Cognitive Psychology Semantic Memory Quiz

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Questions and Answers

What is the primary role of semantic memory?

To facilitate emotional responses to stimuli

To store episodic memories of personal experiences

To contain mental representations of concepts (correct)

To recall life events in a sequential order

Which model emphasizes the organization of concepts within semantic memory?

Dual-coding theory

Hierarchical Network model (correct)

Psychoanalytic model

Operant conditioning model

What aspect does the Situated Simulation Theory focus on?

The chronological sequence of episodic memories

The emotional context of memory recall

The role of context in understanding knowledge (correct)

The spatial organization of concepts

What is a major characteristic of concepts in semantic memory?

They serve as fundamental units of thought Signup and view all the answers

Which model suggests a network of connections in understanding concepts?

Spreading activation model Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary structure of Collins & Quillian's hierarchical network model?

A series of hierarchical networks Signup and view all the answers

What does cognitive economy refer to in the context of the hierarchical network model?

Storing properties higher up to minimize redundancy Signup and view all the answers

In a sentence verification task, what is the relationship between the distance of nodes in the hierarchy and reaction time (RT)?

Greater distances are associated with longer reaction times Signup and view all the answers

What happens when information is not directly linked to a concept in semantic memory?

The answer is inferred from properties of related nodes Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following statements about properties associated with concepts in the hierarchical model is true?

Properties are often stored at higher nodes to reduce repetition Signup and view all the answers

What does the hub-and-spoke model of semantic memory suggest about conceptual representations?

They are independent of any specific sensory modality. Signup and view all the answers

In the hub-and-spoke model, which part is responsible for general ideas?

Hub Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following best describes the spokes in the hub-and-spoke model?

They connect to modality-specific brain areas. Signup and view all the answers

What does the term 'amodal semantics' refer to in the context of the hub-and-spoke model?

General ideas that are independent of any modality. Signup and view all the answers

Which brain region is specifically mentioned regarding the hub-and-spoke model?

Temporal lobe Signup and view all the answers

How does familiarity affect the verification of sentences?

Familiarity can reduce the hierarchical distance effect. Signup and view all the answers

What is a key feature of the Spreading Activation Model?

Links between nodes indicate semantic relatedness. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following statements is true about typicality in semantic memory?

Verification is faster for more representative member categories. Signup and view all the answers

What happens to activation as it spreads away from the initial node?

It decreases. Signup and view all the answers

In the context of semantic memory, what does a longer link signify?

A lower degree of semantic relatedness. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following exemplifies a not typical member of a category?

A penguin is a bird. Signup and view all the answers

What is the main premise of the Spreading Activation Model?

Activation of one concept leads to activation of related concepts. Signup and view all the answers

Which statement best describes the effect of semantic activation distance?

Closer concepts have a higher chance of being activated. Signup and view all the answers

What is a common issue faced by individuals with semantic dementia?

General semantic deficits Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is highlighted as a category-specific deficit in patients K.C. and E.W.?

They could name non-living things easily. Signup and view all the answers

What model is referenced regarding the organization of concepts in the brain?

Hub-and-spoke model Signup and view all the answers

What area of the brain is mentioned as potentially having a complex role in concept organization?

Anterior temporal lobe Signup and view all the answers

How did the study find that familiarity with concepts might influence their organization?

It potentially affects how concepts are integrated. Signup and view all the answers

What did patients perform poorly on when naming objects?

Pictures of living things Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following statements is TRUE regarding the hub-and-spoke model?

It incorporates modality-specific representations. Signup and view all the answers

What aspect remains an open issue regarding the hub-and-spoke organization?

Understanding the exact number of spokes. Signup and view all the answers

What effect does semantic priming have on response times?

It decreases response times by enhancing processing efficiency. Signup and view all the answers

What determines the speed of activation spread in semantic priming?

The strength of semantic links and the distance between concepts. Signup and view all the answers

In a semantic priming task, what typically results in faster response times?

