Chapter 1

Question 1

Metacognition

Answer 1

Thinking about your thought processes

Question 2

Cognitive approach

Answer 2

Theoretical orientation that emphasizes people’s thought processes and their knowledge

Question 3

Aristotle

Answer 3

First cognitive psychologist
Examined perception, memory, and mental imagery
also how humans acquire knowledge through experience and observation

Question 4

Wilhelm Wundt

Answer 4

Introspection

Question 5

Introspection

Answer 5

Carefully trained observers would systematically analyze their own sensations and report them as objectively as possible, under standardized conditions
Proposed by Wundt

Question 6

Hermann Ebbinghaus

Answer 6

First person to scientifically study human memory

Question 7

Mary Whiton Calkins

Answer 7

Recency effect

Question 8

Recency effect

Answer 8

The observation that our recall is especially accurate for the final items in a series of stimuli

Question 9

William James

Answer 9

Theorized about our everyday psychological experiences

Question 10

Behaviourism

Answer 10

Psychology must focus on objective, observable reactions to stimuli in the environment, rather than introspection
Argued that researchers could not objectively study mental representation

Question 11

Gestalt psychology

Answer 11

Emphasizes that we humans have basic tendencies to actively organize what we see
The whole is greater than the sum of its parts

Question 12

Gestalt

Answer 12

An overall quality that transcends the individual elements

Question 13

Frederic Bartlett

Answer 13

Used meaningful material and discovered that people made systematic errors when trying to recall the stories
Memory is an active, constructive process

Question 14

Noam Chomsky

Answer 14

Humans have an inborn ability to master all the complicated and varied aspects of language

Question 15

Jean Piaget

Answer 15

Children actively explore their world in order to understand important concepts
They change as they mature

Question 16

Atkinson-Shiffrin model

Answer 16

An information processing speed model
Proposed that memory involves a sequence of separate steps, and in each step info is transferred from one storage area to another

Question 17

3 types of memory proposed by the Atkinson-Shiffrin model

Answer 17

Sensory memory: records info from each of the senses with reasonable accuracy (2 secs or less)
Short term (or working) memory: only the small amount of info that you are actively using (30s)
Long term memory: minutes to decades old info – relatively permanent

Question 18

Ecological validity is high if…

Answer 18

The conditions in which the research is conducted are similar to the natural setting where the results will be applied

Question 19

Cognitive neuroscience

Answer 19

Combines the research techniques of cognitive psychology with various methods for assessing the structure and function of the brain

Question 20

PET scan (what is it, how does it work, what does it give)

Answer 20

Positron Emission Tomography
Blow flow increases in the activated part of the brain to bring oxygen
Measured by injecting participant with a low dose of radioactive chemical
Picture of the brain’s function, not structure

Question 21

fMRI

Answer 21

Based on principle that oxygen-rich blood is an index of brain activity
Magnetic field produces changes in the oxygen atoms and device takes pics of the oxygen atoms

Question 22

Event-related potential technique

Answer 22

Records the brief fluctuations in the brain’s electrical activity in response to stimulus
Electrodes on scalp record the electrical activity generated by a group of neurons located directly under the skull

Question 23

Computer simulation vs artificial intelligence

Answer 23

CS: takes human limitations into account
AI: designed to accomplish a cognitive task as efficiently as possible

Question 24

Mental chronometry

Answer 24

Measuring the speed at which information is processed

Basically looking at reaction times

Question 25

2 assumptions made when studying patients with brain lesions

Answer 25

1. Modularity (that each part of the brain is responsible for a particular cognitive function) 2. Generalizability (that it's okay to generalize from a brain damaged individual to a person with normal cognition)

Question 26

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Answer 26

Sends a pulse of electromagnetic activity, which induces a current in the brain (massive, synchronized depolarization of cells) Then there is a period of hyperpolarization, and that brain area is knocked out (like a temporary brain lesion)

Question 27

Advantages (1) vs Disadvantages (3) of PET Scans

Answer 27

A: relatively high spatial resolution D: injected with radioactive material, poor temporal resolution, interpretation (doesn't take into account excitatory vs inhibitory neurons)

Question 28

Advantages (3) vs Disadvantages (4) of MRIs

Answer 28

A: Has high spatial resolution, non-intrusive, can be used with humans or animals D: expensive, poor temporal resolution, also can’t tell between excitation and inhibition, contraindicated in people with metal implants

Question 29

Advantages (4) vs Disadvantages (4) of ERPs

Answer 29

A: high temporal resolution (good because a lot of cognition happens really quickly), non-intrusive, can be used with infants (not so good with animals), relatively inexpensive D: not structural, poor spatial resolution, can only detect activity that is projected to the scalp, depends on multi-trial filtering (need a lot of responses to be able to interpret the data)

Question 30

Magneto-encephalography (MEG) (including advantages (4) and disadvantages (1)

Answer 30

Measures the magnetic field generated by neural activity Purely functional A: both spatial and temporal resolution, provides a direct measure of brain function, non-invasive, does not apply magnetic field D: magnetic fields are weak and difficult to detect

Question 31

Single-Cell recording | including advantages (3) and disadvantages (1

Answer 31

Recording the activity of a single neuron Puts a transducer beside a neuron and measures the electrical activity by the neuron which is then translated into a sound A: highest spatial resolution, exact localization, on-line measurement of behavior (immediate) D: highly invasive

Question 32

Connectionist approach

Answer 32

Argues that cognitive processes can be understood in terms of networks that link neuron like units Many operations can proceed simultaneously Human cognition is often parallel, not linear Also called the parallel distributed processing approach and the neural-network approach

Question 33

Social cognitive neuroscience

Answer 33

Uses neuroscience techniques to study the cognitive processes that we use in our interactions with other people

Question 34

What approach developed the idea of insight?

Answer 34

The Gestalt approach