Unit 5 Flashcards
(58 cards)
Cognitive Control
The ability to orchestrate thoughts and actions in accordance with internal goals
Proactive Control
Applying cognitive control in anticipation of a challenge
Reactive Control
Applying cognitive control in reaction to a challeng
Mental Resource
limitations on how much information the mind can process at any given time
-applying resources to one task can limit what we can apply to something else
Internal Attention
Attention that is directed to one’s thoughts and response selections
Cognitive Load
How difficult a task is
Cognitive overlap
How much the demands of simultaneous tasks compete for the same mental resources
Cognitive interference
Performance suffering when load is high or two tasks have a lot of cognitive overlap
Dual-task experiments
Require participants to engage in two tasks simultaneously
-like texting and driving
Automatic Process
Performing a task requires minimal cognitive effort
ie. walking, automatically reading a stop sign
-Primarily ventral stream: running the show
Controlled Process
Performing a task requires more cognitive involvement
ie. doing math, reasoning, pros and cons, long-term planning
-Primarily dorsal stream: thinks its running the show
Perseveration errors
persistent responses that fail to adapt to changing rules or circumstances
-common in individuals w/prefrontal damage
Inhibition
Ability to suppress information, thoughts, or actions that may interfere with ongoing behavior
-reduces distractions and helps people choose how to act
Stop-Signal Task
Measures inhibition
Individuals respond as quickly as possible to a green circle target
On some trials a red circle stop signal appears soon after the target stimulus
Participants must withhold their response - inhibit their response
The later the stop sign appears the harder it is to stop as people have already committed to the target
Inhibition during continuous performance task
Observers must respond differently or withhold their response to an unpredictable and infrequent target
ie. a TSA agent has to inhibit the process of just letting luggage through when a suspicious object appears
-The continuous performance task reveals decrements in sustained attention/vigilance- the ability to maintain focus on a task.
Stroop Task
Participants have to state the physical color of words like “red” “orange” “green”
It is harder/takes longer to name the colors when the word meanings conflict with the physical color of the words
-word reading is highly automatic
-word meaning interferes with naming the color of the word
-Requires selective inhibition for cognitive control
-can show unconscious bias: subjects more likely to shoot at bottle-holding suspects if they are black than if they are white in a simulation.
Simon Task/Spatial Interference Task
Either a blue circle or green circle appears to the left or right of a focus point
Participant responds by pushing a blue or green button in front of them corresponding to the colored circle they saw
-Blue button on the left
-Green button on the right
Spatial incompatibility between the target (blue or green circle) location and the responding hand slows down response time
ie. the green circle appears on the left side of the focal point
Flanker Task
Participants respond to a target that is flanked by non-targets that activate a conflicting or non-conflicting response
ie.
X X < X X
XX<XX>><>>
Task: Participants have to respond by stating which way the middle symbol is facing</XX>
Perceptual Interference
Perception is affected by distractors that make a target harder to see
In the flanker task: occurs when the flankers are closer to the target than when further away- takes longer to identify which way the center symbol is facing
XX<XX
Response Interference
Perceptual slowing caused by distractors that elicit a conflicting response
In the flanker task:»_space;<»
- takes longer to identify which way the center symbol is facing
Conflict Monitoring
When cognitive control processes detect interference
ie. the word meaning conflict in the Stroop task
Anterior Cingulate Cortex (AC)
Central conflict monitor in the brain
-conflict monitoring occurs when multiple perceptual inputs compete for attention or when several response options compete for selection
-sends signal to Dorsolateral PF cortex for resolution
ie. in the Stroop task the ACC is more active when the meaning of the words compete with the colors to be named
Conflict resolution
When cognitive control processes reduce interference through inhibition or other behavioral adjustments
Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex
Employs cognitive control once ACC detects conflict to resolve conflict
ie. Stroop task: inhibits distracting word interference