Basics

Question 1

Plato

Answer 1

We cannot trust our senses, must trust reason (theory of forms, allegory of the cave)
- knowledge = implicit
- rationalism (deductive > inductive reasoning)

Question 2

Aristotle

Answer 2

Knowledge comes from experience, we know nothing before. Does not believe in a priori structures.

Question 3

Structuralism

Answer 3

Learn how basic elements of thought combine to form complex thoughts (Locke)
- experimental methods critiqued for subjectivity, relying on self report

Question 4

William Wundht

Answer 4

Wanted to identify simple units of mind to create complex thoughts (structuralism)

Question 5

Functionalism

Answer 5

Ask why the mind works, cognition serves to complete functions so must adapt to current goals

Question 6

William James

Answer 6

pragmatic + thought consciousness is personal and can’t be broken down as its constantly changing

Question 7

Behaviorism

Answer 7

View that language is learned through conditioning (focus on what can be observed)

Question 8

Inductive Reasoning

Answer 8

Draw general conclusions from specific observations

Question 9

Deductive Reasoning

Answer 9

Draw specific conclusions from general principles, harder to prove due to infinite regression

Question 10

Classical Conditioning

Answer 10

Unconscious conditioned response to a previously neutral stimulus, animals’ reactions have no control over environment
- Pavlov

Question 11

US

Answer 11

Inherent value (food, painful shock)

Question 12

CS

Answer 12

Initially neutral (tone) now associated with US

Question 13

Instrumental Conditioning

Answer 13

Behavior is contingent on a schedule of reinforcements
- Thorndike

Question 14

Operant Conditioning

Answer 14

Response to stimulus trained, rewards encourage behavior, punishment reduces behavior

Question 15

Latent Learning

Answer 15

Learning in the absence of conditioning
- ex. rats formed a ‘cognitive map of the maze’ during exploration
- Tolman

Question 16

Descartes

Answer 16

I think therefore I am, senses are not the truth

Question 17

William Hick (1952)

Answer 17

• Experimented on information processing
  what is the relationship between choice, reaction time, and the amount of information within an event?
• Conducted a behavioral experiment measuring reaction time to detect light
• People had slower (higher reaction time) to detect a light if any lamp lit up than when only one lamp lit up

Question 18

Hicks Law

Answer 18

the greater the number of choices (or uncertainty of choice) requires more information to process, andthus it takes longer to make a decision

Question 19

Webster and Thompson (1953)

Answer 19

Limits of information processing
- Participants were air traffic controllers who listened to 2 simultaneous messages: each message has a call signal(familiar to participants) and unrelated words (unfamiliar to participants)
- Participants had to memorize and repeat back as many of these messages as possible
- Could only remember unrelated words bc unfamiliar reaction word messages contain “more information”

Question 20

Mind-Body Problem

Answer 20

How are mental events related to or caused by physical mechanisms in the body (brain)?

Question 21

Dualism

Answer 21

Mind and brain separate entities

Question 22

Interactionism

Answer 22

Mind and brain interact to induce events in each other

Question 23

Epiphenomenalism

Answer 23

Mental thoughts are caused by physical events, but thoughts do not affect physical events (one-way interaction)

Question 24

Left Hemisphere

Answer 24

The left hemisphere supports speech and language
- Without communication, information to the right visual field (left hemisphere) can be verbally named and described in words

Question 25

Right Hemisphere

Answer 25

The right hemisphere supports visual-spatial processing - Without communication, information to left visual field (right hemisphere) cannot be described verbally but can be expressed via visuo-spatial processes

Question 26

CNS

Answer 26

Brain + spinal cord, conscious actions

Question 27

PNS

Answer 27

Motor + involuntary actions

Question 28

ANS

Answer 28

Part of the PNS - up/down regulates involuntary body functions (digestion, heart rate) aka the internal environment. - efferent system, motor signals go from CNS to internal organs - activity regulated by brainstem and hypothalamus

Question 29

Sympathetic Division

Answer 29

Part of the ANS - fight/flight, controls heart rate, blood flow - Strong stimulation blocks blood flow to other organs and shuts down parasympathetic functions

Question 30

Parasympathetic Division

Answer 30

Part of the ANS - Relaxed activities, always active - Feed/breed

Question 31

Brainstem

Answer 31

Connects brain to spinal cord and regulates involuntary functions - part of ANS

Question 32

Hypothalamus

Answer 32

Small and complex cluster of neurons in the center of the brain involved in regulating involuntary functions like body temperature, hunger and thirst, fatigue - controls ANS

Question 33

Split Brain Surgery

Answer 33

Corpus Callosum split to cure epilepsy - Left hemisphere for speech and language - Left hand behaved outside conscious awareness - Closed eyes cannot recognize objects touched by left hand - Cannot verbalize what is in left peripheral field

Question 34

EEG

Answer 34

Measures changes in brain activity by estimating when brain is active, bad at recognizing where - electrodes pick up AP - used to diagnose epilepsy

Question 35

fMRI

Answer 35

Measures changes in brain activity by tracking blood flow - magnet detects changes in oxygenated blood (meaning area is active) - good spatial resolution but bad temporal

Question 36

TMS

Answer 36

Brain stimulation - changes brain activity by inhibiting/increasing brain activity - can improve memory - good for testing causality (fMRI and EEG are correlational)

Question 37

Phrenology

Answer 37

Late 1700s Gall and Spurzheim believed parts of the brain correspond to mental functions and personality - more used mental functions: area grows and creates bump - false assumption that highly developed function have larger brain areas

Question 38

Cerebrum

Answer 38

Largest portion of brain, controls voluntary behavior

Question 39

Cerebral Cortex

Answer 39

Folded, layered structure and a more superficial portion of the human brain - Gray matter: outer layer made up of neuronal cell bodies - White matter: nerve tracts that connect neurons to each other

Question 40

Hippocampus

Answer 40

Subcortical structure involved in memory formation - extension of temporal lobe of the cortex

Question 41

Proprioception

Answer 41

Sense of where limbs are in space

Question 42

Kinesthesia

Answer 42

Perception of movement does not involve the vestibular system (balance)

Question 43

McGurk Effect

Answer 43

What you see affects what you hear, dominance of visual input