COGNITION:

MEMORY, THINKING, AND

LANGUAGE

MEMORY
Memory is the basis for knowing your friends,

your neighbors, the English language, the

national anthem, and yourself.
If memory was nonexistent, everyone would

be a stranger to you; every language foreign;

every task new; and even you yourself would
be a stranger.

THE PHENOMENON OF
MEMORY
Memory is any

indication that learning

has persisted over
time.
It is our ability to store
and retrieve
information.

STUDYING MEMORY:
INFORMATION PROCESSING MODELS

Keyboard
(Encoding)

Disk
(Storage)

Sequential Process

Monitor
(Retrieval)

INFORMATION PROCESSING

Frank Wartenberg/ Picture Press/

Corbis

Bob Daemmrich/ The Image Works

Bob Daemmrich/ The Image Works

The Atkinson-Shiffrin (1968) three-stage model of

memory includes a), sensory memory b) shortterm memory, and c) long-term memory.

MODIFICATIONS TO THE THREESTAGE MODEL

1. Some information skips the first two

stages and enters long-term memory

automatically.
2. Since we cannot focus on all the sensory

information received, we select

information that is important to us and
actively process it into our working
memory.
10

WORKING MEMORY
A newer understanding of short-term
memory that involves conscious,
active processing of incoming auditory
and visual-spatial information, and of
information retrieved from long-term
memory

11

ENCODING:
GETTING INFORMATION IN
How We Encode
Some information (route to school) is
automatically processed
However, new or unusual information

(friends new cell number or new concept

in AP Psychology ) required attention
and effort!
12

AUTOMATIC PROCESSING
We process an enormous amount of
information effortlessly, such as the
following:
1. Space: While reading
a textbook, you
automatically encode the place of a picture on a
page
2. Time: We unintentionally note the events that
take place in a day
3. Frequency: You effortlessly keep track of things
that happen to you

13

LIMITS TO AUTOMATIC
PROCESSING
Spring is the
The most beautiful
Time of the year.

Reading for most

is automatic;
process words
without much
thought or effort

14

EFFORTFUL PROCESSING
Committing novel
information to memory
requires effort just like
learning a concept
from a textbook. Such
processing leads to
durable and accessible
memories.

15

EFFORTFUL
ENCODING
Requires attention
and conscious effort
Learning a new
name or phone
number
Learning a new
subject
Reading

AUTOMATIC
ENCODING
Unconscious
encoding of
incidental
information
Eating
Commonly used
directions
Shoe tying
Driving car

LIST THE 44 PRESIDENTS

OR
50 STATE CAPITALS
OR
PROFESSIONAL AMERICAN FRANCHISES
(WELL OVER A 100)
.GO!
17

LIST THE PRESIDENTS.GO!

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.

George Washington (17891797)

John Adams (1797-1801)
Thomas Jefferson (1801-1817)
James Madison (1809-1817)
James Monroe (1817-1825)
John Quincy Adams (18251829)
Andrew Jackson (1829-1837)
Martin Van Buren (1837-1841)
William Henry Harrison (1841)
John Tyler (1841-1845)
James K. Polk (1845-1849)
Zachary Taylor (1849-1850)
Millard Fillmore (1850-1853)
Franklin Pierce (1853-1857)
James Buchanan (1857-1861)
Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865)
Andrew Johnson (1865-1869)
Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877)
Rutherford B. Hayes (18771881)
James A. Garfield (1881)
Chester A. Arthur (1881-1885
Grover Cleveland (1885-1889

23. Benjamin Harrison (18891893

24. Grover Cleveland (1893-1897)
25. William McKinley (1897-1901)
26. Theodore Roosevelt (19011909)
27. William H. Taft (1909-1913)
28. Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921)
29. Warren G. Harding (1921-1923)
30. Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929)
31. Herbert Hoover (1929-1933)
32. Franklin D. Roosevelt (19331945)
33. Harry S. Truman (1945-1953)
34. Dwight D. Eisenhower (19531961)
35. John F. Kennedy (1961-1963)
36. Lyndon B. Johnson (19631969)
37. Richard M. Nixon (1969-1974)
38. Gerald R. Ford (1974-1977)
39. Jimmy Carter (1977-1981)
40. Ronald Reagan (1981-1989)
41. George Bush (1989-1993)
42. William J. Clinton (1993-2001)

18

State
State

Capital

Capital

Louisiana

Baton Rouge

State

Capital

Alabama

Montgomery

Maine

Augusta

Ohio

Columbus

Alaska

Juneau

Maryland

Annapolis

Oklahoma

Oklahoma City

Arizona

Phoenix

Massachusetts Boston

Oregon

Salem

Arkansas

Little Rock

Michigan

Lansing

Pennsylvania

Harrisburg

California

Sacramento

Minnesota

Saint Paul

Rhode Island

Providence

Colorado

Denver

Mississippi

Jackson

South Carolina

Columbia

Connecticut

Hartford

Missouri

Jefferson City

South Dakota

Pierre

Delaware

Dover

Montana

Helena

Tennessee

Nashville

Florida

Tallahassee

Nebraska

Lincoln

Texas

Austin

Georgia

Atlanta

Nevada

Carson City

Utah

Salt Lake City

Hawaii

Honolulu

Concord

Vermont

Montpelier

Idaho

Boise

New
Hampshire

Illinois

Springfield

New Jersey

Trenton

Virginia

Richmond

Indiana

Indianapolis

New Mexico

Santa Fe

Washington

Olympia

Iowa

Des Moines

New York

Albany

West Virginia

Charleston

Kansas

Topeka

North Carolina

Raleigh

Wisconsin

Madison

Kentucky

Frankfort

Wyoming

Cheyenne

North Dakota

Bismarck

19

REHEARSAL
Effortful learning usually
requires rehearsal or
conscious repetition.

