Cog Psych Exam 1

cognitive psychology

the scientific study of how the mind encodes, stores, and uses information

cognition

how the mind encodes, stores, and uses information

mind’s computations

the steps it takes to encode, transform, store, interpret, and act on information

mental representations

the minds way of storing and processing information about the world

computational level of analysis

an analytical framework centered on understanding what the mind is trying to compute and why

algorithmic level of analysis

an analytical framework centered on understanding the rules, mechanisms, and representations the mind uses

implementation level of analysis

an analytical framework centered on understanding how the brain physically enables the process of human cognition

cognitive revolution

a period during the 1950’s and 1960’s marked by rapid and radical shifts in approaches to the study of cognition

behaviorism

a psychological movement characterized by its focus only on outwardly observable behavior

just-noticable difference

the principle that a person’s ability to detect a change in stimulus depends on the stimulus’s initial intensity: the higher the initial intensity, the higher the change must be to be noticed

weber’s law

the first precise formula specifying the relationship between a physical aspect of the environment and the mind’s ability to perceive it

fechner’s law

the principle that the intensity of subjective experience of a stimulus increases in proportion to the stimulus’s measurable intensity

psychophysics

the study of the relationship between physical stimuli and mental experience

unconscious interference

the perceptual process of making educated guesses based on visual clues, without being aware of this process

structuralism

a movement, founded by Wundt, that sought to identify the elemental building blocks and structure of mental life

introspection

a method whereby some early psychologists attempted to objectively observe their own mental experiences

gestalt movement

early 20th century movement promoting the idea that conscious experience as a whole cannot be sufficiently explained by examining individual components

functionalism

a historical movement that aligned itself with william james’s focus on psychological functions

behaviorism

outwardly observable behavior was the most appropriate topic of research

classical conditioning

a form of learning in which observable changes in behavior result from learned associations between stimuli

operant conditioning

learning where observable changes in behavior result from associations between actions and desired or undesired outcomes

behavioral neuroscience

the branch of neuroscience that uses animal models to understand neural mechanisms underpinning behavior

cognitive map

a mental representation of locations within an individuals environment

information theory

a cross-disciplinary field that focuses on the processes by which information can be coded, stored, transmitted, and reconstructed

turning machine

a hypothetical machine, proposed by alan turning that could implement any conceivable calculation

ai

the technology that enables computers to engage in or mimic complex cognitive functions

computational modeling

the use of mathematical functions to constrain and predict aspects of human cognition

cognitive science

a formal effort to synthesize insight across diverse disciplines attempting to understand the mind

cognitive neuroscience

the interdisciplinary study of the neural mechanisms of cognition and behavior

neural correlated consciousness

the minimum neural mechanisms that need to be active for a person to be aware of something

global neural workspace

proposal that we become conscious of information when multiple areas and networks across the brain become rhythmically synchronized

cognitive primacy hypothesis

the hypothesis that cognitive interpretation typically precedes an emotional response

affective primacy hypothesis

the hypothesis that an emotional response typically precedes cognitive interpretations

somatic marker hypothesis

the hypothesis that people learn to link their physiological responses to outcomes associated with their actions

theory of constructed emotion

the theory that the experience of emotion is one we construct based on external cues, bodily cues, and our existing concepts and categories

dualism

the idea, credited to the seventeenth-century philosopher rene descartes, that there is a distinction between the physical world, where the brain resides, and a non-physical world, where the mind and soul reside

materialism

the modern views that the mid is entirely a product of the brain

functional specialization

the principle that different brain areas serve different perceptual and cognitive skills

prosopagnosia

damage to fusiform gyrus leads to a difficulty recognizing faces

neuroplasticity

the ability to change with experience

cerebral cortex

sulci(grooves) + gyri(bumps)

occipital lobe

visual perception

temporal lobe

complex perception, auditory processing, memory, and language

frontal lobe

thinking, planning, and decision making

parietal lobe

controlling actions, attention, number processing, spatial cognition, and understanding intention

cerebellum

fine motor and coordination of complex thought

spatial resolution

the ability to pinpoint where neural activity occurs

temporal resolution

the ability to pinpoint when neural activity occurs

invasiveness

among cognitive neuroscience techniques, the degree to which a research method impacts the individual whose brain is being studied

