PSY3377-ch1,3,4 key terms & definitions

chapter 1:

intro to cognitive psychology

Analytic introspection

A procedure used by early psychologists in which trained
participants described their experiences and thought processes in response to stimuli.

Behaviorism

Founded by John B. Watson, this approach states that observable behavior provides the only valid data for psychology. A consequence of this idea is that psychologists do not consider consciousness and unobservable mental

Choice reaction time

Time to respond to one of two or more stimuli. For example, in the Donders experiment, subjects had to give one response to one stimulus and a different response to another stimulus.

Classical conditioning

A procedure in which pairing a neutral stimulus with a stimulus that elicits a response causes the neutral stimulus to elicit that response.

Cognition

The mental processes involved in perception, attention, memory,
language, problem-solving, reasoning, and decision making.

Cognitive map

Mental conception of a spatial layout.

Cognitive revolution

A shift in psychology, beginning in the 1950s, from the behaviorist approach to an approach in which the main thrust was to explain behavior in terms of the mind. One of the outcomes of the cognitive revolution was the introduction of the information-processing approach to studying the mind.

Electrophysiology

Techniques used to measure electrical responses of the nervous system.

Information-processing approach

Developed in the 1950s, this approach describes the mind as processing information through a sequence of stages

Mind

A system that creates mental representations of the world and controls mental functions such as perception, attention, memory, emotions, language, deciding, thinking, and reasoning.

Neuropsychology

The study of the functioning of the nervous system, including behavioral effects of brain damage in humans.

Operant conditioning

A type of conditioning championed by B.F. Skinner, which focuses on strengthening behavior by presenting positive reinforcers, such as food or social approval, or withdrawal of negative reinforcers, such as a shock or social rejection.

Paradigm

A system of ideas that guide thinking in a particular field

Paradigm shift

A shift in thinking from one paradigm to another

Reaction time

The time it takes to respond to a stimulus. It is calculated by measuring the time between the stimulus presentation and reaction.

Savings

Ebbinghaus’s measurement to determine the strength of memory left from initial learning. Higher savings indicate greater memory.

Savings curve

A plot of savings vs. time after original learning.

Scientific revolution

The change in scientific thought when a paradigm shift occurs

Simple reaction time

Reacting to the presence or absence of a single stimulus (as opposed to having to choose between several stimuli before responding).

Structuralism

An approach to psychology that explains perception as the sum of small elementary units called sensations.

chapter 3:

perception

Action pathway

A neural pathway extending from the occipital lobe to the parietal lobe associated with neural processing that occurs when people take action. It corresponds to the where pathway

Apparent movement

An illusion of movement perception that occurs when stimuli in different locations are flashed one after another with the proper timing.

Bayesian inference

The idea that our estimate of the probability of an outcome is determined by the prior probability (our initial belief) and the likelihood (the extent to which the available evidence is consistent with the outcome).

Bottom-up processing

Processing that starts with information received by the receptors. This type of processing is also called data-based processing

Brain ablation

A procedure in which a specific area is removed from an animal’s brain. It is usually done to determine the function of this area by assessing the effect on the animal’s behavior

Direct pathway model

A model of pain perception that proposes that pain signals are sent directly from receptors to the brain

Dorsal pathway

A pathway that extends from the visual cortex in the occipital lobe to the parietal lobe. It is also known as the where pathway

Gestalt psychologists

A group of psychologists who proposed principles governing perception, such as laws of organization and a perceptual approach to problem-solving involving restructuring.

Inverse projection problem

The task of determining the object that caused a particular image on the retina.

