Blocking rehearsal time with an interference task Essay Example for Free

Blocking rehearsal time with an interference task Essay The theories of memory and how much, or how long we can remember things, and why, is a greatly studied area of Psychology as a science. Psychologists have created and recreated numerous tests and research methods in order to prove that their particular theory is correct. There are two main theories of memory: Levels of Processing (L.O.P.) and the Multi-store Model.  The L.O.P. approach was pioneered by two psychologist Craik and Lockhart (1972), who believed that the mind will remember things better if the information is processed on a deeper level, ie. thought about more, taking into account the amount of work that is put into processing the information received. From research they discovered that the deeper the processing required the longer and more durable the memory is likely to be. They also identified what they believed to be three levels of processing: Structural What something looks like.  Phonetic What something sounds like.  Semantic What something means.  From experiments and tests carried out, they found that the deepest level was semantic, and their reason for this, they argued, was because in order to extract the meaning from a word, and to consider its relevance in a sentence of words, requires a lot of processing. They decided that hearing a word and then trying to visualize it also requires some extensive cognitive processing, but not as much as semantic processing, and the least amount of mental work was required for structural processing, ie. what the letters look like. A test carried out by Craik and Tulving (1975), Depth of processing and retention of words in episodic memory supported their theory. Another model which is highly regarded as one of the most influential theories of memory is the Multi-store model, in particular the two-process model, designed and tested by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968, 1971). Their theory was that information received by the senses is primarily stored in the sensory store for a very short period of time before it is transferred to the short term memory. Atkinson and Shiffrin believed that when the information is in the short term memory (STM), it could either be rehearsed for a certain amount of time and then stored in the long term memory (LTM), or alternatively lost. Figure 1.1 illustrates the theory in an easier to understand way. Perhaps this is also an example of how the L.O.P. theory is flawed as although the diagram is seen to be structural information, it will probably provoke strong visual imagery. Atkinson and Shiffrin believed that chunks of information received by the sensory store could be held in the STM for around 20 seconds, but only 5 to 9 (on average) chunks of info can be remembered without rehearsal. However, if rehearsed the chunks of information can be transferred into the long term memory and more items can be remembered. The theory of the rehearsal loop interests me, so I decided to look further into it and found that psychologists: Brown (1958) and Peterson and Peterson (1959) independently discovered a method for testing the existence of the rehearsal loop called the Brown-Peterson technique. This basically involves a list of trigrams (three letter words made up of consonants with no immediate meaning ie. BKD, as apposed to WHY) shown to subjects for 20 seconds, rehearsed for 25 seconds and then recorded in order by the subject as well as possible. The same list is then shown to another subject for the same amount of time, however this time the 25 seconds rehearsal time will be interrupted with an interference task ie. counting backwards in threes from the number 58. This is the technique I will use as a basis of my mini-cognitive research project. AIM:  To test the existence of the rehearsal loop by preventing it from its task with an interference task during the rehearsal time.  RATIONALE:  I will be re-creating the Brown-Peterson technique for testing the existence of the rehearsal loop, although my study will use slightly different trigrams, and obviously a different set of people. Im interested to check whether the results of my study will support the results found by Brown-Peterson or not. I will use a set word list for both groups of people studied and Im expecting the results of my study to support the results of previous tests, thus supporting the theory of existence of the rehearsal loop. HYPOTHESIS:  When asked to recall the list of trigrams in order after a period of 25 seconds rehearsal time, the subject will remember significantly more trigrams if the rehearsal time is not interrupted by an interference task.  NULL HYPOTHESIS:  Subjects taking part in the experiment will not recall a significantly greater number of words whether their rehearsal time is interrupted with an interference task or not. Any difference found is purely down to chance. METHOD:  The method I chose to use in order to obtain the clearest and most reliable data was the laboratory experiment. The reason for using this method is to reduce the amount of extraneous and possibly confounding variables which could interfere with the results; also it becomes very easy to repeat the same test over and over without change. I will use the independent groups design to ensure that different participants are used for each test in order to avoid the chances that the participants will skew the results through rehearsal. The first set of participants will be shown a list of 15 trigrams for 20 seconds, after which time they will be asked to rehearse these for a period of 25 seconds. After that time they will then be asked to write out as many as possible in the correct order (if the trigram is BHD then the participant must write BHD, no mark will be given for BDH). The results will then be recorded.  The same set of trigrams will then be shown to a different set of participants for the same amount of time. This time however during the 25 seconds rehearsal time, the participants will be asked to perform an interference task, which will be counting backwards in sets of 4 from the number 295. After the 25 seconds, they too will be asked to recall the trigram list and their results will also be recorded.

