Exam 1 Flashcards
does visual attention always follow a person’s eye movements?
no, especially when the visual stimuli are complex.
overt attention is when eyes are physically moved to the stimulus.
covert attention is when the attention shifts mentally but the eyes are not physically moving.
(stimuli falling within the beam are processed more efficiently than stimuli falling outside the beam)
in general, participant’s recall accuracy decreases as ISI (interstimulus interval) increases. explain why this relationship exists.
recall accuracy is someone’s ability to recall what they saw, heard, or felt accurately.
in this experiment the isi is the time between the letters appearing and the sound to signify what row you need to recall.
people will be worse at recalling the correct letters as the time between increases because of how quickly it’s shown. your brain will see it but cannot fully encode it to memory and therefore when the sound is shown much later after someone has seen the letters, it’s much harder to recall.
in the phonological loop model, what is the phonological store?
the phonological store is a memory store that can retain speech-based information for a short period of time.
usually the traces will face and decay within about two seconds, unless it’s rehearsed.
what is the purpose of saying numbers aloud on half of the trials in the phonological loop lab?
disrupts the articulatory control system!
you get the phonological similarity effect when there isn’t any auditory input.
if you prevent the articulatory control process from converting the info, the effect will be removed.
because of that, recalling similar sounding and dissimilar sounding things will be equivalent.
a way to prevent the recoding is keeping the articulatory control process by doing something else, like repeating numbers.
according to the encoding specificity principle, what is the most important factor for recall?
how similar the encoding environment and the retrieval environment are. if it’s the same words presented in the first trial and the second trial, normally it’ll be easier.
do cues always help memory storage and recall?
they do not always help. sometimes what would be considered a strong cue is actually a weak cue, and vice versa.
it generally depends on how the target and cue were processed and if they were processed together or separately.
in regard to false-memory experiments, what are special distractors?
special distractors are words that are seen or heard that are meant to trick someone. in this experiment they are similar enough to the sequence of words that it would be plausible for that word to be shown but it wasn’t.
how can one assess the accuracy of someone’s memory?
the only way to access the accuracy of a person’s memory is through a recording or a photograph. by that way one is able to compare what the person said and what actually happened.
top down processing
relies on prior knowledge and context, sequence of events that is heavily shaped by the knowledge and expectation that the person brings to the situation
bottom-up processing
relies on sensory input, sequence of events that is governed by the stimulus input itself
i.e., “bottom-up” as starting with raw sensory information, like building a structure from the ground up
prosopagnosia
a condition characterized by difficulty recognizing faces
how many items on average can be stored in our working memory at any given time?
7+/- 2
the ____ stream helps us recognize objects visually (what pathway)
ventral
the ____ stream helps us process objects location and coordination of movement (where pathway)
dorsal
what happens during articulatory suppression?
articulatory suppression hinders verbal memory by blocking the rehearsal of information (repeating the numbers during lab)
dichotic listening
Dichotic= apart ear
research participants hear two simultaneous verbal messages - one presented via headphones to the left and ear and another presented to the right ear.
(book phone car!!!)
attended channel
group of stimuli that a person is trying to perceive.
ordinarily, info is understood or remembered from the attended channel. often contrasted with unattended channel.
unattended channel
stimulus (or group of stimuli) that a person is not trying to perceive.
ordinarily, little info is understood or remembered from the unattended channel.
the ____ hypothesis suggests that distractors are perceived without conscious awareness, and the selective attention operates at a ___ stage of processing
late selection, late
change blindness
pattern in which perceivers either do not see or take a long time to see large-scale changes in a visual stimulus.
this pattern reveals how little people perceive, even from stimuli in plain view, if they are not specifically attending to the target info.
mnemonic devices
help us improve our memory! method of loci, chunking, and pure repetition are all examples.
primacy effect
the tendency to show greater memory for information that comes first in a sequence.
generally attributed to the fact that research participants can focus their full attention on those items because, at the beginning of a sequence, the participants are not trying to divide attention between these items and other items in the series.
recency effect
the tendency to show greater memory for information that comes last in a sequence.
attributed to the fact that the late-arriving items are still in working memory (because nothing else has arrived after those items to bump them out of working memory).
method of loci
memory strategy by which one visualizes a familiar location and associated part of that location with pieces of info.
