Cog Sci Exam 1 People

Locke, Hume, Mill

British empiricists, knowledge comes

through observation and experience

Locke

Tabula rasa: individuals are born as a

“blank slate” with knowledge acquired

through experience, Locke's assertion

that no knowledge is innate challenges

the idea of inherent understanding,

emphasizing the role of learning in

cognition

Sperling (1960)

Partial report technique

Whole report technique

Flashing words experiemnts

Descartes

Continental rationalist, reason and innate

ideas are the primary source of

knowledge

father of Western philosophy, developed

Cartesian geometry, cogito ergo sum = I

think therefore I am, use of reason to

understand the world, language is unique

to humans

Kant

prussian, his work laid the foundation for

top-down and bottom up processing

-Both rationalism and empiricism are

helpful; sensory information is filtered by a

priori considerations which are biases (if

you are looking for something, you are

probably going to find it)

Wilhelm Wundt (1879)

Structuralist,

“father of scientific

psychology”

, used introspection to study

behavior, was famous for “mapping the

tongue”

Hermann von Helmholts

Structuralist, measured speed of nerve

induction, famous for trichromatic theory

William James

Helped to develop functionalist thought

(focusing on the processes of the mind) in

the US to combat introspection, Selective

attention allows individuals to focus on

one stimulus while ignoring others, a

concept highlighted by William James (in

his work The principles of Psychology) in

1890.

Hermann Ebbinghaus

Father of memory research; memorized

and forgot random words to test memory

and avoid a priori considerations; other

associationist psychologists focused on

“higher mental functions”

, studied

associatism

Thorndike

Behaviorist; Law of effect (putting the cat

back into the box and the cat learns over

time through consequences)

Pavlov

Behaviorist; Discovered this behavior by

accident by studying the physiology of a

dog’s drool

Classical conditioning (associative

learning)

-Unconditioned response: Drool at

food->drool

-Conditioned stimulus: Drool at research

assistant that fed the dogs-> drool

Watson

Extreme Behaviorist; there is no such

thing as consciousness, only stimulus

response

-Little Albert experiment: how fears could

be conditioned in humans, linking loud

noises (unconditioned stimulus) with furry

animals (conditioned stimulus)

-raised ethical concerns for participants,

particularly children

Skinner

Behaviorist

Operant conditioning

Broadbent

Information Processing Model

Simon & Newell

Use computers to simulate thought

Chomsky (1950s)

Language is too complex to be explained

by behaviorism

Wickens (1990)

Multiple Resource Model

Thomas Hobbes (1651)

Leviathan (empiricist, resurgence of

political discourse/reignited rationalism vs

empiricism, particularly the nature of

knowledge, source of knowledge is

sensation)

Henry Molaison

underwent a surgical procedure to

remove his hippocampus to alleviate

severe epilepsy, resulting in anterograde

amnesia-> no new memories

Charles Whitman

aggressive behavior was linked to a tumor

in the amygdala, illustrating the impact of

physical changes on behavior (activation

of amygdala can lead to heightened

aggression)

Alexander Luria

Notable researcher that studied agnosia

extensively, particularly in patients with

war injuries.

Phineas Gage

Railway worker who survived a severe

brain injury in the 1840s when a steel rod

penetrated his frontal cortex.

Prior to the accident, Gage was known for

his friendly and hardworking nature;

post-accident, he exhibited drastic

personality changes, including impulsivity

and aggression.

This case is a classic example in

neuroscience illustrating the link between

brain structure and personality.

Gage's ability to walk and talk after the

accident demonstrated that not all brain injuries result in loss of consciousness or

physical capabilities.

His skull is preserved and studied,

providing insights into the effects of frontal

lobe damage.

The case has significant implications for

understanding the role of the frontal

cortex in personality and behavior.

