The executive brain

Question 1

what is the “stroop test”?

Answer 1

test with response interference

e. g. the word “ red” written in blue color
- > task is to say the ink color

Question 2

what is perseveration?

Answer 2

failure to shift attention away from previous response

associated with damage to the PFC

Question 3

what is reversal learning?

Answer 3

learning that a previously rewarded stimulus or response is no longer rewarded (but punished)

Question 4

explain: somatic marker hypothesis

Answer 4

emotional en bodily states associated with previous behaviours are used to influence decision making

Question 5

what is “delay discounting”?

Answer 5

future reward has less subjective value than same reward now

Question 6

3 surfaces of PFC with function for executive function

Answer 6

1. lateral -> cognitive aspects
2. orbital & medial -> emotional/social regulation of behaviour

Question 7

left/ right hemisphere of PFC - tasks

Answer 7

1. left lateral -> task setting
2. right lateral -> task monitoring

Question 8

top-down vs bottom-up

Answer 8

top down: controlled processing, task relevant, goals etc

bottom up: automatic processing, salient object gets processed regardless it’s relevance

Question 9

2 effects on judging validity of syllogism

Answer 9

1. atmosphere effect: “all/all/all” -> likely true
2. belief bias: syllogism true or agrees with beliefs of person -> more likely judged as valid

Question 10

4 heuristics

Answer 10

1. availiability: events more easily remberred are judged as more probable
2. representativeness: ignoring the base rate (conjunction rule)
3. confirmation bias
4. anchor effect

Question 11

risky decisions: 2 strategys

Answer 11

1. risk aversion strategy: if problem is stated in terms of gains
2. risk taking strategy: if problem is stated in terms of losses

Question 12

2 systems for decision making

Answer 12

1. fast intuitive system - automatic processing
2. slow analytic system - controlled processing