Explanation - sensory memory

In the first sub-topic of memory - 'the nature of memory' - you need to know about all three memory 'stores', so you should know about SM (sensory memory), as well as STM and LTM. Here's a quick summary:

Sensory memory (SM) is the mind's ability to store information from the senses for very brief periods before it is processed.

Most of this information fades, but if you pay attention to it, it is processed and passes to STM.

Each sense is thought to have a separate 'sensory store', but the most well-known are the vision-based store, 'iconic memory', and the hearing-based store, 'echoic memory'.

Iconic memory lasts for 0.5 seconds, and echoic memory lasts for 2 seconds.

We often experience this, when somebody speaks to us & we are not paying attention. If we then focus on what they said, we can still hear a kind of shadow of what they said ringing in our ears, and are able to process it. This can be very useful!

Sperling (1960) studied the capacity of iconic memory by presenting visual items very briefly. The capacity initially appeared small, less than that of STM, but he later found using a 'cued recall' technique that a lot of information is taken in, but it fades too fast for people to be able to report it all. By the time they have recalled the first three or four items, the rest has faded from their 'mind's eye'. By cuing Ps to recall just one line from a three line display, recall rose to 75% from a 12 item display.

A&E marks again

I've already posted on this topic, but just to highlight again, underline, circle in red pen and otherwise draw to your attention, two especially important points:

1) You can get A&E marks for giving real-world examples.

2) If you are short of evaluative points (e.g. criticisms of a research study or theory) you can get two marks rather than one for expanding a simple point. So, a comment such as "This study lacks ecological validity, as it is not like real life" (1 mark), becomes "This study lacks ecological validity, because the task would never occur in ordinary life. This makes the results hard to interpret, and conclusions may only apply to the lab setting." (2 marks). Get it?

2nd Prelim (again)

Of course all the papers are marked now, and well done to most of you who have achieved excellent results. To anyone for whom it didn't go well, I hope it was a useful process anyway, if only to highlight areas of difficulty in need of revision.

If you haven't seen me and want to know how you did, send me an email and I'll reply with your grade, although I'd rather see you in person and go over it.

Explanation: Decay theory of forgetting

Decay theory of forgetting is one which seems to cause confusion, perhaps because I presented it to you as a theory of forgetting in STM, but it has also been researched as a theory of forgetting in LTM.

The basic idea of decay is that when we encode a memory, a structural change takes place in the brain. Hebb (1949) argued that this trace (sometimes called an 'engram') is delicate, and liable to disruption over time unless further learning takes place. So, in short, if we don't practice/rehease learning, then it will fade and be forgotten. Decay means fading/crumbling of memories over a period of time.

However, research shows that procedural LTMs - skills such as driving a car - are not forgotten even if not used for many years. Additionally, memories sometimes spontaneously reappear, in dreams or if you have a bump on the head. This phenomenon suggests that the engram has not actually decayed, but some other process has caused forgetting.

An early piece of research by Jenkins & Dallenbach (1924) gave participants ten nonsense syllables to learn. Some participants went to sleep (this is a 'do nothing - no interference' condition) and others carried on with normal activities. The period spent asleep didn't result in greater forgetting, leading them to conclude that forgetting in LTM is not due to decay but due to interference of new information.

Similarly, Baddeley & Hitch looked at forgetting in rugby players. Some participants had played a large number of games over a season, and others had played fewer due to injury or suspension. The researchers found that the key variable affecting recall was the number of games played - again supporting the idea that memories suffer from interference rather than decay.

Evidence for decay in STM is better - Peterson & Peterson (1959) found that forgetting in STM was a function of time, with recall falling sharply over the course of 30 seconds. However, even this kind of research does not prove the role of decay. This is because to allow for other factors (especially displacement/interference), the participants would have to be doing nothing during the time period. In fact, they were doing a distraction task (counting backwards) to prevent them from rehearsing the items.

Early socialisation vids

Still on Early Socialisation, here are a couple of youtube video clips related to the topic:

Harlow's monkeys:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLrBrk9DXVk
Great illustration of how the monkey goes to the wire surrogate to feed, but is comforted by the cloth one.

Separation anxiety:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6QtuU1L_A8&feature=related
Similar to the 'strange situation', this shows an approx 1 year old child upset with a stranger, but easily comforted by an attachment figure (his dad, we assume). I agree with scantysanwiches, it seems to be a secure attachment!

Parenting styles - website

Most of you seem to have a good grasp of what the three main parenting styles involve, and I've seen good discussion in prelim answers of aspects like control, nurturance, communication, parental expectations.

A bit weaker is most people's ability to discuss the impact of the different styles on children. If you're doing this topic, the following article is definitely worth a look:

http://www.athealth.com/Practitioner/ceduc/parentingstyles.html

Like with other areas, an answer is going to be much stronger if you can accurately refer to a research finding.

2nd Prelim

I'm marking the 2nd Prelim at the moment.  I've only marked less than half of the scripts so far, but I'm pleased to say that results so far are very good.

One slight problem that arises is that a lot of people left half an hour early or more, and where there are poor answers at all, it is generally because they are a bit short.  In preparation for the final exam, think about fleshing out answers, ideally with research evidence, and making full use of the available time if possible.

We'll go over the exam on Thursday, so I hope to see most of you there.

Explanation: Factor models & information-processing models of intelligence

A question which arose from todays revision class:

What is the difference between 'factor' & 'information-processing' models of intelligence? Which group does Gardiner's model go in?

