Cognitive Key Words🔢 Flashcards
(108 cards)
1
Q
Philosophical foundations
A
Introspection (unscientific) behaviourism (no internal processes) brain as computer (stores, input, output)
Aristotle= memory formed like hot wax in molds
2
Q
Problems with Behaviourism
A
Language learning can be explained by simple stimulus response associations
BUT we can form sentences we haven’t yet heard, children can learn language without explicit reinforcement
May not generalise to humans
3
Q
Cognitive revolution
A
Mental processes can be studied
Information processing-mind stores data Decomposition-several parts function Empirical studies- decompose elements Abstract theories of mind- for testing Representativeness-data transformed in mind
4
Q
Embodied cognition
A
Body shapes how we sense and act on the world
5
Q
Representationalism
A
Info from world as 0s and 1s
6
Q
Research methods in studying cognition
A
Case studies
Correlational study
Experimental study
7
Q
Magnitude
A
Assign stimulus e.g. light with intensity value and ask participants to take magnitude in relation to it
8
Q
The psychophysical function- response compression
A
Fail to perceive increase of magnitude after a certain point e.g. brightness
9
Q
The psychophysical function- response expansion
A
Perceive increase more as magnitude increases after a certain point e.g. electric shocks
10
Q
Steven’s power law
A
P=KSn
11
Q
Absolute threshold
A
Just noticeable difference between stimuli
12
Q
Method of limits
A
Weakest stimuli, increased to find threshold point
13
Q
Method of adjustment
A
Participant adjusts intensity until finds threshold
14
Q
Method of constant stimuli
A
Stimuli ran in random order, psychometric curve fitted, take 50%
15
Q
Signal detection theory:measuring sensitivity
A
Bias- stimulus detected when not present, low sensitivity
Present= hit or miss
Not present= correct rejection or false alarm
16
Q
Phenomenological method
A
Researcher asks participant to scribe what they perceive
17
Q
Sensation
A
Passive
Bring info from world to brain (electrical impulses)
18
Q
Perception
A
Active
Interpret info from senses into brain
19
Q
Transduction
A
Convert physical stimulus energy intro electrical signals (neural activity) to the brain
20
Q
Senses: hearing
A
Sound waves along ear canal to ear drum and cochlea
Hair cells pick up vibrations
21
Q
Senses: touch
A
Skin receptors respond to pressure, varies across the body
Measured with two point discrimination technique
22
Q
Senses: vision
A
Light receptors enter through pupil
Focused on retina, picked up by photoreceptors
23
Q
Senses: smell
A
Less understood, cells respond to chemical compounds
Olfactory info sent directly to brain
Approx 1000 receptors
24
Q
Senses: taste
A
5 types : sweet, salty, bitter, sour, umami
Taste buds continually destroyed and replaced
1000 receptors
25
Gestalt
How parts are arranged into forms/objects and perceived as a whole
26
Gestalt laws- similarity
Similar elements perceived as one
27
Gestalt laws- proximity
Elements close to one another are grouped
28
Gestalt laws- good continuation
Lines follow a smooth course
29
Gestalt laws- closure
See illusory lines, forms in boundaries
30
Gestalt laws- pragnanz
Organise scene to simplest explanation
31
Distal and proximal stimuli
Decode stimulus energy (distal) into what the brain can process, represented in mind (proximal)
32
Bottom up processing
Data driven
Measure neuron response to lines in different orientation in cortex- Hubel and Wiesel. Hierarchical processing
Optic nerve /Thalamus
Primary visual cortex
Secondary visual cortex
Inferotemporal cortex
33
Top down processing
Knowledge driven
| Context changes perception
34
Perceptual expectedness
light hits object from top, see 3D
35
Perceptual constancy
Familiar object perceived in same brightness
36
Ventral and dorsal pathways
What pathway- ventral (temporal)
| Where pathway- dorsal, motion (parietal)
37
fMRI
Neurons burn energy when active, replenished by blood
Haemoglobin distinguished between oxygen rich and depleted blood
Shows active brain areas, reasonable temporal and good spatial resolution
Claustrophobic, no metal. Blood oxygen level not direct measure of activity. Very expensive
38
MEG
Measure magnetic field in pyramidal cells of cortex
Synchronous firing of neurons detect signal
Great temporal resolution, good spatial resolution
Hard to determine exact region, expensive
39
EEG
Electrodes over scalp
Measures electrical signals, cortical field activity over time
Good temporal resolution
No movement allowed, Poor spatial resolution, hard to determine exact region
40
PET
Inject tracer to blood stream, measure activity
