Principles of cognitive level of analysis - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Principles of cognitive level of analysis

1. Human beings are information processors and mental processes guide behavior.

2. The mind can be studied scientifically.

3. Cognitive process are influenced by social and cultural factors

Hardware and software

(biology)

(Experience and culture)Slide2

Schema theory

IB Learning Outcome: Evaluate schema theory.

Restaurant schema

A

schema is a cognitive framework or concept that helps organize and interpret information.Schema theory is about how knowledge is stored in the brain. Describes an organized pattern of thought or behavior, a mental structure of pre-conceived ideas, a framework representing some aspect of the world, or a system of organizing and perceiving new information.

DiMaggio (1997) suggests that schema are

Mental representations of knowledge (e.g. stereotypes and social roles).

Mechanisms that simplify cognition in the form of “cognitive shortcuts.”

Based in and formed by culture. Gender schemas are examples of culturally-based schemas. Slide3

Listen to the following story: “airline News Flash

The story will take less than 2 minutes

No questions or interruptionsYou will be asked 9 questions on the detailsSlide4

Schema and memory

IB Learning Outcome: Evaluate schema theory.

Schema affect how memory is stored and used.

People tend to remember meaning (gist), not the actual wording.

People use stored knowledge to make sense of incoming information. If the information is unclear or incomplete, they fill in the blanks or interpret using their schemas. This is called “reconstructive memory” and results in distortion.

People tend to ignore information that is not in line with their schemas (aschematic

information). This may lead to bias in information processing (e.g. stereotyping).

People tend to focus on information that is in line with their schemas. This may result in

confirmation bias

.

Memory is an active and reconstructive process, not a passive and reproductive process. Slide5

Schema theory

IB Learning Outcome: Evaluate schema theory.

One night two young men from

Egulac

went down to the river to hunt seals and while they were there it became foggy and calm. Then they heard war-cries, and they thought: "Maybe this is a war-party". They escaped to the shore, and hid behind a log. Now canoes came up, and they heard the noise of paddles, and saw one canoe coming up to them. There were five men in the canoe, and they said: "What do you think? We wish to take you along. We are going up the river to make war on the people." One of the young men said,"I have no arrows." "Arrows are in the canoe," they said. "I will not go along. I might be killed. My relatives do not know where I have gone. But you," he said, turning to the other, "may go with them." So one of the young men went, but the other returned home. And the warriors went on up the river to a town on the other side of Kalama. The people came down to the water and they began to fight, and many were killed. But presently the young man heard one of the warriors say, "Quick, let us go home: that Indian has been hit." Now he thought: "Oh, they are ghosts." He did not feel sick, but they said he had been shot. So the canoes went back to Egulac and the young man went ashore to his house and made a fire. And he told everybody and said: "Behold I accompanied the ghosts, and we went to fight. Many of our fellows were killed, and many of those who attacked us were killed. They said I was hit, and I did not feel sick." He told it all, and then he became quiet. When the sun rose he fell down. Something black came out of his mouth. His face became contorted. The people jumped up and cried. He was dead. Frederic bartlett’s war of ghosts (1932)Slide6

Schema and memory

IB Learning Outcome: Evaluate schema theory.

Bartlett aimed to investigate whether a people’s memory for a story is affected by previous knowledge (and culture) and the extent to which memory is reconstructive.

Bartlett used

serial reproduction, which is a technique where participants hear a story or see a drawing and are told to reproduce it after a short time and then to do so again repeatedly over a period of days, weeks, months or years. Bartlett told participants a Native American legend called The War of the Ghosts.

The participants in the study were British; for them the story was filled with unknown names and concepts, and the manner in which the story was developed was also foreign to them.

Frederic

bartlettSlide7

Schema and memory

IB Learning Outcome: Evaluate schema theory.

