PSYC 426 study guide for final exam part 2 Flashcards

1
Q

What is decision-making? Compare and contrast the open-loop, closed-loop, and
naturalistic models of decision-making.

A

Decision-making is identifying the best choice and taking action. Higher order cognitive process among several alternatives.

Open loop model: Linear structure Presentation of alternatives/choice options, which form the “branches” of the decision tree. Beliefs about the probabilities of events in the world. Subjective evaluative reactions to outcomes of each decision. Involves heuristics and biases.

Closed loop model: Decision-maker collaborates with their environment in order to complete a task through repeated decisions. Information from the environment leads to a choice; an action is executed and results in changes in the environment.

Then, feedback is processed to reinforce (or not) the decision. Problem information, decisions, and outcome information all influence and reinforce one another. Goals/external events contribute problem information as well. I.e. “decisions from experience” of outcomes

Naturalistic Model: Naturalistic decision-making (NDM) → Lipshitz, Klein, Orasanu, & Salas (2001) Studies decision-making in the “wild,” e.g. where actual decision-makers draw conclusions from realistic situations & scenarios that are relevant to their specific experience/knowledge. Differs from traditional models Methods (field observations, interviews) Participants (actual decision-makers/situations; e.g., firefighters) Involves recognizing a situation as prototypical through cues, development of expectancies/goals, and identification of a typical course of action that can then be implemented to completion or generate further alternatives.

Firefighters and people who had to make decisions in emergency situations.

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2
Q

What is a cognitive heuristic? What purpose does it serve?

A

Mental “short cuts;” → i.e., mental strategies and processes that cognitive systems use to quickly make judgments, choices, and/or solve problems.

They are intended to find the choices/solutions that are most likely to be correct. Aim to maximize efficiency, i.e., minimize effort while ensuring the best outcome. However, not always accurate.

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3
Q

Describe three categories of cognitive heuristics. Give an example of some of the biases involved.

A

(1) Representativeness

Probabilities of outcomes are estimated by representativeness, i.e. similarity to prototypes in our mind. Biases: estimation that outcomes and protoypes are more similar than they actually are.

E.g., what is the gestational period of an African elephant?

(2) Availability

Probabilities of outcomes are estimated by how available they are to us; i.e. by how easily we can bring them up in our mind. Biases: estimation of outcomes based on our exposure to probabilities, rather than the actual values. E.g.,

Are we more likely to die from a falling coconut or be murdered by a serial killer?

(3) Adjustment and Anchoring

Probabilities of outcomes are estimated by starting with an initial value, which is then adjusted. Biases: estimation of outcomes is affected by the initial value.

E.g., haggling, salary negotiation. Come up with an estimate.

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4
Q

What are the duel processes involved in decision-making? Give some examples of how these manifest in real life.

A

Two different systems to make decisions. System 1 is much more quick with heuristics, such as a sound from a lion turn back quickly.

System 1 Unconscious reasoning. Automatic, bottom-up, fast-paced system. Involves short cuts (e.g., heuristics). E.g., orient toward a sudden loud sounds, detect anger in a face/voice, read a sign.

System 2 Conscious reasoning. Effortful, top-down, slow system. Thought to be specific to humans (and perhaps primates). E.g., do your taxes, remember directions, listen to a lecture.

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5
Q

The __________ model states that decision-making occurs through feedback loops
comprised of info about the problem, decisions, and subsequent outcomes.

A

closed-loop model

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6
Q

True or False: System 1 involves effortful, top-down, conscious reasoning (e.g., doing your taxes).

A

False.

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7
Q

After Hurricane Katrina in 2006, the number of new flood insurance policies purchased nationwide tripled, although flood risk remained unchanged. This is an example of which heuristic?

A

Availability

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8
Q

True or False: The naturalistic decision-making model (NDM) studies how decisions are made in the “wild;” i.e. by real people in real situations.

A

True.

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9
Q

What is linguistics? What sorts of questions does the field aim to address?

A

Linguistics is the scientific study of language. Involves numerous subfields: Developmental linguistics. Neurolinguistics. Forensic linguistics. Applied linguistics. Computational linguistics.

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10
Q

What are three theoretical approaches to linguistics? Compare and contrast them

A

(1) Externalism:

Relevant Phenomena: Actual written/spoken material from real language users.

Subject Matter: Language use; structural properties of observable languages.

Aim/Question: Describe structure and relational properties of language expressions; predict properties based on observations.

Explanation: Properties of languages are derived, allowing for descriptive power and predictive ability.

(2) Emergentism

Relevant Phenomena: Social cognition; communication, interaction, etc.

Subject Matter: Language as it relates to communication and interaction between systems.

Aim/Question: To explain the structural properties of language by the cognitive mechanisms involved & communicative functions.

Explanation: A system for linguistic communication based on cultural context and factors.

(3) Essentialism.

Relevant Phenomena: Intrinsic properties of language; the intuitive, universal components.

