PYB204

Question 1

What do Williams syndrome patients have difficulty with processing

Answer 1

Visuospatial information

Question 2

What does Williams Syndrome patients do better than aged-matched healthy individuals and why

Answer 2

Humans have two distinct navigation systems: response based and place based. Normal humans response based and place based systems fight for their attention during navigation. Response-based systems are not impaired, and since they are not competing with placed-based navigation, their response-based systems are even better

Question 3

What are the two types of early philosophies of cognitive psychology questioning where knowledge comes from?

Answer 3

Nativism - knowlege is innate
Empiricism - knowledge is acquired during experience

Question 4

What are the three early psychologies of different ways to study the human mind

Answer 4

Structuralism, Functionalism and Behaviourism

Question 5

What are the main ideas of Structuralism and its main limitations

Answer 5

Analysis of the mind via components - done through introspection - changed research from philosophical to scientific - subjective and unreliable

Question 6

What are the main ideas of Functionalism and its main limitations

Answer 6

Understanding what the mind does in response to stimuli - mind is defined soley by its function - response to sensory inputs - studied via introspection - formed foundation of contemporary psychological research - little / no empirical support

Question 7

What are the main ideas of Behaviourism and its main limitations

Answer 7

Input-output association - only directly observable should be studied – strictly stimulus-response relations, not what is going on inside the mind, played important role introducing experimental methods – kept the mind as a black box

Question 8

What did WWII have to do with cognitive psychology

Answer 8

Established a cognitive revolution - lots of research was conducted on human performance- revealed shortcomings of behaviourism and that is was not helpful for solving practical issues

Question 9

What is the information-processing approach

Answer 9

Input - Mind (Process) - Output
Redefined psychology as the science of human information processing

Question 10

What is cognitive psychology / cognitive science

Answer 10

The science of how the mind is organised to produce intelligent thought and how it is realised in the brain

Question 11

What is neuroscience

Answer 11

The study of the structure and function of the nervous system

Question 12

What does cognitive neuroscience aim to do

Answer 12

Attempts to gain insights into cognitive processes by studying the brain and behaviour

Question 13

What is the word used that describes using models to make predictions

Answer 13

Decomposing mental processes

Question 14

How are models used to make predictions about mental processes

Answer 14

They formulate a theoretical model of how output is made from a given input. This model has multiple processing stages, and this allows you to make a prediction. The time taken for each processing stage is measured and then you can analyse which variable affects the processing stage.

Question 15

What was found in the visual search experiment

Answer 15

There is a linear relationship between time and the position of a selected item (the deeper line it is in, the more time it takes to find). If a letter is highlighted in a different colour, the time take to find it is the same irrespective of where it is placed

Question 16

What does an experiment do

Answer 16

It aims to provide a causal / correlational relationship between variables. You need an experimental condition and control condition to infer causation

Question 17

What can you do to reduce the likelihood of a confounding variable explaining the results instead of the IV

Answer 17

Counterbalancing - Half participants experience one condition first, and half experience other
Randomisation - order of conditions is random for each participant

Question 18

Why does a floor effect occur

Answer 18

Participants score on the lower level of scale because test is too hard - cannot capture the influence of the IV appropriately

Question 19

Why does a ceiling effect occur

Answer 19

Participants score on the higher level of the scale because the test is too easy- cannot capture the influence of the IV appropriately

Question 20

What is the type of experimental design where different levels of the IV are tested on different participants

Answer 20

Between-subject design

Question 21

What is the type of experimental design where all levels of the IV are experienced by all participants

Answer 21

Within-subjects design

Question 22

what are the benefits and drawbacks of within-subject and between subject design

Answer 22

Within - more efficient, individual differences are less important, but can have carry-over effects
Between- no chance of carry-over effects on IV, but can be impacted by individual differences and more participants are needed

Question 23

What type of statistic is used to summarise and organise data

Answer 23

Descriptive statistics

Question 24

What is the function of inferential statistics

Answer 24

Inferential statistics allow researchers to draw conclusions about a population based on data from a sample