- its what kris taught you, like putting on your shoes and seeing a huge pink elephant.
articulatory suppression inhibiting the phonological store
makes it difficult to keep speech-related info in your head while simultaneously reciting something out loud
EX) if you’re saying “1234” over and over again its much harder to remember what you’re reading.
stroop effect
the tendency to read the words instead of saying the color of ink
“White” (hard because ink is black)
practicing a task leads to a greater chance of …
automatic processing
ex) Driving, eating, etc.,
Fast: Automatic processing is quick.
Parallel: Automatic processing can occur simultaneously.
Efficient: Automatic processing is efficient and requires little cognitive effort.
Repetitive: Automatic processing is the result of repetitive training on the same task.
feature-net model
a system of layers that allows us to recognize the basic characteristics of a stimulus up to the more complex details of that stimulus. word recognition! (corn example).
in the _____ theory, a crucial role is played by the basic building blocks out of which all the objects we recognize are constructed.
recognition-by-components (geons!)
word superiority effect
refers to the phenomenon where we are more likely to remember a letter if it was embedded in a word then if it was viewed by itself
introspection
self observation method, “looking within” to observe and record content of mental life
behaviorist movement
methodological perspective, dominated american psych for years.
focuses on what is objectively observable, viewing our behavior as consequential events to environmental stimuli.
transcendental method
theory proposed by Kant =
1. observe the effects or consequences of a process.
2. ask what the process must have been in order to bring about these effects.
response time (RT)
the amount of time (typically in milliseconds) needed for a person to respond to a particular event
cognitive neuroscience
effort towards understanding mental functioning through the study of the brain and nervous system
clinical neuropsychology
study of brain function, uses damage or illness that disrupts functioning as the main data source.
neuroimaging techniques
non invasive methods to examine the structure or activity of the living brain, informs cognitive psychology!
why is memory crucial for behaviors and mental operations that don’t in any direct or explicit way ask you to remember?
we rely on info already stored in the brain
what aspects of h.m.’s life were disrupted as a result of his amnesia?
ability to remember new things, and ability to properly grieve and overcome family losses
why is introspection limited as a source of scientific evidence?
super subjective, were trained to respond in a specific way that doesn’t actually reflect cognition.
some thoughts and feelings are unconscious, and thinking about your thoughts/feelings can impact or change them.
why do modern psychologists agree that we have to refer to mental states (what you believe, perceive, understand) in order to explain behavior?
elements take on meaning only when part of the whole, perceivers shape their own experience and therefore psychologists need to understand the nature of the whole
three types of evidence that cognitive psychologists rely on
clinical neuropsychology, cognitive neuroscience, neuroimaging techniques
amygdala
almond shaped structure in limbic system, plays central role in emotion and in the evaluation of stimuli
prefrontal cortex
outer surface of the frontmost part of the brain.
crucial for planning, complex or novel behaviors, executive functions, etc.
cerebellum
largest area of hindbrain, crucial for the coordination of bodily movements and balance
longitudinal fissure
separation dividing the brain’s left cerebral hemisphere from the right
frontal lobes
area of the brain that deals with decision making, judgment, impulse control, motor control, and other executive functions.
located in each cerebral hemisphere that includes the prefrontal area and the primary motor projection area.
parietal lobes
lies between the occipital and frontal lobes
involved in sensory perception and integration, spatial awareness, language processing, and memory.
temporal lobes
inward and down from the temples.
includes the primary auditory projection area, wernicke’s area and subcortically the amygdala and hippocampus (audio!)