Subject Matter: Abstract principles/rules that govern properties of different languages

Aim/Question: To identify abstract linguistic principles that are present across languages & innate.

Explanation: Set of abstract, internalized rules that explain linguistic expression regardless of specific language.

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11
Q

What are some of the components involved in language/the field of linguistics? Name
and describe them.

A

Phonetics: How do human make/perceive sounds? I.e. the mechanics.

Phonology: Phonemes, sound units that distinguish words from one another.

Morphology, Morpheme: smallest unit in a language that has meaning.

Syntax: Rules, that govern sentence structure, namely word order.

Semantics, What does it actually mean?

Pragmatics, How does the context affect/contribute to the meaning?

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12
Q

Is language an innate or learned ability? What evidence supports each view?

A

Emergentist vs. Essentialist view

Emergentist: language acquisition is dependent on interactions with the environment and learning.

Essentialist: language acquisition has a strong, dominant genetic component; i.e. there are syntactic rules that are innate, with which we are born.

Contemporary view More general cognition is at play; children utilize general cognitive principles and experience to gradually acquire language capabilities.

Emergentist evidence:

Children learn language through observation and reinforcement; as certain sounds and structures elicit desired outcomes, they pair this communication process with these outcomes. E.g., Behaviorism (Skinner, 1957). Child says “milk,” mother provides praise and brings milk, child learns to associate word with favorable outcome (Ambridge & Lieven, 2011). Child expects an incorrect grammatical structure, it doesn’t happen, negative reinforcement leads to learning (Michael Ramscar). → error-driven process. Thus, language is entirely the product of our experiences and interactions.

Essentialist evidence

Universal grammar (Chomsky, 1965) We are born with a set of rules about the structure of language; these rules govern our language use irrespective of cultural background, specific native language, etc. These rules have a genetic basis and do not depend on experience/learning. As we are exposed to our environment, we adopt specific syntactic rules that are in line with UG and our specific linguistic environment. “Genetic endowment, external data, principles not specific to Faculty of Language.” E.g., “held” vs. “holded” E.g., pidgin/Creole language

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13
Q

True or False: Chomsky advocated for the emergentist view of language and believed that we gradually acquire the ability to communicate using cultural cues and our experience in the world.

A

False.

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14
Q

___________ are the smallest units in a language that have meaning.

A

Morphemes

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15
Q

____________ studies the mechanics of how we produce units of sounds.

A

Phononetics

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16
Q

True or False: Externalism is more concerned with defining language by its communicative properties, while emergentism is more concerned with the language itself.

A

False.

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17
Q

True or False: The idea of evolution and how our linguistic capabilities evolve supports Chomsky’s idea of a universal grammar.

A

False.

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18
Q

What is AI? What are some of the considerations in defining and approaching this field?

A

Endeavor of replicating human/animal intelligence in non-biological systems (i.e. machines).

Key concepts Knowledge, representation, Learning, Reasoning, Language processing.

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19
Q

What are some of the ways that AI approaches have been conceptualized, according to Russell and Norvig (2009)?

A

Human-based and Ideality Rationality

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20
Q

What is the Turing Test? Has a machine been able to beat it?

A

Can a machine be linguistically indistinguishable from a human? Machine and human respond, have another human decide whether answer was machine or not.

If human judge cannot do better than 50/50 at correctly identifying information, then the machine has passed the test. No machine has been able to do it.

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21
Q

What are some criticisms of the Turing test?

A

Test is too hard, questions too ambiguous the machined sometimes be irrational,

Test it too easy, if it passes only linguistically can cheat program by humans.

22
Q

What are the four approaches to AI? How do they compare/contrast?

A

1) Intelligent Agent Continuum

AI: study of agents that receive percepts from the environment and perform actions (Russell & Norvig, 2009). Agents progress from simple to more and more complex; functions and learning also becomes more complex.

2) Logic-Based AI

Draws from principles of logic to define intelligence and replicate it in machines. An “intelligent” being should therefore be able to utilize principles of logic → i.e. use information to make and correct inferences. E.g. “If I tell you that Tweety is a bird, you will infer that Tweety can fly, but if I then inform you that Tweety is a penguin, the inference evaporates, as well it should.”

3) Non-Logic-Based AI

Artificial neural networks → build learning systems. Composed of: Units or nodes designed to represent neurons. Nodes are connected by links designed to represent dendrites. Each has a numeric weight.

4) Bridging Paradigms

As engineering capabilities advance, moving forward using a combination of the 3 approaches is becoming more feasible. E.g., Human-level AI (Cassimatis 2006); cognitive architecture. E.g., Watson, Google DeepMind’s AlphaGo

23
Q

MOTW: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)

A

 Non-invasive, developed in 1980-85
 Magnetic pulses delivered to areas of
the brain to stimulate nerve cells in
various ways.
 Can allow researchers to study effects of
stimulation on person’s ability to
complete different tasks
 Also has many therapeutic uses: e.g., for
depression

24
Q

True or False: The overall goal of AI is to create an artificial cognitive system that thinks and reasons like a human does.

