3 Memory

1.1 Kinds of Memory

Memory can be categorized into different types based on the nature of the information stored and the
processes involved. Understanding these distinctions is crucial for comprehending how memory functions
in our daily lives.

1.1.1 Explicit Memory

Explicit memory, also referred to as declarative memory, is memory for specific information. Things that
are explicit are clear, or clearly stated or explained. The term "declarative" indicates that these memories
state or reveal specific information, which may be autobiographical or refer to general knowledge.

There are two kinds of explicit memories: episodic and semantic. They are identified according to the
type of information they hold.

Episodic Memory (I Remember...)

Episodic memories are memories of things that happen to us or take place in our presence, also known
as autobiographical memory. Your memories of what you ate for breakfast and what your professor said in
class today are episodic memories. We tend to use the phrase “I remember…” when referring to episodic
memories, as in “I remember the blizzard of 2004.”

Semantic Memory (I Know...)

General knowledge is referred to as semantic memory. Semantics concerns meanings. You can "know"
that the Earth orbits the Sun without having personally observed it. You "know" who authored “Hamlet”,
even though you weren't there to witness it. These are examples of semantic memory.

Your future recollection that there are several memory systems is more likely to be semantic than
episodic. You are more likely to "know" that there are several types of memory than to recall where you
were and how you were sitting. We are more likely to say “I know…” in reference to semantic memories,
as in “I know about the blizzard of 1898.” Put another way, you may remember that you emailed a friend,
but you know that Shakespeare wrote “Hamlet”.

1.1.2 Implicit Memory

Implicit memory, also referred to as nondeclarative memory, is memory of how to perform a task. It
involves doing something, like riding a bike, accessing your cellphone contacts list, and texting a message.
Implicit memories are suggested (or implied) but not plainly stated or verbally expressed. Implicit
memories are illustrated by the things that people do but not by the things they state clearly. They involve
procedures and skills, both cognitive and physical, and are also referred to as procedural or skill
memories.

Implicit memories can endure even when we have not used them for years. Getting to class "by habit"
without paying attention to landmarks or directions is another instance of implicit memory. If someone
asked you what 2 times 2 is, the number 4 would probably "pop" into mind without conscious calculation.
After repeated exposure, our memory of them becomes automatic or implicit. We need not focus on them
to use them.

Your memory of the alphabet or multiplication tables results from repetition that makes associations
automatic, a phenomenon referred to as priming. Priming allows people to carry out mental tasks with
less neural activity. Years of priming help people make complete words out of the following word
fragments. Even though the cues in the following fragments are limited, you might make them into words:

PYGY. . . . .TXT. . . . .BUFL

Sample answers are “pygmy,” “text,” and “buffalo.”

An example illustrating implicit memory involves a woman with amnesia who was found wandering the
streets without identification. She couldn't remember who she was or provide any phone numbers when
asked. Despite not being able to recall her mother's name or phone number explicitly, she could still dial
her mother's number out of habit. This ability suggests that she had been primed by dialing the number
many times. Implicit memory thus reveals the effects of experience even when we are not consciously
trying to recall information.

1.1.3 Retrospective Memory vs. Prospective Memory

Retrospective memory is the recalling of information previously learned. Episodic, semantic, and implicit
memories involve remembering things that were learned. Prospective memory refers to remembering to
do things in the future, such as paying bills or withdrawing cash.

Most of us have had failures of prospective memory in which we felt we were supposed to do something
but couldn’t remember what. Failures of prospective memory occur when we are preoccupied, distracted,
or stressed about time. Habit tasks like getting to class on time are easier to remember than occasional
tasks, such as meeting someone for coffee at an arbitrary time. Motivation also plays a role; you are more
likely to remember the coffee date if the person you are meeting excites you.

Psychologists distinguish between event-based and time-based prospective memory tasks. Event-based
tasks are triggered by events, such as remembering to take medicine at breakfast. Time-based tasks are
performed at a certain time, such as taking a pill every four hours.

An age-related decline occurs in retrospective and prospective memories. This decline in older adults may
be related to their speed of cognitive processing rather than the loss of information. In prospective
memory, older adults are equally aware of specific cues or reminders as young adults, but it takes them
longer to respond. Moods and attitudes also affect prospective memory; for example, depressed people
are less likely to push themselves to remember intended actions.

1.2 Processes of Memory

Psychologists and computer scientists alike discuss the processing of information. Imagine using a
computer to write a term paper. Once the system is running, you input information by typing on a
keyboard, scanning images, or using voice recognition technology. However, if you were to dissect your
computer and inspect its memory, you wouldn't find the characters, images, or sounds inside. This is
because the computer transforms these inputs into a format suitable for electronic memory. Similarly,
when we perceive information, we must encode it—transforming it into a mental representation—to store
it in our memory.

1.2.1 Encoding
Information from the external world reaches our senses as physical and chemical stimuli. The initial stage
of information processing involves encoding these stimuli so they can be stored in memory. We transform
sensory input and our own ideas into psychological formats that can be represented mentally. To do so, we
commonly use visual, acoustic, and semantic codes.

To illustrate the use of coding, consider this memory challenge. Take a moment to write these letters on a
blank sheet.

Following are 10 letters. Look at them for 15 seconds.

THUNSTOFAM

If you had employed a visual code to remember the list, you would have mentally visualized it as a
picture, attempting to maintain a mental image of the letters.

Alternatively, you might have opted to silently recite the list of letters to yourself, like "t," "h," "u," and so
forth. This approach uses an acoustic code, representing the stimuli as a sequence of sounds. Another
strategy could involve interpreting the list as a three-syllable word, such as "thun-sto-fam." This not only
uses an acoustic code but also involves assigning meaning to the letters, treating the list as a word. This
method incorporates elements of a semantic code.
 Semantic codes represent stimuli by their meaning. Initially, the 10 letters may seem devoid of meaning
individually. However, they can also function as an acronym—for example, representing the phrase "The
United States of America" as "THUNSTOFAM." This perspective assigns significance to the letters.

1.2.2 Storage
The second memory process is storage. Storage means maintaining information over time. If tasked with
remembering the list of letters, you might use maintenance rehearsal—mentally repeating the list, or
saying it to yourself again and again.

You could also encode the list of letters by relating it to something that you already know. This coding is
called elaborative rehearsal. You are “elaborating” or extending the semantic meaning of the letters
you are trying to remember. For example, as mentioned above, the list of 10 letters is an acronym for “The
United States of America.” That is, you take the first two letters of each of the words in the phrase and
string them together to make up the 10 letters of THUNSTOFAM. If you had recognized this, storage of the
list of letters might have been almost instantaneous, and it would probably have been permanent. But
enough maintenance rehearsal can also often do the job.

1.2.3 Retrieval
The third memory process is retrieval. Retrieval of stored information means locating it and returning it to
consciousness. Retrieval is effortless for familiar information like our names or occupations. However,
recalling large amounts of less familiar information can be challenging or unsuccessful. Effective retrieval
from memory, like retrieving a file from a computer, requires appropriate retrieval cues.

For instance, if you encoded "THUNSTOFAM" as a three-syllable word, your retrieval strategy would involve
recalling the word and the decoding rules. Essentially, you would pronounce the "word" thun-sto-fam and
then decode it by spelling it out. There might be potential errors, like mistaking "thun" for "thumb" or "sto"
for "stow." However, employing a semantic code, such as recognizing the acronym for "The United States
of America," allows you to consistently retrieve the correct list of letters. For example, to recall the 10
letters, you would visualize the phrase "The United States of America" and extract the first two letters from
each word, effectively reconstructing the list of 10 letters.

If you were unable to remember the list of 10 letters, several factors related to memory processes could be
at play:

 Perhaps you did not encode the list effectively.

 It's possible that you encoded the information but did not store it properly.
 Alternatively, you might have stored the information but forgotten the retrieval cues, such as the phrase
"The United States of America" or the decoding rule for the acronym.

We've covered significant ground in this section without yet defining memory. Now that we've explored
these foundational concepts, let's define memory: Memory encompasses the processes by which
information is encoded, stored, and retrieved.

William James was fascinated by the variability of memory—some memories fleeting, others enduring a
lifetime. Psychologists Richard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin proposed a model illustrating how information
is processed and retained through sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term
memory stages (see Figure 3.1).
 Fig.3.1
Stages of Memory: Sensory, Short-Term, and Long-Term

The Atkinson–Shiffrin model proposes that there are three stages of memory: (a) sensory memory, (b)
short-term memory, and (c) long-term memory. Part A shows that sensory information impacts on the
registers of the sensory memory. Memory traces are held briefly in sensory memory before decaying. If we
attend to the information, much of it can be transferred to short-term memory. Part B: Information may be
maintained in short-term memory through maintenance rehearsal or elaborative rehearsal. Otherwise, it
may decay or be displaced. Part C: Once information is transferred to long-term memory, it may be filed
away indefinitely. However, if the information in long-term memory is organized poorly, or if we cannot
find cues to retrieve it, it can be lost.