occipital lobes
rearmost lobe in each cerebral hemisphere
includes the primary visual projection area (vision!)
thalamus
subcortical, lower portion of the forebrain.
serves as a major relay and integration center for sensory info (sensory switchboard / traffic control).
hypothalamus
subcortical structure, base of the forebrain
plays vital role in the control of biologically motivated behaviors such as eating, drinking, and sex!
limbic system
set of brain structures including the amygdala, hippocampus, and parts of thalamus.
involved in the control of emotional behavior, motivation and learning and memory.
hippocampus
structure in the temporal lobe
involved in the creation of long term and spatial memory
lesions
specific area of tissue damage
computerized axial tomography (CT scan)
neuroimaging technique, uses x-rays to construct a precise three-dimensional image of the brain anatomy
positron emission tomography (PET scan)
neuroimaging technique, determines how much glucose (the brain’s fuel) is being used by specific areas of the brain at a particular moment in time.
magnetic resonance imaging (mri scan)
neuroimaging technique, uses magnetic fields (created by radio waves) to construct a detailed three dimensional representation of brain tissue.
reveal the brain structure, but are much more precise than CT scans.
functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI scans)
neuroimaging technique, uses magnetic fields to construct a detailed three dimensional representation of the activity levels in different areas of the brain at a particular moment in time
electroencephalogram (EEG)
recording of voltage changes occurring at the scalp that reflect activity in the brain underneath
event-related potentials (ERP)
measuring the timing of brain responses to stimuli
- changes in EEG in the brief period just before, during, and after an explicitly defined event
- usually measured by averaging together many trials in which this event has occurred
(ERP’s are better at telling us WHEN something happens in brain, rather than WHERE)
fusiform face area (FFA)
a brain area apparently specialized for the perception of faces
transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)
technique in which a series of strong magnetic pulses at a specific location on a the scalp causes temporary disruption in the brain region directly underneath this scalp area
localization of function
research endeavor of determining what specific job is performed by a particular region of the brain
contralateral control
pattern in which the left half of the brain controls the right half of the body, and the right half of the brain controls the left half of the body.
apraxia
disturbance in the capacity to perform or organize voluntary purposive motor actions
to swing an axe you must use your motor skills!!
agnosia
disturbance in person’s ability to identify familiar objects (kevin can see the toothpaste tube in front of him, but he doesn’t know what it is or what it’s used for).
unilateral neglect syndrome (visual neglect)
affected individuals ignore all inputs coming from one side of space, due to attentional disruption (usually the left).
shave half their face, eat food from half of their plates, draw only half the picture, etc.
aphasia
disruption of language capacities, often caused by brain damage
(see also fluent aphasia and nonfluent aphasia)
glia
cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons.
dendrites
part of neuron that usually detects the incoming signal
axon
transmits a signal away from the neuron’s cell body and carries the signal to another location
neurotransmitter
one of the chemicals released by neurons to stimulate adjacent neurons
synapse
includes the presynaptic membrane of one neuron, the postsynaptic membrane of another neuron, and the tiny gap between them.
the presynaptic membrane releases a small amount of neurotransmitter that drifts across the gap and stimulates the postsynaptic membrane.
presynaptic membrane
cell membrane of the neuron “sending” info across the synapse, often contrasting with postsynaptic membrane
postsynaptic membrane
cell membrane of the neuron “receiving” information across the synapse. often contrasted with presynaptic membrane
threshold
the activity level at which a cell or detector responds or fires
action potential
brief change in electrical potential of an axon.
physical basis of the signal sent from one end of a neuron to the others; it usually triggers a further (chemical) signal to other neurons.
myelin sheath
layer or tissue, formed by specialized glial cells.
provides insulation around the axons of many neurons.
neuronal signal essentially has to jump from one gap to the next dramatically increasing the speed of neurotransmission.
