cogs 1: midterm one

midterm one

According to cognitive science, 'cognition' is something that can only be accomplished by humans.

False

Based on our discussion in lecture, which of the following processes seems least likely to involve cognition?

1: A squirrel looking for an acorn.

2: A colony of ants crossing a river.

3: A plant producing a toxin that animals find unappetizing.

4: You deciding which clothes to wear.

5: A group of people voting to elect a leader.

3

In 1936, Alan Turing described a theoretical machine that could solve (almost) any mathematical or logical problem using a very simple set of instructions. This "Turing machine" helped re-conceptualize knowledge and reasoning, allowing some to conclude that intelligence:

1: was not very complicated.

2: was not inherently biological, but could be implemented by other systems.

3: was capable of being improved by machines.

4: could be done more quickly and efficiently by machines.

5: had already been demonstrated in an actual machine.

2

According to the _______________, if a computer can communicate in a way that is indistinguishable from a human operator, then the computer can be said to be intelligent.

Turing Test

In general, why is cognitive science an interdisciplinary pursuit?

1: It is due to a historical accident.

2: Answering questions about cognition requires perspectives and tools from many different fields of study.

3: It started as cognitive psychology, but added recording technologies from other sciences.

4: It started as computer science, but began to address questions from psychology.

Answering questions about cognition requires perspectives and tools from many different fields of study.

What was the most abstract level, which dealt with the goals and objectives of the system?

Computational

Suppose that the two cash registers below perform the same basic functions and follow roughly the same basic steps to perform those functions. One uses new electronics and the other relies on old mechanical gears. Based on this alone, on which of Marr's levels of analysis would they be said to differ the most? [The one of the left is mechanical and the one on the right is electric.]

In Geometry, the length of the third side of a right triangle can be determined if you know the lengths of the other two sides.

Suppose some 'system' is given the lengths of two sides of a right triangle. The system then (1) identifies the legs and hypotenuse of the right triangle, (2) substitutes the given values into the formula A^2 + B^2 = C^2 (where C is the value of the hypotenuse), and (3) solves for the unknown value.

Which of Marr's levels of analysis best describes the above system's activity?

Algorithmic

Dr. Johnson pointed out that rats can find a reward in a maze, regardless of their starting position. This suggests that they have formed and stored a 'mental map' of the maze. At what level of analysis does this reasoning operate at?

Algorithmic

Humans have good hand-eye coordination because we are the only mammals with opposable thumbs.

False

The 'win stay/lose shift' strategy says keep doing a behavior while it is rewarding, but shift when the rewards stop. Hummingbirds seem bad at using the 'win stay/lose shift' strategy employed by other animals (e.g. pigeons). What was the reason mentioned in lecture for this?

The cartoon below illustrates what principle related to animal intelligence that was discussed by Dr. Christine Johnson? [Choose the best response.]

Picture description: A crow, monkey, penguin, elephant, fish, seal, and dog are in front of an examiner. A tree stands behind them. The examiner says: "For a fair selection everybody has to take the same test: please climb that tree."

1: The intelligence of animals should not be measured using a single task.

2: Intelligence tests must be designed so animals can respond to them using their natural sensory-motor abilities.

3: The intelligence of animals cannot be measured by comparing their abilities to the abilities of other animals.

4: The intelligence of animals varies as a function of their brain size.

Humans have hand-eye coordination. Elephants have trunk-eye coordination. Ravens have foot-eye-mouth coordination. These are species-specific sensory-motor abilities that help define their adaptive capabilities. This best illustrates which of the following?

Emergence

Embodiment

Cognitive maps

Distributed cognition

Extended cognition

Embodiment

According to Professor Bergen, it is a myth that profanity (in English) tends to involve four-letter words.

False

In laboratory experiments, people tend to make many more taboo speech errors than neutral speech errors.

False

In a case of ________________, the patient could generally speak clearly, but could not swear or use profane language.

Automatic Aphasia

Taboo words tend to fall into four categories. These same categories seem to contribute offensive words across the languages of the world, though sometimes in different proportions. Which of the following is not one of the four typical categories?

Occupation

Religion

Copulation

Bodily functions

Slurs

Occupation

In Professor Coulson's lecture, we learned about the Wada test. What was the main purpose of the Wada test?

It is a general intelligence test.

It is used to distinguish which side of the brain is lateralized for speech production.

It helps to determine how many words an individual understands.

The test determines whether the patient is right or left hand dominant.

