Psych 3030 Definitions

Analytic introspection

A procedure used by early psychologists in which trained participants described their experiences and thought processes in response to stimuli.

Artificial Intelligence

The ability of a computer to perform tasks usually associated with human intelligence.

Behaviorism

Founded by John B. Watson, this approach states that observable behavior provides the only valid data for psychology. A consequence of this idea is that psychologists do not consider consciousness and unobservable mental processes worthy of study.

Brain Imaging

Techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) result in images of the brain that represent brain activity. In cognitive psychology, activity is measured in response to specific cognitive tasks.

Choice reaction time

Time to respond to one of two or more stimuli. For example, in the Donders experiment, subjects had to give one response to one stimulus and a different response to another stimulus.

Classical conditioning

A procedure in which pairing a neutral stimulus with a stimulus that elicits a response causes the neutral stimulus to elicit that response.

Cognition

The mental processes involved in perception, attention, memory, language, problem-solving, reasoning, and decision making.

Cognitive map

Mental conception of a spatial layout.

Cognitive Psychology

The branch of psychology concerned with the scientific study of the mental processes involved in perception, attention, memory, language, problem-solving, reasoning, and decision making. In short, cognitive psychology is concerned with the scientific study of the mind and mental processes.

Cognitive revolution

A shift in psychology, beginning in the 1950s, from the behaviorist approach to an approach in which the main thrust was to explain behavior in terms of the mind. One of the outcomes of the cognitive revolution was the introduction of the information-processing approach to studying the mind.

Electrophysiology

Techniques used to measure electrical responses of the nervous system.

Information processing approach

Developed in the 1950s, this approach describes the mind as processing information through a sequence of stages

Mind

A system that creates mental representations of the world and controls mental functions such as perception, attention, memory, emotions, language, deciding, thinking, and reasoning

neuropsychology

The study of the functioning of the nervous system, including behavioral effects of brain damage in humans

operant conditioning

A type of conditioning championed by B.F. Skinner, which focuses on strengthening behavior by presenting positive reinforcers, such as food or social approval, or withdrawal of negative reinforcers, such as a shock or social rejection

paradigm

A system of ideas that guide thinking in a particular field.

paradigm shift

A shift in thinking from one paradigm to another

reaction time

The time it takes to respond to a stimulus. It is calculated by measuring the time between the stimulus presentation and reaction

savings

Ebbinghaus’s measurement to determine the strength of memory left from initial learning. Higher savings indicate greater memory

savings curve

A plot of savings vs. time after original learning

scientific revolution

The change in scientific thought when a paradigm shift occurs.

simple reaction time

Reacting to the presence or absence of a single stimulus (as opposed to having to choose between several stimuli before responding

structuralism

An approach to psychology that explains perception as the sum of small elementary units called sensations

Action potential

Propagated electrical potential responsible for transmitting neural information and for communication between neurons. Action potentials typically travel down a neuron’s axon.

Axon

Part of the neuron that transmits signals from the cell body to the synapse at the end of the axon

Broca’s aphasia

A condition associated with damage to Broca’s area in the frontal lobe, characterized by labored, ungrammatical speech and difficulty in understanding some types of sentences

Broca’s area

An area in the frontal lobe associated with the production of language. Damage to this area causes Broca’s aphasia

cell body

Part of a cell that contains mechanisms that keep the cell alive. In some neurons, the cell body and the associated dendrites receive information from other neurons

cerebral cortex

The 3-mm-thick outer layer of the brain that contains the mechanisms responsible for higher mental functions such as perception, language, thinking, and problem-solving

cognitive neuroscience

The field concerned with studying the neural basis of cognition

Connectome

The structural description of the network of elements and connections forming the human brain

Cortical equipotentiality

The idea, popular in the early 1800s, that the brain operates as an indivisible whole, as opposed to operating based on specialized areas

default mode network (DMN)

A network of structures active when a person is not involved in specific tasks

dendrites

Structures that branch out from the cell body to receive electrical signals from other neurons

distributed representation

This process occurs when a specific cognition activates multiple brain areas

double dissociation

A situation in which a single dissociation can be demonstrated in one person and the opposite type of single dissociation can be shown in another person (i.e., Person 1: function A is present, function B is damaged; Person 2: function A is injured, function B is present

experience-dependent plasticity

A mechanism that causes an organism’s neurons to develop so they respond best to the type of stimulation the organism has received

extrastriate body area (EBA)

An area in the temporal cortex that is activated by pictures of bodies and parts of bodies but not by faces or other objects

feature detectors

Neurons that respond to specific visual features, such as orientation, size, or the more complex features that make up environmental stimuli

frontal lobe

The lobes in the front of the brain. These serve higher functions such as language, thought, memory, and motor functioning

functional connectivity

The extent to which the neural activity in separate brain areas is correlated

functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

A brain imaging technique that measures how blood flow changes in response to cognitive activity

fusiform face area (FFA)

