Ch03: Cognitive Processes — Memory, Emotion & Personality（认知过程：记忆、情绪与人格）

Preparatory Mindset

The three core cognitive processes — memory (encoding/storage/retrieval), emotion (basic emotions + 2 dimensions), and personality (Big Five + Maslow) — are exam staples. The 医学心理学笔记 and review docx cover them in depth.

Exam mindset: know the memory stages (sensory → short-term → long-term), the forgetting curve (Ebbinghaus), 6 basic emotions (anger, happiness, sadness, fear, disgust, surprise), valence-arousal 2 dimensions, Big Five (OCEAN), and Maslow's 5-level vs 7-level hierarchy.

Core Concepts

1. Memory — the three-stage model (MUST KNOW)

1. Encoding — how we initially register/process information (visual, acoustic, semantic, elaborative); can lead to false memory (e.g., misinformation effect) 2. Storage — process of retaining and recalling information; modified for easier storage (consolidation, integration); hippocampus critical for explicit memory 3. Retrieval — getting information out of memory and back into conscious awareness (recall, recognition, relearning)

- Sensory memory (milliseconds; visual — iconic, auditory — echoic) - Short-term/working memory (~30 seconds; 7±2 items; rehearsal; the bottleneck) - Long-term memory (unlimited; semantic — meaning, episodic — events, procedural — skills)

• Three stages:
• Three memory stores:
• Forgetting curve (Ebbinghaus): rapid initial forgetting, then a plateau (logarithmic curve); rehearsal (distributed practice) and retrieval practice improve retention
• Memory disorders: anterograde amnesia (can't form new — hippocampus), retrograde amnesia (can't recall past), Alzheimer's disease (cortical atrophy)
• Mnemonic: improve encoding/retrieval

2. Emotion (MUST KNOW)

- Valence (pleasant ↔ unpleasant) - Arousal (low ↔ high)

- James-Lange: stimulus → physiological response → emotion (we feel afraid because we tremble) - Cannon-Bard: stimulus → simultaneous physiological response + emotion - Schachter-Singer two-factor: stimulus + cognitive label → emotion - Lazarus cognitive appraisal: stimulus → appraisal → emotion

• 6 basic emotions (Ekman): anger, happiness, sadness, fear, disgust, surprise (universal facial expressions)
• 2 dimensions of emotional experience:
• Emotional expression — Action Units (AU): movement of a facial muscle or muscle group that shows an emotion (Ekman's Facial Action Coding System — FACS)
• Theories of emotion:

3. Personality (MUST KNOW)

Big Five (OCEAN) — the trait model

• Openness — creativity, curiosity, ideas
• Conscientiousness — organization, discipline, reliability
• Extraversion — sociability, energy, assertiveness
• Agreeableness — trust, altruism, cooperation
• Neuroticism — emotion instability, anxiety, moodiness (low = emotional stability)

Maslow's Hierarchy of needs (MUST KNOW)

1. Physiological — breath, food, water, shelter, sleep 2. Safety — health, property, family, law 3. Love / Belonging — friendship, family, intimacy 4. Self-Esteem — confidence, achievement, respect 5. Self-Actualization — morality, creativity, acceptance, meaning, inner potential

• A motivational theory — pyramid of human needs
• 5 levels (classic):
• 7 levels (expanded): + Cognitive (knowledge, meaning) + Aesthetic (beauty, balance) between esteem and self-actualization
• Lower needs motivate before higher needs (deficit needs vs growth needs)

Other personality approaches (from Ch08 lecture)

• Psychodynamic (Freud): id, ego, superego; unconscious (see Ch06)
• Humanistic (Rogers, Maslow): self-actualization, free will, self-concept (see Ch07)
• Behavioral (Skinner): personality = learned responses
• Trait (Allport, Cattell, Eysenck): stable dispositions; Big Five

High-Yield Points

• Memory stages: encoding → storage → retrieval; storage: sensory → short-term → long-term
• Forgetting curve: rapid initial loss, then plateau; distributed practice helps
• 6 basic emotions: anger, happiness, sadness, fear, disgust, surprise
• Emotion: 2 dimensions — valence (pleasant/unpleasant) × arousal (low/high)
• FACS — Action Units for facial expression
• Big Five (OCEAN): Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism
• Maslow 5 levels: Physiological → Safety → Love/Belonging → Self-Esteem → Self-Actualization
• Maslow 7 levels: + Cognitive + Aesthetic between esteem and self-actualization
• Anterograde amnesia = can't form new memories (hippocampus); retrograde = can't recall past
• Memory errors (encode/storage/retrieve): misinformation, suggestibility, bias, blocking

Topic Summary

Cognitive processes begin with memory — three stages (encoding → storage → retrieval) and three stores (sensory, short-term/working, long-term). The Ebbinghaus forgetting curve shows rapid initial loss with a plateau; distributed practice helps. Seven basic emotions are universal (anger, happiness, sadness, fear, disgust, surprise — Ekman); emotion has two dimensions (valence and arousal), expressed via Action Units of the face. Personality is captured by the Big Five (OCEAN — Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism) and motivated by Maslow's hierarchy (5 classic levels: physiological, safety, love/belonging, esteem, self-actualization; 7-level expansion adds cognitive and aesthetic between esteem and self-actualization). Major memory disorders include anterograde and retrograde amnesia (hippocampal damage), Alzheimer's disease, and false memory / suggestibility effects.