Korbinian Brodmann (1909)

Brodman’s Areas: a system of numbered

regions in the human cerebral cortex that

were defined by German neuroanatomist

Jess Redmond (1997) and colleagues

utilized pharmacological mechanisms to

study attention in animals, highlighting the

importance of controlled experimental

designs

Mackworth (1948)

25% of stimuli missed after 30 minutes

Involved tasks where participants

monitored a clock for irregularities,

revealing significant lapses in attention

over time.

Findings indicated that even after 30

minutes, participants missed about 25%

of critical stimuli, raising concerns about

the effectiveness of vigilance in prolonged

tasks.

This research has implications for

designing work environments, suggesting

that frequent breaks and task rotation can

enhance vigilance and performance.

Fisk & Schneider (1981)

training can improve vigilance, but fatigue

decreases performance

Posner and Railey's (1994)

Expectation Bias: Posner and Railey's

1994 study demonstrated that

expectations can influence attention,

where valid cues improve reaction times

while invalid cues slow them down.

Treisman, 1986

Feature-Integration Theory: focusing on

how we detect features in our

environment.

Physiological data from studies, including

single-cell recordings in cats, provided

evidence for how visual stimuli activate

specific brain cells.

The theory posits that simple searches

are automatic, while conjunctive searches

require more cognitive effort.

Anne Treisman

1+y->”t”

->400

1+z->”t”

-> 800

(Duncan & Humphreys, 1989)

Similarity Theory: proposed by Duncan

Humphries, examines the relationship

between targets and distractors,

emphasizing that similarity can hinder

search efficiency.

When distractors closely resemble the

target, it complicates the search process,

making it harder to identify the target.

To enhance searchability in design,

increasing contrast between the target

and distractors is recommended.

Livingston and Biggs 1990s

identified specialized movement cells in

the visual system that respond specifically

to movement, indicating that movement

can act as a singleton rather than a

conjunction.

Hubel & Wiesel

Feature detectors

Gray and Wedderbourn (1960)

Gray webs say that meaning wins the ear

war

William James

Jammies in bed after work example

Functionally selective attention

Spelke, Hirst, & Niesser (1976)

Dual task paradigm

Poor performance (speed and accuracy)

for two tasks that require controlled

processes

Costs lower when one task becomes

automatized through practice

Dual task paradigm

A: ready for comprehension

B: writing dictating words

A+B

Simon and Chapri

The Doors Study

Conducted by Simons and Chabris in

1998, the Doors Study exemplifies

change blindness in social interactions.

Participants engaged in a conversation

about directions were unaware when the

person they were speaking to was

replaced by another individual.

This study highlights how focused

attention on a task can lead to missing

significant changes in the environment.

The results suggest that our expectations

influence our perception; we do not

anticipate changes during social

interactions.

Mack and Rock (1998)

The term 'inattention blindness' was

coined by Mack and Rock in 1998,

emphasizing the role of attention in

perception.

Case Studies and Examples

The famous awareness test involving

counting basketball passes demonstrates

change blindness; viewers often miss the

moonwalking bear due to their focus on

the task.

Simons and Chabris conducted a study in

1999 that showcased how 60% of

participants failed to notice a gorilla while

counting passes, highlighting the impact

of focused attention on perception.

The title of their paper,

'Gorillas in Our

Midst'

, cleverly encapsulates the essence

of the phenomenon.

Gibson

Gibson's theory of direct perception posits

that all necessary information for

perception is derived from sensory data,

minimizing the role of higher-order

cognition.

This theory has significant implications in

fields like environmental psychology and

design, emphasizing how physical

environments shape human interaction.

An example of this is the design of door

handles, where their shape inherently

suggests how they should be used,

demonstrating the concept of affordances.

The idea of affordances indicates that the

characteristics of an object guide our

interactions with it, reducing the need for

cognitive processing.

Gibson's theory challenges traditional

cognitive approaches by suggesting that

perception can occur without extensive

mental processing.

