hearing difficulties
   • Baddeley
     • Acoustic & semantic

5. Theories

   • Working memory
     • Phonological loop <==> Central executive <==> Visio-spatial sketchpad
   • Multi-store model
     • Sensory ==> STM ==> LTM
   • Reconstructive memory
     • Memories are not exact copies of what is encoded and stored they are affected by schemas
   • Episodic & semantic memory
     • Tulving in 1972 purposed that LTM was divided into two stores
       • Episodic = Life events/experiences
       • Semantic = facts

6. Key Question

   • How can knowledge of working memory model be used to inform the treatment of dyslexia?

7. Case studies

   • HM
     • His hippocampus was removed causing him to be unable to hold information for very long
     • Epilepsy
   • KC
     • Motorbike accident
     • Could remember facts but not events
   • Clive Wearing
     • Remembers things for 7-30 seconds
     • Can recall past events and can still play the piano and conduct an orchestra