Textbook for PSY 108 Midterm 2

Chapter 4 - Working Memory

• Definition of working memory: a brief, immediate memory for limited material that a person is currently processing
• Characteristics:
  • Processes a limited number of sounds and words
  • Holds visual and spatial information
  • Integrates information from phonological loop, visuospatial working memory, episodic buffer, and long-term memory
• Three important points related to limited working memory capacity:
  • Active process of working memory: manipulating and transforming information
  • Shared properties with short-term memory: limited capacity and time constraints
  • Connection with long-term memory: controversy over whether working memory and long-term memory are separate systems

Applications of Working Memory

• Academic performance: positively correlated with overall intelligence and grades in school
• Clinical populations:
  • Depression: difficulty with some working memory tasks
  • ADHD: lower performance on visual and verbal working memory tasks
  • Anxiety: issues with working memory

Chapter 5 - Long-Term Memory

• Definition of long-term memory: a high-capacity storage system containing memories for experiences and information accumulated throughout a lifetime
• Types of long-term memory:
  • Episodic memory: personal experiences
  • Semantic memory: knowledge about the world, including factual information
  • Procedural memory: knowledge about how to perform tasks
• Encoding: the initial acquisition of information
• Level of processing: deeper, meaningful processing leads to more accurate recall
• Elaboration: relating new information to prior knowledge and interconnected concepts
• Self-reference effect: remembering more information by relating it to oneself
• Encoding specificity principle: recall is often better when the context at the time of encoding matches the context at the time of retrieval
• Retrieval: the processes that allow access to information stored in long-term memory

Explicit and Implicit Memory Tasks

• Explicit memory tasks: intentional recall of previously learned information
• Implicit memory tasks: indirect measures of memory, where previous experience facilitates performance on a later task

Amnesia

• Retrograde amnesia: loss of memory for events prior to brain damage
• Anterograde amnesia: inability to form new memories after brain damage

Memory Biases and Errors

• Flashbulb memory: vivid memory for surprising and emotionally arousing events
• Eyewitness testimony: factors influencing accuracy, such as schema-consistent memories, source monitoring errors, post-event misinformation, and social pressure
• Post-misinformation effect: exposure to misleading information after an event can distort an eyewitness's memory

Special Topics in Long-Term Memory

• Experts' memories: organized, meaningful chunks of information, with a focus on distinctiveness
• Own-ethnicity bias: recognizing faces of one's own ethnic group more accurately
• Emotion and memory: the positivity effect, where unpleasant events are rated more positively with time
• Recovered memory/false memory controversy: debate over the accuracy of recovered memories of traumatic events

Chapter 6 - Memory Strategies and Metacognition

• Memory strategies: intentional, goal-oriented mental activities to improve encoding and retrieval
• Practice strategies:
  • Total-time hypothesis: the amount of information learned depends on the total time devoted to learning
  • Distributed-practice effect: spaced learning is more effective than massed learning
  • Desirable difficulties: learning is enhanced when the material is slightly challenging
• Mnemonics: mental strategies to improve memory, such as visualization, the keyword method, and organization techniques
• Prospective memory: remembering to do something in the future
• Metacognition: knowledge and control of cognitive processes, including metamemory and metacomprehension
• Foresight bias: overestimating performance on a future exam
• Immediate metamemory compared to metamemory after a delay: delayed judgments are more accurate

Chapter 7 - Mental Imagery and Cognitive Maps

• Definition of mental imagery: the mental representation of stimuli when they are not physically present
• Examples of mental imagery uses:
  • Visual and auditory imagery
  • Most research focuses on visual and auditory imagery
• How mental imagery differs from perception:
  • Perception: immediate processing of sensory input from the environment
  • Mental imagery: internally generated mental representations of sensory experiences without direct sensory input### Mental Rotation Tasks
• Shepard and Metzler (1971): Mental rotation tasks show that reaction time increases linearly with the angle of rotation.
• Replication: Similar results found with various stimuli, confirming the angle-reaction time relationship.
• Handedness (Takeda et al., 2010): Right-handers recognize right hands faster; left-handers recognize both equally quickly.
• Upright images recognized faster than upside-down images.

