Reading...
Play button
Play button
Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;
Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;
H to show hint;
A reads text to speech;
193 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
|
Define Cognition
|
the acquisition, storage, transformation, and use of knowledge.
|
|
|
Define Cognitive Psychology
|
deals with how people perceive, learn, remember, and think about information.
|
|
|
Define Cognitive Approach
|
in studying human behaviour, emphasizes knowledge and mental processes
|
|
|
What question did early philosophy of mind seek to answer?
|
"Where does knowledge come from?" ...using reason alone
|
|
|
What are the 3 assumptions we make when studying the mind?
|
1. The world can be understood and predicted
2. Humans are part of this world 3. Explanations should be of this world |
|
|
What ancient philosopher was the "father of modern medicine"
|
Hippocrates (460 BC-370 BC)
|
|
|
What did Hippocrates propose?
|
that epilepsy is a disease of the body, not an invasion of gods.
|
|
|
What are the steps of the hippocratic method?
|
1. Observe all.
2. Study the patient, not the disease. 3. Evaluate honestly. 4. Assist nature (help, do not harm). |
|
|
Describe "nativist"
|
"knowledge is innate"
|
|
|
Describe "empiricist"
|
"knowledge is gained through experience"
|
|
|
Describe Wilhelm Wundt's approach to psychology
|
structuralism: seeking to find the building blocks of consciousness, the basic elements of the mind.
|
|
|
Describe Wilhelm Wundt's psychological method
|
introspection: observe and report in detail one‟s conscious experience given a stimulus (e.g. a metronome)
|
|
|
Describe William James' approach to psychology
|
functionalism: seeking to identify the function of mental processes
|
|
|
What are some problems with Wundt's study of conscious thought?
|
no objective measurement; Wundt's introspection required training which lead to experimenter bias and low inter-subject reliability.
|
|
|
What are some problems with James' study of conscious thought?
|
no objective measurement; James' introspection was underspecified, leading to low intra-subject reliability and data was difficult to analyze
|
|
|
Define parsimonious
|
most likely answer is the simplest
|
|
|
Describe John Watson's objectives in the psychological field (behaviourism)
|
forget about studying the mind, study what we can observe, find the building blocks of behaviour, not consciousness, provide parsimonious theories
|
|
|
Describe Watson's contribution to behaviourism
|
reflexes are the basic construct of behaviour
|
|
|
Describe Ivan Pavlov's contribution to behaviourism
|
classical conditioning: a neutral stimulus comes to have a (positive or negative) meaning
|
|
|
Describe Edward Thorndike & B.F. Skinner's contribution to behaviourism
|
operant conditioning: a neutral response comes to have a (positive or negative) meaning
|
|
|
What is most likely to elicit the most consistent responses out of variable ratio, fixed ratio, variable interval, and fixed interval?
|
variable ratio
|
|
|
What is least likely to elicit the most consistent responses out of variable ratio, fixed ratio, variable interval, and fixed interval?
|
fixed interval
|
|
|
Describe positive reinforcement
|
something given after the response to increase the likelihood of behaviour
|
|
|
Describe positive punishment
|
something given after the response to decrease the likelihood of behaviour
|
|
|
Describe negative reinforcement
|
something taken away after the response to increase the likelihood of behaviour
|
|
|
Describe negative punishment
|
something taken away after the response to decrease the likelihood of behaviour
|
|
|
What are some problems with behaviourism?
|
Over-emphasis on learning (extreme empiricism / tabula rasa); couldn't explain all of animal behaviour, we know a lot about learning in rats, pigeons, cats, and dogs but how about humans?; definition of 'reinforcer' is circular - what may work as a reinforcer in one case may not work in another.
|
|
|
What was Konrad Lorenz's contribution to psychology?
