CLOA Studies

Front

Landry and Bartlling (2011)

Memory Models ( WMM)

Back

Investigated the Working Memory Model by examining the impact of articulatory suppression on memory recall. They found that participants in the experimental group, who were instructed to perform articulatory suppression while attempting to remember a list of letters, had significantly lower recall accuracy (45%) compared to the control group (76%) who did not suppress articulation. This supports the Working Memory Model, suggesting that articulatory suppression interferes with rehearsal in the phonological loop, making it harder to remember information.

Front

Milner (1966)

Models of memory (Multi-Store Model)

(Other prompts where you could use this study: Research methods

Techniques used to study the brain.

Localization of function)

Back

• Damage to the hippocampus, a key structure for long-term memory formation, did not affect short-term memory function. This suggests that STM and LTM are distinct and not dependent on the same brain regions. 

• HM could still form new procedural memories (like learning a new motor skill through practice) despite his inability to form new declarative memories (like remembering specific events or facts). This further supports the idea that different types of long-term memory are stored in different areas of the brain, which the Multi-Store Model, while not as detailed as other models, acknowledges. 

Front

Brewer & Treyens (1981)

Theories of one cognitive process

Schema theory

Reconstructive memory

Back

Investigated how people's prior knowledge (schemata) influences their memory of a location. Participants were briefly in an office, then tested on their recall and recognition of objects in the room. The study showed that memory for objects was related to schema expectancy (what was expected to be in an office) and saliency (how noticeable the object was). Participants more accurately remembered objects that were both expected and salient. 

Front

Tversky and Kahneman (1986)

Back

Participants were asked to make a decision between one of two options in a hypothetical scenario where they were choosing how to respond to the outbreak of a virulent disease. For some of the participants, the information was framed positively while for others it was framed negatively.

The study found that demonstrating that how a situation is presented impacts people's choices, even if the underlying information remains the same. Their work highlighted that people are not always rational and are susceptible to the way options are framed.

Front

Wason 1968

Thinking and decision making models

Intuitive vs rational thinking

Back

Investigated how people reason about conditional sentences. Participants were presented with four cards, each with a letter on one side and a number on the other, and a rule like "if a card has a vowel on one side, then it has an even number on the other side." The task was to choose which cards to turn over to test the rule. The study found that people often struggle with falsification, meaning they frequently fail to select the card that could disprove the rule.

This has been used to support the dual process model of thinking, which suggests that people have both intuitive (System 1) and rational (System 2) thinking systems. The task suggests that System 1 may lead to errors in reasoning, as it is faster and less analytical than System 2.

Front

Neisser & Harsch (1992)

To what extent is one cognitive process reliable?

Back

Looked at "flashbulb memories," focusing on participants' memory of the Challenger Space Shuttle disaster. They administered a questionnaire to participants immediately after the event, and again 3 years later, to assess the accuracy and consistency of their recollections. The study revealed that participants' memories were significantly less accurate than initially recalled, suggesting that "flashbulb memories" are not as reliable as previously believed. 

Front

Loftus and Pickrell (1995)

Discuss ethical considerations

To what extent is one cognitive process reliable?

Discuss reconstructive memory.

Back

Explored the possibility of forming false memories through suggestion. The study found that about 25% of participants recalled a false memory of getting lost in a shopping mall as a child, even though it didn't actually happen.

The study demonstrated that memory is not a fixed record but a process of reconstruction influenced by external suggestions.

Front

Sharot et al 2007

Techniques for studying the brain and behavior.

Localization of function.

And for the cognitive approach:

One theory of how emotion may affect one cognitive process

Back

Investigated the neural basis of flashbulb memories, specifically those associated with the 9/11 terrorist attacks. They found that individuals closer to the World Trade Center at the time of the attacks exhibited more selective amygdala activation when recalling 9/11 memories compared to those further away, suggesting a stronger link between close personal experience and the neural mechanisms underlying vivid emotional memories.