3.1 Cognitive Level of Analysis:
Cognitive Processes
Principles that define the cognitive level
of analysis
1st Principle
1. Mental processes
guide behavior
– Bottom –up processing
(from the sensory system)
– Top-down processing (in
the mind, via pre-stored
information in the memory)
– Output (in the form of
behaviour)
– Dweck- mindset
determines behavior
Memory is not infallible
Memory
– Reconstructive nature
– False memories
Perception
– Process that interprets and
organizes information to
produce some meaningful
experience of the world.
– Necker Cube pg. 68
2nd Principle
The mind can be studied
scientifically
– experimental method
(artificial??)
– daily context
Case studies
– Technology
fMRI
3rd Principle
Cognitive processes are
influenced by social and
cultural factors.
– Schema
Mental representation of
knowledge
– What did Bartlett say about
schema, culture, and
memory?
Memory Distortions
Be A Thinker Pg. 69
Will It Ever be possible to develop robots
that can think like humans?
A theory of a cognitive process:
Schema Theory
Schema theory: theory about information
processing
Cognitive schema: networks of
knowledge, beliefs, expectations about
particular aspects of the world.
Assumption: Human processing is
influenced by what we know (schema).
Can you give an example of this?
How is this related to distortions?
Schema Theory and Memory
Processing
Memory Processes
– Encoding: transforming sensory information
into meaningful memory
– Storage: creating a biological trace of the
encoded information in memory
– Retrieval: using stored information
Evaluation of Schema Theory
What are the positive aspects and
limitations of schema theory?
Pros
– Helps understanding how people
Categorize, interpret, make inferences
have memory distortions
Have “social schemas” (prejudice, stereotyping)
Cons
– Not Clear
How are schemas acquired?
How do they actually influence cognitive
processes?
– Too vague to be useful (opinion)
A model of memory: the working
memory model
Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968)
– Multi-store model:
Sensory Memory (modality specific)
Short-term Memory (needs attention, rehearsal)
Long-term Memory (needs encoding)
– Can you explain the Multi-store model?
The Working Memory Model
(Baddeley and Hitch) 1974
Based on Multi-store model
The Central Executive (controlling
system that coordinates the “slave
systems”)
– Limited capacity
– Modality free (can process any sensory
information)
Attention control
Most important function of CE.
– Automatic level
habit, controlled by environmental stimuli. Ex.
Cycling to school
– Supervisory attention level
Emergencies
New situations that require different strategies
Ex. Approaching car while cycling
Episodic Buffer
Temporary and passive display store until
the info is needed.
Processing takes place elsewhere
Ex. Recalling the details of a landscape
The Phonological Loop
Articulatory control system (inner voice)
– Holds information in a verbal form
Ex. Repeating a phone # to yourself
– Holds words ready as you prepare to speak
Phonological store (inner ear)
– Holds speech-based material in a
phonological form.
Visuospatial Sketchpad
Inner eye
Visual and spatial information from
– Sensory memory
– LTM
Evidence of working memory
Working memory widely accepted
Dual-task techniques where participants
are asked to perform:
– Cognitive task that uses most of capacity of
working memory. (telling a story)
– Second cognitive task (memorizing list of #)
– If both tasks interfere with each other
They use same component in STM
Evidence of working memory
(cont.)
Baddeley and Hitch (1974)
Dual-task memory experiment
– Findings:
Evidence that STM has more than one unitary
store
Working memory doesn’t easily breakdown with
another concurrent task.
Evaluation of the working
memory model
More satisfactory explanation of storage
and processing than STM of multi-store
model.
Active storage and processing
– Useful in understanding a wide range of tasks
Ex. Reading comprehension and mental
arithmetic
– Multi-tasking
Pickering and Gathercole
(2001) pg. 75
Working memory and early learning
Working Memory Test and Battery for
Children
– What did they find? How useful?
What other studies analyze working
memory and its implications for learning?
Holmes et al. (2008) Math and visual
patterns test
Eysenck (1988) Intelligence linked to
working memory
Long Term Memory System
– Explicit/Declarative Memories
Semantic Memories (general knowledge)
Episodic Memories (personal experience)
Hippocampus important
– Implicit/Non-declarative Memories
Procedural memories (skills, habits, “knowing
how”)
Emotional memories
– Amygdala
– Hard to forget, Post-traumatic stress disorder
Brain damage and Memory
Case of Clive Wearing
What insight did we gain from his case?
Episodic and semantic memory lost
Implicit memory OK
Emotional memory OK
Evidence of Distributed memory system
Case of HM
– Inability to form new memories
– MRI Scanner
Cultural Factors in Cognition
What new societal factors in the modern
age are affecting our cognitive abilities?
How do children learn the basics of
culture?
Cross-cultural research
What role does schooling play on
remembering?
Cole and Scribner (1974)
– US vs. Liberian children
– How was schooling a factor?
Chunking
Narrative
Rogoff and Wadell (1982) Mayan Children
Memory linked to relevance to daily lives
Reliability of Cognitive Process:
Memory
How reliable is memory?
– Reconstructive nature of memory
Processing to “make sense” of world
What were Freud’s views on memory?
– Repression
What is a criticism of “retrieving” memories
by therapists?
– False Memory Syndrome Foundation
Empirical Testing of Reliability
of Memory
Bartlett- Remembering (1932)
– Serial Reproduction
What were some characteristics of the
changed story?
– Shorter
– Story remained coherent (yet distorted)
– Story became more conventional
Describe Bartlett’s conclusions?
– Schema and Imaginative Recostruction
Loftus and Car Crash Experiment
– What did Loftus test?
– Results and conclusions?
– Criticisms?
Technology and Cognitive
Research
Discuss why the PET scan is particularly
useful for Alzheimers detection.
How do MRI’s work?