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General Learning Outcomes

Outline Principles that define the cognitive level of analysis/Demonstrate how principles can be demonstrated in research
1) Mental processes guide behavior Cognitive processes = mental processes Cognitive processes include: o Perception o Thinking o Problem solving o Memory o Language o Attention Cognition is based on ones mental representation of the world Different experiences => different representations Goal of cognitive research is to discover principles underlying cognitive processes See mind as computer: o Input (stimulus) processing/memory (cognitive processes) output (behavior)

Demonstrated in research: Piaget = schema theory Bartlett = cultural schemas and effect on memory James-Lange = theories of emotion (mental interpretations = emotional response) 2) The mind can be studied scientifically Demonstrated in theories or models that are continuously tested New findings or empirical evidence can be used to improve or replace old theories or models Experimental investigation method used as viewed as most scientific However experimental tasks did not always resemble what people did in every day life This is why cognitive psychologists began to use field studies as well

Demonstrated in research: Any cognitive experiment with clear IV & DV can be used to demonstrate manipulation of variables Brain Scanning technology in experiments

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o CT Scan o PET Scan (Clive Wearing, HM), Mosconi et al (2005) o fMRIs Kills (2003) 3) Cognitive processes are influenced by social & cultural factors Cultural exposure influences schemata Schemata control processing of stimuli in memory Reason why memory is subject to distortions different schemata emphasize and recall different details Demonstrated in Bartlett people anglicised story in memory

Discuss how and why certain research methods are used in the cognitive level of analysis ????? Discuss ethical considerations related to research studies at the cognitive level of analysis
Possible ethical considerations: Informed consent Use of deception (justified?) Stress of participants Possible psychological damage to participants Naming of famous psychological patients (e.g. H.M and Clive Wearing)

Cognitive Processes
Evaluate Schema theory with reference to relevant research studies
Personal Schemata: o We use personality categories to classify people o Often lead us to infer properties that arent present Also have event and place schemas Schemata help us to make sense of our world Structures to help us make sense of information o A mental model or representation built up through experience about a person, an object, a situation or an event

Schema:

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o Organised structures that capture knowledge and expectations of some aspect of the world Bartlett Evaluation of Schema theory: Advantages: Guides attention, Selection, encoding & retrieval of information Helps integrate current & past information Helps interpret and understand events (by insertion of default variables) Helps retrieval by recall being schema driven Limitations: Definition of a schema: How can a schema be defined without circularity of argument? Schema selection & retrieval No explanation provided for how most appropriate schema is selected and retrieved Contrary Events How can we explain instances of vivid recall of schema inconsistent details

Reference to research studies: Bartlett: War-of-the-ghosts (1932) Aim: o To investigate impact of cultural schemata on recall of read story over time Method: o Participants asked to read a native American story o 15 minutes later were asked repeat the story from memory o Over following days/weeks participants were asked to recall the story and repeat it from memory a number of times o Bartlett noted how each participants memory of the story changed with each reproduction Findings: o Story became shorter & more coherent o Supernatural elements removed: Became a straight forward story of fight and death Wound became a matter of flesh not spirit o Omissions: ghosts omitted early, any culturally inconsistent details removed early o Rationalization: growing coherence among parts o Transformation of details into more familiar & conventional structure o Changing order of events o Changed details inconsistent with culture/beliefs (became more anglicised as participants were white college males) Evaluation

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o Strengths: Suggests that memory is an active reconstructive process Finding confirmed by replications o Weaknesses: Intervals of time for repetition each participant different and unknown Demand characteristics may exist in participants knew aim of experiment from informed consent Low ecological validity Anderson & Pichert House Study (1978) Aim: o To test which stages of memory are affected by schemas o Encoding or retrieval? Method: o Participants all read same story about a house o Details included that it was isolated, in the country o Half read story as potential buyer o Other half as potential burglar Findings: o Found schemas impacted both encoding and retrieval of information Evaluation: o Mixed design counter balanced all variables High degree of control & accounting for order effects o Laboratory experiment enables cause (schema) effect (encoding/recall of memory) relationship to be visibly established

Evaluate two models or theories of one cognitive process

Cognitive process = memory!!! Levels-of-Processing (LOP) theory Craik & Tulving, Craik & Lockhart (1970s) Focus on: o Ways info can be processed o Effect of ways on memory Views memory as by-product of processing information