|
Ethology... fixed-action patterns: complex behavioural sequences exhibited with little or no practice and unresponsive to reward or punishment (e.g. mating dances, nest building, etc); thought to rely on an innate releasing mechanism in response to a trigger stimulus
critical period (e.g. imprinting–learning the characteristics of a specific stimulus) |
|
|
What are two types of imprinting?
|
1. filial imprinting–learning to identify one's parents
2. reverse sexual imprinting, aka "Westermarck Effect" –inability to develop sexual attraction towards peers one was raised with regardless of the genetic relationship |
|
|
What did Noam Chomsky propose about language?
|
that is is complex, generative, and recursive
|
|
|
What did Allen Newell and Herb Simon contribute?
|
(John van Neumann) numerical integrator & automatic computer used vacuum tubes and ran Logic Theorist (JONNIAC)
|
|
|
What was the Turing test testing?
|
Can a human distinguish between another human and a machine in a natural language conversation?
|
|
|
Describe the case of HM
|
HM had uncontrollable seizures since he was 10, he underwent a bilateral medial temporal lobectomyin at the age of 27 (first reported in 1957)
after the surgery he no longer had seizures, he had normal intelligence (IQ 112), he had normal perceptual and reasoning skills and normal social and personality skills, but he also had anterogradeamnesia (temporally graded retrograde amnesia) |
|
|
What is the goal of the cognitive approach to psychology?
|
to study internal mental processes (what happens between the sensation of a stimulus and the overt response?)
|
|
|
What are some assumptions of the cognitive approach to psychology?
|
the vast majority of mental processing is unconscious, mental processing is often thought to occur in stages (one information transformation after another), which are largely independent of each other.
|
|
|
How does the cognitive approach study internal mental processes?
|
1. observing and measuring behaviour and/or brain activation.
2. developing theories and positing abstract concepts to explain our measures and observations. 3. making predictions about further measurements / observations. 4. testing these predictions. |
|
|
Science involves making two assumptions:
|
1. assumptions about what's important (what topic to investigate, what questions to ask)
2. assumptions about that topic (how to ask those questions) |
|
|
Describe the Rescorla-Wagner Model
|
the cognitive model of classical conditioning; CC works because there is a discrepancy between expectation and reality
(proposed in 1972 by Robert Rescorla & Allan Wagner) |
|
|
Do modern psychologists see learning as active or passive?
|
active - we are not merely exposed to the environment, we seek out predictive relationships in our environment.
|
|
|
What are some characteristics of a science?
|
1. it is empirical (based on observation, measurement, and/or experimentation)
2. it deals with solvable problems 3. it is open to public verifiability 4. it is falsifiable |
|
|
Can we use behavioural data to test cognitive theories?
|
Yes. We need to specify how unobservable abstract constructs (such as memory) determine observable behaviour.
|
|
|
What are the three ways to search for items in short term memory?
|
parallel search, serial exhaustive search, and the serial non-exhaustive search
|
|
|
According to Sternberg's data, how do humans search for items in short term memory?
|
serial exhaustive search
|
|
|
How we study abstract constructs?
|
1. develop alternative theories
2. derive predictions that differ across theories 3. obtain data to compare the theories |
|
|
What does the first theory of Lexical Decision predict? ...check for entry in mental lexicon...
|
performance on semantic tasks (e.g. object naming) should not be related to performance on lexical decision
|
|
|
What does the second theory of Lexical Decision predict? ...check for conceptual knowledge...
|
performance on semantic tasks and lexical decision should be related
|
|
|
What are the three methods of behavioural study?
|
1. descriptive research
2. relational research 3. experimental research |
|
|
What are some advantages of naturalistic observation?
|
observing the individuals in a natural setting
|
|
|
What are some disadvantages of naturalistic observation?
|
have little control over the environment, difficult to determine cause or even relation, limited measurement, and there is a danger of experimenter reactivity
|
|
|
What are some advantages of the case study method?
|
it is detailed and thorough
|
|
|
What are some disadvantages of the case study method?
