In what way is the topic of boundary extension related to the topic of schemas?

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CHAPTER INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND AND APPROACHES TO SEMANTIC
Background on Semantic Memory
The Prototype Approach
Comparing the Exemplar and Prototype Approaches
NETWORK MODELS OF SEMANTIC MEMORY
Anderson's ACT-R Approach
The Parallel Distributed Processing Approach
Schemas and Memory Selection
Schemas and Boundary Extension
Schemas and Memory Abstraction
In what way is the topic of boundary extension related?
Which of the following best describes how the boundary extension phenomenon illustrates schema effects on memory for visual scenes?
Which of these is an example of a schema?
How is the term situated cognition approach related to the concept of knowledge?

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Highlights

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Boundary contraction is as common as boundary extension for naturalistic scene images

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Boundary transformation direction is highly predictable from basic image properties

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Boundary transformations occur during recognition, recall, and minimal memory load

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These results dispute boundary extension as a universal phenomenon of scene memory

Summary

Boundary extension, a memory distortion in which observers consistently recall a scene with visual information beyond its boundaries, is widely accepted across the psychological sciences as a phenomenon revealing fundamental insight into memory representations [1, 2, 3], robust across paradigms [1, 4] and age groups [5, 6, 7]. This phenomenon has been taken to suggest that the mental representation of a scene consists of an intermingling of sensory information and a schema that extrapolates the views of a presented scene [8], and it has been used to provide evidence for the role of the neocortex [9] and hippocampus [10, 11] in the schematization of scenes during memory. However, the study of boundary extension has typically focused on object-oriented images that are not representative of our visuospatial world. Here, using a broad set of 1,000 images tested on 2,000 participants in a rapid recognition task, we discover “boundary contraction” as an equally robust phenomenon. Further, image composition largely drives whether extension or contraction is observed—although object-oriented images cause more boundary extension, scene-oriented images cause more boundary contraction. Finally, these effects also occur during drawing tasks, including a task with minimal memory load—when participants copy an image during viewing. Collectively, these results show that boundary extension is not a universal phenomenon and put into question the assumption that scene memory automatically combines visual information with additional context derived from internal schema. Instead, our memory for a scene may be largely driven by its visual composition, with a tendency to extend or contract the boundaries equally likely.

Keywords

boundary transformations

boundary extension

memory

drawings

scenes

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Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Page 1 of 11

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER INTRODUCTION

schemas

We have an enormous amount of information about the world, and we

use this information efficiently and accurately.

When people are given one specific piece of information, they can build

on this specific information.

BACKGROUND AND APPROACHES TO SEMANTIC

MEMORY

Inference- the logical interpretations and conclusions that were never part

of the original stimulus method

semantic memory- refers to your organized knowledge about the world

episodic memory- information about events that happen to us

Background on Semantic Memory

Semantic memory includes general knowledge, lexical or language

knowledge, and conceptual knowledge.

concept

situated cognition approach—Our knowledge depends on the context

surrounding us.

semantic memory allows us to:

 organize objects according to concepts

 make inferences going beyond the information given

 decide which objects are similar

Page 2 of 11

The Prototype Approach

Eleanor Rosch

 organize each category on the basis of a prototype , the item that is

most typical and representative of the category

 prototype approach —decide whether an item belongs to a

category by comparing that item with a prototype

 members of a category differ in prototypicality

 graded structure —members of categories are not all created

equal

Characteristics of Prototypes

1. Prototypes are supplied as examples of a category. Mervis and colleagues (1976)  prototype ratings for examples of categories  Items rated most prototypical were the same items that other people had supplied most often in the category norms. Results account for typicality effect —when judging whether an item belongs to a particular category, typical items judged faster than atypical items 2. Prototypes are judged more quickly than nonprototypes, after semantic priming.  semantic priming effect —People respond faster to an item if it was preceded by an item with similar meaning.  Priming facilitates responses to prototypes more than it facilitates responses to nonprototypes.  Priming inhibits judgments for nonprototypes. (Rosch color studies) 3. Prototypes share attributes in a family resemblance category. family resemblance  no single attribute shared by all examples of a concept  Each example has at least one attribute in common with some other example of the concept. Rosch and Mervis (1975)  prototypicality judgments about members of several categories  list the attributes possessed by each item  The most prototypical item shared the largest number of attributes with the other items in the category.

