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Retrieval- the more similar the context during encoding and retrieval, the more easily information will be retrieved Organization- tie new information to hierarchies of concepts already available in long term memory Visual Imagery- form integrated mental pictures of information Spacing Effects- repetition during encoding is better if the repetitions are spaced rather than massed Testing- helps with retrieval paths and diagnostic of what you know and do not know Information stored in memory as an interconnected network of information without any distinct divisions between memories This can result in transplant errors as bits of information from one memory become entangled in another memory Intrusion Errors- errors in which other knowledge intrudes into the remembered event Deese-Rediger-McDermott (DRM) Procedure- experimental procedure for eliciting and studying memory errors in which a participant sees or hears a list of words that are all related to a single theme but the word that names the theme is not itself included but people recall the theme word as well Intrusion errors come from words merely associated with the material being observed Younger and older individuals more intuitive with recall Generic Knowledge- knowledge of a general sort Schema- pattern of knowledge describing what is typical or frequent in a particular situation Schemata summarize the broadest pattern of whats normal in a situation preparing us for it, as well as helping us recall an event But schemata ignore variation in similar situations and gaps in memory, filling these in with expectations Ignore information that is unfamiliar and reinterpret it in familiar terms Misinformation Effect- an effect in which research participants efforts about an earlier event are influenced by misinformation they received after experiencing the event and in extreme cases can created false memories Can create entire memories for events that did not occur More hurt by misinformation the longer the time between the event and questioning making source monitoring more difficult and subtler questions producing larger effects Massed Practice- study individual items of a list multiple times Spaced Practice- study the list multiple times Spaced practice is superior because the context differs on each repetition where as it does not in massed practice making it more likely to match a context when retrieved Spaced practice is best when done in a variety of study contexts Tip of Tongue Phenomenon- knowledge is clearly there but cannot be retrieved
Possibly explained through partial retrieval of associated information or interference from partially-retrieved information Forgetting mainly due to interference Savings- learning something once makes relearning it later easier but the amount of savings declines over time Bjorks Seven Study Techniques- spacing, attention, interpretation and elaboration, generation and retrieval, variation, organization, and visualization Some memory errors occur due to connections to schematic knowledge that intrudes while other times because an episode triggers certain thoughts connected to the target memory while still other errors because different memories get connected together Retention Interval- amount of time elapsed between the initial learning and the subsequent retrieval As the retention interval increases, one forgets more and more f earlier event forcing one to reconstruct the memory, thus making source monitoring more difficult Source Monitoring- remembering the source of a memory Decay- memories die off over time, perhaps due to relevant brain cells dying off or because connections are not continually refreshed Interference- less remembered because the passage of time allows for new learning which disrupts the old Peripheral Interference- interference from activity Attentional Interference- interference from conversation Cell phones impair listening more when reading than typing Proactive Interference- interference learning new information due to prior information Forget information not simply as a consequence of natural decay Retroactive Interference- interference recalling older information due to new learning Retrieval Failure- occurs when a memory is in long term storage but one is unable to located the memory New information both causes interference and becomes connected to old information, changing it through these associations as well as completely replacing it Destructive Updating- new information erases old information in memory Hypnosis has been suggested as a means of undoing the process of forgetting but this is not because they are actually remembering more but because they are willing to disclose or imagine more Little relationship between memory confidence and memory accuracy because the variables that influence confidence have no influence on accuracy Also no relationship between emotion and memory, false memories are just as upsetting Neither is the distinction between remembering and knowing a definite way of distinguishing false from true memories
