Chapters 6 & 7: Memory, Thinking, Language, and Intelligence

Part 1: Memory

Memory

• Process by which we recollect prior experiences and information and skills learned in the past

• Process by which information is encoded, stored, and retrieved

Explicit Memories

• Clear, includes specific information

• Episodic– Memory of a specific

event– Flashbulb memories

• Semantic – General knowledge

Implicit Memory

• Implied, automatic, not clearly stated

• Skills or procedures you may have learned

• Use priming – activation of specific associations in the memory – often as a result of repetition

Encoding

• Translation of information into a form in which it can be stored– Visual– Acoustic– Semantic

THUNSTOFAM• If you used a visual code to remember – you would

have mentally represented it as a picture (mental image)

• If you used an acoustic code, you may have read the list of letters to yourself in sequence

• If you saw the letters as a three-syllable word “thun-sto-fam” you were using both acoustic and semantic codes

• If the letters served as an acronym like The United States OF America this gives the letters meaning, which is a semantic code

Storage

• Maintaining information over time• A variety of processes used to store

information– Maintenance Rehearsal– Elaborative Rehearsal– Organizational Systems

Retrieval

• Locate storage information and return it to conscious thought– Context-Dependent Memory– State-Dependent Memory– Tip of the Tongue Phenomenon

Three Stages of Memory

1. Sensory Memory - Immediate, initial recording of informationa. Iconic Memoryb. Eidetic Imagery c. Echoic Memory

2. Short Term Memory – working memorya) Primary and Recency Effect – recall first and last items on a listb) Chunking – organize information into manageable unitsc) Interference – only so much information can be retained; new stuff replaces

what was there

3. Long Term Memory – permanent storage

Basic Memory Tasks

• Recognition – identifying objects that’s been seen before (multiple choice tests)

• Recall – bring back into mind – forget half of information after first hour, then it slows

• Relearning – with some study and effort we can usually relearn things quickly

Types of Forgetting…• Decay – fading away of a memory• Repression• Amnesia – severe memory loss due to

brain injury, shock, fatigue, illness, repression

Amnesia• Dissociative – psychological

trauma

• Infantile – Can’t recall events before age of three

• Anterograde – Can’t form forming new memories

• Retrograde – forget period of time leading up to event

Improving Memory

• Drill and practice• Relate to things you already know• Form unusual associations• Construct links• Use mnemonic devices

Part 2: Thinking and Language

Thinking

• Paying attention to information, representing it mentally, reasoning about it, and making judgments and decisions about it.

Problem Solving

• Heuristics– Rules of thumb to find a solution– Analogies – partial similarity among things that

are different in other ways

• Algorithms – Specific procedure that will always lead to the

solution of a problem (formulas)

• Convert the temperature from Fahrenheit to Celsius?

Problem-Solving Methods

1. Trial & Error2. Difference Reduction3. Means-End Analysis4. Working Backward5. Analogies

Incubation Effect

• Answer just comes to us without working on it• Not consciously thinking about it

• Reasoning– Use of information to reach conclusions

• Inductive Reasoning– individual cases / facts help to reach conclusion– Premises could be correct while conclusion is

wrong• Deductive Reasoning– conclusion is true if premises are true

Inductive Reasoning

1. All the tigers observed in a particular region have yellow black stripes, therefore all the tigers native to this region have yellow stripes.

2. Every time I go to Chick-Fil-A I get food poisoning. Therefore, if I go to Chick-Fil-A today, I will get food-poisoning

Deductive Reasoning

1. South Korea is in Asia2. The city of Seoul is in South Korea3. Therefore, Seoul is in Asia (conclusion)

Language

• Communication of thoughts and feelings through symbols that are arranged according to rules of grammar.

Stages of Language Development

1. Cry / Coo / Babble (pre-linguistic)

2. Words – usually around 1 year

3. By 18 mts – 24(ish words)

4. 2 Year Explosion

Part 4: Intelligence

Intelligence

• Underlying ability to understand the world and cope with its challenges

Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligence

• Verbal / Linguistic• Logical / Mathematical• Visual / Spatial• Bodily / Kinesthetic• Musical / Rhythmic• Interpersonal• Intrapersonal• Naturalist• Existential

Stanford – Binet Scale

• Measurement of intelligence• Score yields a mental age (intellectual level at

which a person is functioning)• IQ = relationship between mental age & actual

age• Mental Age / Chronological Age x 100 = IQ• Only measures verbal ability

Wechsler Scales

• Measurement of Intelligence• Verbal & nonverbal• Avg. score = 100• Answers compared to others the same age• 50% scores 90-110• 2% above 130• 2% below 70

Mental Retardation

• IQ of 70 or below• But more than just an

IQ score– Borderline (IQ 70-85)– Mild (IQ 50-70)– Moderate (IQ 35-49)– Severe (IQ 20-34)– Profound (IQ below 20)

• Causes– Accidents– Difficulties in child birth– Pregnant woman that

abuses alcohol, drugs or malnourished

– Genetic disorders

Giftedness

• IQ above 130• Creativity and motivation, outstanding abilities

(music, language arts, math, science)• Identify early• Can be highly creative and not be gifted

What influences Intelligence?

• Heredity & Environment• What can parents do to improve

environment?– Be emotionally / verbally responsive– Involved in kids activities– Preschool– Well-organized and safe home environment– Independent kids

Adults & Intelligence

• Drop off in intelligence among older adults– Usually in response time, not vocabulary

• How to maintain health– Income level– Education level– Stimulating jobs– Intact family life– Attend cultural events, read, travel– Marriage to spouse w/ high intellectual ability– Flexible personality