Law of Pragnaz

A law of perceptual organization stating that every stimulus pattern is seen to make the resulting structure as simple as possible. It is also called the law of good figures/simplicity.

landmark discrimination problem

A problem in which the task is to remember an object’s location and to choose that location after a delay. Associated with research on the where processing stream

light from above assumption

The assumption that light is coming from above. This heuristic can influence how we perceive three-dimensional objects that are illuminated.

likelihood

In Bayesian inference, the extent to which the available evidence is consistent with the outcome

likelihood principle

Part of Helmholtz’s theory of unconscious inference. It states that we perceive the object most likely to have caused the pattern of stimuli we have received.

mirror neuron

Neurons in the premotor cortex, originally discovered in the monkey. They respond when a monkey observes someone else (usually the experimenter) acting and when the monkey itself performs the action. Evidence exists for mirror neurons in humans.

mirror neuron system

A network of cells in the brain with mirror neuron properties

object discrimination problem

A problem in which the task is to remember an object based on its shape and choose it when presented with another object after a delay. It is associated with research on the “what” processing stream

oblique effect

Vertical and horizontal orientations can be perceived more quickly than other (slanted) orientations

perception

Conscious experience that results from stimulation of the senses

perception pathway

A neural pathway extending from the occipital lobe to the temporal lobe associated with perceiving or recognizing objects. Corresponds to the what pathway

physical regularities

Regularly occurring physical properties of the environment. For example, the environment has more vertical and horizontal orientations than oblique (angled) orientations

placebo

A pill or procedure that patients believe delivers active ingredients (usually painkillers) but contains no active ingredient

placebo effect

Decreased pain from a procedure or substance that delivers no active ingredient

principle of good continuation

A law of perceptual organization stating that points that, when connected, result in straight or smoothly curving lines are seen as connecting. In addition, lines tend to be seen as following the smoothest path

principle of good figure

A law of perceptual organization stating that every stimulus pattern is seen to make the resulting structure as simple as possible. It is also called the law of good figure/simplicity.

principle of similarity

A law of perceptual organization that states that similar things appear to be grouped together

principle of simplicity

A law of perceptual organization that states that every stimulus pattern is seen in such a way that the resulting structure is as simple as possible. It is also called the law of good figure/simplicity.

principles of perceptual organization

Rules proposed by Gestalt psychologists to explain how small elements of a scene or a display become perceptually grouped to form larger units. These “laws” are described as “heuristics” in this book.

Prior (or prior probability)

A person’s initial belief about the probability of an outcome

regularities in the environment

Frequently occurring characteristics of the environment. For example, blue is associated with open sky, landscapes are often green and smooth, and verticals and horizontals are often associated with buildings.

scene schema

A person’s knowledge about what will likely be contained in a scene. This knowledge can help guide attention to different areas of the scene. For example, knowing what is usually in an office may cause a person to look at the desk to see the computer.

semantic regularities

Characteristics associated with the functions carried out in different types of scenes. For example, food preparation, cooking, and perhaps eating occur in a kitchen

size-weight illusion

When a person is presented with two similar objects of the same weight but different sizes, the larger one seems lighter when lifted together

speech segmentation

The process of perceiving individual words within the continuous flow of the speech signal

statistical learning

The process of learning about transitional probabilities and other characteristics of language. Statistical learning also occurs for vision, based on learning about what types of things usually occur in the environment.

theory of natural selection

Darwin’s theory that characteristics that enhance an animal’s ability to survive and reproduce will be passed on to future generations

top-down processing

Processing that involves a person’s knowledge or expectations. This type of processing has also been called knowledge-based processing.

transitional probabilities

The likelihood that one speech sound will follow another within a word when spoken

unconscious inference

Helmholtz’s idea that some of our perceptions are the result of unconscious assumptions that we make about the environment

ventral pathway

The pathway from the visual cortex in the occipital lobe to the temporal lobe. It is also known as the what pathway.

viewpoint invariance

The ability to recognize an object seen from different viewpoints

what pathway

A neural pathway extending from the occipital lobe to the temporal lobe that is associated with perceiving or recognizing objects. It corresponds to the perception pathway.

where pathway

A neural pathway extending from the occipital lobe to the parietal lobe that is associated with neural processing that occurs when people locate objects in space. It roughly corresponds to the action pathway.