|
it is difficult to replicate, danger of experimenter bias, and it has poor representativeness (low external validity)
|
|
|
What are some advantages of the self report method?
|
easy collection of lots of data
|
|
|
What are some disadvantages of the self report method?
|
reliability and sampling bias
|
|
|
What are some methods of descriptive research?
|
1. case study
2. self report 3. naturalistic observation |
|
|
What process does relational research involve?
|
observing or measuring two or more variable
|
|
|
What are some advantages of relational research?
|
reliable and replicable data, can investigate variables one cannot manipulate
|
|
|
What are some disadvantages of relational research?
|
we cannot draw conclusions about causation
|
|
|
What are some examples of variables we CANNOT manipulate?
|
gender, age, native language, ethnicity, handedness, personality, etc.
|
|
|
What does process does experimental research involve?
|
manipulate one or more variables and observe or measure one or more other variables
|
|
|
What are some advantages of experimental research?
|
reliable and replicable data, and we can infer causation
|
|
|
What are some disadvantages of experimental research?
|
sampling representativeness, ecological validity, some variables are impossible, unethical, or difficult to manipulate
|
|
|
What is an independent variable?
|
the manipulated variable
|
|
|
What is the dependent variable?
|
the key feature to the experimental method; it is the variable that is measured (changes in response to how the IV is manipulated)
|
|
|
How do we interpret experimental results?
|
main effects and interactions, accuracy and reaction time trade off
|
|
|
How do we determine if there is a main effect between variables?
|
if a change in one independent variable leads to a change in the dependent variable
|
|
|
How do we determine whether there is a main effect of a given independent variable?
|
average over the other IV(s)
|
|
|
How do we determine if there is an interaction between variables?
|
is the effect of one IV on the DV different for the various levels of the other IV(s)?
|
|
|
Describe a two way interaction between variables
|
the main effect of one IV on the DV is affected by changes in a second IV
|
|
|
How do we determine whether there is an interaction between two independent variables?
|
average over the third IV if there is one; otherwise, consider the full data set
|
|
|
Describe a three way interaction
|
the interaction between two IVs is affected by changes in a third IV
|
|
|
What are the different ways to represent data?
|
data table, line graph, and bar graph
|
|
|
Can we use data from patients with brain damage to test cognitive theories?
|
Yes. Most useful in localization of function.
|
|
|
What makes up the Central Nervous System?
|
the brain and the spinal cord
|
|
|
What main parts make up the brain?
|
the cerebrum, the cerebellum, and the brainstem
|
|
|
What main parts make up the brainstem?
|
the medulla, the pons, and the midbrain
|
|
|
What are some causes of neuropsychological conditions?
|
cerebro-vascular problems (stroke, multi-infarct dementia)
head trauma encephalitis (HIV, herpes simplex virus) brain tumor brain surgery neuro-degeneration (cortical: Alzheimer’s disease, fronto-temporal dementia... subcortical: Huntington’s disease, Parkinson’s disease) other progressive disorders (multiple sclerosis) intoxication (Korsakoff’s syndrome) |
|
|
What are the different types of neuronal damage?
|
diffuse, localized, and focal
|
|
|
What are some causes of diffuse brain damage?
|
multi-infarct dementia, Alheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, and HIV encephalitis
|
|
|
What are some causes of localized brain damage?
|
stroke, fronto-temporal dementia, and Huntington's disease
|
|
|
What are some causes of focal brain damage?
|
could be the result of brain surgery, penetrating head injury, tumor, and some cases of stroke
|
|
|
How can we find out the location of brain damage?
|
post-mortem autopsy
brain surgery (e.g. split-brain patients) structural brain scans: CT, MRI |
|
|
What is the prevalent methodology in neuropsychology?
|
case study
|
|
|
What is the prevalent interpretation of damage in neuropsychology?
|
dissociation... if area X supports cognitive function F, then if X is damaged, F should be impaired.
