Probably the most obvious ethical consideration related to studies at the cognitive level of analysis is the issue of stereotyping. From social psychology we know that people who have fixed ideas about other people may be prone to discriminate. Cultural bias must be considered for both researchers, and participants in the research studies. For instance, in cross-cultural research, no bias between countries should be present when analyzing the data from research studies. Cole and Scribner conducted a study involving the memory strategies of different cultures. They compared the recall of a series of words in the US and among the Kpelle people of rural Liberia. Since the two researchers were shaped mostly by the western culture of the US, they were most likely familiar with the education system, as well as strategies for memorizing items in the US. Depending on how highly the researchers value the education system in the US, the interpretation of their results may have been skewed when they were compared to the results from a country of which they were under no cultural influence. In the end, it is unethical to ever consider one country more highly than another when conducting a cross-cultural research study. Along with stereotyping, the possible inception of false memories through therapy could also be considered unethical. The False Memory Syndrome Foundation was founded in the US in 1992 by parents and professionals to provide support to families that had been shattered by accusations of childhood abuse by their children after they had been through therapy. Elizabeth Loftus basically said that although child abuse exists, the false memory of child abuse could be created during therapy sessions in a later stage in life. Finally, animals have been used to experiment on memory in the brain. Typically, animals are capable of learning to perform specific tasks, like running through a maze, in order to create a memory. Scientists use a form of procedure called lesioning to cut away brain tissue in order to identify which areas of the brain are associated with the memory they created. Lesioning can obviously be considered unethical because the procedure is causing intentional and irreversible damage to the animal.
Evaluate two models or theories of one cognitive process with reference to research studies
Memory is the mental representations in the mind that people use when they think, make plans, imagine, or daydream and enables us to think about situations, imagine what might happen, calculate risks, and create wonderful pieces of art. The multi-store model, proposed by Atkinson and Shriffrin in 1968, was among the first to propose a basic structure of memory. The model is based on two assumptions; first that memory consists of a number of separate stores and second, that memory processes are sequential. According to the model, information from the world enters sensory memory, which is modality specific. The information stays here for a few seconds and then continues to the STM. Rehearsal plays a key role in whether or not the information is lost or stored in the LTM.
In contrast, Baddeley and Hitch suggested the working memory model in 1974 which was based on the multi-store model. They changed the view that STM is a single store. The central executive is the controlling system in the STM that controls slave systems. The most important job of the central executive is attention control on the automatic level and the supervisory attention level. Baddeley also believes that there is an episodic buffer, a phonological loop with its two components-the articulatory control system and the phonological store. There is also a visuospatial sketch pad. There are many unexplained functions in the multi-store model. For instance, the working memory breaks down memory-oriented tasks into automatic and supervisory and automatic attention levels. Without this, we would not be able to explain why when multi-tasking with one task functioning on the automatic level and the other on the supervisory level can be less difficult and have a better outcome than multi-tasking with both tasks functioning on the supervisory level.
Experiments using dual-task techniques, like the one conducted by Baddeley and Hitch in 1974, provides evidence for the working memory model. In the experiment, participants read prose (and were asked to understand it) while remembering a sequence of numbers. They found that in dual-task experiments there was a clear and systematic increase in reasoning time if people had to undertake a memory-dependent task at the same time. They found the task was significantly impaired if the participants had to learn sequences of six numbers, but they could manage three numbers. The findings of the study showed that even though there was impairment, it was not catastrophic. The researchers take this as evidence that STM has more than one unitary store, and a total breakdown of working memory demands much more pressure than the concurrent task in this experiment.
Also, working memory is argued to play a crucial role in learning, especially during childhood. Pickering and Gathercole used the Working Memory Test Batter for Children in 2001 and found an improvement in performance in working memory capacity from the ages of 5 to 15. They also found the capacity of working memory during childhood varies when examining similar age groups. Their work provides evidence that issues in the working memory correlates with problems in academic performance.
Working memory provides a much for detailed and logical explanation of the STM than the multi-store model of memory. The multi-store model assumes that mental processes are passive, but the working memory model is able to explain why people are able to multi-task. The multi-store model was revolutionary for the technology available in the 1960’s, however, it leaves many aspects of memory unexplained. Admittedly, some aspects will always remain a myster, however, in comoparison, the working memory model provides answers for some previously unexplained functions. Overall, working memory model is a more detailed improvement upon the multi-store model.
