Category: Cognitive Psychology

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Chapter 5: Retrieval Processes (Summary)

Encoding Specificity Principle (ESP)

Memory is enhanced when information available at encoding is also available at retrieval

Context – affects both encoding and retrieval

Context effects

1. Environment – same place!
2. State-dependent – drug states
3. Mood-dependent – mood states

Good memory is a result of a GOOD LINK…!

Memory Cues / Retrieval Cues – enhance memory (sights and sounds, moods, psychological conditions, etc.)

“All forgetting is due not to the actual loss of memories, but our inability to retrieve them”

Recall = retrieving without any hints or cues (free recall and cued recall)

Vs.

Recognition = examine a list and identifying what one has learned before

Q: How do you prepare for a Multiple Choice quiz?

How do you prepare for an Essay quiz?

Which one is easier to study for and take?

Generation Effect = “verbal material self-generated at the time of encoding is better remembered than material that one merely reads at encoding”

Elaborative Interrogation = asking ‘why?‘ enhances encoding and retrieval

Memory Reconstruction = retrieval is not just a straightforward reading out of memory – rather than remembering the entirety of a memory event, only KEY ELEMENTS of an episode are stored, guided by schemata – you usually retrieve some key elements and reconstruct the rest (e.g. what happened in the church last Sabbath?). For this, we rely on…

› Gist of experience

› General knowledge

Flashbulb Memory = memory of highly specific events (e.g. where were you at the time when the WTC were attacked? What were you doing?)

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Retrieval refers to the processes through which we recover items from memory (remembering?)

Note: Encoding and storage are necessary to acquire and retain information. But the crucial process in remembering is retrieval, without which we could not access our memories. Unless we retrieve an experience, we do not really remember it. In the broadest sense, retrieval refers to the use of stored information.

Encoding Specificity Principle (ESP)

The encoding specificity principle of memory (Tulving & Thomson, 1973) provides a general theoretical framework for understanding how contextual information affects memory. Specifically, the principle states that memory is improved when information available at encoding is also available at retrieval. For example, the encoding specificity principle would predict that recall for information would be better if subjects were tested in the same room they had studied in versus having studied in one room and tested in a different room (see S.M. Smith, Glenberg, & Bjork, 1978).

When you store something in memory, the memory is not just of the item being organized and stored but also of the context in which the memory occurred. Recall and recognition thus may be triggered by elements of the context being present.

Remembering knowledge is enhanced when conditions at retrieval match those present at encoding. When retrieval cues differ substantially from those present at encoding, an efficient search of memory may be impossible! (Create a richer context for retrieval – Cuing in widest possible range of context/situation – maximum remembering!)

So what?

To get people to remember something, make use of the context in which it happened.

Context Effects

A person’s memory will be best if the testing occurs in same context as the learning.

Environmental Context Effect — refers to anything external in the environment

•   If given a list to learn in one room, will do better on a memory test if in the same room at test

State-dependent Effects — refers to drug states

•   If in a drug state at learning, you will remember better at test if under same drug than if sober

•   Note: you will do best if sober both times

Mood-dependent Effects — refers to mood state

•   If in a particular mood while learning, will do better at test if in the same mood.

There ought to be a link between encoding & retrieval — perhaps good memory is a result of a good link. What leads to good memory? — Memory cues — cues lead to retrieval (e.g., face – name)

Q: So, what makes a retrieval cue effective?

A retrieval cue is any stimulus that helps us recall information in long-term memory. The fact that retrieval cues can provoke powerful recollections has led some researchers to speculate that perhaps all memories are permanent. That is, perhaps nearly all experiences are recorded in memory for a lifetime, and all forgetting is due not to the actual loss of memories but to our inability to retrieve them. This idea is an interesting one, but most memory researchers believe it is probably wrong.

Two general principles govern the effectiveness of retrieval cues. One is called the encoding specificity principle. According to this principle, stimuli may act as retrieval cues for an experience if they were encoded with the experience. Pictures, words, sounds, or smells will cause us to remember an experience to the extent that they are similar to the features of the experience that we encoded into memory. For example, the smell of cotton candy may trigger your memory of a specific amusement park because you smelled cotton candy there.

