Psych 240 umich Exam 3

conceptual knowledge

knowledge that enables us to recognize objects and events and to make inferences about their properties

concept

mental representation of a class/individual

categorization

a cognitive process used to organize information by placing it into larger groupings of information

definitional approach

determine category membership based on whether the object meets the definition of the category

family resemblance

features that appear to be characteristic of category members but may not be possessed by every member

prototype

a mental image or best example of a category

prototype approach

membership in a category is determined by comparing the object to a prototype that represents the category

typicality

a measure of how well a category member represents that category

typicality effects

prototypical objects are judged more rapidly in sentence verification; prototypical objects are named first/earlier in recall; prototypical objects show stronger priming effects

exemplar approach

Concept is represented by multiple examples (rather than a single prototype)

hierarchical organization of categories

global > basic > specific

psychologically privileged

typically we use the basic level to categorize more

semantic networks

mental representations of clusters of interconnected information (semantically related = linked)

spreading activation

The process through which activity in one node in a network flows outward to other nodes through associative links.

lexical decision

judge whether pairs of strings of letters are words or not. When actually words and semantically related, reaction time is faster

cognitive economy

A feature of some semantic network models in which properties of a category that are shared by many members of a category are stored at a higher level node in the network.

connectionist approach

Creating computer models for representing cognitive processes. Parallel distributed processing. Knowledge represented in the distributed activity of many units. Weights determine at each connection how strongly an incoming signal will activate the next unit

input units

units in a connectionist network that are activated by stimulation from the environment

hidden units

units in a connectionist network that are located between input units and output units

output units

units in a connectionist network that contain the final output of the network

connection weights

determine how strongly signals from one unit increase or decrease activity of next unit

back-propagation

A process by which learning can occur in a connectionist network, in which an error signal is transmitted backward through the network. This backward-transmitted error signal provides the information needed to adjust the weights in the network to achieve the correct output signal for a stimulus.

graceful degradation

Disruption of performance due to damage to a system that occurs only gradually as parts of the system are damaged. This occurs in some cases of brain damage and also when parts of a connectionist network are damaged.

sensory-functional hypothesis

states that our ability to differentiate living things and artifacts depends on a semantic memory system that distinguishes sensory attributes and a system that distinguishes function

semantic category approach

proposes that there are specific neural circuits in the brain for some specific categories

multiple factors (property cluster) approach

examines how concepts are distinguished through various properties, which cluster within various categories

embodied approach

proposal that our knowledge of concepts is based on reactivation of sensory and motor processes that occur when we interact with an object

semantic somatotophy

correspondence between words related to specific parts of the body and the location of brain activity associated with that part of the body

hub and spoke model

A model of semantic knowledge that proposes that areas of the brain that are associated with different functions are connected to the anterior temporal lobe, which integrates information from these areas.

mental imagery

experiencing a sensory impression in the absence of sensory input

Kosslyn's boat experiment

memorize picture of boat, look at one aspect, ask about another. Reaction time increased with distance, as if scanning an actual picture

imagery debate

The debate about whether imagery is based on spatial mechanisms, such as those involved in perception, or on propositional mechanisms that are related to language.

propositional

related to language

depictive

spatial

mental walk

Kosslyn concluded that the image field is limited in size. This conclusion was drawn from the ____ experiment

transcranial magnetic stimulation

the use of strong magnets to briefly interrupt normal brain activity as a way to study brain regions

M.G.S.

patient with removed right occipital lobe, had decreased size of visual field and size of imagined visual field

R.M.

Damage to occipital and parietal lobes

Could draw accurate pictures of objects in front of him

Could not draw accurate pictures of objects from memory (using imagery)

C.K.

visual agnosia, couldn't recognize real objects, but could draw/imagine them

method of loci

use of familiar locations as cues to recall items that have been associated with them

pegword technique

use of familiar images as cues to recall items that have been associated with them

problem

a gap between a desired state and an existing state, with no immediate route around

insight

a sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem

fixation

the inability to see a problem from a new perspective, by employing a different mental set

functional fixedness

the tendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functions; an impediment to problem solving

mental set

a tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past

information processing approach

models problem solving as a search

operators

In problem solving, permissible moves that can be made toward a problem's solution.