Key assumptions: Level/depth of processing has a large effect on its memorability Deepest levels of processing produce: o More elaborate o Longer lasting

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o Stronger memories than shallow levels of processing Depth of Encoding Depending on what we do with information at time of encoding processing can be: o Shallow and superficial o Or deeper and more meaningful Craik & Lockhart o Deeper LOP result in longer lasting & more retrievable memories o Shallow LOP result in less long-lasting & more difficult to retrieve memories 3 LOP Structural processing Processing information about what things look like: o E.g. word written in capital letters, or number of letters Phonetic Processing Processing information about what something sounds like o E.g. rhyming words Semantic Processing Processing information about what something means o E.g. theme within words (i.e. sports) Deepest form of information processing Types of research Referred to as incidental learning technique Participants dont know recall required when shown words Multi-store & LOP Craik & Lockhart assume separate STM & LTM However see functions of STM in terms of the processes carried out LOP Theory Model suggests that difference between STM & LTM is processing not stages Suggests memory is based on cognitive processing not specific skills in each stage of memory Seems to suggest memory is limited by ability to process information Evaluation Oversimplified Does not consider retrieval process in enough detail In some cases shallow processing does not lead to rapid forgetting Key problem = way depth of processing was measured

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No independent way of assessing whether processing was deep or shallow Working Memory Model Baddeley & Hitch (1974) Our conscious awareness involves visual or spatial information Theres more than one storage system in STM Working Memory Visuo-spatial sketchpad & phonological loop Information can be manipulated when needed central executive Improved version of STM Is credited with solving problems in MSM Wanted to emphasize that storage was not simply stationary in stages between STM & LTM Is the way we store information while working on it These items interact with other cognitive processes (attention/imagery) Phonological Loop: Stores auditory information speech based form Preserves order of words Consists of: o Phonological store inner ear o Articulatory loop inner voice Visuospatial Sketch Pad Stores visual information Uses & manipulates visual images to draw in the mind Divided into two compartments o First stores: Visual cache Information about subjects appearance Visual form & colour o Second deals with spatial movement information Inner scribe Central executive Modality-free Limited capacity Directs attention to a certain stimulus Determines which items are stored in working memory

Explain how biological factors may affect one cognitive process

Theories of forgetting Availability theories

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o Trace decay o Medical reasons Accessibility theories o Interference theories o Cue dependence o Repression

Amnesia Amnesia is forgetting produced by brain injury, trauma or disease Retrograde amnesia o Cant recall info from prior to trauma Anterograde amnesia o Cant recall info from after a trauma Clive Wearing Encephalitis from herpes simplex (cold sore virus) Completely destroyed the hippocampus Musical ability preserved No longer had any episodic memory no events recalled Maintained procedural memory musical ability preserved Lost ability to encode and retrieve conscious experiences Blakemore (1988) performed case study o Used brain imaging technologies to investigate extent of damage H.M

Surgery removing hippocampus and amygdala to treat epilepsy Partial retrograde & severe anterograde amnesia Suggests damage to hippocampus affects short term memory and transferal into long term memory Hippocampus plays a role in encoding Scoville & Milner (1950s present)

Yarnell & Lynch - 1973 Aim: o To investigate the impact of concussion on memory immediately & approximately 20 minutes after trauma Method: o Players were asked immediately after regaining consciousness what play team was using when injury occurred o Asked same question approximately 20-30 minutes after regaining consciousness Findings: o Could remember the name of the play immediately afterwards o After 20 minutes found it very difficult to remember play o Memory never returned o EXACT NUMBERS??

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Evaluation o High ecological validity tested in real games o Longitudinal study over two years o Limitation: some inaccuracy in locating position of head injury therefore can all concussions be compared?

Discuss how social and cultural factors affect one cognitive process ???? With reference to relevant research studies to what extent is one cognitive process reliable?
Reconstructive Memory The process of putting information together based on general types of stored knowledge in the absence of a specific memory representation MORE DETAILED NOTES ON MEMORY ITSELF? Bartlett Aim: o To investigate impact of cultural schemata on recall of read story over time Method: o Participants asked to read a native American story o 15 minutes later were asked repeat the story from memory o Over following days/weeks participants were asked to recall the story and repeat it from memory a number of times o Bartlett noted how each participants memory of the story changed with each reproduction Findings: o Story became shorter & more coherent o Supernatural elements removed: Became a straight forward story of fight and death Wound became a matter of flesh not spirit o Omissions: ghosts omitted early, any culturally inconsistent details removed early o Rationalization: growing coherence among parts o Transformation of details into more familiar & conventional structure o Changing order of events o Changed details inconsistent with culture/beliefs (became more anglicised as participants were white college males) EVALUATION??? Memory an imaginative reconstruction of past events Recall implies risk of distortion