Ebbinghaus studied
rehearsal by using
nonsense syllables: TUV
YOF GEK XOZ
Both of Ebbinghauss
research findings were on

Hermann Ebbinghaus
(1850-1909)

20

REHEARSAL
The more times the
nonsense syllables
were practiced on
Day 1,
the fewer repetitions
were required to
remember them on
Day 2.
**SPACING
EFFECT**
21

GROCERY LIST: READ &

REMEMBER
Milk
Eggs
Ham
Yogurt
Cereal
Chicken
Bread
Beans
Watermelon
Orange Juice
Lasagna
Coke
Donuts
Veggie Dip
Potato Chips

MEMORY EFFECTS
1.

2.
3.

Next-in-line-Effect: You cannot remember

what the person in line before you said
because you were thinking about your own
answer.
Spacing Effect: We retain information better
when we rehearse over time.
Serial Position Effect: When your recall is
better for first and last items on a list, but
poor for middle items.

Primacy effectbetter recall of items at the

beginning of a list
Recency effectbetter recall of items at the end
of a list

23

WHAT WE ENCODE --1. Encoding by meaning

2. Encoding by images
3. Encoding by

organization

24

HALF OF THE ROOM PLEASE PUT

YOUR HEADS DOWN ON YOUR
DESK.
CLOSE YOUR EYES TOO
Other HALF OF THE ROOM:
The context is kite flying

25

ENCODING MEANING
Processing the meaning of verbal
information by associating it with what we
already know or imagine.
**Encoding MEANING (semantic
encoding) results in BETTER recognition
later than VISUAL or ACOUSTIC
encoding**

26

IMAGERY
Mental pictures (imagery) are a powerful aid to
effortful processing, especially when combined
with semantic encoding.

Showing adverse
effects of smoking
in a picture may be
more powerful than
simply talking about
it.
27

POWER OF IMAGERY
Struggle to remember formulas, definitions,

dates but easily remember where we were

yesterday, who was with us, where we sat,
what we wore, etc.

28

MNEMONICS
Mnemonic techniques use vivid
imagery and organizational
devices in aiding memory.
Imagery is at the heart of many
memory
aids.
Name the Great
Lakes
Name the planetsin order
Musical notes
Lobes of the brain
Colors of the rainbow

29

30

My Very Energetic Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas!

32

33

34

35

ACTIVITY

36

ORGANIZING INFORMATION
FOR ENCODING
Break down complex information into
broad concepts and further subdivide them
into categories and subcategories.
1. Chunking
2. Hierarchies

37

39

REVIEW
Mneumonics
Spacing Effect
Layering your encoding with different

types
Semantics, organization
(chunking, hierarchies), visual,
acoustic
Making material personal meaning
(activate semantics self reference
effect)

40

41

skiing
soccer
hockey
baseball
Norway
Finland
Denmark
Sweden
elephant
squirrel
wolf
horse
March
August
October
December

PP-16a

squirrel
October
March
Norway
Denmark
elephant
soccer
wolf
skiing
August
Finland
hockey
Sweden
horse
baseball
December

PP-16b

skiing
soccer
hockey
baseball
Norway
Finland
Denmark
Sweden
elephant
squirrel
wolf
horse
March
August
October
December

squirrel
October
March
Norway
Denmark
elephant
soccer
wolf
skiing
August
Finland
hockey
Sweden
horse
baseball
December

CHUNKING
Organizing items into a familiar,
manageable unit. Try to remember the
numbers below.
1-7-7-6-1-4-9-2-1-8-1-2-1-9-4-1
If you are well versed with American history,
chunk the numbers together and see if you
can recall them better. 1776 1492 1812
1941.

45

CHUNKING

TH-EEA-RT-H-ISR-OUND
THE-EARTH-IS-ROUND

2ND SENTENCE OF
THE PLEDGE OF
ALLIEGANCE?

46

HIERARCHY
Complex information broken down into
broad concepts and further subdivided
into categories and subcategories.

47

ENCODING SUMMARIZED IN A
HIERARCHY

48

AUTOMATIC PROCESSING
We process an enormous amount of
information effortlessly, such as the
following:
1. Space: While reading
a textbook, you
automatically encode the place of a picture on a
page
2. Time: We unintentionally note the events that
take place in a day
3. Frequency: You effortlessly keep track of things
that happen to you

49

METHOD OF LOCI

50

METHOD OF LOCI
Honey
2. Dog food
3. Sugar
4. Oranges
5. Ice cream
6. Peanut butter
7. Bread
8. Pork chops
9. Milk
10. Potato chips
1.

See the honey dripping down into the

toaster on the counter and the giant

St. Bernard eating his dog food on
top of the kitchen table. Proceed to
the living room, where sugar is
embedded in the shag carpet,
oranges are under the pillows,
peanut butter is stuck in the piano
keys, and ice cream is roaring in the
fireplace. Go upstairs; theres a slice
of bread on each step. Pork chops
are floating in the bathtub, milk is
tipped over on the dresser in the
bedroom and potato chips are in the
bed sheets.
51

UNIT #7 COGNITION
MEMORY, THINKING, AND
LANGUAGE

11/25; Monday Quiz #1 (pgs. 255-278)

12/5; Thursday Quiz #2 (pgs. 298-319)
12/5; Thursday Note cards due (67 total)
12/9; Monday My Memory Improvement

Plan
12/12; Thursday Unit #7 TEST no essay
Checks for Understanding due

Study Guide Due

12/16; Monday 2 ESSAY portion of final!

12/18-12/20 FINAL EXAMS! Good luck!

STORAGE: RETAINING
INFORMATION
Storage is at the heart of memory.
Three stores of memory are shown
Sensory
Working
Long-term
below:
Memory

Memory

Memory

Encoding

Events
Encoding

Retrieval

Retrieval

53

SENSORY MEMORY
Sensory
Memory

Working
Memory

Long-term
Memory

Encoding

Events
Encoding

Retrieval

Retrieval

54

SENSORY MEMORIES
The duration of sensory memory varies
for the different senses.
Iconic
0.5 sec. long

Echoic
3-4 sec. long
Hepatic
< 1 sec. long

Iconic = visual
stimuli
Echoic=
auditory stimuli

55

http://bcs.worthpublishers.com/gra
y/content/psychsim5/launcher.html

56

SENSORY MEMORY EXPERIMENT

R G T
F M Q
L Z S

57

SENSORY MEMORY EXPERIMENT

R G T
F M Q
L Z S

58

WHOLE REPORT
Sperling (1960)

R G T
F M Q
L Z S

Recall
RTMZ
(44% recall)

50 ms (1/20 second)

The exposure time for the stimulus is so small

that items cannot be rehearsed.

