Chapter 1, Introduction Flashcards
different approaches to the study of cognitive psychology, overwiew of the brain structure and processes involved in perception, learning and memory storage.
Definition of cognitive psychology
psychology of mental processes, specifically the way in which the brain processes information
What is cognition?
Cognition includes the way we gather, make sense and use information ( how we process it)
What triggers the internal mental processes
External or internal stimulus
Stages of cognitive processing
Input - perception - learning and memory storage - retrieval - thinking
What are the approaches to the study of cognition and what do they entail?
- Experimental psychology - not looking into the brain. conducting experiments, looking at behavior and making conclusions
- Computational cognitive science - making a computer simulation based on the results of conducted experiments with humans, and seeing if the computer acts like humans
- Cognitive neuropsychology - (behavior focused) studying people with brain lesions, disorders and deficits and comparing with behavior of healthy people
- Cognitive neuroscience - using brain imaging on healthy (and not) brains to relate behavior to a specific brain area
Who and in what year opened the first official psychology labaratory? Why?
Wilhelm Wundt
He decided that for psychology experiments are necessary just like for other sciences
What did Wundt research?
- response time for responding to a stimulus (pendulum hits a bell and a person has to alert of the bell sound
- visual illusions (earliest studies)
- perception
Who is Herman Ebbinghaus?
The publisher of the first experimental research on memory (1885), that made a foundation for the forgetting curve
Who is William James?
The author of “Principles of Psychology”, 1890. He was one of the first to distinguish between long-term memory and short-term memory
What is behaviorism
An approach developed by experimental psychologists. Focuses on only working with and investigating just the externally observable behavior. It was an important step to establishing psychology as a true science.
Who is Watson (1913)? What were his thoughts on the study of psychology?
- founder of behaviorism.
- psychologists should only consider observable events
- inner mental processes should not be considered as they cannot be directly observed
What kind of studies did B. F. Skinner (1938) conduct?
put rats into boxes (now called skinner boxes) and trained then to press levers when specific lights came on in order to obtain food as a reward (“reinforcement”). When lever was pressed incorrectly, rats would be shocked by an electric current
What is Gestalt psychology?
An approach to psychology which emphasized the way in which components of perceptual input became grouped and integrated into patterns and whole figures
Core concepts of Gestalt psychology and what is pragnanz?
- perception is influenced by our previous knowledge and experience
- perception of a whole object will be something more than just the sum of its components
-perception of a figure depends on its pragnanz (its meaningful content, the info to give the simplest explanation) (Koffka, 1935)
Who is the author of the Schema theory and what is it about? What is a schema?
- Bartlett (1932)
- we do not directly interpret what we see but rather use previous knowledge, certain sensory patterns and experiences
- Schema - mental pattern, usually derived from experience, which is used for interpreting of subsequent cognitions, for example by identifying familiar shapes and sounds in a new perceptual input
Implications of the Schema theory
- our perception and memory of an input may sometimes be changed or distorted to fit our existing schemas
- schemas may make you act in a way that you expect from experience, when in a particular situation you should be acting differently
- “perception lies in the brain pf a perceiver”
What is bottom-up processing?
(stimulus-driven) processing which is directed by information contained within the stimulus. It is initiated at the “bottom end” of the nervous system (sense organs) and goes up towards higher cortical areas
What is top-down processing?
(schema-driven) processing which makes use of stored knowledge and schemas to interpret incoming stimulus eg: driving, something automatic, easy and already in the brain
How do top-down and bottom-up relate to each other? and difference
Without one there cant be another. Top-down is always there for things we do automatically. Bottom-up can be or not be there. In most cases information analysis will involve a combination of the two
Strengths of cognitive psychology
- First systematic approach to the study
- Led to numerous theories adopted by other approaches
- Very flexible: can be applied to any part of cognition
Limitations of cognitive psychology
-Most cognitive tasks and experiments are impure and lack ecological validity (very hard to simulate and control all surroundings and get a precise answer about the real world)
- The evidence of underlying processes is indirect
- Theories are often vague and hard to test
- Findings are often paradigm-specific
- Lack of overarching theoretical framework
Benefits for using computer models to study cognitive processes
- can simulate computer processes
- can provide possible explanations for the processing mechanisms within the human brain
- can be used as a “test bed” for trying out possible human cognitive functions, providing a means of “modeling” and testing the feasibility of a particular processing mechanism
What is the difference between computational modeling and AI
Computational modeling:
- programming computers to model or mimic some aspects of human functioning
AI:
constructing computer systems that produce intelligent outcomes often using very different processes to humans
Computational cognitive science strengths:
- Theoretical assumptions spelled out with precision (the programs had to be very precise to do exactly what was needed)
- New models work on strengths and weaknesses of previous models
Computational cognitive science limitations:
- Many models fail to make new theoretical predictions
- de - emphasizes emotional and motivational factors
- as models get more complex, they get harder to understand
What are feature detectors?
