COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

Key terms from Chapter 1 -6

artificial intelligence (AI)

Human attempts to construct systems that show intelligence, especially in intelligent information processing.

associationism

examines how elements of the mind, such as events or ideas, can become associated with one another in the mind to result in a form of learning.

behaviorism

focuses only on the relation between observable behavior and environmental events or stimuli.

cognitive psychology

the study of how people perceive, learn, remember, and think about information.

cognitive science

a cross-disciplinary field that uses ideas and methods from cognitive psychology, cognitive neuroscience, AI, philosophy, linguistics, and anthropology.

cognitivism

the belief that most human behavior explains how people think.

dependent variables

outcome responses, the values of which depend on how one or more independent variables influence or affect the participants in the experiment.

dialectic

a developmental process whereby ideas evolve over time through a back-and-forth exchange of ideas; in a way, it is like a discussion spread out over an extended period of time.

ecological validity

the degree to which particular findings in one environmental context may be considered relevant outside of that context.

empiricist

believes that we acquire knowledge via empirical evidence—that is, we obtain evidence through experience and observation

functionalism

focuses on the processes of thought rather than on its contents. Functionalism seeks to understand what people do and why they do it

gestalt psychology

states that we best understand psychological phenomena when we view them as organized, structured wholes

heuristics

mental shortcuts we use to process information

hypotheses

tentative proposals regarding expected empirical consequences of the theory, such as the outcomes of research.

independent variables

aspects of an investigation that are individually manipulated, or carefully regulated, by the experimenter, while other aspects of the investigation are held constant.

intelligence

The source defines "intelligence" as a broad concept influencing many cognitive processes, but does not offer a single, explicit definition for it in the same way as other keywords. It mentions it in the context of cognitive processes influenced by culture, and as a phenomenon less suited for modular approaches than language

introspection

the conscious observation of one’s own thinking processes.

pragmatists

believe that knowledge is validated by its usefulness: What can you do with it?

rationalist

believes that the route to knowledge is through thinking and logical analysis.

statistical significance

indicates the likelihood that a given set of results would be obtained if only chance factors were in operation

structuralism

seeks to understand the structure (configuration of elements) of the mind and its perceptions by analyzing those perceptions into their constituent components (affection, attention, memory, and sensation).

theory

an organized body of general explanatory principles regarding a phenomenon, usually based on observations.

amygdala

Plays an important role in emotion as well, especially in anger and aggression.

axon

A long, thin tube that extends (and sometimes splits) from the soma and responds to the information, when appropriate, by transmitting an electrochemical signal, which travels to the terminus (end), where the signal can be transmitted to other neurons.

brain

The organ in our bodies that most directly controls our thoughts, emotions, and motivations

brainstem

Connects the forebrain to the spinal cord.

cerebellum

Controls bodily coordination, balance, and muscle tone, as well as some aspects of memory involving procedure-related movements.

cerebral cortex

The outer layer of the cerebral hemispheres.

cerebral hemispheres

Left and right halves of the brain.

cognitive neuroscience

Studies how the brain and other aspects of the nervous system are linked to cognitive processing and, ultimately, to behavior.

contralateral

From one side to another (contra-, “opposite”; lateral, “side”).

corpus callosum

A dense aggregate of neural fibers connecting the two cerebral hemispheres.

dendrites

Branch-like structures that receive signals from other neurons.

electroencephalograms (EEGs)

Recordings of the electrical frequencies and intensities of the living brain, typically recorded over relatively long periods.

event-related potential (ERP)

The record of a small change in the brain’s electrical activity in response to a stimulating event.

frontal lobe

Toward the front of the brain, is associated with motor processing and higher thought processes, such as abstract reasoning, problem solving, planning, and judgment.

functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

A neuroimaging technique that uses magnetic fields to construct a detailed representation in three dimensions of levels of activity in various parts of the brain at a given moment in time.

hippocampus

Essential in memory formation.

hypothalamus

Regulates behavior related to species survival: fighting, feeding, fleeing, and mating.

ipsilateral

On the same side

Korsakoff’s syndrome

A disease that produces loss of memory function.

limbic system

Important to emotion, motivation, memory, and learning.

lobes

Largely arbitrary anatomical regions divided by fissures.

localization of function

Refers to the specific areas of the brain that control specific skills or behaviors.

magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

Reveals high-resolution images of the structure of the living brain by computing and analyzing magnetic changes in the energy of the orbits of nuclear particles in the molecules of the body.

magnetoencephalography (MEG)

Measures brain activity from outside the head (similar to EEG) by picking up magnetic fields emitted by changes in brain activity.

medulla oblongata

Controls heart activity and largely controls breathing, swallowing, and digestion.

myelin

A white, fatty substance that surrounds some of the axons of the nervous system

nervous system

The basis for our ability to perceive, adapt to, and interact with the world around us.

