Cognitive Psychology: Memory and Emotion

Schema Theory

• Suggests that mental frameworks (schemas) based on past experiences and knowledge help individuals process and interpret information.
• Schemas influence perception, memory, and decision-making.
• Example: People may misremember details of a story or event.

Reconstructive Memory

• Memory is not a perfect playback but an active reconstruction that's influenced by prior knowledge, biases, and external information.
• Example: Post-event information, like leading questions, can distort memories.

Reliability of Cognitive Processes

• Examines whether cognitive functions (like memory, perception, and thinking) produce accurate and consistent results.
• Research shows that cognitive processes can be prone to errors.
• Example: False memories and biases reduce the reliability of memory recall.

Emotion and Memory

• Emotional arousal enhances memory for events, but can lead to distorted memories.
• Example: Flashbulb memories (vivid recollections of emotionally charged events).

Emotion and Decision Making

• Emotions significantly influence judgments and choices, often leading to decisions that deviate from purely logical reasoning.
• Example: Fear leads to risk aversion; happiness increases optimism.

Multi-Store Model

• Proposes three separate memory stores: sensory memory (brief), short-term memory (limited capacity), and long-term memory (permanent storage).
• Example: Information must be rehearsed in short-term memory to move to long-term memory.

Working Memory Model

• Focuses on short-term memory, describing its active processing and manipulation of information using components like phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad, and central executive.
• Example: Remembering a phone number while looking for a pen involves working memory.

Thinking and Decision Making

• Cognitive processes used to evaluate information, solve problems, and make choices.
• Influenced by biases, heuristics, and external factors.
• Example: Heuristics (mental shortcuts) can lead to quicker decisions but may result in errors.

Biases in Thinking and Decision Making

• Systematic deviations from rationality caused by cognitive shortcuts, emotions, or past experiences.
• Common biases include anchoring bias, availability bias, and confirmation bias.
• Example: Judging risks based on how easily examples come to mind (availability bias).

Bartlett (1932) – The War of the Ghosts

• Participants recalled a Native American folk story, distorting unfamiliar details to fit their cultural schemas.
• Demonstrates how schemas shape memory recall.
• Highlights that memory is reconstructive and prone to errors.

Loftus and Palmer (1974) – Car Crash Experiment

• Participants viewed car accident videos and were asked about speed with different verbs (e.g., "smashed" vs. "contacted").
• Suggests that external factors (like leading questions) influence memory reconstruction.
• Demonstrates memory's malleability and unreliability.

Miller’s Magic Number 7 (1956)

• Discovered that short-term memory has a limited capacity (7±2 items).
• Demonstrates that people can chunk information into meaningful units to overcome this limit.

This quiz explores key concepts in cognitive psychology, focusing on schema theory, reconstructive memory, and the reliability of cognitive processes. It also examines the relationship between emotion and memory, particularly how emotional experiences can enhance or distort recollections. Test your understanding of these fascinating topics!