Cog Psych Midterm

Cognitive psychology

The branch of psychology concerned with the scientific study of the mental processes involved in perception, attention, memory, language, problem solving, reasoning and decision making.

mind

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

cognition

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

reaction time

The time it takes to react to a stimulus. This is usually determined by measuring the time between presentation of a stimulus and the response to the stimulus.

simple reaction time

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

choice reaction time

Time to respond to one of two or more stimuli.

structuralism

An approach to psychology that explained perception as the adding up of small elementary units called sensations.

analytic introspection

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

rationalist approach

Study and theory-building approach (of the mind) emphasizing philosophy

empiricist approach

Approach that emphasizes the role of experiments in gaining knowledge.

savings

Measure used by Ebbinghaus to determine the magnitude of memory left from initial learning. Higher savings indicate greater memory.

savings curve

Plot of savings versus time after original learning.

behaviourism

The approach to psychology, founded by John B. Watson, which states that observable behaviour provides the only valid data for psychology.

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.

operant conditioning

Type of conditioning championed by B. F. Skinner, which focuses on how behaviour is strengthened by presentation of positive reinforcers, such as food or social approval, or withdrawal of negative reinforcers, such as a shock or social rejection.

cognitive map

Mental conception of a spatial layout.

cognitive revolution

A shift in psychology, from the behaviourist approach to an approach in which the main thrust was to explain behaviour in terms of the mind

information-processing approach

The approach to psychology, developed beginning in the 1950s, in which the mind is described as processing information through a sequence of stages.

dichotic listening

The procedure of presenting one message to the left ear and a different message to the right ear.

artificial intelligence

The ability of a computer to perform tasks usually associated with human intelligence.

logic theorist

Computer program devised by Alan Newell and Herbert Simon that was able to solve logic problems.

Structural models

Representation of a physical structure. An example is a model of the brain or structures within the brain and their connections.

Process models

A model that represents the processes involved in cognition. An example is the flow diagram for Broadbent's filter model of attention.

Resource models

These models focus on which type-and how much mental effort certain processes or tasks use.

multiple resource model

This model suggests that there are separate resources (like pools of energy) for different stages of information processing (perception/cognition vs responding), different modalities (visual vs auditory) and different codes (verbal vs spatial).

interleaving

Intermixing different topics within a particular domain.

Retrieval-based learning

Learning based on the act of retrieving or recovering previously stored information.

perception

Conscious experience that results from stimulation of the senses.

inverse projection problem

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

viewpoint invariance

The ability to recognize an object seen from different viewpoints.

bottom-up processing

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

top-down processing

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

speech segmentation

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

direct pathway model

Model of pain perception that proposes that pain signals are sent directly from receptors to the brain.

placebo

A pill or procedure that patients believe delivers active ingredients (usually pain killers), but which contains no active ingredient.

likelihood principle

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

unconscious inference

Helmholtz's idea that some of our perceptions are the result of unconscious assumptions that we make about the environment. Refer also to Likelihood principle.

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.

principles of perceptual organization

Rules proposed by the 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.

principle of good continuation

Law of perceptual organization stating that points that, when connected, result in straight or smoothly curving lines are seen as belonging together.

law of pragnanz

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. Also called the law of good figure and the law of simplicity.

principle of similarity

Law of perceptual organization that states that similar things appear to be grouped together.

regularities in the environment

Characteristics of the environment that occur frequently. For example, blue is associated with open sky, landscapes are often green and smooth, and verticals and horizontals are often associated with buildings.

Physical regularities

Regularly occurring physical properties of the environment.

oblique effect

The finding that vertical and horizontal orientations can be perceived more easily than other (slanted) orientations.

light-from-above assumption

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

Semantic regularities

Characteristics associated with the functions carried out in different types of scenes.

scene schema

A person's knowledge about what is likely to be contained in a particular scene. This knowledge can help guide attention to different areas of the scene.

Bayesian inference

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

prior probability

A person's initial belief about the probability of an outcome.

likelihood

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

visual masking paradigm

Paradigm used to study pre-perceptual processing by brief target presentations preceded and followed by visual masks that prevent conscious processing of the target stimuli.

