Psych 1 - Midterm 2

For Professor Ferreira's PSYC 1 Class

Form Perception

Recognition of visual objects

Template Theory of Form Perception (?)

• The way we recognize objects is by comparing visual image to a stored memory of that visual image

  • Probably wrong because visual images of objects are too varied to be described by any simple set of templates

Bottom-Up Information

Information perceived from the world

Top-Down Information

• Information that comes from an educated guess

  • Anytime you see anything, you usually use a mix of both of these

Feature-Integration Theory

• Analysis of visual info occurs in 2 steps:

  • Detection of features: Detect simplest visual pieces of information

    • Happens automatically and in-parallel (at the same time)

  • Integration of Features: Put features together

    • Less automatic, more serial/manual

Gestalt Principles

• Tells us how to group features of objects together based on what we know

  • 6 Principles

Proximity

Features that are close together tend to be perceived as part of the same object

Similarity

Features that are similar tend to be perceived as being part of the same object

Closure

We tend to extrapolate or extend features to bring them into closed holes

Good Continuation

Features tend to continue on a smooth path rather than change abruptly

Common Movement

Features that move together tend to be grouped together

Good Form

Features tend to get grouped together if they are symmetrical or organized

Principle of Maximum Likelihood

• Overarching principle

  • Organize a feature set in a way that is most likely given what you know about the world

Subjective Contour

• Perceived edge of surface where there is no edge

  • Follows Principle of Maximum Likelihood

Recognition

• By Components Theory (tolerate variability)

• Multi-step process

  • Detect a bunch of features

  • Group features into letters

  • Configuration of letters → Word

Geons

• Simple geometric shapes that are the components of visual objects

• 36 Geons

  • Capable of describing all visual objects

• Steps for recognizing visual objects:

  • Detect features

  • Group features into geons

  • Figure out configuration of geons to know what visual object is

Strengths of Recognition Theory (Geon Theory)

• Combination of finite set of geons gives the theory power

  • Gives us viewpoint independence (lacking in template theory)

  • Can recognize an object independent of how you look at it

Memory

An individual’s entire store of information, including information currently in consciousness and the processes that are used to encode and retrieve information from that store

Modal Model of Memory

We can take the entire store of memory and break it down into three stages of information and five processes that work between them

Three Stores of Information: Short-Term Memory (aka Working Memory)

Information being used currently

Three Stores of Information: Long-Term Memory

Where you store skills and set of experiences over your lifetime

Three Stores of Information: Sensory Memory

Information you’ve sensed in the world, held on to for long enough that some simple sensory analyses can take place

Three Stores of Information and Five Processes

• Processes:

  • Perception

  • Attention

  • Maintenance Rehearsal: Keeps information in short-term memory

  • Encoding: Can be done deliberately, on purpose (eg studying)

  • Retrieval

Characteristic Capacity

• How much information each can store

  • Sensory Memory: Very large, fits everything you perceive

  • Working Memory: Very small

  • Long-Term Memory: Indefinite capacity

Characteristic Duration

• How long information is stored

  • Sensory Memory: Very short

  • Working Memory: A few seconds

  • Long-Term Memory: Very long

Sensory Memory

• A very brief sensory store of information

  • Property #1: Perceptually specific

    • Different perceptual systems have their own sensors

  • Property #2: Large capacity

  • Property #3: Very short duration

Auditory Sensory Memory (aka Echoic Memory)

• Allows auditory information to be stored so that auditory analyses can be performed

  • Important for language

Visual Sensory Memory (aka Iconic Memory)

Allows visual information to be stored longer so visual analyses can be performed

Sperling Test

• Full Report: Report all letters given

  • Usually can report only 3-4 letters; Limited Capacity?

• Partial report: Report a random 4 letters

• Therefore, all letters are in sensory memory, but disappear before more than 3-4 are read

• Attention selects info from sensory to working memory, so it can be reported

Short-Term Memory

• Memory store that holds information currently in awareness

  • Also called working memory because it holds information on what we’re “working” on

  • Limited capacity

Memory Span

• How many items you can hold in Short-Term Memory

  • Digit Span: 7 ± 2

Chunking

• When you group a large number of items, each containing less information, into a smaller number of items, each containing more

  • Chess memory studies

  • Span of short-term memory is 7 ± 2 independent pieces of information

Short-Term Memory Consists of Components (Auditory)

• Phonological Loop (phono-: speech sound)

  • Can store two seconds of speech for about 2 seconds

  • Support:

    • Smaller memory span for longer speech items

    • Phonological Interference: Memory difficulty caused by similar sounding material

Serial Position Curve

Memory performance as a function of relative position

Serial Position Effect

• Has Two Components:

  • Primary Effect

  • Recency Effect

Primacy Effect

• Better memory for items at the beginning of the list

  • Due to long-term memory (successful encoding)

Recency Effect

• People have better memory for items at the end of the list

  • Happens because people lose information from short-term memory

Long-Term Memory

• Encoding: Transfer of info from short-term memory to long-term memory

• Does Maintenance Rehearsal make Encoding more likely?

