250 likes | 397 Views
Knowledge. information that is gained and retained what someone has acquired and learned organized in some way into our memory . Semantic Organization. put items that are related in some way into a cluster or a group.
E N D
Knowledge • information that is gained and retained • what someone has acquired and learned • organized in some way into our memory
Semantic Organization • put items that are related in some way into a cluster or a group. • Cognitive Models - assume that detailed congitive structures represent the way semantic info is organized in memory
Semantic Memory: Cognitive Models • Set-theoretical model • semantic feature-comparison model • network models • propositional networks
How to study semantic memory • Association Tasks: • Free association: Used by Freud to study personality, but may tell us more about the structure of knowledge. • Category association: People are asked to give associates to a category name. • fruit: _________ • fruit: a ________
How to study semantic memory • Tip of the tongue (TOT): • A sensation we have when we are confident we know a word we are searching for, but we are unable to recall it • Brown & McNeill (1966) research 1.read definitions of infrequent words 2.subjects asked to raise hands when they had a TOT 3.subjects then asked: What is a similar word? What does the word sound like? How many syllables?What is the word’s first letter? 4.Results: subjects often could supply partial information
How to study semantic memory • Sentence verification task: Present sentence: "Is a robin a bird?" Measure RT to correctly respond • Category verification task: bird-robin ("yes") bird-tree ("no") Measure RT to correctly respond
How to study semantic memory • Lexical Decision (word/non word) Task: Present a word (brain) or a non-word (shup). Ask subjects to decide, as quickly as possible, if the item is a word. RT tells us how long it takes subjects to search their mental dictionary.
Set-theoretical model • Concepts in memory are collections (sets) of info. • Sets include: • instances of a category • category car has instances of Volkswagon, Saab, Mercedes,… • attributes or properties of a category • category car has properties of tires, engine, trunk, metal, windshield…
Set-theoretical model • Retrieval is a function of verification • must search through 2 or more “sets” to find overlapping information • more overlap = quicker decisions
Feature Comparison Model • Basic Assumptions • Concepts are represented as a set of features, similar to Set-Theoretical model • unlike previous model, differentiates between: 1. Defining features (essential components) 2. Characteristic features (accidental, not always present) • verification is based more on defining features
Feature Comparison Model • Features are ordered according to "definingness" characteristic featuresdefining features birds fly birds have wings birds sing birds have feathers • Relations between concepts computed based on shared features
Feature Comparison Model Predictions: 1. Category size effect: A robin is a bird. vs. A robin is an animal. A dog is mammal. vs. A dog is an animal. 2. Typicality effects A robin is a bird. vs. A penguin is a bird. 3. Quick rejection of false sentences: A bat is a bird vs. A pencil is a bird
Feature Comparison Model • Problems: 1.Defining Features? 2.Semantic Priming? 3.Quick rejection of false sentences? people are trees a bat is a bird a dog is a cat
Network Models • Hierarchical Network Model -Collins and Quillian - early work • Spreading Activation Theory - Collins and Loftus
Hierarchical-Network Model • Representational Assumptions • hierarchically organization of concepts • cognitive economy: properties are stored at the most general, or highest level possible. • Processing Assumptions: • intersection search: enter the network at two concepts, and search for a connection. • type of connection determines yes/no response
Hierarchical-Network Model • Tests of the model: • Category-Size Effect: compare: A robin is a bird. to: A robin is an animal. • Cognitive Economy: compare: A bird has feathers to: A bird has skin.
Hierarchical-Network Model • Challenges to the Hierarchical Assumption: 1) reversals of the category size effect A dog is a mammal vs. A dog is an animal. 2) typicality effects: A robin is a bird. vs. An ostrich is a bird. • Challenges to Cognitive Economy • Negative sentence RT’s not predicted by the model
Spreading Activation • New assumptions: 1.Not hierarchical: length of links represent degree of relatedness. Search time depends on link length 2.Spreading Activation: retrieval (activation) of one of the links lead to partial activation of connected nodes. Degree of activation decreases with the distance. 3.Activation decreases with time.
Spreading Activation • New predictions: • Typicality effects: • A robin is a bird. vs. A chicken is a bird. • Semantic Priming: type of trial prime target RT related prime bread butter 600 unrelated prime nurse butter 670
Propositional Network Models • HAM and the representation of Knowledge (Human Associatve Memory) • ACT (Adaptive Control of Thought