Bear in mind that people do not universally agree what intelligence is. Some people decided that the best approach would be to give people ability tests, and use statistics to see what patterns emerge. The theory can then built from that information. This is the case with factor models. The main statistical test used is Spearman's 'factor analysis', and the term factor models derives from this test.

One problem with this is that it can depend on what tests you give to your research participants. Spearman (1904) found a single 'g' (general) factor, but Thurstone (1938) found 7 factors. Also, it only shows that certain factors exist, it doesn't tell us anything about how these processes work, or how performance could be improved.

Information-processing (or 'cognitive') models are not based on testing - instead they make models of how people process information & solve problems.

Cognitive psychologists have looked into various abilities such as reaction time, working memory, ability to retrive words from LTM, and ability to make accurate comaprisons. Rather like models of memory that we have studied, models of intelligence in this approach are built up, and include various elements that link together.

Gardiner's model of multiple intelligences doesn't fit neatly into either group. Gardiner places a lot of emphasis on neuroscience - studies of the brain and brain damage. He is also very interested in 'savants' - profoundly retarded people who have one special ability e.g. drawing or mathematics. Many people in psychology are sceptical of Gardiner's approach, which seems to rely a lot on assumptions rather than research.

If you have to place it in a category, then call it an information-processing theory, because it has developed as part of contemporary cognitive psychology. Besides, it's definitely not a factor model, as it doesn't use ability testing or factor analysis.

Exam info: A&E marks

One of you has been asking how to pick up A&E marks on questions where you are not evaluating a theory or research study.

I thought it would be useful to copy from the course arrangement document the SQA's description of what these marks should be awarded for, and this is in italics below. Three of the main points which you may not have realised:

You can get A&E marks for giving real-world examples
You can get A&E marks for explaining parts of a model and how they work together
You can get A&E marks for comparing and contrasting

Remember that A%E makes up 40% of the exam marks overall, but check carefully the mark allocation for each question before you answer it.


Analysis will involve, for example:
♦ explanation of components of a behaviour or mental process and the relationship between
these
♦ description of factors affecting behaviours and mental processes
♦ discussion of origins and development of behaviours and mental processes
♦ interpretation of research findings and conclusions in relation to relevant theory
♦ the ability to discuss psychological phenomena from alternative theoretical perspectives
♦ comparison of evidence from different cultural contexts
♦ integration of knowledge from different psychological areas, and of new information with
already-existing knowledge
♦ identification of common underlying themes, such as nature/nurture interaction; application
of knowledge in a new context, or in a situation in everyday life

Evaluation may include aspects of analysis as well as the ability:
♦ to weigh up the strengths and weaknesses of psychological theories, concepts, research
evidence, research methodology, and psychological applications
♦ to compare and contrast theories
♦ to discuss ethical issues in psychological research and applications

Explanation: Transactional model of stress

Probably the most common area of misunderstanding in the Higher!

The transactional model is, nowadays, the most popular way of viewing stress.  They key idea is that the level of stress a person experiences depends on their view of themselves and the world.

The model has one major similarity to Selye's G.A.S., which is that anything that causes a bodily response is defined as a stressor.  However there is also a major difference, in that it is not how many stressors we experience that is seen as important - instead our perception of stressors is seen as critical.

The importance placed on perceptions of stress means that this theory is more cognitive than the G.A.S.  As you may realise, a positive aspect of the transactional model is that it helps explains individual differences - for example, why one person gets stressed by a traffic jam, and another doesn't.

It was first described by Lazarus (1966) who set out a series of stages, the most important of which are:

Primary appraisal: The person assesses the threat posed by the stimulus

Secondary appraisal: The person assesses their own coping ability.

One other thing: the transactional model is closely linked to stress management, especially cognitive strategies such as stress inoculation therapy (S.I.T.)

Hope this helps!

Lazarus, R.S. (1966).  Psychological Stress and the Coping Process.  New York: McGraw-Hill.

Future posts

Over the next couple of weeks I intend to post about areas of the course that usually cause difficulty/confusion, e.g. reliability & validity in IQ tests, working memory, transactional model of stress, confounding variables... If you have any areas you'd like me to include, please let me know.

Revision classes

As the exam is still three weeks away, I'm hoping to see you fairly regularly for revision classes in the meantime.

I know most of you would rather avoid anything too early, too late, or too often, so can I suggest we go for a once a week, 10.30 to 12.30 session? As follows:

Thursday 15th May, 10.30, Room B43 (day before the 2nd Prelim)
Thursday 22nd May, 10.30, Room B43 (to return 2nd prelim scripts)
Thursday 29th May, 10.30, Room B43
Monday 2nd June, 10.30, Room B43 (2 days before exam)

Obviously if you have an exam to go to the same day then that comes first, but otherwise I do expect people to turn up for these sessions. In the past I have found it makes a big difference, with people who regularly attend May revision classes doing well in the exam.

2nd Prelim

Reminder: the second prelim will take place on Friday 16th May, from 9.00am to 11.30 am, in room B38. Sorry I couldn't make it a bit later in the morning, but this was the only way to avoid displacing another class.

Previous exam questions will be included in prelims, so it's worth going through the past papers as preparation.

Just to make it completely clear, the 2nd prelim is the one and only piece of evidence I will submit as appeals evidence, so it is extremely important that you make it on Friday and give a good account of yourselves. Without a good pass in the 2nd prelim, no appeal can be submitted.