Cognitive psych Exam 1 prep

chapter's 1,2, 3

Behaviorist

One who adheres to the perspective in psychology that focuses on observable behaviors

Biological perspective

Perspective in psychology that describes cognition according to the mechanisms of the brain

Case Study

A research study that focuses on intensive analyses of a single individual or more broadly on a single observation unit

Correlational study

A research study that examins relationshops between measured variables

Dependant variables (response variable)

The behavior that is measured in a research study

Determinism

The principle that behaviors have underlying causes and that understanding involves the identification of what these causes are and how they are related to the behavior of interest

Embodied Cognition

A perspective in psychology that cognition focuses on bodily interaction with the environment

Empiricism

The principle that is the key to understanding new things is through systematic observation

Quasi- independant variable

A variable within an experimental design, pre- existing or inseparable from the participants, that cannot be reasonably manipulated

Experimental Study

A research study that examines causal relationships between variables

Independent Variable (explanatory variable)

A factor in an experiment that is manipulated by the researcher (e.g, randomly assigning subjects to a group in the experiment

Introspection

Reflecting on and reporting one’s own subjective experience

Metacognition

Awareness of one’s own cognitive abilities and processes

Parsimony

The principle of preferring simole explanations over more complex ones

Priming

An effect in which the exposure to one stimulus influences the response to a later related stimulus

Psychophysics

The study of how changes in the physical environment translate into changes in sensations and perceptions

Representationalist

One who adheres to the perspective in psychology that concepts can be represented in the mind

Scientific method

A method of gaining knowledge in a field that relies on observation of phenomena and which allows for tests of hypotheses about those phenomena

Testability

The principle that theories must be stated in ways that allow them to be evlauated though observation

Dr. Pernetta is studying a patient with a rare brain injury from an automobile accident. The patient is experiencing symptoms that are very unusual, and Dr. Pernetta takes notes and observes her progress. This research is an example of a(n) ______ study.

Case

Studies of rapid eye movement are most closely related to

language

connectionist models are used to explore elements of____

language

Dr. Carson is testing the effects of caffeine on problem-solving, so he administers a puzzle to his students and rates their accuracy of completion. Some students have received caffeinated cola, and some students have received decaffeinated cola. The dependent variable in Dr. Carson’s study is the ______.

accuracy

Empiricism focuses on the ______ of behaviors.

Multiple choice question

witnessing

Neville’s son has been avoiding naptime, and he wants to know the underlying reasons. He tries to determine if his son is no longer sleepy during the day, is having nightmares, or is trying to spend all of his time playing with his toys. Neville’s aim of identifying the cause most closely relates to the concept of ______.

determinism

Which is an example of a positive correlation?

As studying decreases, test scores decrease

If the target word is “dog,” which word is prime?

pet

Chomsky supported that language is developed by ______.

learning rules

what is a main advantage of case studies?

high levels of detail

what is an example of a negative correlation?

As phone minutes increase, battery life decreases

Mr. Desmond is testing different teaching methods on his students to determine which instruction style will have the strongest effect on answering questions in class and being more actively engaged during his class lectures. He measures how many students participate and raise their hands. Their outcome behaviors in his study are the ______ variable.

dependent

Axon

An extension from the neuron nucleus where an electrical impulse in the neuron occurs

Dendrites

Extensions from neurons that receive chemical messages (neurotransmitters) from other neurons

Electroencephalography (EEG)

A brain recording technique that records the activity of large sections of neurons from different areas of the scalp

Event-related potential (ERP)

A brain recording technique (EEG) that measures the activity of large sections of neurons in relation to a specific stimulus presentation

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

An MRI technique that images brain activity during a task

Hippocampus

A brain structure located in the medial temporal lobes that is important for long-term memory

Lateralization

The two hemispheres of the brain are responsible for different types of functional specializations

Localization

The brain is comprised of neural networks organized according to their cognitive functions

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

A technique to image the internal portions of the body using the magnetic fields present in the cells

Magnetoencephalography (MEG)

A brain recording technique that records activity of large sections of neurons from different areas of the scalp using a large magnet that is placed over the head

Neuron

The basic cell of the brain

Positron emission tomography (PET)

A technique that images neuron activity in the brain through radioactive markers in the bloodstream

Single-cell recording

A brain activity recording technique that records activity from a single neuron or small group of neurons in the brain

Synapse

A space between neurons where neurotransmitters are released and received

Turn

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)

A method of temporarily stimulating or suppressing neurons using a magnetic field

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)

A method of temporarily stimulating or suppressing neurons using an electrical current

Absolute threshold

The smallest amount of a stimulus that can be perceived

Affordance

Behavior that is possible in a given environment

Bottom-up processing

Understanding the environment through basic feature identification and processing

Difference threshold

The smallest change in a stimulus that can be perceived

Distal stimulus

Stimulus in the environment

Dorsal pathway

The pathway in the brain that processes “where” information about the environment

Geons

Basic three-dimensional pieces of objects

Gestalt psychology

A perspective in psychology that focuses on how organizational principles allow us to perceive and understand the environment

Habituation

A decrease in response to a repeatedly presented stimulus

Opponent-process theory

The idea that color vision is accomplished through opponent process cells that are excited or inhibited by pairs of colors

Phonemes

Distinct sound units that comprise a language

Plasticity

The brain’s ability to be flexible in its processing of information in terms of neural location

Primary auditory cortex (A1)

The receiving area of auditory information in the cortex of the brain.

Primary visual cortex (V1)

The receiving area of visual information in the cortex of the brain

Principle of Pragnanz

An organizational principle that allows for the simplest interpretation of the environment

Proximal stimulus

Stimulus as it is represented in the mind

Psychophysics

The study of how changes in the physical environment translate into changes in sensations and perceptions

Sensory system

A system that receives and processes input from stimuli in the environment

Theory of unconscious inference

The idea that we make unconscious inferences about the world when we perceive it

Top-down processing

Understanding the environment through global knowledge of the environment and its principles

Transduction

The process of transforming raw sensory energy into neural impulses

Trichromatic theory

The idea that color vision is accomplished through a pattern of activation across the three types of cones

Ventral pathway

The pathway in the brain that processes “what” information about the environment