Question 25

What do you test in a null hypothesis and what assumptions do you do this under

Answer 25

You test a null hypothesis, which states the manipulation has no effect. You assume the null hypothesis is true, and then compute the probability that your observed data is a result of the experimental manipulation is doing nothing. The null is rejected if the P value is <0.5

Question 26

What type of threshold is the smallest level of energy required by an external stimulus to be detectable by the human senses- the degree of intensity of a stimulus necessary to correctly detect that stimulus 50% of the time

Answer 26

Absolute threshold

Question 27

What is a difference threshold

Answer 27

The minimum amount of change needed in stimuli in order for the subject to sense it 50% of the time.

Question 28

What type of threshold is the difference in sound for us to percieve a change in a radios volume

Answer 28

Difference threshold

Question 29

What is the JND

Answer 29

Size of a detectable difference of a magnitude between a stimulus and reference stimulus - it is a constant ratio

Question 30

What does a weber fraction of 0.01 say about a persons ability to detect change in stimulus

Answer 30

A Weber fraction of 0.01 means that subjects can reliably detect a 1% change in stimulus intensity - low fraction = high discriminatory power

Question 31

What is the 4 step process of sensation and perception

Answer 31

Sensation
1. Detect a stimulus in form of energy – (stimulus) - light wave, ordor molecule or sound wave
2. A part of our organ has to receive this (reception) – a receptor that causes a chain reaction – retina, olfactory receptor / neurons, cochlea / organ of corti
3. Turn this energy into an action potential in the form of a message that the brain understands via action potential (transduction)
Perception
4. Make sense of information – have I see it before, do I know what this is (Interpretation)

Question 32

What is the function of an ROC curve

Answer 32

Shows the effect of different criteria and sensitives on the hit and false-alarm rates - uses peoples D prime measurement

Question 33

What are the variables involved in Fechners law equation?

Answer 33

S = K log (R)
S = stimulus perceived strength (y axis) (subjective experience)
K = a constant fraction (depending on the type of sensory experience)
Log (R )= the objective stimulus strength (Magnitude)

Question 34

What is the take home message of fechners law

Answer 34

The greater the stimulus is, the more you need of it in order to detect a change in it

Question 35

What is reflexive attention?

Answer 35

Reflexive attention occurs when a stimulus, like a flashing box, captures attention automatically, even when instructed to ignore it.

Question 36

Why are the effects of reflexive attention short-lived?

Answer 36

Because reflexive attention is unintentional, the brain quickly redirects focus, minimizing the duration of attention on the cue.

Question 37

How does the delay between cue and target affect reflexive attention?

Answer 37

Reflexive attention enhances target detection only if the delay (stimulus onset asynchrony, SOA) between the cue and the target is short (up to ~300 ms).

Question 38

What SOAs were used in the experiment?

Answer 38

Two SOAs were used: 150 ms in Block B and 575 ms in Block A.

Question 39

Why is the cueing effect larger in Block B than in Block A?

Answer 39

The shorter SOA (150 ms) in Block B allows reflexive attention to enhance target detection more effectively than the longer SOA (575 ms) in Block A.

Question 40

How long did the cue remain on the screen?

Answer 40

The cue remained on the screen for 75 ms in both blocks.

Question 41

How many trials were in each block, and what were the conditions?

Answer 41

Each block contained 48 trials, with 36 trials in condition V and 12 trials in condition I. Trials from both conditions were randomly intermixed.

Question 42

What was the role of the fixation mark?

Answer 42

The trial began by showing the central fixation mark and two empty boxes for 425 ms to establish a baseline for attention.

Question 43

How were reaction times measured in the experiment?

Answer 43

Reaction times were measured from the appearance of the target until participants’ responses, but only for trials where participants correctly responded to the target.

Question 44

What is Attentional Blink?

Answer 44

Attentional Blink is when a person cannot recognize a second object introduced shortly after an initial object, due to limitations in visual attention deployment.

Question 45

What time window is critical for Attentional Blink to occur?

