BCS111 Midterm Review Notes

Differences in Study Approaches: Understand various cognitive approaches and functions.
Major Research Methods: Familiarize with the methodologies used in cognitive science.
Experiment Design: Ability to identify variables and interpret findings.

Structuralism: Focus on the "what"; uses introspection to study the basic elements of the mind.
Functionalism: Concerned with the functions of mental processes and their purposes.
Empiricism: Knowledge acquired through experience.
Behaviorism: Emphasizes observable behavior over introspection; includes classical and operant conditioning.
Nativism: Suggests pre-wired capabilities; challenges behaviorist views.
Ecological Approach: Studies behavior within real-world settings.
Evolutionary Approach: Investigates the origins and evolution of cognitive abilities.

Observation: Utilized in ecological approaches.
Modeling: Preferred methods include box-and-arrow versus connectionist models.
Experimental Methods: Identify dependent, independent, and confounding variables.
Behavioral Techniques: Include button presses, priming, and eye-tracking.
Neuroimaging: Focus on techniques like fMRI and EEG.

Stages: Involves processing visual input from distal to proximal stimuli to create percepts.
Recognition: May involve concepts like prototypes and exemplars.

Types: Dichotic listening, dual task effort, and attentional shifts.
Automatic vs. Controlled Processing:
Automatic: Requires little effort (e.g., detecting a standout feature).
Controlled: Involves focused mental effort (e.g., task switching).
Research Evidence: Studies by Schneider & Shiffrin (1977) demonstrate varying demand in automatic versus controlled tasks.

Sensory Memory: Brief retention of sensory information, modality specific (visual, auditory, etc.).
Short-Term Memory (STM): Capacity limitations and the influence of interference (Waugh & Norman’s probe digit task).
Working Memory: Integrates processing and storage; includes constructs like the central executive, phonological loop, and visuo-spatial sketchpad.
Long-Term Memory: Differentiated into episodic and semantic categories; emphasis on the encoding-retrieval process and types of processing (deep vs. shallow).

Explores prototype formation through pattern recognition.
Participants trained on exemplars to identify a prototype while subjected to different testing scenarios.

Highlights the difference between automatic and controlled processing with varied and consistent mappings.

Understanding the various cognitive theories, research methods, and cognitive functions is vital for interpreting experimental findings in cognitive science and prepares you for examination questions on these topics.