PSYC2013Notes
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PSYC2013:Cognitiveandsocialpsychology
Textbookused• CognitiveProcesses:Eysenck,M.W.,&Keane,M.T.(2015).Cognitive
Psychology:Astudent’shandbook(7thedition).NewYork:PsychologyPress.• SocialandDevelopmentalPsychology:White,F.A.,Hayes,B.,&Livesey,D.
(2015).Developmentalpsychology:FromInfancytoadulthood(4thedition).Sydney:PearsonEducationAustralia.
Section1:Cognitiveprocesses
Lecture1:TheoriesandmethodsincognitivepsychologyTextbook:Eysenck&Keane)Chapter1:ApproachestohumancognitionWhatiscognitivepsychology?:Theinternalprocessesinvolvedinmakingsenseoftheenvironmentanddecidingwhatactionmightbeappropriate• Itinvolvestryingtounderstandhumancognitionbyusingbehavioural
evidence• Metalprocessarenotdirectlyobservable(drawsonotherdisciplinesto
providemetaphors)andhappensinthebrain(brainstructureandfunction)
Frameworks/metaphorsincognitivepsychology1950s-80sInformationprocessing
Ø Computermetaphor:themindisasymbolprocessingsystemwherethesymbolisusedtorepresentthingsintheworld
Ø Informationprocessing=acquisition,storageandmanipulationofsymbolstomeettaskdemands
Ø Representbottomupprocessing(processingthatisdirectlyinfluencedbyenvironmentalstimuli)
Ø Representsserialprocessing(processinginwhichoneprocessiscompletedbeforethenextonestarts)
1980stonow Ø Neutralmetaphor:themindisnetworkofinterconnected
v Investigatingcognition:Anoverviewofthemajortheoreticalandmethodologicalapproachesusedtoinvestigateunobservablecognitiveprocesses.
v Memory:Overviewofdifferenttypesofshort-termandlong-termmemoryandtheencoding,storageandretrievalprocessesthatdistinguishthem.Reviewoftheoriesoftheorganisationanddevelopmentofdifferentmemorysystemsandbehavioural,neuropsychologicalandneuroscienceevidenceinvestigatingthem.Applicationsoftheoriesofmemorywillbebrieflyconsidered.
v Attention:Overviewofearlydebatesaboutthelocusofattention,thenatureofautomaticityandtheroleofattentioninskilledbehaviouranddual-taskperformance.Discussionoftheoriesofpre-attentiveprocessesinvolvedinvisualsearchandattentionalcapture.Considerationoftheimplicationsofinattentionalblindnessandchangeblindnessforunderstandingconsciousnessandtheemergentnatureofattention.
v Thinking:Anoverviewofhigher-ordercognitionastheuseandrepresentationofknowledge.Phenomenaandtheoriesofproblemsolving.Anintroductiontodecisionmakingandjudgmentresearch,withanemphasisonhowourbiasesandheuristicsinfluenceourchoices.
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Connectionistframework
processingunits(neurons)whichcontrolsthetransmissionofactivationandinhibitionwithinthesenetworks
1990stonowcognitiveneuroscience
Ø Neuroimaging:manycognitivefunctionscanbelocalisedtoparticularneuralregionsandidentifyingandinvestigatinghowtheseareasrespondtoexperimentalmanipulationsprovidesinsightintothebrainmechanisms
Representationofmetalprocesses• Levelofdescriptionofcomplexsystems
o Computational:Whatneedstobecomputedforthetasktobecarriedout
o Conceptual–representationandalgorithms:theforminwhichinformationisrepresentedandthestepsorproceduresthatoccurtotransforminputsintooutputs
o Hardware:physicalmeansbywhichtherepresentationandalgorithmarerealised
• Brainversusminddebate?(needconvergingmethodologytoassessboth)Measuringcognitiveprocesses Method DisadvantageExperimentalcognitivepsychology
Ø Developtheoriesofcognitiveprocessesunderlyingatask
Ø Usebehaviouralevidencetotesttheories(i.e.faceinversioneffect–behaviouralmethodforinvestigatingfaceprocessing)
Theoriesoftenabstractandtestrelyoninferences
Cognitiveneuropsychology
Ø Usepatternsofimpairmentafterbraininjurytoinferthefunctionalorganisationofthebrain
Ø Disassociationsbetweendifferenttaskimpliesthattheyreplyondifferentneuralsystems)
Ø Oftenrelyon“singlecase”
Ø Assumes“isomorphism”betweenphysicalandfunctionalbrainorganisation
Computationalmodelling
Ø Thisapproachinvolvesdevelopingcomputationalmodelstofurtherourunderstandingofhumancognitions;suchmodelsincreasinglytakeaccountofourknowledgeofbehaviourandthebrain
Ø requiresprecisespecificationofalldetailsofthemodel
Ø Oftenhavetospecifydetailsthatarenotpartoftheory
Ø Thefactthatthetaskcanbedonethatwaydoesnotmeanit’showpeopledoit
Cognitiveneuroscience(seductiveallure)