Without the interconnectedness of memories, general knowledge would be impossible Autobiographical Memory- memory that records the episodes and events in a persons life Information relevant to the self is better recalled and thus events that one participated in are better recalled Self-Reference Effect- tendency to have better memory for information relevant to oneself than for other things Self Schema- set of interwoven beliefs and memories that constitute ones beliefs about oneself and ones memories for the self-relevant events one has experienced People remember their lives biased towards stability and interpreted through the perspective of the present and in self-serving ways Emotions help us remember by triggering a response in the amygdala which promotes memory consolidation and later, memory retrieval as well as being more important to us and rehearse emotionally powerful memories but narrows the attention of the event to emotional relevance Flashbulb Memories- memories of extraordinary clarity for highly emotional events Whether or not a flashbulb memory is correct is relative to whether or not it was consequential to the life of the individual Traumatic events can be forgotten if they are associated with childhood, stress, sleep deprivation, head injuries, alcohol or drug use Permastore- permanent storage of memory which is enhanced if the stimulus is studied intensely at first and if further information related to it is acquired over time CHAPTER 9 Family Resemblance- notion that members of a category resemble one another Relies on some number of features being shared by any group of category members, even though these features may not be shared by all members of the category Basis for family resemblance may shift from one subset of the category to another Identify objects according to the resemblance of their features to those of other objects Resemblance is a matter of degree, not absolute Definitions serve as a categorical boundary, defining what is within and without a category Prototype Theory- mental categories are represented by means of a single prototype identifying the center of the category Decisions about category membership, and inferences about the category, are made with reference to this prototype Prototypes can either be ideal or average representation of a category member Different people have different prototypes depending on standards of ideals and experience of average members Because category is defined by the central prototype, one cannot say whether something is within or without a category Fuzzy Boundary- distinction between categories that indentifies each instance only as more or less likely to be in a category, rather than specifying whether each instance is or is not included
Graded Membership-idea that some members of a category are better members and therefore are more firmly in the category than other members Sentence Verification Task- given simple sentences and must respond as quickly as possible whether sentence is true or false Response speed depends on the number of steps that must be traversed to confirm the sentence Respond quicker for true sentences than for false and for familiar than for unfamiliar categories Make judgments by comparing thing mentioned to prototype where prototypical is faster Production Task- asked to name as many examples as possible Locate prototype and work outwards from it towards peripheral members Picture Identification Task- shown simple pictures and must indicate as rapidly as possible what the picture shows Responses faster if the objects are typical of their category Rating Task- evaluate some item or category with references to some dimension Used to identify most typical members of a category Typicality- degree to which a particular case is typical for its kind Certain members of categories are more privileged than others, as are certain types of categories Basic-Level Categorization- level of categorization hypothesized as the natural and most informative level being neither too specific nor too general Used in ordinary communication and reasoning Presented in memory errors where general categories are remembered as more specific and specific categories are remembered as more general Basic level categories are learned earlier and caster than more specific categories Exemplar Theory- reasoning that draws on knowledge about specific category members, rather than drawing on more-general information about the overall category members, rather than drawing on more-general information about the overall category Exemplars based on what is most typical in experience and ease of memory retrieval Exemplars preserve information variability while prototypes do not Different contexts bring different exemplars to mind Typically, typicality and category membership are correlated but occasionally they are not Evidence from making judgments of typicality despite obvious category membership Reason differently for natural and artificial objects Natural objects are assumed to be more regular and homogenous Objects have certain essential properties that make them a category member Essential properties vary in accordance with prior beliefs and values of object Judgments of resemblance are thus dependent upon what attributes are relevant or not Heuristic- strategy that is reasonably efficient with risk of error Depends upon superficial features, making it efficient but vulnerable to occasional error Have a theory about every object allowing us to understand new facts about object Understand concepts sooner and work with concepts better, when understood how concepts features fit together
Rely on background knowledge to decide whether an object is within a category or not by deciding which features are crucial for categorization Categorization allows us to apply general knowledge to new specific items Willing to make inferences from typical category to general category but not atypical to general Similarity, causality and diversity also influence inferences positively CHAPTER 12 Induction- pattern of reasoning in which one draws general claims from specific bits of information Deduction- process of reasoning where general premises are used to see what follows Descriptive Account- an account that explains how things are Normative Account- an account that explains how things should be Attribute Substitution- commonly used strategy where one type of information is needed but more-accessible information is used instead Works well if the more-accessible information is well correlated with the desired information Example is reliance on