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Fits into existing schemas Actual events subjective memory Memory is an active process Schemas distort unfamiliar or unacceptable information Does this to fit in with existing knowledge or schemas Can result in unreliable eyewitness testimony

Loftus Reconstruction of an automobile accident All participants shown same video of car crash Asked a series of questions but only one changed between experimental groups About how fast were the cars going when they (hit/smashed/collided/bumped/contacted) with each other? IV different wording of the question DV speed estimated by participant Criticisms: o Lacks ecological validity Not real crash Paying attention (less distracting variables) o Participants Young & Intelligent Eager to please (demand characteristics) Hawthorne effect o May not be memory guess work based on info provided by verb

Cognition and Emotion

Discuss the use of technology in investigating cognitive processes
PET Scan Radioactive material is injected or inhaled Scanner detects radioactive material Radioactive materials commonly used: o Oxygen o Fluorine o Carbon o Nitrogen Material gets into bloodstream and goes into area of brain in use When radioactive material breaks down gives off a neutron and a positron When positron hits an electron both are destroyed Gamma rays are released

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Detectors record the brain area where rays are emitted Advantages Provides functional view of the brain Small movements dont ruin scans o Participants dont need to lie perfectly still during scan Disadvantages Images isnt as clear as others e.g. fMRI Radioactive isotope injected into patient only safe for a limited number of uses (cannot be used many times on any individual patient) Radio waves used as detectors same as MRI Can be inaccessible due to cost (very expensive) Study Mosconi et al 2005 Computer program that analyses PETs and reveals reduction in hippocampal activity Longitudinal study (tested over approximately 10 years and up) Participants with reduced hippocampal activity more likely to develop Alzheimers Way to screen & treat Alzheimers earlier fMRI Scan Functional magnetic resonance Imaging Detects blood flow in the brain by monitoring absorbance of oxygen from blood into cells in the brain Allows detectors to pinpoint areas of greater activity Radio waves used as detectors same as MRI Advantages No damaging radiation used Minimal/no risk to patient Provides anatomical and functional view of the brain Non-invasive, safe, painless Easy to use Patients can eat and drink anything before procedures (as opposed to anything that requires an anesthetic Disadvantages Can be expensive Can only capture a clear image if the patient lies perfectly still minor movements can destroy images Cannot be used in patients with metallic devices i.e. pacemakers Cannot be used in uncooperative patients must stay still Cannot be used in claustrophobic patients (due to small tube in which scan is conducted)

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Study Kilts (2003) Consumer research How does the brain react to different consumer products? Participants rate products on attractiveness (self-report) Participants put in fMRI scanner and shown same products Products that participants found attractive activated medial prefrontal cortex Medial prefrontal cortex associated with sense of self & personality Identify ourselves with products we are attracted to Style and the products we use in a way defines us and the image we wish to project Ethics: o An understanding of neuromarketing is scary o Companies can figure out how to make us identify with products o Because products we identify with are important to our self-image o Could be manipulated to choose political leaders o Eventually could manipulate people for personal and monetary gain

To what extent do cognitive and biological factors interact in emotion?

Emotion: Subjective feelings which have positive or negative value for the individual Are the measureable? Are emotions physiological or cognitive Emphasis in psychology has always ben on negative emotions Partly reflects the nature of pathology based under-pin of psychology Negative emotions often require treatment Move in recent years to positive psychology and emphasis on happiness Components of emotion: Subjective conscious experience: o The cognitive component o Cognitive appraisal of events is crucial in determining emotions Bodily arousal o The physiological component Characteristic overt expressions o The behavioural component Cognitive Factors/Explanations Schachter & Singer Model Studies: 1962-1964 Cognitive judgments are a critical part of emotional experience

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o Subjects are physically aroused by an injection of adrenaline then exposed to anger or happiness cues o The cues caused cognitive judgment causing emotional experience Basis of theory suggests that autonomic arousal provided energy & intensity of an emotion We evaluate the situation and recognize what emotion we should experience Called two-factor theory of emotion

