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Cogntive Psycholgy
cog117
107
Psychology
Undergraduate 2
09/22/2010

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Cards

Term
Donders
Definition

1st cog experiment: Mental chronometry

1. reaction time:1 choice

2. choice reaction time: 2 choices

ChoiceRT-SimpleRT=time to make decision

Term
Helmholtz
Definition

Unconscious inference: some of our perceptions are the result of unconscious assumptions we make about environment

 

We infer much of what we know about the world based on previous experiences

Term
Ebbinghaus
Definition
  • Method of Savings: learn list of nonsense syllables, relearn list on later occasion & see how many fewer trials needed to master list
  • studied forgetting curve by varying dely btw learning & re-learning session
  • repition aids recall, recall difficulty increases w/ list length
Term
Wilhelm Wundt
Definition
  • founded 1st psych lab
  • introspection: trained observer provides rigorous, unbaised report of every element of conscious experience (when presented w/ stimulus)
  • hearing a 5-note vs 1-note chord on piano
Term
Behaviorism
Definition
  • focus on observable behvaior; reject mentalism
  • all behavior can be explained in S-R units
  • Pavlov: Classical conditioning (UCR-CR)
  • Skinner: Operant con. (+- reinforcement)
  • experimental techniques most beneficial
Term
Problems of Behaviorism
Definition

1. humans can learn by observing reinforcement of other ppl's behavior

2. although not rewarded themselves, they can behave as if they had been

3. can only be explained w/ assumption of internal evaluative cog. processes

4. Behaviorists used rats for studies & try to generalize it to humans w/ out testing on humans

5. generalization problematic b/c rats & human similarity is unclear

Term
Language: Skinner vs Chomsky
Definition
  • Skinner: explained how O.C. can be used to explain language aquisitoin
  • Chomsky: humans produce sentences they never heard before & thus couldn't be rewarded for
Term
W. Penfield
Definition
  • Canadian neurosurgeon treating epilepsy
  • open brain surgery while patients awake
  • revealed amazing insights into brain structures serving dif. cog functions
Term
Info-Processing Paradigm
Definition
  • human cognition is like a computer

input→input processor→memory unit→arithmetic unit→output

  • humans are symbol manipulators: we encode, store, retrieve & manipulate symbolic data store in memory
Term
Approaches to the study of cognition (3)
Definition

1. behavioral: Experimental method-design experiments that give insight into cog processes (ex: Donders, mental rotation)

2. Physiology: Imaging fMRI & PET: which brain regions support which cog. processes

3. Modeling: mathmatical/computer model of cog processes

Term
Visual Imagery: Pylyshyn
Definition
  • believed mind processes mental images by decomposing them into mathmatical proposition (code)
  • PROPOSITIONAL theory
Term
Visual Imagery: R. Shepard & J. Metzler
Definition
  • believed brain manipulates mental images that resemble true preceptions
  • ANALOG theory
  • think mental images of an inner picture
Term
Impossible to prove hypothesis to be true
Definition
  • impossible to prove something to be true (verification) but it is possible to prove something to be false (falsification)
  • Popper: "A good theory needs to be falsifiable" ex: All men are mortal (we cannot observe all men dying b/c we eventually die ourselves)
Term
How do we test predictions of a theory?
Definition
  • by gathering empirical (observable) data objectively (ex: making sure experimenter doesn't influence results)
  • predictions need to be translated into paradigm (well-defined procedures, materials, & measurement methods
  • select independent & dependent variables
Term
organismic variables
Definition
  • permanent features of participant that might influence cog. preformance.
  • ex: IQ, sex, race, age, education, concentration ability, mental or physical disorders
Term
antecedent variables
Definition
  • factors that temporarily affect a participant's normal abilities
  • ex: illness, stress, drug use, sleep deprivation
Term
Instructional variable (task variable)
Definition
  • what participants are instructed to do
  • ex: asked to read something for "fun" or for testing IQ?
Term
Presentational Variables (task variable)
Definition
  • the way stimuli are presented
  • ex: using real objects or computer images to test mental rotation?
Term
Stimulus Variables (task variables)
Definition
  • type of material presented
  • ex: presented auditorily or on paper
Term
Context Variable (task variable)
Definition
  • the environment in which the task is administered
  • ex: things are best recalled in environment in which material is learned
Term
Dependent Variables
Definition
  • Mental chronometry: the longer the time needed, the more computation required by brain in order to produce response after stimulus presentation (SRT, CRT) Donders
  • Measures of accuracy/frequency: number of correctly recalled words in a list. Ebbinghaus
  • Measures of physiology: blood flow in brain (PET, fMRI), electrical activity, hormonal changes
Term
Confounding Variables
Definition
  • variable that moves around along w/ the independent variable
  • makes results difficult to interpret
  • ex: 2 experimenters studying memory: both experimenters asked subjects to recall words. Experimenter 1 offers cookies while other experimenter does not; cookies could serve as motivation to better remember words on the list
Term
Data collection (best method)
Definition
  • experiment:
  • experimental vs control group
  • sampling & random assignment
  • sample size (larger=better)
Term
What are 2 characteristics of a true experiment?
Definition
  1. random sampling: selecting participants randomly from population
  2. random assignment: chance assignment to condition
    *random sampling is not typically accurate b/c most labs use psych majors
Term
3 Limitations of experimental approach
Definition