availability heuristic to predict representativeness in a population Availability Heuristic- judge the frequency of a certain type of object or the likelihood of a certain type of event First assess the ease with which examples come to mind and then use as an index of frequency Representative HeuristicEach attribute is easy to assess and correlated with each other so that resemblance can be inferred from availability Atypicality attracts attention, increasing memorization and thus a bias to overestimate on the basis of availability and is also influenced by the bias of media attention Assumption of homogeneity of category membership leads to conclusions based on a relatively small sample Law of Large Numbers- greater the sample size, greater resemblance between sample and population Infer that each subset of a category has the properties of the category overall and also willing to infer that the category has the properties of each individual Anchoring- tendency to use the first-available estimate for some fact as a reference point for that fact and then make minor subsequent adjustments to determine final estimate First available estimate has powerful effect on reasoning, even if from source lacking credibility Adjustment- process through which we tune the first-available estimate to reach final estimate Tend to adjust too little and thus initial anchor estimate has a powerful influence When judgment errors arise for other reasons, anchoring serves to cement them in place Covariation- relationship between two variables such that the presence or magnitude of one variable can be predicted from the presence or magnitude of another Can be positive or negative If positive, increase in one variable occurs with increase in other variable
If negative, increase in one variable occurs with decrease in other variable Illusory Covariation- pattern perceived in data that leads to belief that the presence of one facto allows for prediction of presence of another factor Occurs even in the absence of any genuine relationship between factors In data-based judgments, covariation and judgment coincided accurately and conservatively In theory-based judgments, covariation and judgment did not coincide and were exaggerated Theoretical beliefs constrain interpretation of evidence, making judgments less accurate Confirmation Bias- more sensitive to evidence that confirms beliefs that evidence that challenges beliefs resulting in requests for confirming, not disconfirming, evidence More likely to pay attention, be influenced by, and remember the confirming evidence Diagnostic Information- information about individual case indicating whether the case belongs in one category or another Base Rate- information about the broad likelihood of a particular type of event Require both diagnostic information and base rate to make judgments Responsive to base rates and diagnostic information when only presented with one or the other When presented with both, subjects ignore base rate in favor of diagnostic information Neglect due to representative heuristic which ignores the importance of sample size Reliance on the importance of sample size is relative to the nature of the object in question The more homogenous the category of an object, the less likely one needs to rely on sample size Dual Process Models- any model of thinking that claims we have two distinct means of making judgments, one which is fast, efficient but prone to error and another than is slow, effortful but accurate System 1- judgment and reasoning strategies that are fast and effortless, but prone to error System 2- judgment and reasoning strategies that are slower, more effortful, but are accurate System 2 used to correct the errors that System 1 is prone to commit Rely on System 1 even when it is not effective Reliance on System 2 is contingent upon cues provided by the problem and the circumstances System 2 can be more responsive as a consequence of training and priming Time pressure, lack of effort, lack of reflection and attention, and smaller short-term memory capacity bias towards System 1 More likely to attend to base rates when structures as frequencies rather than percentages Often fail to consider the fact that the information being considered is a subset of a larger population sample and that chance effects the evidence they are considering Manipulations that emphasize the role of chance increase statistical analysis Information framed in statistical terms is easier to analyze statistically and critically Specifically advantageous to judging covariation is when judging events is readily interpreted in terms of single, repeatable observations Framing evidence in a causally salient way makes use of System 2 more probable Education on the importance of sample size makes System 2 use more probable as well CHAPTER 13 In order to evaluate a belief it is valuable to both look for confirming and disconfirming evidence Fail to use disconfirming evidence to adjust beliefs and fail to consider alternative hypothesis Take confirming evidence at face value, take disconfirming evidence critically
