Approaches to human cognition

Question 1

Define bottom-up processing.

Answer 1

Processing influenced by environmental stimuli

Question 2

Define top-down processing.

Answer 2

Stimulus processing that is influenced by individual experience

Question 3

Name the four main approaches to human cognition.

Answer 3

Cognitive psychology
Cognitive neuropsychology
Cognitive neuroscience
Computational cognitive science

Question 4

Define cognitive psychology.

Answer 4

Psychological approach in explaining cognition by using behavioural evidence

Question 5

Define cognitive neuropsychology.

Answer 5

Studying brain damaged patients in order to understand the working brain

Question 6

Define cognitive neuroscience.

Answer 6

Uses evidence from behaviour and the brain to explain behaviour

Question 7

Define computational cognitive science.

Answer 7

Developing computational models to further our understanding on cognition

Question 8

What is meant by parallel processing?

Answer 8

When two or more cognitive processes happen at the same time

Question 9

Define ecological validity.

Answer 9

Being able to apply findings to real life settings

Question 10

Why does early cognitive psychological research suffer with ecological validity?

Answer 10

Early research was conducted in a lab setting and so it is hard to relate to real life