1.  random selection from population of interest not feasible

2. for many variables, random assignment impossible (ex: organismic variables such as gender, height)

3. for other variables, random assignment unethical (ex: drug studies, effect of violent videos on behavior of kids)

4. those limitations should be considered when interpreting & generalizing results

Term
Between-subjects Design
Definition
  • advantage: no possibility of carryover/practice effects
  • disadvantage: twice as many participants necessary, some effects may be attributable to dif. subjects (ex: dif personalities can effect outcome)
Term
Within-Subjects Design
Definition
  • advantage: there are no subjective differences btw varibles to account for
  • disadvantages: practice effects (preforming same task twice), carryover effects (expectations from prior trial)
Term
3 criteria of Classical Test Theory
Definition

1. objectivity: will the same measurements be obtained when another experimenter measures?

2. reliability: applying the same test to the same subject should produce the same result if test is 100% reliable (measurement outcomes shouldn't be influenced by certain factors, should be able to replicate on dif subjects & get same results)

3. validity: to what degree does the measurement really measure what it intends to? Is it really testing memory performance or something else?

Term
What are the fundamental structures of the brain?
Definition

1. nerouns:

1.form basic units of nervous system

2. Ability to communicate via electro-chemical processes

3.change structure as result of experience (ex: drug use)

Term
2 ways the brain is organized
Definition

1. anatomically

2. physiologically

 

Term
how do neruons differ from other cells?
Definition

1. have specialized projections (dendrites & axons)

2. electrical signal w/in neuron but chemical process when communicating

3. neurotransmitters released into synapse

Term
soma
Definition
cell body; holds DNA &  mitochondira (produce ATP)
Term
dendrites
Definition
recevie input from soma; branch-like projections
Term
axon
Definition

extends from soma; responsible for transmitting the neruon's signal from the soma to the terminal buttons

typically splits into little branches w/ terminal buttons at end

Term
terminal buttons
Definition
at the end of the axon's branches; form synapses w/ dendrites of other neurons
Term
Information flow process in neruons
Definition

neuron stimulated→produces action potential that travels down axon (propagation)→AP reaches terminal buttons→neurotransmitters released into synapse→neruotrans bind onto specific receptors

*if excitatory, neural firing increases

Term
net stimulation
Definition

sum of all postsynaptic inputs (excitatory & inhibitory)

neuron will fire AP only if:

net stimulation>threshold

Term
Resting potential
Definition

1. inside of neuron is negative relative to outside (Na+ and K+) (-70mV)

2. Protiens(-) have difficulty moving thru cell→ desire to bond w/ neurons outside cell

3. have to pass thru specialized channels (closed when nerve @ rest)

4. K+ protiens flow into cellextracellular space carrying out positive charge, until their movement is balanced by build-up of negative charge on the inner surface of the membrane

5. concentration gradient of potassium ions must first be set up. This work is done by the ion pumps/transporters and/or exchangers and generally is powered by ATP.

 

Term
Action potential
Definition

1. caused by exchange of ions across the neuron membrane

2. signal triggers opening of Na+ channel→Na+ rushed into cell (causing it to become +)→K+ channels open→K+ flows out of cell & binds w/ other K+ ions→ loss of K+ ions causes cell to become negative again 

3. -55mV+ activates action potential

Term
repolarization
Definition

1. change in membrane potential that returns the membrane potential to a negative value after the depolarization phase of AP  has just changed cell to +.

2. Repolarization results from the movement of K+ out of the cell.

3. Typically the repolarization phase of an action potential results in hyperpolarization, attainment of a membrane potential that is more negative than the resting potential.

Term
hyperpolarization
Definition

a change in a cell's membrane potential that makes it more negative.