Reinterpret evidence to be compatible with prior beliefs Ironically makes it more likely to recall disconfirming evidence over confirming evidence Belief Perseverance- tendency to continue endorsing some assertion or claim, even when the clearly available evidence completely undermines the claim Continue to believe in competency, even when told that reported competency had nothing to do with actual performance tests Categorical Syllogism- logical argument containing two premises and a conclusion, concerned with the properties of, and relations between categories Premise- proposition that is assumed to be true in a logic problem The problem asks what conclusion follows from its premises Valid Argument- conclusion follows from premise Remarkably poor performance when reasoning about syllogisms even when in concrete terms Belief Bias- tendency, within logical reasoning, to endorse conclusions if they reflect true conditions even if the argument is not logically valid Tendency to focus on conclusions over arguments, even when arguments are invalid Conditional Statement- statement of format If X then Y where first statement provides a condition under which second statement must be true Modus Ponens- logical rule stipulating that from the two premises If P then Q and P is true one can conclude Q is true Modus Tollens- logical rule stipulating that from the two premises If P then Q and Q is false one can conclude P is false Generally reason well on modus ponens, but difficulty with modus tollens when complex Affirming the Consequent- error made in logical reasoning beginning with premise If A then B and B is true resulting in concluding A must be true Denying the Antecedent- error made in logical reasoning beginning with premises If A then B and A is false resulting in concluding B must therefore also be false Logical errors more common if in abstract and negative terms rather than positive, concrete ones Selection Task- presented with four cards with certain information on either side Given a rule that make describe the cards, task is to decide which cards to turn over to find out if the rule describes the cards or not Evolutionary perspective argues that social reasoning is superior to logical reasoning Pragmatic perspective argues that reasoning depends upon acquired pragmatic rules Pragmatic Reasoning Schemata- Collection of rules, derived from ordinary practical experience, that defines what inferences are appropriate in a specific situation Usually defined in terms of a goal or theme, and so one schema defines the rules appropriate for reasoning about situations involving permission, whereas a different schema defines the rules appropriate for thinking about situations involving cause-and-effect relations When rules are arbitrary, people are less likely to reason well If-then statements are inherently ambiguous Necessary Condition- condition that must be fulfilled in order for certain consequences to occur
Necessary conditions may not guarantee that the consequence will occur, since it may be true that other conditions must also be fit Sufficient Condition- condition that if satisfied guarantees that a certain consequence will occur Sufficient conditions may not be necessary for that consequence since same consequences might occur for other reasons Influenced by prior beliefs when unable to solve problem with available information and reasoning skills Reason differently in different contexts with different neural networks being active Mental Models- internal representation in which an abstract description is translated into a relatively concrete representation which serves to illustrate how that abstract state of affairs might be realized First construct a mental model of a problem situation before reasoning about it Secondly examine the model to discover what conclusions follow from it Thirdly propose counter-example models, if none are available, then conclusion is valid The greater the number of models needed to reason about a problem, the more prone to error Utility Theory- each decision has certain costs and benefits associated with it and actors reason in order to minimize costs and maximize benefits Utility- measure of value put on particular outcome Can be used to compare various outcomes, with choices based on these comparisons Add up individual utilities to evaluate the overall utility of a decision Expected Value- estimate of value of a particular option Expected value = probability of outcome x utility of outcome Utility Maximization- make decisions by selection the option with greatest utility Utility is limited to particular contexts, often making choices that are inconsistent with utility Frame- aspects of how a decision is phrased that are, in fact, irrelevant to the decision but that influence peoples choices nonetheless Will accept contradictory solutions based on how an issue is framed Risk Seeking- tendency towards seeking risk When contemplating losses, willing to gamble Risk Aversion- tendency to avoiding risk When contemplating gains, tend to be conservative with what they already have Utility calculations are immune to framing effects Reason Based Choice- make choice when they detect what they believe to be a persuasive reason for making that choice People choose on the basis of available reasons, if reasons are unavailable, choice is delayed Framing and confirmation bias influence reasoning where the way a question is framed creates a bias to find confirming evidence for that particular frame In judging risk, people base it on feelings rather than actual calculation Powerfully motivated to avoid regret Poor predictors of future and capacity to adjust to situations, thus overestimating possible future regret and possible future pleasure More influenced by framing if amygdala (area of emotional evaluation) is active