Bartlett found that participants changed the story as they tried to remember it - a process called

distortion. There were three patterns of distortion that took place. Assimilation: The story became more consistent with the participants’ own cultural expectations - that is, details were unconsciously changed to fit the norms of British culture.

Leveling: The story also became shorter with each retelling as participants omitted information which was seen as not important.

Sharpening

: Participants also tended to change the order of the story in order to make sense of it using terms more familiar to the culture of the participants. They also added detail and/or emotions.

The participants overall remembered the main themes in the story but changed the unfamiliar elements to match their own cultural expectations so that the story remained a coherent whole although changed.

Frederic

bartlettSlide8

Schema and memory

IB Learning Outcome: Evaluate schema theory.

Bartlett’s work has been criticized on methodological grounds.

He failed to ask his participants to be as accurate as possible.

He did not use standardized instructions. He tested in different environments.The experiment lacks ecological validity.Bartlett’s findings, however, have been confirmed in more well-controlled studies.

It remains one of the most important and foundational studies on memory.

Frederic

bartlettSlide9

Read Pages 67-69 in the Textbook

, and the Bartlett study in your Unit Reader

State and memorize the three Principals of the Cognitive Level of AnalysisDescribe each one in your own words

Read and TADRCE Bartlett (1932) in a separate section in your notebook.Slide10

Schema and memory

IB Learning Outcome: Evaluate schema theory.

Brewer and

Treyens

(1981) aimed to investigate whether people’s memory for objects in an office is influenced by existing schemas about what is expected in an office.30 college students were brought individually into a laboratory and were asked to wait in an office containing dozens of objects, including typical office objects (a typewriter, desk, coffeepot and calendar) and atypical objects (a skull, piece of bark, pair of pliers).Participants remained in the office for 35 seconds.When taken out of the office they were asked to write down as many items from the office as they could remember. Participants recalled an average of 88 items. Of those, 19 (22 percent) on average were items not located in the room. Books and a telephone, for instance, were often recalled, but both had deliberately been removed from the office.

Actual office from brewer and

treyens

(1981)

Brewer and

treymens

(1981)Slide11

Schema theory

IB Learning Outcome: Evaluate schema theory.

Participants read this passage:

If the balloons popped, the sound wouldn’t be able to carry since everything would be too far away from the correct floor. A closed window would also prevent the sound from carrying, since most buildings tend to be well insulated. Since the whole operation depends on a steady flow of electricity, a break in the middle of the wire would also cause problems. Of course, the fellow could shout, but the human voice is not loud enough to carry that far. An additional problem is that a string could break on the instrument. Then there could be no accompaniment to the message. It is clear that the best situation would involve less distance. Then there would be fewer potential problems. With face to face contact, the least number of things could go wrong.

After reading, participants were asked questions of their comprehension and recall.

Bransford

and

johnson

(1972)Slide12

Schema theory

IB Learning Outcome: Evaluate schema theory.

Some participant were shown the picture on the left before reading the paragraph.

They, too, were asked questions of their comprehension and recall.

Bransford

and

johnson

(1972)Slide13

Schema theory

IB Learning Outcome: Evaluate schema theory.

Bransford

and

johnson (1972) experiment IIThe procedure is actually quite simple. First you arrange things 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. It is difficult to foresee any end to the necessity for this task in the immediate future, 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, that is part of life.

Some participant were shown given the topic before reading the passage below. Others were given the topic after reading.

Both groups answered questions related to comprehension and recall.Slide14

Schema theory

IB Learning Outcome: Evaluate schema theory.

Roediger

and

mcdermott (1995)

Read six lists of 12 words to a group of students, and after each list asked them to recall as many words as possible from that list.

Following the recall of the sixth list the students were given a pen-and-paper recognition memory test: a list of words comprising 12 studied and 30

nonstudied

items (including the critical lures) on which the students rated how confident they were that each word had appeared on one of the previous lists.