mechanisms in information processing device (such as brain and computer) which respond to specific features in a pattern of simulation, such as lines or corners
What have Haynes and Rees discover in 2005 through functional imaging techniques?
Feature-detector cells in the human brain
From these results more advanced theories of perception have been developed
Who was the author of selective attention theory?
Broadbent
What is the limited capacity processor model?
The brain is seen as an information processor faced with a large array of incoming information (from both inside and outside). Many inputs are competing with one another for limited precessing resources, and the inputs must be prioritized and selectively processed if an information overload is to be avoided
What is the outer shell of the brain?
Cerebral cortex (grey matter)
What is the cerebral cortex responsible for?
higher cognitive processes
Where are the bodies of neurons located?
in the cerebral cortex
Where are the fibers of neurons located?
the white matter
What are neurons?
Cells that produce electrical activity, receive electrical input from other cells and activate (or not activate) accordingly
What is the neurons output? What does it do?
axon; it connects that neuron to other neurons in the brain
What is the white matter?
the inside area of the brain, located underneath the cerebral cortex
What are the key assumptions of cognitive neuropsychology?
- functional modularity (independent precessing units)
- anatomical modularity (each cognitive module is located in a specific brain region
- universality assumption (organisation of cognitive functions very similar across all individuals)
- subtractivity (and transparency) (if i remove a module, only that area collapses)
Which brain hemisphere is dominant in right-handed people?
left (the nerves from each side of the brain cross over to control the opposite side of the body)
Which brain hemisphere is dominant in left-handed people?
In contrast with right-handed people, the dominance can be switched to right hemisphere, however most still have left-hemisphere specialization for language
What is the left hemisphere responsible for?
It is particularly involved with language and speech
What is the right hemisphere concerned with?
processing of non-verbal input (for example, face recognition)
What is redundacy in the brain?
if i remove on hemisphere of the brain, similar parts in the remaining hemisphere take over the function of the missing parts of the brain. So technically we could live with only one hemisphere
What are the frontal and back parts of the brain responsible for?
Back: processing of incoming data, mostly visual
Frontal: output, behavior, speech, movement, thinking and reasoning
what is the central executive?
regulates activities, thinking, decisions, planning movements
What do the frontal lobes include?
- motor region (motor cortex) - sends commands to all muscles (if theres a lesion on the right part of the motor cortex, there would be problems with movement in the left side of the body, and vice versa)
- Broca’s area - production of speech, commands the vocal chords; normally located in the left hemisphere of the brain
- The frontal areas are involved with the central executive
The case of Pineas Gage
Was a very smart and nice guy. Had a rode (палка) go through his cheekbone and through the front of his head
- memory and cognition were not altered
- physical strength not affected, lived for many years afterwards
- disexecutive syndrome, trouble planning
- became very rude and irritable, before used to be very nice
Occipital lobes function
mainly processing visual input
What are parietal lobes concerned with?
mainly perception;
some aspects of short-term memory;
some analysis of visual information, especially related to localization of objects (important for performing motor activity with correct position)
What parts do parietal lobes have and what are they responsible for?
- Sensory cortex - tactile information, our position in space. Receives input from the skin and feedback from muscles and internal organs
- areas for the perception of pain
What are the temporal lobes responsible for?
-memory. Lesions are often associated with severe amnesia
-auditory perception
Wernicke’s area is particularly concerned with memory for language and the understanding of speech
What is double dissociation?
Double Dissociation is when two related mental processes are shown to function independently of each other
-Patient HM has no long-term memory, but good short-term memory.
- Patient KF has an impaired STM, but intact LTM
It shows that either STM or LTM can be separately impaired while the other stays intact.