More likely to make decisions inconsistent with the framing if anterior cingulated cortex (area which detects conflict) is active Different frames change emotional response to decision, in turn affecting whether or not frame is influential Somatic Markers- states of body used in decision making Orbitofrontal cortex is crucial to the interpretation of emotional somatic markers Emotional arousal crucial for the detection of risk and decision making Emotionally insensitivity reduces risk detection and harms utility maximization CHAPTER 14 Problem Solving- process by which one begins with a goal and seeks some steps that will lead toward that goal Initial State- state working from in problem solving Goal State- state worked towards in problem solving Operators- tool or action used in problem-solving to move from initial state to goal state Path Constraints- limit that rules out some operation in problem-solving Might take form of resource limits, time limits, or ethical limits Limited number of intermediate states that one can reach to the goal Problem Space- set of all states that can be reached in solving a problem as one moves by means of the problems operators from the initial state to the goal state Problem Solving Protocols- record of how someone seeks to solve a problem Created by simply asking to think aloud while working on problem Hill Climbing StrategyMany problems require that you start moving away from your goal before solving the problem Despite this, most people rely on hill-climbing strategy and have difficulties Means End Analysis- strategy used in which guided step-by-step by a comparison of the difference at the moment between the current state and the goal state and a consideration of the operators available Highlights differences between current position and goal, making apparent what needs to be done to solve problem and breaks up problem into simple sub-problems Sub-problems- subdivision of a problem being solved Produced when a problem is divided into components or steps, each with own goal Working Backward- strategy which begins with the goal state and tries to figure out what transformations or operations would make this state more similar to the problems starting point Means end analysis and working backwards are most common strategies Useful to translate a problem into concrete terms by relying on a mental image or model Some studies have found no difference between pictures and mental images Mental images have the advantage of being more easily modified than pictures Pictures have the advantage of being able to represent more complicated patterns Can escape these limitations by externalizing the mental image to a picture Can rely on analogies if suitably instructed, but spontaneous use of analogies is rare In order to use analogies must go beyond superficial features and understand structure
Map- to figure out how aspects of one situation or argument correspond to aspects of some other situation or argument Irrelevant how surface features manifest, must focus on causal relationship underlying them Better at analogical reasoning when told to understand the structure rather than memorize the features Learning improved by comparing problems to one another for similarities and parallels Experts focus on structure and sub-problems where as novices focus on overall surface features Experts memorize in terms of higher order units rather than individual items Experts require at least 10 years of practice and experience and are comfortable in domain Experts organize knowledge more effectively, with information cross-referenced with other information and make better use of relevant strategies and do so more often than novices Ill Defined Problem- goal state is specified only in general terms and the operators available for reaching the goal start are not obvious at the start Well Defined Problem- goal state is clearly specified at the start and the operators available for reaching that goal are clearly identified Respond to ill defined problem with sub-goals, or reshaping it into a well defined problem Functional Fixedness- tendency to be rigid in how one thinks about an objects function Strong tendency to think of an object in terms of typical function, especially when presented in that context Problem Solving Set- starting assumptions used when trying to solve a new problem Guide the person away from useless strategies but can also direct away from practical strategies Einstellung- phenomenon of problem solving in which a certain attitude or perspective is developed and then all subsequent problems are approached with the same rigidity Difficulty solving problems when approaching problem from one perspective or when solving a problem and getting stuck within a particular line of thinking Once solution to problem is found, unlikely to try alternative strategies, thus preventing more efficient strategies and competency in solving related but different problems Similarity in problems prompts use of analogies for solutions between problems Creative people have the advantage of being knowledgeable and skilled, risk taking, indifferent to criticism and ambiguity, individuality, intrinsic motivation of work, and in environments that foster creativity Preparation- one commences effortful work on the problem, often with little progress Incubation- hypothesized events that occur when one puts a problem being worked on outside of ones consciousness but continues to work on it unconsciously Illumination- some new key insight or new idea suddenly comes to mind Verification- one confirms that a new idea really does lead to a problem solution Often dont include all four steps, or use complex back-and-forth sequences Moment of illumination may actually be a multitude of smaller insights Insight does not necessarily result in success because it is just as likely to result in a delay on solving a problem as it is to result in understanding it If there is any different, it is that those that are on the wrong path are more confident in the path Illumination only represents a new approach but not necessarily a successful one
Incubation effect is unreliable with some studies finding that time away from a problem improves solution efforts while other studies do not May possibly be due to spreading activation of memories where uncontrolled spread is more effective at arriving at new solutions than controlled spread but no guarantee Time away from a problem may also provide time to gather new information, to reduce stress, to develop a new problem set, and to forget earlier ineffective tactics