Stephen van Vlack

Sookmyung Women`s University

Graduate School of TESOL

Human Learning and Cognition

Fall 2003

Questions - Week 11 Terry, Chapter 9 and Fauconnier Chapter 3

Terry (2000) Chapter 9 - Encoding

1. What is encoding and what are some of the basic variables in encoding? (Margaret Creed)

Encoding is your initial acquisition of information. Locating this information in storage and accessing that information is retrieval. Therefore, better encoding implies that both storage and retrieval will improve also.

Encoding is an aspect of long-term memory. It is the ability to remember what we have learned in this class long after we have graduated. There are a number of variables in encoding. Some variables are: rehearsal, Imagery and meaningfulness. All rehearsal is not the same. We can make a distinction between elaborative rehearsal and maintenance rehearsal. These two terms derive from the levels-of-processing approach of Craik and Lockhart (1972), which posits that information can be processed to a greater, or lesser extent or different depths��along a continuum from shallow to deep processing.

Maintenance rehearsal is shallow processing. It is recycling of information in order to keep it available in short-term memory or the phonological store. It is somewhat passive repetitive thinking. We use maintenance rehearsal when we must quickly remember a phone number. It is

effective in short-term memory relations with uninterrupted rehearsal until the time of recall.

Elaborate rehearsal is thinking about material in such a way as to require more cognitive effort, to activate more associations, which is why elaborate rehearsal represents deep processing. For example we use elaborative rehearsal to remember a phone number by taking the time to look for

meaningful patterns. At least three hypotheses have been offered to explain exactly what elaboration is. Elaboration,destinctiveness and effort. (Horton and Mills 1984). Elaboration requires rich processing in terms of meaning. For example, if you want to understand the concept��depth of processing you will need to appreciate how this concept is related to both distinctiveness and elaboration. Unlike distinctiveness, elaboration is especially useful in enhancing memory when we want to emphasis similarity and relationships between items. In other words, elaboration helps us synthesize information (Phillips 1985).

Distinctiveness of the memory hypothesis allows that shallow processing may sometimes lead to good retention, just as long as the memory representation is distinctive. In memory recall, distinctiveness is the term describing a stimulus that is different from all other memory traces.

Cognitive effort implies that we find ways to work harder at encoding. The conclusion we come to discussing elaboration is that students will probably learn more if we find ways to make them work harder at encoding and if they are encouraged to deal with new information in terms of its meaning and semantic content. Therefore, just getting students to simply repeat materiel or spend more time looking at it is not the most efficient way they will learn and remember content. It is actually the amount of effort expended in a meaningful way that determines retention. For example the techniques used in the various mnemonic devises exemplify the use of elaborative processing. These methods require meaningful analysis of the target words, creation of distinctive representation in memory and cognitive effort.

2. What are presentation variables? (Kim, Jong-wan)

PRESENTATION VARIABLES:

Encoding is closely related to how the material is presented. Presentation variables includes (1)Serial-Position Effect, (2) Isolation Effects(von Restorff Effect) and Vividness, (3) Spacing Effects, and (4) Generation Effect.

1. Serial-Position Effect

(1) the first item: primary effect/ long-term memory

(2) the last item: recency effect/ short-term memory

(3) exception: recalling lists from the long-term memory

The sequence of events is a major factor determining recalling. The classical-position effect means that the first item and the last item in a list of words tend to be recalled better. On the basis of the dual-memory system, the first item is related to the primacy effect where the first item is typically rehearsed more and has more chance to be elaborated in the long term memory. On the other hand, the last item is related to the recency effect where the last item is first recalled form the short-term memory during the output before forgetting. Accordingly, it is very reasonable to organize a paragraph like this:

PARAGRAPH SERIAL-EFFECT

A topic sentence	Primacy effect
Supporting sentences
A concluding sentence	Recency effect

However, there are some exceptions in the real world on the basis of the dual-memory system. When we retrieve the past events from the long-term memory, even the items are really recalled from the long-term memory, not from the short-term memory.

