Cognitive Psychology Flashcards
behaviourist
one who adheres to the perspective in psychology that focuses on observable behaviour
biological perspective
perspective in psychology that describes cognition according to the mechanisms of the brain
embodied cognition
a perspective in psychology that cognition serves for bodily interaction with the environment
representationalist
one who adheres to the perspective in psychology that concepts can be represented in the mind
scientific method
a method of gaining knowledge in a field that relies on observations of phenomena and which allows for tests of hypotheses about those phenomena
empiricism
the principle that the key to understanding new things is through systematic observation
determinism
the principle that behaviours have underlying causes and that understanding involves identification of what these causes are and how they are related to the behaviour of interest
testability
the principle that theories must be stated in ways that allow them to be evaluated through observation
parsimony
the principle of preferring simple explanations over more complex ones
dependent variable
the behaviour that is measured in a research study
independent variable
a factor in an experiment that is manipulated by the researcher (e.g.: randomly assigning subjects to a group in the experiment)
case study
a research study that focuses on intensive analyses of a single individual or more broadly on a single observation unit
correlational study
a research study that examines relationships between measure variables
experimental study
a research study that examines causal relationships between variables
the absolute threshold
the smallest amount of stimulus energy necessary to detect a stimulus. For example, the smallest amount of light energy that enables a person to just barely detect a flash of light would be the absolute threshold for seeing that light.
the difference threshold
(called DL from the German ‘Differenze Limen’, which is translated as ‘difference threshold’) is the smallest difference between two stimuli that a person can detect.
sensory system
a system that receives and processes input from stimuli in the environment
distal stimulus
stimulus in the environment
proximal stimulus
stimulus as it is represented in the mind
bottom-up processing
understanding the environment through basic feature identification and processing
top-down processing
understanding the environment through global knowledge of the environment and its principles
theory of unconscious inference
the idea that we make unconscious inferences about the world when we perceive it
Gestalt Psychology
a perspective in psychology that focuses on how organisational principles allow us to perceive and understand the environment
Principle of Pragnanz
an organisational principle that allows for the simplest interpretation of the environment
affordances
behaviours that are possible in a given environment
ventral pathway
the pathway in the brain that processes “what” information about the environment
dorsal pathway
the pathway in the brain that processes “where” information about the environment
neuron
the basic cell of the brain
dendrites
extensions from neurons that receive chemical messages (neurotransmitters) from other neurons
axon
an extension from the neuron nucleus where an electrical impulse in the neuron occurs
synapse
a space between neurons where neurotransmitters are released and received
single-cell recording
a brain activity recording technique that records activity from a single neuron or small group of neurons in the brain
electroencephalography (EEG)
a brain recording technique that records the activity of large sections of neurons from different areas of the scalp
magnetoencephalography (MEG)
a brain recording technique that records activity of large sections of neurons from different areas of the scalp using a large magnet that is placed over the head
transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)
a method of temporarily stimulating or suppressing neurons using a magnetic field
transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)
a method of temporarily stimulating or suppressing neurons using an electrical current
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
a technique to image the internal portions of the body using the magnetic fields present in the cells
positron emission tomography (PET)
a technique that images neuron activity in the brain through radioactive markers in the bloodstream
functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
an MRI technique that images brain activity during a task
shadowing task
a research procedure where subjects are asked to repeat (i.e.: shadow) a message over headphones
cocktail party effect
an effect of attention where one’s focus changes abruptly due to a salient stimulus (such as one’s name) in the environment
dual-task method
a research procedure where subjects are given two tasks to perform at once - to compare with performance on one task alone - to examine interference due to the second task
inattentional blindness (aka change blindness)
failure to notice a change in the environment
Simon effect
interference in response due to inconsistency between the response and the stimulus
Stroop task
a research procedure where subjects are asked to name the colour of printed words where some words are colour words that conflict with the print colour showing interference in the naming task
automatic processing
processing that is not controlled and does not tax cognitive resources
controlled processing
processing due to an intention that consumes cognitive resources
deductive reasoning
making and evaluating arguments from general information to specific information
inductive reasoning
making and evaluating arguments from specific information to general information
syllogistic reasoning
a process by which a conclusion follows necessarily from a series of statements
conditional reasoning (propositional reasoning)
a process by which a conclusion follows from conditional statements (“if…then” statements)
dual-process framework
the idea that cognitive tasks can be performed using two separate and distinct processes
representativeness bias
a bias in reasoning where stereotypes are relied on to make judgements and solve problems
availability bias
bias in reasoning where examples easily brought to mind are relied on to make judgements and solve problems
framing bias
a bias in reasoning where the context in which a problem is presented influences our judgement
well-defined problem
a problem that has a clearly defined goal state and constraints
ill-defined problem
a problem that lacks a clearly defined goal state and constraints
functional fixedness
focusing on how things are typically used and ignoring other potential uses in solving a problem
insight
suddenly realising the solution to a problem
mental set
a tendency to use the same set of solutions to solve similar problems
analogical transfer
using the same solution for two problems with the same underlying structure
algorithm
a prescribed problem-solving strategy that always leads to the correct solution in problems with a single correct solution
heuristic
a problem-solving strategy that does not always lead to the correct solution
means-ends strategy
a problem-solving strategy that involves repeated comparisons between the current state and the goal state
hill-climbing strategy
a problem solving strategy that involves continuous steps towards the goal state
working-backward strategy
a problem-solving strategy that involves beginning with the goal state and working back to the initial state
IDEAL framework
a step-by-step description of problem-solving processes