The results showed that students recalled the critical lure 40 percent of the time, and that most were confident that the critical lures had actually appeared on the lists.Slide15

Schema theory

IB Learning Outcome: Evaluate schema theory.

Cohen (1993)

argued that schema theory is too hypothetical and vague to be useful. Schema, he argued, cannot be observed. Slide16

Reliability of memory

Research done over the last 40 years – much of it by Elizabeth Loftus – has strongly suggested that human memory is unreliable.

Several reasons have been implicated for this, including

Schema-driven failures of memory (all studies on schema theory, Loftus, 1995)

Language-driven failures and leading questions (Loftus and Palmer, 1974)Weapon Focus (Loftus, 1987) Anxiety of stressful situations (Loftus 2005)

When writing within this learning outcome, be sure to always mention the real-world importance of this research, particularly as it relates to eye-witness testimony.

IB Learning Outcome: Discuss, with reference to research studies, the extent to which memory is reliable

.

. Slide17

Weapon Focus (1987)

Loftus

had participants watch a video in which a young man approached the counter of a fast food (Taco Time) restaurant, presented an object to the cashier, accepted money and left.

In the control condition the man presented a check to the cashier, whereas in the weapon condition the man presented a gun.

Specialized equipment tracked the participant's gaze as they viewed the video to determine with what frequency (and for how long) they fixated upon the item of interest (the check or the gun). Relative to the control condition, participants in the weapon condition looked at the item the man was holding more frequently and for greater duration. Further, when tested for the details of the event, performance was slightly better for the control condition relative to the weapon condition - with the exception that participants in the weapon condition were more likely to recall what object the man was holding (a gun).

IB Learning Outcome: Discuss, with reference to research studies, the extent to which memory is reliable

.

. Slide18

Weapon Focus

Two meta-analyses –

Stebley

(1992) and Fawcett (2013) – support the existence of a weapon focus, both claiming that there is a slight, but significant, effect

. IB Learning Outcome: Discuss, with reference to research studies, the extent to which memory is reliable

.. Slide19

Lost in the mall (

loftus

1995)

IB Learning Outcome: Discuss, with reference to research studies, the extent to which memory is reliable

.. 24 participants were given four short narratives describing childhood events, all supposedly provided by family members. The participants were told they were participating in a study looking at memory for childhood events and were instructed to try to remember as much as possible about each of the four events. If they could not remember anything about the events they were instructed to be honest and say so.

Unbeknownst to the participants, one of the narratives was false. This narrative described the person being lost in a shopping mall at around the age of 5. According to the narrative the person was lost for an extended period of time before finally being rescued by an elderly person and reunited with his or her family. The narrative was based upon actual family shopping trips and incorporated plausible details provided by the relative such as the name of the mall they would usually go to when the person was a child and who would be likely to be present when they went shopping.

The participants first had to fill in what they remembered about each event in a booklet, and were then called in for two interviews where they were asked about details of the events.

In the study, 25% of the participants reported to be able to remember the false event. The memory for the false event was usually reported to be less clear than the true events, and people generally used more words to describe the true events than the false events.Slide20

Lost in the mall (

loftus

1995)

IB Learning Outcome: Discuss, with reference to research studies, the extent to which memory is reliable

.. At the end of the study when the participants were told that one of the four events was false, some people (5 out of 24) failed to identify the lost in the mall event as the false event and instead picked one of the true events to be false. Loftus calls this study "existence proof" for the phenomenon of false memory creation and suggests that the false memory is formed as a result of the suggested event (being lost in a mall) being incorporated into already existing memories of going to the mall. With the passage of time it becomes harder for people to differentiate between what actually happened and what was imagined and they make memory errors.

Loftus has been criticized for this study on several grounds

Many of her colleagues questioned the notion of planting false memories in participants, calling this unethical and a form of deception.

Loftus uses this study to criticize repressed memory, particularly claims of repressed memories of sexual abuse.