all-or-none law
the principle stating that a neuron or detector either fires completely or does not fire at all
neurological coding
the way in which activity in neurons manages to stand for, or represent, particular ideas or thoughts
structural imaging
visualizing the physical anatomy of brian, revealing details like issue types and brain structures (MRI and CT scans)
functional imaging
measures brain activity by detecting changes in blood flow or metabolism associated with neural activity (PET and fMRI, EEG?)
primary motor projection area
the strip of tissue, located at the rear of the frontal lobe, that is the departure point for nerve cells that send their signals to lower portions of the brain and spinal cord, and that ultimately result in muscle movement
primary sensory projection area
main point of arrival in the cortex for information arriving from the eyes ears and other sense organs
what does it mean to say the neurons rely on two different forms of info flow, one chemical and one electrical?
neurons communicate with each other primarily through two distinct mechanisms:
releasing chemical messengers through synapses (chem transmission)
directly passing electrical signals through specialized connections of gap junctions (electrical transmission)
cornea
transparent tissue at front of each eye, plays important role in focusing incoming light
lens
works with the cornea to focus incoming light. muscles control the degree of curvature of the lens, allowing the eye to form a sharp image on the retina.
retina
light-sensitive tissue that lines the back of the eyeball
photoreceptors
cells on retina that are sensitive to light and that respond when they are stimulated by light
rods
photoreceptors, sensitive to low light levels but are colorblind. relatively poor acuity, located on the periphery.
cones
photoreceptors, can see colors and have high acuity. concentrated in retinal fovea.
acuity
ability to see fine detail
fovea
center of retina and region on the eye in which acuity is best; when a person looks at an object, they are lining up the object with the fovea.
bipolar cells
receive their input from the photoreceptors and transmit their output to the retinal ganglion cells
ganglion cells
receive input from bipolar cells, axons gather together to form the optic nerve, carrying info back to lateral geniculate nucleus
optic nerve
bundle of nerve fibers, formed from the retina’s ganglion cells, that carries info from the eyeball to the brain.
lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN)
important way station in the thalamus that is the first destination for visual info sent from the eyeball to the brain
lateral inhibition
pattern in which cells, when stimulated, inhibit the activity of neighboring cells. In the visual system, lateral inhibition in the optic nerve creates edge enhancement
mach band
illusion, perceive a region to be slightly darker if it is adjacent to a bright region, created by lateral inhibition contributes to edge enhancement.
single-cell recording
technique for recording the moment-by-moment activation level of an individual neuron with a healthy, normally functioning brain. usually only done in animals since it’s pretty invasive.
Huber & Wiesel
classic single-cell recording study, discovered edge detectors in cats.
informs our understanding of localization of function, essentially that specific neurons are specialized for specific tasks (Bill Clinton example in humans).
receptive field
portion of the visual field to which a cell within the visual system responds.
if an appropriately shaped stimulus appears in the appropriate position, the cells’ firing rate will change.
firing rate will not change if the stimulus is of the wrong form or is in the wrong position.
center surround cells
visual system neurons, have “donut-shaped” receptive fields. stimulation in the center of receptive field has one effect on the cell; stimulation in the surrounding ring has the opposite effect.
area V1
- Primary visual cortex
- the site on the occipital lobe where axons from the lateral geniculate nucleus first reach the cerebral cortex.
- location at which info about the visual world first reaches the brain.
parallel processing
the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain’s natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision.
WHAT system
Ventral, temporal lobe
- what objects are
- system of visual circuits and pathways leading from visual cortex to the temporal lobe.
- involved in object recognition.
WHERE system
Dorsal, locating objects in space.
- Parietal lobe
- system of visual circuits and pathways leading from the visual cortex to the parietal lobe.
- involved in the spatial localization of objects and in the coordination of movements.
neural synchrony
neurons in one brain area fire at the same time as neurons in another area.
the brain uses this pattern to indicate that the neurons in different areas are firing in response to the same stimulus.
conjunction errors
error in perception, a person correctly perceives what features are present but misperceives how the features are joined. attention error.
