Cognitive Processes 2024 Lecture Slides PDF

From Weiten, 2010 Fig. 7-25, p. 305 Explicit Memory: Episodic memory What is episodic memory? Do you always remember where you learnt things? Explicit memory: Semantic Memory What is semantic memory? Knowing vs remembering  Hierarchica...

From Weiten, 2010 Fig. 7-25, p. 305 Explicit Memory: Episodic memory What is episodic memory? Do you always remember where you learnt things? Explicit memory: Semantic Memory What is semantic memory? Knowing vs remembering  Hierarchical network models Collins & Quillian (1969); Collins & Loftus (1972) Logical hierarchical structure with interconnected “nodes” – eg. canary, bird, animal – and ‘properties’ eg is yellow, has wings, breathes Cognitive economy – each concept/ property only stored once => no redundancy Properties stored at highest level of network Spreading activation retrieves meanings – presenting a concept leads to “activation” of the appropriate node and to a spread of activation to related nodes Diagram from: http://falcon.jmu.edu/~westrf/cognitive/semantic_memory.html  Evaluation of hierarchical model Sentence Verification task: Measure time to verify sentences – “Is this true?” A robin is a bird A robin can breathe A robin can swim If two concepts are related, spreading activation from two concepts will “intersect” Time to verify sentence depends on distance between concepts (plus time to evaluate intersection) Sentence verification time a function of distance between concepts in hierarchical network (Collins & Loftus, 1972) Diagram from: http://falcon.jmu.edu/~westrf /cognitive/semantic_memory.html  Evaluation of hierarchical model Collin’s & Loftus (1972) also proposed that as well as the semantic distance between nodes, time to verify was affected by: – the strength of the initial activation, – the amount of time since the initial activation Which sentence would be verified fastest? A kookaburra is a kookaburra A kookaburra is a bird A kookaburra laughs A kookaburra can fly BUT Typicality effects – A penguin is a bird > A robin is a bird – ie. people take longer to make decisions about less typical examples AND Category size effects – A dog is a mammal > A dog is an animal These findings are inconsistent with the assumptions of a hierarchical organisation of knowledge  Parallel distributed processing (PDP) models Computational models: computer programs inspired by neural metaphor set of interconnected processing nodes (~neurones) that ‘communicate’ by sending activation or inhibition a “learning rule” for adjusting connections throughout the network McClelland & Rogers (2003) inputs PDP network outputs Category learning: “bird” emerges from overlap between all instances Exposure to a new example that shares features with known birds will allow it to “inherit” properties of other birds →generalisation e.g. youtube/Instagram/TikTok recommendations inputs PDP network outputs Can the network learn atypical examples quickly? e.g. penguin, bat  The structure of memory: Schemas & Scripts Schema: generalized mental representations, or concepts, describing a class of objects, people, scenes or events War of the Ghosts One night two young men from Egulac went down to the river to hunt seals and while they were there it became foggy and calm. Then they heard war-cries, and they thought: "Maybe this is a war-party". They escaped to the shore, and hid behind a log. Now canoes came up, and they heard the noise of paddles, and saw one canoe coming up to them. There were five men in the canoe, and they said: "What do you think? We wish to take you along. We are going up the river to make war on the people." One of the young men said,"I have no arrows." "Arrows are in the canoe," they said. "I will not go along. I might be killed. My relatives do not know where I have gone. But you," he said, turning to the other, "may go with them." So one of the young men went, but the other returned home. And the warriors went on up the river to a town on the other side of Kalama. The people came down to the water and they began to fight, and many were killed. But presently the young man heard one of the warriors say, "Quick, let us go home: that Indian has been hit." Now he thought: "Oh, they are ghosts." He did not feel sick, but they said he had been shot. So the canoes went back to Egulac and the young man went ashore to his house and made a fire. And he told everybody and said: "Behold I accompanied the ghosts, and we went to fight. Many of our fellows were killed, and many of those who attacked us were killed. They said I was hit, and I did not feel sick." He told it all, and then he became quiet. When the sun rose he fell down. Something black came out of his mouth. His face became contorted. The people jumped up and cried. He was dead. Bartlett (1932)  Transformations people made – 'Something black came from his mouth' tended to become 'he frothed at the mouth', 'he vomited' or 'breath escaped from his mouth'. – 'Hunting seals' tended to become 'fishing'. – 'Canoe' tended to become 'boat' and 'paddles' to become 'oars'. – The wounded Indian tended to become the hero, whose wounds were sometimes even 'bathed' at the end. – The reference by the Indian who stayed to the possibility of getting killed tended to be downplayed or dropped, whilst the reference to the probable anxiety of his relatives was usually given greater emphasis (the reference to having no arrows was often omitted). – The role of 'the ghosts' (for some, they become a clan called the Ghosts; for others they were simply imagined by the Indian when wounded). Hard to interpret items were omitted, including: – hiding behind the log; – the connection between the Indian's injury and the termination of the battle. Bartlett (1932)  The importance of schemas Why do we use schemas? Do schemas make memory encoding more efficient? Can schemas distort experiences and perceptions? What about information that does not fit into a schema? (exceptions)  Schema examples Stereotypes or “person schemas” – Racial and gender stereotypes Media, games and toys Schema for narrative structure Scripts or event schemas – Dining – Birthdays and weddings – Shopping – University Beginning of semester schemas Lecture schemas / Tutorial schemas  Script transference Doing “High School” “Doing a course at uni” 1. Wait for teacher to tell you to do 1. Choose course and pay for it something 2. Find out course requirements and due 2. Go well in exams dates 3. Set learning priorities 4. Plan time around easy and hard weeks 5. Stick to your own deadlines 6. Complete all course components 7. Explore and enjoy content  Script transference Applying High School script to uni leads to disaster 1. Work not spaced out because no plans are made 2. Voluntary or self-guided components completely missed 3. Collection or ‘hoarding’ of materials (lecture recordings, notes) instead of a plan to actually learn it 4. Lack of exploration, consolidation, or application of knowledge – “Do we have to read this?!” 5. (after having paid for a course at an expensive university with live lectures) “Do I have to attend?”  Summary: Schema structures The structure of the schemas in your long term memory governs – How you perceive events happening in front of you – How you encode and remember what you have experienced – The expectations you have of everything: people, events, the world, yourself etc. – How well you cope