1.3 Sensory Memory

When we look at a visual stimulus, our impressions may seem fluid enough. Actually, however, they
consist of a series of eye fixations referred to as saccadic eye movements. These movements jump from
one point to another about four times each second. Yet the visual sensations seem continuous, or stream-
like, because of sensory memory. Sensory memory is the type or stage of memory that is first
encountered by a stimulus. Although sensory memory holds impressions briefly, it is long enough so that a
series of perceptions seem to be connected.

To understand the functioning of sensory memory, let’s return to our list of letters "THUNSTOFAM." If this
list is quickly shown on a screen and then removed after a fraction of a second, the impression or memory
trace of the letters would only persist briefly. This phenomenon is attributed to the visual sensory register,
where such fleeting impressions are held momentarily.
If the exposure time were slightly longer, say one-tenth of a second, your ability to recall the letters based
solely on sensory memory would still be quite limited. Your memory would rely on a single instance of
viewing, known as an eye fixation, and the memory trace would fade before even a full second elapsed.
Early psychological studies, like those by William McDougall in 1904, demonstrated that when people were
shown rows of letters briefly enough to allow just one eye fixation, they typically could only recall a small
portion—around four or five letters—illustrating the brief duration of sensory memory. Therefore, recalling
the entire sequence "THUNSTOFAM," consisting of ten letters in a single row, would heavily depend on how
effectively the information was initially encoded for further processing.

George Sperling adapted McDougall's experimental approach to explore how accurately people could
perceive and recall visual information. McDougall used a method where participants had to report every
letter they saw on a screen—a whole-report procedure. In contrast, Sperling introduced a modified partial-
report procedure. In this new method, participants were asked to recall the letters from just one of three
rows presented briefly on the screen.

For instance, Sperling would flash three rows of letters like this for only 50 milliseconds (one-twentieth of a
second):

A G R E
V L S B
N K B T

When using the whole-report procedure, participants could typically recall an average of four letters from
the entire display (one out of three rows). However, if Sperling immediately indicated which row
participants should focus on after showing the letters, they usually reported most of the letters in that row
successfully.

If Sperling presented six letters in two rows, participants could usually recall either row accurately. When
shown three rows of four letters each (totaling 12 letters), participants correctly recalled an average of
three out of four letters from the designated row, indicating that about nine out of the 12 letters were
perceived.

Sperling also observed that the timing of when he directed participants to report the row affected their
memory. A delay of even fractions of a second after displaying the letters resulted in poorer recall. If a full
second elapsed before directing participants, the arrow did not aid their memory at all. This led Sperling to
conclude that the memory trace of visual stimuli fades within seconds. Despite being able to see most of
the 12 letters clearly with a single eye fixation, the memory trace starts to diminish rapidly within fractions
of a second, disappearing entirely after about a second.

1.3.1 Iconic Memory

Psychologists believe we possess a sensory register for each sense. The mental representations of visual
stimuli are referred to as icons. The sensory register that holds icons is labeled iconic memory. Iconic
memories are accurate, photographic memories. If you can see and are not neurologically impaired, you
have a “photographic memory.” But such memories are brief. What most of us usually think of as a
photographic memory—the ability to retain exact mental representations of visual stimuli over long
periods—is technically termed eidetic imagery. Only a few people are capable of eidetic imagery.

1.3.2 Iconic Memory and Saccadic Eye Movement

Saccadic eye movements occur about four times a second, but iconic memory holds icons for up to a
second. For this reason, the flow of visual information seems smooth and continuous. Your impression that
the words you are reading flow across the page, rather than jumping across in spurts, is a product of your
iconic memory. Similarly, motion pictures present 16 to 22 separate frames, or still images, each second,
but iconic memory allows you to perceive the imagery in the film as being seamless.

1.3.3 Echoic Memory

Mental representations of sounds, or auditory stimuli, are called echoes. Echoic memory is the sensory
register that holds echoes. The memory traces of auditory stimuli—echoes—can last for several seconds,
many times longer than the traces of visual stimuli (icons). This difference is one of the reasons that
acoustic codes aid in the retention of information that has been presented visually—or why saying the
letters or syllables of THUNSTOFAM makes the list easier to remember.
1.4 Short-Term Memory
Imagine you are completing a writing assignment, and you key or speak words and phrases into your
word-processing program. They appear on your monitor as a sign that your computer has them in
memory. Your word-processing program allows you to add words, delete words, check whether they are
spelled correctly, add images, and move paragraphs from place to place. Although you can manipulate the
information in your computer’s memory, it isn’t saved. It hasn’t been entered into storage. If the program
or the computer crashes, the information is gone. The computer’s memory is a short-term affair. To
maintain a long-term connection with the information, you have to save it. Saving it means giving it a
name—hopefully, a name that you will remember so that you can later find and retrieve the information—
and instructing your computer to save it (keep it in storage until told otherwise).

If you focus on a stimulus in the sensory register, you will tend to retain it in your own short-term
memory (STM)—also referred to as working memory—for a minute or so after the trace of the stimulus
decays. As Goldman-Rakic put it, “Working memory is the mental glue that links a thought through time
from its beginning to its end”. When you are given a new phone number and write it down or immediately
dial the number, you are retaining the number in your short-term memory. When you are told the name of
someone at a party and then use that name immediately in addressing that person, you are retaining the
name in short-term memory. In short-term memory, the image tends to fade significantly after 10 to 12
seconds if it is not repeated or rehearsed. It is possible to focus on maintaining a visual image in the short-
term memory, but it is more common to encode visual stimuli as sounds, or auditory stimuli. Then the
sounds can be rehearsed, or repeated.

Once information is in our short-term memories, we can work on it. Like the information in the word-
processing program, we can manipulate it. But it isn’t necessarily saved. If we don’t do something to save
it—such as write down a new telephone number or key it into your cellphone’s contact list—it can be gone
forever. You need to rehearse new information to “save” it, but you may need only the proper cue to
retrieve information from long-term memory.

Let's revisit the memory challenge of remembering the initial list of letters discussed earlier. If you had
encoded these letters as the three-syllable "word" THUN-STO-FAM, you would likely recall them by
mentally rehearsing this three-syllable sequence and then spelling it out based on the sounds. However, if
someone were to ask you a few minutes later whether the letters were in uppercase (THUNSTOFAM) or
lowercase (thunstofam), you might hesitate in your response. This encoding relied on an acoustic strategy
to aid in recalling the list, where uppercase and lowercase letters sound similar.

The pronunciation-friendly nature of THUNSTOFAM makes it relatively easy to retain in short-term memory.
Now, consider if the list of letters had been TBXLFNTSDK. This sequence cannot be easily pronounced as is.
To aid in recall, you would likely attempt to rapidly repeat the letters and visualize each one as you say it,
striving to rehearse the entire sequence before the memory trace fades. Encoding these letters as sounds
and rehearsing them accordingly, you might inadvertently report the list as T-V-X-L-F-N-T-S-T-K. This
mistake is understandable, as the incorrect sounds of V and T resemble B and D, respectively.

1.4.1 The Serial-Position Effect

If asked to recall the list of letters TBXLFNTSDK, you would be likely to recall the first and last letters in the
series, T and K, more accurately than the others. The tendency to recall the first and last items in a series
is known as the serial-position effect. This effect may occur because we pay more attention to the first
and last stimuli in a series. They serve as the visual or auditory boundaries for the other stimuli. In
addition, the first items are likely to be rehearsed more frequently (repeated more times) than other items.
The last items are likely to have been rehearsed most recently and hence are most likely to be retained in
short-term memory.

1.4.2 Chunking
Rapidly rehearsing 10 meaningless letters is not an easy task. With TBXLFNTSDK there are 10 discrete
elements, or chunks, of information that must be kept in short-term memory. When we encode
THUNSTOFAM as three syllables, there are only three chunks to memorize at once—a memory task that is
much easier on the digestion.

Psychologist George Miller, as we noted earlier, found that the average person is comfortable with
remembering about seven integers at a time, the number of integers in a telephone number. Businesses
pay the phone company hefty premiums so that they can attain numbers with two or three zeroes or
repeated digits—for example, 592-2000 or 272-3333. These numbers include fewer chunks of information
and so are easier to remember. Customer recollection of business phone numbers increases sales. A
financial services company might use the toll-free number CALL-IRA, which reduces the task to two chunks
of information that also happen to be meaningfully related (semantically coded) to the nature of the
business.