Research Findings Related to Mental Rotation

• Age Differences: Elderly perform slower on mental rotation tasks (Beni et al., 2006).
• Deaf Individuals: Skilled in mental rotation due to ASL experience (Emmorey et al., 1998).

Cognitive Neuroscience and Mental Rotation

• Brain Activation: Mental rotation tasks engage the parietal lobe, especially the right parietal cortex.
• Implications: Provides insights into spatial reasoning and visual-motor integration.

The Imagery Debate

• Analog code: Mental images resemble perception, using a spatial representation.
• Propositional code: Mental images resemble language, using an abstract representation.
• Research supporting each side of the debate:
  • Analog code:
    • Mental imagery closely resembles physical objects and maintains spatial relationships (Kosslyn et al., 2006).
    • Mental rotation studies (Shepard and Metzler, 1971) show that reaction times increase with the degree of rotation, similar to rotating a physical object.
    • Neuroimaging shows that visual imagery tasks activate the same brain regions as visual perception (Ganis et al., 2009).
  • Propositional code:
    • Mental images are stored as abstract, language-like representations (Pylyshyn, 2003, 2006).
    • Propositional code does not vary with the amount of rotation, unlike the analog code which shows increased reaction times for larger rotations.

Prosopagnosia and the Imagery Debate

• Analog Perspective: People with prosopagnosia, who cannot recognize faces visually, also have difficulty creating visual imagery for faces (Farah, 2004; Ganis et al., 2009).
• Propositional Perspective: The difficulty in creating visual imagery for faces could also be explained by a lack of detailed propositional descriptions in memory, affecting both recognition and imagery.

Ambiguous Stimuli

• Analog Code: Ambiguous images are often resolved in the same way during mental imagery as they are during actual perception.
• Propositional Code: The interpretation of ambiguous stimuli could be guided by propositional knowledge, where abstract descriptions help in resolving the ambiguity.

Visualizers vs Verbalizers

• Analog Code: Visualizers tend to think in pictures and have better performance on tasks involving spatial manipulation and visual imagery.
• Propositional Code: Verbalizers think in words and perform better on tasks requiring verbal descriptions and language-based processing.

Factors that Influence Visual Imagery

• Distance and shape effects:
  • Distance Effects: People take longer to scan the distance between two widely separated points on a mental image of a map compared to two nearby points (Kosslyn et al., 1978).
  • Shape Effects: Participants made decisions faster when the angles were very different and slower when the angles were similar, mimicking the pattern observed with real objects (Allan Paivio, 1978).

Interference with Physical Stimuli

• Interference with Visual Perception: Mental images can interfere with processing actual physical images (Segal and Fusella, 1970; Mast et al., 1999).

Gender Differences in Spatial Ability

• Spatial abilities show more substantial gender differences compared to verbal and mathematical abilities.
• Gender similarities:
  • Verbal Ability: Meta-analyses show extremely small gender differences, with d values close to zero.
  • Mathematics Ability: Meta-analyses also show d values close to zero, indicating gender similarities.

Auditory Imagery

• Definition: Auditory imagery is our mental representation of sounds when these sounds are not physically present.
• Is auditory imagery as vivid as visual imagery? People reported higher imagery ratings for visual imagery than for auditory imagery (Rubin and Berentsen, 2009).
• Auditory imagery and pitch: Pitch is a characteristic of a sound stimulus that can be arranged on a scale from low to high.
• Auditory imagery and timbre: Timbre is the sound quality of a tone.

