Cog Psych: CH 1-3

Cognition

Cognition includes various mental processes that we use to interpret the world and to engage with others

Cognitive Psychology

The objective, scientific study of mental processes, including learning memory, reasoning, decision-making, attention, perception, and language

Plato, Socrates, Descartes

Nature, The contents of the mind are inborn; knowledge is inborn

Aristotle, Locke

Nurture, People have to learn about the world

Structuralism

Wundt, Thitchener

Introspection

To look within yourself; self-reflection, became the source of argumentation and contention

What Powerful school ruled the 20th century, used introspection and forbade study of mind/thinking?

Behaviorism

Behaviorists who equated human thinking to studying animal behavior

John Watson, B.F. Skinner

Who caused the end of Behaviorism in psychology and believed language is inborn?

Noam Chomsky

Physiological psychology/Neuroscience

Elementary medical techniques (EEG) and case studies of patients with brain damage led to a notion of “localization of function”

Localization of function

Different places in the brain have different jobs

Cognitive Neuroscience

The combination of physiological studies of localizations of function of operations in a living human

Function

Skills or ability

Medical technology (Neuro-imaging)

allows for the extensive study of cognitive functions in a living human

Theoretical Cognition

Theory is related to understanding or explaining things

Applied Cognition

Applied refers to using out knowledge in the real world

What is the reason for research?

To understand why things are the way they are

Variable

Anything that can have different values, that varies, is a variable

Some variables that can be manipulated

Type of stimuli shown, Complexity of stimuli

Variables that can be collected as data

Decision, Reaction time, Recall, Patterns of activation on neuro-imaging, looking time

Descriptive Research

Documents or records things as they are (no stimulating/manipulating)

Advantage of descriptive research

Report things as they exist: authentic, natural, trustworthy

Disadvantage of descriptive research

Never answers the cause or reason why something occurs

Naturalistic Observation

Observing behavior in the environment in which they occur, Jane Goodall’s Chimps

Case Studies

Writing down a detailed story about an individual because it is a unique case

Correlational Studies

Broad collection of studies (Ex Post Facto/Quasi-experimental), correlation coefficcient -1 to +1

Ex Post Facto

Collect research after the fact

Quasi-experimental Studies

Not experimental but looks like it

Caveat about correlation

Correlation is causation - INCORRECT STATEMENT

Ethical Constraints of Correlational Research

Not going to force person to do action, but find the data to figure out if there is a correlation, while aware of the limits

Practical Constraints of Correlational Research

Can not force a person into said situation, but can find the relation through data

Experimental Research

Variables are deliberately manipulated to see what happens

Independent variable (IV)

Thing that is changed

Dependent variable (DV)

Data that get collected, results of the study

Advantages of experimental research

If done correctly can find out what causes what

Disadvantage to experimental research

Inauthentic, odd, strange, subject will behave different than. how they naturally would

Extraneous Variables

not IV or DV, can confuse the interpretation of a study and influence the DV, needs to be controlled, e.g. age, gender, environment, species

Participant Bias (expectancy effects)

Participants have beliefs that can affect their reactions or performance

Single-blind control

Only the participants are unaware of some important information that might influence the results of the study, researchers may lie about study for this reason

Experimenter bias

Researchers are committed to getting a certain pattern of data, which can inappropriately impact the results

Double-blind control

The participants and the researchers (who directly deal with the participants) are unaware of important information

Parts of the limbic system

Hippocampus and amygdala

What is the most recent part of our brain to evolve?

Neocortex

Sulci and fissures (wrinkles and deep grooves) in the brain

allows for more tissue for function

Neocortex

Involved in memory, awareness, attention, language, reasoning, intelligence, perception, and movement

Cortical

adjective for cortex

Somatosensory and motor cortex

In humans, much of the area is devoted to the head, face, mouth, and hands. Less is devoted to larger body parts. the ratio is varied in humans

Somatosensory

Gives you feeling if you are being touched and where

Motor skill

Gives you the ability to move your body

Localization of function

Functions are abilities (movement, language, vision, memory, etc) found in predictable and permanent areas of the brain

Are there anatomical modules or centers?

No coginitive functions can be found in multiple areas of the brain, flexibly depending on the task. Areas overlap

Association areas

flexibly allow the cortex to interpret, coordinate, and link info and functions from multiple areas, activity can change from moment to moment

Tissue in association areas, Humans vs. Other species

Humans have a higher percentage devoted to association areas, others species lower on the phylogenetic scale have less

What does neuroimaging research show of accomplished people in the arts and sciences?