1.4.3 Interference in Short-Term Memory

In a classic experiment conducted by Lloyd and Margaret Peterson with college students, they
demonstrated how the prevention of rehearsal can significantly impair short-term memory. Participants
were initially asked to memorize simple three-letter combinations like HGB, which are typically easy to
retain as separate chunks of information. Following this, the students were instructed to count backward
from a starting number (e.g., 181) by threes (181, 178, 175, 172, and so on). After a specified time
interval, the students were instructed to stop counting and recall the previously memorized letter
sequence. According to the results depicted in Figure 3.2, the ability of the students to correctly recall the
letter combinations decreased sharply within seconds. Even a brief distraction, such as counting backward
for just 18 seconds, disrupted the retention of these letter sequences in the students' memories.

Fig.3.2 The Effect of Interference on Short-Term Memory.

Psychologists say that the appearance of new information in short-term memory displaces the old
information. Remember: only a few bits of information can be retained in short-term memory at the same
time.

1.5 Long-Term Memory

Long-term memory (LTM) is the third stage of information processing (refer back to Figure 3.1). Think of
your long-term memory as a vast storehouse of information containing names, dates, places, what Johnny
did to you in second grade, and what Susan said about you when you were 12.

Some psychologists (Freud was one) believed that nearly all of our perceptions and ideas are stored
permanently. We might not be able to retrieve all of them, however. Some memories might be “lost”
because of lack of proper cues. Still others might be kept unconscious by the forces of repression.

Today, most psychologists view this notion as exaggerated. Memory researcher Elizabeth Loftus, for
example, notes that the “memories” stimulated by Penfield’s probes lacked detail and were sometimes
incorrect. Therefore, it has not been shown that all of our experiences are permanently imprinted on the
brain. Now let’s consider some other questions about LTM.
1.5.1 How Accurate Are Long-Term Memories?
Psychologist Elizabeth Loftus notes that memories are distorted by our biases and needs—by the ways in
which we conceptualize our worlds. We represent much of our world in the form of schemas. A schema is
a way of mentally representing the world, such as a belief or expectation, which can influence our
perception of persons, objects, and situations.

Now, think back to a recent trip you took. Imagine you were asked to recall details about the landmarks
you visited. Consider if your mental images align more closely with the photos you took (Group 1) or with
sketches you made quickly after returning home (Group 2). It's likely that your memories resemble the
photos (Group 1) more closely, even if your sketches initially captured simpler shapes or features like the
outlines of buildings rather than intricate details. This preference towards photographic memories
illustrates how schemas, such as detailed images or mental snapshots, can shape our recollections. As an
additional test, examine a coin and recall its specific details. Were you accurate in your memory of its
appearance when you initially described it?

1.5.2 How Much Information Can Be Stored in Long-Term Memory?

How many terabytes of storage are there in your most personal computer—your brain? Unlike a computer,
the human ability to store information is, for all practical purposes, unlimited. Even the largest hard drives
fill up when we save web pages, pictures, or videos. Yet how many “movies” of the past have you saved in
your own long-term memory? How many thousands of scenes and stories can you rerun at will? And,
assuming that you have an intact sensory system, the movies in your personal storage bins not only have
color and sound but also aromas, tactile sensations, and more.

New information may replace older information in short-term memory, but there is no evidence that long-
term memories—those in “storage”—are lost by displacement. Long-term memories may endure a
lifetime. Now and then, it may seem that we have forgotten, or “lost,” a long-term memory such as the
names of elementary-school classmates, yet it may be that we cannot find the proper cues to retrieve
them. However, if you drive by your elementary school (a cue), you might suddenly recall the long-lost
names of schoolteachers.

1.5.3 Levels of Processing Information

Levels of processing information refer to how deeply information is encoded in memory. Elaborative
rehearsal involves relating new information to existing knowledge, which enhances memory retention. This
contrasts with maintenance rehearsal, where information is simply repeated to maintain it in memory.
Fergus Craik and Robert Lockhart's levels-of-processing model posits that memories are more likely to
endure when information is processed deeply—when it is carefully attended to, encoded thoughtfully, and
connected to existing knowledge. This process of deep processing, rather than the mere transfer between
memory stages, determines how well we remember.

For instance, recalling the name of your first-grade teacher may be easier than remembering the name of
someone you just met, simply because of the depth of interaction and connection with your teacher over
time.

1.5.4 Flashbulb Memories

Flashbulb memories are exceptionally vivid recollections of significant events that remain etched in
memory for a lifetime. These memories are typically triggered by events that are surprising, emotionally
stirring, or profoundly impactful. For instance, the sudden and unexpected passing of a beloved public
figure or a natural disaster that affects a community can create enduring flashbulb memories.

The clarity and longevity of these memories are often due to their distinctiveness. Events that stand out
from our daily experiences are easier to recall. They evoke intense emotional responses and are deeply
imprinted in our minds. Major events such as a personal achievement, the loss of a loved one, or historical
milestones like the fall of the Berlin Wall can leave lasting impressions. Individuals often rehearse these
memories elaboratively, integrating them with their emotions, expectations, and future concerns.

1.5.5 Organization in Long-Term Memory

In long-term memory, information is systematically organized rather than randomly stored. This
organization helps us efficiently store and retrieve knowledge. For instance, we categorize similar items
together, such as grouping rats and cats in an animal section and organizing tree types like oaks and
maples in a tree section. This categorization is a fundamental cognitive process that allows us to make
predictions and recall specific details more effectively.

Fig.3.3 The Hierarchical

Structure of LTM

This organizational structure often follows a hierarchical model, as depicted in Figure 3.3. Hierarchies
arrange information into groups based on shared characteristics. For example, all mammals fall under the
broader category of animals. This hierarchical arrangement helps in navigating through levels of
specificity, where more general categories (superordinate classes) encompass more specific ones
(subordinate classes).

When information in long-term memory is well-organized, our recall of accurate details improves. For
instance, knowing that whales are mammals helps us remember specific facts, like their breathing habits.
If we mistakenly classify whales as fish, our memory retrieval might produce incorrect information, such as
assuming they breathe underwater. This demonstrates how our memory relies on precise categorization
(semantic memory) rather than vague recollections (episodic memory) or random facts.

In essence, our memory operates like an intricate filing system with its own logic. Misplacing information
can hinder retrieval, not due to a flaw in the system, but because of challenges in accessing the right
retrieval cues.

1.5.6 The Tip-Of-The-Tongue Phenomenon

The tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) phenomenon is a common experience where you almost remember something
but can't quite recall it. It can be quite frustrating. Research into TOT shows that when people encounter
unfamiliar words, like "sampan," they often struggle to recall them correctly. Instead, they might mention
words that sound similar or have related meanings, like "junk" or "barge." This happens because the words
weren't deeply processed through elaborative rehearsal—they weren't connected to other knowledge. Our
memory storage uses cues based on both how words sound and what they mean (acoustic and semantic
codes). By recalling words that sound or mean similarly to the one on the tip of our tongue, we sometimes
find the right cue to retrieve the word we're looking for.

Incomplete learning of a topic can also contribute to the TOT phenomenon. Even if we don't have the exact
answer, we might have partial knowledge that can be surprisingly effective, like in essay writing. The issue
often lies in how well we initially encoded and stored the information in memory.

1.5.7 Context-Dependent Memory

Context-dependent memory refers to how the environment or state we're in when we learn something
affects our ability to remember it later. For example, walking through my childhood apartment building
triggered memories of playing under the stairs and hearing a neighbor's voice at dinnertime.
 In a study with bilingual Cornell students, recalling events was easier when interviewed in the language
they experienced them in—Russian for memories from Russia and English for memories from the United
States.

State-dependent memory expands on this idea, suggesting we recall information better when our
current state matches our state when we learned it. For example, feeling love may trigger memories of
past romances, while anger may recall frustrating incidents. This applies to states like sobriety or
intoxication, showing how our mental and physical states affect memory retrieval.

1.6 Forgetting
What do DAL, RIK, BOF, and ZEX have in common? They are all nonsense syllables—meaningless sets of
two consonants with a vowel sandwiched in between. They were first used by Hermann Ebbinghaus (1850–
1909) to study memory and forgetting. Because nonsense syllables are intended to be meaningless,
remembering them should depend on simple acoustic coding and maintenance rehearsal rather than on
elaborative rehearsal, semantic coding, or other ways of making learning meaningful. They are thus well
suited for use in the measurement of forgetting.

1.6.1 Memory Tasks Used in Measuring Forgetting

Psychologists use three main memory tasks to study forgetting: recognition, recall, and relearning, often
using nonsense syllables for these studies. Each task provides insights into how forgetting occurs.

 Recognition: Forgetting can involve failing to recognize previously encountered information.