|
|
|
What are some advantages of the "dissociation" interpretation in neuropsych?
|
straight-forward and easy to apply and understand
|
|
|
What are some disadvantages of the "dissociation" interpretation in neuropsych?
|
difficult to pinpoint area X, difficult to narrow down function F (it's not as straight-forward as it appears... the logic is flawed)
|
|
|
What is the pattern and conclusion of single dissociation?
|
pattern: damage to area X impairs F1.
concl: area X supports cognitive function F1 |
|
|
What is the pattern and conclusion of double dissociation?
|
pattern: damage to area X impairs F1 but not F2; damage to area Y impairs F2 but not F1.
concl: area X supports cognitive function F1 while area Y supports cognitive function F2. |
|
|
What is the conclusion of the "association" interpretation in neuropsych?
|
If area X supports cognitive functions F1 and F2, then if X is damaged, both F1 and F2 should be impaired.
|
|
|
What are some advantages of the "association" interpretation in neuropsych?
|
relies on more than a single patient
can be used with a single patient too: longitudinal studies/item consistency across tasks |
|
|
What are some disadvantages of the "association" interpretation in neuropsych?
|
requires a case series
the possibility of separate but neighbouring modules insufficient by itself |
|
|
Describe Computed (Axial) Tomography (CT Scan)
|
creates a picture based on the differential absorption of X-rays by different tissues... X-rays reflect the relative density of the tissue through which they pass
|
|
|
Describe Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
|
uses magnetic fields and the strong paramagnetic properties of hydrogen (abundant in the human body) to create a picture based on the differential distribution of H atoms in different tissues
|
|
|
Describe the procedure of a CT
|
the subject lies on a table that is positioned inside a hollow, cylindrical apparatus
an x-ray source rides on a ring around the inside of the tube. after passing through the body, the X-ray beam is sampled by the detectors that line the scanner circumference. |
|
|
What are some useful applications of a CT scan in diagnostic medicine?
|
bone fractures/dislocations/ displacements/atrophy, pulmonary or cardiac abnormalities, stroke, tumor, intracranial bleeding
|
|
|
What are some useful applications of a CT scan in neuroscience?
|
useful for patients with ferromagnetic implants, but it has minimal use as the spatial resolution in the brain is poor
|
|
|
What are the advantages of a CT scan?
|
quick (~5min)
relatively inexpensive widely available good spatial resolution |
|
|
What are the disadvantages of a CT scan?
|
radiation exposure
poor spatial resolution/contrast in brain scans (can use contrast agents to improve visibility) need to reposition patient to scan at a different angle (in CAT) |
|
|
Describe the procedure of an MRI
|
the subject lies on a table inside a cylindrical apparatus, a large magnet creates a static field, causing the protons in hydrogen atoms to oscillate at a specific frequency, an electromagnetic pulse is applied at that frequency and is absorbed by the protons, which then need to return to equilibrium (thus, releasing the absorbed energy)
|
|
|
What are some useful applications of an MRI in diagnostic medicine?
|
preferred technique for imaging the brain for stroke, tumor, encephalitis and dementia
|
|
|
What are some useful applications of an MRI in neuroscience?
|
very widely used to establish and compare brain structure
|
|
|
What are the advantages of an MRI?
|
no radiation exposure
very good spatial resolution & very high contrast more detailed picture of soft tissues than CT by variation of scanning parameters, tissue contrast can be altered and enhanced in various ways to detect different features can take structural images at every angle (no need to reposition patient) |
|
|
What are the disadvantages of an MRI?
|
slower (~30min)
more expensive cannot scan individuals with metal implants less detailed picture of bone structure than CT |
|
|
Describe Voxel Based Morphometry (VBM)
|
a computational technique which utilizes MRI to detect differences in tissue density (grey matter, white matter, CSF) on a very small scale over the entire brain
|
|
|
Describe Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI)
|
uses MRI to image white matter tracts (i.e. axon bundles)
measures "fractional anisotropy" the degree of unidirectionality in water molecule diffusion in white matter |
|
|
What are some limitations of lesion studies?