59

PARTIAL REPORT
S X T
J R S
P K Y

High Tone
Medium Tone
Low Tone

Recall
JRS
(100% recall)

50 ms (1/20 second)

Sperling (1960) argued that sensory memory

capacity was larger than what was originally
thought.

60

TIME DELAY

A D I
N L V
O G H

High Tone
Time
Delay

Recall
Medium Tone N _ _
(33% recall)
Low Tone

50 ms (1/20 second)

61

SENSORY MEMORY
Percent Recognized

The longer the delay, the greater the memory loss.

80
60
40
20

0.15

0.30

0.50

1.00

Time (Seconds)

62

WORKING MEMORY
Sensory
Memory

Working
Memory

Long-term
Memory

Encoding

Events
Encoding

Retrieval

Retrieval

63

WORKING MEMORY
Working memory, the
new name for shortterm memory, has a
limited capacity (72)
and a short duration
(20 seconds).
Sir George Hamilton observed that he could accurately
remember up
to 7 beans thrown on the floor. If there were more beans, he
guessed.
64

CAPACITY
The Magical Number Seven, Plus
or Minus Two: Some Limits on Our
Capacity for Processing
Information (1956).
Ready?

MUTGIKTLRSY
P
You should be able to

George Miller

recall 72 letters.

65

DURATION
Peterson and Peterson (1959) measured the duration
of working memory by manipulating rehearsal.

CHJ
MKT
HIJ
547

547
544
541

CH??

The duration of the working memory is about

20 sec.
66

WORKING MEMORY DURATION

67

STM PYRAMID
NUMBER 1 TO 10

68

STIMULI
1) 265 (3 dig)
Memory Span
2) 8730 (4 dig)
7 +/- 2
3) 48516 (5 dig)
Average
is
5
4) 915723 (6 dig)
5) 3042971 (7 dig)
6) 28536809 (8 dig)
Confounding
Variables?
7) 751403812 (9 dig)
8) 8203154670 (10 dig)
9) 16428039475 (11 dig)
10) 635274028391 ( 12 dig)

STIMULI
1) 265 (3 dig)
Memory Span
2) 873-0 (4 dig)
7 +/- 2
3) 485-16 (5 dig)
Average
is
5
4) 915-723 (6 dig)
5) 304-297-1 (7 dig)
6) 285-368-09 (8 dig)
Confounding
Variables?
7) 751-403-812 (9 dig)
8) 820-315-467-0 (10 dig)
9) 164-280-394-75 (11 dig)
10) 635-274-028-391 ( 12 dig)

LONG-TERM MEMORY
Sensory
Memory

Working
Memory

Long-term
Memory

Encoding

Events
Encoding

Retrieval

Retrieval

71

LONG-TERM MEMORY
Essentially unlimited capacity store.
Animal
Minds,
Intelligent
14:10

The Clarks nutcracker can locate 6,000 caches of

buried pine seeds during winter and spring.

72

MEMORY FEATS

73

MEMORY STORES
Feature

Sensory
Memory

Working
Memory

LTM

Encoding

Copy

Phonemic

Semantic

Capacity

Unlimited

72 Chunks

Very Large

Duration

0.25 sec.

20 sec.

Years

74

STORING MEMORIES IN THE

BRAIN
1.

Loftus and Loftus (1980) reviewed

previous research data showing, through
brain stimulation, that memories were
etched into the brain and found that only a
handful of brain stimulated patients
reported flashbacks.

2.

Using rats, Lashley (1950) suggested that

even after removing parts of the brain, the
animals retain partial memory of the
maze.
75

WE HAVE TO GIVE THE BRAIN TIME TO

LEARN-WHEN NEURONS CONNECT!

SYNAPTIC CHANGES
In Aplysia, Kandel and Schwartz (1982)
showed that serotonin release from
neurons increased after conditioning.

77

Storage

Spacing Effect
Short-term Memory
Serial Position Effect

Sensory Memory
Semantic
Retrieval

Rehearsal
Recency Effect
Primacy Effect

Next-in-line Effect
Mnemonics
Memory

Long-term Memory
Limitless capacity
Implicit Memory
Imagery
Iconic Memory
Hierarchy
Flashbulb Memory
Explicit Memory
Encoding
Effortful Processing
Echoic Memory
Chunking
Automatic Processing
7 +/- 2
78

SYNAPTIC CHANGES
Long-Term Potentiation
(LTP) refers to synaptic
enhancement after learning
(Lynch, 2002).
An increase in
neurotransmitter release or
receptors on the receiving
neuron indicates
strengthening of synapses.
79

STRESS HORMONES &

MEMORY

Heightened emotions
(stress-related or
otherwise) make for
stronger memories.
Flashbulb memories
are clear memories of
emotionally significant
moments or events

80

INTERFERENCE

RetroactiveRecently LEARNED messes up OLD!

ProactivePreviously LEARNED messes up NEW!

81

82

STORING IMPLICIT & EXPLICIT

MEMORIES
Explicit Memory refers to facts and experiences that
one can consciously know and declare. Ex: The capital
of IL is Springfield; 2+ 2+=4. (Easy to Explain)
Implicit memory involves learning an action while the
individual does not know or declare what she knows
(i.e. unconsciously). Ex: brushing your teeth; riding a
bike (impossible to explain)

83

STORING IMPLICIT & EXPLICIT

MEMORIES
Explicit Memory - are typically easy to explain. These
are the memories that usually involve episodes we
experience or facts we learn
Implicit memory are typically impossible to explain.
These are memories that usually involve skills we learn.

84

Neuroscience of Memory
Hippocampus a
neural center in
the limbic system
that processes
explicit memories.