Evaluate the extent to which cognitive and biological factors interact in emotion.
Biological and cognitive factors effect emotion in a number of ways. To begin with, brain research shows that the amyglada, which is the small structure in the temporal lobe, affects the brain’s emotional circuit. This part of the brain affects emotion because when the amyglada receives input from the sensory information that it transforms this information into emotional signals which then the body uses to initiate and control emotional responses. There are actually two routes that the body can use to get to the emotional response. The first route, which is more automatic, is through the thalamus to the amyglada. This response involves more pure emotion, typically the flight or fight response. The second route, which is longer, goes through the neocortex and the hippocampus, before leading to an emotional response. Even though both of these pathways differ, they both lead to emotional response. The LeDoux theory on direct and indirect pathways to the amgylada seems very accurate considering sometimes my emotions seem completely automatic, yet other times it takes more time for an emotion to develop. Cognitive factors are important in emotion in that people evaluate emotion in their own way. To begin, with Folkman found that people use different strategies to deal with stress in different situations. For example, some people use problem focused coping which is used to change the situation rather than changing the emotional reaction, yet some people use the emotional focused coping which is meant to handle the emotions that occur in response to the situation. Also, as Speisman found it is not the events that elicit emotional stress, yet rather it is how people interpret these events. For example, some people might regard an exam as a dreaded event, while others might experience positive emotion, considering they believe that they will do well on the test. Lastly, the flashbulb effect, which is where people remember very vividly where they are when a terrible accident occurs, illustrates cognitive factors because it shows that people remember events based on their appraisal of the emotional impact of the situation. Also, a good cognitive example in emotion is that Holmberg found that men whose marriage had become less happy over time tended to recall early interactions in the marriage as being more negative than they originally reported, which means that cognition effects emotion. While cognitive theories have received much support one case study challenged the idea that cognition determines emotional impact. The Neisser study questioned the idea of the flashbulb memory. He states that the memories are so vivid because the event itself are rehearsed after the event. He also states that flashbulb memory may simply be a narrative convention, and the flashbulb memory theory is simply governed by a storytelling schema. Overall, there is much to suggest that cognition determines our experience of emotions, but this probably happens in a number of ways. For example, I believe that my sister is very ready to leave home and go to college, so I feel proud of her rather than dwelling on her being gone.
Explain how principles that define the cognitive level of analysis may be demonstrated in research.
Cognitive level of analysis in psychology is the structure and functions of the mind. The principles that outline the cognitive level of analysis are mental processes that are carried out by the brain, scientific methods, and the effects that the environment has on the mind. There are multiple cognitive level of analysis that deal with mental processes that are carried out by the brain is that there is a relationship between how people think about themselves and how they behave, this was proven through research done by Dweck. This demonstrated that a person's mindset is important in predicting his/ her behavior. This explains why people who have fixed ideas about other people are more prone to discriminate. Mental processes also include reconstructive memory and false memories, where researcher have found that people do not store exact copies of their experiences, but rather an outline of what information they recall. Also those individuals cannot distinguish between what they have experienced and what they have heard after the event. The next cognitive level that can be demonstrated through fMRI and CAT scans. The final method is schema and the research done by Barrlet in which he found that people have problems remembering a story from another culture, and that they reconstructed the story to fit in which their own cultural schemas.
Schema theory is the theory that we process information based on what we know about it or our schema about the specific subject.This theory is often criticized though because of the ambiguity of what a schema really is and the vagueness of the term. One case study that proves the schema theory was done by Anderson and Pichert (1978). In this study participants read a story about a house. One group was asked to read the story from the perspective of a potential homebuyer while another group was asked to read the story from the perspective of a criminal. After this half of the people switched to the other perspective while half stayed the same. The results showed that the participants with the changed schemas actually recalled more information. This points to schema theory because it shows that scehmas affect both encoding and retrieval because the new schema influenced the memory at the retrieval stage and the encoding was influenced because people with the burglar schema could still recall aspects of things related to the homebuyer’s schema.
· Discuss how social or cultural factors affect ones cognitive process.
