Mid-Term Paper Question 2 Semester I AY 2011/12

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National University of Singapore
Department of Psychology

PL1101E: INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY

Name: Ong Jiang Jiang Ace
Matriculation Number: A0083803H
Discussion Group: E18
Instructor/Teaching Assistant: Ms Khoo Lin Zhi Bernice
Date of Submission: 30
th
September 2011

Question 2

We sometimes see things that are not real, or forget a good friends name. Are human
perceptual and memory systems fundamentally flawed? Support your position using (a)
principles of (1) sensation and perception, (2) memory and (3) evolutionary psychology, along
with (b) relevant examples.














Mid-Term Paper Question 2 Semester I AY 2011/12

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Humans sometimes encounter instances where they experience something that may not be
physically accurate or fail to provide a vividly accurate recollection of events. While it may be easy to
jump to the conclusion that human perceptual and memory systems are flawed, it is crucial to
analyse these 'flaws' critically and look into its evolutionary function. These apparent imperfections
may not be a disadvantage for mankind, but intricately designed to serve vital purposes.
One aspect of 'imperfection' that is often argued, is the effect of interference on memory-
which results in the inability to recall certain information due to the presence of other information.
In a study, Sulin and Dooling (1974) showed sentences to participants that makes up a story and
tested the contestants one week later if they could correctly differentiate which sentences have
been shown to them. When these stories are related to someone of fame, the accuracy of
participant's answer diminished significantly. One example is that participants would inaccurately
recall that a sentence about Hitler hating Jews had been present when they were given stories about
him (Hal R. Arkes and Marilyn R. Freedman, 1984). The disadvantage of those with historical
knowledge would be the effect of proactive interference where pior knowledge influenced them
into thinking that they have seen the cue a week earlier.
However, in real life situations, interference may not be as detrimental as one would expect.
According to the classical interference theory tradition, information which contain similar retrieval
cues are more likely to encounter interference than those information that are dissimilar (Osgood,
1949). In this case, one may presume that professionals would encounter high interference when
asked to recall information within their expertise due to the extensive knowledge they have within a
narrow subject. Instead, these professionals managed to retrieve knowledge within their expertise
easily (deGroot, 1965). Evolutionary psychology may suggest that humans have evolved to be able to
differentiate information which is of higher importance more easily. Information which humans
deem of low importance are not as highly differentiated as those deemed of high importance. Thus,
this imperfection in human memory system may not be truly disadvantageous but developed into a
working system that gives priority to information of a higher importance to prevent overworking of
the memory system.
Mid-Term Paper Question 2 Semester I AY 2011/12

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Another seeming flawed system might be the human perception of temperature. When
humans touch a hot stimulus, a sensation of paradoxical cold may be perceived just before the hot
sensation. This is because humans have different receptors for sensations of warm and cold, and the
hot sensation is perceived when both the warm and cold receptors are stimulated simultaneously.
The cold sensation could have been transmitted to the brain at a slightly faster rate before the warm
sensation reaches the brain (W. Edward Craighead, Charles B. Nemeroff ). Proponents may suggest
that human perception system is inadequate as it results in the inaccurate perception of
temperature. It potentially allows human to come into contact with a scalding object for a longer
period of time, causing damage to the human body.
Notwithstanding the scenario above, humans typically move away from the source of heat
once the paradoxical cold is perceived, rather than moving away only when the hot sensation is felt.
This separation of thermoreceptors allow faster transmission of the individual thermal sensation(W.
Edward Craighead, Charles B. Nemeroff). The speed to which the sensation is perceived may be
more important then the accuracy of the temperature perceived in preventing injuries. Thus,
paradoxical cold cannot be truly deemed as a fault of the human perception system. Instead, it
might have been part of evolutionary adaptation to help humans survive.
Evolution has fine-tuned the human memory and perception system to the most favourable
in our environment. The ostensible faults of these human systems could be in fact an adaptation to
serve human interest better when performing the most essential functions. Since the human system
has been designed to aid the fundamental purpose of human survival, it cannot be surmised as
flawed. Rather, these sophisticated adaptations might be necessary for human survival.






Mid-Term Paper Question 2 Semester I AY 2011/12

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References
Degroot, A. D. (1965). Thought and choice in chess. The American Journal of Psychology, 79, 467. The
Hague: Mouton.
Hal R. Arkes and Marilyn R. Freedman. (1984). A demonstration of the costs and benefits of
expertise in recognition memory. Memory & Cognition, 12, 84-89. Ohioh University
Osgood C. E. (1949). The similarity paradox in human learning: A resolution. Psychological Review,
56, 132-43.
Sulin R. A. and Dooling, D. J. (1974). Intrusion of a thematic idea in retention of prose: Journal of
Experimental Psychology. 103,255-262.
W. Edward Craighead and Charles B. Nemeroff. (2004). The concise Corsini encyclopedia of
psychology and behavioral science. John Wiley and Sons.