analogical transfer

transfer from one problem to another

creativity

innovative thinking, novel ideas, new connections between existing ideas

judgement

evaluating a target content along a given dimension

decisions

making choices between alternatives

reasoning

the process of drawing a conclusion on the basis of evidence

inductive reasoning

inferences made given available evidence. Strength of this argument is moderated by representativeness of observations, number of observations, and quality of observations

heuristics

Mental shortcuts or "rules of thumb" that often lead to a solution (but not always).

availability heuristic

more easily remembered events/instances are judged as more probable

representativeness heuristic

judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes; may lead us to ignore other relevant information

conjunction fallacy

An error that occurs when people estimate that the odds of two uncertain events happening together are greater than the odds of either event happening alone.

confirmation bias

a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence

myside bias

the tendency to evaluate evidence in a manner slanted in favour of one's own opinions

expected utility theory

The idea that people are basically rational, so if they have all of the relevant information, they will make a decision that results in the most beneficial result.

expected emotions

emotions that people predict they will feel for a particular outcome

framing effect

The decision-making bias that results from the way a decision, question, or problem is worded (stated in gains: risk is averted. stated in loses, risk is taken)

deductive reasoning

have observations/evidence (premises), then determine whether conclusion logically follows from premises

syllogism

A form of deductive reasoning consisting of a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion.

categorical syllogism

A syllogism in which each statement begins with one of the words "all," "no," or "some."

valid

syllogisms are valid if the conclusion flows logically from the two premises

true

a syllogism is only true if valid AND if both premises are true

belief bias

the tendency to think a syllogism is valid if its conclusion is believable

mental model approach

in deductive reasoning, determining if syllogisms are valid by creating mental models of situations based on the premises of the syllogism

conditional syllogisms

Syllogism with two premises and a conclusion, like a categorical syllogism, but whose first premise is an "If . . . then . . ." statement.

Wason four-card problem

A conditional reasoning task developed by Wason that involves four cards. Various versions of this problem have been used to study the mechanisms that determine the outcomes of conditional reasoning tasks.

social exchange theory

the theory that human interactions are transactions that aim to maximize one's rewards and minimize one's costs

dual systems of thinking

System 1: fast, intuitive, unconscious, automatic

System 2: slow, reflective, conscious, controlled

global workspace theory

conscious experience arises from coordinating the activity of functionally specialized brain areas

higher order thought theory

theory that mental content becomes phenomenally conscious only when we have another thought about it

integrated information theory

a theory of consciousness that suggests that higher levels of consciousness require a system to represent a large amount of information, and for this information to be integrated, so that the system as a whole carries much more information than the sum of its parts

phi

quantitive measurement of how integrated mental states are

tripartite theory

argues two kinds of consciousness and three states you can get from them

phenomenal (1st order)

being aware of x at all

reflective (2nd order)

thinking about 1st order

three parties of consciousness

completely unconscious

1st order conscious

both 1st and 2nd order conscious

Classical view of categorization

Necessary and sufficent

hedges

Illustrates how categories are probabilistic based on features

Metric Axioms

minimality, symmetry, triangle inequality

violations of metric axioms

More we know about an item, the more similar it is judged to itself

Can't accurately say which ones go in which category (distinction)

a+b>c

Tversky's feature comparison (contrast) model

objects have a series of features and either share or do not share the features with other objects which determines their similarity which is a weighted function of features common to I & J.

coding experience by category

categories allow inferences and there is greater similarity among items within category than between categories

cloze probability

the likelihood that a person will complete a sentence with a particular word

What is the Swinney priming experiment about?

It investigates how context influences lexical access in language processing.

What is the first hypothesis about lexical access in the Swinney priming experiment?

All meanings appropriate for a word are retrieved from memory, and context eliminates inappropriate meanings.

What is the second hypothesis about lexical access in the Swinney priming experiment?

Context exerts its effect so quickly that only the correct meaning is retrieved, without accessing inappropriate meanings.

brocas aphasia

condition resulting from damage to Broca's area, causing the affected person to be unable to speak fluently, to mispronounce words, and to speak haltingly

Wernicke's aphasia

Aphasia resulting from damage to the Wernicke's area of the frontal lobe. Affects written and spoken language.

global aphasia

When both production and understanding of language is damaged

motor program

a memory representation that stores information needed to perform an action

Fitt's Law

a human performance law specifying the movement time for an aiming movement when the distance to move and the target size are known

normative theory

An argument explaining what ought to occur rather than what does occur; contrast with empirical theory

Descriptive Theory

a theory that thoroughly describes a phenomenon, based on rich observations of it