Lab Content

Question 1

Famous Names Experiment (Jacoby et al., 1989)

Answer 1

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)

Question 2

False Memories (Roediger & McDermott (1995)

Answer 2

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”)

Question 3

Types of Spatial Information

Answer 3

Location-Based and Movement-Based

both provide information we can use to create COGNITIVE MAPS that help us navigate our environments

Question 4

Location-Based Spatial Information

Answer 4

uses FIXED POINT REFERENCES in the external environment (e.g., landmarks, piloting and beacon homing)

Question 5

Movement-Based Spatial Information

Answer 5

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

Question 6

Spatial Reference Frames

Answer 6

Allocentric Space and Egocentric Space

how we encode location information

Question 7

Allocentric Space

Answer 7

• 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

Question 8

Egocentric Space

Answer 8

• 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)

Question 9

Location-Based Information: Piloting

Answer 9

trigonometry is used to calculate the position of a hidden location from the positions that are visible as known points of reference

Question 10

Location-Based Information: Beacon-Homing

Answer 10

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)

Question 11

Types of Movement Cues (MB information our brain uses to create cognitive maps)

Answer 11

optic flow
sensory flow
vestibular information
motor efferent copy
kinesthetic information

Question 12

optic flow

Answer 12

movement of visual information (both focal + peripheral), changes, estimates movement, direction and speed

Question 13

sensory flow

Answer 13

like optic flow but for other senses, e.g. air temperature + wind speed, changes in sound dynamics

Question 14

vestibular information

Answer 14

mechanisms in the inner ear can detect head acceleration/deceleration and rotation

Question 15

motor efferent copy

Answer 15

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

Question 16

kinesthetic information

Answer 16

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.

Question 17

Path Integration

Answer 17

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)

Question 18

Black Box Model of the Brain - Cognitive Psychology

Answer 18

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

Question 19

Domain of Cognitive Psychologists

Answer 19

interested in software (processes) of the brain rather than hardware (structural, neuroscience).

Question 20

Subtractive Method (Donders)

Answer 20

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.

Question 21

Choice RT task - processes

Answer 21

detect stimulus -> identify stimulus -> select response -> execute response (600-800ms)

Question 22

Go/No Go task - processes

Answer 22

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!

Question 23

Simple RT task

Answer 23

detect stimulus -> execute response

again, we can use the subtractive method to figure out how long it takes to identify a stimulus

Question 24

formulae for subtractive method and mental processes

Answer 24

time to SELECT RESPONSE: ChoiceRT - Go/NoGo RT
time to IDENTIFY STIMULUS: Go/NoGo RT - Simple RT

Question 25

Assumptions of Subtractive Method

Answer 25

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.

Question 26

Theory of Signal Detection

Answer 26

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

Question 27

Signal Detection Theory: Outcomes

Answer 27

Hit (correct) - signal is present
Miss (incorrect) - signal is present
Correct Rejection/CR (correct) - signal is absent
False Alarm/FA (incorrect) - signal is absent

Question 28

Signal Detection Theory: ‘Yes’ Bias

Answer 28

more likely to make hits and FAs (say stimulus is there when it is or is not)

Question 29

Signal Detection Theory: ‘No’ Bias

Answer 29

more likely to make CRs and misses (say stimulus is not there when it is or is not)

Question 30

Signal Detection Theory: Response Criteria

Answer 30

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)

Question 31

Signal Detection Theory: d-prime (d’)

Answer 31

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.

Question 32

Event Related Potentials