Week 1 Flashcards
Module Rational
The mind as an abstract
Cognitive processes/ models
Module Rational
The mind as a physical system
The brain and nervous system that conveys information to the mind
Module Rational
The mind in an evolutionary context
The system behind the mind has been evolving throughout history, as evidenced by differences between the minds of animals
Cognition
Internal processes such as thinking, reasoning, attention and memory
4 Central Assumptions of Cognitive psychology
-mental operations solely originate from the brain
-cognitive capacities can be isolated
-there is a distinction between normal and abnormal processing
-questions can be answered in an empirical form
Introspection
-William Wundt
-participants reflect on internal cognitive processes, eventually objective measures such as response times were added
Behaviourism
-John Watson
-Behaviour is a learnt response to behaviour eg Pavlov dog experiment
Cognitive psychology
-Karl Lashley & Noam Chomsky
-Behaviourism cannot explain complex mental processes
-Language is not a response to stimuli
-Used systematic observation first used in behaviourism
Information processing approach
Internal representations of information are processed in sequential stages, using information from previous stages to perform each function
Domains of Cognitive psychology:
Sensation/ perception
Interpretation of sensory information
Domains of Cognitive psychology:
Pattern recognition
Recognising patterns and turning them into useful information eg understanding writing or spoken words
Domains of Cognitive psychology:
Attention
Selective gathering of information by using which stimuli to focus on
Domains of Cognitive psychology:
Consciousness
Hard to define, historically ignored but gaining interest
Domains of Cognitive psychology:
Memory
The ability to recall previous experience and understanding
Domains of Cognitive psychology:
Representation of Knowledge/ Imagery
The way the brain represents and store information, often in an image or cognitive map
Domains of Cognitive psychology:
Language
The complex way of communicating information using names, syntax, sequence ect
Bottom-up Processing
Processing directly from stimuli, using serial processing
Top-down Processing
Processing stimuli using expectations and past experience, using parallel processing
Serial Processing
Completeing each process one by one
Parallel Processing
Processing multiple processes alongside eachother
Cascade Processing
Processing later processes before earlier stages have been completed
Modularity
-Independent parts (processors/modules) of the brain specialise in specific processing types
-Each module should have: independent functioning (informational encapsulation), domain specificity, mandatory operation, and innateness
Cognitive Neuroscience
Study of normal and abnormal brains to determine the underlying brain process behind functions
Single Dissociation
Studying one patient to find out which processes their lesions affect
Double Dissociation
Studying two patient to confirm lesions in different areas affect different processes, as both patients struggle with a different part of a task
Biological Psychology
Studying the physical processes of the brain by integrating many disciplines:
-Neuroanatomy (study of NS structures)
-Neurochemistry (study of chemicals used for neuro communication)
-Neuropathology (study of NS disorders)
-Neuroendocrinology (study of the interaction between NS and the endocrine system)
-Neuropharmacology (use of drugs to manipulate neural activity)
-Psychophysiology (study of the interaction between physical activities in brain and psychological process eg EEGs)
Human vs Non-human research
-Human brains are very complex
-Non-human brains are less complex so easier to find behaviour interactions
-Some animal brains miss certain parts, so behavioural differences between them and humans can tell us what that part controls
-Fewer ethical constraints studying animals
Brain size
-decreased due to physical or mental stress
-increased due to good nutrition or environment