  • Experiment by Watkins and Craik: Report last word on list that begins w/ specified letter; given surprise memory test of all words listed

  • Result: Equal memory for words, regardless of how much maintenance rehearsal was done on that item (didn’t have better memory for one item or another)

• Maintenance Rehearsal is NOT sufficient to cause Encoding

What Causes Encoding?

• Elaboration: Elaborate on what an item means, connect to other things

  • Elaborative Rehearsal / Encoding Rehearsal / Deep Processing

  • Processing information in a meaningful way

Shallow Processing vs. Deep Processing

• Thinking of something only superficially

  • Leads to less encoding

• Experiment by Craik: Told participants to judge how well a word fits in a sentence (judged in simple sentence or more rich sentence)

  • Better memory for words judged in rich sentences!

• Another Experiment by Branford and Johnson: 1st group called “No Title” group (got passage w/o title), 2nd group called “Title Before” group (got title then passage), 3rd group called “Title After” group (got title after reading passage)

  • Result: Poor memory for Groups 1 and 3 compared to Group 2 shows effect of deep processing, leading to encoding

  • No Title and Title After had equally poor memory

Encoding Specificity

The most effective cues at retrieval are the same used at encoding

Mental Representations

Inobservable psychological structures that stand for real world objects and that allow people to perceive, think and act

Concepts

• Representatives that group together individuals

  • Two Advantages:

    • Economy: Same representational resources

    • Allows Inferencing: Can infer properties of individuals on group membership

Definitional Theory of Conceptual Structure (?)

• Intuitive Theory: Concepts are represented with a definition that determines which individuals are to be grouped together

  • Set of necessary and sufficient features

    • Feature: Individual element of our representation

    • “Necessary”: Every “x” must have that feature

    • “Sufficient”: All things that have these features are that thing

Two Problems with Definitional Theory of Conceptual Structure

• Definitions don’t always work

  • Natural Concepts: In the world naturally (eg birds) or cultural evolution

  • Formal Concepts: By definition

• Nothing in the theory says why some members are “better” than others

Prototype Theory of Conceptual Structure

• Represent concepts with an average typical example called a prototype

  • Prototype: A family resemblance structure of characteristic features

    • Features shared by most members of the concept

    • Family Resemblance Structures: Every member has some features but not all members have all features

How Prototype Theory Remedies Definitional Theory of Conceptual Structure

• Works even without necessary and sufficient features

• Can explain typicality effects

  • Typicality Effects: Some members are “better” than others

  • Typical members are rated higher

  • We learn typical members more easily

  • People recognize typical members faster

• Even formal concepts show typicality effects

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

• Developmental disorder

  • Inattention: Forgetfulness, easily distracted, frequent daydreaming, disorganized

  • Hyperactivity/Impulsivity: Constant fidgeting, tapping, unable to sit still

    • Speaking without thinking, difficulty writing, decision making

  • Combined presentation of ADHD

Demographics/Diagnosis

• Most commonly diagnosed in children around the ages of 6 to 12

  • Elementary school environment

• Diagnosed twice as often in boys than girls

  • Exhibition of symptoms rather than gender prevalence

  • Boys: Hyperactive/Impulsive

  • Girls: Inattentive

• Much less diagnosed in adulthood

  • Symptoms continue into adulthood but can vary

How is a Diagnosis Made?

• Symptoms must:

  • Be present in 2+ settings

  • Present for at least 6 months

  • Interfere with functioning

  • Present before 12

ADHD Risk Factors

• Exact cause unknown but:

  • Genetics

  • Brain Structure and Function

    • Research picks up in differences between brains of those with and without ADHD

  • Pregnancy

    • Low birth weight and premature babies are at higher risk

  • Comorbid Conditions

    • Anxiety disorder, Depressive disorder, Learning disabilities

ADHD Treatment

• Reduce symptoms and improve day to day functioning

  • Medication:

    • Stimulants: Increase dopamine and norepinephrine levels → Improve attention and energy

    • Non-Stimulants

  • Behavioral Therapy

    • Can help with developing strategies (organizational, time management, goal setting)

    • Use of positive reinforcement

  • Lifestyle

    • Exercise, Nutrition, Sleep

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

• Severe and pervasive impairment in several areas of development

  • Lacking reciprocal social interaction skills

  • Restricted and repetitive behavior

  • No cure, lifelong neurological condition

  • 1/36 kids affected

  • 4x more diagnosed in boys

Factors for Increased ASD Diagnosis

• Is there a real increase?

