Chapter 2 - How to Study Cognition Flashcards
algorithm
A set of operations that produces the input/output mapping of a function.
behavioral neuroscience
A scientific field that assesses behavior and neurological factors in animals as models of human function.
behaviorism
A school of psychology that emphasized using observable stimuli and behaviors as the basis of scientific experimentation.
blindsight
A phenomenon in which someone who reports blindness due to cortical damage still shows behavior consisting with some perception.
classical conditioning
A learning protocol in which an involuntary behavior is paired with a stimulus, eventually leading to that behavior being elicited by the stimulus alone
cognitive neuroscience
A scientific field that merges brain imaging with behavioral experimentation.
cognitive revolution
A movement in the 1950’s that proposed that the mind could be understood as a computational system.
cognitivism
An approach in psychology that uses behavior as a method for developing and testing theories of the underlying processing of the mind.
computational neuroscience
A scientific field that uses computer models of the brain to model real brain function.
cortical blindness
A condition in which an individual with damage to the visual cortex will report having no visual experience, despite having working eyes.
dualism
The view that the mind and body consist of fundamentally different kinds of substances or properties.
function
Mappings from inputs to outputs
human factors
A field of applied psychology concerned with the interaction between human perception and the design of systems.
idealism
The view that the only kind of reality is mental in nature.
independent variable
The conditions that are being manipulated by the experimenter in order to determine their effects on the dependent variable.
individual differences
Variations in performance across different individuals in cognitive tasks.
information processing
An approach to human cognition that views it as a type of computation with sensory information serving as an input which is processed by the brain to determine a behavioral output.
introspection
A technique employed by the structuralists to study the mind by training people to examine their own conscious experiences.
latent learning
Learning in the absence of any reward or punishment conditioning, as in Tolman’s maze experiments.
mind-body problem
The question of how mental events, such as thoughts, beliefs, and sensations, are related to physical mechanisms taking place in the body.
monism
The view that there is only one kind of basic “substance” in the world, whether exclusively physical or exclusively mental.
neutral monism
The view that the mental and physical are identical and all of reality is made of this one kind of thing.
operant conditioning
A method of conditioning that reinforces certain behaviors through a system of rewards and punishments.
opsin
Light-activated proteins, used in optogenetics to experimentally modify the activity of neurons.
optogenetics
A technique used to control the activity of brain cells based on introducing light-sensitive proteins into the cells and activating them with light.
physicalism/materialism
The view that all of reality, including mental processes, is physical or material in nature.
reaction time
A measure of how long it takes an experimental subject to respond to a given task or query.
reinforcement learning
A form of behavioral conditioning based on punishment and reinforcement (reward) feedback.
replication
A process in scientific research in which a previous experiment is repeated using the same methods as the original.
response
The behavior an experimental subject engages in after a stimulus is presented.
Skinner box
A chamber used to contain and automatically provide behavioral feedback to an animal during operant conditioning experiments.
speed-accuracy tradeoff
When a participant in an experiment sacrifices accuracy in their responses for greater speed or vice-versa.
subject/participant (experimental)
A person upon whom a psychological experiment is being conducted.
stimulus
Anything used to stimulate the senses as part of an experimental procedure, such as an image or a sound.
Stroop effect/interference
A psychological phenomenon in which reporting the ink color of words is slowed down when the words spell out the name of a different color
structuralism
A school pf psychology whose approach relied on introspecting on one’s own conscious mental states in order to understand the mind.
transistor
A device used in computers to control whether or not a current flowed through parts of the system.
trial
Repetitions of an experimental condition, typically used in order to compensate for variability in performance across attempts.
The puzzle of how the physical body is related to mental activity is called ______.
the mind-body problem
Descartes articulated the perspective of ______.
dualism
The use of introspection was a hallmark method of which school of psychology?
structuralism
Consider the following scenario. An intergalactic team of psychologists discovers a planet with robot-like androids and is trying to understand them. Which school of psychology does a researcher probably belong to if they use the following research method?
Method 1: Determining the action responses of the robots in response to specific kinds of stimulation
behaviorist
Consider the following scenario. An intergalactic team of psychologists discovers a planet with robot-like androids and is trying to understand them. Which school of psychology does a researcher probably belong to if they use the following research method?
Method 2: Asking the robots to verbally report on their internal processes
structuralist
Consider the following scenario. An intergalactic team of psychologists discovers a planet with robot-like androids and is trying to understand them. Which school of psychology does a researcher probably belong to if they use the following research method?
