Cognitive processing

Question 1

What are memory models and what to they provide?

Answer 1

Memory models provide a framework for an understanding of conceptualizations of human memory processes over time. Examples relevant to the study of memory models include explicit/implicit memory, sensory memory, short-term memory, long-term memory, central executive, phonological loop, episodic buffer, and visuospatial sketchpad

Question 2

What is the multi-store-model (MSM)?

Answer 2

Suggests that information flows through three stores. Each store has different capacities and can store information for different durations. Information is first stored in sensory memory for a fraction of a second. This information is then transferred to short-term memory. Short-term memory has a limited capacity of seven items. Information is stored in the form of sound for about 30 seconds. This information will then be transferred to long-term memory. When the material is not rehearsed, new information that enters the short-term memory store will displace older information. The information in long-term memory is processed by meaning. The capacity of this story may be unlimited

Question 3

What is the working memory model (WMM)?

Answer 3

Proposed by Baddeley and Hitch (1974), the Working Memory Model (WMM) is an alternative to the Multi-Store Model’s view of short-term memory. It describes short-term memory as a complex and dynamic system that processes and manipulates information, rather than being a single, passive store. It includes several specialized components that work together to handle different types of information.

Question 4

Strengths of the MSM

Answer 4

The MSM was influential in advancing memory research and is supported by studies such as Glanzer and Cunitz (1966), who investigated the serial position effect through free recall experiments. Participants were more likely to remember the first words on a list (primacy effect—stored in long-term memory) and the last words (recency effect—still in short-term memory). This pattern supports the MSM’s idea of separate memory stores for short-term and long-term memory.

Question 5

what is the serial position curve?

Answer 5

The serial position curve is a U-shaped pattern that shows how the position of information in a list affects how well it is remembered during free recall tasks.

• First items on a list better (primacy effect)
• Last items on a list better (recency effect)
• Middle items less accurately

Question 6

Weaknesses of the MSM

Answer 6

• being simplistic. The models did not capture how the different stores interact with each other.
• many of the studies that support the model lack ecological validity as they rely on random lists of words presented to participants in a laboratory setting.

Question 7

How does the Working Memory Model explain everyday memory tasks?

Answer 7

The WMM explains tasks like remembering a phone number (using the phonological loop to repeat the number internally) or visualizing a friend’s face (using the visuo-spatial sketchpad). The central executive manages focus and task-switching, while the episodic buffer helps combine this information and link it to past experiences stored in long-term memory.

Question 7

What are the main components of the Working Memory Model and their functions?

Answer 7

• Central Executive: Directs attention and coordinates the activities of the subsystems; acts like a control system but is not a memory store.
• Phonological Loop: Deals with verbal and auditory information. Includes:
• Phonological Store (inner ear): Holds speech-based information for 1–2 seconds.
• Articulatory Control Process (inner voice): Rehearses verbal information by repeating it internally.
• Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad: Processes visual and spatial information, like mental imagery and navigation.
• Episodic Buffer (added in 2000): Integrates information from the other components and links working memory to long-term memory; acts as a backup store.

Question 8

Strengths of the WMM

Answer 8

• provides a more comprehensive and thorough explanation of memory storage and processing compared to the MSM.
• The model can be applied to reading and tasks like mental arithmetic and verbal reasoning. The model explains what happens to memory in cases of brain damage
• Experimental studies also support the model by showing that there are separate systems in working memory

Question 9

what is a dual-task study?

Answer 9

A dual-task study involves participants performing two tasks simultaneously to see if doing both at once affects performance. If performance drops, it suggests both tasks are competing for the same mental resource or memory system

Question 10

Limitations of the working memory model

Answer 10

• does not explain the changes in processing ability that occurs as the result of practice or time
• only involves short-term memory -> it is not a comprehensive model

Question 11

What is a schema?

Answer 11

A schema can be defined as an internal mental representation that helps us organize and make sense of information.

Question 12

What are cognitive schemas?

Answer 12

Are seen as mental representations that organize our knowledge, beliefs, and expectations. Schema processing is automatic and below our level of awareness

Question 13

What is schema theory ?

Answer 13

Schema Theory is a cognitive theory that explains how people organize and interpret information based on mental frameworks called schemas. These schemas are like mental templates or blueprints that help us make sense of the world.

They are built from past experiences, cultural background, and knowledge, and they influence how we perceive, remember, and respond to new information.
Schema theory has been applied to treat people suffering from mood disorders. Critiques of theory have focused on the vagueness of the concept, or too rigid + simplistic, (Clark writes that schema theory tries too hard to use a single framework to explain how knowledge is acquired, stored and retrieved.

Question 14

What is thinking and how is it studied in psychology?

Answer 14

Thinking is the active process of using information to make decisions, solve problems, and reach conclusions. It involves gathering, storing, and analyzing information to achieve a goal, making it a form of directed thinking. Modern research distinguishes between rational (logical, deliberate) and intuitive (automatic, fast) thinking. Examples of decision-making processes include framing, heuristics, loss aversion, and appraisal. Several models have been developed to explain how we think and make decisions.

Question 15

What is the dual processing model?

Answer 15

the dual processing model assumes that we think in two ways across several tasks; System 1 thinking and system 2 thinking.
- Thinking 1 is automatic, quick and requires little effort (fast thinking), this is our default system of cognition when we are short of time or too tired to give a question a lot of thought. Relies on feelings, intuition, and a toolkit of hidden mental shortcuts to help guide our way through the choices we make, rather than thinking about each one methodically and consciously. It is prone to biases
- System 2 is more rational, analytical and goal-directed thinking and requires deliberate effort and time. Refers to the processes that kick in when we stop, pay attention and think. It is slower -> therefore less prone to biases

Question 16

Characteristics of system 1:

Answer 16

• unconscious reasoning
• automatic
• low effort
• large capacity
• rapid
• includes recognition, perception, orientation
• independent of working memory
• non-logical

Question 17

Characteristics of system 2:

Answer 17

• conscious reasoning
• controlled
• high effort
• small capacity
• slow
• includes rule following, comparisons, weighing of options
• limited by working memory capacity
• logical

Question 18

What are heuristics?

Answer 18

Heuristics are mental shortcuts or rules of thumb that generally, but not always, produce the right outcome. They offer a trade-off between helping us make quick decisions and being occasionally wrong.

Question 19

What is an Algorithm?

Answer 19

An algorithm is a well-defined process that will produce the right solution/best decision. Algorithms are an example of system 2 as they require deliberate thinking, logical rules and procedures. They can help solve problems and make decisions.

Question 20

Representative heuristic

Answer 20

The representative heuristic is a mental shortcut we use when making judgments about how likely something is based on how similar it seems to a typical case or stereotype, rather than using actual statistics or logic.

Question 21

Availability heuristic

Answer 21

The availability heuristic is a mental shortcut we use to judge how likely or frequent something is based on how easily we can recall examples of it from memory.

If something comes to mind quickly, we assume it’s more common or more likely to happen—even if that’s not true statistically.