Cognitive Psych 1

difference between behaviorism and cognitive psychology

behaviorism: only study observable external behavior
cognitive model: can study internal processing scientifically

how are experiments used to infer the organization of the mind

cognitive experiments: systematically manipulate the input/task and see what happens to the output/behavior

explain how the subtraction method works with the pros and cons

Example:
measure the time it takes a person to make a decision
measure the time it takes a person to see something
the difference in time indicates how long it takes to make a decision.
this also applies to brain imaging tools
Pros:
causal: change in input causes a change in output
objective
widely applicable
Cons:
assumes independent consecutive stages which add up in time which is often not true.
Processes can overlap in time and interact

describe the ways in which information may be encoded in individual neurons

action potential: neuron firing or not
synaptic weight: history of activity

explain how representations of objects can be encoded in neural populations.
differentiate between specific, population, and sparse coding

representation: the collection of neural activity that represents our world.
It is the mental model or code for some properties of the external world.
specific: small localized brain activity, population: larger group, sparse: small fractions of neurons are active at a time

feature coding theory

every neuron represents a feature where early neurons represent simple features and later neurons represent complex features

what is mental chronometry

measuring the time it takes the mind to process information

what did Hubel & Wiesel show and how?

there are feature specific neurons, simple and complex ones as well. Visual processing is processed step by step.
they recorded neural activity by putting electrodes on cats and monkeys to see the difference in activity

why is perceptual input inherently ambiguous

input is ambiguous, sparse, and complex.
We can combine bottom-up, top-down, and perceptual integration (combining sensory features into one cohesive percept)

compare the three theoritical accounts of perceptual integration: Helmholtz’s unconcsious inference, Gestalt laws of organzation, and regularities in the environment

Helmholtz’ unconscious inference: use logic to infer the most sensible percept
Gestalt laws: the whole is more than the sum of its parts (visual perception)
regularities: physical (direction of light), semantic (bread in kitchen)

transduction

structure of the receptor determines the form of energy that it responds to
receptor potential: step between the arrival of energy at the receptor and the initiation of an action potential

Retina

early preprocessing of visual information
transforms light information into contrast information

Lateral Geniculate Nucleus (LGN)

part of the thalamus
is the primary center for processing visual information

how does statistical learning contribute to perceptual integration

statistical learning: how the brain is able to recognize patterns and regularities in everyday life without effort
perceptual integration: combining multiple inputs into a meaningful representation
SL provides the brain with which sensory information is often grouped and occur together the

what is the inverse projection problem

the problem of figuring out a real-world object that caused a particular sensory image
its called inverse because the brain is trying to invert the projection process - reverse engineering

define different types of attention: sustained, divided, selective, top-down, bottom-up

bottom-up: stimulus driven, automatic, effortless
top-down: self-determined, intentional, requires effort
selective attention: focuses on specific information in the environment while ignoring others, it acts as a filter
divided attention: ability to process different information sources and perform multiple tasks at the same time. decreases performance, interference depends on: similarity of tasks and automaticity of a singular task
sustained attention: maintaining attention on a single task over longer periods, becomes more difficult with longer durations. Why is it hard: sensory wise, decision to explore or exploit is driven by the “richness” of the current patch and travel cost to the next stimuli

theories of attention: early selection, late selection, switching, alertness

early: we filter information out early on, only attended information gets processed
late: we process information to its meaning then choose what to focus on
attention switching: performance suffers for some time after switching - switching cost
alertness: intensity of attention: phasic: short-term fluctuations, tonic: longer-term fluctuations, related to biological rhythms like circadian clock
overt: observable. can be measured by eye-tracking - saccades: jumps between stimuli, fixations: time that the eyes fixate on one stimulus
Covert: cannot be observed

how do experimental paradigms relate to different aspects of attention

visual search task: find a target among distractors - varied by top-down, bottom-up
stroop task: pay attention to one stimulus dimension, others need to be ignored - automatic processing interferes with performance - selective attention
Attention network test: measures several aspects of attention. Alertness, orienting, executive control (comparison between stimuli)

link brain networks to different aspects of attention

objects perceived in V1 are broken down into features to be processed by higher visual areas, features of the object within the mental spotlight are recombined.
theorized that the timing of action potentials is adjusted to have the input from two neurons to arrive at the target at the same time and be summed, increasing the chance of an action potential in a postsynaptic cell, attention increases synchrony in the brain

different types of inattention

inattention blindness: failing to notice something while they are performing another task
change blindness: routinely failing to notice changes in environment if not expected
attentional blink: attending to one stimulus prevents people from being aware of a second stimulus

