Untitled Flashcards Set
Foundations of Psychology
Q: What is cognitive psychology?
A: The study of mental processes like perception, memory, attention, and decision-making.
Q: What was the goal of structuralism?
A: To break down mental processes into basic components.
Q: Who is associated with functionalism, and what was its focus?
A: William James; it focused on how mental processes help individuals adapt to their environment.
Q: Which founding father of psychology aligns with modern evolutionary psychology?
A: William James.
Q: What was the cognitive revolution?
A: A shift in psychology in the 1950s-60s emphasizing internal mental processes over behaviorism.
Research Methods & Brain Imaging
Q: What is cognitive neuroscience?
A: The study of brain structures and functions related to cognition.
Q: What is neuropsychology?
A: The study of brain injuries and cognitive deficits to understand brain function.
Q: What does an EEG measure?
A: Electrical activity in the brain.
Q: How do fMRI and PET scans measure brain activity?
A: Both rely on blood flow.
Q: Which brain imaging technique relies on X-rays?
A: CAT scans.
Q: Which brain imaging method uses magnetic fields to create images?
A: MRI.
Perception & Attention
Q: What is perception?
A: The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information.
Q: What is the difference between a distal stimulus and a proximal stimulus?
A: Distal stimulus = the actual object in the world; proximal stimulus = the sensory input received.
Q: What does the Gestalt Law of Pragnanz state?
A: We perceive the simplest, most organized shape possible.
Q: What does the Law of Similarity state?
A: We group similar objects together in perception.
Q: What does the Law of Proximity state?
A: We perceive objects that are close together as part of the same group.
Q: What is inattentional blindness?
A: Failure to notice something in a scene when attention is focused elsewhere.
Q: What is the Cocktail Party Effect?
A: The ability to focus on one conversation in a noisy environment while still detecting personally relevant stimuli (like your name).
Q: What is the Stroop Effect?
A: Automatic reading of words interferes with naming the color of the ink.
Q: What is divided attention?
A: The ability to perform multiple tasks at once, often leading to reduced performance.
Q: Which metaphor is often used to describe visual attention?
A: A spotlight.
Q: What is dichotic listening?
A: A task where participants listen to different messages in each ear and must attend to only one.
Q: What is shadowing in dichotic listening?
A: Repeating one audio stream while ignoring another.
Q: What is the difference between top-down and bottom-up processing?
A: Top-down = using prior knowledge to interpret stimuli. Bottom-up = processing based on raw sensory input.
Q: What is feature analysis in perception?
A: A theory stating we recognize objects by breaking them down into distinct features.
Q: What is template matching theory?
A: The idea that we recognize objects by comparing them to stored mental templates.
Q: What is prototype matching?
A: Recognizing objects by comparing them to idealized prototypes.
Q: What is geon theory?
A: A theory that we recognize objects by combining basic 3D components (geons), similar to phonemes in language.
Memory
Q: What are the three main stages of memory?
A: Encoding, storage, retrieval.
Q: What is the Modal Model of Memory?
A: A theory proposing three memory stores: sensory memory, short-term memory (STM), and long-term memory (LTM).
Q: Which type of memory has large capacity but brief duration?
A: Sensory memory.
Q: What is short-term memory (STM)?
A: A memory store that holds information for about 20-30 seconds with a capacity of 7 ± 2 items.
Q: What is working memory?
A: A more active version of short-term memory that involves manipulating information.
Q: What is long-term memory (LTM)?
A: A memory store with unlimited capacity and duration.
Q: What is episodic memory?
A: Memory for personal experiences.
Q: What is semantic memory?
A: Memory for facts and general knowledge.
Q: What is procedural memory?
A: Memory for skills and habits (e.g., riding a bike).
Q: What is the difference between explicit and implicit memory?
A: Explicit memory = conscious recall (facts, events). Implicit memory = unconscious recall (skills, priming).
Q: What is the forgetting curve?
A: Ebbinghaus’ theory that memory retention declines rapidly at first but then levels off.
Q: What is maintenance rehearsal?
A: Repeating information to keep it in short-term memory.
Q: What is elaborative rehearsal?
A: Connecting new information to existing knowledge to enhance long-term memory storage.
Q: What is retrieval failure?
A: The inability to access stored information due to lack of proper retrieval cues.
Q: What is encoding failure?
A: Information was never properly stored in memory in the first place.
Q: What does the patient H.M. reveal about memory?
A: He could learn new skills (procedural memory) but could not form new episodic or semantic memories (anterograde amnesia).
Q: What is the best memory strategy for recall?
A: Associating new information with what you already know (elaborative encoding).