Ø Usingevidencefrombehaviourandthebraintounderstandhumancognition
Differentmeasuresreflectdifferentaspectsofbrain
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Ø Take“snapshots”ofbrainactivitywhilepeopleareperformingcognitivetasks(i.e.PETandfMRI)
Ø Localisationofbrainfunctions
functions;andtechniquesrequireapplicationofeffectiveapplicationofcognitivepsychologicalmethods
Theoriesandmethodsofcognitivescience
• Differentmethodsinvolvedifferentlevelsanddirectionsofinferenceanddifferentstrengthsandweaknesses
• Needconvergingevidence–andamethodofintegratingit• Cognitivemodelsprovideamediating,functionallevelofdescriptionthat
helpstointegratedataandtesthypothesesLecture2+3:MemorysystemsandprocessesTextbook:Eysenck&Keane(2015–7thedition)Chapter6Learning,memoryandforgettingThethreestagesofmemory• EncodingàStorageàRetrievalDefiningmemory/kindsofknowledge• Sensorymemory:briefliteralcopiesofevents
o Iconicmemory:asensorystorethatholdsvisualinformationforapproximately500millisecondsorlonger
o Echoicmemory:asensorystorethatholdsauditoryinformationforapproximatelytwoseconds
• Shorttermmemory:“buffer”fortemporarymaintenanceofinformationo TworeasonsforrejectingsevenitemsasthecapacityofSTM;
– Needtodistinguishbetweenitemsandchunks(groupsofitemsthathavebeencollectedtogetherandtreatedasasingleunit)
– EstimatesofSTMareofteninflatedbecauseparticipants’performancedependsonrehearsalandLTM
• Longtermmemory:o facts/conceptsàabstract,semantico episodes/eventsàautobiographical,specificmemoryofaparticular
timeandplace
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o procedureàknowledgeofhowtodothingsthatareoftenunabletobeverbalisedorconsciouslyaccessed
Traditionalviewofmemory:Multistoremodel• Multistoremodel:Astructuralviewofmemory
• Accordingtothemulti-storemodel;
o Environmentalstimulationisinitiallyprocessedbythesensorystores,thataremodalityspecific(i.e.vision,hearing)
o Informationisheldverybrieflyinsensorystores,withsomebeingattendedtoandprocessedfurtherbytheshorttermstorm
o ThereisadirectrelationshipbetweentheamountofrehearsalintheSTMandthestrengthofmemorytraceinLTM.
• Shorttermandlongtermmemoryrelyonseparatememorysystemswithdifferentproperties
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• Limitationofthemulti-storeapproacho OverlysimplifiedinitsassumptionthatbothSTMandLTMstoresare
bothunitary(i.e.eachstoreoperatedinssingle,uniformway)– SeeanapproachinthesingleSTMisreplacedbyaworking
memorysystemconsistingof4components+severallongtermmemorysystem
o IncorrectinitsassumptionthatSTMactasagatewaybetweensensorystoresandLTM
– Processingisnotentirely“bottomup”pathway(i.e.informationprocessedintheSTMhasalreadymadecontactwithinformationintheLTM)
– Semanticinfluencesofcontext(LTM)onSTMtasks• Sentencerecall• Releasefromproactiveinterference(recallimproves
whenitemsfromadifferentsemanticcategoryarepresentedandextentofimprovementdependsonsimilarityofsemanticcategories)
o Proactiveinterference-thetendencyofpreviouslylearnedmaterialtohindersubsequentlearning)
o Levelofprocessing(i.e.theassumptionthatinformationintheSTMmemoryrepresentsthe“contentofconsciousness”)
– Falsifiedbyimplicitlearning(learningwithoutconsciousawarenssofwhathasbeenlearned)
– Craik&Lockhart(1972)Investigatedincidentalmemory(nottoldtotrytoremember)formaterialpresentedwithdifferent“orientingtasks”i.e.printtype,soundsandmeaning
– Memorybestwhenencodingtaskrequires‘deep’ratherthan‘shallow’processingNOTduesimplytolongerencodingtimefordeeperencodingtask
Interactivememoryarchitecture:(ACT)Adaptivecontrolofthoughtmodel
• Longtermmemory
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o Declarativememory:semanticandepisodicmemoryo Proceduralmemory;
– Memoryforhowtodothings– Notverbalisableoravailabletoconsciousawareness
• Workingmemoryo Thesysteminwhichincominginformationisprocessedand
integratedwithexistingdeclarativeandproceduralmemoriesWaysofthinkingaboutWorkingmemory
Component MeasurementBaddely:componentofworkingmemory
CentralexecutiveSlavesystem
Dualtask,backwardspanSimplespantask
Executivefunction UpdatingShiftingInhibition
i.e.runningspan
Psychometric:capacitytheory
Workingmemorycapacity=storage+processing
Complexspantask(greaterexternalvalidity–“reallifetask”*simplespantaskàonlytestingefficiencyofrehearsal