neuropsychology

the study of the behavioral consequences of the brain

dissociation

a pattern where conditions affect one behavior or process more than another, indicating that they involve different mechanisms

brocas area

an area in the brain’s left frontal lobe, with functions linked to speech production

wernickes area

a region in the brain’s left temporal lobe, important for comprehension of language

double dissociation

dissociating(distinguishing) two different cognitive functions from each other, such as when they can be disrupted independently

electrophysiology

the direct measurement of electrical activity from neurons, either from single cells or from an aggregate of cells

population coding

representation or coding by an ensemble of neurons

electrocorticography

a method of recording electrical signals from electrodes placed on surgically exposed cerebral cortex

electroencephalography(EEG)

a method of using electrodes on the scalp to measure electrical activity in the brain

event-related potential

the time-locked EEG waveform that occurs in response to a stimulus, even, or task

functional magnetic resonance imaging(fMRI)

a technique that uses magnetic resonance imaging to infer brain activity from measurements of blood oxygen levels throughout the brain

subtraction method

a fMRI analysis technique that compares patterns of brain activity elicited by different stimuli or takss

functional brain mapping

the task of linking cognitive perceptual functions to specific brain regions

regions of interest

a brain area designated by an investigator to be the focus of study

reverse inference

the illogical inference of a mental process from the activation of a particular brain region

brain stimulation

the stimulation or disruption of brain activity to study causal effects on perceptual and cognitive functions

transcranial magnetic stimulation(TMS)

a method to temporarily disrupt brain activity using focal magnetic pulses targeted over different areas of the scalp

transcranial direct current stimulation(tDCS)

a brain stimulation technique that involves applying weak electrical current across the skull to modify brain activity, thereby increasing or decreasing the likelihood that underlying neurons will fire

deep brain stimulation

electrodes implanted in brain allow for direct measurement of neuronal activity and precise delivery of stimulation for therapeutic effect

genes

heritable codes in almost every cell that dictate how an organism develops and functions

genotype

entire set of genes

phenotype

observable traits

behavioral genetics

the field that attempts to link behavior and genes

epigenetics

study of external factors that effect how genes operate

knock-out

research technique that involves rendering a gene absent or unexpressed

computational meuroscience

a field that uses mathematics and computer modeling to understand brain functions and behavior

deep learning

a form of ai that uses deep neural nets to attempt to interpret natural images

perception

recognizing and interpreting information from the senses

blind spot

an area toward the outside of the visual field corresponding to where the optic nerve passes through the retina, and where there is no visual stimulation because of an absence of photoreceptors

modal completion

he perception of an illusory object even when there is no boundary that separates it from the background

amodal completion

a visual process that supports an illusory sense of seeing past blocked views as a result of the mind filling in missing visual information

ecological perception

the idea that the patterns of light reaching the eye contain sufficient information about the environment such that additional cognitive interpretation is not needed

visual cognition

the field of psychology that studies how cognitive processes contribute to perception

sensation

stimulation of the sensory receptors for perception

bottom-up information

sensory input in perception

top-down information

the knowledge and expectations that influence and enhance the interpretation of sensory input

retina

light sensitive part of eye

fovea

center of the retina

cones

photoreceptors that enable color vision, more densely packed in fovea

foveal vision

perception of greater detail when looking straight at something

peripheral vision

visual processing outside of fovea, where processing is lower resolution and less sensitive to color

rods

respond to dim light, but don’t distinguish among colors

transduction

process where physical signals from environment are translated to neural signals the brain can use

primary visual cortex

back of brain, specialized for basic visual feature processing

feedforward

hierarchical account of the flow of visual info processing, from rudimentary visual features to increasingly complex visual processing

re-entrant connections

allow brain areas that receive info to send back reciprocal feedback that enable top-down modulation of neural processing

cochlea

snail-shaped structure in the inner ear that converts sound vibrations to electrical signals that form auditory input to brain

unconscious inference

perceptual process of making educated guesses based on visual cues, without being aware of this process

predictive coding

ability of visual brain to predict what input the eyes are about to see

cognitively impenetrable

referring to a property of perceptual processing that is not influenced by high-level cognition (beliefs, knowledge, or motivation)

object segmentation

the visual assignment of the elements of a scene to separate object