COGNITIVE APPROACH

1. Cognitive Processing:
- Models of Memory
- Schema Theory
- Thinking and Decision making
2. Reliability of cognitive processes:
- Reconstructive memory
- Biases in thinking/ decision making
3. Emotion and Cognition:
- Influence of emotion on cognitive processes (Flashbulb memory)

→ Cognitive- the mental process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought,
experience, and the senses. Cognition= the mind, it is rather abstract. It explains fallacies in
gaps in our memory
- Attention
- Perception or schema-processing
- Problem-solving
- Language
- Memory - what do we remember and how do we remember?

→ Cognitive psychology concerns itself with the structure and functions of the mind. Cognitive
psychologists are involved in finding out how the human mind comes to know things about the
world and how it uses this knowledge.

→ Cognitive psychologists argued that scientific psychology should include research on mental
processes and how humans process information and create meaning. According to cognitive
psychologists, the mind can be conceptualized as a set of mental processes that are carried out
by the brain. These mental processes include perception, thinking, decision making,
problem-solving, memory, language and attention. The concept of cognition refers to such
processes.

→ Foundational Belief #1
1. Mental processes can and should be studied scientifically.
Eg: Critics of Freud and his followers:
- Not scientific
- Can't test or prove his theories
- Case studies only
- Leads to a new school of thought: Behaviourism
→ Behaviourists:
- Believed should only look at outside behaviour
- Can’t measure the mind, the mind is considered the black box…
- Key behaviourists:
 → John Watson
→ Ivan Pavlov
→ BF Skinner
- Key observations especially about LEARNING…

- Behaviourists thought that we primarily responded to our environment. Even if there was
more at work, if it wasn’t observable, it couldn’t be studied.
- Mental processes can be studied scientifically. Even though you can’t see the mental
processes, you can create models or theories of how they work.
- You can manipulate variables to see how observable outcomes change (scientifically- IV,
DV, Hypothesis, Observation, etc)
- This means that many tightly controlled lab experiments in the Cognitive Approach.
- This is demonstrated in theories and models of cognitive processes that are continuously
tested both in laboratories and in naturalistic settings. As our understanding of cognition
has increased, models have been changed. Early models of cognition were overly
simplistic, but they helped researchers to propose hypotheses and test different aspects
of cognitive processes.

→ Foundational Belief #2
2. Humans are active information processors
→ The mind is like a computer
- Humans are an information processor, the brain is the hardware; the mind is the
software or programs it runs.
- We are not passive responders to the environment but actively organize and manipulate
information that we receive. In between taking in and responding to information a
number of processes are at work.
- Information can be transformed, reduced, elaborated, filtered, manipulated, selected,
organized, stored and retrieved.

→ Foundational Belief #3
3. We are cognitive misers
- We often make the choice not to actively process information because we want to save
time and effort- cognitive misers.
→ I don’t know, I don’t care, I don’t have time.

→ Foundational Belief #4
4. Our cognitive processes can influence our behaviour.
- The way that we process and organize our information determines how we behave.
- We process new information through the filter of past experience and understanding.
- This then determines how we attend to, perceive and remember new information.

Childhood amnesia- kicks in at the age of 8. We tend to forget episodic memories. Some parts
haven’t completed developing, eg: the hippocampus, amygdala, prefrontal cortex.
Semantic memory is factual knowledge. Procedural memory is about doing or carrying out
tasks.

- Short term memory is also known as Working memory. If sensory information is

recognized or considered important it is coded and sent to short term memory, which has
limited capacity and is supposed to last only around 12 seconds.
- Long term memory. If the information is rehearsed or attended to in some way it is
recorded and transferred into long-term memory, which has unlimited capacity and may
last forever.

→ Types of memory:
a) Declarative memory (“knowing what”) is the memory of facts and events and refers to
those memories that can be consciously recalled. There are two subsets of declarative
memory:
- Semantic memory: Factual knowledge that you have. This is what many people
think about when they think about “memory”.
- Episodic memory: These are your autobiographical memories- that is-
memories of events or experiences; for example, graduation day, your first kiss,
memories of happy childhood events or personal tragedy.
b) Procedural memory: Memories of how to do something- also habits that we have are
procedural memory.

→ Principles of memory based on modern research

- There are different types of memory that are processed and stored in different parts of
the brain.
- Memory can be divided into conscious (explicit) memories- including semantic
memory for facts and episodic memory for events- and unconscious implicit
memory systems that include skills, habits, and learned emotional responses.
- Explicit memory is expressed through recollection; implicit memory is expressed
through performance.

→ Facial recognition: the ability to recall and recognize faces. The disability which is a result of
damage to the fusiform gyrus is called prosopagnosia.

→ Cognitive psychologists see the mind as an information-processing machine using

hardware (the brain) and software (mental representations). The "input" is sensory
information that comes to us through our interaction with the environment. This is referred to
as bottom-up processing. This information is then processed in the mind by top-down
processing via pre-stored information in memory. Finally, there is some output in the form
of behaviour.
Step Description Keywords

1. Introspectionism Psychology should study the mind. Conscious, Rational,

The mind is rational and can introspection.
therefore be studied by means of
introspection

2. Psychoanalysis Rationality is but a small part of Unconscious, irrational,

human life. The mind is mostly psychoanalysis.
irrational and should therefore be
studied by methods such as dream
interpretation.

3. Behaviourism Such methods are highly subjective Observable, objective,

and the mind is not directly trial and error, black
observable. The mind is a black box.
box, and psychology should study
observable behaviour (inputs and
outputs)

4. Cognitive Psychology Doing so, however, does not allow Latent, mental
us to understand a number of representation, model,
complex behaviours. The black box computer metaphor,
is an important component and conscious, rational.
should be returned to the realm of
psychology. However, it should be
studied objectively. This can be
done by using models. We make
predictions based on models, fit the
predictions with observed data and
choose the best-fitting model. The
overarching model for cognitive
psychology is the computer
metaphor.

