psych 108 midterm 1 Flashcards
cognitive pschology
The empirical investigation of mental processes and brain structures involved in acquiring, encoding, using, and storing information; what you see attend to, remember, know, interpret
metacognition
we may think about our own though processes, think about thinking
zeitgeist
time spirit, the ideas prevalent in a period and place, ex: decades and generations; Provides a mental set that defines how people see the issues
mental set
perspective and/or set of assumptions that define how people view a problem and what type of solutions you attempt, often constraining alternative approaches in some fundamental manner; define zeitgeist and drive researchers focus
insight problems
Problems that require overcoming some sort of mental set in order to solve
́ Typically associated with an “aha” experience
examples of zeitgeist
Structuralism
́ Functionalism
́ Behaviorism
́ Cognitive Psychology
́ Cognitive Neuroscience
structuralism mental set
The mind and its perceptions can be understood by analyzing those perceptions into their constituent components
structuralism method
introspection
structuralism main proponent
Wilhelm Wundt
introspection
looking inward at pieces of information passing through consciousness
problems with introspection
-Introspections can be wrong
-cannot introspect on all processes
-Different people get/ produce different results
problems with reducing mind to structure
overlooks dynamic processes
functionalism mental set
The mind is best understood by examining the processes of mind rather than its contents; focus on the functional value of psychological processes
functionalism method
introspection, observation, experiments
functionalism proponents
William James
William James
-American philosopher/psychologist at the turn of the century
́-Master of characterizing subjective experiences
́-coined the term “stream of consciousness” to emphasize that it is a process and not discrete elements
functionalism problem
heavy reliance on introspection
associationism(behaviorism) mental set
connectionistic, reductionistic, environmental
connectionistic
Learning results from the co-occurrence of events or actions that occur at the same time
reductionistic
Complex behavior can be explained by understanding
the simple associations on which it is based.
environmental
Assumes all aspects of behavior are learned
behaviorism proponents
locke, ebbinghaus, thorndike, skinner
behaviorism mental set
Reductionistic: Believed that an understanding of memory could be reduced to the formation of simple associations among nonsense syllables:
ebbinghaus behaviorism procedure
careful experimentation
́ developed first experimental examination of memory
́ quantified his results
́ demonstrated the viability of an experimental examination of memory
nonsense syllable procedure
keep studying until two perfect reproductions
measures of retention
recall, recollection, savings
recall
try to remember studied items
free recall
order is not important
serial recall
recall in order studied
recollection
Try to distinguish studied from non-studied items; recognition
savings
Number of repetitions required to re-memorize a list
serial positon curve(ebbinghaus)
Tend to remember the first and last items studied the best
forgetting(ebbinghaus)
Forgetting curve; initially rapid, then slows down
overlearning(ebbinghaus)
Additional rehearsals past mastery results in
- Slower forgetting
- Greater savings in relearning
recent behaviorism mental set
Exclusive focus on behavior
́-Believed that internal representations were beyond the scope of science
-Limited to operationally defined behaviors
-All behavior can be understood in terms of a set of
relatively basic learning principles
́-All behaviors are learned
primary principles
classical conditioning, operant conditioning
classical conditioning
Associating a biological responses to la earned stimulus
- Bell causes salivary response
operant conditioning
Associating a learned response to a learned stimulus ́
-Uses rewards & punishment to influence behavior
ex: Learn to clean your room for money
behaviorism
The theory that behavior can be explained in terms of conditioning (classical and operant), without appeal to thoughts or feelings
problems with behaviorism
-Not all associations are equally learnable
-There’s more to behavior than simple paired associations
-Learning is possible even if not personally reinforced
-Does not account for information processing
-channel capacity
-chunking
channel capacity
upper limit on the amount of information that can be transmitted
-Led to the notion of capacity in human memory ́
-7 plus or minus 2
chunking
-group input events
-apply new name
-remember name rather than input
computer method
-Mental processes are similar to the operations of a computer.
́-Information progresses through the cognitive system in a series of stages, one step at a time.
́-Three of stages information processing
short term memory(RAM) working memory
the capacity for holding, but not manipulating, a small amount of information in mind in an active, readily available state for a short period of time
-Limited capacity (7 +/- 2 items
-Fades quickly (within about 20-30 sec)
long term memory (hard drive)
memory responsible for the storage of information for an extended period of time.
-Unlimited capacity
-Fades modestly (more slowly than short-term memory)
sensory memory
brief storage of information from each of the senses.
