Lab Content Flashcards
Famous Names Experiment (Jacoby et al., 1989)
Prediction: Participants will forget the source of the memory of the pre-exposed names and falsely attribute their recognising the name to fame
Hypothesis: Participants will label more of the pre-exposed non-famous names as ‘famous’ than completely new non-famous names
DV: Percent guessed as ‘famous’
IV: Type of Name (3 Levels | Famous, Not Famous-New + Not Famous Pre-exposed)
False Memories (Roediger & McDermott (1995)
Prediction: Participants will have a false memory that they saw the six related, but not studied, “lure” words
H: Participants will have higher confidence ratings for the new list-related words (lures) than for new, non-list related words
DV: Confidence rating
IV: Type of word (3 Levels | In lists, not in lists-control, not in lists-“lure”)
Types of Spatial Information
Location-Based and Movement-Based
both provide information we can use to create COGNITIVE MAPS that help us navigate our environments
Location-Based Spatial Information
uses FIXED POINT REFERENCES in the external environment (e.g., landmarks, piloting and beacon homing)
Movement-Based Spatial Information
uses information GENERATED FROM OWN MOVEMENTS
PRONE TO ERRORS - nervous system will become less accurate at processing sensory information if under e.g. cognitive load
Spatial Reference Frames
Allocentric Space and Egocentric Space
how we encode location information
Allocentric Space
- viewpoint independent
- uses identifiable environmental features/landmarks
- the location of one is defined by the relationship to the other thing
- e.g. the child is a couple hundred miles south of the castle
Egocentric Space
- viewpoint dependent
- viewpoint different for each observer
- e.g. the castle is in front of me
as we age, we use egocentric space more (as sensory processing degrades)
Location-Based Information: Piloting
trigonometry is used to calculate the position of a hidden location from the positions that are visible as known points of reference
Location-Based Information: Beacon-Homing
Travelling directly towards a fixed landmark close to where we want to go (an electronic form of beacon-homing is used on planes, but the landmark = electrical signal)
Types of Movement Cues (MB information our brain uses to create cognitive maps)
optic flow
sensory flow
vestibular information
motor efferent copy
kinesthetic information
optic flow
movement of visual information (both focal + peripheral), changes, estimates movement, direction and speed
sensory flow
like optic flow but for other senses, e.g. air temperature + wind speed, changes in sound dynamics
vestibular information
mechanisms in the inner ear can detect head acceleration/deceleration and rotation
motor efferent copy
a signal available to the Nervous System to be used to monitor the environment. So if intention is to step forward, signal sent to muscles and also the NS
kinesthetic information
feedback from receptors and muscles and joints as we move; can be used as an estimate of how far we’ve walked and if the walk included slopes.
As terrain changes, kinesthetis feedback from legs and feet will change.
Path Integration
Navigation strategy using mostly movement-based cues.
Limitations: Degradation over time + over-reliance on cues due to firing of non-navigation-related neurons introducing noise into system. Biological basis = NS therefore error-prone
To overcome this, most organisms use a combination of path-integration and fixed points outside of space (combining egocentric and allocentric cues)
Black Box Model of the Brain - Cognitive Psychology
design theoretical model -> design experiment to test model -> collect RT and accuracy data -> compare real data pattern to model data pattern
can see what goes in and out, but don’t have direct access to what is happening in the brain
Domain of Cognitive Psychologists
interested in software (processes) of the brain rather than hardware (structural, neuroscience).
Subtractive Method (Donders)
common sense - to estimate how long it takes us to do certain mental processes, we use 3 specifically-designed reaction time tasks: Choice RT task, Go/No-Go task and the Simple RT task.
Choice RT task - processes
detect stimulus -> identify stimulus -> select response -> execute response (600-800ms)
Go/No Go task - processes
identify stimulus -> identify stimulus -> execute response
takes a shorter time to do than the Choice RT, so could give indication of how long it takes to select response using Donders subtractive method!
Simple RT task
detect stimulus -> execute response
again, we can use the subtractive method to figure out how long it takes to identify a stimulus
formulae for subtractive method and mental processes
time to SELECT RESPONSE: ChoiceRT - Go/NoGo RT
time to IDENTIFY STIMULUS: Go/NoGo RT - Simple RT
Assumptions of Subtractive Method
Seriality - must be no overlap of tasks, one processing stage must finish before the next starts
Independence - removal of one task does not affect other tasks.
If either assumption is violated, cannot use the subtractive method.
Theory of Signal Detection
binary decision with four possible outcomes (hit, miss, false alarm and correct rejection) that can separate out true sensitivity to a signal from higher-order cognitive biases that may be determining decision-making in uncertain circumstances.
could be things informing biases e.g. cost of being wrong
Signal Detection Theory: Outcomes
Hit (correct) - signal is present
Miss (incorrect) - signal is present
Correct Rejection/CR (correct) - signal is absent
False Alarm/FA (incorrect) - signal is absent
Signal Detection Theory: ‘Yes’ Bias
more likely to make hits and FAs (say stimulus is there when it is or is not)
Signal Detection Theory: ‘No’ Bias
more likely to make CRs and misses (say stimulus is not there when it is or is not)
Signal Detection Theory: Response Criteria
c = measures response bias (+c = ‘Yes’ bias, -c = ‘No’ bias, c=0 no bias, very rare to have none though)
d’ = measures sensitivity/how easy it is to detect the signal you are looking for (high d’ = little/no uncertainty, absence of response bias c=0; low d’ = much uncertainty, response bias occurs +c or -c)
Signal Detection Theory: d-prime (d’)
signal - e.g. how blurry an image is
receptors - e.g. how is your vision/hearing
alertness - e.g. are you sleepy? redbull?
all determine your ability to tell that the signal is there, even under perfect circumstances.
Event Related Potentials