5. Behavioural People make mistakes in their Latent, mental

economics judgements, and these mistakes representation, model,
are not just random deviations from computer metaphor,
the norm. Sometimes the biases unconscious, irrational.
are systematic and predictable.
Irrational decisions are an important
part of human behaviour, and
irrationality in judgement and
decision-making should be
accounted for in the models of
cognitive functioning.
MULTI-STORE MODEL OF MEMORY

- This model is based on previous research by others about memory. They put it into a
unified model.
- Memory is a process of encoding, storing and retrieving. Encoding can be visual
(picture), acoustic (sound), semantic (meaning).
- Any of the steps in the process can be influenced.
- 3 separate types of memory: sensory memory, short term memory, long term memory.
- The process is sequential and linear.
- Control processes manage the flow of information from store to store (attention and
rehearsal).
- Each store in the model has its own duration and capacity.
Duration: How LONG something can last in the store.
Capacity: How MUCH can fit in the store.
- The model is based on a number of assumptions. First, the model argues that memory
consists of a number of separate locations in which information is stored. Second, those
memory processes are sequential. Third, that each memory store operates in a single,
uniform way. In this model, short-term memory (STM) serves as a gateway by which
information can gain access to long-term memory. The various memory stores are seen
as components that operate in conjunction with the permanent memory store (LTM)
through processes such as attention, coding and rehearsal. You need to pay attention to
something in order to remember information. According to this model, rehearsal is vital to
keeping material active in STM by repeating it until it can be stored in LTM.
- The model suggests that sensory information from the world enters sensory memory,
which is modality specific - that is, related to different senses, such as hearing and
vision. The most important stores in the model are the visual store (iconic memory) and
the auditory store (echoic memory). Information in the sensory store stays here for a few
seconds and only a very small amount of the information will continue into the short-term
memory (STM) store.
- The capacity of STM has traditionally been assumed to be limited to around seven items
(7+/-2) and its duration is normally about 6–12 seconds. Information in STM is quickly
lost if not rehearsed. Information may also be displaced from STM by new information.
For example, when you are rehearsing that phone number for ordering the pizza and
 then someone calls out your name. When your attention is taken away from the
information in your STM, it is then displaced and no longer available. Rehearsal of
material in STM plays a key role in determining what is stored in long-term memory in
the multi-store model of memory.

Sensory Memory Short term Memory Long Term Memory

Duration Very short (0.25-0.5 6-12 seconds Unlimited

seconds)

Capacity All sensory 7 items +/- 2 Unlimited

experiences (average of 5-9)

Study 1: Sperling (1960)

→ Evidence of the existence and duration of sensory memory, and the control process of
attention.
- Quickly shows a grid of letters.
- People can’t remember but know there are more.
- When told to specifically notice/pay attention to 1 row, they remembered easily.
→ Encoding occurs with separate sub-stories for each sense

SHORT TERM MEMORY: MILLER’S MAGIC NUMBER (1956)

- Evidence for limited capacity of short term memory, Digit span 7 +/- 2 numbers.
- We use ‘chunking’ by grouping numbers together in order to remember them easily.
→ SERIAL POSITION EFFECT:
- The serial position effect, a term coined by Hermann Ebbinghaus, refers to the finding
that recall accuracy varies as a function of an item's position within a study list. When
asked to recall a list of items in any order people tend to begin recall with the end of the
list, recalling those items best. This is known as recency effect. Among earlier list items,
the first few items are recalled more frequently than the middle items; this is known as
the primacy effect.
- One suggested reason for the primacy effect is that the initial items presented are most
effectively stored in long-term memory because of the greater amount of processing
devoted to them. The first list item can be rehearsed by itself; the second must be
rehearsed along with the first, the third along with the first and second, and so on.
- One suggested reason for the recency effect is that these items are still present in
working memory when recall is solicited. Items that benefit from neither (the middle
items) are recalled most poorly.
- There is experimental support for these explanations. For example: The primacy effect -
but not the recency effect - is reduced when items are presented quickly and is
enhanced when presented slowly.
- The recency effect - but not the primacy effect - is reduced when an interfering task is
given; for example, participants may be asked to compute a math problem in their heads
 prior to recalling list items; this task requires working memory and interferes with any list
items being attended to.
- Amnesiacs with poor ability to form permanent long-term memories do not show a
primacy effect but do show a recency effect
- The serial position effect has been used to support the idea that there are separate
stores for STM and LTM, as proposed by Atkinson & Shiffrin (1968)

Study 2: Glazner and Cunitz (1966)

- Glanzer and Cunitz (1966) used free recall of a list of 15 items combined with an
interference task to show that there are two processes involved in retrieving information.
The researchers showed 15 lists of 15 words one at a time and had subjects recall the
words under one of three conditions: recall with no delay, with a 10-second delay and
with a 30-second delay. With no delay, the first 5 and last three words were recalled
best but with a 10 or 30-second delay during which the subject counted backwards there
was little effect on the words at the beginning of the list but poor recall of later items. This
suggests that the later words were held in short-term storage and were lost due to
interference whereas the earlier words had been passed to long-term storage. The ability
to recall words at the beginning of the list because they had already been transferred to
long-term memory is called primacy effect. The ability to recall words that have just been
spoken because they are still in short-term memory is called recency effect.
- Primacy-Recency Effect
- Two different stores—STM and LTM
- Limited Capacity and Limited Duration of STM
i> Part 2:
- Primacy-Recency Effect + Delayed Recall with interference=Primacy Effect only

→ Evidence in the Support of the Model

The case study of HM (Milner,1966). This is just one example of biological evidence that STM
and LTM are located in different stores in the brain. In Milner's study, HM had anterograde
amnesia - that is, he could not transfer new information to long-term memory; however, he still
had access to many of his memories prior to his surgery. However, the fact that he could create
new procedural memories shows that memory may be more complex than the MSM predicts.