Page 4 of 11  categories and examples rated in terms of typicality (by different students)  Researchers try to create an equation to predict the typicality of the categories based on the exemplars.  need to take into account the frequency and typicality ratings of the exemplars  Exemplar frequency and exemplar typicality accurately predicted which of the seven categories were most typical for the superordinate category "animal."  When asked a question about a category, people don't just consider prototypes, they also include information about less typical examples of the category.

Comparing the Exemplar and Prototype Approaches

 make decisions about category membership by comparing to a stored representation (like prototype approach), but the stored representation is a collection of numerous specific members of the category, not a typical member  do not need to perform any kind of abstraction process which would force you to discard useful, specific data about individual cases Problems  The exemplar approach may be more suitable for categories with relatively few members (so as not to overwhelm semantic memory).  The prototype approach may be more suitable for categories with numerous members.  Individual differences in representations may be substantial. Conclusions  Semantic memory is quite flexible.  Both approaches may coexist.  different hemispheres (left—prototypes; right—exemplars)  People may use a combination of prototype strategies and exemplar strategies when forming categories in everyday life.

NETWORK MODELS OF SEMANTIC MEMORY

network models

 propose a netlike organization of concepts in memory

 many interconnections

 meaning of a concept depends on the concepts to which it is

connected

node

spreading activation

Anderson's ACT-R Approach

ACT-R —Adapted Control of Thought-Rational

Page 5 of 11 attempts to account for a wide variety of cognitive tasks declarative knowledge propositional network proposition —smallest unit of knowledge that can be judged either true or false; abstract representation  Each concept in a proposition can be represented by its own network.  Practice increases the strength of links between nodes.  fMRI research examines how changes in learning are reflected in selected regions of the cortex and subcortex.

The Parallel Distributed Processing Approach

parallel distributed processing (PDP) approach  Cognitive processes can be represented by a model in which activation flows through networks that link together a large number of simple, neuron-like units.  networks rather than specific locations in the brain  also called: connectionism, neural networks Four General Characteristics of PDP

Cognitive processes are based on parallel operations, rather than serial operations. Therefore, many patterns of activation may be proceeding simultaneously.
A network contains basic neuron-like units or nodes , which are connected together so that a specific node has many links to other nodes. PDP theorists argue that most cognitive processes can be explained by the activation of these networks.
This process of spreading information from one node to other nodes is called spreading activation. A concept is represented by the pattern of activity distributed throughout a set of nodes.
Consistent with the concept of situated cognition , the current context often activates only certain components of a concept’s meaning. Additional Concepts of PDP  serial search vs. parallel search  Memory can cope with partial and/or partly incorrect information.  Characteristics are connected in a mutually stimulating network.  spontaneous generalization —draw a conclusion about a general category  default assignment —draw a conclusion about a specific member of a category

Page 7 of 11  script —simple, well-structured sequence of events  restaurant script  life scripts

Identifying the Script in Advance

Scripts are recalled more accurately if identified in advance. Demonstration 8: Trafimow & Wyer (1993)  scripts with irrelevant details  script-identifying event either first or last  recall events  Event recall was higher when the script-identifying event was presented first, rather than last. Events in a sequence are much more memorable if you understand—from the very beginning—that these events are all part of a standard script.

Schemas and Memory Selection

Demonstration 8: Brewer and Treyens (1981)

 recall objects from an office waiting room

 highly likely to recall objects consistent with "office schema"

 "remembered" items that were not in the room, but were consistent

with "office schema"

Neuschatz and coauthors (2002)

 "lecture schema"

People are more likely to recall schema-inconsistent material when that

material is vivid or surprising.

Davidson (1994)

 read stories describing well-known schemas

 especially likely to recall schema-inconsistent events that

interrupted the normal, expected story

General Conclusions about Schemas and Memory Selection

If the information describes a minor event—and time is limited—people tend to remember information accurately when it is consistent with a schema (e., the desk and the chair in the ‘‘office’’).
If the information describes a minor event—and time is limited—people do not remember information that is inconsistent with the schema (e., the wine bottle and the picnic basket).

Page 8 of 11 3. People seldom create a completely false memory for a lengthy event that did not occur (e., the lecturer did not dance across the room). 4. When the information describes a major event that is inconsistent with the standard schema, people are likely to remember that event (e., the child who crashes into Sarah).