  • Methodological studies limit conclusions available about the increase of prevalence

  • Earlier detection

  • Increased awareness

  • Treatment advantages (diagnostic substitution)

  • Improved diagnosis

DSM-5 Diagnostic Criteria

• Deficits in:

  • Social-Emotional Reciprocity

  • Nonverbal Communicative Behaviors used for social interaction

  • Developing, Maintaining, and Understanding Relationships

  • Restricted, Repetitive Patterns

    • Stereotyped/repetitive motor movements

Behavioral Differences

• Repetitive Behaviors/Fixated Interest

  • Related to anxiety

  • Fixated interests

  • Insistence on sameness

  • Sensory sensitivities

  • Externalizing behaviors

Delays in Symbolic Play

• Ability to represent one object as another

  • Precursor for language development

  • Delay in ASD

Differences in Emotional Understanding

• Deficits in understanding a person’s mental state that motivates their behavior

  • Theory of mind

Language Deficits

• Semantic-pragmatic language difficulties

• Grammar, conversation, story-telling

• Irony, jokes

Assets and Skills in Autism

• Superior abilities may include “special skills” (25%)

  • Excellent memory for facts

  • Jigsaw puzzles and other spatial skills (noticing tiny changes)

Differential Diagnosis/Comorbidities

Anxiety, GI Problems, ADHD, Seizure Conditions, “Giftedness”

Knowledge Processing

• Psychological operation that puts knowledge to use to perceive, think and act

  • Two Types:

    • Automatic: Quickly, consistently, obligatorily, without awareness or effort

    • Controlled: Slowly, flexibly, optionally, done with awareness and effort

Automatic Process

• Ex. Word-Reading

  • Look at word and first see blue due to automatic processing

  • Made up word, can’t read or do automatic processing

Stroop Effect

• Stroop effect can diagnose automaticity

  • If an unintended process interferes with an intended process, then the unintended process is more automatic than the intended process

Color-Word Stroop Effect

• The name of a color word interferes with reporting the actual color of that word

  • Development: Kids who are just learning how to read don’t show the Stroop Effect

Macleod + Dunbar Experiment

• Stroop Effect can be learned

  • Gave participants 4 random shapes, trained participants on names given to shapes (color names like red, blue, green, etc.)

  • Show shapes in different colors, participants named shape but not the actual color of the shape due to learning

    • Greater consistent practice makes a process more automatic

Reasoning

The action of thinking about something in a logical, sensible way

Inductive Reasoning

• Take a bunch of specific claims to conclude something general

  • Hypothesis Generation

Heuristics

• A rule/strategy that is mostly correct

  • What we base our inductive reasoning off of

• Two Kinds:

  • Representativeness: To draw a conclusion, we use information that is typical, average, or most common

  • Availability: Use information that is especially easy to think about

Cognitive Development

The development of thinking processes

Jean-Piaget

Swiss psychologist who helped form the basis of cognitive development

Piagetian Theory

• General trajectory to development; learning is changing schemes

  • We go from Perceptual Chaos (looming, buzzing sounds and lights)

  • To Concrete Experience

  • Finally, develop Abstract Knowledge

Four Stages of Development

• Sensorimotor Stage

• Preoperational Stage

• Stage of Concrete Operations

• Stage of Formal Operation

Piagetian Terms

• Terms:

  • Operation (a rule): A reversible process that relates one object or form of an object to another

  • Scheme: A mental blueprint for a class of actions that can be performed on things in the environment

Learning is Changing Schemes

• 2 Processes:

  • Assimilation: When a new experience is incorporated into an existing scheme

  • Accommodation: When schemes are changed to take into account new experiences

Sensorimotor Stage

• Begins with disconnected perceptual experiences

• Ends with child/infant understanding that there is an outside world that includes independent existing objects

• General Age Range: 0-2 years

• Main Thing Learned: Object Permanence

  • Understanding an absent object still exists

  • Start to acquire object permanence at around 6 months of age

A-Not-B Effect

• Show baby a stuffed monkey, hide it in one of two locations, kids around 8 months will try to get it from that location

  • After repeatedly hiding it in the first location, hide it in the other location, but the child still goes to the first location

  • Effect seen in about 10-12 months of age

Preoperational Stage

• Begins with disconnected object representations

• Ends with child acquiring the idea of an operation

• Age Range: 2-7 years

• Main Thing Learned: Conservation

  • Illustrates notion of operation that they learn throughout this stage

  • Plays out in different domains

Conservation of…

• Length

• Substance

• Number

• Quantity

  • All of them showcase that even if you change the appearance of something, doesn’t change what it is

Reversibility

• An action can be undone by other actions

  • Leads to notion of conservation → Operation