INTRODUCTION - COGNITIVE APPROACH

29th March 2010

What is Cognitive Psychology?
• Mental processes
EX: memory, perception, thinking, reasoning, problem solving and language

• We cannot ‘see’ thinking & memory. That’s why various techniques are used to study cognitive processes.

CORE STUDIES UNDER COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

1.) LOFTUS & PALMER

2.) DEREGOWSKI

3.) BARON-COHEN, LESLIE & FRITH

4.) GARDNER & GARDNER

LOFTUS & PALMER
How leading questions influence memory

LEADING QUESTION:
A question that suggests the answer that the examiner is looking for?

INTRODUCTION (PG 16 – 17)

What is memory?
Memory allows you to store and recall information.

What is Engram?
Memory traces are stored as biophysical or biochemical changes in the brain in response to external stimuli

EXAMPLE OF A STUDY
HM – severe epilepsy

Went through surgery
(hippocampus removed)

After surgery:
He could remember OLD information that happened before surgery up to the point he received the surgery.

After surgery, he wasn’t able to remember NEW information
TERMED: Anterograde Amnesia

Retrograde amnesia is the opposite of anterograde amnesia


Therefore, hippocampus relevant to short-term memory

THE STRUCTURE OF MEMORY(not in textbook)


MEMORY MODEL
1.) Sensory memory

Nature: Register and store information received from senses

Duration of storage: For a few seconds only

Capacity: None (information is lost through decay)

2.) Short term Memory

Nature: Stores information we attend to from our senses

Duration of storage: 15 - 30 seconds

Capacity: Relatively limited (7 items)

3.) Long Term Memory

Nature: Stores information permanently

Duration of storage: Permanent (days, weeks, months)

Capacity: Unlimited

EVALUATION OF MEMORY MODEL

• Too simple

• Does not consider how various types of information are stored differently

• Does not explain how information is transferred from one store to the other or back and forth

(Look at table on page 16).

WHAT FACTORS AFFECT OUR MEMORY?
Expectations / Stereotypes.

(2 mins to read the text).

• Motivation
Accroding to Freud, we forget unpleasant or disturbing information because we are motivated to do so ----> repression.

• Prevention of Consolidation

The time needed for structural changes to occur to indicate memory is stored is termed as consolidation.

American football players suffered from concussion (mild brain injury).

Were able to describe events up until their injury when they were asked immediately about it.

If they weren’t asked in 20 mins = no memory.

Such process can be interrupted (prevented) by head injuries, brain damage, surgery, electro-convulsive therapy and some drugs.

• Interference (NOT IN TEXTBOOK)
Could occur in two ways:

1.) Retroactive : new information pushes out old information
EX: while learning about Cognitive Psychology, you might slowly forget about your themes & perspectives

2.) Proactive: previous learning interferes with current learning
EX: old telephone number interferes with your ability to remember the new telephone number = confusion

• Information received ‘after the event’.
Even though memory of an event is stored at the time of memory BUT what has been stored can still CHANGE!

Change can be due to the information supplied after the event.

• Eye-witness testimony
(look at picture pg. 17)

Juries will pass down a guilty verdict if the information given by the eye-witness is convincing enough.

However, psychological research indicated that the memory of an eye-witness could be unreliable.

Devlin Committee (read key concept box) suggested that its important for juries to not only rely on testimonies.

END