1. Perceptual organization
2. Information processing model
3. Theories of forgetting
4. Experiments in classical conditioning
5. Laws of learning and learning curve
6. Variables and measurement
7. Characteristics of good questionnaire
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1. Perceptual Organization
Perceptual organization: It is the process of establishing relations among potentially separate elements of the object in perception. Perceptual organization guides the interpretation of the object. It includes 4 principles as proximity, similarity, good form, closure.
Proximity : According to the law of proximity, things that are near each other seem to be grouped together.
Similarity : Other things being equal, elements which are similar in structure or have common characteristics will be grouped together.
Good Form (Law of Pragnanz): This law states that perceptual organization will always be as “good” as the prevailing conditions allow. The simplest organization requiring the least cognitive effort will always emerge. Pragnanz means that we perceive the simplest organization that fits the stimulus pattern.
Closure: An incomplete figure will be seen as a complete one. a figure consisting of incomplete lines, that have gap in them. It is perceived as a triangle despite the fact that its sides are incomplete. A closure like phenomenon yields subjective contours.
2. Information processing model:
3. Theories of forgetting
8) What is forgetting?
Forgetting is the loss, permanent or temporary, of the ability to recall or recognize something learned earlier (Munn, 1967).
9) Discuss the causes of forgetting/ theories of forgetting.
According to information-processing theories, forgetting occurs as, some information due to lack of attention may not have reached to short term memory (STM) from sensory register, or, due to inadequate encoding or rehearsal , information have not been transferred from short-term memory (STM) to long-term memory(LTM). According to levels of processing theory, information is
not stored in LTM because rehearsal was not sufficiently elaborate. But forgetting does not occur only through loss of much information before being stored in LTM. Constructive processes at work, during the process of encoding, distort what is stored and people think they forget because memory
does not match events as they actually occurred. Thus, forgetting occurs due to following causes:
i) Information when not properly transferred from STM to LTM. This is explained by Trace Decay Theory and Displacement theory.
ii) Trouble in properly locating information already available in LTM. This is explained by Interference theory, Retrieval theory and Motivated forgetting.
iii) Forgetting occurred due to some changes of biological processes, which occur, with time. This results in amnesia, alzeihmer’s disease etc. This is explained by Biological Decay theory.
A) TRACE DECAY THEORY OF FORGETTING
This explanation of forgetting in short term memory assumes that memories leave a trace in the brain. A trace is some form of physical and/or chemical change in the nervous system. Trace decay theory states that forgetting occurs as a result of the automatic decay or fading of the memory trace. Trace decay theory focuses on time and the limited duration of short term memory. This theory suggests short term memory can only hold information for between 15 and 30 seconds unless it is rehearsed. After this time the information / trace decays and fades away. No one disputes the fact that memory tends to get worse the longer the delay between learning and recall, but there is disagreement about the explanation for this effect. According to the trace decay theory of forgetting, the events between learning and recall have no affect whatsoever on recall. It is the
length of time the information has to be retained that is important. The longer the time, the more the memory trace decays and as a consequence more information is forgotten. There are a number of methodological problems confronting researchers trying to investigate the trace decay theory.
One of the major problems is controlling for the events that occur between learning and recall. Clearly, in any real-life situation, the time between learning something and recalling it will be filled with all kinds of different events. This makes it very difficult to be sure that any forgetting which takes place is the result of decay rather than a consequence of the intervening events. Support for
the idea that forgetting from short-term memory might be the result of decay over time came from research carried out by Brown (1958) in the United Kingdom, and Peterson and Peterson (1959) in the United States. The technique they developed has become known as the Brown-Peterson task.
B) DISPLACEMENT FROM STM
Displacement seeks to explain forgetting in short term memory, and suggests it’s due to a lack of availability. Displacement theory provides a very simple explanation of forgetting. Because of its limited capacity, suggested by Miller to be 7+/- 2 items, STM can only hold small amounts of information. When STM is 'full', new information displaces or 'pushes out’ old information and takes its place. The old information which is displaced is forgotten in STM. Support for the view that displacement was responsible for the loss of information from short-term memory came from studies using the 'free-recall' method. A typical study would use the following procedure: participants listen to a list of words read out a steady rate, usually two seconds per word; they are then asked to recall as many of words as possible. They are free to recall the words in any order, hence the term 'free recall'. The findings from studies using free recall are fairly reliable and they produce similar results on each occasion.
C) INTERFERENCE THEORY
Memory can be disrupted or interfered with by what we have previously learned or by what we will learn in the future. This idea suggests that information in long term memory may become confused or combined with other information during encoding thus distorting or disrupting memories. Interference theory states that forgetting occurs because memories interfere with and disrupt one another, in other words forgetting occurs because of interference from other memories (Baddeley, 1999). There are two ways in which interference can cause forgetting:
1. Proactive interference (pro=forward) occurs when you cannot learn a new task because of an old task that had been learnt. When what we already know interferes with what we are currently learning – where old memories disrupt new memories.
2. Retroactive interference (retro=backward) occurs when you forget a previously learnt task due to the learning of a new task. In other words, later learning interferes with earlier learning - where new memories disrupt old memories. Proactive and retroactive Interference is thought to be more likely to occur where the memories are similar, for example: confusing old and new telephone numbers. Chandler (1989) stated that students who study similar subjects at the same time often experience interference. Previous learning can sometimes interfere with new learning (e.g. difficulties we have with foreign
currency when travelling abroad). Also new learning can sometimes cause confusion with previous learning. (Starting French may affect our memory of previously learned Spanish vocabulary). In the short term memory interference can occur in the form of distractions so that we don’t get the chance to process the information properly in the first place. (e.g. someone using a loud drill just
outside the door of the classroom.)
D) RETRIEVAL FAILURE THEORY
Retrieval failure is where the information is in long term memory, but cannot be accessed. Such
information is said to be available (i.e. it is still stored) but not accessible (i.e. it cannot be retrieved). It cannot be accessed because the retrieval cues are not present. When we store a new memory we also store information about the situation and these are known as retrieval cues. When we come into the same situation again, these retrieval cues can trigger the memory of the situation. Retrieval cues can be:
o External / Context - in the environment, e.g. smell, place etc.
o Internal / State- inside of us, e.g. physical, emotional, mood, drunk etc.
There is considerable evidence that information is more likely to be retrieved from long-term memory if appropriate retrieval cues are present. This evidence comes from both laboratory experiments and everyday experience. A retrieval cue is a hint or clue that can help retrieval.
Tulving (1974) argued that information would be more readily retrieved if the cues present when the information was encoded were also present when its retrieval is required. He suggested that information about the physical surroundings (external context) and about the physical or psychological state of the learner (internal context) is stored at the same time as information is
learned. Reinstating the state or context makes recall easier by providing relevant information,
while retrieval failure occurs when appropriate cues are not present. For example, when we are in a different context (i.e. situation) or state.
E) MOTIVATED FORGETTING
Sigmund Freud (1951) clearly stated the principle underlying motivated forgetting. Freud’s key concept in psychoanalysis, repression is the form of motivated forgetting. Repression refers to the tendency of people to have difficulty retrieving anxiety provoking or threatening information from
the long term memory. Perhaps this explains why people generally remember pleasant events more often than they do unpleasant ones; the unpleasant memories have been repressed.
F) BIOLOGICAL DECAY THEORY
Forgetting occurred due to some changes of biological processes, which occur, with time. This results in amnesia, alzeihmer’s disease etc. (Refer to Morgan & King Book, Pg no. 208-212).
4. Experiments in classical conditioning
Know the theory here
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