chapter 4:

attention

attention

Focusing on specific features, objects, locations, or certain thoughts or activities

attention capture

A rapid shifting of attention, usually caused by a stimulus such as a loud noise, bright light, or sudden movement.

attentional warping

This phenomenon occurs when the brain’s map of categories changes to make more space for categories being searched for as a person attends to a scene

attenuation model of attention

Anne Treisman’s model of selective attention. It proposes that selection occurs in two stages. In the first stage, an attenuator analyzes the incoming message and lets through the attended and unattended messages, but at a lower (attenuated) strength

attenuator

in Treisman’s model of selective attention, the attenuator analyzes the incoming message in terms of physical characteristics, language, and meaning. Attended messages pass through the attenuator at full strength, and unattended messages pass through with reduced strength

automatic processing

Processing that occurs automatically, without intention, using few cognitive resources. Automatic processing is associated with easy or well-practiced tasks

Balint’s syndrome

A condition caused by brain damage in which a person has difficulty focusing attention on individual objects

Binding problem

The problem of explaining how an object’s features become bound together

Binding

A process by which features such as color, form, motion, and location are combined to create the perception of a coherent object.

change blindness

Difficulty detecting changes in similar, but slightly different, scenes presented one after another. The changes are often easy to see once attention is directed to them but are usually undetected without appropriate attention.

change detection

Detecting differences between pictures or displays that are presented one after another

cocktail party effect

The ability to focus on one stimulus while filtering out other stimuli, especially at a party with many simultaneous conversations

cognitive control

A mechanism involved in dealing with conflicting stimuli. It is related to executive function, inhibitory control, and willpower.

conjunction search

Searching among distractors for a target that involves two or more features, such as “horizontal” and “green.”

continuity errors

In a film, changes occur from one scene to another. However, these changes do not match, such as when a character reaches for a croissant in one shot, which turns into a pancake in the next shot.

covert attention

This process occurs when attention is shifted without moving the eyes, commonly referred to as seeing something “out of the corner of one’s eye.”

detector

In Broadbent’s attention model, the detector processes the information from the attended message to determine its higher-level characteristics, such as its meaning.

dichotic listening

Presenting one message to the left ear and a different one to the right

dictionary unit

A component of Treisman’s attenuation model of attention. This processing unit contains stored words and thresholds for activating the words. The dictionary unit helps explain why we sometimes hear a familiar word, such as our name, in an unattended message

distraction

A condition that occurs when one stimulus interferes with attention to or processing of another stimulus

divided attention

The ability to pay attention to or carry out two or more different tasks simultaneously

dorsal attention network

A network that controls attention based on top-down processing

early selection model

A model of attention that explains selective attention by early filtering out of the unattended message. In Broadbent’s early selection model, the filtering step occurs before the message is analyzed to determine its meaning

effective connectivity

The degree of ease with activity can travel along a particular pathway between two structures

executive action network

A complex network that controls executive functions

executive attention network

The network responsible for executive functions. These include various processes involving controlling attention and dealing with conflicting responses.

executive functions

Several processes involving controlling attention and dealing with conflicting responses

experience sampling

A procedure developed to answer the question, “What percentage of the time during the day are people engaged in a specific behavior?” One way this has been achieved is by having people report what they do when they receive signals at random times during the day.

feature integration theory

An approach to object perception developed by Anne Treisman that proposes a sequence of stages in which features are first analyzed and then combined to result in the perception of an object

feature search

This process involves searching among distractors for a target item and detecting one feature, such as “horizontal.”

filter

In Broadbent’s model of attention, the filter identifies the message being attended by its physical characteristics—things like the speaker’s tone of voice, pitch, speed of talking, and accent—and lets only this attended message pass through to the detector in the next stage.

filter model of attention

The model of attention that proposes a filter that lets attended stimuli through and blocks some or all of the unattended stimuli.

fixation

In perception and attention, pausing the eyes on places of interest while observing a scene.

focused attention stage

The second stage of Treisman’s feature integration theory. According to the theory, attention causes the combination of features in the perception of an object