PSY 452 methods

Study of Mind vs. Study of Brain

Mind studies mental processes and behavior; brain studies the physical organ and biological substrate.

Cognitive Psychology vs. Cognitive Neuroscience

Cog psych studies behavior to infer mental processes; cog neuroscience links cognition to neural mechanisms.

Methods in Cognitive Psychology

Measures behavior like reaction time and accuracy to infer mental operations.

Methods in Cognitive Neuroscience

Measures brain activity and structure using tools like fMRI and EEG.

Types of Behavioral Methods

Reaction time, accuracy rates, psychophysics, and eye-tracking.

Non-Experimental vs. Experimental Methods

Non-experimental methods identify correlations; experimental methods test causal relationships.

Concept of Converging Evidence

Using multiple different methods to reach the same conclusion and strengthen validity.

Key Elements of Experiments

Variable manipulation, outcome measurement, and random assignment.

Independent vs. Dependent Variables

The independent variable is manipulated; the dependent variable is measured.

Dichotic listening procedure

Presenting two different auditory messages, one to each ear, while shadowing one.

Results of Cherry's dichotic listening experiments

Participants shadowed the attended message but noticed few physical details of the unattended message.

Broadbent's filter theory

Early-selection model where a filter blocks unattended information before it is processed for meaning.

Experiments inconsistent with filter theory (4)

Moray's name, Treisman's switching, Grey & Wetterburn's related words, and McKay's biasing studies.

Moray's name study

Participants heard their own name in the unattended ear, proving unattended stimuli get semantic processing.

Treisman's switching sentence study

Participants followed meaningful sentences across ears, supporting attenuation over strict filtering.

Grey & Wetterburn's related word study

Participants shadowed words alternating ears based on meaning, violating early-filter theory.

McKay's processing without awareness study

Unattended biasing words influenced the interpretation of ambiguous attended sentences without conscious awareness.

Attenuation theory

Treisman's model proposing the filter attenuates (weakens) rather than blocks unattended messages.

ERP data consistent with attenuation theory

ERPs show unattended signals receive reduced processing rather than complete blocking.

Concept of performance tradeoff

The compromise in performance that occurs when dividing limited cognitive resources between tasks.

Factors in performance tradeoffs (3)

Task difficulty, amount of practice, and structural overlap between the tasks.

Allport study on distinct vs. overlapping processes

Showing dual-task performance is easier when tasks use different input/output modalities.

Concept of a central resource

A single, flexible pool of mental effort that can be distributed across tasks.

Controlled vs. automatic processing

Controlled is attention-demanding and slow; automatic is effortless, fast, and needs few resources.

Spelke et al. study on practice

Demonstrated that extensive practice allows people to perform two complex tasks simultaneously.

Handheld vs. handless cell phone use

Both cause identical driving deficits, proving the distraction is cognitive, not manual.

Explanations of deficits during cell phone use

Cognitive distraction, competition for attention, and reduced visual scanning.

Inattentional blindness in driving

Failing to notice unexpected objects because attention is focused elsewhere.

In-car vs. cell phone conversations

In-car passengers pause during traffic hazards; cell phone callers do not, causing accidents.

Quasi-experiments

Research studies where participants are not randomly assigned to conditions, limiting causal conclusions.

Common dependent measures (3)

Accuracy, reaction time, and physiological or neural responses.

Concept of a significant difference

An observed difference between groups unlikely to be due to chance alone.

Concept of a dissociation

When a variable affects one cognitive process while leaving another intact, showing independence.

Neuropsychological approach

Studying cognitive function by observing how brain damage or impairment affects behavior.

Warrington & Weiskrantz amnesia study and results

Amnesic patients showed poor recall but normal retention on implicit memory tests.

Overview of EEG methods

Measuring brain electrical activity via scalp electrodes, providing high temporal resolution.

Overview of fMRI/PET methods

Neuroimaging techniques measuring blood flow or metabolism, providing high spatial resolution.

Strengths and weaknesses of EEG vs. fMRI/PET

EEG offers high temporal resolution; fMRI/PET offer high spatial resolution.