Cognitive process can be affected socially and culturally. The way cognitive abilities are developed depends on the cultural and social context of where people live. Every culture in the world faces different challenges in order to survive. In the Cole and Scribner case study they had children in Liberia recall utensils, tools, clothes and vegetables that were on a list. They found that the children in the US recalled more items from the list than the children in Liberia. This suggests that the kids in Liberia had not seen some of the items and were not as familiar with them. They also found that the kids in Liberia did not use the same strategies for memorizing such as chunking. In the Rogoff and Wadell study they found that if items were placed in a way that related them in a meaningful way to local scenery, Mayan children could remember them better. Every culture is different when it comes to memory strategies. Environment has a big impact on how people think, though environment is not the only factor when it comes to thinking process.
3.1 j: Explain the use of technology in investigating cognitive processes:
Technology is used to investigate cognitive processes such as a PET scan which is mainly used to scan the brain for and detect tumors or memory disorders from Alzheimer’s disease because it can identify cellular-level metabolic changes in an organ or tissue, or an MRI which provides a 3 dimensional representation of the brain’s structures and it detects the changes in oxygen use in the brain, because when an area of the brain works harder than another it uses more oxygen, which is helpful because it can show what parts of the brain people use when they perform cognitive tasks such as reading. An example of where technology was put to use in investigating cognitive processes would be Clinton Kilts who in 2003 used an MRI test on self-selected patients and asked them to rate various products to see the brain’s role in product preferences. Kilts found that every time that the participants rated a product they used a small part of the brain in the medial prefrontal cortex, which is known to be related to our personality and our sense of self. Another experiment was a longitudinal study done on a sample of 53 normal healthy patients who were followed, some for 9 years and some for up to 24 years, and they found that all of the participants who showed early signs of reduced metabolism in the hippocampus were later associated with their development of Alzheimer's disease. The longitudinal study has some serious ethical concerns because first of all the sample is not clearly defined as to who was involved, how many men how many women and how many, if any, children were involved. Also the method that the researchers used to test the participants and follow the patients is nopt defined either, the researchers could have been invading the privacy of the participants which is a major ethical concern because the researcher could witness something that the participant would have previously wanted to have kept as a secret and then the patient could get mad or offended and have long term psychological damage. Lastly the experiment was flawed because it doesn't state which participants were followed for the differentiated ammounts of time, which skews the researchers results because there are too many variables that were not operationalized and controlled so therefor the experiment's findings cannot be credited.
3.1A A. Outline principles that define the cognitive level of analysis.
One of the fundamental principles of cognitive psychology is that human being are information processors and that mental processes guide behaviour. Researchers have created models and theories to describe how people think and how they behave. As mentioned in Dweck, this part of the section deals with how mindset is important in predicting the future behaviour. Also, under the section of mental processes, researchers have found that people's memories may not be as infallible as they think because of the reconstructive nature of the memory. Researchers have found that people do not always store the memories that they have originally experienced, and while retrieving these memories they have tampered and changed them thus creating false memories, as individuals cannot distinguish between reality and the reality they have created. A second principle of cognitive psychology is that the mind can be studied scientifically by developing theories and using a number of scientific research methods. The demonstration of this is described in theories and models of cognition which are discussed and continuously tested. Scientists most of the time use scientific methods and use laboratory experiments where then the ecological validity of such studies are questioned because certain behaviours cannot be reproduced in an artificial methods. Since the ecological validity has been brought up about cognitive research, researchers have been studying cognition in the labs and in the every day life. The third principle that defines the cognitive level of analysis is that cognitive processes are influenced by social and cultural factors. A British psychologist Bartlett coined the term schema to it which defines as a mental representation of knowledge. He was interested how cultural schemas influence remembering and he found that people had problems remembering a story from another culture and that they reconstructed the story to fit in with their own cultural schemas. His research demonstrated that memory is not like a recording machine but rather individuals remember in terms of meaning and what makes sense to their unique sense and thats how subject gets distorted.