Psychologists test this by presenting subjects with lists of nonsense syllables twice and asking if they
recognize any from the first list. Even after many years, people can still recognize familiar items.
 Recall: This task measures the ability to retrieve information without cues. For example, subjects recall
lists of paired nonsense syllables by remembering the second syllable when given the first. This task is
more challenging than recognition because it requires retrieval without prompts.
 Relearning: This method assesses how quickly information can be learned again after it's been forgotten.
Ebbinghaus used the "savings" method, recording how many repetitions were needed to relearn a list
after a period of time. This method shows that although forgetting occurs rapidly initially, it slows over
time.

Figure 3.4 shows Ebbinghaus’s classic curve of forgetting. As you can see, there was no loss of memory as
measured by savings immediately after a list had been learned. However, recollection dropped quite a bit,
by half, during the first hour after learning a list. Losses of learning then became more gradual. It took a
month (31 days) for retention to be cut in half again. That is, forgetting occurred most rapidly right after
material was learned. We continue to forget material as time elapses but at a slower pace.

Fig.3.4 Ebbinghaus’s C
urve of Forgetting

1.6.2 Interference Theory

 When we do not attend to, encode, and rehearse sensory input, we may forget it through decay of the
trace of the image. Material in short-term memory, like material in sensory memory, can be lost through
decay. It can also be lost through displacement, as may happen when we try to remember several new
names at a party.

Why can learning Spanish make it harder to remember French? The answer may be found in interference
theory. According to this view, we also forget material in short-term and long-term memory because
newly learned material interferes with it. The two basic types of interference are retroactive interference
(also called retroactive inhibition) and proactive interference (also called proactive inhibition).

 Retroactive Interference: New learning can disrupt the recall of old information. For instance, a medical
student who memorizes leg bone names may struggle to remember them after learning arm bone names,
especially if the names are similar in sound or location.
 Proactive Interference: Older memories can hinder the retrieval of recently learned material. For
example, remembering high-school Spanish might interfere when recalling college French or Italian words.
Because Spanish, French, and Italian share similar linguistic roots and spelling, they can interfere with
each other. However, Japanese, with its distinct roots and sounds, would likely not interfere with these
Romance languages.

1.6.3 Repression
According to Freud, we are motivated to forget painful memories and unacceptable ideas because they
produce anxiety, guilt, and shame. Repression, according to Freud, is the automatic ejection of painful
memories and unacceptable urges from conscious awareness. It is motivated by the desire to avoid facing
painful memories and emotions. Psychoanalysts believe that repression is at the heart of disorders such
as dissociative amnesia. There is a current controversy in psychology about whether repression
(motivated forgetting) exists and, if it does, how it works.

Research on repression, often through case studies in psychoanalytic journals, explores how individuals
may forget traumatic experiences, later recalling them to alleviate symptoms like post-traumatic stress
disorder (previously known as “battlefield neurosis”). Critics argue such memories can be influenced by
interviewers, sparking controversy over their authenticity.

Despite limited scientific backing, cases exist of recovered memories, such as memories of accidents or
injuries, where individuals recall events that were previously forgotten. Questions arise whether therapists
inadvertently implant beliefs that mold into seemingly genuine memories. Psychiatrist Harold Lief notes
uncertainty about distinguishing real memories from false ones.

1.6.4 Infantile Amnesia

Freud found that people generally cannot remember events before the age of three and have fuzzy
memories up to age five. This is known as infantile amnesia.

It's not because these events are too old to remember. Middle-aged and older people can recall memories
from ages 6 to 10 vividly. However, 18-year-olds struggle to remember events before age six, despite
these events being more recent.

Freud thought this was due to the repression of childhood impulses. However, it likely involves both
physiological and cognitive factors. For example, the hippocampus, a brain area involved in memory,
isn't mature until around age two. Additionally, brain pathways are not fully developed in the first few
years, making memory processing less efficient.

There are also cognitive reasons for infantile amnesia:

 Infants are not interested in remembering the past.

 Infants don't create coherent stories from their experiences like older children do, leading to loss of
specific episode details.
 Infants do not make reliable use of language to symbolize or classify events. Their ability to encode
sensory input—that is, to apply the auditory and semantic codes that facilitate memory formation—is
therefore limited. However, they can recall events if reminded by familiar objects or photos.
 We are unlikely to remember events from the first two years of life unless we are reminded of them as we
grow. Many early childhood memories may be inaccurate or actually from a later period. There is no
evidence that these early memories are systematically repressed.

1.6.5 Anterograde and Retrograde Amnesia

Adults also experience amnesia, although usually for biological reasons, as in the cases of anterograde and
retrograde amnesia.

 Anterograde Amnesia: This involves memory loss for events that occur after a trauma, such as a head
injury, electric shock, or surgery. The trauma can impair attention, sensory encoding, and rehearsal. Brain
damage, particularly to the hippocampus, is often linked to this type of amnesia.
 Retrograde Amnesia: This involves memory loss for events that occurred before the trauma. For
example, a man with retrograde amnesia from a motorcycle accident lost all memories from after the age
of 11. Over months, he gradually regained his past memories but never recovered the events just before
the accident. This suggests that new information needs time to consolidate into long-term memory.
2 Thinking
What form of life is so adaptive that it can survive in desert temperatures of 120°F or Arctic climes of –
40°F? What form of life can run, walk, climb, swim, live underwater for months on end, and fly to the moon
and back? I won’t keep you in suspense any longer. We are that form of life. Yet our unclad bodies do not
allow us to adapt to these extremes in temperature. Brute strength does not allow us to live underwater or
travel to the moon. Rather, it is our cognitive processes that permit us to adapt to these conditions and
surpass our physical limitations.

It is our cognitive processes that have enabled humans to survive and prosper. Other species may be
stronger, run faster, smell more keenly, and even live longer, but only humans have produced literature,
music, mathematics, and science. We will begin by exploring one of the related areas of cognition:
thinking.

2.1 Concepts
The Greek philosopher Aristotle argued that people differ from lower organisms in their capacity for
rational thinking. What is thinking? Thinking means paying attention to information, representing it
mentally, reasoning about it, and making judgments and decisions about it. Thinking refers to conscious,
planned attempts to make sense of and change the world. Mental processes such as dreaming and
daydreaming do not represent thinking; they may be unplanned and proceed more or less on their own.
We begin with concepts, which provide many of the building blocks for thinking.

2.1.1 Organization of Concepts

Concepts are mental categories used to group together objects, relations, events, abstractions, or
qualities that have common properties. Concepts are crucial to cognition. They can represent objects,
events, and activities—and visions of things that never were or cannot be measured, such as Middle Earth
in “The Lord of the Rings” or the land of Oz in “The Wizard of Oz”.

Labels for objects depend on one’s experience with them and on one’s cultural setting. Concepts such as
square, circle, and triangle are not all that common in nature, and some peoples who do not construct
houses with these shapes, such as the Himba of northern Namibia, have no words for them. But these
shapes are concepts that are basic to geometry. Much thinking has to do with categorizing new concepts
and manipulating relationships among concepts, as in problems in geometry.

We tend to organize concepts in hierarchies (see Figure 3.5). For example, the newspaper category
includes objects such as your school paper and the “Los Angeles Times”. Newspapers, printed textbooks,
and catalogs can be combined into higher-order categories such as printed matter that stores information.
If you add flash drives, hard drives, and the cloud, you can create a still higher category—objects that
store information. Now consider a question that requires categorical thinking: How are a newspaper and
the cloud alike? Answers to such questions entail supplying the category that includes both objects. In this
case, we can say that both store information. Their functions are alike, even if their technology differs.
Fig.3.5 Organization of Concepts into Hierarchies

2.1.1 Prototypes and Exemplars

Prototypes are prime examples that best represent the main features of a category. They help us quickly
identify and categorize objects by comparing them to these mental benchmarks. For instance, when
thinking of birds, a robin seems more birdlike than an ostrich because it better matches the typical
characteristics we associate with birds. Similarly, a tuna fits the fish prototype better than a sea horse
because it embodies more of the common features we expect in a fish.

Simple prototypes like "dog" and "red" are often taught through direct examples, known as exemplars.
Research indicates that learning about fruits and vegetables through direct experience with specific
exemplars is more effective than using abstract definitions. For example, we might point to an apple and
say, "This is an apple," helping to form a clear concept in the child's mind. When teaching a child about
dogs, we point to a dog and say, "This is a dog." These instances are positive examples of the dog concept.
Conversely, showing something that is not a dog while saying, "This is not a dog," helps the child
understand what does not fit the concept. Negative instances of one concept can be positive instances of
another, so it’s more informative to say, "This is not a dog—it’s a cat," rather than simply, "This is not a
dog." This approach helps children refine their understanding and correctly categorize different animals.

Furthermore, prototypes are not only useful for teaching simple categories but also for understanding
more complex and abstract concepts. For example, in mathematics, the concept of a "square root" might
be taught through examples that involve basic numbers and their squares. In social contexts, a "bachelor"
can be understood through cultural examples of unmarried men. By using prototypes and exemplars, we
make abstract ideas more concrete and relatable, aiding in comprehension and retention.