Answer 45

Accuracy for detecting the second stimulus is poor if it occurs within 200 to 500 ms after the first stimulus.

Question 46

Why does Attentional Blink happen?

Answer 46

Attentional Blink happens because, after attention is deployed to the first stimulus, the brain has a temporary limitation in re-deploying attention to another stimulus.

Question 47

What does Attentional Blink suggest about attention deployment?

Answer 47

It suggests that once attention is deployed, there is a temporary delay in the brain’s ability to re-deploy attention to a new stimulus.

Question 48

What is the purpose of a labratory report

Answer 48

To tell the reader about
an experiment that has been conducted

Question 49

What is the purpose of the method section in a labratory report

Answer 49

Explain how you went about the experiment

Question 50

What are the four possible outcomes of a signal detection task

Question 51

How are the possible outcomes of a signal detection task related?

Question 52

What is the response bias in signal detection theory and what does it implicate?

Question 53

What is the observers sensitivity in signal detection theory and how does it implicate the results?

Question 54

In the Attentional blink experiment, for the experiment to work, the two stimuli had to be presented in quick succession- why?

Question 55

In the Cueing experiment, the duration of the delay between the cue and target was critical - why?

Question 56

In an experiment, you’re asked to measure a participant’s auditory threshold using a method that maps out the full psychometric function. You want to minimize bias from participants anticipating the stimulus. Which method would be most appropriate, and why?

Answer 56

The Method of Constant Stimuli is most appropriate because it presents stimuli in random order across various intensity levels, preventing anticipation and bias while providing a full psychometric function.

Question 57

You’re designing a time-efficient study to quickly estimate participants’ pain detection thresholds. The study doesn’t require a full psychometric function, but you’re concerned participants might predict when they’ll feel pain. Which method should you be cautious about, and what steps could you take to reduce bias?

Answer 57

The Method of Limits could lead to anticipation, as participants may predict the point of detection. To reduce bias, you can randomly alternate between ascending and descending trials and vary the starting intensity across trials.

Question 58

You’re using a staircase procedure in a vision study where the goal is to efficiently estimate the brightness threshold of a light stimulus. The participant’s responses to high-intensity stimuli early on are inconsistent. What potential problem does this cause, and how might you address it?

Answer 58

Inconsistent early responses could skew the staircase procedure, leading to inaccurate threshold estimation. To address this, you might discard the initial few reversals and focus on the stable responses later in the experiment.

Question 59

During an experiment using the Method of Limits, a participant tends to respond later than expected in ascending trials and earlier in descending trials. What two common biases could be affecting the results, and how could you mitigate these effects?

Answer 59

The participant may be affected by habituation (continuing previous responses) and anticipation (predicting the upcoming stimulus). To mitigate this, alternating between ascending and descending trials and using more random starting points can help reduce these biases.

Question 60

You’re conducting a threshold study using the Method of Constant Stimuli to measure pain sensitivity. However, you have limited time and cannot use an extensive range of intensities. What major limitation does this impose, and how could it impact the results?

Answer 60

The Method of Constant Stimuli typically requires many trials across a broad range of intensities to ensure accurate threshold measurement. Limiting the range or number of intensities could result in an incomplete psychometric function, leading to inaccurate threshold estimation.

Question 61

In a study on visual detection, you need to quickly and efficiently estimate a participant’s threshold for light detection while minimizing the number of trials. You want to dynamically adjust the stimulus intensity based on the participant’s responses. Which method would best meet these needs, and why?

Answer 61

A: The Staircase Procedure is best because it dynamically adjusts stimulus intensity based on participant responses, converging efficiently on the threshold while using fewer trials than other methods

Question 62

Q: You are analyzing the results of a Staircase Procedure used to measure sound sensitivity. The intensity increases when the participant doesn’t detect the sound and decreases when they do. However, the researcher used large step sizes. What potential issue could arise, and how could you prevent it?

Answer 62

A: Large step sizes could lead to overshooting the threshold, making the procedure less precise. To prevent this, use smaller step sizes near the expected threshold to hone in on a more accurate measurement.