cognitive psychology

cognitive psychology

1. bartlett's reconstructive memory

   • memories are reconstructed with every recall. our memories interact causing changes in recall
     • schema: template of our understanding of any new events/experiences
       • confabulation: filling in gaps in memory based of schema altering how we remember info
       • rationalisation: make sense of info based on schema so it makes logical sense
     • Bartlett war of the ghosts study: told ppts a unfamiliar story asked them to recall after 15 mins, then varying intervals- noticed gradual changes with every recall
       • considers individual difference- schema and explains why people recall the same event differently
     • loftus&palmer- affect of leading Qs on EWT. showed ptts videos of a car crash and asked them speed of the car varying wording of question (bumped/smashed ect) speed estimation varied and some ptts recalled broken glass
       • lacking ecological validity
     • wynn&Logie- retested bartletts theory w/ more realistic situation and found little change in memory over time (2 weeks, months). little reduction in recall over tome and distinctive events are more resistant tochange
       • reconstructive model doesn't explain all memory

2. Atkinson&Shiffrin multi-store model

   • 3 part model to explain memory
     • 1- sensory register- input info through senses. limited capacity. duration 2 secs. modality specific info. rapid decay if attention not paid
       • 2- STM- limited capacity of 5-9. limited duration 15 secs. stored in auditory way. if not rehearsed then info is displaced/ decays.
         • 3-LTM. unlimited capacity and duration. held semantically/ auditory/ visually. can decay/ interference/ retrieval failure
           • Atkinson&Shiffrin - remembering by association. quizzed grad students on US stated and found that they associated pairs of capitol cites and states. shows semantic encoding of LTM
           • doesn't consider individual difference e.g. deaf and blid people
         • Glanzer&Cuntiz- words recalled better at start and end of a list after rehearsal. shows displacement and seperate LTM and STM
           • case study HM still had LTM but could nolonger add to it
           • experiment lack ecological validity
     • reductionist so easy to make predictions

3. Tulving's Episodic and semantic

   • explanation for LTM (so unlimited) has 2 parts
     • episodic- autobiographical memory of events tied to context. personal info
       • Godden & Baddeley scuba diver experiment. recalled signs better in context learnt
         • artificial task
       • HM had no episodic but he could remember how to perform tasks (walking frame) suggests 3rd procedural store
       • doesnt consider individual difference- cues arent always required
     • semantic- meanings attached to symbols so can be used to communicate
     • KC case study of brain damage. could not recall personal events but could recall facts. shows separate stores
     • both episodic and semantic are in medial temporal lobe- are they seperate?

4. Baddeley and Hitch working memory

5. Baddeley classic study word recall

6. Sebastian&Hernandez-gill contemp spanish number recall

7. HM case study

8. "Is EWT appropriate to use as court evidence?"