Untitled Flashcards Set

History of Cognitive Psychology/Sensory Memory/Pattern Recognition

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Two Critical Strands of Cognition: Think of cognition like planning the perfect themed party. There are two main things you need:

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Representation: This is like knowing what decorations you have and what's in your closet1. It's the knowledge you already possess1. The old-school view was that this was static, like thinking your closet is always the same1.

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Process: This is how you actually put the party together – deciding where to hang the decorations, what to wear, etc.1. It's an operation on an external stimulus (the party theme) or an internal representation (your knowledge)1. The current view is that this is dynamic; your mind is constantly changing, like when you're changing outfits to find the perfect one1.

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Aristotle’s Doctrine of Association: Imagine you're making a mood board for your party. Aristotle thought that our mental life is all about connecting ideas2. There are three main ways we link things2...:

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Contiguity: Things that happen close together in time. Like seeing your crush and then hearing your favorite song2.

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Similarity: Things that are alike. Like matching your jewelry to your dress because they have the same vibe3.

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Contrast: Things that are opposites. Like pairing a sweet snack with a salty one3.

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First Psychology Lab: Basically, the OG place where they started studying the mind3.

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Founded by Wilhelm Wundt in 1879 at the University of Leipzig in Germany3.

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His approach was called structuralism3.

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Four Factors That Led to Cognitive Psychology: Think of these as the reasons why everyone started caring about cognitive psychology4.

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Fall of Behaviorism: Behaviorism only focused on what people do, not what they think. But researchers realized that our thoughts are super important in explaining why we do things4.

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Information/Communication Theory: Introduced the idea that the brain processes information like a computer4.

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Linguistics and Psycholinguistics: Noam Chomsky said that just looking at behavior doesn't explain how kids learn language, which was a major turning point5.

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Computers and Computer Models: These models showed that the mind works like a computer, processing, storing, and retrieving info5.

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Sensory Memory: This is like when you see a cute guy across the room6. It's that super brief flash of information your brain grabs7.

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How it was discovered: Through experiments by George Sperling6.

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Whole Report: Trying to remember everything you saw6.

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Partial Report: Only remembering part of what you saw (like if someone pointed out a specific detail)6.

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Why we have it: To decide if something is important enough to pay attention to7....

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Masking: This is when something else pops up right after that initial flash and messes with your memory of it9. Like when your friend starts talking to you right after you saw the cute guy, and you can't remember what he looked like9.

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Pattern Recognition: How we recognize things8. Two main theories:

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Template Matching: Matching the whole pattern to a stored template8. Like matching a Snapchat filter to your face8.

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Strengths: Simple, works for simple patterns like barcodes10.

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Weaknesses: Can't handle complex stuff or different versions of the same thing10.

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Feature Recognition: Breaking down the pattern into smaller parts (features)10. Like recognizing letters by their lines and curves10.

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Strengths: Connects well to how we understand concepts10.

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Weaknesses: Doesn't explain how context affects recognition11.

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Four Criteria for Features:

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Critical for contrast11

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Consistent under changing conditions11

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Unique pattern for each letter11

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Small in number11

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Bottom-Up vs. Top-Down Processing:

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Bottom-Up: Processing starts with the senses and works its way up to the brain12. Like seeing a hot pink dress and automatically noticing it12.

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Top-Down: Processing starts with your knowledge and expectations and influences how you see things13. Like spotting your friend in a crowd because you know what she looks like13....

Attention: Bottleneck and Capacity

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Four Types of Attention: Think of these as different ways you can focus15.

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Alerting: Just noticing something, like a loud noise15.

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Vigilance: Focusing on one thing for a long time, like watching a TV show15.

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Selective: Focusing on one thing and ignoring everything else, like listening to your professor during class16.

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Divided: Trying to focus on two things at once, like texting while watching TV16.

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Broadbent’s Filter Theory: This theory says that our brain can only handle so much information at once, like a bouncer at a party17. We select what's important before we fully process everything17.

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Dichotic Listening: This is when you hear different things in each ear18. Experiments use this to study how we pay attention18.

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Change/Inattentional Blindness: This is when you completely miss something obvious because you're not paying attention19. Like not noticing your roommate got a new haircut19. It happens because our attention is limited19.

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Saccadic Blindness: This is when your vision is blurry during rapid eye movements (saccades)20.

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Arousal and Performance: Arousal is like your energy level20.

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Too little arousal = you're too tired to focus20.

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Too much arousal = you're too distracted to focus20.

Automaticity, Visual Search

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Visual Search: Looking for something specific21.

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Set Size Function: The more things you have to search through, the longer it takes21.

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Stroop Effect: This is when you have to say the color of a word, but the word is a different color (like the word "blue" written in red)22. It's hard because you automatically read the word22.

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Criteria for Automaticity: A process is automatic if23:

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You're not aware of it23.

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It doesn't interfere with other processes23.

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It's not affected by practice23.

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Feature Integration Theory: This theory tries to explain how we see objects by combining their features23.