Children may at first include horses and other four-legged animals within the dog concept until the
differences between dogs and horses are pointed out. In language development, such over-inclusion of
instances in a category (reference to horses as dogs) is labeled overextension. Children’s prototypes
become refined after they are shown positive and negative instances and given explanations. Abstract
concepts such as bachelor or square root tend to be formed through explanations that involve more basic
concepts.

Overall, the use of prototypes and exemplars is a fundamental part of cognitive development, helping
individuals form, refine, and understand a wide range of concepts through relatable and concrete
examples. This method supports effective learning and enables us to navigate the complexities of our
world by making sense of new information in a structured and meaningful way.

2.2 Problem Solving

Problem solving is a crucial aspect of thinking. Consider this problem: What are the next two letters in this
series?

O T T F F S S E _ _?
 How did you approach this problem? Did you search your memory for what each letter might represent, or
think of a phrase the letters could stand for?

2.2.1 Methods of Problem Solving

1) Understanding the Problem
The first step in solving a problem is to understand it. Successful understanding generally requires three
features:

 The parts of our mental representation of the problem relate meaningfully to one another. For
example, in geometry problems, our mental triangles should have angles totaling 180 degrees.
 The elements of our mental representation correspond to elements of the problem in the real
world. For instance, diagnosing a patient involves taking vital signs to ensure our mental picture matches
the patient's condition.
 We have relevant background knowledge or experience to apply to the problem. We have the
necessary experience or course work to solve the problem, or an appropriate search engine.

2) The Use of Algorithms

An algorithm is a specific procedure for solving a type of problem, leading invariably to a solution if used
correctly. Mathematical formulas, such as the Pythagorean theorem, are examples of algorithms. These
formulas yield correct answers as long as the right one is used. Applying an algorithm might require
recalling formulas related to the problem's elements. For instance, the Pythagorean theorem applies to
right triangles, making it relevant for problems involving such shapes but not others.

In practical scenarios, like making a good impression, algorithms guide our behavior. For a job interview,
the algorithm might be to dress neatly and avoid strong fragrances, whereas for a date, you might dress
more casually and use more cologne or perfume. Regardless, smiling and making eye contact are part of
the formula.

Anagrams, like "korc" for "rock" or "cork," require reorganizing letters to form words. Using a systematic
random search algorithm involves listing every possible combination of letters and checking against a
dictionary or spell-checking program to find valid words. Although time-consuming, this method is
effective.

3) The Use of Heuristic Devices

Heuristics are shortcuts or "rules of thumb" that help simplify and solve problems more rapidly than
algorithms, though they don't guarantee a correct solution. They are often based on strategies that worked
in the past. For example, in solving anagrams, one might look for familiar letter combinations, like "dr" and
"gr" in "DWARG," leading to words like "draw," "drag," and "grad." However, this method might miss some
words.

Means–end analysis is a type of heuristic where one assesses the difference between their current
situation and their goal and takes steps to reduce this difference. For example, if lost, asking for directions
is a heuristic approach, while using scientific knowledge to navigate by the setting sun would be more
algorithmic.

4) The Use of Analogies

An analogy is a partial similarity among things that are different in other ways. The analogy heuristic
applies the solution of an earlier problem to the solution of a new one. We use the analogy heuristic
whenever we try to solve a new problem by referring to a previous problem.

Let’s see whether you can use the analogy heuristic to your advantage in the following number-series
problem. Look at the following series of numbers and find the rule that governs their order:

8, 5, 4, 9, 1, 7, 6, 3, 2, 0

This is rather abstract and mathematical. Actually, using the analogy heuristic is common. For example,
when starting with a new instructor, you might compare them to a previous one and apply similar
strategies that worked before. This process of finding analogies helps in various situations. For instance, in
 the number sequence 8, 5, 4, 9, 1, 7, 6, 3, 2, 0, the first letters of their names (eight, five, four, etc.) are in
alphabetical order, similar to how we used the first letters of numbers in the OTTFFSSENT sequence.

2.2.2 Factors That Affect Problem Solving

The way you approach a problem is central to how effectively you solve it. Other factors also influence
your effectiveness. Three factors that can make it easier or harder to solve problems reside within you:
your level of expertise, whether you fall prey to a mental set, and whether you develop insight into the
problem.

1) Expertise
To appreciate the role of expertise in problem solving, unscramble the following anagrams: DNSUO,
RCWDO, and IASYD. How long did it take you to unscramble each anagram to “sound,” “crowd,” and
“daisy”? Would a native English speaker—an expert—solve these more efficiently than a bilingual person
who spoke another language at home?

Experts generally solve problems more efficiently and rapidly than novices. People who are experts at
solving certain kinds of problems share the following characteristics:

 They know the particular area well.

 They have a good memory for the elements in the problems.
 They form mental images or representations that facilitate problem solving.
 They relate the problem to similar problems.
 They are more goal-directed and have efficient methods for problem solving.

These factors are interrelated. For example, art historians acquire a detailed understanding of paintings,
enhancing their memory for details. Novick and Coté found that anagram solutions seemed to "pop out"
for experts in under two seconds, as they used efficient methods like parallel processing, handling multiple
problem elements simultaneously. Novices, in contrast, often engage in slower serial processing.

2) Mental Sets
A mental set is the tendency to approach a new problem with the same method that helped solve similar
problems in the past. Mental sets usually make our work easier but can mislead us when the similarity
between problems is only superficial.

3) Insight
Consider this problem posed by Metcalfe:

A stranger offers a museum curator an ancient bronze coin marked with the date 544 BCE. The curator,
who has previously made acquisitions from suspicious sources, promptly calls the police and has the
stranger arrested. Why?

The answer to this problem will not be provided here. However, it can be guaranteed that upon arriving at
the solution, it will strike one instantaneously. The information pieces in the problem appear to have been
reorganized abruptly, allowing the solution to become apparent in a sudden insight.
 Fig.3.6 Bismarck Claims His Just
Desserts in a Flash of Insight. Bismarck has learned to reach dinner by climbing ladder A. But now the food
goal (F) is blocked by a wire-mesh barrier B. Bismarck washes his face for a while, but then, in an apparent
flash of insight, he runs back down ladder A and up new ladder N to reach the goal.

Bismarck, a rat studied by psychologist N. R. F. Maier, demonstrated evidence of insight in his species.
Bismarck was trained to climb a ladder to reach food placed on a tabletop. During an experiment, Maier
introduced a mesh barrier to block the rat's usual path. Figure 3.6 illustrates a second ladder visible to
Bismarck. Initially, Bismarck attempted to find a way through the mesh by sniffing and scratching.
Subsequently, he spent time grooming, which is indicative of frustration in rats. Suddenly, Bismarck leaped
into the air, turned around, descended the familiar ladder, maneuvered to the new ladder, ascended it,
and obtained the food. Did Bismarck perceive the connections between the problem's elements, resulting
in an insightful solution? It appears that he experienced what Gestalt psychologists term an Aha! moment.

4) Incubation
Incubation in problem solving refers to taking a break from the problem, allowing some unconscious
process to continue working on it. Later, the answer may come in a flash of insight. Stepping back can help
distance us from unproductive mental sets.

5) Functional Fixedness
Functional fixedness is the tendency to think of an object only in terms of its familiar function, which can
hinder problem solving. For example, you might think of pliers solely as a tool for grasping, rather than as
a potential paperweight or weapon.

A pair of pliers could function as any of these, but your tendency to think of it as a grasping tool is fostered
by your experience with it. You have probably used pliers only for grasping things. Functional fixedness is
the tendency to think of an object in terms of its name or its familiar function. It can be similar to a mental
set in that it makes it difficult to use familiar objects to solve problems in novel ways.

2.3 Judgment and Decision Making

You might like to think that people are so rational that they carefully weigh the pros and cons when they
make judgments or decisions. Or you might think that they insist on finding and examining all the relevant
information. Actually, people make most of their decisions on the basis of limited information. They take
shortcuts. They use heuristic devices—rules of thumb—in judgments and decision making just as they do
in problem solving. Next, we consider various factors in judgment and decision making.

2.3.1 Heuristics in Decision Making

Imagine that you flip a coin six times. In the following three possible outcomes, H stands for heads and T
for tails. Which sequence do you think is the most likely outcome?

HHHHHH
HHHTTT
THHTHT
Did you select T H H T H T as the most likely sequence of events? Most people do. Why? There are two
reasons. First, people recognize that the sequence of six heads in a row is unlikely (the probability is 1/64).
Second, people recognize that the sequence of heads and tails should appear random. T H H T H T has a
random look to it, whereas H H H T T T does not.

