week 2

Question 1

scientific method

Answer 1

problem –> research –> hypothesis –> experiment –> data –> analysis

Question 2

observation

Answer 2

5 senses (smell, sight, taste, touch and hearing)

Question 3

qualitative experiment

Answer 3

data –> descriptions

Question 4

quantitative experiment

Answer 4

data –> numbers

Question 5

independent variable (IV)

Answer 5

thing you change/manipulate/control

Question 6

dependent variable (DV)

Answer 6

thing you measure

Question 7

experimental group

Answer 7

one independent variable altered

Question 8

control group

Answer 8

normal group

Question 9

falsification

Answer 9

• experimentally test the hypothesis
• test the limits of a theory

Question 10

reaction time

Answer 10

1 stimulus detection
2 stimulus discrimination
3 response discrimination
4 execution of motion

Question 11

Donder methodology

Answer 11

A simple RT
B Choice RT
C Go/no go

Question 12

A simple RT

Answer 12

S detection + motor execution

Question 13

B choice RT

Answer 13

S detection + S identification + R selection + motor execution

Question 14

C go/no go

Answer 14

S detection + S identification + motor execution

Question 15

stimulus identification

Answer 15

RT(C) - RT(A) = 30 ms

Question 16

response selection

Answer 16

RT(B) - RT(C) = 55 ms

Question 17

the Simon effect

Answer 17

responses are faster when stimulus and response are on the same side, compared to when they are on opposite sides
- compatible (same side) –> fast
- incompatible (opposite side) –> slow

Question 18

Fitts law

Answer 18

movement time to a target depends on size of a target (W) and the distance to the target (A)

Question 19

variabel error (VE):

Answer 19

how spread out the eindpoint are

Question 20

Weber’s law

Answer 20

the smallest noticeable change in a stimulus is a constant proportion of the original stimulus intensity

Question 21

psychophysics

Answer 21

measures the effect of the physical properties of sensory input on perception

Question 22

absolute treshold

Answer 22

point where participant can detect presence of a stimulus

Question 23

discrimnation treshold

Answer 23

point where participants can detect the presence of a difference between 2 stimuli

Question 24

cognitive psychology

Answer 24

the study of mental activity as an information processing problem
1 information processing depends on mental representation
2 these mental representation undergo internal transformations

Question 25

letter matching task by Micheal Posner

Answer 25

• 2 letters (2 vowels, both consonants or 1 vowel and 1 consonant)
• 5 categories (AA, Aa, AU, SC, As)
  –> derive multiple representations of stimuli
  –> base one representation on the physical aspects of the stimulus
  –> physical representations are activated first –> phonetic representation –> category representation

Question 26

Sternberg task

Answer 26

a set of letters to remember –> 1 letter appears –> was it on the list?

Question 27

4 primary mental operations

Answer 27

1 encoding: identifying the visible target
2 comparing: compare representation with memory
3 deciding: does the target matches?
4 responding

Question 28

parallel process

Answer 28

comparison process can be simultaneous for all items –> RT should be independent of the number of items in the memory set

Question 29

serial process

Answer 29

comparison process in a sequential –> RT should slow down as the memory set becomes larger –> more time is required to compare on item to a large item list

Question 30

word superiority effect

Answer 30

participants are more accurate in identifying the target letter when the stimulus is a word

Question 31

Stroop task

Answer 31

a list of words –> name the color of each word
- easier when word match the colors

Question 32

mental chronometry

Answer 32

measure the time course of mental operations in the human nervous system

Question 33

event-related potential

Answer 33

related to sensory and motor stages of information processing

Question 34

microelectrode stragedy

Answer 34

higher level brain areas involved in operations can effect earlier stages

Question 35

dual-task studies

Answer 35

mimic real life, while multitasking

Question 36

perceptual and motor stages

Answer 36

operate independently

Question 37

decision stage

Answer 37

–> cognitive bottle neck –> RT independent