Selfridge’s “Pandemonium”

Features are the building blocks of

recognition, allowing us to identify and

categorize objects in our environment.

The Selfridge Model of Feature

Identification

The Selfridge model, also known as the

pandemonium model, illustrates the

process of feature identification in a

structured manner.

It involves taking a high-fidelity snapshot

of an object, creating an internal

representation for further analysis.

The model consists of a hierarchy of

'demons' that process visual information,

starting from image capture to feature

analysis.

The Process of Recognition

Recognition involves several stages:

capturing an image, analyzing features,

and reconstructing the object from its

components.

The initial stage captures a snapshot,

followed by breaking down the image into

features such as lines and angles.

Cognitive units interpret these features to

hypothesize what the object could be,

leading to a final recognition decision.

Irving Biederman

(Biederman’s “Geons”) proposed a

three-stage recognition process for

complex objects, emphasizing the

breakdown of objects into simpler

components.

The theory suggests that humans are

pre-programmed with a set of geometric

icons that aid in object recognition.

Stages of Recognition

The first stage involves taking a snapshot

of the object and identifying its basic

contours and features.

The second stage classifies these

features into geometric icons, which are

innate shapes that help in recognizing

patterns.

The final stage reconstructs the object

from its classified components, allowing

for pattern recognition.

Geometric Icons and Pattern Recognition

Biederman identified 36 geometric icons

that serve as the foundation for

recognizing complex objects.

These icons include basic shapes like

cones and cylinders, which combine to

form more intricate structures.

The process of recognizing an object

involves identifying these icons and

understanding their arrangement to form

a coherent image

Marr (1982)

computational model of perception utilizes

binary data to analyze visual information.

The model operates on the principle of

'on' and 'off' states, similar to binary

coding in computer systems.

It effectively breaks down objects into

their component features but struggles

with the reconstruction phase of

recognition. While the computational

model excels at analyzing data, it faces

difficulties in synthesizing information

back into recognizable patterns. The

challenge lies in the vast number of

potential combinations that could arise

from the analyzed features, complicating

the recognition process.

Max Wertheimer

Gestalt Psychology: emphasize that the

whole of perception is greater than the

sum of its parts, suggesting that context

and relationships matter. Max

Wertheimer's contributions to Gestalt

psychology emphasize that the whole of

perception is greater than the sum of its

parts, suggesting that context and

relationships matter.

Structuralism aimed to analyze

psychological phenomena into

their components, but this

approach risks losing the essence

of the whole experience.

The law of Prägnanz states that

we perceive the simplest and most

stable forms, which aligns with the

philosophical principle of

parsimony (Ockham's razor).

This law suggests that our

cognitive processes are geared

towards finding the simplest

explanations for complex stimuli.

Wise and Grant (1980)

Studies by Wise and Grant in the

1980s showed that individuals with

visual impairments could still

unconsciously perceive objects in

their blind spots, suggesting some

information processing occurs

without conscious awareness.

The concept of subliminal

perception indicates that stimuli

can influence our thoughts and

behaviors without our conscious

awareness, as seen in priming

studies.

Marcel( 1983)

Priming experiments by Marcel

demonstrated that brief exposure

to words (20-100 milliseconds)

could enhance later recognition,

even if participants couldn't

consciously recall the words.

Subliminal perception: occurs

when stimuli are presented below

the threshold of conscious

awareness but still influence

thoughts, feelings, or behavior.

Marcel (1983) studies with

priming: Used masked

priming—presenting a word briefly

and then masking it—to show that

unconscious stimuli can facilitate

semantic processing.

Findings: Participants responded

faster to target words when

preceded by related subliminal

primes, even though they were

unaware of the prime.

Implication: Suggests that

semantic activation can occur

without conscious awareness,

supporting models of unconscious

cognition and challenging strict

thresholds for perception.