People tend to select T H H T H T because of the representativeness heuristic. According to this

decision-making heuristic, people make judgments about events (samples) according to the populations of
events that they appear to represent. In this case, the sample of events is six coin tosses. The “population”
is an infinite number of random coin tosses. But guess what? Each sequence is equally likely (or unlikely).
If the question had been whether six heads or three heads and three tails had been more likely, the correct
answer would have been three and three.

If the question had been whether heads and tails would be more likely to be consecutive or in random
order, the correct answer would have been random order. But each of the three sequences is a specific
sequence. What is the probability of attaining the specific sequence T H H T H T? The probability that the
first coin toss will result in a tail is 1/2. The probability that the second will result in a head is 1/2, and so
on. Thus, the probability of attaining the exact sequence T H H T H T is identical to that of achieving any
other specific sequence: 1/2×1/2×1/2×1/2×1/2×1/2=1/64th.

Another heuristic device used in decision making is the availability heuristic. According to this heuristic,
our estimates of frequency or probability are based on how easy it is to find examples of relevant events.
For example, if I were to ask you whether there are more art majors or sociology majors at your college
and you aren’t familiar with the enrollment statistics, you would likely answer based on the numbers of art
majors and sociology majors that you know.

The anchoring and adjustment heuristic suggests that there can be a good deal of inertia in our
judgments. In forming opinions or making estimates, we have an initial view, or presumption. This is the
anchor. As we receive additional information, we make adjustments, sometimes grudgingly. For example,
if you grow up believing that one religion or one political party is the “right” one, that belief serves as a
cognitive anchor. When inconsistencies show up in your religion or political party, you may adjust your
views of them, but perhaps not very willingly.

Let’s illustrate further by means of a math problem. Write each of the following multiplication problems on
a separate piece of paper:

A. 8 × 7 × 6 × 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1
B. 1 × 2 × 3 × 4 × 5 × 6 × 7 × 8

Show problem A to a few friends. Give them each five seconds to estimate the answer. Show problem B to
some other friends and give them five seconds to estimate the answer.

The answers to the multiplication problems are the same because the order of quantities being multiplied
does not change the outcome. However, when Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman showed these
problems to high school students, the average estimate given by students who were shown version A was
significantly higher than that given by students who were shown version B. Students who saw 8 in the first
position offered an average estimate of 2,250. Students who saw 1 in the first position gave an average
estimate of 512. That is, the estimate was larger when 8 served as the anchor.

2.3.2 The Framing Effect

The framing effect illustrates how the presentation or framing of information can significantly influence
decision making across various domains, from marketing and advertising to political rhetoric and public
policy.

In marketing, advertisers often leverage the framing effect to influence consumer behavior. For instance,
consider a product advertised as "90% fat-free" versus "10% fat." Despite conveying the same information
numerically, the first framing emphasizes the positive aspect of low fat content, appealing to health-
conscious consumers. Conversely, the second framing may highlight the negative aspect of high fat
content, potentially dissuading those seeking healthier options.

In politics, framing plays a pivotal role in shaping public opinion and policy support. Issues framed
positively, such as "pro-environment" versus "anti-pollution," or "pro-reform" versus "status quo," evoke
 different emotional responses and garner distinct levels of support based on the values emphasized. These
frames not only influence individual opinions but also sway policy outcomes by framing debates in ways
that resonate with specific ideological stances.

Moreover, the framing effect extends beyond explicit linguistic framing to include visual and contextual
cues. For example, the choice of imagery in media coverage or the setting of a policy announcement can
subtly frame public perception. A politician addressing a crowd in a factory setting versus a university
campus may invoke different associations and expectations, thereby framing the discourse on economic
policies versus education reforms.

2.3.3 Overconfidence
Whether our decisions are correct or incorrect, most of us tend to be overconfident about them. We also
tend to view our situations with 20/20 hindsight. When we are proven wrong, we frequently find a way to
show that we “knew it all along.” We also become overconfident that we would have known the actual
outcome if we had had access to the information that became available after the event. For example, if we
had known that a key player would pull a hamstring muscle, we would have predicted a different outcome
for the football game. If we had known that it would be blustery on Election Day, we would have predicted
a smaller voter turnout and a different outcome. There are several reasons for overconfidence, even when
our judgments are wrong:

 We tend to be unaware of how flimsy our assumptions may be.

 We tend to focus on examples that confirm our judgments and ignore those that do not.
 Because our working memories have limited space, we tend to forget information that runs counter to our
judgments.
 We work to bring about the events we believe in, so they sometimes become self-fulfilling prophecies.

These factors highlight the complex interplay of cognitive biases and heuristics in shaping human
judgment and decision-making processes.
2.4 Motivated Reasoning
Motivated reasoning operates like a filter, selectively gathering information that supports pre-existing
beliefs or opinions. For example, if you have developed a strong aversion to your neighbor or your
roommate, you might not be interested in hearing anything about his or her charitable work. This
phenomenon can manifest in various aspects of life, affecting personal relationships, professional
judgments, and even broader societal issues.

2.4.1 Effects on Personal Relationships

In personal relationships, motivated reasoning can lead individuals to selectively perceive and interpret
information that aligns with their preconceptions about others. For instance, someone who holds a
negative opinion about a colleague might dismiss evidence of their competence or kindness while
emphasizing instances that reinforce their negative view. This selective attention can strain relationships
and hinder effective communication.

2.4.2 Influence in Professional Settings

Motivated reasoning also plays a significant role in professional settings, where individuals may be inclined
to justify decisions or actions based on their professional interests or organizational affiliations. This bias
can affect everything from hiring practices and performance evaluations to strategic planning and policy-
making. Professionals may unintentionally overlook alternative perspectives or data that contradict their
preferred outcomes, leading to suboptimal decisions.

2.4.3 Implications for Public Discourse

In broader societal contexts, motivated reasoning contributes to polarization and ideological divisions.
People often seek out information sources that confirm their beliefs, leading to echo chambers where
dissenting viewpoints are marginalized or dismissed. This phenomenon is particularly evident in debates
over contentious issues such as climate change, healthcare policy, and social justice. Motivated reasoning
can undermine constructive dialogue and hinder efforts to find common ground or evidence-based
solutions.
 2.4.4 Cognitive Mechanisms and Biases
Motivated reasoning operates through several cognitive mechanisms and biases, including confirmation
bias, where individuals seek information that confirms their beliefs, and cognitive dissonance, where they
experience discomfort when confronted with conflicting information. These biases influence how
information is processed and interpreted, often leading to skewed perceptions and decisions that favor
pre-existing beliefs.

2.4.5 Mitigating Motivated Reasoning

Recognizing the influence of motivated reasoning is the first step towards mitigating its impact. Strategies
to counteract this bias include:

 Encouraging Critical Thinking: Promoting critical thinking skills helps individuals evaluate information
objectively and question their own assumptions.
 Seeking Diverse Perspectives: Actively seeking out diverse viewpoints and considering alternative
interpretations can broaden understanding and reduce the influence of bias.
 Valuing Evidence-Based Decision Making: Emphasizing the importance of evidence-based reasoning
and empirical data in forming opinions and making decisions fosters more informed and rational
judgments.

By fostering a culture of critical inquiry and openness to differing viewpoints, individuals and organizations
can mitigate the negative effects of motivated reasoning, promote constructive dialogue, and make more
reasoned decisions in various facets of life.

3 Language
 Oscar Wilde, the Irish playwright, wrote: "It is only by language that we rise above [the lower animals]—by language, which is the
parent, not the child, of thought." Are humans the only species to use language? We’ll grapple with that question in a moment. And
then, which comes first: language or thinking? Can you think without using language? (Give it a try.) We’ll come back to that question
later too. For the moment, let’s consider whether apes can use language, and also whether language is for the birds—more specifically,
the African Grey Parrot.

3.1 Communication by Nonhumans

In recent years, the exclusive human claim to language has been brought into question by studies of
communication with various animal species. The African Grey Parrot, like many other parrots, can mimic
human speech, but it is also suspected of being intelligent enough to understand some of the words it
imitates. Spontaneous language development has long been suspected among many species of dolphins
and whales, but solid scientific evidence is lacking. Monkeys signal nearby predators with characteristic
hoots, yet these sounds lack symbols.

A language is a system of symbols along with rules for manipulating them. Symbols, such as words,
represent objects, events, or ideas. Chimpanzees and gorillas have been taught to communicate by
making signs with their hands, raising complex questions about whether they use language in a human-
like manner. Understanding the subtleties of these communications and the extent to which they mirror
human language is a topic of ongoing research and debate.

Chimpanzees, sharing about 98.42% of their genetic code with humans, show similar brain structure in MRI
studies, with enlargement in the left hemisphere of the cerebral cortex, including part of Broca’s area.
Remaining differences relate to capabilities such as fine control of mouth and larynx, absent in apes.
Genetic distinctions likely explain why chimps cannot articulate speech but possess meaningful language
abilities.