→ Evaluation of the multi-store model of memory

Today the multi-store model is considered to be too simplistic. It reflects the knowledge available
in the 1960s but it is an important model all the same because it has influenced our
understanding of memory. First of all, it presents a good account of the basic mechanisms in
memory processes (encoding, storage and retrieval). Secondly, several experiments support the
assumption of multiple memory stores. There is also supporting evidence from case studies of
patients with brain damage, such as HM suffering from amnesia, who have impaired long-term
memory but intact short-term memory. This clearly points towards multiple memory stores.
The assumption that STM is simply a gateway to LTM has been challenged by Logie (1999). He
argues that information in STM is not simply passed into LTM through rehearsal. Instead, there
must be an interaction between STM and LTM in which the information is interpreted with
regard to previously stored knowledge and past experience. Short-term memory is therefore not
part of a sequential system but rather a 'workstation' that handles and computes information
coming from the sensory store together with knowledge already stored in LTM. This also is what
schema theory would predict.

Strengths and limitations of the Multi-Store Model

→ Strengths of the MSM

- There is significant research to support the theory of separate memory stores - both in
cognitive research and in biological case studies of patients with brain damage.
- The model is of historical importance. It gave psychologists a way to talk about memory
and much of the research which followed was based on this model.

→ Limitations of the MSM

- The model is over-simplified. It assumes that each of the stores works as an

independent unit.
- The model does not explain memory distortion.
- The model does not explain why some things may be learned with a minimal amount of
rehearsal. For example, once bitten by a dog, that memory is quite vivid in spite of the
lack of rehearsal.
- There are several times that we rehearse a lot to remember material and it is not
transferred to LTM.

Case Study: HM (Milner, 1966)

- The memory systems in the brain constitute a highly specialized and complex system
- The hippocampus plays a critical role in converting memories of experiences from short
term memory to long term memory
- However, researchers found that short term memory is not stored in the hippocampus as
HM was able to retain information for a while if he rehearsed it.
- Since HM was able to retain some memories for events that happened long before his
surgery, it indicates that the medial temporal region is not the site of permanent storage
but rather plays a role in the organization and permanent storage of memories
elsewhere in the brain.
- Implicit memory contains several stories, for ex: Procedural memory, emotional memory
and skills and habits. Each of these areas is related to different brain areas.
→ STUDIES FOR MSM:
- Miller’s Magic Number (1956)
- Glazner and Cunitz (1966)
- HM, Milner (1966)
LEVELS OF PROCESSING MODEL: CRAIK AND LOCKHART (1972)

THE WORKING MEMORY MODEL

The Working Memory Model is an update on the Multi-Store Model. In the MSM, Short Term
memory is 1 separate store. In the Working Memory Model, the short term memory is divided
into different stores completing different tasks. All of them together create the working memory
that ultimately transfers information to the long term memory store.

- The working memory model can be seen as a development of the multi-store model of
memory. Short term memory in the original model has been changed to a more
sophisticated version in the working memory model. This is an example of how theories
and models develop over time as science produces new findings.
- Baddeley and Hitch (1974) were among the first to challenge the STM that is a single
store. Their working memory model suggests that STM consists of a number of different
 stores. Baddeley and Hitch observed in lab experiments that if participants perform two
tasks simultaneously that both involve listening, they perform them less well than if they
did them separately. They had also noticed that if participants performed two tasks
simultaneously that involved listening and vision, there was no problem. The procedure
where participants carry out two tasks at once is known as a dual-task technique.
- This suggests that there are different stores for visual and auditory processing.
Baddeley and Hitch suggested that working memory should be seen as a kind of mental
workspace, which provides a temporary platform that holds relevant information for use
in any cognitive task. Once the task is completed, the information can quickly disappear
and make space for a new round of information processing. Baddeley and Hitch have
continued to work on the model since it was devised in 1974 and they have added new
features to the model in response to criticism and new findings.

→ FUNCTIONS OF EACH COMPONENT OF THE WORKING MEMORY MODEL

a) The central executive
- The central executive is an attention control system that monitors and coordinates the
operations of the other subordinate components, which are called slave systems. The
central executive is the most important part of the model because it is seen as a kind of
CEO of the memory system, that is, it decides how and when the slave systems are
used. The central executive has the capacity to focus attention, to divide attention
between two or more sources and to switch attention from one task to another. The
central executive has limited capacity, which basically means that you cannot attend to
a lot of things at the same time. It is also modality free, which means that it can process
any sensory information, whether it be auditory or visual.