Crook (1999) questioned whether the “lost in the shopping mall” scenario can reliably be generalized to encompass a traumatic event such as sexual abuse. Slide21

Read Pages 81-85 in the Textbook

Answer the Questions and use references to studies for support:

“To What extent is Memory a reliable cognitive process?” What are the factors that can effect memory?Slide22

IB Learning Outcome: Evaluate two models or theories of one cognitive process with reference to research studies

.

We will use memory as our cognitive process.

The two models of memory we will use are the

Multistore Model of Memory (Atkinson and Shiffrin, 1968) and Levels of Processing Theory (Craik

and Lockhart, 1972).We must be familiar with the specifics of each theory, supporting studies for each (some we already know) and criticism for each.

Remember that we are dealing with models and theories that, to some extent, have been supported with empirical research.

Our objective in writing on this learning outcome is to use that research to evaluate each theory or model.

Models of memory

A few ideas…

Structure of essaySlide23

Multistore

model of memory

Atkinson and

Shiffrin

(1968) argue that humans have three (multiple) memory stores: sensory store, short-term store, long-term store. Each store has different qualities in different areas.

Duration

– length information is stored (how long).Capacity – volume of information stored (how much).

Coding

– kinds of information stored (what).

IB Learning Outcome: Evaluate two models or theories of one cognitive process with reference to research studies

.Slide24

Multistore

model of memory

The sensory store has a

unlimited capacity, and they are unique to a specific sense; one sensory store for a specific sense.

Billions of bits of information, each potentially able to become a long-term memory, confronts in any give second, minute, etc.Visual information is stored in iconic memory. Auditory information is stored in echoic memory

. Information in the sensory stores decays rapidly: iconic memory lasts no more than a second; echoic memory no more than four seconds.

In order for information to be transferred from the sensory store to the short-term store attention must be given.

IB Learning Outcome: Evaluate two models or theories of one cognitive process with reference to research studies

.Slide25

Multistore

model of memory

Short-term memory (STM) has a limited capacity and duration.

On average, it can only hold seven units of information at a time for a maximum of 30 seconds. (Miller, 1956)

The control process of rehearsal maintains information in the STM.Enough rehearsal can result in the transfer of information from the STM to the long-term memory (LTM) store.LTM has an unlimited capacity and duration. Information moved from LTM to STM undergoes the control process of retrieval.

IB Learning Outcome: Evaluate two models or theories of one cognitive process with reference to research studies

.Slide26

Peterson and Peterson (1959)

After

giving participants consonant triplets (e.g. KFG, RRS) for memorization, Peterson and Peterson (1959) had the participants count backwards in threes from a given number. Retrieval of the triplets was poorer after counting backwards. They concluded that by retrieval is poor when rehearsal is prevented.

Glanzer

and Cunitz (1966)Glanzer and Cunitz

presented two groups of participants with the same list of words. One group recalled the words immediately after presentation, while the other group recalled the words after waiting 30 seconds. These participants had to count backwards in threes, which prevented rehearsal and caused the recency

effect to disappear. Both groups could free recall the words in any order.The words at the end of the list are only remembered if recalled first and tested immediately. Delaying recall by 30 seconds prevented the

recency

effect.

IB Learning Outcome: Evaluate two models or theories of one cognitive process with reference to research studies

.

Studies supporting

Multistore

model of memorySlide27

Multistore

model of memory

Strengths

MSM is supported by studies of people who have suffered amnesia, particularly HM.

Primacy and Recency Effects are supported by the MSM and are supported by research (Murdock, 1962)The model itself has been influential and generated other important, clarifying research. WeaknessesIt oversimplifies the complexity of memory.

Baddley and Hitch’s Working Memory Model (1974) suggests that memory short-term memory is not simply one thing; it, in fact, has many components (see next slide).

Different types of memory have been identified: episodic (memories of events), procedural (how to do things) and semantic (general knowledge).