2. Isolation Effect(von Restorff Effect) and Vividness

(1) Isolation Effect or von Restorff Effect:

unusual item embedded in homogeneous list of items

�� differential processing view

�� retrograde amnestic effect

�� anterograde amnestic effect

(2) Vividness:

enhanced rehearsal distinctive memory representation of the isolated item

Isolation effect is proved in von Restorff effect study. When Helena von Restorff(1930) present a list of to-be-remembered items, she presented one item distinctively like: one unusual item embedded in homogeneous list of items. While the other words were printed in black, one word was printed in red. The one item which was presented distinctively in the context was recalled more quickly and better. This isolation effect can be explained by differential processing view during encoding. Since the one item is perceived distinctively, it tends to draw more attention, be rehearsed more and elaborated in memory. On the other hand, recalling the isolated item may be due to more distinctive during retrieval.

Other research has shown a more complex patterns in isolation effect.

The isolated item is better remembered, while the other items before and after it tends to be forgotten. Retrograde amnesic effect refers to forgetting the other items just before the distinctive item in the list of words. For example, in the list of words of Tulving(1969): dog, tree, grass, COLUMBUS, school, coffee, and soup. The enhanced recall of the distinctive item COLUMBUS prevented recalling the other words just before it. Anterograde amnesic effect refers to forgetting the other items after the distinctive item in the list of words.

The vividness effect means that if information presented deserves drawing attention, enables the participants to feel emotionally interesting,

and provokes image, it tends to be better remembered. In vividness studies, the same target information is presented in more vivid or less vivid formats. Participants pay attention to the material at hand with regardless of the degree to the vividness. Attention and rehearsal are not totally different in more vivid and less vivid formats. Among several presentations, a single vivid presentation tends to be remembered better than less vivid ones. However, only single vivid presentation doesn't lead preferential recalling.

3. What are some of the learner variables that can affect encoding? (Kim, Misun)

When the learner acquire new information, there are variables that make her pay attention to and that facilitate encoding: intention, incentive, interest, and arousal.

There are two kinds of learning: incidental and intentional learning. Incidental learning means to learn and retain the information without purpose and explicit attempts: remembering the article in the newspaper and the story of drama or movie. The other refers to study, learn, and rehearse with deliberate intention for encoding. Effective encoding depends more on whether the learner perform the deeper processing to remember and whether information is processed in the variety of ways. It relies less on whether learners remember with intention and explicit attempt. Because incidental learning can be as good as intentional one in recalling the information, according to the sample results from some studies.

Explicit incentives may be little effective to improve recall or cognitive processing if learners involve in learning. When the incentives for remembering are promised, it does not influence memory directly. It may develop behavior which helps to retain better. Learners can be intrinsically motivated to participate in the tasks actively, separated from incentives. In the class situation, explicit incentives can be used effectively when a teacher offers them students who are not interested in learning and recalling.

Interest affects better encoding. People are interested in a special topic or knowledge. Its interest helps people acquire new information more easily on the basis of the prior knowledge. It can also stimulate a intrinsic motivation for performing deeper processing. In the class situation, a teacher should activate their interest at the first stage of lesson to have students pay attention to learning. She can provided a special topic which students are interested in like soccer, computer game or pets. She can also make use of prior knowledge to arouse the intrinsic motivation for deeper processing.

Arousal affects what people focus or ignore. Arousal means a state of attention or ability to increase attention, alertness or anxiety based on the startle value. When information are received from the senses and thought, it can arouse us. The level of arousal is important to activate performance. In the low or high arousal level, a learner does not pay less attention to it. In its middle level, her performance may improve. The optimal levels of arousal can be determined by each individual and task. For example, experts can be produced in lower or higher arousal levels than novice. The arousal level in taking exam is different from those in classroom learning. Arousal affects learning by interacting with multiple other variables. For example, when learners are too tired and nervous, they can not pay attention to the class and encode or retain the information in the stable memory during the class.

Emotion affects better encoding. According to clutter theory, people can receive only perceived information from environment. The information can also be stayed in the brain only when they focus their attention on it. Perception and attention systems fire together to form the actual brain content. The attended information activates emotion system by passing through the amygdala. Its system tags all input according to contextual or environmental situation. Emotional value is assigned to each item according to the intensity of perception. The input with emotional value can be stored in long-term memory. The emotional arousal will lead to better encoding and remembering in long-term memory. For example, the emotional events are distinguishing and stored easily in the memory as the flashbulb memories and eyewitness memory. People talk and think about the emotional events with others. They encode the events into memory on the basis of individual value and emotion.