Method 3: Using the response of the robot to specific kinds of stimulation in order to infer its internal mental processes
cognitive
Teaching a dog to “shake hands” on command using a food reward is an example of ______.
operant conditioning
A finding in Tolman’s maze experiments was that when rats were placed in a different starting point of the maze than the one they had been trained on, they went ______.
A) in the wrong direction to get the food
B) in the correct direction to get the food but only if it involved producing the exact same behavior as when they had first found the food
C) in the correct direction to get the food but only if they had previously explored the maze
D) in the correct direction to get the food, even when they had not previously explored the maze
C
The “cognitive revolution” led to the idea of cognition as a form of ______.
computation
In order to ensure the findings of a recent experiment are valid, Dr. Anzures performed the experiment using the same methods as the original experiment. He got the same results as the original experiment and now believes the results are valid. Which of the following terms describes what he did to verify the results?
replication
How do psychologists typically deal with the challenge of cognitive differences across individuals?
include many participants
A set of operations that produces the input/output mapping of a function.
algorithm
A scientific field that assesses behavior and neurological factors in animals as models of human function.
behavioral neuroscience
A school of psychology that emphasized using observable stimuli and behaviors as the basis of scientific experimentation.
behaviorism
A phenomenon in which someone who reports blindness due to cortical damage still shows behavior consisting with some perception.
blindsight
A learning protocol in which an involuntary behavior is paired with a stimulus, eventually leading to that behavior being elicited by the stimulus alone
classical conditioning
A scientific field that merges brain imaging with behavioral experimentation.
cognitive neuroscience
A movement in the 1950’s that proposed that the mind could be understood as a computational system.
cognitive revolution
An approach in psychology that uses behavior as a method for developing and testing theories of the underlying processing of the mind.
cognitivism
A scientific field that uses computer models of the brain to model real brain function.
computational neuroscience
A condition in which an individual with damage to the visual cortex will report having no visual experience, despite having working eyes.
cortical blindness
The view that the mind and body consist of fundamentally different kinds of substances or properties.
dualism
Mappings from inputs to outputs
function
A field of applied psychology concerned with the interaction between human perception and the design of systems.
human factors
The view that the only kind of reality is mental in nature.
idealism
The conditions that are being manipulated by the experimenter in order to determine their effects on the dependent variable.
independent variable
Variations in performance across different individuals in cognitive tasks.
individual differences
An approach to human cognition that views it as a type of computation with sensory information serving as an input which is processed by the brain to determine a behavioral output.
information processing
A technique employed by the structuralists to study the mind by training people to examine their own conscious experiences.
introspection
Learning in the absence of any reward or punishment conditioning, as in Tolman’s maze experiments.
latent learning
The question of how mental events, such as thoughts, beliefs, and sensations, are related to physical mechanisms taking place in the body.
mind-body problem
The view that there is only one kind of basic “substance” in the world, whether exclusively physical or exclusively mental.
monism
The view that the mental and physical are identical and all of reality is made of this one kind of thing.
neutral monism
A method of conditioning that reinforces certain behaviors through a system of rewards and punishments.
operant conditioning
Light-activated proteins, used in optogenetics to experimentally modify the activity of neurons.
opsin
A technique used to control the activity of brain cells based on introducing light-sensitive proteins into the cells and activating them with light.
optogenetics
The view that all of reality, including mental processes, is physical or material in nature.
physicalism/materialism
A measure of how long it takes an experimental subject to respond to a given task or query.
reaction time
A form of behavioral conditioning based on punishment and reinforcement (reward) feedback.
reinforcement learning
A process in scientific research in which a previous experiment is repeated using the same methods as the original.
replication
The behavior an experimental subject engages in after a stimulus is presented.
response
A chamber used to contain and automatically provide behavioral feedback to an animal during operant conditioning experiments.
Skinner box
When a participant in an experiment sacrifices accuracy in their responses for greater speed or vice-versa.
speed-accuracy tradeoff
A person upon whom a psychological experiment is being conducted.
subject/participant (experimental)
Anything used to stimulate the senses as part of an experimental procedure, such as an image or a sound.
stimulus
A psychological phenomenon in which reporting the ink color of words is slowed down when the words spell out the name of a different color
Stroop effect/interference
A school pf psychology whose approach relied on introspecting on one’s own conscious mental states in order to understand the mind.
structuralism
A device used in computers to control whether or not a current flowed through parts of the system.
transistor
Repetitions of an experimental condition, typically used in order to compensate for variability in performance across attempts.
trial
