Chap1 intro to cognitive psych

Question 1

Define mind?

Answer 1

1.Cognition: The mind creates and controls mental functions such as perception, attention, memory, emotions, language, deciding, thinking, and reasoning.
2. Function and Operation: The mind is a system that creates representations of the world so that we can act within it to achieve out goals.

Question 2

Cognitive Psychology?

Answer 2

The study of mind processes ( characteristics and properties) and how it operates.

Question 3

how did Donter set her expereiment?

Answer 3

by measuring reaction time.

Question 4

simple reaction time vs choice reaction time?

Answer 4

SIMPLE REACTION TIME: just doing one task in a set of time.
CHOICE REACTION TIME: making the choice in a set of time.

Question 5

what was the findings of Donder’s experiement?

Answer 5

That choice RT took 1/10 Sec longer than simple RT.

Question 6

who founded the school of structuralism and what it is?

Answer 6

Wilhelm Wundt founded the school of structuralism: all human experience is determined by combining basic elements of experience the structuralists called sensations. “ sensation involved in creating experience”.

Question 7

analytic introspection?

Answer 7

trained participants described their experience and thought processes in response to stimuli.

Question 8

Ebbhinghaus’s memory experiment?

Answer 8

how long it takes to forget information. (Saving curve)
- memorized random alphabets and test his memory.
Result: forgetting happened rapidly in the first 2 days and after that occurs slowly.

Question 9

what was findings of Wilhelm James?

Answer 9

the observation of one things requires the withdrawing of attention of others.
- wrote the first psychology book.

Question 10

who founded behaviorism and describe it?

Answer 10

John Watson
- observable behavior produces the only valid data for psychology.

Question 11

What were the critiques of analytical introspection made by Watson?

Answer 11

• production of variable results from person to person
• difficulty of interpretation of the results due to being a a result of invisible inner mental processes.

Question 12

classical conditioning?

Answer 12

pairing a neutral stimuli with a stimuli produces response to the neutral stimuli alone (little Albert’s expereiment).

Question 13

skinner’s operant conditioning?

Answer 13

behavior can be reinforced by a positive reinforcer and eliminated by a withdrawal of a negative reinforcer.

Question 14

Noam Chomsky vs B.F. Skinner?

Answer 14

• language is learned through reinforcement. (Skinner, Verbal Behavior)
• language is a product of brain’s construction rather than reinforcement. (Chomsky)

Question 15

when cognitive revolution happen?

Answer 15

• interest in the mind died out with Behaviorism, but started to come back in the 1940s-1950s

Kohler’s ”Insight”
Tolman’s “Cognitive Maps”
Children’s language and development

Question 16

scientific revolution?

Answer 16

a shift from one paradigm to another.
- paradigm: a system of ideas that dominate science at a particular time.

Question 17

artificial intelligence?

Answer 17

First time used by John McCarthy defined as making a machine to behave in a way that would be called intelligent if a human were so behaving.

Question 18

what is logic theory?

Answer 18

a program made by Newell and Simon: could create proofs of mathematical theories that involved principle of logic.

Question 19

Cognitive revolution?

Answer 19

shift of focus from behaviorism to study of mind (psychology).

Question 20

who coined the term cognitive psychology?

Answer 20

Ulrich Neisser stated, “ the purpose of this book is to provide a useful and current assessment of the existing state of the art.

Question 21

what is the central theme of cognitive psychology?

Answer 21

1. study of higher mental processes.
2. study of the physiology of mental processes.

Question 22

Atkinson and Shiffrin’s mode of memory?

Answer 22

input-> sensory memory -> short-term memory (rehearsal/ output)-> long-term memory.

Question 23

components of the long-term memory?

Answer 23

• Episodic memory: Life events
• Semantic memory: facts
• procedural memory: physical actions.

Question 24

Neuropsychology?

Answer 24

the study of behavior of people with brain damage.

Question 25

Electrophysiology?

Answer 25

measuring of the electrical responses of the nervous system (listen to the activity of single neuron).

Question 26

PET scan?

Answer 26

positron emission tomography: show the active part of the brain during cognitive activity through emitting energy by radioactive material.
disadvantage: expensive, low resolution

Question 27

CAT/ CT scan?

Answer 27

similar to very powerful x-ray
* utility: reveals localized brain tumors and lesions
* Advantages
o instantaneous
o non-invasive
* Disadvantages
o exposure to radiation
o poor spatial resolution, can’t specify about the exact area of the brain.
* Can’t differentiate between the white and grey matter.

Question 28

MRI?

Answer 28

large magnet that reveals brain structures by taking “images” of the brain
* utility: reveals soft tissue abnormalities in the brain, grey and white matter.
* Advantages
o great spatial resolution
o non-invasive
o mostly low risk*
* Disadvantages
o contraindications
o low accessibility, only in big city, expensive.
* Can pull out magnet if be in the body.

Question 29

through which technique the brain activity could be studies ?

Answer 29

EEG and FMRI

Question 30

EEG?

Answer 30

• Electroencephalogram (EEG): records electrical activity of large group of neurons in the brain, measures the neuron’s activity!
  Ø micro electrodes: record activity of single neuron
• utility: direct measure of neural activity, rare, need to be invasive. Only can be inserted in the patients that have electrodes in their body.
• Advantages
  o excellent temporal resolution (msecs), can record in in milliseconds.
  o non-invasive, low risk
• Disadvantages:
  o poor spatial resolution, no certain area detection.
  o sensitive to movement

Question 31

monism?

Answer 31

Mind and body (brain) are one.
Mental events correspond to physical events in the brain

Question 32

• Thomas Hobbes & John Locke?

Answer 32

○ British Empiricists
Scientific observation is how we gain knowledge

Question 33

Radical Behaviorism vs Behaviorism?

Answer 33

• Radical Behaviorism: behavior is governed by lawful principles (reinforcement) Skinner
  Behaviorism: observable behavior is the only valid way to study psychological phenomenon.

Question 34

Cognitive insight?

Answer 34

• insight = sudden perception of a relationship between two seemingly disconnected ideas that helps solve a problem
  Ø remote associate task (e.g. cottage, cake, burger)
  opposite of math questions

Question 35

• Wolfgang Kohler Gestalt Psychologist?

Answer 35

chimpanzees display insight (also shown in ravens, other animals).

Question 36

• Edward Tolman?

Answer 36

o If it was conditioning, then rat would always turn right.
o But when placed in a different location, the rat chose the path leading directly to food!