Because the cognitive psychology concerns itself with the structure and functions of the mind and how it comes to know things about the world and how it uses this knowledge, the cognitive process is somewhat reliable. The cognitive process is very reliable to us because it is the process of and the function of the brain. The brain uses all sorts of memories including explicit, semantic, episodic, implicit, procedural, and emotional memories to help to solve all sorts of problems cognitively. Because the brain is the only thing helping us solve all sorts of problems, cognitively, to us, is the most reliable way of thinking. Schema, however, which is defined as a mental representation of knowledge is a great example of a limitation in the use of memories and the cognitive process. Frederic Bartlett, for example, found how cultural schemas influence remembering. He found that people had problems remembering a story from another culture and that they reconstructed the story to fit in with their own cultural schemas. This is an example of distortions which is the only reason why a cognitive process is not as reliable. Because of the brains reconstructive nature of memory, in some cases, it will create what are called false memories, because individuals cannot distinguish between what they have experienced and what they have heard after the event. Apparently, the brain is able to fabricate illusions that are so realistic that we believe they are true. From each individual’s different perspectives, we have different perception of the world as we see it or remember it, which is a serious limitation to our cognitive process. However, the cognitive process, again, is reliable in many cases, like when problem solving. Cognitive psychologists would call this the “how-to-score knowledge” when they bring up the example of professional soccer players taking a penalty. It may look like any other goal to some of us but this particular kick is the result of many hours of practice, combined with an adjustment that matches the challenges of the particular situation. The kicker needs to take into consideration the position of the goalkeeper and predict possible reactions, as well as determining how here should kick the ball. All this is done based on his previous experience, or memory, but needs to be modified in the particular scenario. This “how-to-score knowledge” example shows how both schema and memory can be very useful to us and very reliable as well. Overall, we have seen that the cognitive process is reliable however there is the limitation of distortion and the reconstructive nature of memory that makes it less reliable than it actually seems.
3.2 B) Evaluate one theory of how emotions may affect one cognitive process.
In the Flashbulb Memory Theory suggested by Brown and Kulik (1977), they researched how emotions can affect the cognitive process. This theory refers to vivid and detailed memories of highly emotional events that appear to be recorded in the brain as a “camera flash”. Out of 80 participants, 73 recorded of having very clear and precise cognitive memories that were triggered by a tragic experience, like a death of a loved one. Kulik and Brown suggested that these memories could be easily memorized due to the role the amygdala plays in processing emotional stimulus and producing an emotional response. However, in the case of a national crisis, like 9/11, although the memories may seem very vivid, there is a possibility that they can be easily distorted by the influence of post-event information that can sub-consciously imbed itself into the memory. We can conclude that extremely strong emotions essentially help retain a memory “flash” within a cognitive process, however, environmental influences can play a major role in distorting the memories, no matter how precise they were.
3.1. g. Biological factors can affect the cognitive process of memory in many ways. Eric Kandel S research shows that learning is the formation of a memory. To learn, the brain grows new connection or strengthens new ones to form neural networks. Also, researchers have used animals to study how specific parts of the brain relate to memory through lesioning. For example, a rat is used to run through a maze. The researcher keeps cutting away specific parts of the brain tissue until the rat can’t run through the maze anymore. Since this cannot ethically be done to humans, researchers study people with already damaged brains. It was found that the hippocampus is related to explicit memories, which deals with fact-based info that is consciously retrieved. The amygdala plays a role in emotional memories, which is part of implicit memories. Emotional memory is not well understood, but is not conscious. Memories that involve emotion are known to be easier to remember, which might be the reason for post-traumatic stress disorder sin people have problems forgetting their emotional memories. Also when the pre-frontal core is damaged, it was found that emotional memory is very difficult to eliminate, resulting in difficulty to suppress emotional outbursts.
Discuss how and why particular research methods are used by cognitive reseachers.
Cognitive researchers use several methods of research to try to understand the cognitive schema. For many years researchers favored lab experiments because they could use highly controlled variables to isolate a single cognitive process. An example of this would be the Lotus and Palmer car collision experiments. By having all the participants look at the same crash and using highly operational zed questionnaires afterward they were able to isolate the connection between the wording of questions and memory. However, this experiment, and many like it, were accused of being too artificial. The accusers said that it would be more effective to use field studies where they could use real life disasters in people’s memories instead of videos. One of these experiments was Yuille and Cutshall with their robbery experiments. Unlike the car crash results, these participants showed a high degree of accuracy regardless of the question asked, supporting the claim that lab experiments gave artificial results. The last form of research that cognitive researchers use is Case Studies. Researchers look for people with abnormal cognitive processes and study them for a period of time to try to discover the source of the abnormalities. The case of Clive Wearing is a perfect example of one of these case studies. By studying him they were able to discover the relationship between memory and the Hippocampus. All of these research forms have their uses and cognitive researchers always have to consider which method will work best for their study.
