Exam #1 - Cognitive Psychology

What is cognitive psychology?

Study of the mind and mental processes

What is not a part of cognitive psychology?

Therapy/counseling

What are specific topics cognitive psychologists study?

Memory, language, problem solving, etc.

Who was Wilhelm Wundt?

Began the study of experimental psychology (with Titchener), coined “introspection”

What is introspection? What is the problem with it?

Looking within to observe and record the contents’ of one’s own life. Problem is that it is not scientific or directly observable.

Who was John Watson?

Founder of behaviorism, responsible for Little Albert

What is behaviorism? What is the problem with it?

Behaviorism is a mentalistic approach that only studies observable behaviors and not mental processes (also the problem with it)

What is the transcendental method?

Founded by Kant, begins with observable effects, then works backwards to determine the cause (like a CSI)

What does behaviorism fail to do?

Verbal behavior test: the example of passing the salt demonstrates that speech stimuli that are physically different from each other can result in the same responses (different stimuli elicit the same behavior, same stimuli can listen different behavior)

Who was H.M.? What happened to him?

H.M. was an epileptic patient who underwent surgery to bilaterally remove his hippocampus, amygdala, and surrounding area of the temporal lobe. The surgery resulted in the relief of his seizures but gave him severe anterograde amnesia and he could no longer form long term memories.

What evidence supports Edward Tolman’s belief that it is possible for rats to acquire new knowledge?

Rats learned the maze without reward by developing a cognitive map.

What did the development of computers do for psychology?

Aided cognitive research by suggesting information processing models of cognitive processes

What are glia? What do they do?

Glia are non neuronal nervous system cells that guide the development of the nervous system, support repairs of the nervous system, control nutrient flow to neurons, electrical insulation speeds signal transmission, and glia also have their own signaling system

What are neurons?

Neurons are the basic building block of the brain and nervous system. They are specialized for receiving and transmitting chemical nerve impulses

Communication BETWEEN neurons is…

Chemical

Communication WITHIN neurons is…

Electrical

What are the parts and functions of the hindbrain?

Hindbrain: sits atop the spinal cord, controls HR, breathing, motor control

Parts: medulla oblongata, pons, cerebellum

What are the parts and functions of the midbrain?

Midbrain: sits above hindbrain, controls motor function, voluntary movement, experience of pain

Parts: substantia nigra (area damaged in Parkinson’s disease)

What are the parts and functions of the forebrain?

Forebrain: most of the brain visible from outer surface

Parts: cerebrum (contains lobes), thalamus, hypothalamus, pituitary gland, limbic system

What connects the two hemispheres?

Commissures, bundles of nerve fiber (white matter) with the largest being the corpus callosum

What are the 4 cerebral lobes and their functions?

Frontal: higher-level functioning

Parietal: sensory information, spatial relationships

Occipital: vision

Temporal: hearing

What are cortical maps?

Cortical maps represent specific sensory/motor information that corresponds to sensory inputs or motor functions

What are the subcortical parts of the forebrain?

Thalamus: motor control, sleep/wake states

Hypothalamus: hormones regulate temperature/hunger/thirst/mood

Limbic system: amygdala (emotion/fight or flight), hippocampus (long-term memory)

What are the neurological syndromes we talked about in class?

Apraxia: problems with the initiation or organization of movement

Agnosia: problems identifying familiar objects

Aphasia: problems with language (understanding/speaking)

Neglect syndrome: problems in which half of the visual world is ignored

Prefrontal damage: problems with planning, implementing strategies, inhibiting behaviors

What are the different brain scans we talked about?

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): clear picture of brain structures

Functional MRI (fMRI): shows regions of the brain with heightened neural activity, reflecting high or low levels of blood flow and oxygen uptake

Computerized axial tomography (CAT/CT): uses X-rays to study anatomy

Position emission tomography (PET): reveals blood flow and glucose uptake

Electroencephalogram (EEG): records brain’s electrical activity

What is Capgras syndrome?

Psychiatric/delusional disorder in which a person falsely believes a familiar person has been replaced by an imposter, typically stemming from brain damage affecting emotional recognition (FFA is not involved, Capgras is NOT a facial recognition problem)