EX) Someone shown a blue H and a red T might report seeing a blue T and a red H- an error in binding.
figure/ground organization
process where the perceiver determines which aspects of the stimulus belong to the central object (or figure) and which aspects belong to the background (or ground)
gestalt principles
rules that govern how observers organize visual input, grouping some elements together but perceiving other elements to be independent.
perceptual constancy
achievement of perceiving the constant properties of objects in the world (size, shape, brightness) despite changes in the sensory info we receive that are caused by changes in our viewing circumstances
optic flow
pattern of change in the retinal image in which the image grows larger as the viewer approaches an object and shrinks as the viewer retreats from it
what evidence tells us that perception goes beyond stimulus input?
ambiguous figures! show that perception contains info that is not contained within the stimulus itself, but is contributed by the perceiver, interpretation.
monocular cues to distance
interposition, aerial perspective, shading, geometric (linear) perspective, size, texture gradient, motion, etc.
priming
process through which one input or cue prepares a person for an upcoming input or cue
repetition priming
pattern of priming that occurs simply because a stimulus is presented a second time; processing is more efficient on the second presentation
well-formedness
measure of the degree to which a string of symbols (usually letters) conforms to the usual patterns (for letters; the rules of spelling); for example, the nonword “FIKE” is well formed in english but “IEFK” is not…
geons
basic shapes proposed as the building blocks of all complex three-dimensional forms.
geons take the form of cylinders, cones, blocks, and the like, and they are combined to form geon assemblies. these are then combined to produce entire objects.
inversion effect
pattern typically observed for faces in which the specific face is much more difficult to recognize if the face is presented upside-down
this effect is part of the evidence indicating that face recognition relies on processes different from those involved in other forms of recognition
holistic perception
process in which the ability to identify an object depends on the whole, or the entire configuration, rather than on an inventory of the object’s parts.
in holistic perception, the parts do play a role - but by virtue of creating the patterns that are critical for recognition
selective attention
skill through which a person focuses on one input or one task while ignoring other stimuli that are also on the scene
shadowing
task in which research participants repeat back a verbal input, word for word, as they hear it
inattentional blindness
pattern in which perceivers seem unable to see stimuli right in front of their eyes; this pattern is caused by the participants focusing their attention on some other stimulus and not expecting the target to appear
biased competition theory
proposal that attention functions by shifting neurons’ priorities, so that the neurons are more responsive to inputs that have properties associated with desired or relevant input
spatial attention
mechanism through which people allocate processing resources to particular positions in space, so that they more efficiently process any inputs from that region in space
limited-capacity system
group of processes in which mental resources are limited, so that extra resources supplied to one process must be balanced by a withdrawal of resources somewhere else - with the result that the total resources expended do not exceed the limit of what is available
endogenous control of attention
mechanism through which a person chooses (often, on the basis of some meaningful signal) where to focus attention
exogenous control of attention
mechanism through which attention is automatically directed, essentially as a reflex response, to some “attention-grabbing” input
feature integration theory
proposal about the function of attention in “gluing” together elements and features that are in view
perseveration error
pattern of responding in which a person produces the same response over and over, even though the person knows that the task requires a change in response.
this pattern is often observed in patients with brain damage in the frontal lobe
automaticity
state achieved by some tasks and some forms of processing, in which the task can be performed with little or no attention.
in many cases, automatized actions can be combined with other activities without interference.
automatized actions are also often difficult to control, leading many psychologists to refer to them as mental reflexes (STROOP EFFECT)
what situations outside of the lab seem to reflect inattentional blindness?
pattern in which people fail to see a prominent stimulus, even though they’re staring straight at it.
driver not seeing a cyclist, a dr not seeing anomaly in ct scan, not seeing mayo in fridge
what are the differences between the way that stimulus-based priming and expectation-based priming function?
