Spreading activation theory

Definition

Spreading activation theory is a cognitive science model that explains how information is retrieved from memory through interconnected concepts in a network. It suggests that when one concept is activated, related concepts are also activated in a cascading manner, leading to the retrieval of information associated with those concepts. This model is crucial for understanding how meanings are connected in language, how words are stored and accessed in memory, how spoken language is recognized, and how information is retrieved from long-term memory.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. The theory posits that each concept in memory is linked to others, forming a network where activation spreads along these connections.
2. Spreading activation can explain phenomena like the tip-of-the-tongue state, where individuals struggle to retrieve a word but can recall related concepts.
3. The speed of activation spread may vary depending on the strength and number of connections a concept has within the network.
4. This theory highlights the role of context and prior knowledge in facilitating word recognition and comprehension during speech.
5. It supports the idea that meaning is not stored in isolation but rather as part of an interconnected web of related concepts.

Review Questions

• How does spreading activation theory enhance our understanding of lexical semantics?
  • Spreading activation theory enhances our understanding of lexical semantics by illustrating how meanings of words are interconnected within a mental network. When we hear or think of a word, related words and meanings can be activated simultaneously due to their associations. This model helps explain why certain words or concepts come to mind more easily than others based on their relationships within this semantic network.
• Discuss the implications of spreading activation theory for the mental lexicon and how it influences word retrieval during speech production.
  • Spreading activation theory has significant implications for the mental lexicon, as it shows that words are not stored as isolated entities but as part of a complex web of associations. When trying to produce speech, the activation of one word can trigger related words and concepts, facilitating faster retrieval. This interconnectedness can lead to phenomena like semantic errors or slips of the tongue when closely related terms influence each other during speech production.
• Evaluate how spreading activation theory contributes to our understanding of speech recognition and its application in artificial intelligence.
  • Spreading activation theory contributes greatly to our understanding of speech recognition by providing insights into how humans process spoken language and retrieve meanings in real-time. In artificial intelligence, this theory informs algorithms that simulate human-like processing by allowing systems to draw upon a network of related terms and concepts when interpreting spoken input. By mimicking this natural process, AI systems can improve their accuracy in recognizing and understanding human speech, making interactions more intuitive and effective.

Related terms

Semantic Network: A model of memory representation where concepts are stored as nodes connected by links that denote relationships between them.

Priming: A phenomenon in which exposure to one stimulus influences the response to another stimulus, often used to study memory retrieval.

Associative Memory: A type of memory that involves the ability to remember information based on its associations with other information.