A

False.

25
Q

___________ first posed the question “Can machines think?” in 1950

A

Alan Turing

26
Q

The ______________ approach to AI involves the study of agents that receive percepts from the environment and perform actions.

A

Intelligent Agent Continuum

27
Q

The Turing test was designed to answer the question “Can machines think?” Based
on its methodology, its more specifically asking: ___________________?

A

Can a machine be linguistically indistinguishable from a human?

28
Q

One of the “dangers” of AI is that ____________________.

A

the solutions it generates may not be what we intended, and therefore might have consequences.

29
Q

The main components of a network are

A

nodes, connections, and weights

30
Q

True or False: A perceptron is one of the earliest examples of a semantic network

A

False.

31
Q

Activation of a node is affected by _____________________________.

A

the activation of all nodes to which it is connected & the strength of the link(s).

32
Q

One of the pros of ANN is ________________________.

A

biological plausibility, graceful degradation,
generalization/inference.

33
Q

True or False: In an unsupervised network, target answers are provided and the network must figure out how to compare on its own.

A

False.

34
Q

True or False: The majority of ANNs show oscillatory patterns of change over time

A

False.

35
Q

What are neural correlates of consciousness? Define and give an example.

A

The most minimal neural mechanisms/functions necessary and sufficient for producing a conscious percept.

36
Q

Is consciousness just attention? How are they related?

A

Is consciousness just attention? → No; attention involves appraising the relevance of sensory stimuli, while consciousness surveys what is happening inside and outside of the
body (Nani et al., 2019).
 Attention → “analyzer”
 Consciousness → “synthesizer”

37
Q

What is the DMN? What is the DAN?

A

Default Mode Network:  Large-scale brain network broadly comprised of the medial
prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex/precuneus and
angular gyrus (Raichle et al., 2001).
 Active during “wakeful rest” → found to be negatively
correlated with attention-related networks.
 Active during higher-order thought processes (e.g., thinking
about future, moral reasoning, theory of mind).
 Areas are strongly correlated with each other, as well as with
other fronto-parietal and non-thalamic networks.

Dorsal Attention Network:  Brain network broadly comprised of the visual motion area,
frontal eye fields (FEF), intraparietal sulcus (IPS), superior
parietal lobule, and ventral premotor cortex.
 Active during externally-directed attentional tasks → found to
be negatively correlated with DMN.
 Active during top-down attentional processes (e.g.,
overt/covert attention, spatial coding, feature-based
attention).
 Thought to comprise the necessary (but not sufficient)
attentional piece of consciousness.
 Note: ventral attentional network also exists → bottom-up,
involuntary.

38
Q

Name and describe the two parameters used to evaluate consciousness

A

(1) Vigilance
 How alert and/or responsive to the outside environment are we?

(2) Content
 How salient is the content of our experience?

39
Q

Name and describe the three stages of consciousness

A

 Subliminal: not strong enough to produce
consciousness.
 Preconscious: strong enough, but requires attention
to push content into global workspace.
 Conscious: strong enough; content is in global workspace and becomes reportable.

40
Q

What are two theoretical frameworks for consciousness? Name and describe the current theoretical framework emerging in the literature.

A

Global Workspace theory: Draws from AI → unconscious functions (e.g., visual
processing) occur simultaneously and are “broadcast”
to a global working memory.
* This “society of specialists” and large-scale
“workspace” constitute consciousness.
* Theater metaphor.

Modular Experience: Separate modules conduct processing in parallel.
* Micro-consciousnesses are integrated into macroconsciousnesses, which are eventually integrated into a conscious experience.
* Thus, consciousness can occur in discrete areas,
independent of one another and outside awareness.
* Clinical conditions support this theory; e.g., split-brain.

41
Q

The _______________ question of consciousness seeks to define consciousness and identify
its main features.

A

Descriptive

42
Q

True or False: One theory of consciousness states that there are 3 stages: subliminal, preconscious, and conscious.

A

True

43
Q

The ______________ is active during “wakeful rest,” while the ______________ is active during
attentional tasks.

A

DMN, DAN

44
Q

Modern theories of consciousness subscribe to the idea of _______________, where multiple
large-scale networks that represent attention, vigilance, and phenomenology are
synchronized.

A

neural synchrony

45
Q

True or False: A key construct in consciousness is vigilance, which refers to how salient the experience is
for us.

A

False.

46
Q

The predictive coding framework states that the brain has a balance of top-down _______________ and bottom-up ________________.

A

Predictions, prediction errors

47
Q

True or False: The 3 main components of the scientific study of ASCs are individuals, drug of choice, and physiological responses.

A

False.

48
Q

An example of an induction method is _________________.

A

LSD, sensory deprivation tank, holotropic breathing, etc

49
Q

An example ASC study is ________________.

A

e.g., healthy adults, Ganzfeld setup, neuroimaging.

50
Q

A potential application of ASC research is _________________.

A

a supplement to psychotherapy.