→ Baddeley suggests that the most important job of the central executive is attention control.
This happens in two ways:
❏ The automatic level is based on habits that rely on schemas in long-term memory and
controlled more or less automatically by stimuli from the environment. This includes
routine actions such as cycling to school and places only limited demand on attention.
❏ The supervisory attention level deals with planning and decision making. It creates
new strategies when the old ones are no longer sufficient. It is also active in emergency
situations- for example, when a car is suddenly coming at you when you are cycling. The
system is also involved in situations that require self-regulation such as trying to avoid
eating that lovely chocolate dessert when you are trying to eat a more healthy diet. The
supervisory attentional system is capable of considering alternative plans of action and
choosing the most favourable.

b) The phonological loop (verbal STM)

- The phonological loop is the auditory component of STM and it is divided into two
components. The first component is the articulatory control system, or inner voice,
which can hold information in a verbal form. This happens when you try to remember a
telephone number and repeat it to yourself. The articulatory loop is also believed to
 hold words ready for cognitive tasks, for example as you prepare to speak. The second
component is the phonological store, or inner ear. It holds auditory memory traces.
Research shows that a memory trace can only last from 1.5 to 2 seconds if it is not
rehearsed by the articulatory control system. The phonological store can receive
information directly from sensory memory in the form of auditory material, from LTM in
the form of verbal information, and from the articulatory control system. The phonological
loop has significant implications for a wide range of everyday activities. Actually, any
activity that requires retention of a verbal sequence such as remembering a new
telephone number long enough to dial it, repeating a foreign word or counting objects
would rely on the phonological loop.
- Research using articulatory suppression lends support to the working model.
Articulatory suppression means that participants are asked to repeat a word such as ‘the’
or a number such as ‘one’ while they memorize a list of words. Such studies show that
concurrent tasks decrease accuracy of recall of the information because the
phonological rehearsal system is overloaded. The same would happen if you were asked
to read prose and at the same time repeat a word or a number as described above
because both tasks depend on the phonological loop.

c) The visuospatial sketchpad

- The visuospatial sketchpad is the visual component of STM and could be called the
inner eye. It is a temporary store for visual and spatial information from either sensory
memory or LTM. Visual processing includes storage and manipulation of visual patterns
and spatial movements in two or three dimensions. The visuospatial sketchpad helps us
remember not only what visual information is important, but also where it is. This is
important when we have to find our way around the house (navigation) and in visual
imagery, for example, when trying to remember where we left our mobile phone.

d) The episodic buffer

 - If all this information is being processed in separate short-term memory stores, how are
we actually able to understand what is happening in the world around us? For this,
Baddeley proposed the episodic buffer. This buffer temporarily holds several sources of
information active at the same time, while you consider what is needed in the present
situation. This means- auditory and visual information together, as well as information
from LTM. Imagine yourself consciously trying to recall the details of a landscape or the
sound of your favourite band while you are telling somebody else about it. According to
Baddeley, they will appear via the episodic buffer. The role of the buffer is to act as a
temporary and passive display store until the information is needed- much like a
television screen- but it has limited capacity. Baddeley argues that the episodic buffer
is responsible for our conscious awareness.

→ Evaluation of the Working Memory Model

Most researchers today accept the idea of working memory. Experiments using dual-task
techniques seem to provide support for the model. In dual-task experiments, a participant might
be asked to tell a story to another person while at the same time performing a second cognitive
task, such as trying to learn a list of numbers. Such concurrent tasks impair overall
performance. If the two tasks interfere with each other so that one or both are impaired, it is
believed that both tasks use the same component in STM.

Working memory has proved quite fruitful as it has generated a lot of research and discussion
concerning the different parts of the model is ongoing. Neuroimaging studies have also been
used to test the possible neurobiological correlates of working memory. Generally, the Working
Memory Model provides a much more satisfactory explanation of storage and processing than
the Multi-Store Model. The Working Memory Model can explain why people are able to perform
different cognitive tasks at the same time. At least if the task is not drawing on the same
component of STM.

However, there are some limitations to the model. First of all, the model is oversimplified as it
does not address how other sensory information is processed, and spatial memory within the
model is not fully developed. Second, it has been difficult to identify the nature of the
processes associated with the central executive. Finally, the interaction among the four
components is not well explained in the model, so much more research is needed in this
area. For example, it is not really clear how the episodic buffer actually integrates
information from the other components with long-term memory. At this point, the model
just presents a possible role for the episodic buffer but it is not fully developed.

Strengths and Limitations of the Working Memory Model

→ Strengths of the WMM
- The model is supported by considerable experimental evidence.
- Brain scans have shown that a different area of the brain is active when carrying out
verbal tasks than when carrying out visual tasks. This supports the idea that there are
different parts of memory for visual and verbal tasks.
- Case studies of patients with brain damage support the theory that there is more than
one STM store.
- This model helps us to understand why we are able to multitask in some situations and
not in others.

→ Limitations of the WMM

- The role of the central executive is unclear, although Baddeley and Hitch said it was the
most important part of the model. For example, they suggested that it has its own limited
capacity, but it is impossible to measure this separately from the capacity of the
phonological loop and the visuospatial sketchpad.
- How the various components of the model interact is not yet clear.
- This model really only explains short-term memory and so tells us very little about the
processes involved in long-term memory.
- The model does not explain memory distribution or the role of emotion in memory
formation.

→ STUDIES FOR WMM:

- Baddeley and Hitch (1976)
- KF case study (1970)
- Landry and Bartley (2011)
SCHEMA THEORY:
→ What is Schema?
- Schema are cognitive structures that provide a framework for organizing information
about the world, events, people and actions.
- They are mental representations of knowledge
- Mental templates that represent a person’s knowledge about objects, people or
situations.
- Derived from prior knowledge and experience
- Affected by culture and social background.