-Very large capacity
-Fades very quickly (within milliseconds)
sensation
Detecting sensory events (e.g. experiencing light hitting our eyes)
perception
Interpreting sensory events (e.g. recognizing a flash of light as lightning)
size constancy
Our perception of an object’s size remains relatively constant, even when we view the object from different distances.
shape constancy
We perceive an object as having the same shape regardless of its orientation or the angle from which we view it.
depth cues
Monocular or binocular sources of information that convey information about relative distance of objects
gestalt psychologists
investigated the basic principles that allow us to understand which aspects of a visual scene belong together and which come from separate objects.
gestalt psychology
Developed theories of perception based on the notion that the whole is more than the sum of its parts (this is the key idea behind their psychology).
-You can’t just look at individual objects in isolation.
-You must look at them in relation to each other to understand them.
laws of perceptual organization
proximity, similarity, symmetry, closure
proximity
objects that are near one another in space or time are perceived as belonging together
similarity
items that are similar tend to be grouped together
symmetry
objects which are symmetrical are more likely to be group together
-looking at an image and perceiving it as a whole figure instead of its individual parts
closure
the mind may experience elements it does not perceive through sensation, in order to complete a regular figure; increase regularity
figure ground segregation
A type of perceptual organization in which we identify a figure from the background.
object recognition theories
template theory, feature theory
template theories
Template theories: a miniature copy or template of each known pattern is stored in long-term memory
problems with template theories
-Not adaptable (can’t explain how we understand new experiences)
-Imposes large storage requirements.
feature theories
patterns consist of a set of specific features or attributes; pandemonium model; elementary features can combine to form multiple objects
feature theories problems
Does NOT account for top- down processes.
bottom up process
Process by which we construct a perception by analyzing
information falling on our receptors (e.g., on our retinas).
-Actual physical characteristics of stimulus drive perception (data-based perception)
realism
realism
we see the world as it literally is; world is always perceived as it truly is
top down process
Knowledge, expectations, or thoughts influence perception (e.g., changing “brainstorm” to “green needle” through your thoughts); ignores motion
word superiority effect
We can identify a single letter more quickly and accurately when it appear in a meaningful word than when it appears alone or in a meaningless string of letters.
change blindness
Failure to detect a change in an object or a scene; Top down processes interfere with noticing change in details
change blindness blindness
People tend to not appreciate how vulnerable they are to change blindness
intentional blindness
When we fail to notice when an unexpected but completely visible object suddenly appears.
implications of inattentional and change blindness
overactive top down processing
overactive top down processing
The visual system is fairly accurate in creating the “gist” or
general interpretation of a scene.
-conceptual understanding interferes with noticing changes of perceptual details, even very significant ones
James Gibson’s Ecological Approach to visual perception
Emphasis on how features of environment determine perception (i.e., bottom-up processes)
invariances
aspects of the visual array that do not change (i.e., they’re “invariant,” or “don’t vary”
optical flow patterns
information seems to expand outward from the point towards which one is moving; The ability to stay on course involves keeping the unchanging (invariant) center of the optical flow pattern centered on the desired destination.
interaction of boot up and top down processes
Bottom-up processes
-Motion invariances allow detection of underlying structure
́ Top-down processes
-Knowledge influences perception
paint light displays
Detect walking vs. running, and gender, weight, mood, with 10-15 lights
-Bottom-up processes: Motion invariances allow detection of underlying structure
-Top-down processes: Knowledge allow us to recognize the lights as human motion (and we can even detect gender, weight, and mood of a person!
depth perception
A further illustration of interaction of bottom up and top down processing
- We often use our own experiences to infer depth from multiple visual cues
monocular depth cues
Cues that can provide depth information with one eye closed
binocular depth cues
cues that require both eyes
linear perspective
Parallel lines appear to converge as they recede into the distance.
aerial perspective
distant objects appear more hazy
interposition
overlapped object appears further away
shadows and shading
With a known light source shading and shadows can inform which object is closer to the light source.
familiar size
Knowledge of the size of familiar objects used to gauge depth
motion parallax
Closer target appears to move more quickly and in reverse direction to the observer’s movement
-Further target appears to move slowly in the same direction.
binocular disparity
Images appear different to each eye as a function of object distance: This “disparity” provides depth info
binocular convergence
Rotation of eyes indicates object distance
Large difference in rotation = close
small difference = far
illusions
Illusions reveal constraints/biases on perception
́ Constraints are perceptual assumptions that we make ́ Usually correct but occasionally wrong
́ When wrong, illusion results
́ Illusions come from helpful processes
́ Without constraints, no perception at all!
́ Our perceptual system is biased to emphasize important aspects
mueller lyer illusion
Left line must be farther away; this must mean it’s bigger than it appears.