 

It is the opposite of a depolarization.

 

Term
All-or-none
Definition

1. Action Potentional: neuron either fires or it does not


2. firing strength does not change, but firing rate can change


3. when AP reaches end of axon, synaptic vessicles release neurtrans. which are picked up by dendrites

Term
Neuronal plasticity
Definition

1. Training (learning) can increase # of synapses & improve transmission of existing synapses

 

Term
Presynaptic membrane
Definition

1.increases # of sites that release neurotrans.

2. increase in reuptake-rate of neurotrans.

3. increase production of neurotrans.

4. increase release probability of neurotrans.

Term
Postsynaptic membrane
Definition

1. increase in # of receptors

2. increase in receptor size

 

Term
How can we measure Action Potential (AP)?
Definition

1. using microelectrodes that measure electrical signal emmited by neuron

2. determines amounts of APs occuing in brain

Term
Grandmother cells (aka gnostic neuron)
Definition

1. a hypothetical neuron that represents a person's grandmother (or more generally, any specific concept or object)

2. a G-cell gets activated when a person "sees or hears" his/her grandmother

 

Term
Representation Theory
Definition

1. states that specific stimulus is coded by unique pattern of activity of a group of neurons

2. opposite of Grandmother cell theory

3. multiple cells code a single stimulus so a small # of neurons can code many stimuli

Term
Gray matter vs. white matter (what do they contain?)
Definition

1. gray matter: consists of regions of neuron cell bodies

2. white matter: consists of regions of axons (mylein sheath)

Term
characteristics/functions of nuclei
Definition

1. a large # of cell bodies grouped together

2. each cell in nuceli has particular function ex: lateral geniculate nucleus in thalamus is part of visual pathway

Term
tract/fiber pathway
Definition

a large collection of axons in CNS; tracts carry info to various parts of brain

ex: optic nerve tract carries info from eyes to occipital lobe in brain

Term
characteristics of left hemisphere
Definition

1. sequential analysis: systematic, logical interpretation of info

2. interpretation & production of symbolic info: language, math, abstraction & reasoning

*damage to left hemisphere causing challenges in right hem. for speech production

Term
Right hemisphere
Definition

1. hollistic functioning: processing multi-sensory input simultaneously to provide "hollistic" picture of one's environment

2. nonverbal & spatial skills

3. "mute" (speech production disabled if damage to left hem.)

Term
brain asymmetry (coglab)
Definition
hypothesis: when younger 1/2 of face on left (connects to right hem), person is able to make more valid judgement of faces (young vs. old)
Term
5 structures of forebrain
Definition

1. cerebral cortex: all higher cog functions (ex: problem solving, memory planning) and recieving/processing of sensory info

2. basal ganglia: group of neurons central to motor functions (damage=tremors; associated w/ Parkinson's)

3. limbic system: hippocampus, amygdala & septum. L-system supports learning/memory, emotion & spatial behavior

4. thalamus: relays sensory inputs to appropriate areas, associated w/ sleep control

5. hypothalamus: controls endocrine system & autonomic nervous system (ex: temp regulation, hunger, thirst) & associated w/ survival behavior (sex, aggression)

Term
cerebral cortex
Definition

makes up 80% of brain

2 cm below scalp

divided into several lobes

surface is gray (neuronal cell bodies)

underlying tissue white (myelinated axons)

Term
frontal lobe
Definition

1. speaking, motor processing, all higher mental processes, cognitive control, attention, short-term memory

2. contains Broca's area: language production

Term
parietal lobe
Definition
somasensory processing (touch, temp); integrates info from various sensory modalities
Term
temporal lobe
Definition

1. auditory processing, language, long-term memory, perceiving forms

2. includes Wernicke's area: language comprehesion

Term
Motor & sensory cortex
Definition

1. both are organized in areas that receive input from certain parts of body

2. the size of area not related to size of body part, but rather sensitivity (weird picture of enlarged & shrunken body parts)

Term
motor cortex
Definition

1. involved in planning, execution, and control of movement

2. electrical stimulation would result in movement

Term
somasensory cortex
Definition

1. receives input from senses for pressure, texture, temp and pain

2. electrical stimulation=sensation of being touched

Term
MRI (Magnet Resonance Tomography)
Definition

1. used to visualize soft tissue (brain, muscles)

2. magnetic current causes water protons to align, when magnetic force removed, protons return to natural alignment, releasing energy (dif tissues release dif energy)

