Consciousness Flashcards
Libet’s delay (and brain activity before intention)
Stimulation at the medial lemniscus (an incoming nerve pathway)
• Very little distance to travel
• Still referred backwards 500 ms (backdated)
• Had arrival signature from distant location
• Skin stimulation does evoke potentials within tens of milliseconds,
but may take hundreds of milliseconds more to consciously register
• But the conscious awareness is backdated nearly to the real time that it
occurred
• If our conscious awareness is trailing our physical existence by up to a
half second, how do interact with the world?
(For example returning a serve in tennis)
Postdiction
an explanation after the fact. an effect of hindsight bais that explains claimed predictions of significant events
Cognitive Unconscious
• Consciousness is a state of awareness of sensations or ideas, such
that we can:
• Reflect on these sensations and ideas.
• Know what it “feels like” to experience these sensations and ideas.
• Report to others that we are aware of these sensations and ideas.
The cognitive unconscious is the broad set of mental activities of
which we are completely unaware that make cognition possible.
In many cases we are aware of the products of cognition but unaware
of the processes that lead to these products.
• Retrieving information, such as a name, from long-term memory.
• Seeing and reading a written word, making inferences about missing
features.
• Recalling an episodic memory, and perhaps committing a memory error.
causal attribution,
the interpretations of what caused our
thoughts or behavior, also demonstrate how much of our cognitive
processing occurs unconsciously.
• “This name seems familiar, so it must be someone famous.”
• “The face seems familiar, so it must be the person who robbed me.”
language ambiguity
We are usually unaware that a word or phrase could
have more than one meaning.
• Selection of the contextually appropriate meaning
happens unconsciously.
implicit memory
implicit memory is accompanied by no conscious realization that one is being influenced by past experience.
Patients who have suffered brain damage also
provide evidence for unconscious processing.
•Recall that some patients with amnesia have
impaired explicit memory but preserved implicit
memory.
Blind Sight
• Blind sight is a pattern observed in patients with damage to the
primary visual cortex.
• These patients have no visual awareness, yet can correctly “guess”
the locations of objects and reach for them.
Action slips
We can perform tasks unconsciously if we arrive at that task with an
established routine that can be guided by habit.
• These routines are efficient, but they are also inflexible.
• Action slips, or doing something different from what you intended,
often take the form of doing what is normal or habitual.
access consciousness
how information is
accessed or used within the mind.
phenomenal consciousness
is concerned with the
subjective experience of being conscious (Block, 1997).
Splitting the Brain experiment
Left hemisphere: dominant for language
• Right hemisphere: dominant for spatial relationships
• Splitting the brain splits the mind: the brain halves contain
independent perceptions, thoughts, and consciousness
• Gazzaniga: split-brain experiments and research
the Interpreter: a left hemisphere process that strives to make sense
of events
• Hemispheres work together to reconstruct experiences
• Split brain research: left hemisphere / right hemisphere actions and
explanations do not correlate
On the basis of limited information, the left hemisphere attempts to explain
behavior governed by the right hemisphere.
neuronal workspace hypothesis
The neuronal workspace hypothesis is a claim about how the brain
makes conscious experience possible.
• The proposal is that “workspace neurons” link together the activity of
various specialized brain areas.
• Stimuli become conscious when linked to each other in a dynamic,
coherent representation that the workspace provides.
The workspace makes possible a range of important behaviors:
• Thinking about an object or idea after the stimulus has been removed (working
memory)
• Reflecting on relationships or combinations among various inputs or ideas
(generativity, creativity)
• Adjusting the processing in one system in light of what is going on in other
systems (flexibility)
Intentional Behavior
Some researchers have argued that conscious experience is what
allows us to produce spontaneous and intentional behavior.
• For instance, blind sight and amnesia suggest that perceptual
information or memory has to be conscious before someone will put
that information to use.
Deductive Reasoning
You start with a general claim and if it is true you move on to test the next prediction asking, what else must be true?
Inductive Reasoning
Coming up with a conclusion from your observations
Induction
a pattern of reasoning in which one seeks to draw
general claims from specific bits of evidence.
• Based on what you know about Allen, what is likely to cheer him up today?
• Based on what you know about cars, what is the best kind to buy?
Inductive Reasoning
• Premises are based on observation
• We generalize from these cases to more general conclusions with
varying degrees of certainty
Strength of argument
• Representativeness of observations
• Number of observations
• Quality of observations
Used to make scientific discoveries • Hypotheses and general conclusions • Used in everyday life • Make a prediction about what will happen based on observation about what has happened in the past
heuristic
• Recall that a heuristic is a strategy that is reasonably efficient and
works most of the time. In using a heuristic, we gain efficiency at the
expense of more error.
