chapter 1 Flashcards
What does cognition consist of
What we know, what we remember and what we think
How is cognitive psychology defines?
The study of acquisition, retention and use of knowledge
WHo was H.M.
received brain surgery for his epilepsy and lost his short term memory. He had no sense of self and didn’t understand whether his action should be praised or shamed
in it’s modern form how old in psychology?
roughly 50 years
when and what was the “cognitive revolution”?
took place b/w 1950s-1960s involved a change in the style of research expanding it to other domains outside of memory and decision making
Who was Wilhelm Wundt
The “father of experimental psychology” launched the new enterprise of research psychology and focused on conscious mental events through introspection
What were the 2 problems with introspection?
- Introspection can tell us nothing about unconcious thoughts
- Testibility of it’s claims are unattainable
What was the behaviourist movement?
When introspection was abandoned as a research tool scientists turned to behaviourism which involved studying only overt and observable behaviour while ignoring internal entities (beleifs, memories etc.) - this movement dominated psychology for the 1st half of the 20th century (1920-1955)
Who was John B. Watson?
advocate for the behaviourist movement, was intrigued by babies behaviour
Why can’t we rely on a complete behaviourist psychology
Because the same physical stimulus produce different actions, and different physical stimulus sometimes produce the same actions. What we do depends on how we understand the stimulus, and understanding can not be overtly observed
Who was Immanuel Kant?
developped the transcendental method where you begin with observable facts and work backwards to find the underlying cause - began the cognitive revolution
What’s a span test?
Giving participants a list of letters and asking them to repeat it. Making the list longer and longer until they make errors, most people can repeat 7 or 8 - this involves working memory
explain the working memory system proposed by Baddeley and Hitch
Working memory has several parts. THe central executive runs the show, and has many assistants helping him. One important assistant is the articulatory rehearsal loop which holds information in mind for a moment while the executive focuses on more demanding tasks.
How does the articulatory rehearsal loop function?
- The executive initiates it and then turns to other matters
1. To launch the rehearsal loop you rely on subvocalization (subvocal speech) and the info is held by the “inner voice” -
2. Subvocalization produces a representation of the info in the phonological buffer which produces an “auditory image” in the “inner ear” - it fades but is continually replaced with subvocalization
Why do people make sound alike errors?
Because they’re relying on the articulatory rehearsal loop
What’s katian logic?
Creating a hypothesis based on unseen mechanisms in order to explain observable data
What does concurrent articulation do to the working memory system
Mechanisms needed for subvocal speech are being used to produce overt speech meaning we are relying solely on the executive and memory span drops from 7 to 4/5
What are the results of using concurrent articulation with visual presentation of items?
We largely eliminate sound alike errors further supporting the working memory system model
does concurrent articulation block memory of shapes that can’t be named
NO
Does concurrent articulation block the other operations of the articulatory rehearsal loop?
NO, people can still do simple logic, read sentences and so on
Define Cognitive neuroscience
The study of the biological basis for cognitive functioning
Are articulatory muscles necessary for the production of subvocal speech?
No, patients with anarthia (inability to produce over speech) still show sound alike errors
Define neuropsychology
how various forms of brian dysfuction influence observed performance
How do deaf people rehearse word lists
They use an “inner hand” and are disrupted if asked to wiggle fingers. They also show same hand shape errors
Who is Ernst Webber?
The amount of physical energy necessary to produce a change in sensation is proportional to the original level of physical energy
- he found : The amount of weight required to tell that something is heavier is much bigger if the original object is heavier
Who is Gustav Recher
Created a Mathematical theory based on weber’s discovery: Physical energy and the psychological experience of that energy are related by a logarithmic function
Who was Richard Tolman?
behaviourist (1886-1959)
• 1932: Rats run mazes flooded with water: Building cognitive maps
• Internal thought IS a necessary construct
What are the 3 categories of knowledge studied in cognitive psychology?
Acquired: perception, attention, categorization
Retained: Memory encoding and retrival
Used: Decision-making, judgment, inference
• Not simply a copy of sensory input: Internal representations are modifications of external reality, based on memory and context.
What happened to phineas Gage
rod through his head caused emotional trauma and depression and rage
What is lateral inhibition
When the centre and surround of a cell inhibit eachother
A lack of ability to move something has to do with _______, ________ has to do with language, _______ with attention, and _______ with object recognition.
Apraxia, aphasia, Neglect and Agnosia
What is psychophysics?
Is there a relationship between mental processes and physical energy in the environment