Shepard table illusion
Placement of the legs and table siding makes you see the table on the left as being longer than the table on the right
contrast detection
We perceive objects relative to the other nearby objects
color constancy
Color constancy: perceived color of objects remains relatively constant under varying illumination conditions
shepard tone illusion
Auditory illusion of a tone that seems to continually ascend or descend in pitch, yet which ultimately gets no higher or lower
expectancy effect
Expectations allow us to hear more than is specified,
mcgurk effect
See GA
Hear BA
Experience DA
́-top down processes integrate perceptual and auditory cues leading to the experience of compromise phoneme
attention
The concentration of awareness on some stimulus to the exclusion of other stimuli.
-attention is narrow
limits of attention
Trying to attend to everything at once is more than the cognitive processes can handle.
* Instead, we selectively concentrate on important things and ignore less-important things.
divided attention
Attempting to pay attention to several different things at the same time; multitasking
-people perform better when working on one task; takes time to reorient following a switch
dichotic listening
-One message presented to left ear and a different message presented to right ear
* Shadow one of the messages
* People notice very little about the unattended message.
dichotic listening findings
People miss some info from the unattended channel
-Same message, different times
-Changed language
People retain some info from the unattended channel
-Physical characteristics
-Tone of voice
Broadbent’s filter theory
Early selective filter allows people to attend to one channel based on physical characteristics
problems with filter theory
- Cocktail party phenomenon: People notice their own name in the unattended channel
́ 2. People follow the meaning in the unattended channel
́ These findings demonstrate that meaning is processed in unattended channel (not good for filter theory).
treismans filter amplitude theory
Filter turns down the “volume” on unattended channel ́
-filter is not all-or-none
Deutsch and Deutsch late selection theory
All incoming stimuli are processed, however quickly forget one channel
́ Evidence: People show evidence of processing the semantic content of the unattended channel even if they don’t remember it
Perceptual load theory
Everyone has limited attentional capacity
-The amount of attentional capacity allocated to the main task (attended channel) depends on the perceptual load of the main task.
-Low perceptual load: hearing the numbers 1-10
-High perceptual load: listening to a lecture on quantum
mechanics
- Early selection occurs when load is high; late selection occurs when load is low
unattended channel processing
depends on
1. The relevance of the unattended info
2. The demands of processing the attended info
visual search
Find a target in a visual display with numerous distractors (e.g., Where’s Waldo)
isolated
If the target differed from “distractors” with respect to a simple feature such as color, observers can quickly detect the target
combined
When the distractor items force you to search for a combination of features (both green and T), visual search takes longer.
variables influencing visual search
- the isolated-feature/combined-feature effect
- The feature-present/feature-absent effect.
feature present feature absent effect
People can typically locate a feature that is present more quickly than a feature that is absent.
automacity
-Occur without intention
-Relatively unconscious
-Consume no conscious resources
ex: riding a bike
the stroop effect
say the color of the word not the the color the word says
controlled processes
- Require intention
- Conscious
- Consume resources
conscious awareness
People have relatively complete access to some thought processes, but only limited access to other thought processes.
three levels of consciousness
non-conscious, experiential conscious, meta-conscious/awareness
non-conscious
Information that is below the surface of
awareness
experiential conscious
ongoing experience; current contents of experience
meta-conscious/awareness
One’s explicit understanding of the current contents of experience
lucid dreaming
a type of dream wherein the dreamer becomes aware that they are dreaming.
subliminal perception
The effects of stimuli that are presented below the threshold of awareness
priming
Presentation of a priming word/object just before another word/object leads to facilitated processing of the second word/object if they are related
unconscious priming
Automatic priming from one object to the next
thought suppression
he attempt to keep thoughts and/or images out of consciousness
rebound effect
Initial suppression of specific thoughts can produce an emergence of those thoughts after we stop trying to suppress them.
translation dissociations
Meta-awareness misrepresents the contents of experience; Occurs when, in the process or reflection, individuals embellish, distort, or neglect aspects of their experience
temporal dissociations
Experiences we have in the absence of meta-awareness
́-Occurs when individuals temporarily fail to take stock of their experience
components of meta awareness
- Unconscious tacit monitoring of cognitions
́ Occur continuously - Conscious experience
́ Continues continuously through waking hours - Meta-awareness only occurs intermittently
́ Spontaneously noticing lapses ́ Request of self-report
́ Natural introspection
self caught mind wandering
Reported mind wandering every time they noticed it ́ Mind wandering with meta-awareness
Probe-Caught Mind Wandering
Periodically pinged and asked “just now, were you mind
wandering?”
́ Mind wandering without meta-awareness
-Suggests mind wandering without meta-awareness is especially disruptive
effects of alcohol
increases lapses
reduces awareness of lapses
increased unaware mind wandering
doubled frequency of probe caught mind wandering
reduced meta awareness(less self caught mind wandering)
Bruner potter paradigm
Out of focus images more difficult to recognize if they are initially presented in a very out of focus level
-Very out of focus level creates a mental set that impairs identification