→ The Schema theory suggests that what we already know will influence the outcome of
information processing. Basically, schemas affect how we perceive the world and how we
remember it. Humans are active processors of information—we are always trying to make sense
of what we take in, even if we don’t realize it. We will integrate new information with existing,
stored information

→ Piaget (1926) - Looking at how children learn

- Kids begin learning and create ‘schema’ Ex: Animal with 4 long legs= Horse
→ Existing schema are modified through:
a) Assimilation- The process where we take in new information and fit it onto our existing
schema even if it means modifying the information or experience slightly to match our
pre-existing beliefs. Ex: Show a kid a deer and they call it a horse
b) Accomodation: Altering our existing schema as a result of new information or new
experiences. Ex: Eventually the kid learns not all animals with 4 long legs are horses,
and they modify their schema for ‘horse’ to be more specific.
c) You can also create a new schema if none already exists. Ex: Create a new schema for
‘deer’.
→ For example: Dog
Some ‘slots’ are filled, some are empty:
- Filled: General info that usually applies. Ex: dog is an animal, a dog has 4 legs, dogs
bark
- Empty (waiting for details from current situation). Ex: The dog is black, the dog is a
puppy

→ Taken together, this mental representation helps you process the concept of ‘dog’.

→ DIFFERENT TYPES OF SCHEMA

a) Scripts: Provide information about common events (going to Psychology class, eating in
a nice restaurant, etc)
b) Self-schemas: Organize information we have about ourselves (I’m smart, I’m fat)
c) Social Schemas: Organize information we have about groups of people (Americans,
Women, Lawyers)
Recap: Some key ideas about schemas
- They organize information in memory
- They make information processing more efficient
- They allow people to generate expectations
- They regulate behaviour
- They are usually slow to change- stable over time

→ SCHEMA AND MEMORY

- We recognize and better encode (better remember) things that are consistent with
existing schema (schema-congruent)
- We tend to forget/ignore things that don’t match
- We tend to remember the ‘general meaning’ of something, not the actual specifics, but
these things can lead to problems…
- If information is missing, we might fill it in based on our existing schemas. This can lead
to DISTORTION.
- Because people tend to focus on information that is in line with their schema and ignore
information that is not in line with their schema, it can lead to
STEREOTYPING/CONFIRMATION BIAS.

→ Bartlett (1932)
- Memory is an active ‘reconstructive process’ not a passive ‘reproductive process’.
- Changes happened (distortions)
a) Assimilation: people changed the story to fit their culture
b) Leveling: the story became shorter as people skipped information they thought
was unimportant.
c) Sharpening: Changed the order to make coherent or make more sense to
themselves, added detail/ emotions.
Strengths and Limitations of Bartlett (1932):
→ Strengths:
- Showed that memory could be studied ‘scientifically’
- Key study on memory- shapes the ideas of memory for the future
→ Limitations:
- Lacks ecological validity as it was carried out in a laboratory setting
- Methodology of experimental design is sketchy- No control or standardized instructions.

→ RECONSTRUCTIVE MEMORIES
- Bartlett’s theory is that memories are not exact copies of experiences but rather,
reconstructions of those experiences.

→ EVALUATION OF THE SCHEMA THEORY:

a) Testable
 - Schema Theory is testable. By priming one’s schema, we are able to determine whether
the schema helps or interferes with learning, as seen in the study by Anderson and
Pichert.
b) Empirical Evidence
- There is a lot of research that has supported schema theory. For example: the studies by
Anderson and Pichert and Brewer and Treyens. There is also biological research to
support the way in which the brain categorizes input. For example: Caramazza (2009)
found that from the visual cortex, information about living and nonliving objects is
shuttled to different parts of the brain so as to trigger appropriate reactions- even in blind
participants. These new findings suggest that the wiring that connects different areas of
the visual cortex with appropriate regions in the rest of the brain is innate - it does have
to form gradually based on visual inputs. This means that our brain automatically sorts
information and classifies it, in the same manner which schema theory predicts.
c) Applications
- Schema theory has been applied to help us understand how memory works. It also helps
us to understand memory distortion.
- In addition, schema theory has been applied to explain a wide range of behaviours from
dating to depression to art appreciation.
- Schema theory has also been applied in abnormal psychology (Beck’s research on
depression), relationships (research on violence and bullying) and in health psychology
(health campaigns). It is a robust theory that has many applications across many fields
of psychology.
d) Construct validity
- Cohen (1993) argued that the concept of schema is too vague and hypothetical to be
useful. Schema cannot be observed. Even the use of fMRI simply shows brain activity,
they do not clarify what exactly the individual is processing at the time.
e) Unbiased
- Schema theory is applied across cultures. There is no apparent bias in the research,
although most of the early research was done in the West.
f) Predictive validity
- The theory helps to predict behaviour. We can predict, for example, what types of
information will be best recalled when given a list of words. Trends, such as levelling and
sharpening, are commonly seen in individuals recalling a news story. However, we
cannot predict exactly what an individual will recall.

→ General criticism of the theory

- Another criticism of the theory is that it is not entirely clear how schemas are acquired in
the first place and how they influence cognitive processes. It is not possible to actually
observe schema processing taking place within the brain.
- Nevertheless, there is enough research to suggest schemas do affect how memory
processes information, both in a positive and negative sense.
- They do simplify reality and help us to make sense of current experiences. Schemas are
useful concepts in helping us understand how we organize our knowledge.
→ STUDIES FOR SCHEMA THEORY AND MEMORY:
- Bartlett (1932)- War of Ghosts
- Brewer and Treyens (1981)
- Anderson and Pichert (1978)