- stimulus priming takes no effort and requires no resources (unconscious and involuntary)
- expectation based priming is under your control because you deliberately prime detectors for inputs you think are upcoming, so that you’re ready when they arrive
why is it easier to divide attention between very different activities than it is to divide attention between more similar activities?
similar tasks require similar resources which leads to competition for resources and difficulty
why does practice crease a situation in which you can lose control over your own mental steps?
with sufficient practice, task performance can go forward with no executive control, and so the performance is essentially not controlled; performance becomes mental reflex
acquisition
process of placing new info into long term memory
storage
state in which memory, once acquired, remains until retrieved.
modern theories describe a more dynamic from of storage, in which older memories are integrated and (sometimes replaced by) newer knowledge
retrieval
process of locating info in memory and activating that info for use
modal model
the three-stage memory model that divides memory into 3 areas = sensory, short term, and long term
now largely set aside, with modern theorizing offering a very different conception of working memory
sensory memory
form of memory that holds on to just-seen or just-heard input in a “raw” sensory form
short-term memory
an older term for what is now called working memory
working memory
storage system in which info is held while that info is being worked on.
all indications are the working memory is a system, not a single entity, and that info is held here via active processes, not via some sort of passive storage.
formerly called short-term memory.
long-term memory (LTM)
storage system where we hold all of our knowledge and all of our memories.
contains memories that are not currently activated; those that are activated are represented in working memory
serial-position curve
tends to be U-shaped, with people being best able to recall the first-presented items (primacy effect) and also the last-presented items (recency effect)
memory rehearsal
mental activity that has the effect of maintaining info in working mem.
two types = maintenance rehearsal and relational (or elaborative) rehearsal
working-memory capacity (WMC)
measure of working memory derived from operation span tasks, measure of a person’s ability to store some materials while simultaneously working with other materials
working-memory system
system of mental resources used for holding info in an easily accessible form.
the central executive is at the heart of this system, and the executive then relies on a number or low-level assistant, including the visuospatial buffer and the articulatory rehearsal loop.
articulatory rehearsal loop
one of the low-level assistants hypothesized as being part of the working-memory system.
draws on subvocalized (covert) speech, which serves to create a record in the phonological buffer.
materials in this buffer then fade, but they can be refreshed by another cycle of covert speech.
subvocalization
covert speech in which one goes through the motions of speaking, or perhaps forms a detailed motor plan for speech movements, but without making any sound.
phonological buffer
passive storage system used for holding a representation (internal echo) of recently heard or self-produced sounds
concurrent articulation task
speaking or miming of speech while doing other tasks. (tah tah tah or counting).
these procedures occupy the muscles and control mechanisms needed for speech, so they prevent the person from using these resources for subvocalization.
maintenance rehearsal
a mechanical process in which items are continually cycled through working memory, merely by being repeated over and over.
often contrasted with relational (or elaborative) rehearsal.
relational (or elaborative) rehearsal
form of mental processing in which one thinks about the relations, or connections, among ideas. the connections created (or strengthened) in this way will later guide memory search.
intentional learning
the acquisition of memories in a setting where people know that their memory for the info will be tested later.
often contrasted with incidental learning.
incidental learning
learning that takes place in the absence of any intention to learn and also in the absence of any expectation of a subsequent memory test.
shallow processing
mode of thinking about material where one pays attention to appearances and other superficial aspects of the material; typically leads to poor memory retention.
deep processing
mode of thinking in which a person pays attention to the meaning and implications of the material; typically leads to excellent memory retention.
retrieval paths
connections that can lead to sought-after memory in long-term storage
four ways in which working memory is different from long term storage (SERC)
Size - working mem is limited, LTM isn’t.
Encoding info - WM easy to encode, LTM more work.
Retrieval - getting info from WM easy, LTM hard and slow.
Contents - working mem fragile, LTM is not linked to current thoughts aka not fragile.
