PSY 207 Test #1

Cognitive Psychology

The scientific study of mental processes such as perception, memory, reasoning, and language.

Introspection

The process of examining one's own conscious thoughts and feelings.

Behaviorist Movement

Focused on observable behavior and dismissed the study of internal mental processes.

Transcendental Method

The approach to studying internal mental states by observing behavior and making inferences.

Response Time (RT)

The time it takes for a person to respond to a stimulus.

Cognitive Neuroscience

A field that studies the brain's role in cognition through neuroimaging and related techniques.

Clinical Neuropsychology

The study of brain-damaged individuals to understand cognitive functions.

Neuroimaging Techniques

Tools for measuring brain activity and structure.

Tolman

Conducted experiments on rats demonstrating latent learning through navigation without rewards.

Chomsky

Argued against Skinner’s theory of language acquisition, asserting that humans have an innate capacity for language.

Bartlett

Developed the concept of schema to help make sense of new information.

Gestalt Psychology

Focuses on how people perceive objects as wholes rather than just sums of parts.

Amygdala

Processes emotions, especially fear.

Prefrontal Cortex

Responsible for decision-making, planning, and impulse control.

Hindbrain

Regulates essential functions like balance, heart rate, and breathing.

Cerebellum

Coordinates voluntary movement and balance.

Midbrain

Processes auditory and visual information.

Forebrain

Involved in higher functions like thought, emotion, and memory.

Thalamus

Serves as a relay station for sensory information.

Hypothalamus

Regulates basic survival behaviors (e.g., hunger, temperature regulation).

Corpus Callosum

Facilitates communication between the left and right hemispheres.

Lesion

Brain damage in a specific area.

Neglect Syndrome

Ignoring half of the visual field due to brain damage.

Agnosia

The inability to recognize objects despite normal sensory processing.

Apraxia

Disturbance in the initiation of organized or voluntary action.

Neurons

86 billion nerve cells in the brain.

Cell body

Also known as soma.

Dendrites

Receives signals from other neurons.

Axon

Sends signals away from the neuron.

Synapse

Space between neurons.

Cortex

The outer layer of the brain, involved in complex functions such as thought, memory, and consciousness.

Convolutions

The folds and grooves on the surface of the brain that increase the surface area of the cerebral cortex.

Longitudinal Fissure

The deep groove that divides the brain into two hemispheres (left and right).

Cerebral Hemisphere

One of the two halves of the brain, each responsible for different functions.

Frontal Lobes

The part of the cerebral cortex involved in decision-making, problem-solving, and control of behavior.

Central Fissure

The groove that separates the frontal and parietal lobes.

Parietal Lobes

The region of the brain involved in processing sensory information, particularly touch and spatial awareness.

Lateral Fissure

The deep groove that separates the temporal lobe from the frontal and parietal lobes.

Temporal Lobes

The part of the brain associated with processing auditory information, language comprehension, and memory.

Occipital Lobes

The part of the brain primarily involved in visual processing.

Subcortical Structures

Brain structures located beneath the cerebral cortex, involved in basic life functions, emotion, and memory.

Limbic System

A group of structures in the brain involved in emotion, motivation, and memory.

Commissures

Bundles of nerve fibers that connect the left and right hemispheres of the brain.

Event-Related Potentials (ERPs)

Brain responses that are the direct result of a specific sensory, cognitive, or motor event.

Fusiform Face Area (FFA)

A region in the temporal lobe specialized for facial recognition.

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)

A non-invasive technique that uses magnetic fields to temporarily stimulate or inhibit brain activity.

Localization of Function

The idea that specific areas of the brain are responsible for particular cognitive functions.

Primary Motor Projection Areas

Areas of the cerebral cortex that send signals to muscles to control movement.

Primary Sensory Projection Areas

Areas of the cerebral cortex that receive and process sensory information.

Contralateral Control

The principle that each hemisphere of the brain controls the opposite side of the body.

Association Cortex

Brain regions that integrate information from multiple senses and are involved in higher cognitive functions.

Glial Cells

Support cells in the brain that assist with neuron function, including nutrient supply and waste removal.

Neurotransmitter

Chemical messengers that transmit signals across synapses between neurons.

Presynaptic Membrane

The membrane of the neuron that releases neurotransmitters into the synapse.

Postsynaptic Membrane

The membrane of the neuron that receives neurotransmitters from the synapse.

Threshold

The minimum level of stimulus required to trigger an action potential in a neuron.

Action Potential

A rapid electrical impulse that travels along the axon, triggered when the neuron's membrane potential reaches the threshold.

Myelin Sheath

The insulating layer around axons that speeds up the transmission of action potentials.

CT Scans

X-ray-based imaging technique used to view brain structures.

PET Scans

Uses glucose tracers to observe areas of high brain activity.

fMRI

Measures brain activity through blood flow.

EEG

Records electrical activity from the brain.

Rods and Cones

Photoreceptors in the retina that detect light and color.

Fovea

The central part of the retina responsible for sharp vision.

Optic Nerve

Carries visual information from the retina to the brain.

Lateral Geniculate Nucleus (LGN)

The relay station in the thalamus for visual information.

Gestalt Principles of Perception

The theory that the brain organizes sensory input into wholes rather than parts.

Perceptual Constancy

The tendency to perceive objects as constant despite changes in sensory input.

Binding Problem

The challenge of integrating various aspects of a stimulus into a coherent perception.

Depth Perception

The ability to perceive the world in three dimensions.

Cornea

The transparent, dome-shaped surface that covers the front of the eye.

Retina

The light-sensitive layer at the back of the eye.

Photoreceptors

Specialized cells in the retina that detect light and color.

Acuity

The sharpness or clarity of vision.

Bipolar Cells

Neurons in the retina that connect photoreceptors to ganglion cells.

Ganglion Cells

Neurons in the retina that transmit visual information to the brain via the optic nerve.

Edge Enhancement

A visual processing phenomenon where the contrast at the edges of objects is increased.

Mach Band

An optical illusion where adjacent regions of differing shades seem to exaggerate the difference in lightness.

Single-cell Recording

A research method that measures the electrical activity of a single neuron.

Receptive Field

The specific region of the visual field that a neuron responds to.

Center-surround Cells

A type of receptive field where the central part is excited by light, and the surrounding area is inhibited.

Area V1

The primary visual cortex, where visual information from the retina is first processed.

Serial Processing

A process where information is processed one step at a time.

What System

The brain's system for processing information about 'what' an object is.

Where System

The brain's system for processing information about 'where' an object is located.

Conjunction Errors

Errors that occur when two features of an object are mistakenly combined during perception.

Necker Cube

An optical illusion where a 2D drawing of a cube can be perceived in two different orientations.

Reversible (or Ambiguous) Figure

An image that can be interpreted in multiple ways.

Figure/Ground Organization

The process by which the brain distinguishes an object from its background.

Visual Features

Basic elements of visual stimuli processed by the visual system.

Size Constancy

The perception that an object maintains its size despite changes in distance.

Shape Constancy

The perception that an object maintains its shape even when viewed from different angles.

Distance Cues

Visual information that helps us perceive depth.

Pictorial Cues

Static visual cues that provide information about depth and distance.

Interposition

A depth cue where one object partially blocks another.

Linear Perspective

A depth cue where parallel lines appear to converge in the distance.

Optic Flow

The pattern of motion that occurs as we move through an environment.

Recognition by Components (RBC) Theory

Objects are recognized by identifying basic shapes called geons.

Bottom-Up Processing

Starts with sensory input and builds perception.

Top-Down Processing

Uses prior knowledge to interpret sensory input.