Peter and Posner model

alerting network
orienting network
executive network

hemispherical neglect

damage to right temporoparietal junction do not attend to the left side of space around them

spotlight and zoom lens model of attention difference

spotlight: attention is like a spotlight where everything outside gets processed less
zoom lens: the size of attention is flexible and works like a zoom lens - wider less focus, narrow more focus

perceptual load theory in relation to early/late selection debate

perceptual load theory: how much irrelevant information you process depends on the difficulty of the task.
low difficulty: you process irrelevant information, late selection
high difficulty: you don’t process irrelevant information, early selection

sensory memory, short-term memory, and working memory

sensory: receives sensory input, unattended information is lost, anything attended goes to short-term memory. It is just the pure retention of effects of sensory input.

short: anything unrehearsed is lost while anything that is stays. Can be encoded to long term memory and can receive info from long-term by retrieval.
Peterson and Peterson: asked people to maintain letters in memory while having to count backwards by 3 for different durations

working memory: introduced by Baddeley and hitch. has limited capacity for the temporary storage and manipulation of information.
phonological loop: store for verbal information
visuospatial sketchpad: store for visual or spatial info
central executive: used for manipulation

how does chunking and rehearsal influence short-term memory performance

chunking: arranging items into meaningful units
rehearsal: maintains information in STM

what are the components of Baddeley’s and Hitch’s working memory model and the evidence supporting it

phonological loop: store for verbal information
visuospatial sketchpad: store for visual or spatial info
central executive: used for manipulation of information - directed by the frono-parietal network in the brain
evidence: people are able to do verbal and visual tasks effectively at the same time

compare Baddeley and Hitch’s multi-component model with Cowan’s embedded process model

Baddeley and Hitch: working memory: has the phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad, and central executive.
Cowan: short-term memory is activated long-term memory. treats STM as internally directed attention

how have neuroimaging methods informed our understanding of where working memory content is stored in the brain

Multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA): used for the analysis of brain imaging tools
A classifier is used to differentiate conditions based on data

sensory memory capacity

george sperling: whole report condition. flashed 3×4 grid of letters and asked to remember what they saw. the information remembered may be due to STM not sensory

partial report method

interpretation of George Sperling’s experiment.
there is a tone that indicates which row the participants need to report

How do we know there are different components in working memory?

task interference: if two tasks share the same processing resources there should be interference when doing both at the same time.
there is worse interference when doing two verbal tasks compared to a verbal task and a visuospatial task

Episodic buffer

It is the interface between short-term and long-term memory
in a way it is working memory: combines all types of memory to create a narrative

encephalitis

Clive Wearing had hippocampus damage
short-term and long-term memory are intact however there was no transfer from short-term to long-term memory.

retrograde vs anterograde amnesia

Amnesia: a severe impairment of memory
retrograde: memory loss of events before amnesia
anterograde: inability to form new memories after the events of amnesia

describe using patients H.M., K.F., K.C., and N.A. for the distinction between short-

term and long-term memory systems

Henry Molaison: had epilepsy since age ten, at age 27 had a lobotomy to treat it. Epilepsy was cured but developed anterograde amnesia.

The hippocampus is important for the development of new episodic memories

Patient K.F.: accident that damaged the parietal lobe: had an intact LTM but an impaired working memory. Had a reduced recency effect

Patient N.A.: anterograde amnesia. had reduced feelings of familiarity and had reduced recall of details

recollection of items in context: hippocampus
familiarity of features of an item: perirhinal cortex

Patient K.C.: cannot retrieve episodic memories, has good general knowledge

Explain single and double dissociations and their role in establishing independent memory systems.

single dissociation: one aspect of a function is impaired while the other is intact - suggests that the two functions are supported by different systems

double dissociation: another patient shows the opposite pattern, confirms the idea that the two functions are independent to each other

Distinguish between different types of long-term memory (episodic, semantic, procedural, priming, conditioning) and provide examples of each

explicit: things that you know you can tell others

• episodic: personal memories you can recall like a video

• Semantic: factual knowledge

Implicit/procedural: things that you know you can show others by doing

• procedural memory: skills, procedures, and habits - important for motor skills

• priming: presentation of a stimuli influences the processing or interpretation of another