Nick Butkovich - 3.1.D
ReplyDeleteProbably the most obvious ethical consideration related to studies at the cognitive level of analysis is the issue of stereotyping. From social psychology we know that people who have fixed ideas about other people may be prone to discriminate. Cultural bias must be considered for both researchers, and participants in the research studies. For instance, in cross-cultural research, no bias between countries should be present when analyzing the data from research studies. Cole and Scribner conducted a study involving the memory strategies of different cultures. They compared the recall of a series of words in the US and among the Kpelle people of rural Liberia. Since the two researchers were shaped mostly by the western culture of the US, they were most likely familiar with the education system, as well as strategies for memorizing items in the US. Depending on how highly the researchers value the education system in the US, the interpretation of their results may have been skewed when they were compared to the results from a country of which they were under no cultural influence. In the end, it is unethical to ever consider one country more highly than another when conducting a cross-cultural research study.
Along with stereotyping, the possible inception of false memories through therapy could also be considered unethical. The False Memory Syndrome Foundation was founded in the US in 1992 by parents and professionals to provide support to families that had been shattered by accusations of childhood abuse by their children after they had been through therapy. Elizabeth Loftus basically said that although child abuse exists, the false memory of child abuse could be created during therapy sessions in a later stage in life.
Finally, animals have been used to experiment on memory in the brain. Typically, animals are capable of learning to perform specific tasks, like running through a maze, in order to create a memory. Scientists use a form of procedure called lesioning to cut away brain tissue in order to identify which areas of the brain are associated with the memory they created. Lesioning can obviously be considered unethical because the procedure is causing intentional and irreversible damage to the animal.
Evaluate two models or theories of one cognitive process with reference to research studies
ReplyDeleteMemory is the mental representations in the mind that people use when they think, make plans, imagine, or daydream and enables us to think about situations, imagine what might happen, calculate risks, and create wonderful pieces of art.
The multi-store model, proposed by Atkinson and Shriffrin in 1968, was among the first to propose a basic structure of memory. The model is based on two assumptions; first that memory consists of a number of separate stores and second, that memory processes are sequential. According to the model, information from the world enters sensory memory, which is modality specific. The information stays here for a few seconds and then continues to the STM. Rehearsal plays a key role in whether or not the information is lost or stored in the LTM.
In contrast, Baddeley and Hitch suggested the working memory model in 1974 which was based on the multi-store model. They changed the view that STM is a single store. The
central executive is the controlling system in the STM that controls slave systems. The most important job of the central executive is attention control on the automatic level and the supervisory attention level. Baddeley also believes that there is an episodic buffer, a phonological loop with its two components-the articulatory control system and the phonological store. There is also a visuospatial sketch pad.
There are many unexplained functions in the multi-store model. For instance, the working memory breaks down memory-oriented tasks into automatic and supervisory and automatic attention levels. Without this, we would not be able to explain why when multi-tasking with one task functioning on the automatic level and the other on the supervisory level can be less difficult and have a better outcome than multi-tasking with both tasks functioning on the supervisory level.
Experiments using dual-task techniques, like the one conducted by Baddeley and Hitch in 1974, provides evidence for the working memory model. In the experiment, participants read prose (and were asked to understand it) while remembering a sequence of numbers. They found that in dual-task experiments there was a clear and systematic increase in
reasoning time if people had to undertake a memory-dependent task at the same time. They found the task was significantly impaired if the participants had to learn sequences of six numbers, but they could manage three numbers. The findings of the study showed that even though there was impairment, it was not catastrophic. The researchers take this as evidence that STM has more than one unitary store, and a total breakdown of working memory demands much more pressure than the concurrent task in this experiment.
Also, working memory is argued to play a crucial role in learning, especially during childhood. Pickering and Gathercole used the Working Memory Test Batter for Children in 2001 and found an improvement in performance in working memory capacity from the ages of 5 to 15. They also found the capacity of working memory during childhood varies when examining similar age groups. Their work provides evidence that issues in the working memory correlates with problems in academic performance.
Working memory provides a much for detailed and logical explanation of the STM than the multi-store model of memory. The multi-store model assumes that mental processes are passive, but the working memory model is able to explain why people are able to multi-task. The multi-store model was revolutionary for the technology available in the 1960’s, however, it leaves many aspects of memory unexplained. Admittedly, some aspects will always remain a myster, however, in comoparison, the working memory model provides answers for some previously unexplained functions. Overall, working memory model is a more detailed improvement upon the multi-store model.
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ReplyDelete3.1 F
ReplyDelete(for the question above)
Evaluate the extent to which cognitive and biological factors interact in emotion.
