PSY 305 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Autobiographical Memory, Research, Memory Consolidation
29 Jun 2018
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2 November Notes
Notes from video:
Thinking: Making and Manipulating Representations
Cognition
● Mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating
● OR Brain processes associated with perceiving, integrating, and responding to
information as well as encoding and recalling the same
● Cognitive psychologists study these mental activities and brain processes
○ Concept formation, problem solving, decision making , judgement formation
Mental Representations
● Our thoughts consist of mental representations of the objects and events we learn
about in our environments
● The two basic types of representations:
○Analogical representations have some of the physical characteristics of actual
objects
○Symbolic representations are abstract and do not directly correspond to the
physical features of objects or ideas relationships to the objects they represent,
per se
Concepts are symbolic representations
● Concept
○ A mental representation that groups similar objects, events, ideas, or
people around common themes
○ The concept of cat, for ex, as a subcategory of animals
○Categories are used to arrange concepts
■ Categories have fuzzy boundaries
■ We have no simple way of telling a cat from a dog or a rat, for ex, since
conceptually they are similar (four-legged, hairy animals)
Concept: musical instruments
● Categorization
○ Shared knowledge
■ “Is played”
■ “Makes music”
○ Object-specific knowledge
■ “Has six strings”
■ “Has four strings”
■ “Is blown into”
Concepts are symbolic representations
● Concepts may be formed in different ways
○ Defining attribute model
■ Concepts characterized by a list of features necessary to determine if an
object is in a category
○ Prototype model
■ Best example for that category
○ Exemplar model
■ Any concept has no single best representation
Defining attributes
● According to the defining attribute model, ordinary concepts are represented through a
list of defining attributes that specify category membership
● We mentally flip through those defining attributes. If they are all present, we conclude
that the object belongs to the category e.g. chair
● In the defining attribute model, concepts are organized hierarchically
○ Horns and stringed instruments are subordinate
categories of the super-ordinate
category of musical instruments
Prototype model
● Prototype is a central member that possesses all (or most) of the characteristic features
● Some items within a group or class are more representative (or prototypical) of that
category than are other items within that group or class
● Studies suggest that when we think about a category, we are really thinking about the
prototype for the category
●Typicality influences speed of judgement, and judgments about attractiveness
Exemplar model
● Exemplar models are based on specific example that are their own best example and
can’t be thought of in general terms
○ It assumes that, through experience, people form a representation of a concept
○ May be needed precision; for concepts that can’t be described by shared
attributes or averages across members
Schemas: Organize concepts
● We develop schemas based on our real-life experiences
○ Schemas often trump reality in thinking
● Scripts are schemas that allow us to infer about the sequence of events in a given
context
● Schemas and scripts
○ Minimize the amount of attention required for execution of familiar behaviors
○ Recognize and avoid unusual and dangerous situations
Schemas and scripts influence behavior
● Hypothesis: preschoolers’ attitudes, expectations, and perceptions of alcohol and
tobacco use will reflect scripts and schemas
● Research method: children used props and dolls to act out a social evening for adults.
As part of the role play, each child selected items from a miniature grocery store stocked
with 73 different products. Items on the shelves included beer, wine, and cigarettes
● Results: out of 120 children, 34 (28%) bought cigs, and 74 (62%) bought alc. Children
were more likely to buy cigs if their parent smoked. They were more likely to buy beer or
Document Summary
Mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating. Or brain processes associated with perceiving, integrating, and responding to information as well as encoding and recalling the same. Cognitive psychologists study these mental activities and brain processes. Concept formation, problem solving, decision making , judgement formation. Our thoughts consist of mental representations of the objects and events we learn. The two basic types of representations: about in our environments objects. Analogical representations have some of the physical characteristics of actual. Symbolic representations are abstract and do not directly correspond to the physical features of objects or ideas relationships to the objects they represent, per se. The concept of cat, for ex, as a subcategory of animals. We have no simple way of telling a cat from a dog or a rat, for ex, since conceptually they are similar (four-legged, hairy animals) Concepts may be formed in different ways.
