Cognitive Psychology Test #1well elaborated

Cognition - ANSWERSall the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating How is Cognitive Psychology different from other theories? - ANSWERS• It accepts the use of the scientific method, and generally rejects introspection as a valid method of investigation - in contrast with such approaches as Freudian psychology. • It explicitly acknowledges the existence of internal mental states (such as belief, desire, idea, knowledge and motivation). Coined the term "Cognitive Psychology" - ANSWERSUlric Neisser Cognitive Psychology - ANSWERSBranch of psychology concerned with how people acquire, store, transform, use and communicate information Rationalism - ANSWERSbelief in reason and logic as the primary source of knowledge (logic & theory) Empiricism - ANSWERSthe view that (a) knowledge comes from experience via the senses, and (b) science flourishes through observation and experiment. Structuralism - ANSWERSearly school of psychology that used introspection to explore elemental structure of human mind led by - Wundt Functionalism - ANSWERSa school of psychology that focused on how mental and behavioral processes function - how they enable the organism to adapt, survive, and flourish; assumes all mental and behavioral processes have a purpose. Pragmatism - ANSWERSa philosophical principle, first expressed by William James, that expressed the evolutionary idea that truth arose from the testing of new ideas, the value of which lay in their practical consequences. Ideas gain validity from their social consequences and practical applications. It reflected the American quality- the inventive, experimental spirit that judged ideas on their results and their ability to adapt to changing social needs and environments Associationism - ANSWERSIn psychophysics and cognition the theoretical approach that complex ideas are the result of associations between simple elements. In learning theories synonymous with the S-R connection (stimulus with response). Behaviorism - ANSWERSthe view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most research psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2). (Contiguity, Similarity, Contrast) Gestalt Psychology - ANSWERSa psychological approach that emphasizes that we often perceive the whole rather than the sum of the parts Cognitive Revolution - ANSWERSthe shift away from strict behaviorism, begun in the 1950s, characterized by renewed interest in fundamental problems of consciousness and internal mental processes - response to behaviorism. Cognitive Revolution let us examine more important things, namely: - ANSWERS1) Language 2) AI 3) Practical Applications 4) Psychobiology Information Processing Approach - ANSWERSapproach to the study of cognitive development by observing and analyzing the mental processes involved in perceiving and handling information Connectionist Approach - ANSWERSAn influential model in cognitive psychology that proposes that the activation of one cue leads to the activation of other related concepts. Also known as parallel distributed processing approach or PDP approach. Input to hidden to ouput Learned by getting stimulus, gets feedback,feedback transforms to error signal the network is change to correct response. Ex. Is language acquisition Evolutionary Approach - ANSWERSa psychological perspective that uses evolutionary ideas such as adaptation, reproduction, and "survival of the fittest" as the basis for explaining specific human behaviors Ecological Approach - ANSWERSan approach to the study of cognition emphasizing the natural contexts or settings in which cognitive activities occur, and the influence such settings have in the ways in which cognitive activities are acquired, practiced, and executed. Rationalism vs. empiricism - ANSWERSR; asserts that some fundamental knowledege is a priori. (indepenent of sensation and perception) E: all knowledge is a posteriori (dependent upon sensation) Domain Generality - ANSWERSSINGLE intelligence capable of knowing diff aspects of old thru same underlying mechanisms Domain Specificity - ANSWERSspecialized system to compute certain tasks, what types of questions a system can answer, this also applies to evolution as it implies that selection tends to fashion specific mechanisms for each adaptive problem such as, our taste preferences, which guide us to successful food choices, do not help us in solving problems of choosing successful mates. Is cognition adaptive in every circumstance? - ANSWERSNo. Cognitive processes interact with each other and with:_______ - ANSWERSnon-cognitive processes (e.g. affective, biological) Order of Philosophical Events - ANSWERSStructuralism > Functionalism > Pragmatism > Associationism > Behaviorism > Gestalt Psychology (Sometimes Fat Pigs Appreciate Being