Flashcards · 8182 · Topic 1

Paper 1 – Cognition and Behaviour flashcards

34 cards on Topic 1, subtopics 3.1.1 to 3.1.4. Pick a subtopic or study them all.

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3.1.1 Memory

What are the three processes of memory?: Encoding (input: converting information into a usable form), storage (holding it) and retrieval (output: getting it back).
Episodic vs semantic vs procedural memory: Episodic: memories of personal events. Semantic: facts and meanings. Procedural: how to do things, such as riding a bike.
What are the coding, capacity and duration of STM and LTM in the multi-store model?: STM: mainly acoustic, about 5–9 items, about 18–30 seconds. LTM: mainly semantic, unlimited capacity, potentially lifelong. Attention moves information from the sensory register to STM; rehearsal moves it to LTM.
What did Murdock's serial position curve study show?: When participants recalled a list of words in any order, words at the start (primacy effect) and at the end (recency effect) were recalled better than those in the middle, supporting separate STM and LTM stores.
Why does the primacy effect happen, and why does the recency effect happen?: Primacy: early words have been rehearsed more, so they have reached LTM. Recency: the last words are still in STM when recall begins.
What is reconstructive memory, and what is effort after meaning?: Bartlett's theory: memory is not a recording but is rebuilt at recall using schemas. Effort after meaning is the attempt to make unfamiliar material fit what we already know.
What did Bartlett's War of the Ghosts study find?: Participants recalling an unfamiliar Native American story changed it to fit their own culture: it became shorter, unfamiliar details were left out and others were changed to more familiar ones.
Proactive vs retroactive interference: Proactive interference: old information disrupts the recall of new information. Retroactive interference: new information disrupts the recall of old information.
How does context affect recall?: Recall is better when the context (place or emotional state) at recall matches the context at encoding. Without the right cue, a stored memory may not be retrieved.

3.1.2 Perception

Sensation vs perception: Sensation is the raw information received by the senses. Perception is the brain's interpretation of that information.
Name four monocular depth cues and two binocular depth cues: Monocular: height in plane, relative size, occlusion and linear perspective. Binocular: retinal disparity and convergence.
What is Gibson's direct theory of perception?: A bottom-up, nature theory: the real world gives enough information for direct perception without inference, e.g. motion parallax (near objects seem to move faster than far ones as we move).
What is Gregory's constructivist theory of perception?: A top-down, nurture theory: the brain uses inferences from visual cues and past experience to construct a model of reality. It explains illusions well, but less well why perception is usually fast and accurate.
Name the four explanations of visual illusions, with an example of each: Ambiguity (Rubin's vase, Necker cube), misinterpreted depth cues (Müller-Lyer, Ponzo), fiction (Kanizsa triangle: edges that are not there) and size constancy (Ames room).
What is perceptual set?: A readiness to perceive things in a particular way, influenced by factors such as culture, motivation, emotion and expectation.
What did the Gilchrist and Nesberg study show?: Participants who had gone without food rated pictures of food as brighter than non-hungry participants did, showing that motivation affects perception.
What did the Bruner and Minturn study show?: An ambiguous figure was seen as the letter B when shown among letters, and as the number 13 when shown among numbers, showing that expectation from context creates a perceptual set.

3.1.3 Development

How does the brain develop from the womb?: Simple neural structures develop first: the brain stem (autonomic functions such as heartbeat), the thalamus (sensory processing), the cerebellum (movement) and the cortex (cognition). Nature and nurture both play a role.
Assimilation vs accommodation (Piaget): Assimilation: fitting new information into an existing schema. Accommodation: changing a schema, or creating a new one, when new information does not fit.
What are Piaget's four stages of development?: Sensorimotor (0–2, object permanence), pre-operational (2–7, egocentrism and lack of conservation), concrete operational (7–11, conservation achieved) and formal operational (11+, abstract reasoning).
What did McGarrigle and Donaldson's naughty teddy study show?: More young children could conserve number when the counters were moved "accidentally" by a naughty teddy, suggesting Piaget underestimated children's abilities.
What did Hughes' policeman doll study show?: Young children could hide a boy doll where two policeman dolls could not see it, showing they could take another's point of view earlier than Piaget claimed, in a task that made sense to them.
Fixed vs growth mindset (Dweck): A fixed mindset treats ability as unchangeable, so challenge is avoided. A growth mindset treats ability as developed through effort, so challenge is welcomed. Praising effort rather than intelligence encourages a growth mindset.
What are learning styles, and what is Willingham's criticism?: Learning styles classify learners, e.g. as verbalisers or visualisers. Willingham argues there is little evidence that matching teaching to a preferred style improves learning.

3.1.4 Research Methods

Null vs alternative hypothesis: The alternative hypothesis predicts a difference or relationship. The null hypothesis states there will be no difference or relationship.
Independent, dependent and extraneous variables: Independent variable: what the researcher changes. Dependent variable: what is measured. Extraneous variable: any other variable that could affect the DV if not controlled.
Random, opportunity, systematic and stratified sampling: Random: everyone has an equal chance. Opportunity: whoever is available. Systematic: every nth person from a list. Stratified: subgroups selected in the same proportions as in the target population.
Independent groups vs repeated measures vs matched pairs: Independent groups: different participants in each condition. Repeated measures: the same participants do all conditions. Matched pairs: different but matched participants in each condition.
Laboratory vs field vs natural experiment: Laboratory: controlled, artificial setting. Field: the IV is manipulated in a natural setting. Natural: the IV varies naturally and is not manipulated by the researcher.
What is counterbalancing?: In a repeated measures design, half the participants do condition A then B and half do B then A, to balance out order effects such as practice and fatigue.
What is inter-observer reliability?: The extent to which two or more observers using the same behaviour categories record the same results. High agreement shows the observation is reliable.
Primary vs secondary data: Primary data are collected first-hand by the researcher for the study. Secondary data were collected by someone else for another purpose, e.g. government statistics.
What are the characteristics of a normal distribution?: A symmetrical, bell-shaped curve in which the mean, median and mode are the same and most scores cluster around the middle.
Name the main ethical issues in the BPS guidelines: Informed consent, deception, protection from harm, right to withdraw, confidentiality and debriefing.