MSM suggests that rehearsal promotes the transfer of information from STM to LTM. This does not

necessarily account

for remembering how to swim, ride a bike, etc.

IB Learning Outcome: Evaluate two models or theories of one cognitive process with reference to research studies

.

Evaluation of

Multistore

model of memorySlide28

Levels of processing theory

Craik

and Lockhart (1972) were critical of the MSM, and introduced their the own theory of memory, the

Levels of Processing Theory (LOP).

Unlike MSM, LOP does not rely on short and long-term models of memory. LOP claims that memory is contingent on the way information is processed.Information can be processed at the structural level (appearance

),the phonological level (sound), or the sematic level (meaning).

Processing of words ranges from shallow

to deep, in the same order as above. This is referred

to as

depth of processing.

IB Learning Outcome: Evaluate two models or theories of one cognitive process with reference to research studies

.Slide29

Levels of processing theory

Craik

defined depth as “the meaningfulness extracted from the stimulus rather than in terms of the number of analyses performed upon it.”

Information processed at a deeper level is more likely to be remembered; it creates a longer-lasting memory.

Memory, therefore, is a by-product of perception. Several studies support the LOP. Craik and Tulving (1975) gave participants questions that required them to process words at a structural level, phonological level and a sematic level.

When asked to identify words they had seen from a list of words, the participants were more likely to recognize ones processed at the sematic level. This is known as a memory recognition test.

IB Learning Outcome: Evaluate two models or theories of one cognitive process with reference to research studies

.Slide30

Levels of processing theory

Strengths

At the most basic level there is little disagreement about the core principles of LOP: Deeper processing leads to better memory retention.

It suggests than long-term memory is more complex than what was put forward in the MSM.

Led to important, clarifying research. WeaknessesProblems remain about measuring depth of processing. There is no convincing measure of depth of processing. Information that has a greater depth takes longer to process. Depth, therefore, cannot be divorced from time.Research has shown that sometimes the semantic level of processing is not necessarily the deepest. If is word is encoded phonologically, than a phonological reminder works best.

IB Learning Outcome: Evaluate two models or theories of one cognitive process with reference to research studies

.

Evaluation of levels of processing theorySlide31

Read Pages 69-76 in the Textbook

Answer the Questions and use references to studies for support:

Describe memory as related to schema theory (with reference to studies)Describe the Working Memory Model and its systemsSlide32

1

Biological factors and memory

IB Learning Outcome: Explain how biological factors affect one cognitive process.

A few thoughts…

Use memory as the cognitive process; use the hippocampus and/cortisol and/or acetylcholine as the biological factors. HM (Milner, 1957; Corkin 1997) works well here for the hippocampus, as does Maguire (2000).Newcomer (1999) and Meany et al (1998) work well for cortisol, though we will add new studies on this topic.Martinez and Kessner (1992) works well for acetylcholine. Slide33

Biological Factors and Memory

Remember the three Principals of the CLOA:

1. Human beings are information processors and mental processes guide behavior. 2. The mind can be studied scientifically.

3. Cognitive process are influenced by social and cultural factors

We’ll look at: Brain structures affected by experiences (Hippocampi in Taxi Drivers)Hormones released in the brain affect memory (Cortisol and recall)Technology is used to study cognitive processes scientificallySlide34

Maguire (2000)

Aim: To investigate whether changes (plasticity) could be detected in the brains of London taxi drivers and to further investigate the functions of the hippocampus in spatial memory.

16 healthy, right handed male licensed taxi drivers

Mean age 44 (range 32-62 years)

All participants licensed London taxi drivers for more than one and a half years and had completed “The Knowledge” course and exam.Control group of 16 non-taxi drivers, matched on age range of taxi drivers.Structural MRI images were taken of their brains.IB Learning Outcome: Explain how biological factors affect one cognitive process.Slide35

Maguire (2000)

Taxi drivers showed a greater volume in their hippocampi compared to the control group. This was measured using a method that counted scaled and counted pixels on the MRI scans.