ReplyDeleteBiological and cognitive factors effect emotion in a number of ways. To begin with, brain research shows that the amyglada, which is the small structure in the temporal lobe, affects the brain’s emotional circuit. This part of the brain affects emotion because when the amyglada receives input from the sensory information that it transforms this information into emotional signals which then the body uses to initiate and control emotional responses. There are actually two routes that the body can use to get to the emotional response. The first route, which is more automatic, is through the thalamus to the amyglada. This response involves more pure emotion, typically the flight or fight response. The second route, which is longer, goes through the neocortex and the hippocampus, before leading to an emotional response. Even though both of these pathways differ, they both lead to emotional response. The LeDoux theory on direct and indirect pathways to the amgylada seems very accurate considering sometimes my emotions seem completely automatic, yet other times it takes more time for an emotion to develop.
Cognitive factors are important in emotion in that people evaluate emotion in their own way. To begin, with Folkman found that people use different strategies to deal with stress in different situations. For example, some people use problem focused coping which is used to change the situation rather than changing the emotional reaction, yet some people use the emotional focused coping which is meant to handle the emotions that occur in response to the situation. Also, as Speisman found it is not the events that elicit emotional stress, yet rather it is how people interpret these events. For example, some people might regard an exam as a dreaded event, while others might experience positive emotion, considering they believe that they will do well on the test. Lastly, the flashbulb effect, which is where people remember very vividly where they are when a terrible accident occurs, illustrates cognitive factors because it shows that people remember events based on their appraisal of the emotional impact of the situation. Also, a good cognitive example in emotion is that Holmberg found that men whose marriage had become less happy over time tended to recall early interactions in the marriage as being more negative than they originally reported, which means that cognition effects emotion. While cognitive theories have received much support one case study challenged the idea that cognition determines emotional impact. The Neisser study questioned the idea of the flashbulb memory. He states that the memories are so vivid because the event itself are rehearsed after the event. He also states that flashbulb memory may simply be a narrative convention, and the flashbulb memory theory is simply governed by a storytelling schema. Overall, there is much to suggest that cognition determines our experience of emotions, but this probably happens in a number of ways. For example, I believe that my sister is very ready to leave home and go to college, so I feel proud of her rather than dwelling on her being gone.
Rachel Baiyee-Cady 3.1 B
ReplyDeleteExplain how principles that define the cognitive level of analysis may be demonstrated in research.
Cognitive level of analysis in psychology is the structure and functions of the mind. The principles that outline the cognitive level of analysis are mental processes that are carried out by the brain, scientific methods, and the effects that the environment has on the mind. There are multiple cognitive level of analysis that deal with mental processes that are carried out by the brain is that there is a relationship between how people think about themselves and how they behave, this was proven through research done by Dweck. This demonstrated that a person's mindset is important in predicting his/ her behavior. This explains why people who have fixed ideas about other people are more prone to discriminate. Mental processes also include reconstructive memory and false memories, where researcher have found that people do not store exact copies of their experiences, but rather an outline of what information they recall. Also those individuals cannot distinguish between what they have experienced and what they have heard after the event. The next cognitive level that can be demonstrated through fMRI and CAT scans. The final method is schema and the research done by Barrlet in which he found that people have problems remembering a story from another culture, and that they reconstructed the story to fit in which their own cultural schemas.
Schema theory is the theory that we process information based on what we know about it or our schema about the specific subject.This theory is often criticized though because of the ambiguity of what a schema really is and the vagueness of the term. One case study that proves the schema theory was done by Anderson and Pichert (1978). In this study participants read a story about a house. One group was asked to read the story from the perspective of a potential homebuyer while another group was asked to read the story from the perspective of a criminal. After this half of the people switched to the other perspective while half stayed the same. The results showed that the participants with the changed schemas actually recalled more information. This points to schema theory because it shows that scehmas affect both encoding and retrieval because the new schema influenced the memory at the retrieval stage and the encoding was influenced because people with the burglar schema could still recall aspects of things related to the homebuyer’s schema.
ReplyDelete3.1E is the above question
ReplyDeleteLibby Gemperline 3.1 (h)
ReplyDelete· Discuss how social or cultural factors affect ones cognitive process.