neurons

Individual neural cells, transmit electrical signals from one location to another in the nervous system.

neurotransmitters

Chemical messengers that transmit information across the synaptic gap to the receiving dendrites of the next neuron.

agnosia

People who suffer from an agnosia have trouble perceiving sensory information.

binocular depth cues

Based on the receipt of sensory information in three dimensions from both eyes.

bipolar cells

Neurochemical messages processed by the rods and cones of the retina travel via the bipolar cells to the ganglion cells

bottom-up theories

Describe approaches in which perception starts with the stimuli whose appearance you take in through your eye.

cones

Short and thick photoreceptors and allow for the perception of color.

constructive perception

The perceiver builds (constructs) a cognitive understanding (perception) of a stimulus.

context effects

The influences of the surrounding environment on perception.

depth

The distance from a surface, usually using your own body as a reference surface when speaking in terms of depth perception

direct perception

The information in our sensory receptors, including the sensory context, is all we need to perceive anything.

feature-matching theories

We attempt to match features of a pattern to features stored in memory, rather than to match a whole pattern to a template or a prototype.

figure-ground

A figure is any object perceived as being highlighted. It is almost always perceived against or in contrast to some kind of receding, unhighlighted (back)ground.

fovea

A small, thin region of the retina, the size of the head of a pin.

ganglion cells

The neurochemical messages processed by the rods and cones of the retina travel via the bipolar cells to the ganglion cells

Gestalt approach to form perception

Developed in Germany in the early twentieth century is particularly useful for understanding how we perceive groups of objects or even parts of objects to form integral wholes.

landmark-centered

In landmark-centered representation, information is characterized by its relation to a well-known or prominent item.

Law of Prägnanz

We tend to perceive any given visual array in a way that most simply organizes the different elements into a stable and coherent form

monocular depth cues

Can be represented in just two dimensions and observed with just one eye.

object-centered representation

The individual stores a representation of the object, independent of its appearance to the viewer.

optic ataxia

An impaired ability to use the visual system to guide movement.

optic nerve

The axons of the ganglion cells in the eye collectively form the optic nerve for that eye.

percept

A mental representation of a stimulus that is perceived.

perception

The set of processes by which we recognize, organize, and make sense of the sensations we receive from environmental stimuli.

perceptual constancy

Occurs when our perception of an object remains the same even when our proximal sensation of the distal object changes.

photopigments

Chemical substances that react to light and transform physical electromagnetic energy into an electrochemical neural impulse that can be understood by the brain.

photoreceptors

Convert light energy into electrochemical energy that is transmitted by neurons to the brain.

recognition-by-components (RBC) theory

We recognize 3-D objects by manipulating simple geometric shapes called geons

retina

Where electromagnetic light energy is transduced—that is, converted—into neural electrochemical impulses.

rods

Long and thin photoreceptors. They are more highly concentrated in the periphery of the retina than in the foveal region.

templates

Highly detailed models for patterns we might recognize.

top-down theories

Perception is driven by high-level cognitive processes, existing knowledge, and the prior expectations that influence perception.

viewer-centered representation

The individual stores the way the object looks to him or her.

Attention

The taking possession of the mind, in clear and vivid form, of one out of what seem several simultaneously possible objects or trains of thoughts. . . . It implies withdrawal from some things in order to deal effectively with others.

Automatic processes

Processes such as writing your name involve no conscious control.

Automatization

Many tasks that start off as controlled processes eventually become automatic ones as a result of practice.

Blindsight

Traces of visual perceptual ability in blind areas.

Change blindness

An inability to detect changes in objects or scenes that are being viewed.

Cocktail party problem

The process of tracking one conversation while distracted by other conversations.

Conjunction search

We have to combine two or more features to find the stimulus we’re looking for.

Consciousness

Includes both the feeling of awareness and the content of awareness, some of which may be under the focus of attention

Controlled processes

Are accessible to conscious control and even require it.

Dichotic presentation

A separate message presented to each ear.

Distracters

Nontarget stimuli that divert our attention away from the target stimulus.

Divided attention

We engage in more than one task at a time, and we shift our attentional resources to allocate them as needed.

Executive attention

Includes processes for monitoring and resolving conflicts that arise among internal processes.

Feature-integration theory

Explains why it is relatively easy to conduct feature searches and relatively difficult to conduct conjunction searches.

Feature search

We look for just one feature (e.g., color, shape, or size) that makes our search object different from all others.

Inattentional blindness

A phenomenon in which people are not able to see things that are actually there.

Priming

Participants are presented with a first stimulus (the prime), followed by a break that can range from milliseconds to weeks or months. Then, the participants are presented with a second stimulus and make a judgment (e.g., are both the first and the second stimulus the same?) to see whether the presentation of the first stimulus affected the perception of the second.

Search

Refers to a scan of the environment for particular features—actively looking for something when you are not sure where it will appear.