Cerebellum a neural
center in the
hindbrain
that processes implicit
memories.

85

ANTEROGRADE VS. RETROGRADE

AMNESIA
Anterograde: (after a surgery, an accident, etc.)
After losing his hippocampus in surgery, patient
Henry M. (HM) remembered everything before the
operation but cannot make new memories. ONLY
OLD!
We call this anterograde amnesia. (i.e. 50 First
Dates)
Retrograde cant remember anything before
event can only remember NEW!
No New Memories
Memory Intact
Anterograde
Amnesia
Surgery
(HM)
86

IMPLICIT MEMORY
HM is unable to make new memories that are
declarative (explicit), but he can form new
memories that are procedural (implicit).

HM learned the Tower of Hanoi (game) after his surgery.

Each time he plays it, he is unable to remember the fact that
he has already played the game.
87

RETRIEVAL: GETTING INFORMATION

OUT
Retrieval refers to getting information
out of the memory store.

88

WHICH DO YOU PREFER?

Multiple Choice
vs
Essay

89

MEASURES OF MEMORY
In recall, the person must retrieve information
using effort.
(A fill-in-the blank test requires recall.)

1. The capital of France is

______.

90

MEASURES OF MEMORY
In recognition, the person must identify an
item amongst other choices. (A multiplechoice test requires recognition.)

1. Name the capital of

France.
a. Brussels
b. Rome
c. London
d. Paris
91

MEASURES OF MEMORY
In relearning, the individual shows how
much time (or effort) is saved when
learning material for the second time.
List

List

Jet
Dagger
Tree
Kite

Silk
Frog
Ring

Jet
Dagger
Tree
Kite

Silk
Frog
Ring

It took 10 trials
to learn this list

1 day later

Saving

It took 5 trials
to learn the list

Relearning
Trials
X 100
Relearning
Trials

Original
Trials

10 5
X 100
10
50%

RECALL VS. RECOGNITION

In the next 30 seconds, I want you to
Write as many of Snow Whites SEVEN

dwarfs as you can

GO!!

RECALL VS. RECOGNITION

Grouchy

Gabby

Fearful

Sleepy

Smiley

Hopeful

Jumpy

Shy

Droopy

Dopey

Sniffy

Wishful

Puffy

Dumpy

Sneezy

Lazy

Pop

Grumpy

Bashful

Cheerful

Teach

Shortly

Nifty

Happy

Doc

Weezy

Stubby

Angry

Weepy

94

RETRIEVAL CUES
Memories are held in storage by a web of
associations. These associations are like
anchors that help retrieve memory.
water

smell
fire

Fire Truck hose

smoke heat

truck
red
95

PRIMING
To retrieve a specific memory from the
web of associations, you must first
activate one of the strands that leads to it.
This process is called priming.

96

PRIMING
Pronounce the word spelled S - H - O -

P.

What do you do when you come to

a green light?

97

CONTEXT EFFECTS

The Limit Does Not

Exist- Mean Girls

Scuba divers recall more words underwater if

they learned the list underwater, while they
recall more words on land if they learned that
list on land (Godden & Baddeley, 1975).

99

CONTEXT EFFECTS
After learning to move a mobile by kicking,
infants most strongly respond when retested in
the same context rather than in a different
context
(Rovee-Collier, 1993).

100

DJ VU
Dj Vu means I've experienced this before.
Cues from the current situation may
unconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier
similar experience. Could have been a
dream.

101

UNIT #7 COGNITION
MEMORY, THINKING, AND
LANGUAGE

11/25; Monday Quiz #1 (pgs. 255-278)

12/5; Thursday Quiz #2 (pgs. 298-319)
12/5; Thursday Note cards due (67 total)
12/9; Monday My Memory Improvement

Plan
12/12; Thursday Unit #7 TEST no essay
Checks for Understanding due

Study Guide Due

12/16; Monday 2 ESSAY portion of final!

12/18-12/20 FINAL EXAMS! Good luck!

George Sperling
Sensory Memory
George Miller

Anterograde Amnesia

Clark nutcracker

Retrograde Amnesia

Rats brain and

Recall, recognition,

mazes
Long Term
Potentiation
Flashbulb Memory
Explicit Memory
Implicit Memory

relearning
Context effects
Mood-congruent
State Dependent
Memory

103

MOODS AND MEMORIES

We usually recall experiences that are
consistent with our current mood
(state-dependent memory).
Emotions, or moods, serve as retrieval
cues. Our memories are mood-congruent.
Learnin
g

If you learn that 2+2=4

when you are

Retrieva
l better
You will have
retrieval of that
information if you are

104

WHAT IS ON A PENNY?
1. Which way does Lincoln face (as

2.
3.
4.

5.

you look at the penny)?

To the LEFT or the
RIGHT?
Is anything written above his head?
If yes, what is it?
Is anything below his head?
If so, what is it?
Is anything written to the left of his
face? If so, what is it?
Is anything written to the right of his
105

106

FORGETTING
An inability to retrieve information due to
poor encoding, storage, or retrieval.

107

WHY DO WE
FORGET?
Forgetting can

occur at any
memory stage.
We filter, alter, or
lose much
information
during these
stages.
108

ENCODING FAILURE
We cannot remember what we do not
encode.
(i.e. if it does not get into our brains in the first
place, how are we supposed to remember
it??)
Where are my keys/glasses/wallet/etc.??

109

STORAGE DECAY
Poor durability of stored memories
leads to their decay. Ebbinghaus
showed this with his forgetting
curve.

110

REHEARSAL
Effortful learning usually
requires rehearsal or
conscious repetition.

Ebbinghaus studied
rehearsal by using
nonsense syllables: TUV
YOF GEK XOZ
Both of Ebbinghauss
research findings were on

Hermann Ebbinghaus
(1850-1909)

111

REHEARSAL
The more times the
nonsense syllables
were practiced on
Day 1,
the fewer repetitions
were required to
remember them on
Day 2.
**SPACING
EFFECT**
112

RETAINING SPANISH
Bahrick (1984) showed a similar pattern of
forgetting and retaining over 50 years.

