Psychology

• Sense of smell.
• Has the most direct route to the brain and is processed in the prefrontal cortex which is related to feeling and memory.

• Alzheimer’s disease
• Forms of dementia
• Rapid cognitive decline

• Linked to a deteriorating sense of smell
• Wilson et al (2007)
• Gave older adults (age 80)a smell identification test
• Followed for 5 years
• Lowest quarter had 50% higher risk of cognitive
• impairment than those in the top quarter

• Sweet
• Sour
• Bitter
• Salty
• Umami

Mothers would drink a certain drink 2 months before and after birth

• 1st group the mother drank carrot juice before and water after
• 2nd group mother drank carrot juice before and carrot juice after
• 3rd group drank water before and water after
• 4th group drank water before and water after.

The results of the infant taste test were that the mothers who drank carrot juice at either point had infants who preferred carrots juice as opposed to the mothers who only drank water.

The way in which the eye and brain organize visual sensations. The whole Gesalt Psychology

• Figure ground
• Continuity
• Proximity
• Similarity
• Closure

• When we percieve a visual stimulus, part of what we see is the center of our attention, the figure, and the rest is in the indistinct ground. But the figure and ground can be reversed.
• 

Lines and patterns that follow a smooth contour are perceived ad a single unit.

Things that are close together usually perceived as belonging together.

Similar things are usually perceived as being related.

Incomplete figures of familiar things tend to be perceived as complete wholes.

The tendency for perception of objects to remain relatively unchanged in spite of changes in raw sensations.

• Brightness constancy
• Color constancy
• Size constancy
• Shape constancy

our changing perception corresponds to the unchanging physical properties of the object than to the changing sensory information about its brightness.

ie a piece of white paper moving from a dimy lit room to a brightly lit room.

colors do not change as much in spite of the different lighting conditions.

Familiar objects do not change in perceived size at different distances.

Perceiving and object as a constant shape even though it may look different form different angles.

Retina of our eyes is two dimensional but we see depth using cues.

• (Can be seen with one eye only)
• Texture gradient
• Aerial perspective
• Linear perspective
• Superposition
• Speed of movement
• Accommadation
• Shadowing
• Vertical position

The texture of an object is larger and more visible up close and smaller when far away. on curved surfaces the elements of texture are more slanted when the surface does not squarely face us.

• Things closer to converging point grow closer together as they are farther away from us.
• 

Closer objects tend to be partially in front of or partially cover up more distant objects

The shadows cast by objects and the highlights of reflected light suggest their depths

objects further away appear to move across a filed of vision more slowly than objects closer

water vapor and polution give distant objects,bluish, hazy appearance compared with nearby objects

the shape of the lenses of the eye must change to focus the visual image on the retina from the stimuli that are differenty distances from the eye. only for short distances 4feet.

when objects are on the ground, the farther they appear to be below the horizon the closer the appear to us. for objects in the air the farther the appear to be above the horizon the closer they appear to us.

A model of memory that says we store memory in 3 separate but linked memories

• It holds an exact image of each sensory experience until it can be fully processed.
• visual lasts for 1/4 of a sec
• Auditory last for 1/4 sec
• an echo is heard for 4 sec

• Information from sensory register is transfered.
• Magic number 7+
• Repeating information over and over again until you need it.
• units of memory.

• To recall information we search
• Frontal loves of the cerebral cortext

• Information kept for long periods of time.
• It is first integrated in the hippocampus and then transferred to the areas of the cerebral cortex involved in language and perception for permanent storage.

• To search for things in long term memory retrieve it by using indexed cues.
• To search STM you use

• In STM we recall things we ( saw, did,taste,touched or hears) mostly (acoustic).
• LTM stores Meaning

• Procedural Memory
• Semantic memory
• Episodic memory

Memory associated with a how to do something

Meaning of what took place

The events and details of what happened

It can be easily described Semantic and episodic memory. I.e Semantic "I know what a guitar is"Episodic " I remember my first guitar"

The organization of memory chracterised as an associative network. Memories are associated or linked together, through experience

• In recall method you have to recall information with few if any cues
• In recognition method you are asked to recognize correct information from alternatives
• In relearn you learn inforamtion previouls memorized if it takes less time to learn then information was not completely lost

We can remember better in recognition than in recall method because recognition provides more cues.

The immediate recall of the items first listed in a fised order is often better for items in the beginning and end than of the list for those in the middle

Involves greater elaboration and you create more association between a new memory and existing memory which sends it to LTM

• Example
• Soft
• Swift
• Warm
• Sharp
• Witty
• Bright
• Clean
• beautiful

• Looking at these words for only 5 secs and then trying to remember the ones with an I in it.
• less likely to remember them.

Memories not used fade gradually over time

• other memories interfere with the retrieval of what you are trying to recall. Because the memories are similar with the one you are trying to recall.
• ie. trying to remember numbers, and more numbers

When trying to recall new information interefrence created by memories from prior learning

Interference created from things recently learned and trying to remember old memories.

Information stored in LTM sometimes changes over time to become more consistent with our beliefs knowledge and expectations

The LTM stores meaning better than episodic details. We remember the gist of the information and unknowingly invent details to be consistent with the general idea of memory.

Forgettin that is believed to be based on the upsetting or threatening nature of the information that is forgotten.

• Remembering sometihing that did not happen, or that occurred in a way that was substantially different form the memory of the event.
• eg
• Bed Doze
• Rest Slumber
• Awake Snore
• tired nap
• dream peace

And then saying that sleep was one of the words

• Sometimes emotional arousals does not always lead to poor memory, sometimes it has little effect and sometimes it improves memory.
• You remember Positive then Negative then Neutral words

Vivid memory of a particular event

Memory Disorder have difficulty remembering information

Inability to store new information in ling term memory

Inability to retrieve old long term memories. begining from the start of the disorder

• It is caused by chronic alcoholics
• They engage in confabulation they make up things when they can not remember soemthing.

Learning ---> Brain change -engram -Recent finding: same neurons fire when you remember Blood sugar increases consolidation of memory ( so eating helps you remember)

How is eyewitness testimony affected by stereotypes, prejudices