Measure how much goes to brain vs resting state
Structurally accurate
Ethical issues, radioactive, no temporal resolution, expensive
41
TMS
Depolarise or hyperpolarise neuron
Affect activity, weak electric currents in the cortex, simulates lesions
Moderate effects in treating depression, side effects go after time
Difficult to specify exact region
42
Neuropsychology
Lesion patients (Phineas Gage) damage to frontal lobe changed personality
43
Neuropsychological assessment after brain injury
Vocabulary
Verbal reasoning
Non-verbal reasoning
Spatial memory
44
Inattentional blindness
```
Fail to notice otherwise salient events
Concentrate elsewhere (gorilla)
```
45
Limited resources
Limited capacity, depends on metal effort required in relation to those available- depends in our interests, what is important
Perform worse on dual tasks
46
Information filtering
Attention filters irrelevant info that doesn’t help with goals (parietal lobe)
Limited to what we can focus on at a given time
47
Broadbent filter model
```
Inputs (attended and unattended message)
Sensory store
Selective filter (unattended message blocked, physical properties)
Higher level processing
Working memory
```
48
Treismann’s attenuation model
```
Inputs
Sensory store
Attenuating filter (physical properties)
Hierarchy of analysers
Working memory
```
49
Inhibition of return
Respond slower to stimulus previously attended to
| Helps facilitate attention switching
50
Spatial attention
More attentional resources into the centre, notice periphery less
51
TASKS
Global/local processing
Navon task-change from narrow to broad perception
| Top down control
52
TASKS
Feature based attention
Stroop task- conflict automatic and non automatic
53
TASKS
Visual search
Parallel and conjunctive search
54
Stroop related activation and age
Left parietal and parietal-occipital cortices developed in adolescence
Left lateral prefrontal cortex developed in adulthood
55
Feature integration-motion perception
Right posterior parietal cortex directs role in directing attention between local and global info
56
Simon effect
Inconsistencies are harder to compute and take our attention resources (from left but press right)
57
Referential coding hypothesis
Presence of something in the scene causes a bias in response to that side
May cause Simon effect
58
Attentional movement hypothesis
Attention focused on a side causes bias to respond to that side
May cause Simon effect
59
How visual information reaches the brain
```
Retina- most receptors in the fovea
Optic disk-info passed down optic nerve
Iris-Change pupil diameter to allow light into the eye
Cornea- focuses light
Lens-focus and project onto retina
```
60
Cones and rods
Cones- colour vision
Rods-light and dark
None in the blindspot
61
Saccades
Move eye and fixate
62
Mircosaccade
Small adjustment from large eye movement
63
Smooth pursuit
Steadily tracks movement
64
Glissade
End of saccade, curves to correct location
65
Optokinetic nystagmus
Track outside, flick back to centre
66
Vestibular ocular reflex
Eyes stay fixated even if head moves
67
Cortex and superior colliculus
Cortex- where to move eyes
| Superior colliculus- when to move eyes
68
Eye trackers: scanpaths
Faces most important
Eye movements are task specific, precede actions
Controlled by cognitive processes not properties of the stimulus
People show different eye movement patterns when others are present
69
Eye trackers: culture
Caucasians fixate on eyes/mouth
| East Asians fixate centrally on face
70
Eye trackers : reading
Fixate between start and middle of words, focus on content not connectives
71
Eye trackers : visual tasks
Small fixations in serial manner or large movement to spot if easier (parallel task)
72
Professional vs novice fixations
Professionals fixate accurately on anticipated area (cricket)
Novices look longer for danger
Eye movements precede actions
73
Theory of mind
Eye movements can give away what we will choose, knowledge of others
Autistic people struggle with this
74
Stroop task conditions
Neutral- any word in any colour
Conflict-colour word different from the font it is written in
Congruent condition- colour name same as font
75
Explain stroop task
Take much longer to name colour in conflict condition
Reading is automatic (practiced )
Naming is controlled, interferes with reading
76
Popouts
Easier to find in parallel search when shaded naturally (automatically processed)
When shaded unnaturally takes longer to find in serial search (more distractors)
77
Parallel search
Serial search
Automatic, easy with no resource demands
Can be learnt with extensive practice
78
Serial search