Hippocampus:

The hippocampus has a unique shape, similar to that of a horseshoe. It not only assists with the storage of long term memories, but is also responsible for the memory of the location of objects or people.

IB Learning Outcome: Explain how biological factors affect one cognitive process.The Quick FactsLocation:  Part of the Limbic system, in each temporal lobeFunction: Responsible for processing of long term memory and emotional responses Slide36

1

Cortisol

Cortisol is a

hormone (glucocorticoid) produced in the adrenal gland and regulates your body’s response to stress.

Increases sugars (glucose) in the bloodstream, enhances your brain's use of glucose and increases the availability of substances that repair tissues.Curbs functions that would be nonessential or detrimental in a fight-or-flight situation. It alters immune system responses and suppresses the digestive system, the reproductive system and growth processes. After a threat has passed, cortisol levels dissipate.IB Learning Outcome: Explain how biological factors affect one cognitive process.Slide37

1

Cortisol

When threats (real or perceived) persist the HPA axis stays activated, causing elevated (and dangerous) levels of cortisol.

Prolonged exposure to elevated cortisol is associated with, anxiety, depression digestive problems, heart disease, sleep problems, weight gain, altered levels of neurotransmitters (serotonin and dopamine), memory and concentration impairment, decreased volume of hippocampus and

epigenetic changes.IB Learning Outcome: Explain how biological factors affect one cognitive process.Slide38

1

Newcomer (1999)

51 healthy participants age 18-30 in a double-blind experiment over four days.

Three groups:

Group One: Received 160mg tablet of cortisol each day. Researchers claim that this is the equivalent of the amount of blood cortisol after a major stressful event. Group Two: Received 40mg tablet of cortisol each day. Researchers claim that this is the equivalent of the amount of blood cortisol after a minor stressful event.Group Three: Receive a placebo tablet. Method: All participants were asked to listen to and recall parts of a prose paragraph, a task that tested their verbal declarative memory. It had already been determined that this type of memory was affected by long-term stress. Participants did not remain in the lab for all four days. Results: The 160mg group showed significantly poorer recall over four days when compared to the other two groups. The 40mg group showed slightly poorer recall when compared to the placebo group. IB Learning Outcome: Explain how biological factors affect one cognitive process.Slide39

1

Meaney

et al. (1988)

Studies two groups of rats to determine the effect of early exposure to high

glucocorticoids levels on memory in old age. One group was taken from their mothers immediately after birth and not cared for (groomed, fed) as they ordinarily would have been. (Non-handled) Another group was cared for normally. (Handled)The non-handled rats secreted higher levels of glucocorticoids both early on in the study and two years later.The two groups were “put in a pool of milky water” and timed and tracked as they sought a path to a platform outside of the water. Each rat made several attempts.On average non-handled rats demonstrated a more circuitous route to the platform. Post-mortem analysis revealed that non-handled rats showed significant hippocampal neural loss compare to handled rats. This also correlates with lower levels of acetylcholine. IB Learning Outcome: Explain how biological factors affect one cognitive process.Slide40

Your Assignment

Read Pgs. 86-87.

Outline the ways technology is used in studying cognitive processes.Read and take notes on pgs. 88-89. Outline in your journal

LeDoux’s model of emotion. Also, explain how experiential, cognitive and biological factors interact. (Draw a model and narrate the process).

Be sure to include notes on the work of Lazarus and Folkman. IB Learning Outcome: Explain how biological factors affect one cognitive process.Slide41

Your HW

TADRCE

Meaney et al (1998) and Newcomer et al (1990)Create an outline for an ERQ addressing the IB Learning Outcome:

Explain how biological factors affect one cognitive process.

You can also use HM for the above prompt.Slide42

1

Biology and emotion

Psychologist have often been interested in the interaction between our physiological state and the emotions that we experience.