113

REVIEW MEMORY ASSIGNMENT

What is your motivation in learning this class?

(take this class)

Study before you go to bed (Information
processing sleep/dreams
Frequent/Immediate rehearsal (beating the
Forgetting curve)
Active learning strategies in class
Priming to activate retrieval cues
Utilize State Dependent/Context Effects/Mood
Congruent to activate retrieval cues
114

RETRIEVAL FAILURE
Although the information is retained in the
memory store, it cannot be accessed.
(i.e. info got into your brain, but you cannot get it
out)

Tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) is a retrieval failure

phenomenon. Ex: You knowthat one actorhis
name starts with a P.
115

INTERFERENCE
RetroactiveREcently

ProactivePReviously

learned information
interferes with the recall
of previously learned
information
Ex: The French you
learn as a 25 year old
interferes with your
recall of the Spanish
you learned in high
school

learned information
interferes with the recall
of recently learned
information
Ex: The French you
learned in 2nd grade is
interfering with your
recall of the Spanish
you are learning now in
high school

116

INTERFERENCE

RetroactiveRecently LEARNED messes up OLD!

ProactivePreviously LEARNED messes up NEW!

117

RETROACTIVE
INTERFERENCE
Sleep prevents retroactive interference.
Therefore, it leads to better recall.

118

ODD AP TERMS! . SAY WHAAAA?

Prospective Memory
Involves remembering to

perform a planned action

or intention at the
appropriate time
Remembering to put the
toothpaste cap back on
remembering to reply to
an email or a text
remembering to return a
movie or library book
remembering to take
medication

Retrospective Memory
Involves memory of

people, events and words

that have been
encountered in the past.
Events that have
PREVIOUSLY
OCCURRED (RETRO
BABY!)

119

MOTIVATED FORGETTING
Motivated Forgetting:
People knowingly or
unknowingly revise their
memories.
Repression: A defense
mechanism that banishes
anxiety-arousing thoughts,
feelings, and memories
from consciousness.
(Psychoanalytic
perspective)

Sigmund Freud

120

121

 George Sperling; Sensory Memory; George Miller; Clark nutcracker;

Rats brain and mazes; Long Term Potentiation; Flashbulb Memory;

Explicit Memory; Implicit Memory; Hippocampus; Cerebellum
Anterograde Amnesia; Retrograde Amnesia; Recall, recognition,

relearning; Context effects; Mood-congruent; State Dependent Memory

Forgetting why?
Forgetting curve
TOT
Interference
Retroactive &
Proactive
Prospective Memory
Retrospective Memory
Motivated Forgetting
Repression
Memory Construct;
Misinformation Effect

122

MEMORY CONSTRUCTION
While tapping our memories, we filter or fill
in missing pieces of information to make
our recall more coherent.
Misinformation Effect:
Incorporating misleading information into
one's memory of an event.

123

MISINFORMATION AND
IMAGINATION EFFECTS
Eyewitnesses reconstruct their memories
when questioned about the event.

Depiction of the actual accident.

124

MISINFORMATION
Group A: How fast were the cars going
when they hit each other?
Group B: How fast were the cars going
when they smashed into each
other?

125

MEMORY CONSTRUCTION
A week later they were asked:
Was there any broken glass?
Group B (smashed into) reported more
broken glass than Group A (hit).
Broken Glass? (%)

50
40

32

30
20

14

10
0
Group A (hit)

Group B (Smashed into)

Verb

126

INTERFERENCE

RetroactiveRecently LEARNED messes up OLD!

ProactivePreviously LEARNED messes up NEW!

127

SOURCE AMNESIA
Attributing an event to the wrong
source that we experienced, heard,
read, or imagined
(i.e. misattribution).

128

CONSTRUCTED MEMORIES
Loftus research shows that if false
memories (lost at the mall or drowned in a
lake) are implanted in individuals, they
construct (fabricate) their memories.

True vs. False

Memories??

129

CHILDRENS EYEWITNESS
RECALL
Childrens eyewitness recall can be
unreliable if leading questions are posed.
However, if cognitive interviews are
neutrally worded, the accuracy of their
recall increases.
In cases of sexual abuse, this usually
suggests a lower percentage of abuse.

130

MEMORIES OF ABUSE
Are memories of abuse repressed or

constructed?
Many psychotherapists believe that early

childhood sexual abuse results in repressed

memories.
However, other psychologists question such
beliefs and think that such memories may be
constructed.

131

CONSENSUS ON CHILDHOOD
ABUSE
Leading psychological associations
of the world agree on the following
concerning childhood sexual abuse:
1. Injustice happens.
2. Incest and other sexual abuse

happen.
3. People may forget.
132

CONSENSUS ON CHILDHOOD
ABUSE
4. Recovered memories are commonplace.

5. Recovered memories under hypnosis or

drugs are unreliable.

6. Memories of things happening before 3
years of age are unreliable.
7. Memories, whether real or false, are
emotionally upsetting.

133

IMPROVING MEMORY
1. Study repeatedly to boost long-term

recall.
2. Spend more time rehearsing or actively
thinking about the material.
3. Make material personally meaningful.
4. Use mnemonic devices:
associate with peg words something

already stored
make up a story

chunk acronyms

134

IMPROVING MEMORY
5.
6.

7.

Activate retrieval cues mentally recreate the

situation and mood.
Recall events while they are fresh before
you encounter misinformation.
Minimize interference:

Test your own knowledge.

Rehearse and then determine what you do not yet
know.

135

THINKING AND
LANGUAGE
136

THINKING
Thinking, or cognition, refers to a process
that involves knowing, understanding,
remembering, and communicating.

137

UNIT #7 COGNITION
MEMORY, THINKING, AND
LANGUAGE

11/25; Monday Quiz #1 (pgs. 255-278)

12/5; Thursday Quiz #2 (pgs. 298-319)
12/5; Thursday Note cards due (67 total)
12/9; MondayMy Memory Improvement Plan

12/12; Thursday Unit #7 TEST no essay

Checks for Understanding due
Study Guide Due

12/16; Monday 2 ESSAY portion of final!