Distinctiveness is another principle that determines the effectiveness of retrieval cues. Suppose a group of people is instructed to study a list of 100 items. Ninety-nine are words, but one item in the middle of the list is a picture of an elephant. If people were given the retrieval cue “Which item was the picture?” almost everyone would remember the elephant. However, suppose another group of people was given a different 100-item list in which the elephant picture appeared in the same position, but all the other items were also pictures of other objects and animals. Now the retrieval cue would not enable people to recall the picture of the elephant because the cue is no longer distinctive. Distinctive cues specify one or a few items of information.

Overt cues such as sights and sounds can clearly induce remembering. But evidence indicates that more subtle cues, such as moods and physiological states, can also influence our ability to recall events.

State-dependent memory refers to the phenomenon in which people can retrieve information better if they are in the same physiological state as when they learned the information. The initial observations that aroused interest in state-dependent memory came from therapists working with alcoholic patients. When sober, patients often could not remember some act they performed when intoxicated. For example, they might put away a paycheck while intoxicated and then forget where they put it. This memory failure is not surprising, because alcohol and other depressant drugs (such as marijuana, sedatives, and even antihistamines) are known to impair learning and memory. However, in the case of the alcoholics, if they got drunk again after a period of abstinence, they sometimes recovered the memory of where the paycheck was. This observation suggested that perhaps drug-induced states function as a retrieval cue.

A number of studies have confirmed this hypothesis. In one typical experiment, volunteers drank an alcoholic or nonalcoholic beverage before studying a list of words. A day later, the same subjects were asked to recall as many of the words as they could, either in the same state as they were in during the learning phase (intoxicated or sober) or in a different state. Not surprisingly, individuals intoxicated during learning but sober during the test did worse at recall than those sober during both phases. In addition, people who studied material sober and then were tested while intoxicated did worse than those sober for both phases. The most interesting finding, however, was that people intoxicated during both the learning and test phase did much better at recall than those who were intoxicated only during learning, showing the effect of state-dependent memory.

When people are in the same state during study and testing, their recall is better than those tested in a different state. However, one should not conclude that alcohol improves memory. As noted, alcohol and other depressant drugs usually impair memory and most other cognitive processes. Those who had alcohol during both phases remembered less than those who were sober during both phases.

Psychologists have also studied the topic of mood-dependent memory. If people are in a sad mood when exposed to information, will they remember it better later if they are in a sad mood when they try to retrieve it? Although experiments testing this idea have produced mixed results, most find evidence for mood-dependent memory.

Mood- and state-dependent memory effects are further examples of the encoding specificity principle. If mood or drug state is encoded as part of the learning experience, then providing this cue during retrieval enhances performance.

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Two kinds of learning:

1. Simple – involves associating terms and acquiring them through rehearsal (e.g. memorizing grocery list, name of capital cities, etc.)

1. Complex – involves understanding, reasoning, and critical thinking (e.g. digestive processes, chemical reactions, etc.)

Two types of Rehearsal:

1. Maintenance rehearsal – shallow encoding; direct recycling of information in order to keep it active in STM (verbal repetition); retention is limited in this kind of encoding; highly efficient for a short-while; e.g. taking down someone’s telephone number; seldom last long L

1. Elaborative rehearsal – information to-be-remembered is related to other information; deeper or more elaborate encoding activity; leads to high level of recall; sometimes, information can be broken into component parts and related to what one already knows

Strategies for encoding complex information:

Schema activation

› Instructional techniques designed to bring to mind students’ relevant knowledge prior to their encountering new information

› New knowledge is built on prior knowledge (bridging what they already know and what they want to know)

› KWL method

Guided Questioning

› Asking and answering questions about a text or teacher-presented information can greatly improve comprehension (hence, improve memorization and learning)

› Allows students to think about, discuss, compare and contrast, infer, evaluate, explain, justify, synthesize, etc.

› Guided peer questioning

Levels of Processing

› What learners DO as they encode new information matters a great deal!

