Module 2-3 Flashcards
Mind-body problem
The question of how mental events such as thoughts, beliefs and sensations are related to physical mechanisms taking place in the body
Dualism
The view that the mind and body consist of fundamentally different kinds of substances or properties.
-while the body may be made of a physical material, the mind is not
For much or recorded history, most people subscribed to some form of dualism.
Monism
The view that there is only one kind of basic substance in the world, whether exclusively physical or exclusively mental.
Physicalism-materialism
The only kind of reality is physical reality.
Ex. Ideas forming in your brain are driven by physical processes
Idealism
The view that all of reality is mental in nature.
—) the ideas forming in your brain are all mental processes
Neutral monism
The view that the mental and physical are identical and all lf reality is made of this one kind of thing.
—) something else directing mental and physical experiences, we dont know what. Neither just physical or mental
3 types of monism
Idealism, neutral monism, materialism
Plato and dualism
Plato argued that the mind was based on an immortal soul that was, in some sense, more “real” than the physical world
René Descartes
He proposed that the mind and body formed two different types of substance but that these could interact with one another (he identified pineal gland)
True or false: dualism recognizes that the mind and body have a strong relationship with one another
True. Peope were aware that the processes of the physical body affects the workings of the mind. However, according to dualism, the mind and body are still separate kinds of entities.
Structuralism
A school of psychology whose approach relied on introspecting on one’s own conscious mental states in order to understand the mind.
-breakinf down complext processes into simpler elements
-identify the basic elements of thought. Are do they combine together to form complex thoughts?
-relied on introspection and self-report: not reliable across people, some are rlly good introspecters and some are not. introspection does not live up to its ideal as a scientifically valid method. Hard to replicate too.
Cortical blindness
Condition where individuals with damage to tje visual cortez will report having no visual experience, despite having working eyes
Blindsight
Condition where individuals think they are blind but they are still able to behaviorally respond to a visual stimulus
Think-aloud protocol
Research method that involves participants verbally describe their thought process as they are performing a specified task
Dualism: interactionism
The mind and brain interact to induce events in each other
-subscribes to the idea that we have a soul
-rene descartes saying pineal gland is the principal seat of the soul
Dualism: epiphenomenalism
Mental thoughts are caused by physical events, but thoughts do not affect physical events
-one way interaction
Phrenology
Process that involved obersving and feelin the skull to determine an individual’s psychological attributes.
-parts of the brain correspond to mental functions and personality
-false assumption that the highly developed functions have larger brain areas
Functional specialization
Modern cognitive neuroscience indentifies brain area or networks that support a particular brain function
Skin conductance
-Skin conducts electricity when it sweats
-to measure emotional arousal
-then can test how emotional arousal impacts cognitive tasks
Ex veterans with PTSD and veterans without PTSD: higher skin conductance in people with PTSD when hearing combat sounds
Electroencephalography (EEG)
EEG measures activity in a large group of neurons at certain times. Estimate of when brain is active
-good timing (temporal resolution)
-not good location info (spatial resolution)
Magnetic Resonance imaging (MRI)
Structural MRI: anatomy of brain, used to degect structural anomalies
Functional fMRI: info about activity in the brain. Indirect measure as it measures blood flow and not neural activity. Active brain areas need oxygen. Magnet detects changes in ocygenated blood.
-good spatial resolution
-bad temporal resolution (timing of brain activity) + indirect measure so based on assumption that increase in blood flow = more activity
Brain stimulation
Can inhibit or increase activity
-main form in transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Induces tempory change in brain activity: may improve memory
-good to test causality, but not very clear + broad effects so hard to localize effects
Parahippocampal place area (PPA)
For thinking about spacial layouts
Supplementary motor area (SMA)
For performing or imagining movement