Cognitive Maps

• Definition: The mental representation of geographic information, including a person's surrounding environment.
• How are cognitive maps related to spatial cognition? Research on cognitive maps is part of a larger topic called spatial cognition.
• Spatial cognition primarily refers to three cognitive activities:
  • Our thoughts about cognitive maps
  • How we remember the world we navigate
  • How we keep track of objects in a spatial array
• Distance and shape effects on cognitive maps:
  • Border bias: People tend to estimate the distance between two locations on different sides of a geographic border as larger than two locations the same distance apart but on the same side of a geographic border.
  • Landmark effect: People tend to provide shorter distance estimates when traveling to a landmark—an important geographical location—rather than a nonlandmark.
  • 90-degree-angle-heuristic: People tend to remember a figure that is slightly tilted as being either more vertical or more horizontal than it really is.
• Position effects on cognitive maps:
  • Rotation heuristic: People tend to remember a series of separate geographic structures as being more lined up than they really are.
  • Alignment heuristic: People tend to remember a figure that is slightly tilted as being either more vertical or more horizontal than it really is.
• How are cognitive maps formed?
  • The spatial framework model suggests that the above–below spatial dimension is especially important in spatial imagery, the front–back dimension is moderately important, and the right–left dimension is least important.
  • The situated cognition approach suggests that a person makes use of information in the immediate environment or situation; thus knowledge typically depends on the context surrounding the person.

Branches of Psychology

• Biological Psychology examines the biological basis of behavior, including the brain, nervous system, and genetics, to understand behavior and mental processes.
• Behavioral Psychology focuses on observable behaviors and the environmental factors that influence them, such as learning and conditioning.
• Cognitive Psychology delves into mental processes, including perception, attention, memory, language, and problem-solving, to understand how we process information.
• Developmental Psychology explores human development across the lifespan, including cognitive, social, and emotional development, to understand human growth and change.
• Social Psychology investigates how social interactions, relationships, and cultural norms influence behavior and attitudes, shaping our social identities.
• Personality Psychology studies individual differences in personality, including traits, motivation, and emotions, to understand what makes us unique.

Key Concepts

• The Nature vs. Nurture debate revolves around the relative influence of genetics (nature) and environment (nurture) on behavior and development, with implications for our understanding of human behavior.
• Consciousness refers to the state of awareness, including perception, attention, and awareness of one's surroundings, which is essential for our interaction with the world.
• Learning involves the process of acquiring new knowledge, skills, or behaviors through experience, practice, or instruction, which is crucial for adaptation and survival.
• Motivation encompasses the driving forces behind behavior, including needs, desires, and goals, which influence our actions and decisions.
• Emotion is a complex psychological and physiological state, including feelings, thoughts, and bodily responses, which plays a vital role in our emotional well-being.

Research Methods

• Experiments involve controlled studies that manipulate variables to test hypotheses, allowing researchers to establish cause-and-effect relationships.
• Surveys utilize self-report questionnaires to gather information about attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors, providing insights into people's thoughts and feelings.
• Case Studies involve in-depth examinations of individual cases or small groups, offering rich, contextual information about specific phenomena.
• Correlational Studies examine the relationships between variables without manipulation, identifying patterns and associations that inform our understanding of psychological phenomena.
• Observational Studies involve systematic observations of behavior in naturalistic settings, providing insight into human behavior in real-world contexts.

Theories and Models

• Psychoanalytic Theory, developed by Freud, proposes that unconscious motivations, defense mechanisms, and childhood experiences shape behavior and personality.
• Behavioral Theory, developed by Skinner, emphasizes the role of operant conditioning, reinforcement, and punishment in shaping behavior.
• Cognitive Theory, which encompasses information-processing models of perception, attention, and memory, explains how we process information and make decisions.
• Humanistic Theory, which emphasizes personal growth, self-actualization, and human potential, focuses on promoting human well-being and flourishing.
• The Biopsychosocial Model provides an integrated approach to understanding behavior, incorporating biological, psychological, and social factors to explain human behavior and mental processes.

Branches of Psychology

• Clinical Psychology focuses on diagnosing, assessing, and treating mental illnesses.
• Cognitive Psychology examines mental processes such as perception, attention, memory, language, and problem-solving.
• Developmental Psychology studies human development across the lifespan.
• Neuropsychology explores the relationship between the brain and behavior.
• Social Psychology examines how people think, feel, and behave in social situations.
• Personality Psychology investigates individual differences and personality traits.
• Abnormal Psychology studies unusual patterns of thought, emotion, and behavior.