› Memory/learning depends on depth of processing

1. Deep processing= processing centered on meaning (e.g. read ‘something’ and talk to the class about it without referring to any material, in one’s own words, etc.)
2. Shallow processing= keying on superficial aspects of new material (e.g. underline new words in the book, and look up for their meaning)

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Encoding affects retention (storage) and retrieval of information from memory

Two kinds of learning:

1. Simple – involves associating terms and acquiring them through rehearsal (e.g. memorizing grocery list, name of capital cities, etc.)
2. Complex – involves understanding, reasoning, and critical thinking (e.g. digestive processes, chemical reactions, etc.)

*according to research in cognitive psychology, encoding is enhanced when we combine andthoughtfully use strategies to learn simple information (imagery, linking, mnemonics, etc.) with strategies to learn complex information (understanding, reasoning, problem-solving, attaching meaning, etc.)!

Encoding Simple Information

Two types of Rehearsal:

1. Maintenance rehearsal – shallow encoding; direct recycling of information in order to keep it active in STM (verbal repetition); retention is limited in this kind of encoding; highly efficient for a short-while; e.g. taking down someone’s telephone number; seldom last longL
2. Elaborative rehearsal – information to-be-remembered is related to other information; deeper or more elaborate encoding activity; leads to high level of recall; sometimes, information can be broken into component parts and related to what one already knows

* Different types of rehearsal are appropriate for different type of tasks

Q: Give examples of the type of tasks (in your own life) that would require you to use

– Maintenance rehearsal strategies

– Elaborative rehearsal strategies

Strategies

Mediation – tying difficult-to-be-remember items to something more meaningful; results in deeper, more elaborate encoding than simple repetition of new content

Imagery – encoding using images/pictures (non-verbal); leads to better memory performance; easily imagined words (more concrete in nature, like ‘car’, ‘pencil’, etc.) tend to be remembered more readily than hard-to-imagine words (more abstract in nature, like ‘freedom’, ‘truth’, etc.); this activity can be extended to encode complex CONCEPTS too; consider individual differences among students in tier ability to image information; some students are better able to employ imagery than others and these differences seem to lead to differences in memory performance; best images (that enhance memory) are bizarre (vs. mundane), colorful, and strange.
Mnemonics:

The Peg Method – students memorize a series of ‘pegs’ on which to-be-learned information can be ‘hug’ one item at a time; e.g.

One for bun

Two for shoe

Three for tree

Four for door

Five for hive

Six for sticks

Seven for heaven

Eight for gate

Nine for pine

Ten for hen

Construct a visual image of the first thing on the to-be-learned list interacting with the object named in the first line of the rhyme

The Method of Loci – mentally walking through a ‘location’ (that one is extremely familiar with); each item (sofa, table, window, television, etc.) in the ‘location’ is linked to particular to-be-learned information

The Link Method – no need for a previously learned set of materials like the rhyme or ‘location’; used when learning list of things; student forms an image for each item in a list of things to be learned; each image is pictured as INTERACTIING with the next item on the list; all of the items are linked in imagination

Stories – stories can be constructed from a list of words to be remembered, the to-be-learned words in a list are put together in a story such that the to-be-learned words are highlighted; at recall, the story is remembered and the to-be-remembered words are plucked from the story

The First-Letter Method – using the first letters of to-be-learned words to construct acronyms or words

The Keyword Method – to facilitate vocabulary acquisition; used in connection with imagery; two stages (illustrated with an example of learning the word, ‘captivate’)

1. Acoustic link – search for a ‘keyword’ within the to-be-learned word, let’s say ‘cap’
2. Imagery link – link this keyword, ‘cap’ with an image (image from real-life connected to one’s experiences)

Copyright September 2006 by Dr. Edward Roy Krishnan, www.affectiveteaching.com

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Sensory Memory & Short-Term Memory	Long-Term Memory
Recent experiences	Memory traces developed over periods of days, weeks, months, & years
Things that are currently in consciousness	Lifetime of information
Rehearsal / repetition are crucial	Meaning & organization are crucial
Capacity & retention duration are limited	Permanent repository (storehouse)

Recall = understanding information + retrieving LTM becomes particularly important if we believe that learning is a constructive process (creation & re-creation of new knowledge in the context of previously established and retrievable knowledge) – role of prior knowledge and experience – it’s like building a new house using whatever resources you already have (bricks, cement, tiles, planks, etc.).