• Judgment heuristics include:
• Attribute substitution
• Availability heuristic
• Representativeness heuristic
Attribute substitution
Attribute substitution is a strategy used when we do not have easy
access to a desired piece of information.
• Instead, we base our decision on readily available information (a
proxy or index) that we believe is correlated with the desired
information.
Heuristics
Heuristics: A way of calculating an answer that is probably going to result in a correct answer or a very close estimate
Availability heuristic:
What are my “available” memories
with respect to the exams I have taken? What do those memories tell me about the success of cramming?
Representiveness heuristic:
Our belief that each memory
we have is probably representative of all our other memories as well; a single data point is used to represent many data points
Judging the likelihood of things or objects in terms of how well they
seem to represent, or match, a particular prototype.
Law of large numbers
the larger the number of individuals randomly
drawn from a population, the more representative the resulting
group will be of the entire population
Covariation
The impact of heuristics on judgment can also be seen in how people
think about covariation.
• Covariation is a relationship between two variables such that the
presence or magnitude of one can be predicted by that of the other.
• Covariation can be negative or positive, and can vary in strength.
illusory covariation
An illusory covariation is a pattern that people believe they perceive in the data such that one variable predicts another. • A study of Rorschach inkblots found that even when fictitious patients and fictitious responses were randomly paired, people believed they had found patterns.
Confirmation bias
a tendency to be more responsive to evidence that confirms one’s beliefs and less responsive to evidence that challenges one’s beliefs.
• Base-rate information
is information about the broad likelihood of a
particular category or type of event.
Diagnostic information
is information indicating whether an
individual case belongs to a category.
Kahneman and Tversky (1973):
Base-rate information: The individuals being described were chosen
randomly from a group of 70 lawyers and 30 engineers.
• Diagnostic information: An individual description suggestive of a
prototypical lawyer or engineer, e.g., “likes carpentry, sailing, math
puzzles, dislikes politics.”
When provided only with the base-rate and no diagnostic
information, participants understood the probabilities of a person
from the group being a lawyer or engineer.
• However, when provided with both base-rate and diagnostic
information, participants ignored the base rates and used only
diagnostic information.
Belief perseverance
• Belief perseverance is a tendency to continue endorsing a belief even
when evidence has completely undermined it.
Categorical syllogisms
Categorical syllogisms are logical arguments containing two premises and a conclusion. • Syllogisms can be valid or invalid.
ex. all M are D
All D are C
Therefore, all C are M
Syllogism is valid if conclusion follows logically from its two premises • Aristotle’s “perfect” syllogism • Premise 1: all A are B • Premise 2: all B are C • Conclusion: Therefore, all A are C
Conditional syllogisms
A conditional statement has the format “If X, then Y.”
• The first part (antecedent) provides a condition under which the
second part (consequent) is guaranteed to be true.
One type of conditional statement is modus ponens, or affirming the
antecedent.
• If P is true, then Q is true.
• P is true.
• Therefore, Q must be true.
• People generally reason well with problems that rely on modus
ponens.
Another type of conditional statement is modus tollens, or denying the consequent.
• If P is true, then Q is true.
• Q is false.
• Therefore, P must be false.
• People generally reason poorly with problems that rely on modus tollens.
Two common errors are affirming the consequent.
• If P is true, then Q is true.
• Q is true.
• Therefore, P must be true. (invalid)
And denying the antecedent.
• If P is true, then Q is true.
• P is false.
• Therefore, Q must be false. (invalid)
The Wason Four-Card Problem
Falsification principle: to test a rule, you must look for situations that
falsify the rule
• Most participants fail to do this
• When problem is stated in concrete everyday terms, correct responses
greatly increase
pragmatic reasoning schema
A pragmatic reasoning schema is a set of rules
derived from experience that define the inferences
appropriate to a specific situation.
•One schema may define rules appropriate to
thinking about the situation “permission” whereas
another is used for “cause and effect” relations.
descriptive theory
Our descriptive theory of decision making suggests that we do not
follow the principle of utility maximization.
• Instead, our decisions sometimes seem inconsistent and open to
framing effects.
Heuristics vs Algorithms
Algorithms, which are very time consuming, exhaust all possibilities
before arriving at a solution. Computers use algorithms.