→ RECONSTRUCTIVE MEMORY
What does it mean that memories are reconstructive?
● Remember schema theory? The cool thing about our memory is that it economizes. We
don't need to remember every object that we see in order to function.
● So, when we reconstruct memory, we are activating schemas that are relevant to an
event. In this process, we may distort memories. When I remember a day at school, I am
activating several schemas: the schema of my classroom, my students, a schema about
test-taking, of group discussions, of my boss... And putting those schemas together, I
have an "impression" of what happened today. Not a photograph.
● Bartlett refers to efforts after meaning, i.e. trying to make the past more logical, more
coherent, and generally more ‘sensible’, which involves making inferences or deduction
about what could or should have happened. Rather than human memory being
computer-like, with the output matching the input, Bartlett believed that we process
information in an active attempt to understand it. Memory is ‘an imaginative
reconstruction’ of experience.
- Memory is a process: Encoding, Storing, and Retrieving information
- Humans are: Active Processors which means that at any point in that process, memory
can be manipulated or altered.
- Schema can influence memory at both the encoding and the retrieval stage. (It can
influence the making of the memory originally and when you call it back up to use it.)
- Memory is reconstructive: it is not an exact copy but is pieced back together.
● Reliability in Psych=Consistency over time which also affects accuracy.
● Loftus supports Bartlett’s idea of memory as reconstructive. Loftus claims that the nature
of questions asked by police or in a courtroom can influence witnesses’ memory.
Leading questions - that is, questions that are suggestive in some way - and post-event
information facilitate schema processing which may influence the accuracy of recall. This
is called the misinformation effect.

Reliability and decision making

When discussing thinking and decision making, it is difficult to really talk about "reliability."
Instead, we could talk about how effectively we can actually make decisions. Remember from
the beginning of this chapter that Fiske and Taylor argue that we are "cognitive misers." We
take short-cuts because thinking takes a lot of energy. Often we choose to take the less difficult
road because we don't have the energy or resources to make a more complex, informed
decision. In addition, like with memory, we are influenced by social and cultural factors. We
also have biases that influence our decision making. This chapter will examine how these
cognitive biases influence the way we make decisions.
→ KEY STUDIES FOR RECONSTRUCTIVE MEMORY:
- Loftus and Palmer (1974)- Leading questions (after the fact) can alter memory
- Loftus (1979)- Attention/ anxiety can alter memory
- Loftus and Pickrell (1995)- False memories are easy to recreate and easy to believe
- Yuille and Cutshall- Facial recognition in relation to anxiety

FLASHBULB MEMORY THEORY

- Brown and Kulik (1977) defined flashbulb memory as a highly detailed, exceptionally
vivid ‘snapshot’ of the moment when a surprising and emotionally arousing event
happened.
- They postulated the special-mechanism hypothesis, which argues for the existence of
a special biological memory mechanism that, when triggered by an event exceeding
critical levels of surprise, creates a permanent record of the details and circumstances
surrounding the experience. This implies that flashbulb memories have different
characteristics than “ordinary memories”. They also argued that the memories are
resistant to forgetting.
- Today the most commonly accepted model of flashbulb memory is called the
importance-driven model.This model emphasizes that personal consequences
determine intensity of emotional reactions.

EMOTIONS:
- A response that involves 3 components:
a) A physiological change (unconscious, arousal). Ex: increased heart rate
b) A cognitive experience (thoughts and feelings). Ex: sense of fear
c) Associated behaviour. Ex: walking faster, running away

Flashbulb memory- A vivid and detailed memory of a highly emotional, surprising, and
consequential event. (Recorded/ imprinted in your mind like a flash-camera photo)

IMPORTANT POINTS:
- A person’s FBM is not about the events themselves but is about the reception of the
news of the event.
- People tend to remember 5 pieces of information:
a) Where they were
b) What they were doing
c) Who they were with/ who told them
d) What they felt about it
e) What happened immediately afterwards

COMPONENTS OF THE THEORY:

- Brown and Kulik (1977) Their Theory: FBM are DIFFERENT than normal memories
 - Form in situations where we encounter surprising and highly emotional information
- Are maintained by means of overt rehearsal (talking with others) and covert rehearsal
(private consideration)
- Differ from other memories because they are more vivid, last longer, more consistent
and accurate
- Special neural mechanism that stores information permanently in a unique memory
system
- Need to be relevant to you (added later)

BROWN AND KULIK (1977)

- Interviews with participants, asked about 9 public events, 1 self-selected personal event
- Write an account, rate it on a scale of personal importance
- 99% remembered assassination of JFK—13 years earlier
- More black people had vivid recall of MLKs death than whites strongest FBMs are
personally relevant

Limitations of Brown and Kulik’s (1977) research study:

- No way to know if memories are accurate
- Theory was that the surprise (emotional trigger in the Central Nervous System) was the
first step of the process. But, nothing to prove a ‘special biological mechanism’ in this
study. Infact, there is also no way to test the level of surprise.

HW
As a homework assignment, ask an adult about what they remember on that day. Get answers
to the following questions:
Event: House caught fire (2009)- (Personal record)
Where were you when you heard about the event?
- In the house
Who was with you when you heard about the event?
- Dad and mum were together in the house
What were you doing when you heard about the event?
- In the prayer room, while dad was on a call
How did you find out about the event?
- You saw smoke coming out from the room
How did you feel when you heard about the event?
- Fear, traumatized, scared
How important was this event in your life?
- Very sad event, important as they lost everything
How often have you talked about this event?
- Multiple times with friends and family
On a scale of 1 - 10, how confident are you that your memories are accurate?
- 10
 - Many Psychologists today focus on more than just surprise (construct validity). Instead
they use the Importance-Driven Model. The amount of personal relevance will influence
the intensity of the emotion and therefore the formation of FBM.

Biological support for flashbulb memory

- The amygdala is fed by our hormones (adrenaline and cortisol), activated due to strong
emotions such as fear. Amygdala controls the fear. Causes us to remember certain
events more vividly due to this.

→ Sharot et al (2007)
9/11 Research—FMRI, recalling memories, amygdala activity. Correlation—the closer people
were to downtown NY, the more amygdala activation, and the more they reported Flash Bulb
Memories of the event (special brain mechanism??).