3.1.1 Do Apes Really Use Language?

Although apes do not speak, they've been taught American Sign Language and other symbol systems. For
instance, Washoe, a pioneering chimpanzee, learned 181 signs by age 32. Loulis, raised by Washoe,
acquired signing skills from observing her and other trained chimps. Other chimps have used plastic
symbols or computer keyboards to communicate.

Sue Savage-Rumbaugh and colleagues suggest pygmy chimpanzees understand semantic subtleties and
claim Kanzi, learning from observing other chimps, possesses grammatical abilities akin to a 2 1/2-year-old
child. Kanzi comprehends several spoken words and demonstrated symbolic understanding by
manipulating toys. This suggests a level of cognitive processing that involves understanding the context
and meaning of words and actions, paralleling early language development in human children.

3.1.2 Challenges and Debates

Critics like Herbert Terrace and Steven Pinker challenge the assertion that apes use language in a manner
comparable to humans. They argue that:

 Apes can string together signs in a given sequence to earn rewards, but animals lower on the evolutionary
ladder, such as pigeons, can also peck buttons in a certain sequence to obtain a reward.
 It takes apes longer to learn new signs than it takes children to learn new words.
 Apes are unreliable in their sequencing of signs, suggesting that by and large they do not comprehend
rules of grammar.
 People observing apes signing may be subject to observer bias—that is, they may be seeing what they
want to see.

Debates will persist regarding chimpanzee and gorilla comprehension and production of language, yet
they undeniably use symbols for communication. This ongoing debate touches on fundamental questions
about the nature of language, cognition, and what truly separates human communication from that of our
closest evolutionary relatives.
 In conclusion, the debate over ape language abilities underscores the complexity of defining and
understanding language itself. While apes demonstrate remarkable abilities to communicate through
symbols, their linguistic capacities differ significantly from those of humans. Further research into the
cognitive and neurological foundations of language in nonhuman primates promises to shed light on the
origins and evolution of human language, providing insights into what truly separates us from our closest
genetic relatives.

3.2 What Is Language?

3.2.1 Defining Language
As you can see from the discussion of apes and language, the way in which one defines language is no
small matter. If we define language simply as a system of communication, many animals have language,
including birds and bees. For instance, birds may use particular chirps and shrieks to communicate that
they have taken possession of a tree or bush. Similarly, the waggle dances of bees inform other bees of
the location of a food source or a predator. These behaviors are instinctive communication patterns but
not what we mean by language. They lack the complexity and flexibility found in human language.

3.2.2 Symbols and Grammar

With language, sounds or signs are symbols for objects and actions. Apes have been taught to use symbols
to communicate, but is such usage an adequate definition of language? Many language experts require
one more piece. They define language as the communication of thoughts and feelings by means
of symbols that are arranged according to rules of grammar. Instinctive waggle dances and shrieks have
no symbols and no grammar. By these rigorous rules, only humans use language. Whether apes can
handle rules of grammar is under debate. For example, while a chimpanzee might use signs to request
food, it is unclear if they can understand and apply complex grammatical structures.

Language makes it possible for one person to communicate knowledge to another and for one generation
to communicate to another. This creates a vehicle for recording experiences and allows us to learn from
others' experiences without having to live them ourselves. For instance, through language, we can read
historical texts and understand events that happened long before we were born. Language also allows us
to empathize with others by understanding their perspectives and emotions, something that is often
achieved through literature and storytelling. Additionally, language provides the building blocks for
complex thought processes, enabling abstract thinking and problem-solving.

3.2.3 Features of True Language

True language is distinguished from the communication systems of lower animals by properties such as
semanticity, infinite creativity, and displacement:

 Semanticity: The sounds (or signs) of a language have meaning. Words serve as symbols for actions,
objects, relational concepts (over, in, more, and so on), and other ideas. The communication systems of
birds and bees do not use words and symbols. Therefore, they lack semanticity. For example, when we
hear the word "apple," we can visualize the fruit and understand its attributes, something animal
communication systems typically do not achieve.
 Infinite creativity: The capacity to create rather than imitate sentences. Humans can produce an endless
variety of sentences, including ones that have never been heard before. For instance, a child can come up
with a completely new sentence like "The purple dragon flew over the rainbow," demonstrating creativity
and imagination that go beyond mimicry.
 Displacement: The capacity to communicate information about events and objects in another time or
place. Language makes it possible to transmit knowledge from one person to another and from one
generation to another, furthering human adaptation. For example, we can talk about the past, plan for the
future, or describe things that are not physically present. This ability is crucial for cultural development, as
it allows us to share knowledge, beliefs, and traditions across generations.

While many animals have complex communication systems, human language is unique in its ability to
convey detailed and abstract concepts through a structured system of symbols and grammar. This
complexity enables us to share intricate ideas, express emotions, and build a collective body of knowledge
that spans time and space.

3.3 Language and Cognition

The relationships between language and thinking are complex and not always obvious. For example, can
you think without using language? Would you be able to solve problems without using words or sentences?

3.3.1 Thinking Without Language

Jean Piaget believed that language reflects knowledge of the world but that much knowledge can be
acquired without language. For instance, it is possible to understand the concepts of roundness or redness
even when we do not know or use the words round or red. This suggests that our cognitive processes can
function independently of our linguistic abilities.

Infants, for example, can recognize and interact with objects before they acquire language. A baby might
be able to distinguish between different shapes and colors even though they cannot yet say "circle" or
"red." This ability to perceive and understand the world without words indicates that thought can occur in
a nonverbal form. Another example is animals, such as dogs, who can understand commands and
recognize different objects and their purposes without the use of human language.

3.3.2 The Influence of Language on Thought

However, language can influence the way we think. The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, also known as linguistic
relativity, proposes that the structure of a language affects its speakers' worldview and cognition.

For example, if a language has multiple words for different types of snow, its speakers might perceive and
categorize various forms of snow more distinctly than speakers of a language with only one word for snow.
The Inuit people, for instance, have several words for snow, each describing different conditions and types,
such as falling snow, snow on the ground, and snow suitable for building igloos. This detailed vocabulary
allows them to have a more nuanced understanding and recognition of snow's different forms.

Another example is color perception. Some languages have fewer color terms than others. In a language
with only basic color terms like "light" and "dark," speakers may perceive colors differently compared to
speakers of a language with specific terms like "blue," "green," and "yellow." This suggests that the way
we describe the world around us can shape our actual experience of it.

3.3.3 Language and Problem-Solving

Language also plays a significant role in problem-solving. When faced with a complex problem, we often
use internal dialogue to work through it. This process of "thinking out loud" can help us organize our
thoughts, plan our actions, and reflect on possible solutions.

For instance, when solving a math problem, we might use words to describe the steps we need to take,
which helps us follow a logical sequence and avoid mistakes. Saying to ourselves, "First, I need to add
these numbers, then I divide by this number," can clarify the process and reduce the chances of error.

In everyday life, we might use language to solve practical problems, such as figuring out how to cook a
new recipe. We can read the instructions, mentally visualize the steps, and talk ourselves through the
process: "I need to preheat the oven first, then mix the ingredients." This use of language aids in breaking
down tasks into manageable parts and ensuring each step is followed correctly.

3.3.4 Language as a Tool for Abstract Thinking

Language enables abstract thinking, allowing us to consider concepts and ideas that are not directly tied
to our immediate sensory experiences.

Discussing philosophical ideas, scientific theories, or future plans involves thinking about things that are
not present in the here and now. For example, when we talk about justice, freedom, or love, we are
dealing with abstract concepts that cannot be directly seen or touched. These ideas require a level of
cognitive processing that goes beyond the concrete and immediate.
Another example is planning for the future. When we make plans, we use language to visualize and
organize events that have not yet happened. We might create a schedule for an upcoming project or
imagine different outcomes based on various actions we could take. This ability to think abstractly is a
hallmark of advanced cognitive processes and is closely tied to our linguistic capabilities.

Overall, the relationship between language and cognition is intricate. While we can think and understand
concepts without language, our linguistic abilities significantly enhance our cognitive processes, shaping
how we perceive, categorize, and solve problems. Language serves as a powerful tool that enables
complex and abstract thinking, illustrating the deep connection between our words and our thoughts.

3.4 Language and Culture

Different languages have different words for the same concepts, and concepts do not necessarily overlap.
As noted earlier, concepts expressed in our own language (e.g., square and triangle) may not exist in the
language of another culture—and vice versa. Is it possible for English speakers to share the thoughts
experienced by people who speak other languages? The answer is probably yes in many or most cases,
but in some cases, no. This brings us to the linguistic-relativity hypothesis.