|
1. necessary but not sufficient
2. one-to-many vs. many-to-one mappings of brain regions and brain functions. 3. the effects of lesion can change over time (healing, compensatory processing) 4. have to find patients with focal / isolated damage |
|
|
Describe Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
|
based on the movement of injected radioactive material, uses the fact that neurons communicate with each other with electrical activity
|
|
|
Describe functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)
|
measures changes in blood oxygenation and flow that occur in response to neural activity
|
|
|
Describe Electroencephalography (EEG)
|
measures electrical activity of the brain by recording from electrodes placed on the surface of the scalp
|
|
|
Describe Magnetoencephalography (MEG)
|
measures small changes in the magnetic fields caused by electrical activity in the brain, relies on the fact that all electrical currents produce orthogonally oriented magnetic fields
|
|
|
Describe the procedure of PET Imaging
|
a positron-emitting radioactive isotope (tracer) is attached to a molecule (carrier,e.g. glucose) that enters biological pathways of interest, the solution is injected into the bloodstream, which brings the molecule to
where it is needed, the subject lays relaxed in the scanner |
|
|
What are some useful applications of PET Imaging in diagnostic medicine?
|
to study the relationship between energy consumption, neuronal activity, and function
|
|
|
What are some useful applications of PET Imaging in neuroscience?
|
to look at (or look for) any system, organ, or foreign body that may be consuming more (or less) glucose than the norm
|
|
|
What are some useful applications of PET Imaging in psychiatry?
|
to diagnose and study mental illness related to abnormalities associated with a specific neurotransmitter (e.g., dopamine, serotonin)
|
|
|
What are the advantages of PET Imaging?
|
directly measures glucose/oxygen consumption
can measure the distribution and uptake of other molecules of interest (e.g. neurotransmitters) spatial resolution: ~1cm |
|
|
What are the disadvantages of PET Imaging?
|
radiation exposure
cannot run subjects repeatedly expensive not readily available / static spatial resolution: ~1cm temporal resolution: ~40sec |
|
|
oxygenated hemoglobin is __________ while non-oxygenated hemoglobin is __________.
|
diamagnetic, paramagnetic
|
|
|
What are the advantages of fMRI Imaging?
|
noninvasive
can run subjects repeatedly spatial resolution: ~2mm temporal resolution: ~2sec |
|
|
What are the disadvantages of fMRI Imaging?
|
expensive
not readily available cannot scan individuals with metal implants provides only indirectinformation about metabolic processes! temporal resolution: ~2sec |
|
|
Describe the procedure of EEG Imaging
|
multiple electrodes are placed on the scalp and the subject sits in a chair or lies on a table
|
|
|
What are ERPs? (in regards to EEG Imaging)
|
ERPs = event-related potentials...
electrical activity in response to a specific stimulus/event |
|
|
What are the advantages of EEG Imaging?
|
non-invasive
relatively inexpensive portable good temporal resolution: ~1ms |
|
|
What are the disadvantages of EEG Imaging?
|
poor spatial resolution: ~10cm
takes time to apply electrodes limited to relatively simple experimental paradigms the inverse problem–measuring activity at the scalp while the source is inside the head! |
|
|
What are ERFs? (in regards to MEG)
|
ERFs = event-related fields
|
|
|
What are the advantages of MEG Imaging?
|
good spatial resolution (better than EEG)
excellent temporal resolution ~1ms does not require an active reference (like EEG) does not require the application of electrodes |
|
|
What are the disadvantages of MEG Imaging?
|
expensive
limited availability / static the inverse problem |
|
|
Describe Near-Infraredspetroscopy (NIRS)
|
optical technique for measuring blood oxygenation in the brain (excellent temporal resolution ~1ms)
|
|
|
When is NIRS used?