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Parallel Pre-attentive Stage: Your brain automatically notices basic features like color and shape24.

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Serial Attentive Stage: You use attention to combine these features and recognize the object24.

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Illusory Conjunction: This is when you mix up the features of different objects25. Like thinking you saw a red circle when there was a red square and a blue circle25.

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Algorithms vs. Heuristics:

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Algorithm: A step-by-step procedure that always gives you the right answer, but it can be slow26. Like following a recipe exactly26.

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Heuristic: A mental shortcut that's faster, but it might not always be right26. Like guessing how much time you need to get ready based on past experience26....

Visual Attention Basics, Object-Based Attention

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Why Visual Attention Is Hard to Measure:27

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Can't directly measure attention27.

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Need to use reaction time and accuracy27.

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Need to keep eyes still27.

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Types of Attention Shifts:28

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Exogenous: Automatic, bottom-up shift caused by something unexpected28. Like a sudden loud noise28.

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Endogenous: Voluntary, top-down shift caused by your goals28. Like looking for your keys28.

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Covert: Shifting attention without moving your eyes29.

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Overt: Shifting attention by moving your eyes29.

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Cuing Effects: Using cues to direct attention29.

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Central Cues: Symbols or instructions (arrows)29. Take time to process30.

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Peripheral Cues: Flashes of light30. Automatic and faster30.

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Inhibition of Return: You're slower to notice things in places you've already looked31. This helps you search more efficiently31.

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Object-Based vs. Space/Location-Based Attention:31

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Object-Based: Attention is directed to specific objects31.

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Space/Location-Based: Attention is directed to areas in space32.

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Duncan’s Experiments: Showed that attention is allocated to objects, not just space32....

Video: The Boy Who Sees Without Eyes

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Echolocation: Using sound to "see" the environment34. Like how Ben uses tongue clicks to sense objects34.

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Increased Senses: Ben's hearing became greater than average because his brain adapted to his vision loss34.

Introduction to Perception

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Three Steps of Perception:35...

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Reception of the stimulus35

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The information on the retina is changed into electrical signals, transmitted to the brain, and processed35

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During processing, various mechanisms work towards creating a conscious perception of the sign36

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How Context Influences Perception (Palmer’s Experiment):36

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The "bread" was identified 80% of the time, only 40% for mailbox or drum36.

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Expectations shaped by context affect recognizing objects in scenarios36.

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Recognition by Components Theory: We recognize objects by breaking them down into 3D shapes called geons37.

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Critical Properties of Geons:37

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Discriminability37

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Resistance to visual noise37...

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Predictions:38

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Objects are identified if enough geons are identified38.

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Recognition based on a small number of shapes38.

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View Invariance: Geons can be recognized from different angles38.

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Gestalt Laws of Perceptual Organization: These are rules that describe how we group things together39.

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Simplicity39

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Similarity39

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Good continuation39

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Proximity (nearness)40

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Common fate40

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Familiarity40

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Closure40

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Uniform Connectedness40

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Inverse Projection Problem: Figuring out what object caused a particular image on your retina40....

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How Occlusion Influences Perception: We can still recognize objects even when they're partially hidden41.

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Two Neural Correlates of Perception:41...

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Ventral Stream: "What" pathway (perception)42.

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Dorsal Stream: "Where" pathway (action)42.

Visual Illusions

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Hollow Mask and Margaret Thatcher Illusion: We're used to seeing faces a certain way, so our brains get tricked43.

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Ball in a Box Shadow Illusion: Shadow, depth cues, and assumptions all play tricks on us43....

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Color and Motion Afterimages: Fatigued cells in the retina cause color afterimages44. Neurons adapting to movement cause motion afterimages45.

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Can Visual Illusions Be Overcome?: No45. Awareness/training can reduce the impacts of illusions45.

Guest Lecture 1: Embodiment and Cognition

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Affordances: Possibilities for interaction46.

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Baseball Players Perceiving a Pitch: Training and skills can change how we see things46.

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Quantitative vs. Qualitative Differences:47

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Quantitative: Differences in speed or accuracy47.

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Qualitative: Differences in why you're doing something47.

Memory

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How Ebbinghaus Studied Memory: He learned lists of nonsense syllables, waited, and then relearned them48.

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Declarative vs. Non-Declarative Memory:48

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Declarative: Knowing "what" (facts, events)48.

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Non-Declarative: Knowing "how" (skills, habits)48.

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Three Components of Memory:49

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Encoding49

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Storage49

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Retrieval49

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Direct vs. Indirect Tests of Memory:49

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Direct: You know your memory is being tested (recall, recognition)49.

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Indirect: You don't know your memory is being tested (word completion)50.

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Discriminating Between Correctly and Incorrectly Remembered Events: We determine this by the number of hits (correct recognitions) and false alarms (incorrect recognitions)50.

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Prospective Memory: Remembering to do things in the future51.

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Serial Position Effects:51

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Primacy Effect: Remembering the first items on a list51.

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Recency Effect: Remembering the last items on a list51.

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Asymptote: Poorest recall in the middle of a sequenc