Cognitive process can be affected socially and culturally. The way cognitive abilities are developed depends on the cultural and social context of where people live. Every culture in the world faces different challenges in order to survive. In the Cole and Scribner case study they had children in Liberia recall utensils, tools, clothes and vegetables that were on a list. They found that the children in the US recalled more items from the list than the children in Liberia. This suggests that the kids in Liberia had not seen some of the items and were not as familiar with them. They also found that the kids in Liberia did not use the same strategies for memorizing such as chunking. In the Rogoff and Wadell study they found that if items were placed in a way that related them in a meaningful way to local scenery, Mayan children could remember them better. Every culture is different when it comes to memory strategies. Environment has a big impact on how people think, though environment is not the only factor when it comes to thinking process.
3.1 j: Explain the use of technology in investigating cognitive processes:
ReplyDeleteTechnology is used to investigate cognitive processes such as a PET scan which is mainly used to scan the brain for and detect tumors or memory disorders from Alzheimer’s disease because it can identify cellular-level metabolic changes in an organ or tissue, or an MRI which provides a 3 dimensional representation of the brain’s structures and it detects the changes in oxygen use in the brain, because when an area of the brain works harder than another it uses more oxygen, which is helpful because it can show what parts of the brain people use when they perform cognitive tasks such as reading. An example of where technology was put to use in investigating cognitive processes would be Clinton Kilts who in 2003 used an MRI test on self-selected patients and asked them to rate various products to see the brain’s role in product preferences. Kilts found that every time that the participants rated a product they used a small part of the brain in the medial prefrontal cortex, which is known to be related to our personality and our sense of self. Another experiment was a longitudinal study done on a sample of 53 normal healthy patients who were followed, some for 9 years and some for up to 24 years, and they found that all of the participants who showed early signs of reduced metabolism in the hippocampus were later associated with their development of Alzheimer's disease. The longitudinal study has some serious ethical concerns because first of all the sample is not clearly defined as to who was involved, how many men how many women and how many, if any, children were involved. Also the method that the researchers used to test the participants and follow the patients is nopt defined either, the researchers could have been invading the privacy of the participants which is a major ethical concern because the researcher could witness something that the participant would have previously wanted to have kept as a secret and then the patient could get mad or offended and have long term psychological damage. Lastly the experiment was flawed because it doesn't state which participants were followed for the differentiated ammounts of time, which skews the researchers results because there are too many variables that were not operationalized and controlled so therefor the experiment's findings cannot be credited.
3.1A
ReplyDeleteA. Outline principles that define the cognitive level of analysis.
One of the fundamental principles of cognitive psychology is that human being are information processors and that mental processes guide behaviour. Researchers have created models and theories to describe how people think and how they behave. As mentioned in Dweck, this part of the section deals with how mindset is important in predicting the future behaviour. Also, under the section of mental processes, researchers have found that people's memories may not be as infallible as they think because of the reconstructive nature of the memory. Researchers have found that people do not always store the memories that they have originally experienced, and while retrieving these memories they have tampered and changed them thus creating false memories, as individuals cannot distinguish between reality and the reality they have created. A second principle of cognitive psychology is that the mind can be studied scientifically by developing theories and using a number of scientific research methods. The demonstration of this is described in theories and models of cognition which are discussed and continuously tested. Scientists most of the time use scientific methods and use laboratory experiments where then the ecological validity of such studies are questioned because certain behaviours cannot be reproduced in an artificial methods. Since the ecological validity has been brought up about cognitive research, researchers have been studying cognition in the labs and in the every day life. The third principle that defines the cognitive level of analysis is that cognitive processes are influenced by social and cultural factors. A British psychologist Bartlett coined the term schema to it which defines as a mental representation of knowledge. He was interested how cultural schemas influence remembering and he found that people had problems remembering a story from another culture and that they reconstructed the story to fit in with their own cultural schemas. His research demonstrated that memory is not like a recording machine but rather individuals remember in terms of meaning and what makes sense to their unique sense and thats how subject gets distorted.
