1. PSY 369: Psycholinguistics
Cognitive Psychology

2. The ‘standard model’

3. Long term memory The Multiple Memory Stores Theory Declarative
episodic - memories about
events
semantic - knowledge of
facts
This theory suggests that there are different memory components, each storing different kinds of information.
Procedural

4. Long term memory How is semantic memory structured?
Networks (more next week)
This theory suggests that there are different memory components, each storing different kinds of information.

5. Long term memory How long do our memories last? Ebbinghaus (1885/1913)
He memorized non-sense syllables.
Memorize them until perfect performance,
Test to relearn the lists perfectly.
This was called the "savings."

6. Long term memory How long do our memories last? Bahrick (1984)
He has done a number of studies asking people about memories for things (e.g., Spanish, faces of classmates, etc.) that they learned over 50 years past. He has found evidence that at least some memories stick around a really long time.

7. Long term memory How much can we remember?
Lots, no known limits to how much memory storage we have.
More important issue concerns questions about encoding and retrieval
Encoding - getting memories into LTM what gets in?
Retrieval - getting memories out of LTM what gets out? exact memories or reconstructed memories?

8. Long term memory Properties Unlimited capacity
Decay/interference, retrieval difficulty
Organized
Multiple subsystems for type of memory
Associative networks (more on these next week)

9. Working Memory Working memory instead of STM
More complex. Findings that sometimes multiple things can be held in memory without interference, while other times things interfere. Suggested that there are specialized subsystems.
Three main components:
Phonological loop
Visual-spatial Sketch Pad (ignore the typos in the figure)
Centeral Executive

10. Working Memory Working memory instead of STM Phonological store
May also be involved in writing and reading, translating written codes into phonological codes
Articulatory suppression effects
Say ‘the the the …’ as you read sentences
Mary liked John but his brother she couldn’t stand
Miss Peacock was murdered by Colonel Mustard
The artist I met at the party lived in Australia.
Sometimes you’ll see interference with verbatim memory for the sentences, other times not
Related to the complexity (primarily syntactic) of sentences
Phonological rehearsal mechanism
Phonological store
Very limited capacity
Rehearsal maintains information
in the store

11. Working Memory Working memory instead of STM information
Store and manipulate visual and spatial
information
Directly from perception
Indirectly from imagery
May also be involved in writing and reading, translating written codes into phonological codes

12. Working Memory Working memory instead of STM subcomponents
Allocate attentional resources to the
subcomponents
Directs elaboration/manipulation of
information
May also be involved in writing and reading, translating written codes into phonological codes

13. Attention Major tool of the central executive
Limited capacity resource
Filtering capabilities
Resource: Miller’s 7±2 is only the beginning. Dual task studies suggest either resources (either the fuel or the processing mechanisms).
Filtering: focusing on the relevant information, e.g., what to get out of the sensory store, what information to retrieve from LTM, what stuff to try to integrate (“chunk”)
Integration: gluing smaller bits into larger bits, talk Triesman illusory conjuctions
Integration function

14. Automaticity Controlled processes Automatic processes
Require resources
Under some volitional direction
Slow, effortful
Automatic processes
Require little attention
Obligatory
Fast
Introspect about walking down stairs, about reading a word
Think about when you were learning to do these things

15. Stages of skill acquisition
Cognitive stage
Establish declarative encoding of an action
Associative stage
Strengthen the connections between elements of the skill
Autonomous stage
Skills can be performed without interference form other activities
Introspect about walking down stairs, about reading a word, again riding a bike

16. Bottom-up & Top-down Terms come from computer science
Bottom up (data driven) relies upon evidence that is physically present, building larger units based on smaller ones
Top down (knowledge driven), using higher-level information to support lower-level processes

17. Bottom-up & Top-down
Selfridge s Pandemonium system, 1959

18. Bottom-up & Top-down C T

19. Bottom-up & Top-down T E

20. Bottom-up & Top-down T E C T

21. Bottom-up & Top-down
FROG

22. Bottom-up & Top-down
FROG

23. Bottom-up & Top-down Half the class close your eyes
Title: Doing laundry

24. Bottom-up & Top-down Half the class close your eyes Read story
The procedure is actually quite simple. First you arrange items into different groups. Of course one pile may be sufficient depending on how much there is to do. If you have to go somewhere else due to lack of facilities that is the next step; otherwise, you are pretty well set. It is important not to overdo things. That is, it is better to do too few things at once than too many. In the short run this may not seem important but complications can easily arise. A mistake can be expensive as well. At first, the whole procedure will seem complicated. Soon, however, it will become just another facet of life, but then, one never can tell. After the procedure is completed one arranges the materials into different groups again. Then they can be put into their appropriate places. Eventually they will be used once more and the whole cycle will then have to be repeated. However, this is part of life.
Rate how comprehensible the story is
hard to easy to
understand understand

25. Summing up Psycholinguistic view
Language and cognition are inextricably linked
Notice that almost all of the experiment demonstrations involved language elements as stimuli