Schemas and Boundary Extension

Demonstration 8.

boundary extension—our tendency to remember having viewed a greater

portion of a scene than was actually shown

Intraub and colleagues

 see photo then draw replica of photo

 Participants consistently produced a sketch that extended the

boundaries beyond the view presented in the original photo.

 activate a perceptual schema

relevance in eyewitness testimony situations

Schemas and Memory Abstraction

abstraction —a memory process that stores the meaning of a message but

not the exact words

verbatim memory —word-for-word recall

The Constructive Approach

Bransford and Franks (1971)  listen to sentences from several different stories  recognition test including new items  People were convinced that they had seen these new items before ( false alarm ).  False alarms were particularly likely for complex sentences consistent with the original schema.  False alarms were unlikely for sentences violating the meaning of the earlier sentences. constructive model of memory —People integrate information from individual sentences in order to construct larger ideas; later, they cannot untangle the constructed information from the verbatim sentences.

The Pragmatic Approach

pragmatic view of memory —people pay attention to the aspect of a message that is most relevant to their current goals

Page 10 of 11  omit material that didn't make sense from their own viewpoint  shape the story into a more familiar framework  borrow more heavily from their previous knowledge as time passed before additional recall Schemas can influence our inferences when we are reading ambiguous or unclear material. When we have the correct background knowledge, it is generally useful.

Research on Memory Integration Based on Gender Stereotypes

gender stereotypes —widely shared sets of beliefs about the characteristics of females and males When people know someone's gender, they often draw conclusions about that individual's personal characteristics. Explicit Memory Task Dunning and Sherman (1997)  read sentences followed by recognition-memory test  "new" sentences consistent or inconsistent with gender stereotypes  more likely to mistakenly "remember" a new sentence as "old" when it was consistent with a gender stereotype Implicit Memory Tasks 1. Using neuroscience techniques to assess gender stereotypes Osterhout, Bersick and McLaughlin (1997)  ERP technique  stereotype-consistent sentences vs. stereotype-inconsistent sentences  change in ERPs for stereotype-inconsistent words, but not for stereotype- consistent words 2. Using the Implicit Association Test to assess gender stereotypes Nosek, Banaji, and Greenwald (2002)  Implicit Association Test (IAT) —based on the principle that people can mentally pair two related words together much more easily than they can pair two unrelated words  stereotype-consistent pairings (male/math vs. female/arts)  stereotype-inconsistent pairings (female/math vs. male/arts)  Participants responded significantly faster to the stereotype-consistent parings than to the stereotype-inconsistent pairings.

Page 11 of 11

Individual Differences: Country of Residence and Gender Stereotypes

Nosek and coauthors (2009)

 Trends in International Mathematics and Science (TIMS)

 8th grade females and males in 34 different countries

 compare "male advantage" scores on TIMS test with IAT

measure of gender stereotyping

 Countries with the highest measures of gender stereotyping

were also more likely to be the countries were males performed better

than females in both math and science.

Conclusions About Schemas

Schemas often influence our cognitive processes:

 in the initial selection of material

 in remembering visual scenes

 in abstraction

 in the final process of integration

However:

1. We often select material for memory that is not

consistent with our schemas.

2. We may sometimes remember that we saw only a

portion of an object, rather than the complete object.

3. We frequently recall the exact words of a passage as

it was originally, rather than storing an abstract memory.

4. We may keep the elements in memory isolated from

each other, rather than integrating these elements together.

In summary, both schemas (top-down processing) and unique features of

each stimulus (bottom-up information) influence memory.

In what way is the topic of boundary extension related to the topic of schemas? Both refer to situations where we can fill in missing information, either visual information or verbal information.

Which of the following best describes how the boundary extension phenomenon illustrates schema effects on memory for visual scenes?

Which of the following best describes how the boundary extension phenomenon illustrates schema effects memory for visual scenes? people remember viewing a greater portion of a scene with clipped boundaries than was actually shown.

Which of these is an example of a schema?

Examples of schemata include rubrics, perceived social roles, stereotypes, and worldviews. The concept of schema was first introduced into psychology by British psychologist Frederic Bartlett in Remembering: A Study in Experimental and Social Psychology (1932).

Situated cognition is a theory that posits that knowing is inseparable from doing by arguing that all knowledge is situated in activity bound to social, cultural and physical contexts.