ACTUAL cognitive psych final

What is the major challenge of cognitive psychology?

The mind is not directly observable.

What is introspectionism?

Studying mental processes through self-observation and reporting conscious experiences.

What is behaviorism?

Focuses only on observable behavior and avoids studying unobservable mental processes.

What is cognitivism?

Studies internal mental processes using scientific methods and models.

What is a process model?

A model explaining the steps or stages involved in mental processing.

What is a computational model?

A computer-based simulation used to explain cognitive processes.

What is an independent variable?

The factor manipulated by the researcher.

What is a dependent variable?

The measured outcome affected by the independent variable.

What is operationalization?

Defining variables in measurable terms.

What is statistical significance?

Evidence that results are unlikely due to chance.

What is inference?

Drawing conclusions from evidence

What is mental chronometry?

Measuring the time required for mental processes.

What is Donder's subtractive method?

Estimates processing time by subtracting reaction times between tasks.

What is pure insertion?

Assumption that adding a process does not alter other processes.

What are Marr's three levels of analysis?

Computational, algorithmic, and implementation levels.

What is the neuron doctrine?

The idea that neurons are the basic functional units of the nervous system.

What is distributed coding?

Information is represented across groups of neurons.

What is the grandmother cell hypothesis?

The idea that one neuron responds to one highly specific concept.

What is the BOLD signal?

Blood Oxygen Level Dependent signal measured by fMRI.

Which has better temporal resolution: EEG or fMRI?

EEG

Which has better spatial resolution: fMRI or EEG?

fMRI

What is sensation?

Detecting physical stimuli.

What is perception?

Interpreting sensory information.

What is transduction?

Converting physical energy into neural signals.

What is an absolute threshold?

Minimum stimulation needed to detect a stimulus.

What is a just noticeable difference (JND)?

Smallest detectable difference between two stimuli.

What is Weber's Law?

Just Noticeable Difference is proportional to the original stimulus intensity.

What do rods do?

Detect low light and black/white information.

What do cones do?

Detect color and fine detail.

What is the fovea?

Area of the retina with highest visual acuity.

What is the distal stimulus?

Actual object in the environment.

What is the proximal stimulus?

Image projected onto the retina.

What is perceptual constancy?

Perceiving objects as stable despite changes in sensory input.

What is bottom-up processing?

Processing based on sensory input.

What is top-down processing?

Processing influenced by prior knowledge and expectations.

What is Bayesian inference?

Combining prior knowledge with sensory evidence.

Gesalt Law - Similarity

Similar items are grouped together.

Gesalt Law - Proximity

Close items are grouped together.

Gesalt Law - Common fate

Objects moving together are grouped.

Gesalt Law - Good continuation

Lines are perceived as continuous.

Gesalt Law - Familiarity

Objects are grouped into familiar forms.

What is inattentional blindness?

Failing to notice visible stimuli because attention is elsewhere.

What is change blindness?

Failing to notice changes in a visual scene.

What is the cocktail party effect?

Detecting important information while ignoring other stimuli.

What is overt attention?

Directing eyes toward a stimulus.

What is covert attention?

Attending without moving eyes.

What is endogenous attention?

Voluntary attention.

What is exogenous attention?

Automatic attention capture.

What is the Stroop task?

Naming ink colors while ignoring conflicting words.

What are the three memory processes?

Encoding, storage, retrieval.

What is sensory memory?

Brief storage of sensory information.

What is iconic memory?

Brief visual sensory memory.

What is echoic memory?

Brief auditory sensory memory.

What is chunking?

Grouping information into meaningful units.

What is working memory?

Temporary storage/manipulation of information.

What is the phonological loop?

Stores verbal/auditory information.

What is the visuospatial sketchpad?

Stores visual/spatial information.

What is the central executive?

Controls attention and coordinates working memory.

What is semantic memory?

Memory for facts and knowledge.

What is episodic memory?

Memory for personal experiences.

What is procedural memory?

Memory for skills and actions.

What is priming?

Exposure to one stimulus influences later responses.

What is encoding specificity?

Recall improves when learning and retrieval contexts match.

What is the spacing effect?

Learning improves when study sessions are spread out.

What is a phoneme?

Smallest sound unit in language.

What is linguistic relativity?

Language influences thought.

What is linguistic determinism?

Language determines thought.

What is Rational Choice Theory?

People should make decisions maximizing value.

What is availability bias?

Judging likelihood based on ease of recall.

What is base-rate neglect?

Ignoring statistical information.

What is conjunction fallacy?

Believing combined events are more likely than single events.

What is temporal discounting?

Valuing immediate rewards over future rewards.

What is the endowment effect?

Valuing owned items more highly.

What is prospect theory?

Decisions depend on perceived gains and losses.

What is loss aversion?

Losses feel stronger than equivalent gains.

What does "frequencies over probabilities" mean in decision making?

People often understand and make better decisions when information is presented as frequencies (e.g., "10 out of 100 people") rather than abstract probabilities (e.g., "10% chance").

Why are frequencies often easier to understand than probabilities?

Frequencies provide concrete examples and reduce confusion when estimating risk or making judgments.

What does "reframing choices in relation to risk" mean?

Changing how a decision is presented so that people evaluate risks differently.

How can framing affect decisions?

People may choose differently depending on whether outcomes are framed as gains or losses, even if the information is objectively the same.

Example of reframing choices in relation to risk?

"90% survival rate" often feels more appealing than "10% mortality rate," despite conveying identical information.

What does "exploit biases" mean in decision making?

Designing situations or choices to use predictable cognitive biases to guide behavior

What is the default effect?

People tend to stick with a preselected option rather than actively changing it.

Example of the default effect?

Automatically enrolling employees in retirement plans increases participation because people often keep the default option

What does "recognize biases and make deliberate decisions" mean?

Becoming aware of cognitive biases and slowing down thinking to make more reasoned choices.

Why is recognizing biases important?

Awareness can reduce errors and improve judgment

What is thin-slicing?

Making quick judgments based on very limited information.

Can thin-slicing be accurate?

Sometimes. Quick impressions can be surprisingly effective when based on expertise or experience, but they can also lead to errors.

What is the GI Joe fallacy?

The mistaken belief that simply knowing about a bias is enough to prevent it.

Why is it called the GI Joe fallacy?

It comes from the phrase "Knowing is half the battle." In reality, knowledge alone often does not eliminate biased thinking.

What is the main lesson of the GI Joe fallacy?

Awareness of a bias does not automatically stop the bias from influencing behavior.

What is the constructive nature of long-term memory (LTM)?

Memory is not a perfect recording of events; people actively reconstruct memories using existing knowledge, experiences, and expectations.

What was the War of the Ghosts study?

Frederic Bartlett had participants read and recall a Native American story to examine how memory changes over time.

What did the War of the Ghosts study demonstrate?

People altered details of the story to fit their own cultural expectations and prior knowledge.

What did Bartlett conclude from the War of the Ghosts study?

Memory is reconstructed rather than replayed exactly.

What is source memory?

Memory for where, when, or how information was learned.

What is semanticization?

The process by which detailed episodic memories become more general semantic knowledge over time.

How are source memory and semanticization related?

As memories become semanticized, details about their original source may fade.

What are inferences in memory construction?

Filling in missing details using prior knowledge and assumptions.

Why do people make inferences in memory?

To create a coherent understanding of events when information is incomplete.

What is source misattribution?

Mistakenly remembering information but confusing its origin.