• 1)Baddeley(1974-2012):componentsofworkingmemory
o Definedworkingmemoryasàthesysteminwhichincoming
informationisprocessedandintegratedwithexistingdeclarativeandproceduralmemories(asthecentralexcecutive)
o Ratherthanapassiveshort-termstore,workingmemoryconsistsofmultiplespecialistcomponents;
– CentralExecutiveLimitedcapacity,modalityfreecontrolsystemresponsibleforco-ordination,selection,allocationofattentionalresourcesetc
– Independent“Slavesystems”:• Phonologicalloop:maintainsverbalinformation• Visuospatialsketchpad:maintainsvisual/spatial
informationo Assumptions;
– Iftwotasksusethesamecomponent,theycannotbeperformedsuccessfullytogether
– Iftwotaskusedifferentcomponents,itshouldbepossibletoperformthemaswelltogetherasseparately
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o Measurement;– Dual-taskstudiesi.e.playersselectedcontuationmovesfrom
variouschesspositionwhileperformingoneofthefollowingtasks;
• Repetitivetapping(controlcondition)• Randomnumbergeneralisation(alsoinvolvescentral
excecutive)o Limitations:
– “Slave”systemsmayreflecttask-specificstrategiesegrehearsal– Centralexecutivemeasuredbyrandomnumbergeneration,
dualtaskdecrementsàInadequatemeasuresof‘executiveprocesses’
– Model‘fractionates’workingmemory(Morerecentversionsaddanextrabox:‘episodicbuffer’:blursdistinctionbetweenworkingmemoryandLTM)
• 2)Executivefunctions(e.g.Miyakeetal2010)ofthecentralexecutiveo Hardtogetaconsesnsusonthenumberandnatureofexecutive
processeso Roleofcentralexcecutive;
§ Controlandregulatethoughtandaction§ Associatedwithfrontallobesegdeficitsinpeoplewithbrain
injurytotheseareas§ IdentifiedwithneuropsychologicaltestsegWisconsinCard
SortBUTthesearevery‘impure’measureso Miyakeetal.(2000)identifiedthreeindependentexecutiveprocesses:
§ Inhibitionfunction:;usetodeliberatelyoverridedominantresonsetoresistdistraction(i.e.strooptaskwhichinvolvesnamingthecoloursinwhichthewordisprinted)
§ Shiftingfunction:usetoswitchflexiblybetweentasksormentalstates(i.e.switchbetweenmultiplyingtodividingnumbersinalternativetasks)
§ Updatingfunction:usedtomonitorandengageinrapidadditionordepletionofworkingmemorycontent
• 3)Psychometricapproach–measuringtheworkdonebyworkingmemory
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o Avalidmeasureoftheroleofworkingmemorycapacityin‘realworldtasks’needtoassessSIMULTANEOUSdemandsofBOTHstorageandprocessing
o Simplevscomplexspantasks§ Complexspanrequirebothprocessingandstorage§ Canbeimplementedindifferentdomainsegverbal,numerical,
spatial§ Showhighercorrelationswithcomplextasksthansimplespan§ Evidenceofbothgeneralanddomain-specificcontributions§ Complexspantaskbetterpredictorthansimplespantask§ Domain-generalanddomain-specificcontribution
Individualdifferencesinworkingmemory• Avalidmeasureoftheroleofworkingmemorycapacityin‘realworldtasks’
needtoassessSIMULTANEOUSdemandsofBOTHstorageandprocessing• Complexspanmeasurespredictperformanceinreal-worldtasks:
o Sanchez&Wiley(2006):Individualshigherinworkingmemoryarelessvulnerableto‘seductivedetails’effect(i.e.irrelevantknowledge)
o Kaneetal.(2007):Individualshigherinworkingmemoryarelessvulnerableto‘mindwandering’andsustainattentioninmoredemandingandchallengingtasks
• Cowan2010:PerformanceinmanyWMtasksreflectsboth‘pure’WMcapacity/executiveprocesses+theeffectsofstrategiesegrehearsal,chunking,attentiono Whenstrategiesareeliminated,estimatesofworkingmemoryof
capacityislessthan7+/-o 3-4chunksacrossmanytasks,modalitiesetco Cowantheorised:Unitarymemoryview
§ Workingmemory=theinformationcurrentlyactiveinLTMBUTislimitedbyconstraintsonattention/centralexecutive
• ‘Pure’measuresofWMcapacity/executiveprocessingpredictdevelopmentalchangesandindividualdifferencesinfluidintelligence
Workingmemory:Structureversusprocesses• (Ranganathetal2003)Ratherthanmultiplememorysystems,perhaps
thereisasinglestoreofmemory‘content’• BUTtheprocessesthatoperateonitdifferasafunctionoftask
demands/effortrequiredetco thememoryrepresentationssupportingbothSTMandLTMare
storedin(oraccessedthrough)posteriorbrainregionsinvolvedininitialperception/encoding
o Frontalareasareinvolvedintheattentional/executiveprocessesrequiredformaintenance,updating,shiftingattention,resistinginterferenceetc