Gigantic) Experiment - ANSWERSA research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variables) to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process (the dependent variable). By random assignment of participants, the experimenter aims to control other relevant factors. Naturalistic Observation - ANSWERSobserving and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation Correlation - ANSWERSa statistic representing how closely two variables co-vary Quasi-Experiment - ANSWERSAn experiment in which investigators make use of control and experimental groups that already exist in the world at large. Also called a mixed design. Independent Variable - ANSWERSin an experiment, the condition that is tested because it affects the outcome of the experiment (what the scientist changes; the "If" part of the hypothesis) Dependent Variable - ANSWERSthe outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable Hindbrain - ANSWERSdivision which includes the cerebellum, Pons, and medulla; responsible for involuntary processes: blood pressure, body temperature, heart rate, breathing, sleep cycles Midbrain - ANSWERSthe middle division of brain responsible for hearing and sight; location where pain is registered; includes temporal lobe, occipital lobe, and most of the parietal lobe Forebrain - ANSWERSlargest, most complicated, and most advanced of the three divisions of the brain; comprises the thalamus, hypothalamus, limbic system, basal ganglia, corpus callosum, and cortex Brain Lobes - ANSWERSFrontal, Parietal, Occipital, Temporal (Frank Pees On Tina) Frontal Lobe - ANSWERSpart of the cerebral cortex that is responsible for voluntary movement; it is also important for attention, goal-directed behavior, and appropriate emotional experiences Parietal Lobe - ANSWERSPart of the cerebral cortex that receives sensory information from throughout the body Occipital Lobe - ANSWERSa region of the cerebral cortex that processes visual information Temporal Lobe - ANSWERSPart of the cerebral hemisphere that helps regulate hearing, balance and equilibrium, and certain emotions and motivations Medulla - ANSWERSlower or hindmost part of the brain Cerebellum - ANSWERSthe "little brain" attached to the rear of the brainstem; its functions include processing sensory input and coordinating movement output and balance Hypothalamus - ANSWERSa neural structure lying below the thalamus; directs eating, drinking, body temperature; helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland, and is linked to emotion Amygdala - ANSWERSan almond-shaped neural structure in the anterior part of the temporal lobe of the cerebrum Thalamus - ANSWERSthe brain's sensory switchboard, located on top of the brainstem; it directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla Somatosensory Cortex - ANSWERSarea of neurons running down the front of the parietal lobes responsible for processing information from the skin and internal body receptors for touch, temperature, body position, and possibly taste Corpus Callosum - ANSWERSthe large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them Aphasia - ANSWERSimpairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca's area (impairing speaking) or to wernicke's area (impairing understanding) Broca's Area - ANSWERScontrols language expression - an area of the frontal lobe, usually in the left hemisphere, that directs the muscle movements involved in speech Wernicke's Area - ANSWERScontrols language reception - a brain area involved in language comprehension and expression; usually in the left temporal lobe Sensation vs perception - ANSWERSSensation - basic information you have through your senses. Perception - your interpretation of your sensation. Perception based on sensation, not the other way around Distal Stimulus - ANSWERSIn the processes of perception, the physical object in the world, as contrasted with the proximal stimulus, the optical image on the retina. Proximal Stimulus - ANSWERSThe stimulus that is interpreted by a sensory organ, which differs from the distal stimulus (e.g. retinal image) Percept - ANSWERSThe meaningful product of perception - often an image that has been associated with concepts, memories of events, emotions, and motives. Pattern Recognition - ANSWERSIdentifying recurring patterns in input data with the goal of understanding or categorizing that input. Sensation - ANSWERSAn early stage of perception in which neurons in a receptor create an internal pattern of nerve impulses that represent the conditions that stimulated it - either inside or outside the body Perception - ANSWERSA process that makes sensory patterns meaningful and more elaborate Principle of Proximity (Gestalt) - ANSWERSthe Gestalt psychology principle that states that people tend to perceive objects as a group