What is attention?
Attention is a limited cognitive resource that allows an individual to concentrate on specific stimuli (internal or external) while filtering out irrelevant information.
Types of attention
- Focused
- Sustained
- Selective
- Alternating
- Divided
- Executive
What is selective attention?
Selective attention is the ability to focus on one specific stimulus while ignoring other competing stimuli in the environment.
What is divided attention?
Divided attention refers to the process of allocating limited cognitive resources to two or more tasks at the same time, attempting to perform them concurrently.
What is short term memory?
Short-term memory is a temporary storage system that holds a small amount of information for a brief period (about 15–30 seconds) before it is forgotten or transferred to long-term memory.
What is working memory?
Working memory is an active system that not only stores information temporarily but also manipulates and processes it.
What is episodic memory?
Episodic memory is the part of long-term memory that stores personal experiences and specific events, including the time, place, and emotions involved.
What is semantic memory?
Semantic memory is the part of long-term memory that stores general knowledge, facts, concepts, and meanings that are not tied to a specific personal experience.
Types of LTM
Explicit or declarative - memory you’re consciously aware of and can verbally describe. Includes episodic and semantic
Implicit or non declarative - memory that you’re not consciously aware of but it influences your behaviour. Includes priming and procedural memory
What is encoding?
Encoding is the process of transforming sensory input into a form that can be stored in memory and later retrieved.
Types of encoding
Visual, Acoustic, and Semantic
Factors influencing encoding
- Attention
- Rehearsal
- Elaboration
- Organization
- Distinctiveness
What is retrieval?
Retrieval is the process of accessing and bringing stored information into conscious awareness when needed.
Types of retrieval
- Recall - Producing information without external cues.
- Recognition - Identifying previously learned information
- Relearning - Reacquiring previously learned material more quickly than initial learning, showing that memory traces persist even when forgotten
Processes in language comprehension
- Speech/Orthographic Perception: This is the process of detecting sounds in speech or letters in written text. It is the first step where raw input is received by the brain.
- Lexical Access (Word Recognition): This involves retrieving the meaning of words from memory (mental lexicon). The brain matches the perceived word with stored knowledge.
- Syntactic Parsing: This is the process of organizing words into a grammatical structure to determine relationships (who did what). It helps assign roles in a sentence.
- Semantic Interpretation: This involves combining word meanings to understand the overall meaning of a sentence. It focuses on literal meaning.
- Pragmatic Inference: This is using context, background knowledge, and speaker intention to go beyond literal meaning. It helps interpret implied meanings.
- Discourse/Situation Model: This involves connecting sentences together to form a coherent overall understanding of a conversation or text. It includes tracking events and relationships.
Models and theories of language comprehension
- Modular (Serial) Model: Language comprehension occurs in separate, step-by-step stages with little interaction between them.
- Interactive/Constraint-Based Model: Multiple sources of information (context, meaning, grammar) work together simultaneously during comprehension.
- Cohort/TRACE Models: Multiple possible word candidates are activated and compete as speech is processed.
- Surprisal Model: Processing difficulty depends on how unexpected a word is in a sentence.
Important phenomena and effects in language comprehension
- Context Effects: Context influences how quickly and accurately we understand words and sentences. It helps reduce ambiguity.
- Garden-Path Sentences: These are sentences that mislead the reader into an incorrect interpretation initially, requiring reanalysis. Example: “The horse raced past the barn fell.”
- Frequency and Typicality: Common words and familiar sentence structures are processed faster than rare ones.
- Priming: Exposure to one word makes it easier to recognize a related word later.
- Predictive Processing: The brain anticipates upcoming words based on context, making comprehension faster.
What is language production?
Language production is the cognitive process of converting thoughts and ideas into spoken or written language. It involves planning what to say, selecting appropriate words and grammar, and physically producing speech or text.
What is forgetting?
Forgetting is the inability to retrieve or recall information that was previously learned or stored in memory.
Theories of forgetting
- Decay Theory: Memory fades over time if it is not used or rehearsed. The memory trace gradually weakens and disappears. Example: Forgetting a phone number because you didn’t repeat or use it.
- Interference Theory: Forgetting occurs because other information interferes with what you are trying to remember. There is;
(a) Proactive Interference
Old information interferes with new information.
Example: Your old password makes it hard to remember your new one.
(b) Retroactive Interference
New information interferes with old information.
Example: Learning a new phone number makes you forget the old one. - Retrieval Failure (Cue-Dependent Forgetting): Information is stored in memory but cannot be accessed because the right cues are missing.
- Motivated Forgetting: Forgetting happens intentionally or unconsciously to avoid unpleasant memories. There is;
(a) Repression
Unconscious blocking of painful memories.
Example: Forgetting a traumatic childhood experience.
(b) Suppression
Conscious effort to avoid thinking about something.
Example: Trying not to think about an embarrassing moment. - Encoding Failure: Information is forgotten because it was never properly encoded into memory in the first place.
Example: Not remembering details of a lecture you didn’t pay attention to.
How is forgetting measured?
- Recall Method
This measures forgetting by asking individuals to reproduce learned information without cues. The amount forgotten is shown by how much cannot be recalled.
Example: Being asked to list items you studied earlier and forgetting some of them. - Recognition Method
This involves identifying previously learned information from a list of options. Forgetting is indicated by failure to correctly recognize items.
Example: Multiple-choice questions where you fail to recognize the correct answer. - Relearning (Savings Method)
This measures how much faster information is relearned compared to the first time. Less time taken indicates less forgetting.
Example: Re-studying a topic and learning it faster than before. - Reconstruction Method
This involves rearranging or reconstructing information in the correct order. Forgetting is shown by errors in reconstruction.
Example: Trying to arrange steps of a process in the correct sequence but making mistakes.
What is memory distortion?
Memory distortion is where what a person recalls is different from what actually happened.
Types of memory distortion
- Misattribution
This occurs when a memory is attributed to the wrong source or context.
Example: Thinking you heard a story from a friend when you actually saw it online. - Suggestibility
This happens when external information or suggestions influence and alter memory.
Example: A leading question makes you “remember” details that didn’t happen. - Bias
Current beliefs, emotions, or knowledge distort past memories.
Example: Remembering past events in a way that supports your present opinion. - Persistence
This is the repeated recall of distressing or unwanted memories.
Example: Continuously remembering a traumatic or embarrassing event. - Transience
Memory weakens or fades over time, leading to loss of detail.
Example: Forgetting details of a lecture after a few weeks.
Others include; Implanted memories, confabulation, deja vu etc
What is language production?
Language production is the process by which humans transform an abstract thought or message into spoken, written, or signed language.