Types of Knowledge:

1. Declarative Knowledge = factual knowledge (knowing ‘what’)

› Semantic Knowledge = general knowledge – concepts and principles – meaning and understanding of meaning

› Episodic Knowledge = personal experiences – personally dated, autobiographical experiences – “personal tags” association recall

1. Procedural Knowledge = process knowledge (knowing ‘how’)
2. Conditional Knowledge = knowing ‘when’ and ‘why’ to use DK & PK (needed to help us use DK & PK in real-life settings – at the right time, in the right place, for the right purpose)

Explicit Memory

Implicit Memory

› Involves conscious recall or recognition of previous experiences; intentional information retrieval; a conscious or voluntary search for information › declarative memory › Knowing information about a bike

› Knowledge without awareness; unintentional, non-conscious/unconscious form of retention; actions influenced by a previous event but without conscious awareness/remembering; e.g., using computers, tying shoes, driving a car (procedural knowledge, conditioning, habituation); behavior can be influenced by memory of past events even without conscious awareness (stereotypes & prejudice?) › In fact, when a person tries to reflect on how these skills are being performed, performance often deteriorates › Non-declarative memory › Knowing the physical process of riding a bike

Note:

› We may know how to ride a bike, but it is very difficult to explain how to do so.

› If we believe in implicit memory or learning, it seems that people are unconsciously acquiring rules that they can use but NOT articulate.

› Overall, we are good at getting ‘the gist’ of things but falter on details!

The Building Blocks of Cognition (What make cognition possible?)

1. Concepts
2. Propositions
3. Schemata
4. Productions
5. Scripts

Note:

1, 2, & 3 = ways of representing declarative knowledge

4 & 5 = ways of representing procedural knowledge

Concepts

› Conceptual categories – everything we know can be placed under meaningful categories based on perceived similarities (examples vs. non-examples of a concept)

› Attributes = similarities or common features required to define a concept

› Defining attributes = features essential to defining a concept

› Learning a concept involves discovering the defining attributes and discovering the rule or rules that relate the attributes to one another – leads to the formation of hypotheses and the testing of the same by examining attributes and rules

› Role of culture? Categorizing abstract concepts?

Propositions

› Consist of concepts

› The mental equivalent of statements or assertions (claims) about observed experiences and about the relationships among concepts

› Can be judged to be true or false

› Meanings emphasized rather than the exact form of information

› We retain meaning and not the surface structure of information (these are quickly lost)

› Propositions do not stand alone – connected with one another and may be embedded within one another

› A complex proposition is usually broken into simpler sentences (‘idea unit’) to enhance understanding of the meaning presented by the proposition

› Propositional networks = propositions sharing one or more elements are linked with one another (our ability to comprehend information and to use if effectively in cognitive operations such as problem-solving depends on the quality of networks we are able to create

Schemata

› Mental frameworks that we use to organize knowledge

› Control the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information

› Data structures that represent knowledge stored in memory

› Fundamental to information processing

› Represent our knowledge about objects, events, sequences of events, actions, and sequences of actions

› When a fresh knowledge is acquired via accommodation (adding) or assimilation (changing and fitting into existing schemata), a new schema is said to be created

› Once a new schema is created, its traces serve as a basis of our re-collection – it is part of our long-term memory repository

› When schemata are not or cannot be activated during learning, new knowledge cannot be assimilated easily

› Memory consists of representations of knowledge, rather than exact copies of it…thus, encoding will vary according to the schemata activated at the time of encoding (learning). In this sense, recall is not simply remembering/recalling stored information…rather, it is re-creating information and events – memory is constructive and re-constructive in nature!