surrogate mothers Essay -- essays research papers

A Surrogate Mother is defined as â€Å"an adult woman who enters into an agreement to bear a child conceived through assisted conception for intended parents.† The couple is usually referred to as intended parents who enter into an agreement providing that they will be the parents of a child born to a surrogate through assisted conception, using an egg or sperm of at least one parent. 1 RIGHT - Surrogate motherhood is a right entitled to those who are ready and able to take on the responsibility of parenthood. Surrogate mothers fills a fundamental human longing. Procreation is a primitive instinct, and to many people it is devastating not to be able to become parents Surrogate motherhood is a solution to this age-old problem. Even in the bible, Abraham and Sarah resorted to a "surrogate mother" that produced their son Ishmael. 2NEED – Surrogate motherhood fills a need for infertile couples. 2.4 million infertile married American couples. It is estimated that one in six couples are affected by some degree of infertility. Many people are marrying later and are delaying having children. After age 45, about 95% of women are unable to conceive on their own. Surrogate mothers also fill the need for non-traditional families including the gay and lesbian population as well as single heterosexuals. ISSUES OF COMMERCIAL SURROGATE MOTHERHOOD Although compensation might not be the main motive for surrogacy, by making compensation illegal, it may decrease the amt. of surrogates available Some people may refer to surrogate motherhood as â€Å"baby selling† but surrogate mothers are not selling the child – they are just providing a service Medical Ethics professor at University of Texas stated, â€Å" Baby selling is you have a born child that is sold to another person. Here we’re talking about agreements made before conception has even occurred where there is no existing child. Secondly, the genes, in the case of gestational surrogacy, are being provided by the couple that is hiring the surrogate, thus, in a sense, it is their genetic child.† -the fee paid to the surrogate mother is not for the baby – it compensates her for her time and effort, initiating and carrying the pregnancy, giving birth, accepting the risks of pregnancy and childbirth (pain, depression, sleep disturbances), and possible loss of employment opportunities This $$ is often times seen as a gift to r... ...inancial REBUTTAL Children’s Reaction – my parents really wanted me or â€Å"I could have had a disease† Only 1% of all surrogate mothers change their mind and want to keep the baby as compared to 75% of birth mothers who change their minds in a traditional adoption The people who have struggled so hard to conceive their own child are probably the best candidates to be good parents, not the worst The American Fertility Society and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have recognized infertility as a disease. The statutes that are designed allow the surrogacy option only for those who are affected with a medically recognized disability. Baby M – a psychological examination showed that Mary Beth Whitehead would have a problem giving up the child, but he agency handling the transaction did not bother to read the report. $$$ - some agencies require that their surrogate applicants have some minimum family income level before being accepted into their program. $$$Money is a motivation just like it would be in other situations in which people are paid to be surrogate parents (nannies, workers in day care centers, foster parents, and teachers in elementary schools)

Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Physical geography has a major Influence to the story. The themes of geography that mainly pertain to the story are Place, Human/ Environmental Interactions, and Movement. Place can have physical and human characteristics. The physical geography of Afghanistan changed after the wars and the Taliban attacks. For example, before in the â€Å"old days the wind swept through the irrigated plains around Islamabad where farmers grew sugar cane and the sweetness impregnated the air. † Now there were narrow road and dries up gutters. In Kabul when Hosannas and Emir were young boys, they used to run up hills surrounded by Poplar and Pomegranate trees.Treetops could be seen poking from behind the houses as they played. Now most of the trees were gone used as wood for lumber to keep Taliban from hiding. Where before you could fins street vendors and restaurants, now there are only dusty roads, abandoned buildings, and beggars. The number of beggars and orphaned children increased after t he wars. The change in this geographical sense changed the way of life of the Afghan's because now they were homeless because their houses were taken over by â€Å"guest† as the referred to the Taliban.They were left without Jobs, ways of growing crops and providing for their families. The war left omen and children husbandly and fatherless. Another theme of geography that pertains is movement. Because of the war, people were forced to relocate. Those that had money fled from Afghanistan. Babe and Emir left from Kabul dictatorial and into a foreign country, America, in hope of a better future. In Afghanistan they were the aristocratic class and In America they became the working class.The following ethnic groups represented In Kite Runner are Afghans. Pakistanis, Arabs, Palestinian, Iranians, Russians, and Germans. The major ethnic groups represented are the Afghans' divided into two major groups, the Hazard's and the Pushpins, and the Pakistanis. The Hazard's are outsiders a ccording to other Afghans because of their Mongolia indigenous people of eastern and southeast Asia and Arctic region. They are also considered outsiders because the Hazard's are Shiite Muslims In a mostly Sunnis Muslim nation.The Pushpins are the dominant ethnic group In Afghanistan accounting for more than half of the population. The Pushpins are Sunnis Muslims in a Sunnis Muslim Nation. The majority of Pakistanis practice Islam. Islam governs their personal, legal, political and economic parts of their life. Pakistanis live in a hierarchical society and are respect because of age and position. There are many examples of their conflicts during the course of the novel. One example Is when Hosannas finds his mother's history book and starts reading it.In the book he finds an inure chapter about the Hazards and how they were persecuted and oppressed by the Pushpins. When he takes it to his teacher, he replies, â€Å"That's the one thing Shih's people do well, passing themselves as m artyrs. † This show how they differ and how they dislike each other. Another example is when the teacher ells Emir, that Iranians are â€Å"grinning smooth talkers who patted you on the back with one hand and picked your pocket with the other. † This shows how they dislike each other even though the Iranians, Like the Hazards, are Shih's Muslims.Another example with me in Mazda†¦ We left them out for the dogs†¦ † This shows that the Taliban could not put away their differences and they had so much hatred that they believed the Hazards were as significant as animals. The novel faithfully matches the reality of its time. Throughout the book, it mentions dates important to the plot but also events that happened in reality. For example, it leaked about King Mohammad Sahara Shah being sent away to Italy and being overthrown by his cousin Mohammad Doodad Khan in 1973.When further research was done, it proved to be correct with actual events. Another example of this was when the book mentions that the Taliban took over and massacred the Hazard's in 1998. After further studies, it proved to be accurate with the real events. Another factual event illustrated in the novel was when it mentions the United States boycotting the Olympic Games in Moscow in 1980. After research, it is proven that the facts given in the novel match the events that actually occurred.

Symbolism in Barn Burning by william Faulkner Free Essay Example, 1000 words

His father also inculcated the importance of blood in his mind. He used to say to his son, â€Å" You’ve got to learn to stick to your own blood or you ain’t going to have any blood to stick to you†( Faulkner 1040-60). The food in store In the beginning of the story Sarty’s hunger has been portrayed with the help of many relevant images. When we learn that Sarty’s stomach reads the cans of meat, we understand that he’s hungry and that he can’t read the words, but only the symbols, the pricture of fish and logon for deviled meat. The cans are also sealed. Sarty is hungry and the food is present all around. But the food is not in his ready access. It is sealed off. Food may also represent those joys of life which are in the reach of the boy but are denied to him due to unscrupulous attitude of his father. The things in the Wagon and clock The things in the wagon reflect the sorry plight of the family. All the things in the wagon are broken. We will write a custom essay sample on Symbolism in Barn Burning by william Faulkner or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now It has â€Å" battered stove, the broken beds and chairs, the clock inlaid with mother of pearl, which would not run, stopped at some fourteen minutes past two o’ clock of a dead and forgotten day and time, which had been his mother’s dowry† ( Fualkner 1040-60). The state of things in the wagon symbolizes the state of Snopes family which is disorganized and facing worst time of its life. Clock is stopped and broken. This thing also reflects that for the family time also has halted to a point of inertia. The family is trapped in the cycle of time. The whole family works according to Abner’s clock and nobody can exercise his or her choice as the time is not theirs. (Shoomp Editorial team p 32). The black Coat Apart from these symbols other images do have some semantic significance. Abner Snope’s coat matches his personality. In the beginning of the Colonal Soartaris follows stiff black coat (his father). â€Å"His father turned, and he followed the stiff black coat, the wiry figure walking a little stiffly from where a Confederate provosts mans musket ball had taken him in the heel on a stolen horse thirty years ago† ( Faulkner 1040-60). Both the coat and his father share the characteristic of stiffness. The black colour of the coat also symbolizes the inner darkness of Abner’s soul. Faulkner apart from realistic fiction employed certain literary devices to heighten the semantic scope of the story â€Å" Barn Burning†. The writer has used all these symbols to materialize the mental states of the character and give tangible meanings to some abstractions depicted in the story in order to give the reader a clue what is actually happening in the story.