Emotion-inducing stimulus physiological arousal cognitive interpretation emotion

Physiological state of arousal is necessary Situational factors determine interpretation of arousal Combination of physiological arousal & cognitive interpretation of arousal forms two-factor theory of emotion

Support for Schachter& Singer Lazarus appraisal theory If potential benefit appraised, positive emotions result If negative aspect appraised, negative emotion result Biological explanations/factors James-Lange Theory (1984) William James & Carl Lange suggest that emotional experience is a direct result of physiological arousal Physiological arousal is seen to cause the emotion Proposed that bodily change came first Forms the basis of an emotional experience o You become happier when you smile o You are scared because you run Emotion inducing stimulus behavioural & bodily responses interpretation of arousal as emotion Body changes/symptoms are accompanied by different emotions Perception of changes determines emotion Differences between emotions result from different patterns of physiological response associated Support for James-Lange White et al (1981) o Running to create arousal ratings of women Laird (1974) o Smiling mechanism and rating of cartoons Valins (1966) o Male participants given feedback on heart-rate while rating models on attractiveness o Given false autonomic feedback o Conclusion: there has to be more to emotional experience than mere physiological arousal

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Challenges to James-Lange Cannon (1927): emotional encounters are emergency situations which directly trigger a central brain process in the thalamus, leading to two simultaneous but independent outcomes o Heightened arousal system which prepares the body to cope o The conscious experience of the emotion is registered in the cortex Claims cannon-bard too slow to account for instantaneous feelings Cannon-bard theory physiological and cognitive components happen at same time

Evaluate one theory of how emotion may affect one cognitive process
Flashbulb Memory: Highly detailed memories for surprising events Refers to vivid and detailed memories of highly emotional events Canonic categories Information about the place, accompanying events, source of information, consequences of the event, felt emotions First described by Colgrove o 1899 o Memory of circumstances of learning of Lincolns death Brown and Kulik 1977 Memory of circumstances of learning about various assassinations Found: o Learn of surprising and emotional event o Preserve scene accurately o All details important & unimportant o 6 categories in flashbulb memory Where were you? What were you doing? Who told you/how did you find out? Feelings of others Own emotional feeling Aftermath Special neural mechanism which triggers emotional arousal because event is unexpected, important Method: o 80 American adults interviewed about assassinations of JFK, Robert F Kennedy & Martin Luther King o JFK assassination only one with mass media attention Findings: o People reported memories as: Very accurate

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Immune to forgetting Complete, vivid o African Americans more likely to have flashbulb memory of MLK assassination Conclusion: o Consequentiality key to triggering flashbulb memories o Consequentiality = personal relevance o Repeated recall issues

Neisser (2000) Argues against special mechanism for flashbulb memory Accuracy o Cannot take accounts at face value as being accurate Rehearsal o Just rehearse shocking memories more Neisser & Harsch (1992) Challenger disaster US space shuttle Filled out questionnaire the day after, then 2 to 3 years later High proportion reported flashbulb memory Inaccuracies in memory o 21% reported first hearing about on T.V day after o 45% reported first hearing about on T.V years later All very confident of memory Tested immediate memory, then 3 years later memory of shuttle explosion There was little agreement with the two memories despite the confidence of participants in their recall 40% had distorted memories in final reports Suggests that there is possible post-event info influence on memories Conclusion: inaccuracy of emotional memories is common

Talarico & Rubin (2003) Memories of 9/11 event Participant confidence in memories is linked to how intense they perceived the event was But the flashbulb memory could be just as inaccurate as normal memories Aim: o To investigate how do people feel about their flashbulb memories o Are flashbulb memories exceptionally vivid? o Are they more accurate than other memories Method: o Students at Duke university (54, 14 male, 40 female) o Retested memories of 9/11, 1 week later, 6 weeks after, 32 weeks after

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o For comparison were asked to describe a recent memorable event then fill out questionnaires about 9/11 and this event Findings o No difference in consistency between their memory of 9/11 and other memory o Consistency between original report & retest declined with time (9/11) o After 6 weeks viewed flashbulb memory as more vivid than everyday memory and more confidence in its accuracy Conclusion o Challenges the theory that flashbulb memories have special qualities that make them less vulnerable to decay o Flashbulb memories do fade but people feel these memories are especially vivid and have a high level of confidence in their accuracy