Cognitive Psych Exam 2

localization

finding a location in the brain that supports a particular cognitive process or function

damage/lesion model

if the hypothalamus supports a memory, then damage to the hypothalamus will lead to an impairment in memory

rat became excessively obese

outcome of satiation lesioned rat brain

ate more than usual but stopped when full

outcome of genetically identical control rat in lesion experiment

activity(?) theory

if the hypothalamus supports memory, then the hypothalamus will be active when you are remembering something

converging evidence

both of these things true at the same time, solid evidence that this brain region is responsible for this conclusion

visual perception

sensing and perceiving are examples of

sensing

the conversion of physical energy into the neural codes recognized by the brain

sensing

pressing eyes and seeing flashes of color is an example of brain misinterpreting pressure signals through what process

perceiving

an internal representation of the object is formed and a percept of the external stimulus is devloped

inverse projection problem

real world is 3D and our retinal image is 2D, there are an infinite number of 3D objects that can give rise to a 2D percept

upside down glasses experiment

subjects found that their brain rewired overnight to account for upside-down glasses they were wearing 24/7

visual ambiguities

shape and orientation (necker cuber - percept is not stable, face inversion effect), light source/reflectance/shadow, size and distance

perceptual constancies

a retinal image can change dramatically but we still perceive the same thing

shape constancy

the shape of a retinal image can change dramatically but we still perceive it as the same size

size constancy

the size of a retinal image can change dramatically but we still perceive it as the same size (ex: moon looks larger on horizon)

brightness and color constancy

the color of a retinal image of an object can change dramatically but we still can perceive it as the same color

monocular depth cues

only require use of one eye

monocular depth cues

relative size, occlusion, atmospheric perspective, linear perspective

relative size

if an image of one object is bigger than another object it appears closer

occlusion

when one object is blocked by another object, the blocked object is perceived as being further away

atmospheric perspective

faraway objects often appear hazy or slightly blurred

linear perspective

parallel lines seem to meet in the distance (railroad track)

binocular depth cues

require the use of both eyes

bincocular depth cues

convergence, stereopsis

convergence

the more your eyes rotate inward to focus on an object, the closer the object is perceived to be

stereopsis

because the eyes are in different places, they get slightly different views of an object (3D movies)

ames room

failure to correctly identify depth cues

visual cliff experiment

humans develop ability to avoid serious drops for survival around 6 months because that is when they learn to crawl

impossible figures

cannot exist in the real world because it appears that one thing is simultaneously both in front of an behind something else

bottom up processing

an analysis of the actual sensory image (viewer is only given image, no additional information)

rorschach inkblot test

what is an example of bottom up processing

top down processing

using our knowledge, beliefs, and expectations to determine what we see (once you know what you’re looking for, it becomes easier to make out image)

muller-lyer illusion

people living in “noncarpentered” societies are not susceptible, fail to recognize difference in lines (looks like corner of a room)

frame of reference

light sources are perceived as illuminating objects from above

flashlight under face at campfire

what is an example of frame of reference

retinal fatigue

illusions can result from sensory adaptation

gestalt psychology

the whole is greater than the sum of its parts (we don’t recognize objects by looking at individual features)

gestalt proximity

things that are near each other are grouped together

gestalt similarity

things that are alike in some way are perceived as together

subliminal perception

hysteria in 1960s over alleged subliminal messaging during drive-in movie ads, no evidence this ever occurred

attention

focusing cognitive processes on external stimuli so that information can be gathered about them

selectivity, shiftability, divisibility

three primary attributes of attention

selectivity

we focus mental effort on specific stimuli while ignoring others

shiftability

we are able to change focus abruptly to another subject (King of Jordan’s open-air walk)

divisibility

we can focus on more than one thing at a time (talking on phone while driving - enough attention available to split)

focused attention

participants attend to one stimulus and ignore others (selection, unattended stimuli) (gorilla video)