→ McGaugh & Cahill (1995)

Adrenaline released during events stimulates the Amygdala (linked with emotion) which leads to
the formation of stronger memories when formed during times of positive or negative emotions.

→ Part 1: Group of people, 12 slides and 2 different stories (half get neutral, half get emotional
details)
- 2 weeks later, the emotional details group remembers more. But why? Must test for role
of adrenaline and amygdala
→ Part 2: What effect does adrenaline have?
- 2 groups, same emotional story, 1 group gets a drug that blocks the release of
adrenaline, the other gets nothing

Result: Group 1 has less memory for emotional details—suggests adrenaline and the
amygdala do play a role in forming emotional memories (like Brown and Kulik thought).

→ Conway et al (1994) researched UK and non-UK citizens about the resignation of Margaret
Thatcher. 86% of UK citizens had FBM but only 29% from other countries. Supports the idea
that FBM must be personally relevant (like Brown and Kulik thought).

Critical Thinking: The Other side of the argument

- Surprise/Importance requires processing first so the biological mechanism is too vague.
How can it affect encoding/formation of memories before we realize it's important?
- Flashbulb memories are more vivid and remembered more confidently but are actually
no more accurate than normal memories
“Flashbulb memories are not special in their accuracy, only in their perceived accuracy”

NEISSER AND HARSCH (1992)- contradicts Brown and Kulik

→ Challenger Disaster study
 - The morning after the disaster, 106 university psych students were given a questionnaire
at the end of class. (Based on the 6 things from Brown and Kulik)
- 2.5 years later, given the original questionnaire again (most were Seniors now). Not told
why. Also asked to rate how confident they were that their memories were accurate.
And asked if they filled out a form like this before.
RESULTS:
- Only 25% remembered they had filled out the form before
- Many peoples' answers varied from the original so a few months later they interviewed
them and tried to prompt them to give their original responses. (“Isn’t it possible that you
heard from someone else…?)
- Participants' interview answers matched the 2nd survey answers but were usually very
different than the ones taken the day after the disaster.
→ For example…
a) The day after→ I was in my religion class and some people walked in and started talking
about it. I didn’t know any details except that it had exploded and the school teacher’s
students had all been watching which I thought was so sad. Then after class I went to
my room and watched the tv program talking about it and I got all the details from that.

b) 2.5 years later→ When I first heard about the explosion I was sitting in my freshman
dorm room with my roommate and we were watching TV. It came on a news flash and
we were both totally shocked. I was really upset and I went upstairs to talk to a friend of
mine and then I called my parents.

- But—when asked how confident they were that their memories were accurate—most
people were Very Confident.
- Then, they were shown their original survey responses—stunned by their results.
CONCLUSION:
1. FBM are not ‘special’—they are just like other memories—open to distortion and
reconstruction
2. FBM are remembered with a higher degree of confidence

Strengths and limitations of Neisser and Harsch (1992)

→ Strengths
- High Ecological Validity, not in a lab or years after but immediately after a real-life event
- Supports the idea that FBM are about receiving the news, not experiencing the event
- Supports the idea that memory is reconstructive—rehearsal and processing
→ Limitations
- It's clear they remembered inaccurately but confidence is hard to measure—just trusting
students’ self-reporting. Maybe students reported to be more/less confident than they
really were (demand characteristics).
- The flip side of high ecological validity is that it is hard to replicate—need another
scenario where data is immediately collected and retained
→ Another study limiting FBMs- TALARICO AND RUBIN (2003)

- Asked participants to recall events of 9/11 on 4 different occasions (1,7,42,224 days

later)
- Also asked about everyday events around that same time (also 4 times)
→ Results: FBMs remained very vivid of the attack and people were confident about their
accuracy. BUT, so were their ‘normal’ memories for the regular events
→ Conclusion: FBMs are not really different, maybe they are just rehearsed more, therefore,
remembered more.

STRENGTHS AND LIMITS OF FLASHBULB MEMORY THEORY

→ Strengths
1. Supported by empirical evidence
2. Supported by biological evidence (amygdala)
3. Seems that they are long lasting, more vivid, more confidently remembered
→ Emotion may play a role

→ Limits
1. Empirical evidence also shows that FBM degrade and distort like normal memories
2. Biological evidence is not clear—vague and correlational
3. Confidence and accuracy is not always correct
4. Emotion might play a role in rehearsal and social sharing, more than during
encoding
THINKING AND DECISION MAKING
→ Thinking is the process of using knowledge and information to make plans, interpret the
world, and make predictions about the world in general.
→ Decision making which is defined as the process of identifying and choosing alternatives
based on the values and preferences of the decision-maker.

REMINDERS ABOUT HOW HUMANS PROCESS INFORMATION:

a) Cognitive misers: Choose not to actively process because we want to save time and
effort, but this is not always bad. Think how exhausting it would be to fully process
everything all the time.
b) Our thinking and decision making works the same way.

→ Essentially—this shows us that different circumstances require different types of thinking.

This understanding leads to a DUAL PROCESS MODEL OF THINKING AND DECISION
MAKING.
Sometimes called SYSTEM 1 AND SYSTEM 2

→ WHAT IS SYSTEM 1?
- Automatic, Intuitive, Effortless
- Fast thinking for efficient processing
- Usually uses shortcuts (heuristics)
- Creates a ‘feeling of being correct’ so you can get on with things
- Often we might use system 1 when we our cognitive load is high—lots of things to think
about at once or to make a decision quickly
- Also linked to creativity, humor, aesthetic judgement, empathy.
- Problem with System 1? Prone to errors and mistakes

→ WHAT IS THE SYSTEM 2?