This is known as “double dissociation” and it provides particularly convincing evidence for the view that STM and LTM involve separate memory systems
Cognitive neuroscience strengths
- combination of techniques offers excellent spatial and/or temporal resolution
- provides incredibly rich information to add to behavioral measures
- has helped to resolve many theoretical controversies
- Meta-analyses of 10000+ studies have clarified brain-cognition relationships
- some techniques (TMS) permit casual inferences
Limitations of cognitive neuroscience
- false-positive findings are often reported (an fMRI of a dead fish identified brain activity when it’s impossible, the fish was in fact dead)
- Cognitive tasks do not significantly increase brain activity (only 5%)
Cognitive neuropsychology strengths
- double dissociations provide evidence for modularity
- casual inferences relating brain areas / cognitive processes can be drawn
- Powerful findings permit falsification of plausible theories or suggest more complete theories
- links cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience
Cognitive neuropsychology limitations
-Modularity and universality assumptions are too strong
- brain damage often affects several modules also due to changes in connectivity
- patients often develop compensatory strategies from general to specific processes ( so if you wait too long to study a patient, the studies might result in being inaccurate)
- De-emphasizes brain plasticity
- individual differences make it hard to generalize
- it is difficult to know for sure which deficits have always been there, and which are associated with the lesion
What were the early suggestions about information storage in the brain and why are they not convincing?
Early suggestions:
- magnetic form
- chemical form
Not convincing because such mechanisms would be unable to offer the necessary storage capacity, accesability or durability over time
function of the body of a neuron
“processing center”, electrical impulses are processed there
How do neurons receive impulses?
through the short tree branch looking parts called dendrites
The process of neurons receiving and transmitting information
An electrical impulse is received through the dendrites. It is processed in the body of the neuron.. Then the neuron sends an electrical impulse through the axon, which is the neuron output. With the help of a chemical called a neurotransmitter, the impulse is transferred to the other neuron’s dendrites.
Whichever neurons are fired, this will strengthen the synaptic connection between the two neurons involved
What is a neurotransmitter?
chemical substance which helps transmit information between neurons
Who came up with the theory about neurons helping to transmit and store information?
Hebb
What is a synaptic cleft
separation between end of an axon and beginning of the dendrites
What processes are a form of neural activity?
Cognitive processes such as perception, speech, thought
According to Hebb, what happens if two neurons close by fire at the same time?
Their connection strengthens. If a synapse if frequently crossed in the past it will be more easily crossed in the future
What is a cell assembly?
a group of cells which have become linked to one another to form a single functional network
What could a cell assembly represent?
a particular stimulus, such as an object or a face
What happens to a cell assembly over time?
it becomes a permanent structure, representing a memory which could be activated by any similar stimulus in the future
What can Hebb’s theory explain?
-associations between thoughts and memories (and you can associate different call assemblies together)
- difference between STM and LTM
What is long-term potentiation?
a lasting change in synaptic resistance following electrical stimulation to living brain tissue. Possibly one of the biological mechanisms underlying the learning process
What is controlled processing?
processing under conscious control, intentional, voluntary process
What are the key characteristics of controlled processing?
- require conscious attention (so, subject to limitations in processing capacity
- slow
- affected by other tasks which take up attention
- involves top-down generation of stored information and thoughts
What is Automatic processing?
processing that is not under conscious/ voluntary control, and which is rapid and inevitable
What are the key characteristics of automatic processing?
- not subject to processing limits
- rapid
- not affected by other tasks
- bottom-up responses to stimuli
- will take place regardless of the wishes and intentions of the individual
How does automatic processing happen?
with frequent repetition (e.g. driving, reading, writing…). But it can be overridden by controlled processes
What helps to override automatic processes and why is that needed?
The supervisory attention system, which is conscious, helps override automatic processes when more complex or novel tasks require the flexibility of conscious control
What does the supervisory attention system involve?
- frontal lobes (patients with frontal lobe lesions are often found to exhibit perseveration of automatic behavior and a lack of flexibility of response)
- Baddeley (1997) suggests that the conscious control of the supervisory attention system may reside in the central executive component of the working memory
How is consciousness often described?
as an “emergent property” which means that it is a phenomenon that emerges as a result of the organisation of a very complex system such as cortex
How much do we know about consciousness?
Very little
What is Wegner’s theory about consciousness?
decisions may actually be made at an unconscious level, and conscious awareness of the decision only follows later when we observe its outcomes
