Introduction

Question 1

What is a theory?

Answer 1

A system of concepts and principles that organise data so as to explain human behaviour.

Question 2

What do good theories do?

Answer 2

Explain and predict and event or behaviour

Question 3

Describe the cycle of scientific psychology?

Answer 3

Data (what we know) is a gathered and must be relevant and reliable

A theory is developed to explain and organise the data

Predictions from the theory (hypothesis) test the validity of the theory

Question 4

What did Broadbent propose?

Answer 4

The computer mind analogy.

Both have receptors for inputs and effectors for outputs

Both are characterised by a fairly small short term memory and channels of limited capacity

A fair amount of processing is carried out serially by the mind and computer.

Question 5

What is the information processing approach and who developed it?

Answer 5

Newell and Simon in the 1950’s

Cognitive modelling can be done through computer programs which can simulate aspects of human cognition

One can also develop artificial intelligence or robots that behave like humans

Question 6

What is cognitive psychology?

Answer 6

Scientific study of mental processes

Question 7

What does cognitive neuroscience do?

Answer 7

Establishes a link between psychological functions and their biological underpinnings

Question 8

What topics does cognitive psychology cover ?

Answer 8

Perception, memory, language, decision making and consciousness.

Question 9

What is the antiquity view on reality?

Answer 9

• Ptolemy thought rays left the eye as a theory to see the world/environment
• the rays were responsive to objects and came back to the eye
• he stated that the size was defined by apparent and angle and distance (he was not proved wrong here)

Question 10

What is wrong with the antiquity view?

Answer 10

It could not be tested, therefore he could not gather data to challenge or support his theory

Question 11

How does the mind interpret reality?

Answer 11

Light enters the retina in the eye. which is reflected by the objects, The brain processes it which results in our conscious experience

Question 12

What is the retina?

Answer 12

The interface between our mind and the electricmagnetic world

Question 13

How is visual processing occurs?

Answer 13

The light enters the retina an then forwarded to the back of the brain (occipital lobe) which is then processed.

Question 14

How does one go blind?

Answer 14

Damage to neurones in the occipital lobe.

Question 15

What pathways do we have in the brain for visual information?

Answer 15

Neutrons can be responsive to lines (tell us where objects are in the environment)

Some regions of the cortex are specifically responsive to objects (recognition of faces, buildings)

Question 16

How does our mind interpret objects?

Answer 16

We encode and store information of objects

-We see similar patterns and associate it with the objects, this is due to us encoding objects as visual patterns

We automatically detect patterns.

Question 17

What other ways do we detect pattern?

Answer 17

• detect patterns in motion

- expressions in faces

Question 18

How do we use perceptual information to interpret reality?

Answer 18

• perceptual information is used to create the knowledge that we use to interpret the world. Since perception is not perfect, knowledge is not either.
• yet we use this biased knowledge to interpret reality.
• Portugal information is knowledge encoded in the brain.

Question 19

What do we do challenge our understanding of reality and why?

Answer 19

-scientific experiments as our perceptual knowledge encoded is not perfect.

Question 20

How do cognitive models represent our behaviour?

Answer 20

Sensors receive input

Mechanisms process input of information

Output is produced