Midterm 1 Flashcards
all of your encounters with the world depend on…
your supplementing your experience with knowledge that you bring to the sitution
cognitive revolution
succession of changes in the 1950s and 1960s; involved a new style of research aimed at questions about memory, decision making, etc.
Introspection
a method in which people observe and record the content of their own mental lives and the sequence of their own experiences
limits of introspection
-some thoughts are unconscious
-for any science to proceed, there must be some way to test its claims, but this cannot be done in introspection
-science needs some way of resolving disagreements, but this testability in introspection is often unattainable
Behaviorism
observations of behavior provide objective data
limits of behaviorism
our behavior cannot be explained solely through objective data because the way people act and the way they feel are guided by how they understand or interpret the situation and not by the objective situation itself
Immanuel Kant’s transcendental method
begin with the observable facts and work backward from these observations; study mental processes indirectly since we cannot study them directly
Edward Tolman
argued that learning involves the acquisition of new knowledge; study of rats in maze
B. F. Skinner
argued language use could be understood in terms of behaviors and rewards
Noam Chomsky
published a rebuttal to Skinner’s proposal and convinced many psychologist that an entirely different approach was needed for explaining language learning; noted that Skinner’s views could not explain the creativity of language
Gestalt psychology movement
argued that behaviors, ideas, and perceptions are organized in a way that cannot be understood through a part-by-part, element-by-element analysis of the world
clinical neuropsychology
study of brain function that uses cases in which damage or illness has disrupted the working of some brain structure
neuroimaging techniques
enables us with some methods to scrutinize the precise structure of the brain and to track the moment-by-moment pattern of activation within someone’s brain
cognitive psychology
concerned with how people remember, pay attention, and think; most of what we do, say, and feel is guided by things we already know
many factors contributed to the emergence of cognitive psychology in the 1950s and 1960s
Tolman’s research on rats and mazes, Chomsky’s rebuttal to Skinner, Gestalt psychologists’ emphasis on the role of perceivers in organizing their experiences, Bartlett’s research that showed that people spontaneously fit their experiences into a mental framework or schema
early theorizing in cognitive psychology often borrowed ideas from…
computer science
Capgras syndrome
a rare syndrome that can result from various injuries to the brain; able to recognize the people in their world, but are convinced that some of these people are not who they appear to be; results from conflict in the two systems of face recognition: cognitive appraisal (knowing what the person looks like) and the emotional response that occurs when seeing that person
two systems of face recognition
1) cognitive appraisal –> knowing what the person looks like
2) emotional appraisal –> triggers an emotional response when seeing that person
Both systems must agree to result in a confident recognition
positron emission tomography (PET) scan
obtains basic information of the physical makeup of the brain; introduces a tracer substance such as glucose into the patient’s body that have been tagged with a low dose of radioactivity ad the scan keeps track of this radioactivity
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
relies on the magnetic properties of the atoms that make up the brain tissue and provides detailed structural images
amygdala
an almond-shaped structure that serves as an emotional evaluator, helping an organism detect stimuli associated with threat or danger; also important for detecting positive stimuli, indicators of safety, or available rewards
What do we learn from Capgras syndrome?
-two systems of facial recognition
-amygdala plays a crucial role in supporting the feeling of familiarity, helps you remember the emotional events of your life, and plays a role in decision making
-many parts of the brain are needed for even the simplest achievement
Hindbrain
located at the very top of the spinal cord and includes structures crucial for controlling key life functions; regulates the rhythm of heartbeat; plays an essential role in maintaining the body’s overall posture and balance; controls the brain’s level of alertness; includes the cerebellum, pons, and medulla
Medulla
controls vital functions such as breathing and heart rate