Capella University

PSYC FPX 3500 Learning and Cognition

Prof. Name

December, 2024

Popular Versus Scholarly Sources Worksheet 

Directions: 

1. Select a Popular Media Source: PSYC FPX 3500 Assessment 1 Choose a video or website that discusses a cognitive psychology topic covered in your course text (e.g., memory, decision-making, or attention). Ensure the source is reputable and provides clear information.
2. Provide the Full Reference: Write the full citation for the media source using the appropriate format (e.g., APA style).
3. Summary of the Article: Use bullet points with full sentences or write a brief 5–8 sentence paragraph summarizing the most important points covered in the source. Clearly state the main ideas, findings, or examples the source offers about the subject.
4. Identify Peer-Reviewed Articles: Locate three scholarly, peer-reviewed journal articles that align with the topic of the media source. Provide their full citations in APA format.
5. Explain Relevance: Briefly describe how each journal article relates to the cognitive psychology topic covered in the media source. Highlight key connections or contrasting viewpoints.
6. Compare and Contrast: Answer the following questions in detail:

• Which parts of the popular source are supported by evidence from the peer-reviewed articles?
• Are there discrepancies or conflicts between the popular source and the scholarly articles?
• Discuss the validity of the popular media source and provide reasons for your assessment.

7. Analyze Further: Reflect on your learning:

• What questions arise about the topic based on your analysis?
• How can the topic be applied in real-world contexts? Provide examples to support your answer.

8. Complete the Self-Evaluation: Review all responses for clarity, completeness, and adherence to APA style. Check grammar, citations, and evidence provided to ensure accuracy and academic quality.

Media Evaluation Directions Responses 

Selected Topic: 

The Impact of Sleep on Memory Consolidation

Full Reference for the Source

National Sleep Foundation. (2021). The connection between sleep and memory. Retrieved from https://www.sleepfoundation.org

Summary of the Content:

The article discusses the role that sleep plays in memory consolidation, describing how different sleep stages, especially REM and non-REM, contribute to processing and storing new information. It emphasizes that sleep helps organize learned material, integrate it with prior knowledge, and strengthen long-term memory recall. The study also revealed several types of research showing that individuals who are provided with sufficient sleep after learning are likely to deliver better on tasks such as memory and problem-solving activities. The article further discusses the negative results of sleep deprivation such as cognitive inability to remember. Generally, the article makes a case for a proper sleep culture.

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles: 

Paller, K. A., Creery, J. D., & Schechtman, E. (2021). Memory and Sleep: How Sleep Cognition Can Change the Waking Mind for the Better. Annual Review of Psychology, 72(1), 123–150. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-010419-050815

Ford, J. H. (2024). Sleep-Dependent Memory Consolidation in Developmental Disabilities: Cognitive and Neural Factors Driving Heterogeneity Across Diagnoses. Current Sleep Medicine Reports, 10(3), 358–367. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40675-024-00304-w

Girardeau, G., & Lopes-dos-Santos, V. (2021). Brain neural patterns and the memory function of sleep. Science, 374(6567), 560–564. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abi8370

Relevance of Articles: 

1. Paller, K. A., Creery, J. D., & Schechtman, E. 2021

• This article is in relevance to the topic, focusing on how sleep boosts memory and cognitive performance, backing the claim that sleep consolidates memories. It provides mechanisms such as neural reactivation during sleep, which happens to be in line with the media source’s focus on enhancing memory performance by sleep.

2. Ford, J. H. (2024)

• These conclusions are important because Ford assessed sleep-dependent memory consolidation across subjects with developmental disabilities and shed light on how cognitive/neural factors influence memory consolidation. This is the starting point of understanding that the pros of sleep for memory should vary across different populations concepts set by the media source being extended.

3. Girardeau, G., & Lopes-dos-Santos, V. (2021)

• It explores neural activity patterns in sleep and their relationship to memory consolidation. As such, the presented article will greatly focus on the physiological basis of processing memories during sleep, providing experimental data that support theoretical claims.

Comparison and Contrast: 

• REM and non-REM sleep have both been implicated in the process of memory consolidation; thus, sleep undoubtedly plays an obligatory role in memory functions.
• Origins of the media give insight into how sleep helps to boost memory and its function in elevating learning and memory productivity.
• Paller et al. (2021) develop further with discussions on how neural reactivation during sleep involves a direct influence on memory, including more detailed mechanisms for the media source claims.
• Ford 2024: Sleep-Dependent Memory Consolidation in Developmental Disabilities: A Perspective This paper takes a closer look at sleep and memory consolidation across populations.
• Girardeau & Lopes-dos-Santos (2021) describe particular neural patterns during sleep and their involvement in memory consolidation, providing empirical evidence that increases the complexity of the discussion presented by the media source.
• The media source at least presents an overview of the subject matter; however, journal articles are more detailed and specific to biological processes and individual variability in sleep-related memory consolidation.

Questions Raised: 

Some stages of sleep in which specific types of contributions of different sorts of memory-declarative versus procedural, for instance, place.

Application to the Real World: 

It is very practical and important research in terms of direct application to real-life applications. Sleep and memory consolidation directly apply to real life. In educational and healthcare areas, it has direct applications. In this regard, it may help the students optimize their study habits by stressing the fact that sleep is the most crucial period immediately following learning. In health care, it can help patients suffering from cognitive impairments, which include developmental disabilities or even dementia, by improving their sleep quality to enhance consolidation of memory and cognitive function. Similarly, knowledge about how sleep influences memory might be transferred to the workplace for better practice, where enough sleep is known to enhance productivity, problem-solving abilities, and decision-making skills.

Self-Evaluation