when they are close together Principle of Similarity (Gestalt) - ANSWERSthe gestalt principle that describes how consumers tend to group objects that share similar physical characteristics Principle of Good Continuation (Gestalt) - ANSWERSWe don't separate things unless they look separate Principle of Closure (Gestalt) - ANSWERSthe Gestalt psychology principle that states that people tend to interpret familiar incomplete forms as complete by filling in gaps Principle of Common Fate (Gestalt) - ANSWERSGestalt, a Gestalt principle of organization holding that aspects of perceptual field that move or function in a similar manner will be perceived as a unit Bottom Up Processes - ANSWERSprocessing in which information flows solely from sensation to perception without the influence of past experience Top Down Processes - ANSWERS"Theory-driven" mental processing, in which one filters and interprets new information in light of preexisting knowledge and expectations Template Matching - ANSWERSa stimulus is matched against mental templates of previously presented patterns (e.g. letters) that are stored in memory Featural Analysis - ANSWERSA model of perception emphasizing the analysis of a stimulus into parts, called features - recognizing small parts and forming them into a whole. Prototype Matching - ANSWERSIn this system, we may, for example, form a prototype of the letter S, against which all other Ss are evaluated in terms of how closely they fit the prototype. Subjective Contours - ANSWERSPerceived contours that do not exist physically.We tend to complete figures that have gaps in them by perceiving a contour as continuing along its original path. Geons - ANSWERSPrimitive shapes also known as geometrical icons. These particular neurons are activated when you see a paricular shape. We use geons to make other shapes; it is an intermediate perceptual step Change Blindness - ANSWERSthe tendency to fail to detect changes in any part of a scene to which we are not focusing our attention Word Superiority Effect - ANSWERSit's easier to identify words than individual letters; a top-down process Apperceptive Agnosia - ANSWERSimpaired visual recognition of objects, faces, colors, words, and gestures; a disorder of visual perception, rather than acuity. Prosopagnosia - ANSWERSA form of visual agnosia characterized by difficulty in the recognition of people's faces; caused by damage to the visual association cortex Filter Theory - ANSWERSStates that human beings possess a limited capacity to process information and that perceptual filters must choose between information presented to the left ear and information presented to the right ear Attenuation Theory - ANSWERSstates that all the information is analyzed but that intervening factors ihibit (attenuate) attention, so only selected information reaches the highest centers of processing Late-Selection Theory - ANSWERSA model of attention in which all perceptual messages, whether attended or not, are processed for some meaning Schema Theory - ANSWERSTheory that information is stored in long-term memory in networks of connected facts and concepts that provide a structure for making sense of new information. Schema - ANSWERSan internal representation of the world Conscious - ANSWERSBrain process of which we are aware Preconscious - ANSWERSInformation that is not currently in consciousness, but can be brought into consciousness if attention is called to it Unconscious - ANSWERSMany levels of processing that occur without awareness Nonconscious - ANSWERSBrain process that does not involve conscious processing (e.g. heart rate, breathing, control of internal organs) Inattentional Blindness - ANSWERSfailing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere. (Myers Psychology 9e p. 90) Cocktail Party Effect - ANSWERSthe ability to focus one's listening attention on a single talker among a mixture of conversations and background noises Illusory Conjunction - ANSWERSA pattern of errors in which observers correctly perceive the features present in a display, such as color and shape, but misperceive how they were combined. For example, they might report seeing a green O and a red X when a green X and red O were presented. Stroop Effect - ANSWERSThe observation that people take much longer to name the color of a stimulus when it is used in printing an incongruent word than when it appears as a solid patch of color. Attentional Capture - ANSWERSA phenomenon in which certain stimuli seem to "pop out" and require a person to shift cognitive resources to them, automatically Dichotic Listening Task - ANSWERSA task in which a person hears two or more different, specially recorded messages over earphones and is asked to attend to one of them Priming - ANSWERSthe activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory