Human cognition Flashcards
What are 3 approaches in cognitive psychology?
information-processing approach
bottom-up approach
top-down approach
What is the information-processing approach?
assumption that human processing resembles a computer
What is the bottom-up approach?
believes processing is directly influenced by environmental stimuli
What is the top-down approach?
believe processing is influenced by internal factors
What are some strengths of cognitive psychology?
it’s very flexible
led to lots of theories
first scientific approach
What are some limitations to cognitive psychology?
most cognitive tasks lack ecological validity
findings are often paradigm-specific
What is cognitive neuropsychology?
evaluates cognitive performance in brain damaged patients
What are the 4 key assumptions of cognitive neuropsychology?
functional modularity (there’s independent processing units)
anatomical modularity (located in specific regions)
universality
subtractivity (Brain damage can only disrupt connections, not develop new ones)
What are the 4 lobes in each hemisphere?
frontal
parietal
occipital
temporal
What is the frontal lobe divided from the parietal lobes by?
the central sulcus
What separates the temporal lobes from the parietal and frontal lobes?
lateral fissure
What kind of studied does cognitive neuroscience use?
correlations
single-case studies
case-series studies
What did Brodmann do in 1909?
produced the first accurate map of the brain (1909)
has 52 discrete areas
What are some measurement techniques in cognitive neuroscience?
Event-related potentials (ERPs) (EEGs)
PET
fMRI
single unit recordings
MEG
TMS
What are single-unit recordings?
where a micro-electrode is inserted into the brain
records activity from a singe neuron