divided attention

participants attend to all stimuli (processing limits, attentional capacity)

dichotic listening task

listening to two messages at once (one in each ear)s

shadowing

asking participant to focus on one of the messages and ignore the other ear (attended inputs vs. ignored inputs) then say it out loud (speech output)

shadowing study (Treisman, 1960)

message switches from right to left ear halfway through the sentence, people always say a few words from the wrong ear on accident (displays loss of attentional control)

cocktail party effect

noticing your name in a message you have been ignoring (hearing something out of the corner of your ear in a crowd)

automaticity

fast and effortless processing that requires little or no attention (ex: stick shift, navigation)

stroop task

hard to state colors of words because reading is automatic and takes over

could remember story and take good dictation, but were unable to process dictation

can we perform two complicated tasks simultaneously? subjects take dictation while reading a short story

visual neglect

ignoring things that appear on one side of the body (usually left)

attention

is visual neglect an attention or visual disorder?

priming

you can prime a person to think about something by mentioning something similar (reaction time with similar word in neglected field is much faster than reaction time with non-related word)

ADHD

problems with concentration or sustaining attention of extended periods

antisocial disorder

impact of ADHD, does not mean introvert, but serial killer type of activities

overstimulating kids TV shows, food preservatives, less incidental exercise

potential causes in increased ADHD rates

brief intervals of exercise between academics

which ADHD treatment experiment proved nearly as effective as medication?

yerkes dodson curve

measures optimal arousal for optimal performance

higher arousal

simple tasks are performed better under ______

lower arousal

difficult tasks are performed better under ______

pleasant at first, unpleasant after extended period

what was the response to sensory deprivation studies?

visual search paradigm

subjects look at a large number of characters and try to pick out a particular one (wheres waldo)

disjunctive search

when the target differs from the distractors on just one feature, parallel in nature

disjunctive search

set size does not affect search time

conjunctive search

there are two or more features that differentiate the target from the distractors, serial in nature

conjunctive search

set size has a large impact on time it takes to locate the target

conjunctive search

natural camoflauge in nature

memory

the capacity to preserve and recover information

encoding, storage, retrieval

three stages of remembering

encoding

the processes that determine and control acquisition of memories

bad at remembering names

what is an example of an encoding failure?

elaborative rehearsal

matt = doormat, reysen = white rice in hairs

storage

the processes that determine and control how memories are maintained over time

forgetting a foreign language over time

what’s an example of a storage failure?

retrieval

the processes that determine and control how memories are recovered

tip of the tongue phenomenon

what’s an example of a retrieval failure?

sensory, primary, secondary

our memories are often subdivided into three different types:

span of apprehension

what did Jevon’s bean study analyze?

9

what span of apprehension did jevon determine?

familiarity with number in hand, no way to regulate glance time

problems with Jevon’s study

8.4

span of apprehension determined from T-scope replicated experiment

sensory memory

after you experience a stimulus, a trace is stored for a very brief period

echoic memory

the system that produces and stores auditory sensory information (helps retain while processing speech information)

suffix effect

saying something at the end of a list hurts memory for the last few items of the list (AT&T closing remark)

iconic memory

the system that produces and stores visual sensory memories

iconic memory

perceptual trail (of a sparkler) is an example of what

whole report, unsuccessful

subjects subjected to brief glimpse of 12-letter matrix, asked to give full report

George Sperling’s partial report

show entire image for 50msec, play sound to indicate which row to recall, discovered participants could remember whichever they were assigned

at least 12 items

George Sperling’s partial report test widened the accepted iconic sensory memory to what?

very large capacity, very short duration (250ms)

what are the properties of sensory memory? (capacity/duration)

primary memory

used to hold information for a short period of time (minute or two)

5 (one for each sense)

how many ways is sensory memory stored?

3

how many ways is primary memory information stored?

auditory, visual, semantic

what are the three ways primary memory is encoded?