- Slow
- Conscious
- Rational
- Requires more effort
- Really useful in abstract tasks and situations
- Think carefully about what is happening, why, what might happen next, what are the
possible options.
- Problem: This leads to less certainty and confidence

DANIEL KAHNEMAN: WE USE THESE SYSTEMS TOGETHER!!!

- System 1 and 2 are always operating but system 1 is running automatically and system
2 is in background mode until it's needed.
- System 1 occurs first and comes to a quick conclusion. System 2 then kicks in and
takes a second look with further analysis. This might lead to a ’more correct’ conclusion.
- The Problem? Because system 1 activates first, it often interferes with system 2.
RESEARCH 1: WASON (1968): ABSTRACT TASK

EXPLANATION
- Only 10-20% get it right
- Most commit the “matching bias”—they are overly influenced by the wording (context)
and pick cards that ’match’. In this case—the words ‘even number’ and ‘blue’ affect their
choice.
- When asked why they made the decisions they did, most could not explain but were
certain in their choice. This is a product of System 1 thinking.
- In reality, it is better to try to falsify the rule rather than prove it—but this rational
approach requires System 2. Because System 1 gives us a sense of certainty and an
efficient answer, most of us don’t get around to using system 2 to solve the problem.

RESEARCH 2: GRIGGS AND COX (1982): NON-ABSTRACT TASK

 - Griggs and Cox found that in Thematic Tasks people were better without making the
matching bias. In fact 75% can do it correctly. Instead, they usually used their prior
knowledge and understanding to help them with the problem.

- This is still evidence of system 1 thinking —but because it isn’t abstract it is less prone to
errors and bias.

Remember: System 1 is prone to errors but isn’t always wrong. Oftentimes it is right.

STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS OF THE DUAL PROCESS MODEL OF THINKING:

→ Strengths:
1. Corroborated by biological evidence (where fast/slow processing happens in the brain)
2. Replicated many times in various research studies—very reliable results

→ Limits:
1. Very reductionist--doesn’t explain HOW or the role of other things (like emotion)
2. Can’t say for sure all fast processing is ‘system 1”. System 2 can also be fast due to
experience.

COGNITIVE BIASES:
→ WHAT IS A HEURISTIC?
- They are simple, efficient rules or mental shortcuts that allow people to quickly make
decisions and solve problems but may not always lead to the best outcome. (made by
system 1 thinking).

- Another way to problem solve is with an algorithm—a methodical, logical procedure that
guarantees to solve a particular problem.

For Example: Let’s say at the grocery store you want to find Nutella. You could either search
every row one by one (an algorithm) or you could go to the sandwich spread aisle (a heuristic).
The heuristic approach is faster and maybe more efficient but the algorithm will guarantee that
you won’t miss it.

→ WHAT ARE COGNITIVE BIASES?

- When making decisions, System 1 relies on heuristics. That is how it is able to be so
fast and efficient. It takes shortcuts. Sometimes these work and sometimes they cause
problems.

- One type of problem--Cognitive Biases: A limitation in our thinking that can cause us to
make faulty judgements. Usually, these become patterns that are consistent but
inaccurate.

(Note: Not all cognitive biases are caused by heuristics)

3 COGNITIVE BIASES:
a) Anchoring Bias
- Anchoring Bias is the tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information
offered (the "anchor") when making decisions. During decision making, anchoring
occurs when individuals use an initial piece of information to make subsequent
judgements.
- A good example of this is when you go to buy something in the market in
Marrakesh, Morocco. When you walk into the shop and see that beautiful lamp
that you never knew you had always wanted, it is time to start bargaining. When
you ask the shop owner for the price, the price he gives you becomes an anchor
for your negotiation. If he starts off the price at 100 USD, you will then judge the
price that you pay based on that first price. If you end up paying 60 USD for the
lamp, you will feel that you were successful in your bargaining. If he starts off
with 250 USD, you will be thrilled if you are able to pay only 140 USD! Your
decision to buy the lamp, and your subsequent sense of satisfaction with
the price, all comes down to the first piece of information you received - the
original price quoted by the shop owner.
b) Peak-End Rule
- The peak-end rule is a heuristic in which people judge an experience largely
based on how they felt at its peak (i.e., its most intense point) and at its end,
rather than based on the total sum or average of every moment of the
experience. The effect occurs regardless of whether the experience is
pleasant or unpleasant. It is not that other information aside from that of the
peak and end of the experience is forgotten, but rather it is not used in reaching a
decision or judgment.
- We often use this with movies as well. Think about the films we watch. We are
more likely to recommend a movie that has a slow start but an amazing ending
than a movie that has an amazing start but a rather lame ending.
c) Framing
- Prospect theory (Kahneman and Tversky, 1979) describes the way people
choose between alternatives that involve risk, where the probabilities of
outcomes are known. The theory states that people evaluate these losses and
gains using heuristics. One of those heuristics is the framing effect, in which
people react to choices depending on how they are presented or "framed."
People prefer certain outcomes when information is framed in positive language,
but prefer less certain outcomes when the same information is framed in negative
language. In simple terms, when we expect success we prefer a definite win
rather than a possible win, but when things look bad we will gamble on an
uncertain defeat rather than a definite loss.
- It is important to consider cultural differences in thinking and decision
making. For example, a recent meta-analysis (Wang et al, 2016) of research on
loss aversion tasks like the one above has shown that people from more
individualistic cultures are more risk-averse than those from a collectivist culture.
Read the cognitive bias pdf and chart at least 2 of these studies. Be sure you include 2
biases.
- Englich and Mussweiler (2001): Anchoring bias
- Tversky and Kahnemann (1974): Anchoring Bias
- Kahnemann et al (1993): Peak End Rule
- Tversky and Kahnemann (1982): Framing
- Carerre and Gottman (1999): Thin Slicing