PSY 255 Midterm Study
Guide with complete verified
solutions already graded A+
Important predecessors to contemporary cognitive psychology include
structuralism (introspectionism) and behaviorism. According to each
perspective, what is the role of mental representation in psychology?
What are the appropriate methods for studying human cognition? - answer
STRUCTURALISM = science of experience
1. Mental representation can be examined through introspection
2. Analytic introspection = trained "observers" can employ introspection
to uncover these elements and their role in thought
3. Inspectionism = cognitive processes are composed of basic parts or
elements (sensation + feeling)
BEHAVIORISM = science of behavior
1. Mental representations do NOT exist and thus cannot be the focus of
psychology
2. Study of directly observable behavior
3. Psychology should formulate laws about relationship between
environment (stimulus) and behavior (response).
Identify at least one challenge faced structuralism. - answer 1. Data
CANNOT be verified/replicated
2. NOT all cognition processes are available to introspection
3. Introspectionists cannot resolve disagreements, i.e. in the case of
imageless thought, they might not be able to come to the same conclusion
about what is observed through introspection
Identify at least one challenge faced by behaviorism. - answer 1.
Operational definitions seem hopeless
,2. Reinforcement is NOT always necessary for learning (i.e. Tolman's
cognitive map: explore-rats learn faster then awarded-rat in the maze →
mental representations)
3. Reinforcement NOT always sufficient for learning (i.e. human v. animal
language acquirement)
4. Hard to account for novelty/creativity
What are classical conditioning and operant conditioning? - answer
CLASSICAL CONDITIONING = pairing a neutral stimulus with a stimulus
that elicits a response causes the neutral stimulus to elicit that response
OPERANT CONDITIONING = behavior is strengthened by the presentation
of positive reinforcers or withdrawal of negative reinforcers
(Relationship b/w stimulus and response)
Ebbinghaus developed a method to measure savings in relearning;
Donders measured simple vs. choice reaction times. Explain how each
approach uses a behavioral measure to draw an inference about
underlying mental representations or processing. - answer EBBINGHAUS
1. Quantitative method for measuring memory
2.Measured savings in relearning by measuring how much time it takes to
relearn a list of syllables → determine how much was forgotten after a
particular delay
3. Smaller saving → more forgetting
DONDERS
1. Measure the relationship between presentation of the stimulus and the
participants' response → he did not measure mental responses directly,
but inferred how long they took from the reaction times
2. Measured simple v. choice reaction times by measuring how long it
takes to respond to the presentation of a stimulus
3. Simple → push button when seeing light / choice → push left right
button when seeing left/right light
, What are Marr's three levels? What is the relationship between them? Do
all psychological phenomena have explanations at all three levels? You
should be able to describe each level and apply it to a new phenomenon. -
answer COMPUTATIONAL
1. WHAT is being computed, WHY?
2. I.e. To search for a particular book in a bookstore, we have to observe
the scene of the bookstore and read labels in order to locate the particular
shelf that contains the particular author and book.
ALGORITHMIC
1. What is the algorithm (process) used?
2. What are the representations involved?
3. I.e. When we listen to someone speaking, the information is
represented through letters and words. We apply our knowledge and
experience with vocabulary, the sound of words, grammar, etc. to
understand the speech.
IMPLEMENTATION
1. How is the computation implemented?
2. How is it physically realized?
3. I.e. Face perception: eyes, neural structures and neural activities help
to implement the visual system.
NOT mutually exclusive but mutually constraining
Not all phenomena apply all three levels
Visual perception is challenging in part because the information we
receive from our senses is ambiguous and variable. Illustrate each of
these points in the context of the inverse projection problem. - answer
INVERSE PROJECTION = the task of determining the object responsible for
a particular image on the retina
1. AMBIGUITY = object can look different from different perspectives;
different things can "look" the same → assess the various options and
chose the option with highest probability
Guide with complete verified
solutions already graded A+
Important predecessors to contemporary cognitive psychology include
structuralism (introspectionism) and behaviorism. According to each
perspective, what is the role of mental representation in psychology?
What are the appropriate methods for studying human cognition? - answer
STRUCTURALISM = science of experience
1. Mental representation can be examined through introspection
2. Analytic introspection = trained "observers" can employ introspection
to uncover these elements and their role in thought
3. Inspectionism = cognitive processes are composed of basic parts or
elements (sensation + feeling)
BEHAVIORISM = science of behavior
1. Mental representations do NOT exist and thus cannot be the focus of
psychology
2. Study of directly observable behavior
3. Psychology should formulate laws about relationship between
environment (stimulus) and behavior (response).
Identify at least one challenge faced structuralism. - answer 1. Data
CANNOT be verified/replicated
2. NOT all cognition processes are available to introspection
3. Introspectionists cannot resolve disagreements, i.e. in the case of
imageless thought, they might not be able to come to the same conclusion
about what is observed through introspection
Identify at least one challenge faced by behaviorism. - answer 1.
Operational definitions seem hopeless
,2. Reinforcement is NOT always necessary for learning (i.e. Tolman's
cognitive map: explore-rats learn faster then awarded-rat in the maze →
mental representations)
3. Reinforcement NOT always sufficient for learning (i.e. human v. animal
language acquirement)
4. Hard to account for novelty/creativity
What are classical conditioning and operant conditioning? - answer
CLASSICAL CONDITIONING = pairing a neutral stimulus with a stimulus
that elicits a response causes the neutral stimulus to elicit that response
OPERANT CONDITIONING = behavior is strengthened by the presentation
of positive reinforcers or withdrawal of negative reinforcers
(Relationship b/w stimulus and response)
Ebbinghaus developed a method to measure savings in relearning;
Donders measured simple vs. choice reaction times. Explain how each
approach uses a behavioral measure to draw an inference about
underlying mental representations or processing. - answer EBBINGHAUS
1. Quantitative method for measuring memory
2.Measured savings in relearning by measuring how much time it takes to
relearn a list of syllables → determine how much was forgotten after a
particular delay
3. Smaller saving → more forgetting
DONDERS
1. Measure the relationship between presentation of the stimulus and the
participants' response → he did not measure mental responses directly,
but inferred how long they took from the reaction times
2. Measured simple v. choice reaction times by measuring how long it
takes to respond to the presentation of a stimulus
3. Simple → push button when seeing light / choice → push left right
button when seeing left/right light
, What are Marr's three levels? What is the relationship between them? Do
all psychological phenomena have explanations at all three levels? You
should be able to describe each level and apply it to a new phenomenon. -
answer COMPUTATIONAL
1. WHAT is being computed, WHY?
2. I.e. To search for a particular book in a bookstore, we have to observe
the scene of the bookstore and read labels in order to locate the particular
shelf that contains the particular author and book.
ALGORITHMIC
1. What is the algorithm (process) used?
2. What are the representations involved?
3. I.e. When we listen to someone speaking, the information is
represented through letters and words. We apply our knowledge and
experience with vocabulary, the sound of words, grammar, etc. to
understand the speech.
IMPLEMENTATION
1. How is the computation implemented?
2. How is it physically realized?
3. I.e. Face perception: eyes, neural structures and neural activities help
to implement the visual system.
NOT mutually exclusive but mutually constraining
Not all phenomena apply all three levels
Visual perception is challenging in part because the information we
receive from our senses is ambiguous and variable. Illustrate each of
these points in the context of the inverse projection problem. - answer
INVERSE PROJECTION = the task of determining the object responsible for
a particular image on the retina
1. AMBIGUITY = object can look different from different perspectives;
different things can "look" the same → assess the various options and
chose the option with highest probability