12/18-12/20 FINAL EXAMS! Good luck!
HAPPY SEMESTER BREAK!

COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGISTS
Thinking involves a number of mental
activities, which are listed below. Cognitive
psychologists study these in great detail.
1.
2.
3.
4.

Concepts
Problem solving
Decision making
Judgment formation

139

CONCEPTS
The mental grouping of similar objects, events,
ideas, or people. There are a variety of puppies
but their common features define the concept of
a.

PUPPY

140

CATEGORY HIERARCHIES
We organize concepts into category hierarchies.

141

142

DEVELOPMENT OF CONCEPTS
We form some concepts with definitions. For example, a
triangle has three sides. Mostly, we form concepts with mental
images or typical examples--prototypes. For example, a robin is
a prototype of a bird, but a penguin is not. A robin is the
birdier bird!
Dumb, blonde rich,
girl

Triangle (definition)
Bird (mental image)

143

PROBLEM SOLVING
Problem solving strategies include:

1.
2.
3.
4.

Trial and Error

Algorithms
Heuristics
Insight

144

ALGORITHMS
Algorithmsstep by step procedures that guarantee
a solution are very time consuming because they
exhaust all possibilities before arriving at a solution.
Computers use algorithms.

SPLOYOCHYG
How many possibilities would there be for this
word, if we used an algorithmic approach?

907,208!!!!
145

HEURISTICS
Heuristics are simple,
thinking strategies that
allow us to make
judgments and solve
problems efficiently.
Heuristics are less time
consuming, but more errorprone than algorithms.

You wouldnt go to
the juice aisle to
look for lettuce

147

HEURISTICS
Heuristics make it easier for us to use
simple principles to arrive at solutions to
problems.

SPLOYOCHYG
P
SS
PL
YO
CY
HO
OC
LH
OGY
Put a Y at the end, and see if the word
begins to make sense.

148

INSIGHT
Insight involves a
sudden novel
realization of a
solution to a
problem. Humans
and animals have
insight.
Grande using boxes to
obtain food

150

WOLFGANG KOHLER-HUMANS ARENT

THE ONLY ONES WITH INSIGHT
(CHIMPS!)

151

INSIGHT

AHA!!

Brain imaging and EEG

studies suggest that when
an insight strikes (the
Aha experience), it
activates the right
temporal cortex (JungBeeman & others, 2004).

The time between not

knowing the solution and
realizing it is about 0.3
seconds.

152

CONVERGENT & DIVERGENT

THINKING
Convergent thinking only ONE solution to a
problem.
Ex. Who is the President? What does 2+2=?

Divergent thinking linked with creativity

MORE than one way to solve a problem.
Can Free Think and come up with several
solutions to a problem that might all be equally
useful
Ex. Which way should we drive to Chicago?
153

GET YOUR MIND WORKING!

Come up with an
example of an
algorithmic &
heuristic approach.

Brainstorm new uses

for the following:
Scissors
Socks
Paper clip
Spoon
Chewing Gum
Brick

154

OBSTACLES IN SOLVING
PROBLEMS

Fixation: An inability to see a problem from a

fresh perspective. This impedes problem
solving. 2 examples of fixation:
1. Functional Fixedness
2. Mental Set
The Matchstick
Problem: How would
you arrange six
matches to form four
equilateral triangles?
What else can a paper clip be used for?
The Little Mermaid

155

FIXATION
Functional Fixedness tendency to

think of only ONE familiar function for

objects/products.
Mental Set Problem solving

mental approach strategy to a

problem
156

MENTAL SET
A hunter sees a bear 1 mile due south.

He shoots and misses, and the bear runs

off.
The hunter walks the 1 mile due south to
where the bear had been, then 1 mile
due east, then one mile due north at
which point the hunter is standing in
exactly the same spot from which the gun
had first been fired.
Question: What is the color of the bear
http://www.murderousmaths.co.uk/books/
157

THE MATCHSTICK PROBLEM:

SOLUTION

158

CANDLE-MOUNTING PROBLEM
Using these materials, how would you
mount the candle on a bulletin board?

159

CANDLE-MOUNTING PROBLEM:
SOLUTION

160

OBSTACLES IN SOLVING
PROBLEMS
Confirmation Bias: A tendency to search
for information that confirms a personal
bias.

246

What is the numerical rule for the

pattern?

Rule: Any ascending series of numbers. 1 2 3

would comply. Wasons students had difficulty
figuring out the rule due to a confirmation bias
(Wason, 1960). Once we feel like we KNOW the
answer, shutdown to other possibilities first
161

PAIR SHARE!
Please describe someone from

California

162

UNIT #7 COGNITION
MEMORY, THINKING, AND
LANGUAGE

11/25; Monday Quiz #1 (pgs. 255-278)

12/5; Thursday Quiz #2 (pgs. 298-319)
12/5; Thursday Note cards due (67 total)
12/9; MondayMy Memory Improvement Plan

12/12; Thursday Unit #7 TEST no essay

Checks for Understanding due
Study Guide Due

12/16; Monday 2 ESSAY portion of final!

12/18-12/20 FINAL EXAMS! Good luck!
HAPPY SEMESTER BREAK!

FALL 2013 FINAL SCHEDULE

Cognition
Concepts
Category Hierarchies

Prototype
Algorithms
Heuristics

Insight & EEG

Wolfgang Kohler

Fixation
Functional

Fixedness
Mental Set
Confirmation Bias
Representative

Heuristics
Availability
Heuristics
Convergent &
Divergent Thinking

MAKING DECISION &

FORMING JUDGMENTS

Each day we make hundreds of judgments

and decisions based on our intuition,
seldom using systematic reasoning.

166

USING AND MISUSING

HEURISTICS

Two kinds of heuristics,

1. Representative heuristics
and
2. Availability heuristics,
have been identified by cognitive
psychologists.

167

SCENARIOS
If you were to meet a man, slim,

short, wears glasses and likes to

read poetry. What would his
profession most likely be?
An Ivy league professor or a truck
driver?

168

REPRESENTATIVENESS
HEURISTIC
Judging the likelihood of things or objects
in terms of how well they seem to
represent, or match, a particular
prototype.
using
this
of heuristic??
IfDanger
you meet aofslim,
short,
mantype
who wears
glasses and
Probability
that do
that
person
a truck
driverwould
is far
likes
poetry, what
you
thinkishis
profession
be?greater than an ivy league professor just because
there are more truck drivers than such professors.
An Ivy league professor or a truck driver?
Lets look at other examples on the worksheet!

169

SCENARIOS
After seeing news reports about people losing their jobs,

you might start to believe that you are in danger of being

layed-off. You start lying awake in bed each night
worrying that you are about to be fired.
After seeing several television programs on shark
attacks, you start to think that such incidences are
relatively common. When you go on vacation, you refuse
to swim in the ocean because you believe the probability
of a shark attack is high.
After reading an article about lottery winners, you start to
overestimate your own likelihood of winning the jackpot.
You start spending more money than you should each
week on lottery tickets.
170

AVAILABILITY
HEURISTIC

Are sharks or
horses
deadlier?

We base judgments on how mentally available

information is.

Why does our availability heuristic lead us astray?

Whatever increases the ease of retrieving information
increases its perceived availability.

How is retrieval facilitated?

1. How recently we have heard about
the event?
2. How distinct it is?
3. How correct it is?

171

172

LETS MAKE A BET!

How confident are you in

your ability to name the

main male actors in
major Hollywood films?

GO!
173

WHO IS THE MAIN MALE ACTOR?

1. One Flew Over the

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Cuckoos Nest
Bourne Identity
Zoolander
A Walk to Remember
No Country for Old Men
The Dark Knight Rises
A Beautiful Mind
Butch Cassidy & The
Sundance Kid
Dare Devil
Remember the Titans

1. Jack Nicholson
2. Matt Damon
3. Ben Stiller
4. Shayne West
5. Javier Bardem
6. Christian Bale
7. Russell Crowe
8. Paul Newman & Robert

Redford
9. Ben Affleck
10. Denzel Washington
174

OVERCONFIDENCE
Intuitive heuristics, confirmation of beliefs, and the
inclination to explain failures increase our
overconfidence.
Overconfidence is a tendency to overestimate the
accuracy of our beliefs and judgments.
Students are often
overconfident in how
quickly they can write
papers, do projects, etc.
and then start freaking out
when they run out of time!!!
175

THE EFFECTS OF FRAMING

Decisions and judgments may be significantly
affected depending upon how an issue is
framed.
25% fat or 75%
lean?
95% successful
at preventing
pregnancy or
5% failure rate?
179

THE BELIEF PERSEVERANCE

PHENOMENON
Belief perseverance is the tendency to
cling to our beliefs in the face of contrary
evidence.
Consider the opposite force someone to consider
For a student that isthis
known to be bad, a
teacher is likely to interpret their ambiguous
actions as doing something wrong.

BELIEF BIAS
The tendency of ones preexisting beliefs to
distort logical reasoning by making invalid
conclusions.
God is love.
Love is blind.
Stevie Wonder is blind.
Stevie Wonder is God.

I am no one.
No one is perfect.
I am perfect.

Anonymous graffiti

183

Premise 1: Uncle Greg smokes.

Premise 2: The mean burglar and
kidnapper in Dennis the Menace
smokes.
Conclusion: Uncle Greg is a mean
kidnapper.

Premise 1: Blondes are dumb.

Premise 2: Hilary Clinton is blonde

CONCLUSION: HILARY CLINTON IS

DUMB?!??

185

PERILS & POWERS OF

INTUITION
Intuition may be
perilous if unchecked,
but may also be
extremely efficient
and adaptive.
(i.e. your gut
feeling, a mothers
intuition)

LANGUAGE
Language, our spoken, written, or gestured work, is
the way we communicate meaning to ourselves and
others.

Language transmits culture

187

HOW WOULD WE GO ABOUT

INVENTING A LANGUAGE?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pig_Latin

188

LANGUAGE STRUCTURE
PHONEMES \F-NM\
Phonemes: The smallest distinct sound unit in a
spoken language. For example:
bat,
has three phonemes b a t
chat,
has three phonemes ch a t

English language has about

All languages combined have close to

189

190

Consonant phonemes tend to

carry more information than do
vowel phonemes
THE TRETH EF THES STETEMENT SHED
BE EVEDENT FREM THES BREF
DEMESTRETIEN
THE TRUTH OF THIS STATEMENT SHOULD
BE EVIDENT FROM THIS BRIEF
DEMONSTRATION

191

LANGUAGE STRUCTURE
MORPHEME \MOR-FM\
Morpheme: The smallest unit that carries a
meaning.
It may be a word or part of a word.
Milk =
Milk
Pumpkin =
pump . kin
Unforgettable =
un for get table
192

UNIT #7 COGNITION
MEMORY, THINKING, AND
LANGUAGE

11/25; Monday Quiz #1 (pgs. 255-278)

12/5; Thursday Quiz #2 (pgs. 298-319)

12/5; Thursday Note cards due (67 total)
12/9; MondayMy Memory Improvement Plan
12/11; Wednesday Review I room 117 after

school
12/12; Thursday Review in room 117 before
school
12/12; Thursday Unit #7 TEST no essay
Checks for Understanding due; Study Guide Due

12/16; Monday 2 ESSAY portion of final!

WHY DO WE LEARN LANGUAGE IN

AP PSYCHOLOGY??
To some degree.learned behavior
Chances are --- you speak like one

our both of your parents

Our brain is set up to learn
language
Universal behavior

194

STRUCTURING LANGUAGE
Phonemes
Morphemes

Words
Phrase
Sentence

Basic sounds (about 40) ea,

sh.
Smallest meaningful units
(100,000) un, for.
Meaningful units (290,500)
meat, pumpkin.
Composed of two or more
words (326,000) meat eater.

Composed of many words

(infinite) She opened the jewelry
box.

GRAMMAR
Grammar is the system of rules in a
language that enable us to communicate
with and understand others.
Grammar

Semantics

Syntax

196

SEMANTICS

Semantics is the set of rules by which we

derive meaning from morphemes, words,
and sentences.
For example:

Semantic rule tells us that adding

ed to the word laugh means that it
happened in the past.

SYNTAX
Syntax = ORDER of words; consists of the rules
for combining words into
grammatically sensible sentences.
For example:

In English, syntactical rule says that adjectives

come before nouns; white house.
In Spanish, it is reversed; casa blanca.
The store I went to.
I went to the store.
The dog walk.
The dog walked.

198

LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
Children learn their native
languages much before
learning to add 2+2.
We learn, on average
(after age 1),
3,500 words a year,
amassing 60,000 words by
the time we graduate from
high school.

Time Life Pictures/ Getty Images

199

WHEN DO WE LEARN LANGUAGE?

Babbling Stage:
Beginning at 4 months,
the infant
spontaneously utters
various sounds, like
ah-goo.
Babbling is not
imitation of adult.
Order matters --timing doesnt matter!

200

WHEN DO WE LEARN LANGUAGE?

One-Word Stage: Beginning at

or around his first birthday, a

child starts to speak one word at
a time and is able to make family
members understand him. The
word doggy may mean look at
the dog out there.

201

WHEN DO WE LEARN LANGUAGE?

Two-Word Stage: Before the 2nd year, a child
starts to speak in two-word sentences. This form
of speech is called telegraphic speech because
the child speaks like a telegram: Go car, means I
would like to go for a ride in the car.

WHEN DO WE LEARN LANGUAGE?

Longer phrases: After telegraphic
speech, children begin uttering longer
phrases
(i.e. Mommy get ball) with
syntactical sense, and by early elementary
school they are employing humor.
You never starve in the desert because of
all the sand-which-is there.

WHEN DO WE LEARN LANGUAGE?

204

EXPLAINING LANGUAGE
DEVELOPMENT
1.) Operant Learning: Skinner (1957, 1985)
believed that language development may be
explained on the basis of learning principles
such as:
association, imitation, and reinforcement.

205

EXPLAINING LANGUAGE
DEVELOPMENT
2.

Inborn Universal Grammar:

Noam Chomsky (1959, 1987) opposed

Skinners ideas and suggested that the
rate of language acquisition is so fast that
it cannot be explained through learning
principles, and thus most of it is inborn.

206

A child who has grown up in

complete isolation due to no human
207

EXPLAINING LANGUAGE
DEVELOPMENT
Childhood is a critical period for fully developing
certain aspects of language. Children never
exposed to any language (spoken or signed) by
about age 7 gradually lose their ability to master
any language.

Doesnt happen then, doesnt happen

Nature (setsup) and nurture

(modifies) how
it develops
209

GENES, BRAIN, & LANGUAGE

David Hume Kennerly/ Getty Images

Michael Newman/ Photo Edit, Inc.

Genes design the mechanisms for a

language, and experience modifies the
brain.

210

211

CRITICAL PERIOD
Learning new languages gets harder with age.

212

THINKING & LANGUAGE

Language and thinking intricately intertwine.
Language allows thought to be
communicated.
Think before you talk

213

UNIT #7 COGNITION
MEMORY, THINKING, AND
LANGUAGE

11/25; Monday Quiz #1 (pgs. 255-278)

12/5; Thursday Quiz #2 (pgs. 298-319)

12/5; Thursday Note cards due (67 total)
12/9; MondayMy Memory Improvement Plan
12/11; Wednesday Review room 117 after

school
12/12; Thursday Review room 117 before
school
12/12; Thursday Unit #7 TEST no essay
Checks for Understanding due; Study Guide Due

12/16; Monday 2 ESSAY portion of final!

LANGUAGE INFLUENCES
THINKING
Linguistic Determinism (Whorf Hypothesis):
Benjamin Lee Whorf (1956) suggested that
language determines the way we think. For
example, he noted that the Hopi people do not have
the past tense for verbs.
Therefore, the Hopi cannot think readily about the
past.

215

IN OTHER WORDS.
your environment/culture determines how you think about

things/the type of language you use

Americans have more words in their vocabulary to assert their
individualism, whereas Asian cultures use more terms to
describe their collective attitude.
Chicagoans have more definitions for types of snow than
Floridians wouldbecause we experience various types of
snow, they only hear about snow, but have little experience with
it.
Alaskans have even more experience with snow than we do
therefore they have even more terms to describe types of snow
since it is vital to their wellbeing
http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-0114/national/36344037_1_eskimo-words-snow-inuit
216

SNOW
Aqilokoq
softly falling snow

piegnartoq
the snow [that is] good for driving sled,

217

THINKING IN IMAGES
To a large extent thinking is language-based.
When alone, we may talk to ourselves.
However, we also think in images.
Ex: riding a bike
Ex: composers
Ex: athletes

218

IMAGES AND BRAIN

MIRROR NEURON IDEA
Imagining a physical activity activates the same
brain regions as when actually performing the
activity.

HOW TO GET
CREATIVITY:
Creativity (Think Working at Google)

the ability to produce novel and valuable

ideas
Components of creativity:
Expertise

imaginative thinking skills

venturesome personality
intrinsic motivation
creative environment

1.) CATEGORIES

CONCEPTS

PROTOTYPE
S

221

Framing

Overconfidenc
e

2.) PROBLEM SOLVING

OBSTACLES
Fixation
Mental
Set

Functiona
l
Fixednes
s

Confirmatio
n
Bias

Belief
Perseveranc
e

222

Algorithms

Intuition

3.) PROBLEM-SOLVING
STRATEGIES
Heuristics

Insight

Trial &
Error

Availability Representativ
e
223

Imaginativ
e Thinking

4.) CREATIVITY NEEDS

Divergent
Thinking

Intrinsic
Motivation

224