• Heuristics are simple, thinking strategies
that allow us to make judgments and
solve problems efficiently. Heuristics are
less time consuming, but more error
-
prone than algorithms.
General Problem Solving Procedure
• Problem solving can be thought of as a search, as if you were
navigating a maze.
• Initial state – the knowledge and resources you have at the outset.
• Goal state – the state you are working towards.
• Operators – available tools or actions.
• Path constraints – limits that rule out some operations.
problem space
the set of all states that can be reached in solving a problem, as one moves, by means of operators, from the initial state towards the goal state.
One option would be to explore the entire problem space, but for
most problems the space is too vast.
• For instance, in a game of chess, the problem space has billions of
paths within just a few turns.
• For such problems, we can’t explore the entire problem space; we
need heuristics.
The Hill Climbing Strategy
The hill-climbing strategy is the heuristic to choose an option that moves you in the direction of the goal. • However, many problems require you to move away from the goal state. • For instance, some M’s and C’s must be carried back from the second bank to the first.
•A hill-climbing strategy
also is not helpful for the
“Tower of Hanoi”
problem.
Tower of Hanoi
The rings must be moved one at a time, and with each move, a ring cannot be placed on a smaller ring.
means-end analysis
In means-end analysis, the problem-solver asks at each step how the
current state can be made more similar to the goal state, using
available operators.
• Typically this results in breaking the problem into smaller
subproblems, each with its own goal.
Systematic comparison between initial state to goal state
• Hierarchical approach to these two states
• May involve invocation of routines/sub-routines to make progress towards
goal state
• Maximizes use of automaticity
• Experts: more practice, more sub-routines, can “think” in bigger pieces,
more sensitivity to patterns in data
Heuristics
- means-ends analysis - like discrepancy-reduction–a constant
comparison of the solution and the current state.
• 2. working forward - from start to finish
• 3. working backward - from finish to start
• 4. generate and test - tests various types of solution paths
• 5. Analogy - using isomorphic problems
Confirmation Bias
Confirmation Bias: A tendency to search for information that
confirms a personal bias.
Positive vs Negative Transfer
Knowing the solution to one problem helped you to solve a second,
similarly-structured problem (Positive Transfer)
• Sometimes, though, such a mindset can prevent you from solving a
problem (Negative Transfer)
well defined vs ill defined problems
in a well defined problem the goal state as well as the available operators are clearly specified. In an ill-defined problem, the goal state and the available operators are not clearly specified
Functional fixedness
• Functional fixedness refers to a tendency to be rigid in thinking
about an object’s function.
The candle problem demonstrates functional fixedness. • The participant must realize that the box is not just a container for the tacks, but can be used as a platform for the candle.
The two-string problem also illustrates functional fixedness. •How can these two strings be tied together, if they can’t both be reached at the same time?
problem-solving set
A related problem occurs when people get locked into a particular
line of thinking when trying to solve a problem.
• The problem-solving set is the collection of beliefs and assumptions
a person makes about a problem.
• A related concept, Einstellung (“attitude”) refers to a problemsolver’s
perspective, including beliefs, habits, and strategies.
Working backwards
• 1) Start with goal state; 2) Conceptualize second-to-last state before goal
reached 3) How to get to that step? (rather than focusing exclusively on goal
state)
The Insight Sequence
- Representation phase – you begin to work on the problem; often
this initial representation is incorrect
• 2. Solution phase – you attempt to solve the problem
• a. failure
• b. impasse – a period in which you feel “stuck” and no active problem solving
occurs
• 3. Restructuring – you create a new representation of the problem
• a. failure, which leads back to impasse
• b. success
insight vs non-insight problems
Insight is the sudden realization of a solution (an “Ah-Ha! Moment”)
• There is not an experience of working towards a solution
• So…
• Some problems are solved step-by-step and can only be solved this
way (these are Non-Insight Problems)
• Other problems can only be solved by a sudden realization (Insight
Problems)
- Non-Insight Problem (algebra):
- factor 16y^2 – 40yz + 25z^2
• Insight Problem:
• A prisoner was attempting escape from a tower. He found in
his cell a rope which was half long enough to permit him to
reach the ground safely. He divided the rope in half and tied
the two parts together and escaped. How could he have
done this?
An insight problem is a problem that requires the problem solver to
shift his or her perceptive and view the problem in a novel way in
order to achieve the solution. There are several types of insight
problems. The three main types are verbal, mathematical, and
spatial (Dow & Mayer 2003).
