Cognitive Psychology: Module 1

Flashcards on Cognitive Psychology

Cognition

The mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses.

Prosopagnosia

A condition characterized by the inability to recognize faces.

Afantasia

The inability to experience things in picture form.

Retrieval Practice

Testing your memory for previously learned information enhances long-term retention more than restudying.

Elaboration

Opportunities to elaborate on to-be-learned information improve memory more than rote memorization.

Spaced Practice

Distributing the same amount of study time over time improves long-term retention compared to cramming sessions into one longer period

Growth Mindset

Belief that intellectual abilities are not fixed and that things can be developed by putting effort in.

Fixed Mindset

Belief that intellectual abilities are fixed and cannot be developed.

Introspection

Inner perception, reflecting on your own thoughts and feelings.

Behaviorism

An approach to psychology that emphasizes observable behaviors and the role of environmental stimuli in producing them.

Stimulus -> Response

A dog salivates when food is presented.

Language Acquisition

Learning through imitation and reinforcement.

Cognitive Psychology

Focusing on invisible processes that have visible consequences.

Speed/Response Time (RT)

How quickly or slowly someone responds to a stimulus.

Case Studies

Intensive analysis of single individual or small group of individuals.

Correlational Studies

Describing and predicting how variables are naturally related. (Correlation does NOT equal causation!)

Experiments

Manipulating at least one variable to examine its effect on an outcome of interest.

Independent Variable (IV)

What the researcher changes/manipulates to see if it affects an outcome of interest.

Dependent Variable (DV)

The outcome of interest that the researcher measures.

Random Assignment

Ensuring that each participant has an equal chance of being assigned to any given condition of the IV.

Lesion Studies

Method of studying individuals who have suffered from brain damage.

Structural Neuroimaging

Good for shape and size information, but not information about the activity in the brain. (CT or MRI scans)

Functional Neuroimaging

Good for location info of activity in the brain, less precise about time. (PET & fMRI scans)

Fusiform Gyrus

Activation when looking at faces vs. objects (brain scans).

Electrical Recording (EEG)

Precise about time; lacks spacial precision (brain scans).

Single Cell Recording

Can record the activity of a single cell in the brain.

What is the main function of the cerebral cortex?

advanced processing

What is the main function of the frontal lobe?

planning, problem solving, abstract reasoning

What is the main function of the temporal lobe?

auditory processing, language, visual recognition

What is the main function of the occipital lobe?

vision, sight related information

What is the main function of the parietal lobe?

spatial processing, sensation of touch Lo

Localization of Function

certain regions of the brain are more activated for certain functions compared to other functions

What is the main function of the hippocampus?

critical to learning and memory

What is the main function of the amygdala?

critical to emotion, involved with memory

What is the main function of the hypothalamus?

controls behavior serving biological needs (feeding, sexual activity)

What is the main function of the thalamus?

relays incoming information, sensory cortex

What is an example of the phrase “failures are often revealing about the way cognitive systems operate”

split brain patients, capgras syndrome…

What is the direction of the ventral pathway or the “What?” pathway?

Occipital to temporal.

What is the direction of the dorsal pathway or the “where?” pathway?

occipital tol parietal.

What is an example of the linear perspective pictorial cue?

a picture of a railroad from a worms eye view, picture of a road that converges toward the horizon.

What is an example of the occlusion/interposition pictorial cue?

a picture of people in a crowd, a picture of multiple penguins…

What is an example of the elevation/relative height pictorial cue?

A picture of trees in a forest, a picture with mountains in the background…

What is an example of the texture pictorial cue?

A picture showing a close-up of a stone wall, picture of a flower field where one flower is close up and the others are a little further away…

What is an example of the familiar size pictorial cue?

picture of people walking on the street…