Research Methods

• Correlational Studies investigate relationships between variables.
• Experimental Studies manipulate one or more variables to observe the effect on the outcome.
• Survey Research gathers self-report data through questionnaires or interviews.
• Case Studies involve an in-depth examination of a single individual or group.

Biological Basis of Behavior

• Neurotransmitters, such as serotonin and dopamine, are chemical messengers transmitting signals between neurons.
• Brain Regions, like the hippocampus, are associated with specific functions, such as memory.
• The Nervous System consists of the central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral nervous system (PNS).

Learning Theories

• Classical Conditioning involves associative learning through stimulus-response pairs, as discovered by Ivan Pavlov.
• Operant Conditioning involves learning through consequences of behavior, as studied by B.F. Skinner.
• Social Learning Theory proposes learning through observation and imitation, as developed by Albert Bandura.

Theories of Personality

• Psychoanalytic Theory, developed by Sigmund Freud, emphasizes the unconscious mind and childhood experiences shaping personality.
• Trait Theory, developed by Gordon Allport, views personality as a collection of stable traits.
• Humanistic Theory, developed by Carl Rogers, focuses on personal growth and self-actualization.

Psychological Disorders

• Anxiety Disorders involve excessive fear or anxiety, such as phobias and PTSD.
• Mood Disorders involve disturbances in emotional state, such as depression and bipolar disorder.
• Personality Disorders involve inflexible and maladaptive patterns of behavior, such as borderline and narcissistic disorders.

Chapter 4 - Working Memory

• Defining and contrasting short-term and long-term memory
  • Short-term memory (working memory): holds a small amount of information a person is actively using
  • Long-term memory: large-capacity memory for experiences and information accumulated throughout one's lifetime
• Limits of short-term memory
  • Brown/Peterson & Peterson Technique: demonstrates the limited capacity of short-term memory
  • Serial-position effect: U-shaped relationship between a word's position in a list and its probability of recall
• Working memory approach
  • Definition: brief, immediate memory for limited information currently being processed
  • Coordinates ongoing mental activities
• Components of working memory
  • Phonological loop: processes sounds and language
  • Visuospatial sketchpad: processes visual and spatial information
  • Central executive: integrates information, plays a role in attention and planning
  • Episodic buffer: temporary storehouse combining information from phonological loop, visuospatial working memory, and long-term memory
• Applications of working memory
  • Academic performance: correlated with overall intelligence and grades in school
  • Clinical populations: individuals with depression, ADHD, and anxiety exhibit difficulties with working memory tasks

Chapter 5 - Long Term Memory

• Definition of long-term memory
  • High-capacity storage system containing memories for experiences and information accumulated throughout one's lifetime
• Types of long-term memory
  • Episodic memory: personal experiences
  • Semantic memory: organized knowledge about the world
  • Procedural memory: knowledge about how to do something
• Encoding and retrieval
  • Encoding: initial acquisition of information
  • Retrieval: processes that allow access to stored information
• Factors influencing memory
  • Levels of processing: deeper processing leads to more accurate recall
  • Elaboration and distinctiveness: richer processing and unique stimuli enhance recall
  • Self-reference effect: relating information to oneself improves recall
• Memory tasks
  • Recall tasks: reproducing learned information
  • Recognition tasks: judging whether previously seen information has been presented
• Amnesia and anxiety disorders
  • Retrograde amnesia: loss of memory for events prior to brain damage
  • Anterograde amnesia: inability to form new memories after brain damage
  • Anxiety disorders: individuals exhibit difficulties with working memory tasks

Chapter 6 - Memory Strategies and Metacognition

• Memory strategies
  • Intentional, goal-oriented mental activities to improve encoding and retrieval
  • Practice: total-time hypothesis, distributed-practice effect, and testing effect
• Mnemonics
  • Mental strategies to improve memory
  • Types: using mental imagery, organization, and acronyms
• Metacognition
  • Knowledge and control of cognitive processes
  • Metamemory: knowledge, monitoring, and control of memory
• Metacomprehension
  • Thoughts about language comprehension
  • Research: college students exhibit low levels of accuracy in metacomprehension