|
used in animal models of human cognition (e.g., monkeys) and in patients with severe epilepsy (to localize source of seizures)
|
|
|
Describe Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)
|
a technique for temporarily stimulating a brain region to disrupt its function (usually combined with fMRIor PET)
|
|
|
Define perception
|
a cognitive process that uses our previous knowledge to construct, identify, and interpret the stimuli that our senses register
|
|
|
Why do we need perception?
|
for object recognition and for action
|
|
|
Define "distal stimulus"
|
an object in the world that emits or reflects energy
|
|
|
Define "proximal stimulus"
|
pattern of energy that reaches sensory receptors
|
|
|
Define "perceptual object"
|
what we perceive as a result of our sensory activity and post-sensory processing
|
|
|
What three objects cannot be determined by the 2D image available at the retina?
|
1. perceiving an object in 3D (shape and orientation)
2. perceiving surface properties of objects (colour and brightness) 3. perceiving objects in context (size and distance) |
|
|
Describe the path from the retina to the brain
|
retina ->optic nerve ->lateral geniculatenucleus (LGN) ->primary visual cortex (V1) ->higher visual cortices ->association cortices
|
|
|
What are some assumptions we make about perceiving shape and orientation?
|
1. the likelihood principle (given all the possible stimuli that could produce the proximal stimulus, assume the most likely one to be the distal stimulus)
2. frame of reference (apply the likelihood principle in context) |
|
|
What are some assumptions we make about perceiving brightness and colour?
|
1. surfaces are uniformly coloured
2. gradual changes in brightness are caused by shadows 3. light comes from above 4. any light source producing a shadow is stationary 5. local contrast |
|
|
What are some assumptions we make about perceiving size and distance?
|
pictorial cues (occlusion, linear perspective, atmospheric perspective, texture gradient, height in plane/relative size, familiar size)
|
|
|
What are some pictorial cues?
|
(occlusion, linear perspective, atmospheric perspective, texture gradient, height in plane/relative size, and familiar size)
|
|
|
Define convergence
|
the extent to which the two eyes are turned inward to fixate and object
|
|
|
Define stereopsis
|
the visual perception of depth due to retinal disparity
|
|
|
Define retinal disparity
|
the difference between what the two eyes see (where on the two retinas an image projects)... the closer an object the larger the retinal disparity
|
|
|
Describe the Correspondence problem
|
What if you are looking at a bunch of similar objects that are close together? How do you match the two retinal images?
|
|
|
If you are looking at a bunch of similar objects that are close together how do you match the two retinal images?
|
uniqueness constraint and epipolar line constraint
|
|
|
Describe bottom up processing
|
data driven... assumptions and cues we use to go from sensory input to perception are learned.
|
|
|
Describe top down processing
|
hypothesis driven... perceptual and associative knowledge acquired from past experience guides our current perceptions.
|
|
|
Describe the cat and line covered room experiment
|
cats raised in a ‘vertical bars’
environment is unable to perceive horizontal lines, and vice versa |
|
|
What are the two visual pathways?
|
1. dorsal pathway: from visual cortex (V1) to posterior parietal cortex (PPC)
2. ventral pathway: from visual cortex (V1) to inferior temporal cortex (IT) |
|
|
How/what did Ungerlider & Mishkin infer our two visual pathways are for?
|
used the lesion method in monkey studies to determine that the ventral stream = the "what" pathway (object recognition), and the dorsal stream = the "where" pathway (location and movement for action)
|
|
|
What is the problem with Ungerlider & Mishkin's what/where theory?
|
data from human patients with inferior temporal versus posterior parietal lesions... unable to recognize object size/shape/orientation but were able to use visual features to guide precise hand and finger movements (finger-thumb grasp)... the dorsal stream must have access to information about the visual features of the object
|
|
|
What did Milner & Goodale infer our two visual pathways are for?