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.

experience-dependent plasticity

A mechanism that causes an organism's neurons to develop so they respond best to the type of stimulation to which the organism has been exposed.

brain lesioning

Removing part of the brain.

object discrimination task

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. Associated with research on the what processing stream.

landmark discrimination task

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.

what pathway

Neural pathway, extending from the occipital lobe to the temporal lobe, that is associated with perceiving or recognizing objects. Corresponds to the perception pathway.

where pathway

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. Roughly corresponds to the action pathway.

visual agnosia

Inability to recognize everyday objects, familiar faces and geometrical shapes.

perception pathway

Neural pathway, extending from the occipital lobe to the temporal lobe, that is associated with perceiving or recognizing objects. Corresponds to the what pathway.

action pathway

Neural pathway, extending from the occipital lobe to the parietal lobe, that is associated with neural processing that occurs when people take action. Corresponds to the where pathway.

Ebbinghaus illusion

Visual illusion involves a central circle which is surrounded by several other circles. The illusion consists of the fact that people generally judge the central circle to be smaller compared to its actual size when surrounded by bigger circles and vice versa.

attention

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

selective attention

The ability to focus on one message and ignore all others.

distraction

Occurs when one stimulus interferes with attention to or the processing of another stimulus.

divided attention

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

attentional capture

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

visual scanning

Movement of the eyes from one location or object to another.

filter model of attention

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

shadowing

The procedure of repeating a message out loud as it is heard. Shadowing is commonly used in conjunction with studies of selective attention that use the dichotic listening procedure.

bottleneck model

Model of attention that proposes that incoming information is restricted at some point in processing, so only a portion of the information gets through to consciousness. Broadbent’s model of attention is an example of a bottleneck model.

early selection model

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.

cocktail party effect

The ability to focus on one stimulus while filtering out other stimuli, especially at a party where there are a lot of simultaneous conversations.

attenuation model of attention

Anne Treisman's model of selective attention proposes that selection occurs in two stages. In the first stage, an attenuator analyzes the incoming message and lets through the attended message-and also the unattended message, but at a lower (attenuated) strength. In the second stage. the message is analyzed by a dictionary unit.

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.

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 can sometimes hear a familiar word, such as our name, in an unattended message.

late selection models of attention

A model of selective attention that proposes that selection of stimuli for final processing does not occur until after the information in the message has been analyzed for meaning.

processing capacity

The amount of information input that a person can handle. This sets a limit on the person's ability to process information.

perceptual load

Related to the difficulty of a task. Low-load tasks use only a small amount of a person's processing capacity. High-load tasks use more of the processing capacity.

low-load tasks

A task that uses few resources, leaving some capacity to handle other tasks.

high-load tasks

A task that uses most or all of a person's resources and so leaves little capacity to handle other tasks.

load theory of attention

Proposal that the ability to ignore task-irrelevant stimuli depends on the load of the task the person is carrying out. Highload -tasks result in less distraction.

late selection

Refers to the operation of selective attention after the stimuli have been fully processed.

cognitive load

The total amount of mental effort used in working memory.

flanker compatibility task

This task measures interference and inhibition of prepotent responses. There are several variations but the most common one is the one in which participants have to respond to a central target stimulus, which is flanked by other stimuli on each side. The flanker stimuli can be either congruent to the target stimulus, requiring the same response, or incongruent, requiring a different response.

spatial attention

A form of attention (most times visual) that involves directing attention to a certain location in space.

overt attention

Shifting of attention by moving the eyes. Contrasts with Covert attention.

covert attention

Occurs when attention is shifted without moving the eyes, commonly referred to as seeing something “out of the corner of one’s eye.” Contrasts with Overt attention.

fixation

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

saccadic eye movement

Eye movements from one fixation point to another.

stimulus salience

Bottom-up factors that determine attention to elements of a scene. Examples are colour, contrast and orientation. The meaningfulness of the images, which is a top-down factor, does not contribute to stimulus salience.

saliency map

Map of a scene that indicates the stimulus salience of areas and objects in the scene.

cueing

A procedure for testing memory in which a participant is presented with cues, such as words or phrases, to aid recall of previously experienced stimuli.

Endogenous cues

Specific type of cues in a spatial attention cueing task. These cues always appear in the centre of the computer screen (at fixation) and indicate where the participant can expect the subsequent target. By means of these cues, top-down (controlled) attention is manipulated.

exogenous cues

Specific type of cues in a spatial attention cueing task. These cues appear at one of the locations where the subsequent target could appear (for example left/right or above/below fixation). By means of these cues, bottom-up (reflexive) attention is manipulated.

selection history

The bias to prioritize items that have been previously attended in a given context.

selection bias

An early perceptual bias towards a specific stimulus feature, such as colour or shape, such that stimuli with that feature are prioritized over other stimuli during initial encoding.

repetition priming

When an initial presentation of a stimulus affects the person’s response to the same stimulus when it is presented later.

priority map

A topographic representation map that is used for attention selection and guidance of task-related behaviour during visual processing.