Chapter 7 - Mental Imagery and Cognitive Maps

• Definition of mental imagery
  • Mental representation of stimuli when not physically present
• Examples of mental imagery
  • Visual, auditory, and other sensory experiences
• Differences between mental imagery and perception
  • Perception: immediate processing of sensory input
  • Mental imagery: internally generated mental representations without direct sensory input### Mental Rotation Tasks
• Mental rotation tasks show that reaction time increases linearly with the angle of rotation (Shepard and Metzler, 1971)
• Replication studies confirm the angle-reaction time relationship with various stimuli
• Handedness affects performance: right-handers recognize right hands faster, while left-handers recognize both equally quickly (Takeda et al., 2010)
• Upright images are recognized faster than upside-down images

Age and Group Differences in Mental Rotation

• Elderly individuals perform slower on mental rotation tasks (Beni et al., 2006)
• Deaf individuals are skilled in mental rotation due to American Sign Language (ASL) experience (Emmorey et al., 1998)

Cognitive Neuroscience and Mental Rotation

• Mental rotation tasks engage the parietal lobe, especially the right parietal cortex
• Provides insights into spatial reasoning and visual-motor integration

The Imagery Debate

• The imagery debate concerns whether mental images resemble perception (analog code) or language (propositional code)
• Analog code: a representation that closely resembles the physical object
• Propositional code: an abstract, language-like representation

Research Supporting Each Side of the Debate

• Analog code:
  • Mental imagery closely resembles physical objects and maintains spatial relationships (Kosslyn et al., 2006)
  • Mental rotation studies show increased reaction times with larger rotations (Shepard and Metzler, 1971)
  • Neuroimaging shows similar brain regions activated for visual imagery and perception (Ganis et al., 2009)
• Propositional code:
  • Mental images are stored as abstract, language-like representations (Pylyshyn, 2003, 2006)
  • Reaction times do not vary with the amount of rotation

The Imagery Debate and Prosopagnosia

• People with prosopagnosia have difficulty creating visual imagery for faces, supporting the analog code theory
• Alternatively, propositional code theory suggests that detailed propositional descriptions in memory affect both recognition and imagery

Ambiguous Stimuli and Visualizers vs. Verbalizers

• Ambiguous images are resolved similarly during mental imagery and perception, supporting the analog code theory
• Visualizers tend to think in pictures and perform better on spatial manipulation tasks
• Verbalizers think in words and perform better on language-based tasks, suggesting a propositional code representation

Factors Influencing Visual Imagery

• Distance and shape effects:
  • Distance effects: scanning distance in a mental image takes longer (Kosslyn et al., 1978)
  • Shape effects: judgments about angles and shapes of imaginary objects resemble real objects (Paivio, 1978)
• Research on interference between mental imagery and physical stimuli:
  • Mental images can interfere with processing actual physical images (Segal and Fusella, 1970; Mast et al., 1999)

Gender Differences in Spatial Ability

• Gender differences in spatial ability are larger compared to verbal and mathematical abilities
• Spatial visualization shows small gender differences
• Spatial perception shows moderate gender differences
• Mental rotation shows larger gender differences, but can be reduced with training and changes in task instructions

Auditory Imagery

• Definition: mental representation of sounds when they are not physically present
• Research suggests that auditory imagery is less vivid than visual imagery
• Auditory imagery is related to pitch and timbre

Cognitive Maps

• Definition: mental representation of geographic information
• Related to spatial cognition, which includes:
  • Thoughts about cognitive maps
  • Remembering the world we navigate
  • Keeping track of objects in a spatial array
• Distance and shape effects on cognitive maps:
  • Border bias: estimating distances across geographic borders
  • Landmark effect: estimating distances to landmarks
  • 90-degree-angle-heuristic: remembering angles as closer to 90 degrees
• Position effects on cognitive maps
• Formation of cognitive maps: spatial framework model and situated cognition approach