Transcript Developmental Psychology

Introduction to Psychology
Chapter 7
Cognitive Views of Learning:
Memory & Information Processing
Introduction
• Information from the environment is encoded –
taken in by the system and retained.
• Information is recoded, or revised into effective
representation
• It is then decoded or interpreted
• Meaning is derived by comparing and combining
it with other information in the system.
Introduction
• We use the information we take in to make sense of our
experiences and to solve problems.
Information Processing involves:
• Encoding - gathering information and organizing it
according to what you already know
• Storage - holding information
• Retrieval getting at the information when needed
• Entire process is guided by the Central Executive which
determines how and when information will flow through
the system.
TWO MODELS OF INFORMATION
PROCESSING
• Store model – focus is on sensation and
memory
• Connectionism – focus is on what happens
in the brain as cognition changes
The Store Model
• This model assumes that we hold, or store,
information in three parts of our system for
processing:
• sensory register
• working/short-term memory
• long-term memory.
• Information flows through the systems - we use
mental strategies to process and transform it.
(1)Sensory Register
• Stimuli from the environment bombards our senses
• The sensory register processes and transforms the incoming stimuli
into information that we can make sense of.
The CAPACITY of sensory memory is VERY LARGE, but the vast
amount is FRAGILE IN DURATION – it lasts between 1 and 3
seconds.
• The exercise of waving your pencil in front of your eyes and pinching
your arm and letting go demonstrates holding sensory information on
your sensory register.
• After registering the information, the data from the sensory experience
remains intact for further processing.
• Two components are critical at this stage: perception and attention
Perception
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Perception
The process of detecting a stimulus and assigning meaning to it is
called perception.
Perception is constructed based on physical representations and our
existing knowledge.
Example: consider these marks:
13
• *If asked what the letter is – B *If asked what the number is – 13
• *The actual marks stay the same, but meaning changes in line with
your expectations of recognizing a number or a letter.
• We do this all the time now with new media :-) <3
Attention
 If every variation in color, movement, smell, etc. ended
up in working memory, life would be impossible.
 we pay attention to select stimuli and ignore others, thus,
we limit the possibilities of what we will process.
 What we pay attention to is guided to a certain extent by
what we already know and what we need to know
• As you are sitting in here, what grabs your
attention? When do you fade out (bored, lost,
already know the info, etc)?
Attention
• Attention takes effort and is a LIMITED resource – we can pay
attention to only ONE cognitively demanding task at a time.
• *Example – learning to drive: couldn’t listen to the radio and
drive at the same time, but after time and practice can listen to
the radio, talk on the phone, conversation with someone in the
car, and drive all at the same time.
• The scenario described above is possible because many
processes that initially require attention and concentration
become automatic with practice.
•
Automaticity
• Automaticity is a matter of degree – we are NOT
completely automatic
• We are automatic in our performances depending on how
much practice we have had and the situation.
• Example – even experienced drivers may become very
focused and attentive when driving in a heavy rain and
fog.
(2)Working/Short-term Memory
 Information in sensory memory is processed as soon as it is
noticed and transformed into patterns of images or sounds.
 Working/short-term memory is temporary storage of
information that is being processed
 It is the “work bench” of the memory system
 It is where new information is held temporarily and combined
with knowledge from long-term memory.
 Working memory contains what you are thinking about at the
moment
 Working memory CAPACITY is VERY LIMITED
Working/Short-term Memory
The current view of working memory is that it is composed of
three elements:
• 1. Central executive – controls attention and other mental
resources
• 2. Phonological loop – holds verbal and acoustic (sound)
information
• 3. Visuospatial sketchpad – visual and spatial information
STOP – THINK – WRITE:
(4+5) x 2
3 + (12/4)
Central Executive
•
•
•
•
(4+5) x 2
3 + (12/4)
While solving the problem the central executive focuses
your attention on the facts you need (i.e. what is 4+5?;
what is 9x2?)
Retrieves rules for what to do first, and recalls how to
divide.
Central executive supervises attention, makes plans,
retrieves, and integrates information.
Central executive also handles language comprehension,
reasoning, and rehearsing information to transfer to longterm memory.
Phonological Loop
(4+5) x 2
3 + (12/4)
 The phonological loop is a system for rehearsing words and
sounds for short-term memory – temporarily holding new
information.
 It is where you put the “18” from the top line of the problem
while you calculated the 3 + (12/4) on the bottom of the
problem.
 We can hold as much in the phonological loop as we can
rehearse (say to ourselves) in 1.5 to 2 seconds (i.e. a 7 digit
phone number).
 Example – cell phone drill …..
STOP – THINK
If you rotate a p 180 degrees,
do you get a b or a d?
Visuospatial Sketchpad
*If you rotate a p 180 degrees, do you get a b or a d?
•
Most people answer this question by creating a visual image of a “p” and
rotating it.
•
The visuospatial sketchpad is the place where you manipulated the image –
after the central executive retrieved the meaning of “180 degrees.”
•
Working on the visuospatial sketchpad has some of the same aspects as
actually looking at a picture or object.
•
If you had to solve this problem while looking at an image on a screen, you
would be slowed down the same as if you had to look back and forth between
two objects.
Duration of Working Memory
The duration of information in working memory is SHORT, about 5 to
20 seconds, unless you keep rehearsing the information or process it
some other way.
Because information in working memory is FRAGILE and EASILY
LOST, it must be kept activated to be retained.
Activation is high as long as you are focusing on information, but
activation decays or fades quickly when attention shifts away.
To keep information activated in working memory longer than 20
seconds, most people keep rehearsing the information mentally.
There are 2 types of rehearsal:
1.
2.
Maintenance rehearsal – repeating the information in
your mind. As long as you repeat the information, it
can be held in working memory indefinitely. This type
of rehearsal is useful for something you plan to use
then forget (i.e. phone number)
Elaborative rehearsal – connecting the information
you are trying to remember with something you already
know, knowledge from long-term memory (i.e. meeting
someone at a party whose name is the same as your
brother’s – you don’t have to repeat the name to keep it
in memory, you just make the association.)
Remember This!
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CHUNKING
• The limited capacity of working memory
can be circumvented by chunking.
• For example, if you have to remember 6
digits (578249), it is easier to put them
together into three chunks of two digits
each (57-82-49), or two chunks of three
digits (578-249).
TEST
•Long term
memory test
numbers you
should know!
Long-Term Memory
• Long-term memory – holds the information that is well learned,
such as telephone numbers that you know and are burned into your
memory.
Differences Between Working Memory and Long-Term Memory:
Although information enters working memory very quickly, to
move information into long-term storage, more time and effort is
required.
The capacity of working memory is limited, but the capacity of
long-term memory appears to be “unlimited” – once information is
securely stored in long-term memory, it can remain there
permanently.
Access to information in working memory is immediate because
we are thinking about the information at that very moment, but
access to information in long-term memory requires time and
effort.