Because the cognitive psychology concerns itself with the structure and functions of the mind and how it comes to know things about the world and how it uses this knowledge, the cognitive process is somewhat reliable. The cognitive process is very reliable to us because it is the process of and the function of the brain. The brain uses all sorts of memories including explicit, semantic, episodic, implicit, procedural, and emotional memories to help to solve all sorts of problems cognitively. Because the brain is the only thing helping us solve all sorts of problems, cognitively, to us, is the most reliable way of thinking. Schema, however, which is defined as a mental representation of knowledge is a great example of a limitation in the use of memories and the cognitive process. Frederic Bartlett, for example, found how cultural schemas influence remembering. He found that people had problems remembering a story from another culture and that they reconstructed the story to fit in with their own cultural schemas. This is an example of distortions which is the only reason why a cognitive process is not as reliable. Because of the brains reconstructive nature of memory, in some cases, it will create what are called false memories, because individuals cannot distinguish between what they have experienced and what they have heard after the event. Apparently, the brain is able to fabricate illusions that are so realistic that we believe they are true. From each individual’s different perspectives, we have different perception of the world as we see it or remember it, which is a serious limitation to our cognitive process. However, the cognitive process, again, is reliable in many cases, like when problem solving. Cognitive psychologists would call this the “how-to-score knowledge” when they bring up the example of professional soccer players taking a penalty. It may look like any other goal to some of us but this particular kick is the result of many hours of practice, combined with an adjustment that matches the challenges of the particular situation. The kicker needs to take into consideration the position of the goalkeeper and predict possible reactions, as well as determining how here should kick the ball. All this is done based on his previous experience, or memory, but needs to be modified in the particular scenario. This “how-to-score knowledge” example shows how both schema and memory can be very useful to us and very reliable as well. Overall, we have seen that the cognitive process is reliable however there is the limitation of distortion and the reconstructive nature of memory that makes it less reliable than it actually seems.
ReplyDelete3.2 B)
ReplyDeleteEvaluate one theory of how emotions may affect one cognitive process.
In the Flashbulb Memory Theory suggested by Brown and Kulik (1977), they researched how emotions can affect the cognitive process. This theory refers to vivid and detailed memories of highly emotional events that appear to be recorded in the brain as a “camera flash”. Out of 80 participants, 73 recorded of having very clear and precise cognitive memories that were triggered by a tragic experience, like a death of a loved one. Kulik and Brown suggested that these memories could be easily memorized due to the role the amygdala plays in processing emotional stimulus and producing an emotional response. However, in the case of a national crisis, like 9/11, although the memories may seem very vivid, there is a possibility that they can be easily distorted by the influence of post-event information that can sub-consciously imbed itself into the memory. We can conclude that extremely strong emotions essentially help retain a memory “flash” within a cognitive process, however, environmental influences can play a major role in distorting the memories, no matter how precise they were.
3.1. g.
ReplyDeleteBiological factors can affect the cognitive process of memory in many ways. Eric Kandel
S research shows that learning is the formation of a memory. To learn, the brain grows new connection or strengthens new ones to form neural networks. Also, researchers have used animals to study how specific parts of the brain relate to memory through lesioning. For example, a rat is used to run through a maze. The researcher keeps cutting away specific parts of the brain tissue until the rat can’t run through the maze anymore. Since this cannot ethically be done to humans, researchers study people with already damaged brains. It was found that the hippocampus is related to explicit memories, which deals with fact-based info that is consciously retrieved. The amygdala plays a role in emotional memories, which is part of implicit memories. Emotional memory is not well understood, but is not conscious. Memories that involve emotion are known to be easier to remember, which might be the reason for post-traumatic stress disorder sin people have problems forgetting their emotional memories. Also when the pre-frontal core is damaged, it was found that emotional memory is very difficult to eliminate, resulting in difficulty to suppress emotional outbursts.
3.1 D
ReplyDeleteDiscuss how and why particular research methods are used by cognitive reseachers.
Cognitive researchers use several methods of research to try to understand the cognitive schema. For many years researchers favored lab experiments because they could use highly controlled variables to isolate a single cognitive process. An example of this would be the Lotus and Palmer car collision experiments. By having all the participants look at the same crash and using highly operational zed questionnaires afterward they were able to isolate the connection between the wording of questions and memory. However, this experiment, and many like it, were accused of being too artificial. The accusers said that it would be more effective to use field studies where they could use real life disasters in people’s memories instead of videos. One of these experiments was Yuille and Cutshall with their robbery experiments. Unlike the car crash results, these participants showed a high degree of accuracy regardless of the question asked, supporting the claim that lab experiments gave artificial results. The last form of research that cognitive researchers use is Case Studies. Researchers look for people with abnormal cognitive processes and study them for a period of time to try to discover the source of the abnormalities. The case of Clive Wearing is a perfect example of one of these case studies. By studying him they were able to discover the relationship between memory and the Hippocampus. All of these research forms have their uses and cognitive researchers always have to consider which method will work best for their study.