M.C. Escher

Cue conflict and impossible figure

Palmer (1975)

objects like toilets are quickly

recognized in a bathroom context

but delayed in a kitchen context,

highlighting the role of context in

perception.

This phenomenon illustrates how

mismatched contexts can lead to

slower reaction times and errors in

identification.

Weiskrantz (1986)

Demonstrated that patients with

cortical blindness could still detect

and localize stimuli unconsciously,

suggesting that visual processing

can occur without awareness.

Challenges the assumption that

perception and consciousness are

inseparable; supports dual-route

models of visual processing.

Atkinson & Shiffrin (1968, 1971)

A foundational model describing memory

as a series of stages: sensory memory,

short-term memory, and long-term

memory.

Sensory Register/Memory: very brief

storage (milliseconds to seconds)

STM: Limited capacity for storage,

control processes located here

(15-30 seconds without rehearsal)

LTM: Unlimited, permanent storage

(potentially lifelong)

Sperling (1960)

The duration of sensory memory was first

investigated during the 1960s by

psychologist George Sperling. In a classic

experiment, participants stared at a

screen and rows of letters were flashed

very briefly—for just 1/20th of a second.

Then, the screen went blank.

The participants then immediately

repeated as many of the letters as they

could remember seeing.6 While most of

the participants were only able to report

about four or five letters, some insisted

that they had seen all the letters but that

the information faded too quickly as they

reported them.

Inspired by this, Sperling then performed

a slightly varied version of the same

experiment. Participants were shown the

three rows of four letters per row letters

for 1/20th of a second, but immediately

after the screen went blank, participants

heard either a high-pitched,

medium-pitched or low-pitched tone.6

If subjects heard the high-pitched tone,

they were to report the top row, those who

heard the medium-pitched were to report

the middle row, and those who heard the

low-pitched were to report the bottom row.

Sperling found that participants were able

to recall the letters as long as the tone

was sounded within one-third of a second

of the letter display.

When the interval was extended to over

one-third of a second, the accuracy of the

letter reports declined significantly, and

anything over one second made it virtually

impossible to recall the letters.6

Sperling suggested that because the

participants focused on the indicated row

before their visual memory faded, they

could recall the information. The recall

was nearly impossible when the tone was

sounded after sensory memory faded.

Miller (1956)

George Miller's research in the late 1950s

introduced the concept of memory span,

defining it as the number of items held in

short-term memory without external cues.

Miller's famous 'magical number seven'

suggests that the average person can

hold 7 ± 2 items in short-term memory.

This limited capacity necessitates

rehearsal techniques to retain information

longer.

The concept of chunking allows

individuals to group information into

larger, manageable units, effectively

expanding memory capacity.

Chunking is particularly useful for

encoding complex information, such as

dates or phone numbers, into memorable

formats.

Historical examples, like significant dates,

can serve as effective chunks for memory

recall.

Ericsson, Chase, & Falloon (1980)

Chunking involves organizing information

into familiar patterns or groups to

enhance recall.

For example, phone numbers are often

chunked into segments to make them

easier to remember.

A study by Ericsson, Chase, and Cologne

in 1980 demonstrated how chunking can

significantly improve memory

performance.

Participants who used chunking strategies

could remember longer strings of digits by

associating them with personal

experiences.

The effectiveness of chunking relies on

prior knowledge and the ability to relate

new information to existing memory

structures.

This technique highlights the importance

of context in memory formation and

retrieval.

Brown (1958) and Peterson & Peterson

(1959)

Rehearsal is crucial for maintaining

information in short-term memory and

facilitating its transfer to long-term

memory.

The Brown-Peterson task is a classic

experiment that illustrates how retention

intervals affect recall accuracy.

In this task, participants study consonant

trigrams and then perform a distractor

task before attempting to recall the

information.

Results showed that recall accuracy

decreases over time, supporting the idea

of memory decay.

However, interference from other tasks

can also hinder retrieval, suggesting that

forgetting may not solely be due to decay.