The big question in the study of emotion and cognition is one of order. Does the physiological process cause the emotion or does the physiological process follow a subjective response to environmental stimuli.

The physiological differences between different emotions are difficult to discern. IB Learning Outcome: To what extent do cognitive and biological factors interact in emotion ?Fear or excitement?Slide43

1

Biology and emotion

Autonomic nervous system arousal is at the foundation of many emotions – joy, fear, anger.

There are some differences in the hormone/neurotransmitter secretions associated with different emotions (i.e. adrenaline v. oxytocin v. dopamine)

The physiological similarities of emotions have led researchers to seek an additional factor that makes people experience different emotions. IB Learning Outcome: To what extent do cognitive and biological factors interact in emotion ?Fear or excitement?Slide44

1

Schachter

and singer (1962)

Schachter

and Singer (1962) argued that determining specific emotions is a function of two factors: physiological arousal and interpretation (labeling) of that arousal. IB Learning Outcome: To what extent do cognitive and biological factors interact in emotion ?Slide45

1

Schachter

and singer (1962)

Environmental context, in part, determines emotion; people search the immediate environment for emotionally relevant cues to label and interpret unexplained physiological arousal.

We can have arousal without emotion, but we cannot have an emotion without arousal.IB Learning Outcome: To what extent do cognitive and biological factors interact in emotion ?Slide46

1

Dutton and

aron

(1974)

Dutton and Aron (1974) conducted one of the most famous experiments using the misattribution of arousal paradigm. In this experiment, Dutton and Aron had an attractive female experimenter stand at the end of either a scary bridge (which presumably increased participants’ arousal) or a safer bridge. After male participants walked across either bridge, the female experimenter asked them to fill out a survey and gave them her phone number to call if they had any further questions. The dependent variable was to see which group of men was more likely to call the woman. IB Learning Outcome: To what extent do cognitive and biological factors interact in emotion ?Slide47

1

Dutton and

aron

(1974)

The men who walked across the scary (and arousing) bridge were more likely to call the woman, most likely because they misattributed their arousal from the bridge for arousal (and attraction) for the woman.On a thematic apperception test (TAT), men in the fear condition were more likely to write stories with sexual content. IB Learning Outcome: To what extent do cognitive and biological factors interact in emotion ?Slide48

1

Ledoux

(1997)

Ledoux

(1997) offers suggests that fear flows to two pathways in the brain: one conscious rational (the high road; cortex) and one unconscious and irrational (the low road; amygdala).Ledoux writes of being at the zoo and seeing a snake in a glass cage. We know consciously that we are safe and the snake is contained. However, if the snake strikes at the side of the cage, we still jump back in a state of arousal. Moments later we can laugh at ourselves and wonder why did such a seemingly silly thing. Here the high road process knows we are safe but the low road processing decides to play it safe anyway. We can all think of times when we have jumped in fear of a stimulus only to find that there is “nothing to be afraid of.”IB Learning Outcome: To what extent do cognitive and biological factors interact in emotion?Slide49

1

Ledoux

(1997)

In his 1997 experiment rats were exposed to a tone and a mild shock at the same time. Later, at the sound of the tone by itself, they’d freeze. They had been conditioned to fear the sound.

IB Learning Outcome: To what extent do cognitive and biological factors interact in emotion ?Slide50

1

Ledoux

(1997)

Ledoux

was interested in understanding the pairing of memory and the fear response.By using tracer chemicals that stain neurons and thus show where they branch, Ledoux found a pathway from the ear to the thalamus that led directly to the amygdalaWhen this pathway is cut, rats could not be conditioned to fear a sounds.IB Learning Outcome: To what extent do cognitive and biological factors interact in emotion ?Slide51

1

Ledoux

(1997)

