assumptions & perception Flashcards
what is cog psych?
- collect, store, modify, and interpret information that is already stored INTERNALLY
assumptions of cog psych
- mental processes exist!
- humans are active info processors
- mental processes can be identified through behavioral measures (ex. reaction times, patterns of responses, etc.) (EX. Donders Task)
goals of cog psych
- identify mental processes
- figure out how they function
- figure out how they work together to form the human mind
role of theories in cog psych
- allow scientists to organize data (EX. George Miller & STM capacity)
- generate predictions for situations in which data has yet to be obtained
information processing approach
- all mental processes are broken down into stages
- each stage performs unique operations
- how is info encoded, stored, and used to perform tasks?
example of information processing approach
- driving a car!
- cognitive processes occur w/o conscious awareness -> turns signaled by landmarks (do you actually SEE them?)
- recognition & representation
connectionist model
- assumptions –> set of processing units (NODES or COGNITIVE UNITS)
- state of activation
- pattern of connection among nodes
EX. Web model
advantages of connectionist model
1) overwhelming structural similarity of connectionist models to the neural network of the brain
2) complex behaviors arise out of simple elements (the simpler the model, the better)
difficulties of connectionist model
is the model - brain relationship actually parallel?
1) dissociations in neurocog studies - Specificities of damage (ex. Only one piece of puzzle isn’t able to function correctly, like in prosopagnosia)
2) excitatory and inhibitory synapses
parallel processing approach
- recognizing individual features → letters → whole words
- Levels can feed up AND down
- All the recognitions happen at the same time → whatever information that is helpful/available will be used
foveal vision
Greatest # of rods and cones, greatest sense of sight
Cognitive process of completion
example: multi-colored line turns blue
test of output interference
- vary the time interval between the end of the display and the sound of the tone
- rapid decay in iconic store = longer the time, less items will be recalled for both the whole and partial report methods
rapid decay hypothesis
- superiority of partial report decreased as a function of time
information retained in ICONIC STORE
pre-categorical rep (veridical) & categorical rep (semantic)
qualifications to conclusions
People have shown that some characteristics (color, brightness, shape, etc.) maintain the superiority effect
iconic & echoic memory stores
iconic for VISION
echoic for AUDITORY
info is PRE-CAT in nature
info can be lost through TIME or ERASURE