(conjunctive)
Controlled, effortful, uses working memory
Slow, used in new tasks
79
Factors affecting automacity (automatic stroop task, finding a pop out)
Extensive practice
Consistent practice (same conditions)
Attention during practice
Must practice in all areas to become highly skilled, break skills into components to reduce errors
80
Automacity causing errors: action slips
Action slips- when habitual action intrudes when performing another task e.g. say “fine thanks” when greeted “hello”
81
Automacity causing errors: hinder performance
Novel task demands
Mismatch between practical skill and environment
Attentional lapse or overload
82
Heuristics and why they exist
Rules of thumb to make decisions, may not always apply
All decisions are complex, impossible to have 100% certainty
Have to decide what is relevant and how this is determined
83
Why are perfect decisions impossible
Information is limited and ambiguous
| Time and resources are limited
84
A good heuristic
Don’t have to think through costs and benefits, doesn’t require lots of information or effort
Applicable in many circumstances
On average, benefits outweigh costs, avoid major errors
Rely on environment developed in (recognition heuristic)
85
Biases: heuristics
Use strategy optimised for a different environment
Considering a different bundle of choices grouped in the mind
Use different code/benefit
86
Heuristics and decisions: adjustment and anchoring
People make initial estimate and adjust
| Irrelevant info can bias the initial estimate
87
Heuristics and decisions: availability
Lack information to assess probability so overassess based on ease it comes to mind e.g. risks of flying
88
Heuristics and decisions: framing
How losses and gains are described influences choices
| Bias to GAIN and reduce LOSS
89
Confirmation bias
Wason’s selection task
| Seek information to confirm existing beliefs and ignore contradictory information
90
Metacognition
Thinking about own thoughts
91
Misattribution: mere exposure effect
Prefer something already seen, memory preference
| Processed easier and recognised
92
Misattribution: mental contamination
Base judgement on something else, unrelated but assumed to be
Heightened sexual attraction under high anxiety
93
Illusion of explanatory depth
Rate understanding worse over time when asked to explain it
| Initially overestimate knowledge due to familiarity
94
Dunning Kruger effect
Worse people are, the worse they are at rating their ability
Ability to rate performance relies on same factors as ability to perform them
95
Why do metacognitive errors happen and what is done to solve it
Errors result from basing judgement on wrong information
| So employ heuristics
96
Problem
Difference between current and desired state
97
Well and Ill defined problem
Well defined- clear goal state and constraints (obvious when solved)
Ill defined- no clear goal state and constraints, not obvious when solved) harder to mentally represent and find solution
Lack clear paths between current and goal state
98
Problem representation
Stating goal and scope of problem, organise knowledge to address it
Mentally represent current and goal state and actions to solve it
99
Functional fixedness
Focus on how things are usually used while ignoring other potential uses, barrier from mental representations
Two string problem, nine dot solution
100
Problem solving strategies: trail and error
Try solution, repeat until it works
| Works best with few possible solutions otherwise very time consuming
101
Problem solving strategies: insight
Answer suddenly occurs, often when stop consciously considers answer
May unconsciously continue, representation changes to make solution solvable
102
Problem solving strategies: analogical transfer
Use same solution on problem with similar underlying structure, generalise
103
Newell and Simon’s problem solving
Means end strategy- repeatedly comparing current state to goal state. Identify differences and sub goals to final goal
Hill climbing strategy- tell how far you are from solution. Reduce distance and reach goal at shortest path
Work backwards
104
Epistemic action
Physical actions that make mental computation easier, faster and more reliable
105
Problem solving algorithm
Algorithm- consider entire problem space and search every solution
106
Problem solving heuristic
Heuristic-consider part of problem, potential subproblems
107
Computational approach
Perception is influenced both bottom up and top down information
108
Exogenous and endogenous cues
Endogenous- centrally located, directs location in direction of cue
Exogenous- peripheral cue directs
