3 Cognitive

3 Cognitive

1. H.M CASE STUDY

   • Anterograde amnesia, Brain surgery to remove the hippocampus to alleviate the symptoms of epilepsy
     • Side effects- memory impairments; Short term was fine but he was no longer able to transfer new info into long term memory
       • he could remember people he met before the surgery took place
     • Antergrade amnesia is the loss of ability to create new memories after an event leading to partial or complete inability to recall memories.
   • In depth study- Strength is that it provides insight for further research Weakness- You can't generalise it to the wider population, difficult to replicate

2. Key words to know

   • ENCODING- how many words or memories are encoded, how they are registered as memories in the brain
   • STORAGE- how memories are stored, how they remain as memories after they have been registerd.
   • RETRIEVAL- how we retrieve, memories when the output is needed (find them/access them)
   • MEMORY- the ability to retain and recall information.

3. Multi-store model (MSM) Atkinson and Schiffrin

   • 1) Sensory store- All info goes here, only a small amount is attended to, the rest is not registered, Lasts 2 seconds, and then pass on. Capacity is unlimited.
     • 2) Short-term store- For info to be encoded it will need to be rehearsed acoustically, turning images or written words into verbal code. Stays here for up to 30 seconds, you can hold 5-9 items at a time, if its rehearsed it will be passed onto long term store, Anything that is not rehearsed will be lost.
       • 3) Long term store- The amount you remember is unlimited, and the duration is unlimited as well.
   • Tells us how information is processed and transferred through the stores. The process also tells us how information is remembered and forgotten.

4. Working Memory Model (WMM) Baddely and Hitch

   • Central Executive
     • Main part which co-ordinates other parts. Operates retrieval strategies and controls selective attention. Controls cognitive processes, When needed to system will have limited capacity.
       • Visuo-spatial sketch pad
         • Holds info we see, Used to maniuplate spatial info such as shapes & colours. Limited capacity of around 3-4 items. Anything to do with spatial awareness uses this and could be called the 'inner eye'.
       • Episodic Buffer
         • Provides time sequencing for visual, spatial and verbal info. May bring info from LTM, has a limited capacity, Central executive controls the episodic buffer and the episodic buffer is storage space for the central executive.
           • Long Term Memory
       • Phonological Loop
         • Deals with auditory info. Short term store holds memory traces. These decay rapidly and has a capacity to learn a new language.
   • Aim- To see if LTM is like the STM or more specifically if in LTM acoustic similarity of words would lead to more memory impairment then semantic similarity.
     • Method- Participants were asked to perform two tasks at the same time. the first being a digit span task, they has to repeat a list of numbers and verbal reasoning- answer true or false questions.
       • As the digit increased in the digit span task the participants took longer to answer the verbal reasoning tasks.
         • Conclusion- Verbal reasoning tasks made use of the central executive and the digit span tasks made use of the phonological loop.
           • Strengths- Controlled (used experimental conditions) Reliability (he repeated it) Findings are likely to show cause and effect
           • Weaknesses- not naturalisitc, lack of ecological validity, results may not represent everyday life.
   • Evaluation
     • Reliability- Standarised procedures- controlled (word lists, lab experiment)- therefore it is regarded as replicable and the reliability of results can be established.
       • Cause and effect- the relationship between the independent variable, Semantic (acoustic) and dependent variable (LTM)
     • Ecological validity- alienated due to not being ecological- we don't often have to memorise lists- Not a typical way in which we use memory in everyday life
     • Generalisability- Mixed- Not very as students are not representable for others eg. elderly but it does include males and females so you can generalise it to both genders.

5. Comparison of MSM and WMM

   • The executive controls all the info and then distributes it to the correct sub system
   • Shows memory consists of 3 storage systems where info flows through all of them
   • The info in the MSM is transferred from STM to LTM by continuous rehearsal.
   • The WMM keeps the info in one sub system before moving to LTM
   • Focussing on just one function of just one store. The Short-term store.
   • Model includes 3 memory stores.

6. Cognitive means thinking. Cognitive psychology is everything that is involved with the way we interpret, process and retain information.

   • Humans are like computers in the way we both process information. We receive, interpret and respond to information. These processes can be tested scientifically.
     • Language, Memory, Imagination, Attention, Problem solving
       • Cognitive

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