They have increased activity in association cortices (plural of cortex), compared to people in non-creative areas

Techniques to study human brain

Clinical/Medical case studies, Recording, Neuroimaging

CT Scans

Shows the structure of the brain

What are the white areas in CT Scans?

brain tissue; functional tissue

What are the black areas in CT Scans?

Missing brain tissue; fluid

PET scans

shows activity in the brain

What are the red/orange areas in PET scans?

Intense activity

What are the blue areas in PET scans?

no activity/less activity

MRI

shows the structure of the brain

fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging)

structure and activity, anatomical detail and specific are where activity takes place

Lateralization of function

Lateral means side, so the sides of the brain and their respective functions

Left hemisphere

Analytic thought; logic, math, language(Broca, Wernicke), Right (opposite) side motor skills, Right (opposite) side ear audition

Right hemisphere

Emotional thought, Intuitions, Creativity, music, art, Left (opposite) side motor skills, Left (opposite) side ear audition

What is the purpose of the corpus Callosum?

This is the tissue that allows both sides to communicate; information is shared across hemispheres

Lateralization of function map

Only true for right-handed, almost all right handed people are left dominant for language, left handed people are not predictable, they are not on the opposite side to righties

What is true about being left handed?

Left handedness is associated with a high risk of a learning disability

Dominance

Refers to the hemisphere that is stronger for a function. The left hemisphere is “dominant for language” and the right side is dominant for music and art but has some linguistic skills

What is a misconception of dominance?

People are not left brained or right brained, they use both

How many lobes are in the hemispheres?

Each hemisphere has four distinct lobes

What is and where is excutive function?

Located in the frontal lobes, it is involved in planning, organizing, decision-making, regulates impulses, emotion, consideration of consequences

What disorders have executive dysfunctions?

ADHD, ASD, traumatic brain injury, dementia (trouble with the lobe)

What is the main cause of chronic traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)

Prevalent in football who constantly hitting their head for a long period of time

Where is language?

Broca’s area, Wernicke’s area, Language Association area

Why can people hear better through there right ear?

The right ear is directly connected to the left hemisphere where the language function is found

Where is memory located?

Several places in the cortex, lower down or “older” parts of the brain

What are the two parts of the limbic system?

Hippocampus and amygdala

What does the limbic system do?

Humans use the limbic system for learning and memory

What is bigger in people who rely on memory?

Hippocampus

What happens in the hippocampus?

Short term memory transform into long term memory

What mental disability effects the performance of the hippocampus?

PTSD, post traumatic stress disorder, can affect the memory span

What is the function of the amygdala

vigilance, respond (to others or situations) with empathy or aggression, used for some classical conditioning

What Happens in a synapse

Neurons get excited which can stimulate more neurons. Neurotransmitters get released into the synapse and allow neurons to communicate and act in a coordinated way

What is pruning?

It is a process that eliminates overgrowth of synapse connections that are no longer needed

When does pruning occur?

While you sleep which is why sleep is very important

What cells are in charge of pruning?

Microglial cells, janitors of the brain, serve the purpose of pruning

At what stages does pruning most commonly occur?

3, 8, and puberty

How much pruning happens with schizophrenia?

Too much pruning

How much pruning happens with autism?

Not enough pruning

How much pruning happens with Alzheimer’s?

Too much pruning LATER in life

Neuroplasticity

The brain changes with experience

What is the correlation between age and neuroplasticity

Negative correlation, as age increases, neuroplasticity decreases

Epigenetics

Genes can be expressed (appear) or not expressed, without modifying genetic information (genotype). They can be “switched” on or off. Biology is not destiny.

Cognitive reserve

The brain can protect itself from preexisting pathology when a person stays active mentally and physically

What was the outcome of the nun study?

Some nuns who functioned typically/normally had brains full of pathology, actively learning and staying engaged in activities protected their mind from said pathology

Neuroplasticity, Epigenetics, Cognitive Reserve

Your behaviors and experiences impact your brain function, protect you brain

Perception (sensation)

Perception emphasizes how sensory input interacts with psychological issues such as expectancy, culture, learning, etc

Where are receptor cells?

Receptor cells are outside of the brain, they are the first to dtect stimuli for each of the senses