Cognitive Psychology Semantic Memory Quiz

Semantic memory is a type of long-term memory responsible for storing general knowledge about the world, concepts, facts, and information that is not tied to specific personal experiences.

Concepts are mental representations of categories, ideas, or things. They are the building blocks of our understanding of the world. Examples include 'bird', 'animal', 'red', 'happy'.

The Hierarchical Network Model proposes that concepts are organized in a hierarchical structure. It suggests that more general concepts are at the top, while more specific concepts are at lower levels.

The Spreading Activation Model suggests that concepts are connected to each other in a network. Activation of one concept spreads to related concepts, making them easier to access.

The Situated Simulation Theory emphasizes the role of context in activating and using semantic knowledge. It suggests that we simulate experiences based on our current context.

This principle in the Hierarchical Network model suggests that information about concepts is stored at the highest level possible to minimize redundancy. For example, the property 'can sing' is associated with 'bird' instead of 'canary', as all birds can sing.

A task used to test the Hierarchical Network Model where participants decide whether sentences are true or false as quickly as possible.

The time it takes to respond to a sentence verification task. The model predicts longer reaction times for sentences requiring more steps through the hierarchy to retrieve information.

The Hierarchical Network Model predicts longer reaction times for sentences that require accessing information located further down the hierarchy. This suggests that we infer information about lower-level concepts based on information stored higher up in the network.

The more inferences needed to verify a statement (e.g., 'A canary can sing'), the slower the verification process.

This model explains that familiarity with a sentence influences the speed of verification. Less familiar sentences (e.g., 'A canary has skin') take longer to verify.

Verification speed is faster for typical members of a category (e.g., 'A canary is a bird') compared to less typical ones (e.g., 'A penguin is a bird').

The strength of the connection between two concepts in the Spreading Activation Model is represented by the length of the link. Shorter links indicate closer semantic relatedness.

The Spreading Activation Model explains that activation strength weakens as it moves further away from the original concept. Thus, related concepts are activated faster than those further away.

The Spreading Activation Model provides a more flexible and dynamic explanation of semantic memory compared to the Hierarchical Network Model, better accounting for the typicality effect.

A task where presenting a stimulus that is semantically related to the target makes processing the target (usually reaction time) faster.

The experiment showed that people respond faster to a target word (e.g., rose) when it is preceded by a semantically related prime (e.g., red) compared to an unrelated prime.

The strength of the semantic link between two concepts determines how quickly activation spreads.

The Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) Paradigm demonstrates that people often falsely remember studying words that were not actually presented but are highly associated with the studied words (e.g., remembering "doctor" when the studied words were related like "nurse", "hospital", etc.).

The DRM Paradigm is based on the idea that exposure to highly related words increases the likelihood of falsely remembering a related word.

The DRM Paradigm uses a list of related words (e.g., "nurse", "hospital", "doctor") and assesses whether participants falsely recall specific words.

The DRM Paradigm involves the study phase where participants are exposed to a list of related words.

The DRM Paradigm involves the test phase where participants are asked to recall words they were exposed to during the study phase.

The DRM Paradigm shows that memory can be influenced by semantic relationships between words. It also shows that participants can sometimes recall items never presented, but are highly associated with studied words.

A theory suggesting that semantic memory is not stored in one specific brain region. Instead, different aspects of a concept are processed in various brain areas, connected by a central hub.

A model of semantic memory where specific sensory and motor features of a concept are linked to a central conceptual hub. This hub integrates information from different sources and allows versatile access to the concept.

The central node in the Hub-and-Spokes Model responsible for integrating information from different brain areas related to a concept. It represents the general, abstract meaning of a concept.

Brain areas in the Hub-and-Spokes Model that specialize in processing specific sensory or motor features related to a concept.

The ability to understand and process information regardless of the specific sensory modality through which it was acquired.

A neurological condition affecting the brain's ability to store and access semantic knowledge, often resulting in problems with naming objects, understanding concepts, and sorting objects into categories.

A type of cognitive impairment characterized by a selective difficulty in retrieving information about specific categories of knowledge.

A patient with category-specific deficits who could easily name non-living objects like cars and tables, but struggled to name living things such as animals.

A patient with category-specific deficits who exhibited the same pattern as K.C., being able to easily name non-living objects but having difficulty naming animals.

The ability to name pictures of non-living items, suggesting preservation of knowledge about non-living objects in individuals with category-specific deficits.

The difficulty experienced by individuals with category-specific deficits in identifying and naming pictures of animals, demonstrating the selective impairment in retrieving information about living things.