Learn: Cognitive Psychology: Memory, Learning, and Brain Methods

Cognitive approach

Study of mental processes such as memory, attention, and how we interpret stimuli

Three Greek assumptions

1. The world is predictable 2. Humans are physical objects 3. Phenomena should be explained by other physical events

Classical conditioning

Pairing two stimuli (one neutral + one that produces a response) until the neutral stimulus produces the response (Pavlov's dogs)

Operant conditioning

Learning through rewards or punishments (behaviorism; e.g., training rats to run mazes)

Patient H.M.

Had part of brain removed for epilepsy → could not form new long-term memories, but had good working memory and could recall pre-surgery events

What did Patient H.M. show?

Abstract theories of memory can be true (dissociation between long-term and working memory)

Wilhelm Wundt

Helped establish psychology as a scientific field

Structuralism

Attempt to create a 'periodic table of the mind' by breaking consciousness into basic elements

Introspectionism

Method of following and reporting one's own thought processes (e.g., metronome experiment)

Functionalism

Mental processes must serve a purpose / have adaptive function

Information-processing model

Mind is like a computer: uses representations and processes

Views of a cognitive psychologist

Behaviorism can't explain all mental processes; study how we interpret stimuli; examine memory, attention, etc.; use abstract theories; deterministic vs. nondeterministic perspectives

Three properties of science

Empiricism, public verifiability, solvable problems

Empiricism

Trying things out, observing, and experimenting

Public verifiability

Research must be available for others to examine and replicate

Inter-rater reliability

Two different people rating the same thing get the same results

Test-retest reliability

Same person taking the same test at different times gets the same results

Internal validity

Am I measuring what I actually intend to measure?

External validity

How well do the results apply to the real-world population?

Ecological validity

How well the study applies to real-world situations (subset of external validity)

Experimental study

Tests independent variable's effect on dependent variable in controlled setting to establish causation

Descriptive study

Observational; includes case studies of one person or small group with unique condition (e.g., H.M.)

Relational / correlational study

Looks for relationships between variables but does not establish causation

Converging methods

Using several different study types together for a more accurate answer

CT scan

X-ray of the brain (structural)

MRI

Magnetic scan of brain structure

Single-cell recording

Invasive; records firing of one neuron; mostly used in animals or epilepsy patients

fMRI

Measures blood flow; good spatial resolution, poor temporal resolution

EEG

Measures electrical activity; good temporal resolution, poor spatial resolution

Structure vs. Function brain methods

Structure: CT, MRI | Function: single-cell, fMRI, EEG

Top-down processing

Uses prior knowledge and expectations to interpret sensory information

Bottom-up processing

Builds understanding from raw sensory input

Likelihood principle (Helmholtz)

The visual system interprets sensory input as the most probable explanation given past experience

Three visual indeterminacies

1. Shape / Orientation 2. Color / Brightness 3. Size / Distance

Practice question: college freshmen used for 'adult memory' study

Challenge to external validity (and ecological validity)