Term
fMRI (functional MRI)
Definition

1. measures signal changes in the brain that are due to changing neural activity

active neural areas need OX2

hemoglobin carries OX2 in the blood

hemoglobin is magnetic

oxygenated & deoxygenated hemoglobin have dif magnetic properties

when OX2 released @ active neural site, hemoglobin=more magnetic

deoxygenation of hemoglobin in active sites is what fMRI picks up

Term
subtraction method
Definition

1. compare activity in experimental & control task that differ only in the process of interest

*experiment: observing brain activity when manipulating object

*must have control task that captures everything BUT manipulation of object (just holding it)

Term
sensitive periods
Definition

1. experience-expectant: some neurons or networks need input during critical time periods or they will never properly develop

ex: Genie's parents locked her in closet for 13 yrs, never learned to speak

Term
plasticity throughtout lifespan
Definition

1. other neurons or networks can be modified by experience throughout life

ex: cab drivers have dif shaped neural networks due to their job

Term

Blakemore & Cooper's selective cat rearing

(experiment w/ neural plasticity)

Definition

1. cat only exposed to vertical lines therefore neurons didn't respond properly to certain environmental inputs (horizontal turns)

2. kitten blind in 1 eye b/c never connected to visual cortex & never developed feature detectors for horizontal lines

Term
fusiform face area (FFA) (temporal lobe)
Definition

1. human visual system which might be specialized for facial recognition

2. experiment using greebles (shapes w/ face-like features)

3. after training, FFA was able to identify greebles as faces

Term
sensation
Definition

1. reception or registration of physical stimulation & encoding it into the nervous system

2. ex: presence of tone or light

Term
Perception
Definition

1. processes by which we recognize, organize & make sense of the sensory info

2. ex: identifying a voice, face

Term
Percept
Definition

1. the mental represenation of a stimulus that is perceived

2. a product of one's interpretation of the sensation

*we perceive OUR interpretation of object, not actual object itself

Term
optical illusions
Definition

1. cog processes keep certain things constant while others change; incoming sensory info→percept

2. ex: Greek Parthenon: built columns that budlged out in center to create illusion of perfectly symmetical building

 

Term
misconceptions
Definition

1. automatically implement 2D context which causes us to see distorted images

ex: coglab where we had to compare 2 lines and state which was longer (inward facing arrows made line appear shorter)

Term
2 functions of the eye
Definition

1. optical: focusing light on the retina

2. sensory: transduction to light projected on the retina & projection of neural signal to higher brain

transduction: conversion of light energy into neural code/signal (done by cells in retina)

Term
eye as a camera
Definition

1. eye can be compared to camera:

lens=optical part of eye

film=sensory part of eye

Term

perceptual constancy

sensation≠perception

Definition

1. environment isn't static; perceiver or/and environment moves=images of same objects that are projected on retina change constantly

ex: sensation of same object differs

2. percept stays the same

ex: object perceived as having same color, size & shape

Term
size constancy
Definition

1. despite changes of a stimulus' size on the retina as a function of varying distance, the perceived size of the stimulus stays constant

2. OR same size on retina, but perceived as different size

ex: coin experiment

Term
Monocular depth cues
Definition
1. depth cues that are themselves 2D & can be perceived w/ 1 eye only ("mono" means 1)
Term
binocular depth cues
Definition

1. depth cues that are based on 2 dif angles from which our eyes sense the same objects

 

Term
binocular convergence
Definition

1. based on feedback from muscles of eye

2. trying to fixate on a close object=eye turning inward (& vice versa)

3. info from eye muscles is used by visual system to judge how far object is away from you

Term
binocular disparity
Definition

1. eyes 6cm apart: provide slightly dif images of same object

2. difference refered to as "disparity"

3. the greater disparity, the closer objects must be

Term
Bottom-up (data driven)
Definition

1. perceiver starts w/ small bits of info from environment that get combined in various ways to form a percept

ex: approaching a tree & using clues from environment to figure out dog is standing behind it

Term
Top-down (theory driven)
Definition

1. person's knowledge, prior experience or expectations influence perception

2. this knowledge guides selection & combination of info

ex: looking at pile of rope; know from prior experience rope is 1 long piece & not seperate pieces

Term
Bottom-up processes
Definition

1. perception starts at bottom (sensory input) & works its way up to higher brain

2. unidirectional: info flows 1 way (irreversible)

3. processes influenced by expectations or previous knowledge

Term
Structual Description Approaches
Definition

1. processing stimuli by breaking them down into features (instead of seeing whole object)

2. feature detection cells in visual cortex & retina (these neurons increase firing rate when stimuli are present)