A semantically related prime and target. Signup and view all the answers

In the DRM paradigm, which of the following concepts is better presented as studied?

Unstudied concepts that relate to a studied one. Signup and view all the answers

What is a characteristic of a weak semantic link in terms of response time?

It leads to slower response times due to unrelated concepts. Signup and view all the answers

How does the concept of spreading activation function in semantic priming?

It spreads faster through shorter links between related concepts. Signup and view all the answers

What type of semantic link typically results in longer response times?

Links with multiple intermediary nodes. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is a key finding from McNamara's research on semantic priming?

Faster processing is linked to shorter semantic distance. Signup and view all the answers

In the context of the DRM paradigm, what is the implication of presenting associated concepts?

It confuses the subjects about what they have studied. Signup and view all the answers

Which statement accurately describes the nature of semantic links in processing?

Shorter semantic links facilitate faster processing compared to longer links. Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Cognition: Week 3

Week 3 focuses on semantic memory
Last week covered episodic and semantic memory
Factors aiding encoding include active creation, generating examples, testing, organization, and recalling by categories.
Semantic memory is the store of knowledge about the world, comprising concepts (e.g., bird, animal)
How concepts are organized is a core subject of study
Models for conceptual organization include hierarchical networks and spreading activation models

Hierarchical Network Model

Semantic memory is structured as a network of interconnected concepts.
Concepts are represented as nodes, with properties/features linked to them
Properties are stored higher in the hierarchy to minimize redundancy (cognitive economy)
Sentence verification tasks (e.g., "A canary can sing" is faster than "A canary is a fish") demonstrate the hierarchical structure's impact on response times
Problems exist in the model with familiarity and typicality. Familiarity impacts distance, and typicality varies in speed of response between categories.

Spreading Activation Model

Semantic memory is organized by semantic relatedness or distance.
The length of links between nodes indicates the degree of semantic relatedness
Activation of one node causes activation in related nodes, spreading through the network.
Spreading activation decreases with distance from the initial activation point
This model supports concepts like semantic priming (e.g., faster response to "eagle" after "bird") due to spreading activation through the network
Problems in the model exist when considering the complexity of concepts like "justice." It is also dependent on the context of situation.

The Role of Context

Processing concepts is dependent on the immediate situation & context
Concepts incorporate perceptual characteristics and behavioral actions, also referred to as motor-related properties

Concepts in the Brain

Grandmother Cell Hypothesis: Each concept is represented by a specialized neuron (grandmother cell)
Feature-based Approach: Different aspects (e.g., visual, auditory) of a concept are processed in distinct brain regions
The hub-and-spoke model is a hybrid model combining modality-independent (hub) and modality-specific (spokes) aspects. This is a more modern approach to the organization of concepts in the brain based on neurobiological evidence.

Support for Models

tDCS studies (e.g., Ishibashi et al., 2018): Stimulation of specific brain regions (e.g., inferior parietal lobe) improves performance on tool-related tasks, supporting the hub-and-spoke model.
Neuropsychological evidence: Semantic dementia (damage to anterior temporal lobe) has demonstrated problems in understanding general semantic concepts and/or issues with category-specific knowledge and distinctions.
Semantic Priming: Presenting a semantically related word (prime) before a target word leads to faster response times, indicating spreading activation.

Evaluation of Theories

Limitations: Current models of semantic memory have limitations:
Oversimplification (e.g., a single node for a concept)
Context and individual differences (e.g., variability in concept properties across situations).

Summary

Models of semantic memory include hierarchical networks, spreading activation, and more recent hub-and-spoke models.
Current models face limitations with the complexity of human knowledge, the variability of context-dependence, and individual differences.

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Description

Test your knowledge on semantic memory concepts and models in cognitive psychology. This quiz covers important theories such as Collins & Quillian's hierarchical network and the hub-and-spoke model. Explore the organization of concepts and how they relate to cognitive processes.