Week 1: Foundational Concepts & Methods

Question 1

What are the four approaches to cognitive psychology?

Answer 1

1. Experimental research
2. Cognitive neuroscience
3. Cognitive neuropsychology
4. Computational modelling

Question 2

Name and describe the three types of processing

Answer 2

1. Serial processing - finish process A before starting process B
2. Parallel processing - processes happen simultaneously
3. Cascading processing - process B starts before process A has finished

Question 3

What is bottom up and top down processing?

Answer 3

Bottom up:
Information is received at the sensory receptors and works up to higher levels of processing

Top down:
Existing structures and systems within the brain interpret input.

Question 4

What are the five types of experimental research?

Answer 4

1. Experiments
2. Quasi-experiments (people are already allocated to their groups, e.g., gender)
3. Correlational studies (relationship of variables)
4. Virtual reality studies
5. Mistakes in information processing (perceptual illusions & reading errors)

Question 5

What is the average number of items a person can retain in their recall memory?

Answer 5

7 plus/minus 2 (between 5 and 9)

Question 6

Describe cognitive neuropsychology

Answer 6

Generally research orientated, minimal diagnosis and treatment.
Study patterns of brain damage

Question 7

Describe the key assumptions Functional Modularity & Anatomical Modularity

Answer 7

Functional Modularity - cognitive systems consist of processing units that act independently

Anatomical Modularity - all functions are located in only one region of the brain

Question 8

Describe the key assumptions of Universality, Subtractivity and Transparency

Answer 8

Universality - peoples brains are quite similar - high variability at the cortical level but not the subcortical

Subtractivity - brain damage affects one or more components which subtracts from the cognitive system

Transparency - reflects the operation of a healthy brain minus the damaged component - links to subtractivity

Question 9

What is a the difference between Single-Dissociation and Double-Dissociation?

Answer 9

Single-dissociation is when only one area of the brain is impaired in functioning without impairing another area

Double-dissociation is when two related mental processes that work independently of each other are impaired in functioning

Question 10

What are the four lobes or divisions of the cerebral cortex in the left hemisphere?

Answer 10

Frontal lobe
Parietal lobe
Occipital lobe
Temporal lobe

Question 11

What is situated between the frontal and parietal lobes in the cerebral cortex?

Answer 11

The central sulcus

Question 12

What is situated between the occipital and temporal lobes in the cerebral cortex in the left hemisphere?

Answer 12

Pre-occipital notch

Question 13

What are five techniques for studying brain functioning?

Refer to Cognitive Neuroscience slides for description week 1

Answer 13

Single unit recordings
Event related potentials (ERPs)
Positron emission tomography (PET)
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)

Question 14

What is a connectionist network in computational modelling?

Answer 14

When a computer learns to associate input patterns with a particular output