Productions (can be compared to propositions)

› ‘Condition-action’ rules – actions occur if the specified condition(s) exist

› If…then rules

› Memory for productions = implicit memory (conscious thought not involved)

› Automated skills

› Productions are organized in networks called ‘production systems’ – multiple productions may be active at a given time

› Example:

– Production A: If car is locked, then insert key in lock

– Production B: If key is inserted in lock, then turn key

– Production C: If door unlocks, then return the key to vertical

– Production D: If key is vertical, then withdraw key

Scripts (can be compared to schemata)

› Provide underlying mental frameworks for our procedural knowledge

› Schema representation for events

› Contain action sequences and subsequences + actors + objects + characteristics of the setting

› Accountable for stereotypical patterns of activity

Copyright September 2006 by Dr. Edward Roy Krishnan, www.affectiveteaching.com

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Outline:

1. A Brief History
2. Cognitive Themes for Education

Subject Matter of Cognitive Psychology? (When we talk about cognition, we mean one or more of the following)
· Human perception

• Thought processes
• Memory (Sensory, STM, LTM)
• Attention
• Information Processing
• Problem Solving
• Decision Making
• Associative Processes
• Motivation behind learning
• Language development
• Meaning attached to concepts, etc.
• Imagery
• EVERYTHING that involves your ‘mind’ (brain’s intellectual function)

A Brief History

The Associationist era
1. Stimulus – Response paradigm of psychology (1920-1970)

2. Cognition was studied by systematically observing external (overt) behavior (do you sense any problem with this?)
3. Experiments on ‘lower organisms’ (laboratory animals; highly controlled settings) – the results and findings of these experiments brought about difference laws of learning (e.g. Ivan Pavlov’s classical conditioning)
4. These laws were thought to be universally applicable to humans (can we accept generalizations about human learning from studies of animal learning?)
5. Clark Hull, Kenneth Spence, Hermann Ebbinghaus – popular Associationist
6. Example of the laws of learning established in this era:

• Trial and error learning (random, non-purposive actions lead to learning) – more in infants; initial learning of certain (limited) life skills – at higher level, TEL can be frustrating (do you agree?)
• Serial list learning (one item cues the next item in the list)
• Paired associate learning (a response must be linked with a stimulus)

7. All these laws of learning emphasizedrote or non-meaningful learning!
8. These experimental findings had limited application to complex human functioning and were less relevant to the field of education – the findings couldn’t be applied to benefit the study of all other species across settings and contexts (that makes sense because no one species responds similarly to any given stimulus – individual difference factor!)
9. In essence the laws of learning that emerged in this era were more like ‘laws of animal learning’, or ‘laws of animals learning to make choices in mazes’, or ‘laws of human rote memory’, rather than UNIVERSAL LEARNING PRINCIPLES

The Behaviorists Era (behaviorism – originator of behavior modification)

1. Mid 1960s – study of consciousness was discredited
2. B.F. Skinner, J.B. Watson – “give me a newborn child and I will make him/her anything I want him/her to become” – tabula rasa (clean slate)
3. Learners are subject to conditioning by their environment
4. Scientific psychology attempts to predict and control behavior
5. Organisms behavior is largely a function of the environment in which they are placed and their learning histories
6. By managing the antecedents and consequences for behavior, prediction and control can be achieved (shaping)
7. Consequences can be presented before a behavior takes place and chains of desired/complex behavior could be developed
8. By 1970s – behavioral principles in human learning were applied successfully in a variety of settings (residential treatment facilities for persons with mental illness and mental retardation; field of education – controlling learning environment to manage behavior, classroom management, teaching machines – frequent responding, progress in small steps, shaping, and positive reinforcement – e.g. toy laptops for kids)

Problems with the two earlier eras:
1. Over-reliance on external, observable behavior to study internal, implicit mental processes – limiting the possibility of the functioning of mental processes in the absence of behavioral manifestation (“you can imprison my body, but I am free, in my mind!” – can we really study cognition in a confinement? – the experience of Apostle Paul in the prison?)