Fauconnier (1997) Chapter 2 - Tense and Mood

4. What is the role of tenses in forming mental spaces?

What Fauconnier is really doing here is trying to expand the power of the system he has been describing in the book to date by linking it to ideas which are often seen as being central to the idea of traditional language study, namely those of tense and mood. Not surprisingly, they are also important ideas in the view of language that he is expounding as well. Fauconnier demonstrates that his system works better than traditional grammar in how it is able to describe tense shifts in discourse. This is what we really need to remember. Tense seems to be restricted in how it flows, but the flow of tense is not necessarily linear as we were lead to believe and have told our students.

In order to explain some of the examples which Fauconnier offers in this chapter two things need to be posited for system of grammar. The first of these is that tenses play a major role in opening mental spaces. This would seem obvious in a system like Fauconnier's in which context is factored in heavily. A nicely into context based system the location along a type of time line would be extremely important in establishing context, and of course getting more deeply into Fauconnier specific system the idea of focus and point of view. Fauconnier demonstrates very aptly how in conversations these kinds of things all shift. Now, the second thing that needs to be done is that the basic idea underlying tense needs to be adapted someone. This is done following what many pragmatists and discourse analysts have already done. In fact, the severely took the grammar course last semester saw that Yule had already done this. The basic idea here is that tense is not only about time. Tense is also about factuality. Basically, pass tense and present tense are used to denote facts. These might not be actual facts in the real world but their facts in the mind of the speaker. The future tense is used for non facts. This means the people use the future tense when they're expressing a belief which may or may not occur in the future. The other part to this is that the pass tense, and again we saw this at great length and Yule, also has the role of reflecting levels of possibility. Without going in and trying to simply rehash what Fauconnier has explained well, let us just say it is obvious that we need to make these kind of observations in real language and particularly in real language use.

The true test of the system comes in when we integrate aspect into tense. Traditional grammar doesn't often seem to make a very large distinction between aspect and tense, but discourse analysts generally do and so does Fauconnier here. The inclusion of abstract into Fauconnier system really shows the strength of the system. For it is in the use of aspect systems which foster tremendous mismatches in supposed linear tense not only across different utterances but also within a single utterance. Take the following utterance as an example:

John could've been sitting with Mary but he wouldn't.

In this case we have a mismatch and tense between the aspectual parts of the verb unit. Traditional grammar tries to describe this by talking about movements through a linear kind of time and time marking in language. The traditional grammar explanation really doesn't seem sufficient particularly after we see how cognitivist like Fauconnier deal with structures like this. Following the inclusion of such data and discussion such as we have seen in this chapter digital fleet of healing for the idea that Fauconnier's system really does work.

5. How do speech verbs create metal space configurations?

Speech verbs are very interesting simply because they lock a linguistic moment into a specific time which may or may not be the focus of the entire discourse structure. In effect, they simply create an additional mental space. This means that utterances involving speech verbs will be inherently more complex than those without them, starting specifically from the base. Fauconnier mentions them and happily briefly just to show how this system also works well in describing how speech verbs actually work. For Fauconnier speech verbs are good examples of nonlinearity in relation to time.

6. What is mood and how does it work to form and define mental spaces? Give some examples from English.

The best way to think about mood in language is to think about it as we would in the field of psychology. Everything about people mood is really what controls the situation at least for a period of time. So, if you are in a bad mood is going to cloud and control everything you say. Likewise, if you to good mood it will affect everything else as well. This is also the way mood functions in language. The mood of a particular utterance provides a basic underlying feeling about that utterance. We therefore have different moods, most of which reflect whether the utterance is going to be a question or a statement and specifically what type of question or statement. We know that there such things as direct questions, indirect questions, as well as different types of statements, all of which reflect different mood patterns. Mood, when it interacts with tense forms a complex type of meaning. Fauconnier includes this in his treatment in this chapter for two reasons. The first reason is that mood and tense do in fact go together and this in a structural way, for mood is encoded on verbs and verbal units in the same way that tenses and often using similar most logical devices, at least in English. The other reason is that mood like tenses is well described in Fauconnier's system. Again, and we have seen this before over and over again, what seems the important is how far the concepts from the mood will travel down throughout the entire structure of the utterance. For it is the range of control which will actually determine the meaning which is derived from the utterance. Fauconnier systems seems to be able to do this very well.