Panic disorder, phobias and PTSD all have some association with conditioned fear. “Undoing” this conditioned response is the basis of

exposure therapy, an effective treatment for anxiety disorders.Ledoux suggests that a second, slower pathway leads from the thalamus to cortex, allowing for conscious processing. Ledoux’s research indicates that when rats have a damaged frontal lobe, unlearning a fear becomes very difficult, supporting the “low road and high road” theory. IB Learning Outcome: To what extent do cognitive and biological factors interact in emotion ?Slide52

1

Feinstein (2011)

SM, a normal 44-year old women from Iowa, has bilateral

amgydala

lesions, the result of a progressive neurological disease. SM took part in a case study where she was placed in common fear-inducing environments, including exposure to live snakes and spiders, a tour of a haunted house, and view of emotionally films. SM showed little to no fear response in these situations. Additionally, her self-reports on anxiety on several commonly used anxiety inventories were below average. IB Learning Outcome: To what extent do cognitive and biological factors interact in emotion ?Case study of smSlide53

1

Feinstein (2011)

SM claims that, as a young person, she can remember having fear responses.

As an adult, she had been in several commonly fear-inducing situations (she has been held up at knife point and at gun point, she was once physically accosted by a woman twice her size, she was nearly killed in an act of domestic violence, and on more than one occasion she has been explicitly threatened with death).

In none of these situations, did SM claim to have a “common” fear response. IB Learning Outcome: To what extent do cognitive and biological factors interact in emotion ?Case study of smSlide54

1

Feinstein (2013)

IB Learning Outcome:

To what extent do cognitive and biological factors interact in emotion ?

Case study of smFeinstein (2013) found that all three individual who lacked amygdale reported symptoms of fear, even panic, after breathing in 35 percent CO2. These results indicate that the amygdala is not required for fear and panic, and make an important distinction between fear triggered by external threats from the environment versus fear triggered by internally by CO2.Slide55

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Damasio

(2000)

IB Learning Outcome:

To what extent do cognitive and biological factors interact in emotion?Antonio Damasio studies the biological nature of consciousness, particularly the sense of a self—the feeling that there is a “you” inside you—arises in human beings. Damasio believes this experience of the self is generated from a combination of body sensations and self-referential thoughts. For example, emotions, feelings, and memories all contribute to the maintenance of an ongoing sense of selfhood. He also argues that emotions, usually seen as an impediment, are a crucial component of decision making, and that all decisions are based on emotional evaluations.He distinguishes between emotions (physiological reactions to external stimuli) and feelings (conscious interpretations of emotions). Antonio DamasioSlide56

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Damasio

(2000)

IB Learning Outcome:

To what extent do cognitive and biological factors interact in emotion?Fear, for instance, is a useful survival mechanism, as it allows animals to react quickly to possible danger. The emotional memory of experience (stored in the amygdala) also aids survival, as it encourages avoidance. Normally, humans can control irrational fear reactions. In some cases it goes malfunctions, resulting in PTSD, phobia or panic disorder. Damage to the amygdala may endanger survival. Antonio DamasioSlide57

Your Assignment

Read and take notes on Pgs. 88-90 in your psychology text.

Define in your own words:The definition and 3 components of emotion.Fight or Flight

LeDoux’s biological pathways and why these are important.Problem- and emotion-focused coping.TADRCE

Schachter & Singer (1962) and outline LazarusWrite the outline for the ERQ: Contrast two different ways in which emotion and cognition interact. Use Schacter and Singer and LaDoux or Lazarus and applicable studiesSlide58

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Biology and emotion

IB Learning Outcome:

To what extent do cognitive and biological factors interact in emotion?

Thoughts on this learning outcome…There are a lot of places to take this learning outcome. Keep these studies and concepts in mind:Sactcher and Singer’s Two-Factor Theory (1962) Dutton and Aron (1972)LeDoux’s Low Road High Road (1996)Case Study of SM (Feinstein, 2011 and 2013)Also remember Ekman’s study on the universality of emotions (1972). This suggests that emotions are biological, but facial expressions are not biological factors.