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Cognitive Psychology > Midterm 1 > Flashcards

Midterm 1 Flashcards

(63 cards)

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1
Q

Folk psychology

A

An umbrella term for various assumptions and theories based on the everyday behaviour of ourselves and others

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2
Q

Stimulus

A

An entity in the external environment that can be perceived by a stimulus

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3
Q

bit

A

Short for “binary digit”; the most basic unit of information. Every event that occurs in a situation with two equally likely outcomes provides one “bit” of information

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4
Q

Information theory

A

The theory that the information provided by a particular event is inversely related to the probability of its occurrence

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5
Q

Filter model

A

A theory based on the idea that information processing is restricted by channel capacity

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6
Q

channel capacity

A

The maximum amount of information that can be transmitted by an information- processing device

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7
Q

Introspection

A

“Looking inward” to observe one’s own thoughts and feelings

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8
Q

Primary memory

A

What we are aware of in the “immediately present moment”; often termed “immediate memory” or “short-term memory”

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9
Q

Secondary memory

A

Knowledge acquired at an earlier time that is stored indefinitely, and is absent from awareness; also called “long-term memory”

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10
Q

Brown- Peterson task

A

An experimental paradigm in which subjects are given a set of items and then a number. Subjects immediately begin counting backward by threes from the number and, after a specific interval, are asked to recall the original items

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11
Q

Ecological approach

A

A form of psychological inquiry that reflects conditions in the real world

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12
Q

Afforsdances

A

The potential functions or uses of stimuli (ie objects and events) in the real world

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13
Q

Information pickup

A

The process whereby we perceive information directly

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14
Q

Schema

A

An expectation concerning what we are likely to find as we explore the world

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15
Q

Perceptual cycle

A

The proc SS whereby our schemas guide our exploration of the world and in turn are shaped by what we find there

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16
Q

Cognitive ethology

A

A new research approach that links real-world observations with laboratory- based studies

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17
Q

Metacognition

A

Knowledge about the way that cognitive processes work; understanding of our own cognitive processes

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18
Q

Modules

A

Different parts of the brain, each of which is responsible for particular cognitive operations

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19
Q

Phrenology

A

The study of the shape, size, and protrusions of the cranium in an attempt to discover the relationships between parts of the brain and various mental activities and abilities

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20
Q

Localization of function

A

The idea that there is a direct correspondence between specific cognitive functions and specific parts of the brain

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21
Q

Law of mass action

A

Learning and memory depend on the total mass of brain tissue remaining rather than the properties of individual cells

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22
Q

Law of equipotentiality

A

Although some areas of the cortex may become specialized for certain tasks, any part of an area can (within limits) do the job of any other part of that area

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23
Q

Interactionism

A

Mind and brain are separate substances that interact with and influence each other

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24
Q

epiphenomenalism

A

“Mind” is a superfluous by-product of brain functioning

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25
Parallelism
"Mind" and brain are two aspects of the same reality, and they operate in parallel
26
Isomorphism
Mental events and neural events share the same structure
27
Sensory system
A system that links the physical and perceptual worlds via the nervous systems; composed of sensory receptors, neural pathways, and distinct regions of the brain preferentially dedicated to the perception of information
28
Broca's aphasia
A deficit in the ability to produce speech as a result of damage to Broca's area
29
Broca's area
The area of the brain's left hemisphere that is responsible for how words are spoken
30
Wernicke's area
Area of the brains left hemisphere that is responsible for processing the meaning of words
31
Wernicke's aphasia
A deficit in the ability to comprehend speech as a result of damage to Wernicke's area
32
Interhemispheric transfer
Communication between the Brain's hemispheres, enabled in large by the corpus callosum
33
Split brain
A condition created by severing the corpus callosum
34
Emergent property (Sperry)
In sperry's sense, a property that "emerges" as a result of brain processes, but is not itself a component of the brain. In the case of the mind, this means that consciousness is neither reducible to, nor a property of, a particular brain structure or region
35
Emergent causation
In Sperry's sense, causation brought about by an emergent property, once the "mind" emerges from the brain, it has the power to influence lower-level processes
36
Supervenient
In sperry's sense, describes mental states that may simultaneously influence neuronal events and be influenced by them
37
Event related potential (ERP)
An electrical signal emitted by the brain after the onset of a stimulus
38
Positron emission tomography (PET)
An imaging technique in which a participant is injected with radioactive substances that mingles with the blood and circulates to the brian. A scanner is then used to detect the flow of blood to particular areas of the brain
39
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
A non- radioactive magnetic procedure for detecting the flow of oxygenated blood to various parts of the brain
40
Magnetoencephalopathy (MEG)
A non-invasive brain imaging technique they directly measures neural activity
41
Connectionism
A theory that focuses on they way cognitive processes work at the physiological/ neurological (as opposed to information- processing) level. It holds that the brain consists of an enormous number of interconnected neurons and attempts to model cognition as an emergent process of networks of simple units (e.g. Neurons) communicating with one another
42
Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)
An MRI- based neuroimaging technique that makes it possible to visualize the white- matter tracts within the brain
43
Neural network
Neurons that are functionally related or connected
44
Hebb rule
A connection between two neurons takes place only if both neurons are firing at approximately the same time
45
Parallel processing
Many neural connections may be active at the same time
46
Serial processing
Only one neural activity may take place at any one time
47
Visual Agnosia
An inability to identify objects visually even though they can be identified using other senses (ex touch)
48
Perception
The processing of sensory information in such a way that it produces conscious experiences and guides action in the world
49
Cornea
The outer tissue of the eye and the first layer that the light passes through on its way to the back of the eye
50
Pupil
The space through which light passes on its way to the back of the eye; adjusted in size by the iris; to an observer the pupil appears black
51
Iris
The tissue that surrounds the pupil and is responsible for the distinct colour of the eye
52
Lens
The transparent tissue in the eye that refracts the light and focuses it in the back of the eye
53
Retina
The tissue at the back of the eye that contains light receptors
54
Photoreceptors
Cells that transduce light energy into a neural signal
55
Fovea
The region of the retina where photoreceptors are packed most densely
56
Primary visual cortex
The area at the back of the brain that is primarily responsible for the basic processing of visual information
57
Retinotopic
A principle organization of the primary visual cortex, whereby information falling on adjacent areas of the retina is processed in adjacent areas of the cortex
58
Achromatopsia
A visual deficit characterized by inability to perceive colour because of damage to the area of the brain that processes colour information
59
akinetopsia
(Motion blindness) | An inability to perceive the motion of objects
60
Ventral pathway
"What" pathway; The stream of visual processing in the brain that is responsible for determining object shape, colour, and meaningful identity
61
Dorsal pathway
"Where" pathway; the stream of visual processing in the brain that is responsible for determining object location and motion, and which guides action
62
Feedforward sweep
The propagation of visual information from the primary visual cortex down the "what" and "where" pathways
63
Re-entrant (feedback) connections
Connections between brain areas that allow the propagation of visual information from the end points of the "what" and "where" pathways back to the primary visual cortex

Cognitive Psychology (4 decks)

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