An area in the temporal lobe that contains many neurons that respond selectively to faces

hierarchical processing

Processing that progresses from lower to higher brain areas

levels of analysis

A topic can be understood by studying it at several different levels of a system

localization of function

The location of specific functions in specific brain areas. For example, areas have been identified that specialize in processing information involved in the perception of movement, form, speech, and different aspects of memory

microelectrodes

Small wires used to record electrical signals from single neurons

multidimensional

The multidimensional nature of cognition refers to the fact that even simple experiences involve combinations of different qualities

nerve fibers

Part of the neuron that transmits signals from the cell body to the synapse at the end of the axon

nerve impulse

An electrical response propagated down the length of an axon (nerve fiber). Also called an action potential

nerve net

A network of continuously interconnected nerve fibers (compared to neural networks, in which synapses connect fibers

neural circuit

A group of interconnected neurons responsible for neural processing

neural network

Connected groups of neurons or nervous system structures

neuron doctrine

The idea that individual cells called neurons transmit signals in the nervous system and that these cells are not continuous with other cells, as proposed by the nerve net theory

neuron

Specialized cell receiving and transmitting information in the nervous system

neuropsychology

The study of the behavioral effects of brain damage in humans

neurotransmitter

A chemical released at the synapse in response to incoming action potentials

occipital lobe

The lobes at the back of the brain. These are devoted primarily to analyzing incoming visual information

parahippocampal place area (PPA)

An area in the temporal lobe containing neurons selectively activated by pictures of indoor and outdoor scenes

parietal lobe

The lobe at the top of the brain. They contain mechanisms responsible for sensations caused by skin stimulation and some aspects of visual information

population coding

Neural representation of a stimulus by the firing pattern of many neurons

principle of neural representation

This principle states that everything a person experiences is based on representations in the person’s nervous system

prosopagnosia

A condition caused by damage to the temporal lobe that is characterized by an inability to recognize faces

receptors

Specialized neural structures that respond to environmental stimuli such as light, mechanical stimulation, or chemical stimuli

recording electrode

A very thin glass or metal probe that picks up electrical signals from single neurons

reference electrode

An electrode used with a recording electrode to measure the difference in charge between the two. Reference electrodes are generally placed where the electrical signal remains constant, so any change in charge between the recording and reference electrodes reflects events happening near the tip of the recording electrode

resting state fMRI

The fMRI response recorded when a person is at rest (not involved in any cognitive tasks

resting state functional connectivity

A method for determining functional connectivity that involves determining the correlation between the resting-state fMRI in separated structures

resting potential

Difference in charge between the inside and outside of a nerve fiber when the fiber is at rest (no other electrical signals are present)

seed location

The area of the brain associated with carrying out a specific cognitive or motor task that serves as the reference area of the resting-state functional connectivity method

sensory code

How neural firing represents various characteristics of the environment

sparse coding

Neural coding based on the pattern of activity in small groups of neurons

specificity coding

The representation of a specific stimulus by firing neurons that respond only to that stimulus. An example would be the signaling of a person’s face by firing a neuron that responds only to that person’s face

structural connectivity

The brain’s “wiring diagram.” It is created by nerve axons connecting different areas

synapse

Space between the end of an axon and the cell body or dendrite of the next axon

task-related fMRI

The fMRI response to a specific cognitive task

temporal lobe

The lobe on the side of the brain that contains mechanisms responsible for language, memory, hearing, and vision

test location

When measuring resting-state functional connectivity, the activity at the test location is compared to the activity at the seed location to determine the functional connectivity between the two locations

time-series response

The way the response recorded by fMRI changes over time

track-weighted imaging (TWI)

A technique for determining brain connectivity based on detecting how water diffuses along the length of nerve fibers

visual cortex

The area in the occipital lobe that receives signals from the eyes

voxels

Small cube-shaped areas in the brain used to analyze data from brain scanning experiments

Wernicke’s aphasia

A condition caused by damage to Wernicke’s area that is characterized by difficulty in understanding language and fluent, grammatically correct but incoherent speech

Wernicke’s area

The area in the temporal lobe associated with understanding language. Damage to this area causes Wernicke’s aphasia

action pathway

A neural pathway extending from the occipital lobe to the parietal lobe associated with neural processing that occurs when people take action. It corresponds to the where pathway

apparent movement

An illusion of movement perception that occurs when stimuli in different locations are flashed one after another with the proper timing

Bayesian inference

The idea that our estimate of the probability of an outcome is determined by the prior probability (our initial belief) and the likelihood (the extent to which the available evidence is consistent with the outcome

bottom-up processing

Processing that starts with information received by the receptors. This type of processing is also called data-based processing

brain ablation

A procedure in which a specific area is removed from an animal’s brain. It is usually done to determine the function of this area by assessing the effect on the animal’s behavior

direct pathway model

A model of pain perception that proposes that pain signals are sent directly from receptors to the brain

dorsal pathway

A pathway that extends from the visual cortex in the occipital lobe to the parietal lobe. It is also known as the where pathway

gestalt psychologists

A group of psychologists who proposed principles governing perception, such as laws of organization and a perceptual approach to problem-solving involving restructuring

inverse projection problem

The task of determining the object that caused a particular image on the retina

law of pragnanz

A law of perceptual organization stating that every stimulus pattern is seen to make the resulting structure as simple as possible. It is also called the law of good figures/simplicity

landmark discrimination problem

A problem in which the task is to remember an object’s location and to choose that location after a delay. Associated with research on the where processing stream

light from above assumption

The assumption that light is coming from above. This heuristic can influence how we perceive three-dimensional objects that are illuminated

likelihood

In Bayesian inference, the extent to which the available evidence is consistent with the outcome

likelihood principle

Part of Helmholtz’s theory of unconscious inference. It states that we perceive the object most likely to have caused the pattern of stimuli we have received

mirror neurons

Neurons in the premotor cortex, originally discovered in the monkey. They respond when a monkey observes someone else (usually the experimenter) acting and when the monkey itself performs the action. Evidence exists for mirror neurons in humans

mirror neuron system

A network of cells in the brain with mirror neuron properties