2. Inadequate account of human thought and memory – studies were done mainly with lower organisms – rats, cats, monkeys, birds, etc.
3. Many cognitive processes like human memory, thinking, problem solving, decision making, creativity, etc. were not understandable and researchable with the use of Associationist and behaviorist approaches/framework (these two were too narrow in their scope to study these complex processes)
4. Inability and inadequacy of these two school of thought in explaining and defending language development – language is not merely learned through imitation, reinforcement, association. These are contributing factors, but not the sole factors! How do we explain the qualitative difference in child and adult speech? Language development at different life stages are drastic and amazing – thus, behavioral principles alone are not sufficient to explain this complex phenomenon of language development

The Cognitive Era

1. Came as a direct result of limitations in behavioral theories and models
2. Emergence of computer (metaphorically demonstrates the working of human mind – information processing)
3. Jerome Bruner, David Ausubel, Jean Piaget, etc.
4. Emphasizes mental structures and organizational framework – these two are crucial for an understanding of human cognition
5. Schema (pl. Schemata) = mental framework that helps us organize knowledge, directs perception, and attention, and guides recall
6. Scripts = schema representations that provide mental frameworks for proceduralized knowledge

Cognitive Themes for Education

1. Learning is a constructive, not a receptive process – interaction among what learners already know, the information they encounter, and what they do as they learn – construction of meaning by the learner – knowledge is created and re-created – ‘you get out of it only what you put into it’ – full engagement in the process of learning vs. rote memorization (superficial and transitory) – deeper understanding of knowledge
2. Mental frameworks organize memory and guide thought – schemata are mental frameworks we use to organize knowledge; they direct perception and attention, permit comprehension, and guide thinking – learners instead of learning becomes important subject matter – learners frame of reference, perspectives, experiences, etc. guide learning and creation of new knowledge
3. Extended practice is needed to develop cognitive skills – to remember/internalize any knowledge/concept, it has to be reinforced 5-7 times (maybe more – individual difference) – practice makes perfect (true for cognition as it is with physical skills) – automated processes allow us to perform complex cognitive tasks smoothly, quickly, and without undue attention to details (saves mental energy) – e.g. speed reading and not losing out on understanding what is being read
4. Development of self-awareness and self-regulation is critical to cognitive growth – learners are self-directed, strategic, and reflective thinkers! – exerting deliberate effort vs. S-R or letting environment direct my learning? – metacognition = the knowledge learners have about their thinking & their ability to use this awareness to regulate their own cognitive processes – learners use cognitive strategies such as rehearsal, elaboration, etc. to help them remember information – critical thinking – learners not only acquire knowledge but also ‘ways of knowing’ and ‘thinking dispositions’ (thinking styles)
5. Motivation and beliefs are integral to cognition – other factors like learners’ motivation and belief systems also affect cognitive processes – learners’ goals, beliefs, and strategies for motivating and regulating learning, self-efficacy, outcome expectancy, self-regulated learning – individuals constantly judge their own performances and relate them to desired outcomes – these judgments are integral part of whether activities are attempted, completed, and repeated – these psychological factors determine what students choose to do, how persistent they are and how much success they enjoy
6. Social interaction is fundamental to cognitive development – Social constructivismemphasizes the importance of culture and context in understanding what occurs in society and constructing knowledge based on this understanding – this perspective is closely associated with many contemporary theories, most notably the developmental theories of Vygotsky and Bruner, and Bandura’s social cognitive theory (http://www.coe.uga.edu/epltt/SocialConstructivism.htm) – the role of social interaction and discourse in cognitive development – ‘ways of thinking’ and ‘ways of knowing’ need to be nurtured in a supportive social context – social-cognitive activities – observe others, express ideas, get feedback, etc.
7. knowledge, strategies, and expertise are contextual – history and situation – events are inherently situational, occurring in contexts that include other events and taking some or even much of their meaning from those contexts (interrelatedness/connection among contexts and their meanings) – learning and memory are not, so much a product of machinelike input and output as they are something learners construct in a social context from their prior knowledge and intentions, and the strategies they use (difference between computer information processing vs. human mind’s information processing?)

Learners are viewed as:

• whole beings
• active not passive
• unique and different from one another

Copyright August 2006 by Dr. Edward Roy Krishnan, www.affectiveteaching.com

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