3.4.1 The Linguistic-Relativity Hypothesis

The linguistic-relativity hypothesis was proposed by Benjamin Whorf. Whorf believed that language
structures the way we perceive the world. That is, the categories and relationships we use to understand
the world are derived from our language. Therefore, speakers of various languages conceptualize the
world in different ways.

For instance, most English speakers’ ability to think about snow may be limited compared with that of the
Inuit. We have only a few words for snow, whereas the Inuit have many. The Inuit’s words differ according
to whether the snow is hard packed, falling, melting, covered by ice, and so on. When we think about
snow, we have fewer words to choose from and have to search for descriptive adjectives. The Inuit,
however, can readily find a single word that describes a complex weather condition. This extensive
vocabulary may make it easier for them to think about and discuss the various types of snow they
encounter.

Similarly, the Hanunoo people of the Philippines use 92 words for rice, depending on whether the rice is
husked or unhusked and on how it is prepared. And whereas we have one word for camel, Arabs have
more than 250 words to describe different types of camels, reflecting their significance in Arab culture.

3.4.2 Color Perception and Language

In English, we have hundreds of words to describe colors. There is about a 95% overlap in perception and
labeling of colors among English speakers and Chinese people. However, some languages use far fewer
color terms. For example, Shona-speaking people use only three words for colors, and Bassa speakers use
only two, corresponding to light and dark. Despite this limited vocabulary, studies have found that people
in nonindustrialized societies often have overlapping terms for basic colors like white, black, red, green,
yellow, and blue.

Moreover, people who use only a few words to distinguish among colors seem to perceive the same color
variations as people with more words. For example, the Dani of New Guinea have just two words for colors:
one that refers to yellows and reds and one that refers to greens and blues. Yet their performance on
matching and memory tasks shows that the Dani can discriminate the many colors of the spectrum just as
well as people with a more extensive color vocabulary.

3.4.3 Criticisms of the Linguistic-Relativity Hypothesis

Most cognitive scientists no longer accept the linguistic-relativity hypothesis in its strongest form. For one
thing, adults use images and abstract logical propositions, as well as words, as units of thought. Infants,
moreover, display considerable cognitive functioning before they have learned to speak. This suggests
that thought can exist independently of language.

Another criticism is that a language’s vocabulary suggests the range of concepts that the speakers of the
language have traditionally found important, not their cognitive limits. For example, people who were
magically lifted from the 19th century and placed inside an airplane probably would not think they were
flying inside a bird or a large insect, even if their language lacked a word for airplane. They would likely
use other cognitive abilities to understand and adapt to the new concept.

The relationship between language and culture is intricate, with language shaping and reflecting the way
we perceive the world. While the linguistic-relativity hypothesis provides valuable insights into how
language influences thought, it is clear that human cognition extends beyond linguistic boundaries.
Language enriches our ability to communicate and conceptualize, but it is not the sole determinant of our
cognitive capabilities.

3.5 Language Development

Languages around the world develop in a specific sequence of steps, beginning with prelinguistic
vocalizations of crying, cooing, and babbling. These sounds are not symbols; they do not represent objects
or events. Therefore, they are prelinguistic, not linguistic.

3.5.1 Prelinguistic Vocalizations

As parents are well aware, newborn children have one inborn, highly effective form of verbal expression:
crying—and more crying. But crying does not represent language; it is a prelinguistic event. During the
second month, babies begin cooing, another form of prelinguistic expression that appears to be linked to
feelings of pleasure. By the fifth or sixth month, children begin to babble. Children babble sounds that
occur in many languages, including the throaty German "ch," the clicks of certain African languages, and
rolling "r"s. Babies’ babbling frequently combines consonants and vowels, as in “ba,” “ga,” and,
sometimes, the much-valued “dada.” Although parents delight over its appearance, "dada" is purely
coincidental at first.

Babbling, like crying and cooing, is inborn and prelinguistic. Deaf children babble, and children from
cultures whose languages sound very different all seem to babble the same sounds. However, children
single out the sounds used in the home within a few months. By the age of 9 or 10 months, they are
repeating these sounds regularly, and foreign sounds drop out. Early experience in acquiring the
phonemes (i.e., meaningful units of sound) native to one’s own language can make it difficult to pronounce
and even discriminate phonemes used in other languages later in life.

Children tend to utter their first word at 11 to 13 months, but a range of 8 to 18 months is normal. Parents
often miss the first word because it is not pronounced clearly. The growth of vocabulary is slow at first,
taking 3 to 4 months to achieve a 10-word vocabulary after the first word is spoken. By about 18 months,
children are producing a couple of dozen words.

3.5.2 Development of Grammar

The first linguistic utterances of children around the globe are single words that can express complex
meanings, known as holophrases. For example, "mama" may signify "There goes Mama," "Come here,
Mama," or "You are my Mama." Similarly, "cat" can signify "There is a cat," "That stuffed animal looks like
my cat," or "I want you to give me my cat right now!" Children often augment their holophrases with
gestures and intonations to convey their intended meaning.

Toward the end of the second year, children begin to speak two-word sentences. These sentences are
termed telegraphic speech because they resemble telegrams, which cut out unnecessary words. For
example, “Home Tuesday” might stand for “I expect to be home on Tuesday.” Two-word utterances seem
to appear at about the same time in the development of all languages. These utterances are brief but
grammatically correct, such as “Sit chair” to tell a parent to sit in a chair, not “Chair sit,” and “My shoe” to
show possession, not “Shoe my.”

There are different kinds of two-word utterances, some containing nouns or pronouns and verbs (“Daddy
sit”), and others containing verbs and objects (“Hit ball”). The sequence of emergence of the various kinds
of two-word utterances is apparently the same in all languages, regardless of linguistic diversity.

Overregularization
Overregularization is an important development for understanding the roles of nature and nurture in
language development. In English, we add “-d” or “-ed” to make the past tense of regular verbs and “-s” or
“-z” sounds to make regular nouns plural. Initially, children learn irregular verbs and nouns by imitating
older people and tend to form them correctly. However, as they become aware of grammatical rules, they
tend to make errors such as saying “I seed it” instead of “I saw it,” or “Mommy sitted down” instead of
“Mommy sat down.” This tendency to regularize the irregular is what is meant by overregularization.

Parents should not be concerned about overregularization as it reflects knowledge of grammar, not faulty
language development. In another year or two, errors like “mouses” will be corrected to “mice,” and
“Mommy sitted down” will become “Mommy sat down.” Parents can enjoy these charming errors while
they last.

Other Developments
By the age of six, children’s vocabularies have expanded to 10,000 words, give or take a few thousand. By
ages seven to nine, most children realize that words can have more than one meaning and are entertained
by riddles and jokes that require some sophistication with language. Between the elementary school and
high school years, language grows more complex, and children rapidly add to their vocabularies.
Vocabulary can continue to grow throughout life, especially in areas of specialization and interest.

3.5.3 Nature and Nurture in Language Development

Billions of children have acquired the languages spoken by their parents and passed them down, with
minor changes, from generation to generation. Language development, like many other areas of
development, reflects the interactions between nature and nurture.

Learning Theory and Language Development

Learning theorists see language as developing according to laws of learning. They usually refer to the
concepts of imitation and reinforcement. From a social cognitive perspective, parents serve as models, and
children learn language, at least in part, through observation and imitation. Many words, especially nouns
and verbs (including irregular verbs), are learned by imitation.

Children initially repeat the irregular verb forms they have heard accurately as a result of modeling.
However, modeling does not explain all the events in language learning. As noted previously, children later
overregularize irregular verb forms because they have developed an understanding of grammar. Nor can
learning by imitation explain how children come to utter phrases and sentences they have not observed.
For example, parents are unlikely to model utterances such as “Bye-bye sock” and “All gone Daddy,” yet
children say them.

Learning theory cannot account for the unchanging sequence of language development and the spurts in
children’s language acquisition. Even the types of two-word utterances emerge in a consistent pattern
across diverse cultures. Although timing differs from one child to another, the types of questions used,
passive versus active sentences, and so on, all emerge in the same order.

The Nativist Approach to Language Development

The nativist theory of language development holds that innate factors—children’s nature—cause children
to attend to and acquire language in certain ways. From this perspective, children bring neurological
"prewiring" to language learning. According to psycholinguistic theory, language acquisition involves
the interaction of environmental influences—such as exposure to parental speech and reinforcement—and
the inborn tendency to acquire language. Noam Chomsky refers to this inborn tendency as a language
acquisition device (LAD). Evidence for an LAD is found in the universality of human language abilities
and the specific sequence of language development.

The LAD prepares the nervous system to learn grammar. On the surface, languages differ a great deal.
However, the LAD serves children all over the world because languages share what Chomsky refers to as a
"universal grammar"—an underlying set of rules for turning ideas into sentences.