|
ventral stream = "what" pathway (conscious perception of the visual properties and identity of objects), and the dorsal stream = "how" pathway
= (unconscious/automatic visual guidance of movement) |
|
|
Describe the viewer centered theory of visual recognition
|
the perceptual representation of the object depends on the viewpoint of the perceiver
|
|
|
Describe the object centered theory of visual recognition
|
the perceptual representation of the object is independent of the viewpoint
|
|
|
What are the two classic approaches to visual recognition?
|
1. template-matching: must find an exact object-level match
2. feature-matching: match some collection of individual features |
|
|
What are some problems with template matching in visual recognition?
|
very rarely will you see the exact same object from the exact same perspective twice
|
|
|
What are some problems with feature-matching in visual recognition?
|
deals with size variance but how about orientation variance? being egocentric is a problem - how do you know what are the critical features
|
|
|
Describe the Biederman's Geon Model of visual recognition
|
an object-centered feature-matching model. "recognition by components".
there are 36 simple geons (geometric ions) that are distinguishable from almost every viewing perspective and are recognizable even when parts are being obscured. The geons are fundamental for object recognition and are the building blocks of every object. |
|
|
How are objects defined in the Biederman's Geon Model of visual recognition?
|
by their constituent set of geons and the spatial relationship between those geons
|
|
|
What are some problems with Biederman's Geon Model of visual recognition?
|
can really ALL objects be decomposed into the proposed 36 geons?
how are relations between geons coded? how do you account for fine discriminations (visual expertise)? |
|
|
Describe Palmer, Rosch, & Chase's study on visual perception
|
showed participants different familiar objects at a number of viewing angles
they found that most objects have a canonical view–the most common viewing angle; the view at which recognition is fastest and most accurate |
|
|
Describe Tarr & Pinker's study on visual perception
|
familiarized subjects with novel objects at one viewpoint, and tested recognition at different viewing angles
found that recognition was slower the more the object is rotated from its learned viewpoint |
|
|
Describe Tarr's Viewer-Based Model of visual perception
|
whole-object views are stored in memory
not ALL possible viewpoints, only the most common (canonical) ones in matching-to-template, the current object representation can be mentally rotated/zoomed |
|
|
What did Tanaka & Farah find regarding face recognition
|
found that participants were better at identify whole faces than parts; concluded that faces are represented holistically (parts are not represented on their own, only in the context of the whole face)
this part/whole difference did NOT hold for other kinds of stimuli: scrambled faces, inverted faces, houses |
|
|
What is the fusiform face area of the brain?
|
an area in right inferior temporal cortex that is activated in PET and fMRI studies when participants view faces MORE than when they view other visual stimuli of similar complexity
when damaged, prosopagnosia (a profound selective deficit in face recognition) may develop |
|
|
What are the two views about the facial recogition?
|
1. Faces are special; an area of the brain (FFA) devoted specifically to recognizing faces, so they are NOT processed like other objects. Faces are evolutionarily important to primates (they provide many social cues).
2. Faces are not important; different from other objects because we identify them not at the superordinate or subordinate level but at the specific level. |
|
|
Define attention
|
a mechanism for selecting certain stimuli in the environment for cognitive processing and sustaining this processing until completion
|
|
|
Why do we need attention?
|
our environment is rich, dynamic, and complex
BUT we have limited cognitive capacity. we want to select only stimuli that are relevant to our current (goal-directed) behaviour |
|
|
What are the key properties of attention?
|
it is limited and it is selective
|
|
|
Describe dual-task paradigm (in regards to attention)
|
whether (and how) performance on one task is affected by performing an additional task
|
|
|
Describe task-switching paradigm (in regards to attention)
|
switch cost–performance is worse/slower on trials where the task changes
|
|
|
Does a particular task always require the same amount of attention?
|
probably not, depends on what else you are doing.
|
|
|
Can you perform more than one task at a time?