Term
Recognition-by-components: Biederman
Definition

1. assumes upon viewing objects, humans break object into simple geometric components (called geons)

2. 36 geons that combine in many ways & perceived from many angles

Term
Problems w/ Recognition-by-components theory
Definition

1. geons not detailed enough to allow for distinctions humans have little trouble w/ (ex: telling dif btw Honda & Toyota)

2. mental rotation theory questions ability to identify objects from many angles

3. objects in nature do not have specific geons (ex: cloud)

Term
Pandemonium "letter recognition"
Definition

1.several letters of specialized "demons" function as feature detectors. Demons "scream" when they detect 1 featue they specialize in

2.Image d's (basic encoding of image)→feature d's (scan for certain feature)→cognitive d's (rep. letters of alphabet)→decision d (listens to screaming of cog d's & decides what letter is being presented)

Term
Feature Integration Theory (FIT) steps
Definition

1. preattentive stage: objects analyzed into seperate features (ex: red ball→red+round)

2. focused attention stage: combine features

object→preattentive→focused attention→perception

Term
Illusory conjunctions (Treisman & Schmidt)
Definition

1. presented 4 shapes & 2 #'s for 1/5 second

2. asked them to report which #'s they saw along w/ shape & its color

3. at begining of perceptual process, each feature exists independently: "redness", "tilted line", "curvature"

4. attention plays role: if #'s can be ignored, hardly any false conjunctions

5. top down: if subjects told they'll see carrot, always report seeing orange triangle

Term
Problems of Feature Analysis Models
Definition

1. no definition that determines what can/cannot be a considered a feature

2. if there are dif sets of features for dif classes of objects, how does perceiver know which ones to use to perceive object BEFORE he knows what object is (bottom-down)

3. if same set of features for all objects, list=huge and decrease speed of perception

Term
bottom-up processes critique
Definition

1. any model of perception thus needs to incorporate context & expectation

2. T-D processes are directed by expectations derived from context, past learning or both

3. T-D: processes have to interact w/ B-U processes: otherwise not able to perceive anything you didn't expect

Term
Top-Down Influence: Palmer
Definition

1. identification of target picture faster when it fits w/in a previously viewed scence conceptually

ex: showed participants kitchen scene, then flashed 3 objects (2 didn't belong [mailbox & drum]), then asked which object belonged

*context speeds up perception

Term
perceptual organization: Figure-Ground perception
Definition

1. segregation of a display into objects (figure) & background (ground)

2. also called form perception

3. elements perceived as part of ground=seen as more shapless, less formed, farther away

4. form-perception is a cog. task we perform quickly & easily

ex: optical illsion: black wine glass & white faces

Term
Gestalt Psychology:Assumptions
Definition

1. "the whole is more than the sum of its parts"

2. perception of forms not based on analysis of every sensation→synthesize into percept

3. assumed these "laws" were inate; many criticize they are only heuristics

Term

Law of Prgnanz

(Gestalt principle)

Definition

1. of all possible ways of interpreting a display, we tend to select the simplest organization & most stable shape/form

ex: example of olympic sign

Term
Law of Proximity
Definition

1. elements of a display that are closer to each other are grouped together & perceived as 1 form

ex: example w/ the blue dots or the 6 lines close together that appear as 3 seperate lines

Term
Law of similarity
Definition

1. elements that are similar to each other are grouped together

ex: example of blocks w/ dif colored columns

Term
Law of Closure
Definition
1. we automatically continue interrupted contours to perceive a complete form
Term
Law of Good Continuation
Definition

1.we group together objects whose contours form a continuous straight or curved line

ex: celtic knot

Term
Law of Common Fate
Definition

1. elements that move together are grouped together

ex: large swarm of bees or flock of migrating geese

Term
ventral pathway (which lobe & what function)
Definition

1. located in temporal lobe

2. 'what" pathway

3. involved in recognition, identification and categorization of visual stimuli (objects)

Term
dorsal (what lobe & what functions)
Definition

1. located in parietal lobe

2. the "where" pathway

3. involved in spatial attention, determining an object's locaiton, and communicates w/ regions that control eye  & hand movements

Term
mirror neurons
Definition

1. experiment w/ monkey: phase1: asked to identify which object had reward under it

phase 2: asked to locate which platform target object was near

2. during experiments, brain areas (depending on which phase) lit up

3. brain areas also lit up when seeing person do exact same action (picking up object)→mirror neurons

Term
location of lobes in the brain
Definition
[image]
Term
Lobes of the Brain
Definition
[image]
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