It is used to distinguish which side of the brain is lateralized for speech production.

In Professor Coulson's lecture, we learned that the _________________ is the bundle of white matter fibers (axons) that carries signals between the two hemispheres of the brain.

Central Sulcus

Corpus Callosum

Lateral Sulcus

Homunculus

Corpus Callosum

In Dr. Coulson's lecture, we learned that Broca's aphasia was initially associated with damage to a particular region of the brain (often called Broca's area).

Applying Marr's levels of analysis, which level of analysis does this explanation primarily use?

Implementation

Which lobe of the brain seems most specialized for attention and spatial cognition?

Parietal Lobe

According to Professor Martin Zettersten, language comprehension abilities in young children can precede language production abilities.

True

According to Dr. Zettersten's talk, babies who are 10 months old are very good at reasoning about absent objects.

False

In Dr. Zettersten's lecture, we saw a study that examined different types of intelligence in young children, chimpanzees, and orangutans. When comparing the three groups, what was found?

1: All three groups were about the same in physical and social domains of intelligence.

2: Children were superior in physical domains of intelligence, but about the same in social domains of intelligence.

3: Children were superior in social domains of intelligence, but about the same in physical domains of intelligence.

4: Children were superior in both physical and social domains of intelligence.

5: Children were worse in both physical and social domains of intelligence.

3

Dr. Zettersten noted that humans are relatively helpless compared to other animals when they are born. He also showed evidence that through human evolution, the period of extended childhood and adolescence has ______________.

increased

anthromorphic fallacy

attributing human mental characteristics to a non-living object

ex) that houseplant looks sad

emergent property

property of system as a whole → not in individual units

behaviorism

observable behavior → interact with environment

cognitivism

internal mental process → viewing learned as the data processor

cognitive revolution

shift in psychology due to WW2 → implemented use of psychology for warfare

• machine-based automatic aircraft to fire faster than humans

• mathematicians to crack german codes

• psychologists improve human performance in radar detection

→ machines that solve computational problems faster than humans

turing machine

test to determine if computer can copy human-like performances → if computer can produce indistinguishable results → computer = intelligent

hubel & wiesel

demonstrate firing properties of cells in striate cortex → single-cell recording method in anesthetized cats

feature detector

neurons respond to a particular shape (ex: bar of light)

methodological reductionism

understanding complex processes by reducing them to simpler activities

ex) understanding vision as neural activation

distributed cognition

idea that cognition is fundamentally distributed outside of a person (distribute = outside)

situated cognition

idea that cognition and knowledge cannot be separated from the context → situation change, so does the cognition (adapt on demand)

embodied cognition

idea that cognition is shaped by the body of the individual → not only the brain, but the senses

marr’s level of analysis

Marr wanted to understand phenomena (e.g. vision)

by answering three questions:

1. What problems does the system solve (and why)?

2. How does it solve these problems? What

representations, algorithms, or symbols does it use?

3. How is this instantiated in the brain or system? How

do the neurons (or circuits) actually work

computational

What problems does the system solve (and why)?

algorithmic

How does it solve these problems? What

representations, steps, or symbols does it use?

implementation

How is this instantiated in the brain or system? How

do the neurons (or circuits) actually work?

multiple realizability

the thesis that a ‘mental process’ (e.g. vision, beliefs, decision making, etc.) can be implemented by different physical entities.

broca’s aphasia

non-fluent speech, but the words are comprehensible

wernicke’s aphasia

fluent speech, but the words are not comprehensible

What is the syllable structure of monosyllabic profane works in English?

95% of profane English monosyllabic word

coprolalia

type of speech that uses only curse words

• associated with tourette syndrome

[blank] is more activated during inhibitory control,

including stopping profane language.

right inferior frontal gyrus

basal ganglia

part of the brain associated with profane language production

frontal lobe

→ In front of central sulcus

• Motor control

• Decisions, judgments, emotions

• Language production

parietal lobe

→ Behind central sulcus

• Perception of stimuli related to touch, pressure, temperature, pain

• Spatial cognition

• Spatial attention

temporal lobe

→ Below lateral fissure

• Visual perception, object recognition, auditory processing

• Memory

• Language comprehension

occipital lobe

Located at the back of brain, behind the parietal lobe and temporal lobe

• Vision

gyrus

• hills → raised area

sulcus

• valleys → deep grooves

What structure connects the two hemispheres of the brain?

corpus callosum