|
probably; it appears as if we can perform two, three, or even more tasks in parallel. But we could also be switching out attention
|
|
|
Describe Navon & Gopher's multiple resource theory (regarding attention)
|
based on task modality (add more from text...)
|
|
|
Describe Wicken's multiple resource theory (regarding attention)
|
based on task dimensions (input/output modalities, stage of processing, code of processing) (add more from text...)
|
|
|
Describe the Psychological Refractory Period (PRP) (regarding attention)
|
a post-response period during which another response cannot be initiated
|
|
|
Describe Attentional Blink (regarding attention)
|
failure to attend to a stimulus if it occurs in close spatial and temporal proximity to another stimulus
|
|
|
Does a particular task always require the same amount of attention?
|
probably not; depends on what else you are doing. There is an attentional bottleneck which turns out to be sensitive to a number of stimulus dimensions.
There are also other cognitive limitations that cause task interference independent of the attentional limitations |
|
|
Is the allocation of attention under our control?
|
for the most part, yes
|
|
|
Is attention always allocated the way you want? Why or why not?
|
No because there are external distractors (sudden/unexpected, unusual/complex, high intensity, salient/important) and internal distractors
|
|
|
What strategies can we use to guard against external distractors? (regarding attention)
|
Strategy #1: avoid distracting stimuli
Strategy #2: habituate... with continued exposure, distracting stimuli no longer demand attention Strategy #3: admit some stimuli into attention, filter out others |
|
|
How do we guard against internal distractors? (regarding attention)
|
operating process: seeks desirable mental contents
monitoring process: searches for undesirable mental contents (serves as a warning flag) |
|
|
Do the attentional demands of a task decrease with practice?
|
Yes, the more you practice a task, the more ‘automatic’ it becomes
|
|
|
Describe Spelke et al.'s dual-task paradigm experiment
|
participants were asked to read a story and write words to dictation. Initially, there was lots of interference but with practice they improved
|
|
|
Describe "automatic tasks" to improve attention
|
little or no attentional cost
with or without intention not affected by motivation can happen without awareness |
|
|
Describe "controlled tasks" to improve attention
|
attentional cost
occurs only with intention affected by motivation only with awareness |
|
|
Describe the Stroop effect (attention)
|
reporting the colour of the words is slowed down and more error prone when…
(a) the colour of the word and the colour named by the word are incongruent than when they are congruent; (b) the word names another colour rather than a different class of referent. |
|
|
Finish the sentence: Attention is a filter that allows ______... and stops ______...
|
allows... certain information from the environment to reach awareness
stops... most information before it reaches awareness |
|
|
Finish the sentence: You are always evaluating other stimuli to see if ...
|
... they are relevant to the task at hand and to see if they are more important than what you’re currently attending to.
|
|
|
Define fixed ratio reinforcement
|
reward is given after a certain number of responses; results in steady response; it is easy to extinguish.
|
|
|
Define variable ratio reinforcement
|
reward is given after a certain number of responses on average, allowing the local reward to vary; results in robust learning and difficult extinction.
|
|
|
Define fixed interval reinforcement
|
reward is given after a certain amount of time (e.g. 5 minutes); little response till just before reinforcement when lots of learning occurs; easy to extinguish.
|
|
|
Define variable interval reinforcement
|
reward is given after a certain amount of time on average; relatively robust response with difficult extinction.
|
|
|
List and briefly explain some developments or findings that were damaging to behaviourism.
|
Tabula rasa. What about innate predispositions?
-Konrad Lorenz’s fixed-action patterns. Couldn’t explain all of animal behaviour. -Konrad Lorenz’s critical periods in development. Couldn’t explain all of human behaviour. -Chomsky’s point that language is generative. -strategy effects in memory studies. Abstract constructs can be successfully used in science. -Newell & Simon’s Logic Theorist. -neuropsychological reports such as that of patient HM. |