• Classical conditioning: Pavlov

• Operant conditioning: a signal tells the subject to perform a skill they have learned or they will receive a punishment

Explain levels of processing theory and predict how different encoding tasks affect later recall

shallow processing: maintenance rehearsal (repetition)

deep processing: elaborative rehearsal: associating with existing knowledge. stronger encoding due to retrieval cues

Compare the Standard Consolidation Model and Multiple Trace Theory in terms of their

predictions about the role of the hippocampus

consolidation: the act of making weak newer memories into lasting ones

the hippocampus replays memories during sleep and rest

standard model: neurons in the cortex activate neurons in the hippocampus, neurons in the hippocampus activate cells in the cortex strengthening the connection, neurons in the cortex consolidate and the connection in the hippocampus is allowed to deteriorate

multiple trace: neurons in the cortex activate, which activate neurons in the hippocampus which consolidate in the hippocampus, during recall the associated cortical cells are activated

Explain reconsolidation and its implications for memory updating and false memories.

when a memory is retrieved it is susceptible to change.
memories integrate with new knowledge, which leads to false memories

serial position curve

when being told to remember a list of words, words that appear in the beginning and at the end have better retention compared to those in the middle
primacy effect: there is a longer time between words - better rehearsal time to transfer to long-term memory. (people with amnesia have a weaker primacy effect)
recency effect: more recent information - still retained in working memory

Hebbian learning

neurons that fire together wire together, if they don’t the connection weakens

concept

a mental representation of a class or idea

category

the set of all possible examples that belong to a concept

family resemblance

wittgenstein: members share overlapping features but not all features are shared

prototype

an abstract example of a typical member within a category

categories within categories

superordinate: broad - low shared features

ordinate: middle level - most commonly used

subordinate: specific - detailed

agnosia

brain damage can damage the process of recognition.

appreciative agnosia: perception impairment- cannot recognize what an object is

associative agnosia: perception intact but meaning lost. can copy a drawing well but couldn’t identify it

sensory-functional hypothesis

objects are categorized in the mind by either how they look or what they do

living things: how they look

non-living: what they do

Students can describe the characteristics of autobiographical

memory and explain what makes it different from laboratory memory

autobiographical: specific experiences from our life, combines both semantic and episodical components

Students can explain the reminiscence bump and evaluate the

different hypotheses for why it occurs

when adults over 40 recall memories they remember more memories from ages 10-30

self-imaging hypothesis: period when identity is being formed

cognitive hypothesis: encoding is better during periods of rapid change followed by stability

cultural life script hypothesis: culturally shared expectations shape recall (graduation, first marriage, leaving home, etc)

Students can describe how emotion affects memory and critically

evaluate the concept of flashbulb memories

emotional events are more easily remembered

it can improve memory consolidation through amygdala activation enhancing hippocampal plasticity
release of stress hormones like cortisol
stress and memory: Cahill et al: the stress group recalled more emotionally arousing pictures - cortisol improves memory consolidation

emotion improves general memory but inhibit details

flashbulb memories: memories of personal experiences surrounding a major public event
for normal and flashbulb memories details dipped for both overtime however confidence remained high only for flashbulb memories

They can feel real due to narrative rehearsal hypothesis: we see it being covered on the news often, media coverage becomes personal memory.
emotion improves memory but not the detail

Students can explain the constructive nature of memory, including misinformation effect

memory is constructive not a recording. It is constructed from what actually happened, prior knowledge and experience, expectations and cultural background.
this is good because perfect memory is too much to process

Students can evaluate the implications of memory research for

eyewitness testimony and describe strategies for improving its

accuracy

• attention and arousal - weapon focus - attention narrowing under stress

• familiarity and source confusion - bystander identified as robber often

• suggestion - leading questions, misinformation, confirmation bias

pragmatic inference, schemata, and scripts

pragmatic inference: using real world knowledge to fill in gaps
schemata: organized knowledge about aspects of the world
scripts: expected sequences of actions

source monitoring errors

source monitoring: determining the origin of a memory
source monitoring error: misidentifying where a memory comes from
cryptomnesia: thinking someone else’s idea is your own thought

the DRM paradigm

participants hear words related to an idea but not the idea itself, people think they heard the word - proves memory is association not a recording

how does misinformation happen?

• retroactive interference new information integrates or overwrites original memory

• source monitoring failure: person confuses where the information came from