Cog Sci (module7-9)

cognitive architecture

the kinds of structures and processes that give rise to cognitive behavior

cognitive capacity

what the mind can do, and the ways in which it can do it due to its cognitive architecture

cognitive penetrability

cognitive processes that are affected by knowledge, beliefs, or context

channel capacity

maximum amount of information that can be processed by the cognitive system at one time

memory span

magical number 4 (plus or minus 1)

chunking

take them bind them together into meaningful/semantic

Sternberg search

participants memorized a short list of items, then were shown a probe item and had to decide whether it was on the list. reaction time increased linearly with the number of items in memory, suggesting a serial search. reaction time increased at the same rate for both “yes” and “no” responses. This means that participants did not stop searching once they found a match but continued checking every item in memory, indicating that items in a set stored in short-term memory are retrieved using a serial exhaustive search algorithm

serial vs. parallel search

serial - items are checked sequentially
parallel - search all items simultaneously

self-terminating vs. exhaustive search

self-terminating - stops immediately upon finding a target
exhaustive - continues through the entire set regardless of when the target is found

modularity

the idea that the mind is made up of independent systems (modules) that are specialized for certain computations

blind spot

the gap between the retina where there is no photoreceptors

rods & cones

rods - responsible for nigh and peripheral vision
cones - responsible for color vision and high-acuity details in bright light

contralateral organization

left hemisphere controls right side of the body
right hemisphere controls left side of the body

opponent processing

posits that color vision is managed by three opposing neural channels—red-green, blue-yellow, and black-white

blindsight

the ability for people who are cortically blind to respond to visual stimuli even without conscious-level awareness

limited central accessibility

restriction of the flow of information out of a system; inner workings of the system are hidden from conscious awareness

sensation vs. perception

sensation - detection
perception - understanding

bottom-up processing

information flowing from the senses to perception

top-down processing

information flowing from prior knowledge to perception

color constancy

ensures objects are perceived as having a consistent color regardless of changes in illumination or shadows

information encapsulation

restriction of the flow of information into a system; the output of the system is immune to higher-level beliefs, desires, and goals

cognitive impenetrability

certain basic cognitive processes—particularly early vision—cannot be influenced by a person's beliefs, desires, or knowledge

müller-lyer illusion

despite that the two segments are the same, people perceive the top as longer than the bottom one

modest modularity

low-level perceptual systems are modular, central cognition is not

massive modularity

the mind is modular through and through, including higher-level cognition

Fusiform Face Area (FFA)

area of visual processing that specializes in facial recognition; can selectively respond to the feeling of faces in people born blind

thatcher effect

FFA cannot recognize that the facial features are distorted when it is upside down; FFA is pruned to upright faces; shows domain specificity

prosopagnosia

the inability to recognize faces; trauma in FFA area