PSYC1003 Study Guide - Final Guide: Explicit Memory, Procedural Memory, Display Rules
Memory
Working Memory and Long-Term Memory
• Many psychologists now refer to STM as working memory - the temporary storage and
processing of information that can be used to solve problems, respond to environmental
demands or achieve goals.
• Working memory clearly interacts with LTM systems, as occurs in chunking - using knowledge
stored in LTM to group information in larger units than single words or digits and hence to
expand working memory capacity in specific domains.
Declarative (eg: memory for facts) versus Procedural (eg: how to knowledge for skills)
• Declarative memory - memory for facts and events.
• It can be semantic (general world knowledge or facts) or episodic (memories of particular
events).
• Procedural memory - refers to 'how to' knowledge.
Explicit (conscious recollection) versus Implicit
- Visual (eg: Doors) versus Auditory (eg: word lists from the California Verbal Learning)
- Knowledge can be retried implicitly (memory that is expressed in behaviour) or explicitly
(conscious recollection).
- Two types of explicit retrieval: recall and recognition.
Visual Constructional (eg: Complex Figures)
Facial Expressions of Emotion
Emotion
• An emotion is a relatively brief episode of coordinated brain, autonomic, and behavioural
changes that facilitate a response to an external or internal event of significance for the
organism.
• Compared to other psychological states, emotions have two unique qualities:
1. Are embodied
2. Less susceptible to our intentions
Basic Emotions Theory
• Proposes that there is a limited number of basic and universal human emotions.
• Charles Darwin – The Epressio of the Eotios i Ma ad Aials – emotions are
uiersal to speies ad are hat uite all of huait. Ee though e at understand
other languages, we can understand what people are feeling.
• Tomkins, Ekman, Izard, et al (1960s and 70s) – investigated emotions in different cultures to
test Daris theories. The foud a isolated group ad gie searios, the ould proide
the same facial expressions.
• Ekas Criteria , :
1. Distinctive universal signals (cross-cultural).
2. Universal antecedent event – the broad category of event that elicits that emotion or
expression should be distinct and the same across cultures, eg: sadness from death.
3. Distinctive physiology/dedicated neural circuits.
Facial Action Coding System (FACS)
• Codes orpholog as Atio Uits AUs.
• AUs = individual movements face can produce.
• Associated with musculature.
• Some AUs often occur in combination.
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• Some muscles can produce more than one AU.
• Some AUs can be produced by more than one muscle.
Universal Signals
• Morpholog = struture of a epressio.
Criticisms of Basic Emotion Theory
• Non-distinctiveness of emotions.
o Physiology is arguably not distinctive, eg: H R may increase for a variety of emotions.
o Substantial overlap in morphology of expressions – AU number 4 appears in happy,
fearful and sad.
• Not culturally universal.
o “oe laguages hae o ord for soe of the asi eotions.
o Many non-basic expressions/emotions, eg: apathy.
o Variations in when/how displayed, eg: Olympic gold medallists – the smiling
component only really occurs when they are on the podium receiving their medals in a
social context. Therefore, you can feel happy without expressing it at the same time.
- Display rules (Ekman) – eg: getting a bad present but masking it with a smile to
meet social expectations with expression.
• Forced-choice methodology used to demonstrate universality.
o Given a number of options of emotions but sometimes those labels might not fit the
emotion that the participant would apply.
• Context effect
o People may think different expressions depending on what the body language is.
o People classify emotions differently depending on the context.
Alternative 1(underlying degree of emotion: Dimensional
• Arousal – bodily changes that occur in emotion, such as changes in heart rate, sweating and
the release of stress hormones in response to a stimulus.
• Valence – subjective quality, positive or negative, of the emotional response to a specific
object or event.
Alternative 2: Componential
• Eg: Pleasantness check
o Pleasant, eg: AU12 (lip corner puller).
o Unpleasant, eg: AU15 (lip corner depression).
o But some AUs may be present for both, eg: AU25 (lips part).
Differences Between Posed and Emotion-Elicited Facial Expressions
Popular Face "Emotion" Stimuli
• Small number of sets.
• Often show posed, unfelt emotions.
o Models trained to move specific muscles found in natural photographs of discrete
expressions (FACS).
• Used in hundreds of studies across broad range of disciplines.
• Eg: This is ho thee iestigated hether people ith differet rai ijuries hae
difficulties recognising expressions.
Theoretical reasons why it matters:
• Real-life facial expressions:
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