cognitive psychology
the scientific study of how the mind represents and processes information
the mind is unobservable
What is the biggest challenge for cognitive psychology?
Before Behaviorism
1868 - 1889
early approaches
Behaviorism
1900-1949
The mind is abandoned
The "Cognitive Revolution
1950's
Structuralism
Wilhelm Wundt and Edward Titchener are the two main people of?
Structuralism
Just look inside and see the contents of your mind
sensations
basic elements of the mind that together determine experience
-- core set of sights, sounds, feelings, etc.
-- the mind's periodic table
analytic introspection
a technique by which, after extensive training, people could supposedly learn to identify individual sensations
Problems with structuralism
-difficult to verify (private events, not public)
-difficult to replicate
-focus is on the end product of cognition, not the process itself
Much of focus is on the end product and not the process to get there
What is the problem between focus and structuralism?
Representations
Structuralism has emphasis on ___________________
William James
more of a philosopher than a scientist
functionalism
process
Functionalism emphasis is on _______________
Functionalism
William James
What is the mind for?
What functions does it serve?
Key word: Process
Darwin's ideas
Functionalism was inspired by _________________
Principles of Psychology (1890)
William James; observations about the mind from personal experience
Behaviorists
The ________________ DO NOT believe in the black box
Ivan Pavlov
Classical Conditioning
-Salivary reflex in dogs
John B. Watson/Rosalie Rayner
Little Albert experiment
fear conditioning to fear white, fluffy things
B. F. Skinner
Operant Conditioning
Operant Conditioning
used reinforcement and rewards to drive behavior
science of behavior
To Behaviorists, Psychology is the
stimuli, responses, reinforcements/rewards
Behaviorism has emphasis on what can be directly observed such as
unobservable
Behaviorism ignore the
Problems with Behaviorism
-limiting science to observable things is a bad idea
-difficult to account for creativity and diversity of human behavior
-certain experimental findings difficult to reconcile with behaviorism
Tolman (1938)
trained rats to find food in a four-armed maze
said that rats acquired a cognitive map of the maze and were navigating to a specific arm
The cognitive approach
Infer what's going on inside
learn to observe its contents directly
The structuralist approach to the problem of the "black box" was to:
If I shock someone every time they yawn, will they yawn less frequently?
Which of these research questions would a behaviorist be most likely to ask?
What purpose does the ability to see color serve for humans?
Which of these research questions would a functionalist be most likely to ask?
behaviorists experiments are often difficult to replicate
Which of the following is not a common critique of behaviorism?
-behaviorism cannot account for human creativity
- it is wrong to assume that unobservable phenomena should not be studied
Which of the following is a common critique of behaviorism?
the mind is somehow like a computer
Mainstream underlying assumption of cognitivism
information-processing perspective
the mind is designed to take in and process information
Franciscus Donders
Dutch Ophthalmologist
Reaction Time and Mental Processes
-receives information from the previous stage
- transforms the information (processing)
- sends the information to the next stage
Each Information Processing Stage:
Discrete Serial State Model
Processing occurs one stage at a time; no overlap
Simple Reaction Task
Stimulus ---> Detection ---> Response
Choice Reaction Task
Stimulus -> Detection -> Decision -> Response
Subtractive Method
Choice RT - Simple RT
Subtractive Method: Problems
1. Assumption of Pure Insertion
2. Assumption of additivity
3. Assumes you already know what the stages are
Assumption of Pure Insertion
All stages remain the same when the new one is added
Problem: adding the decision stage may influence another stage (like detection)
*overestimate decision time
Assumption of additivity
The durations of all stages add together to yield the reaction time
Detection + Decision = Overall Reaction Time
Problem: Stages might operate in parallel
*underestimate decision time
Assumes you already know what the stages are
Problem: you probably don't
stim -> detection -> memory retrieval -> response
Donders' idea
you can identify and measure mental processes
Donders' technique
the reaction time procedure + the subtraction method
Eliminate alternative explanations
(Do more experiments)
Key methodological technique of modern Cognitive Psychology
Huppert and Piercy (1977)
study of memory in people with Korsakoff's amnesia
Korsakoff's amnesia
disorder caused by a combination of thiamine (B1) deficiency and long-term abuse of alcohol
Problem with encoding
amnesics don't learn the information
problem with storage
amnesics lose the information
problem with retrieval
amnesics forget the information
information processor
The mind is an
stages
The mind's processes can occur in distinct ________ (as in a flow diagram)
capacities or limitations
The mind may have processing __________________ or ____________________
working memory
how much information can be processed at once?
selective attention
what happens when information exceeds processing capacity?
George Miller's 1956 study
You should be able to recall 7 +/- 2 letters
-structuralism
-functionalism
-behavioralism
-Donders
Antecedents of modern Cognitive Psychology
Inspirations for the "Cognitive Revolution
-critiques of the principles of behaviorism
-experimental data that were difficult to reconcile with behaviorism
-digital computers
Goal of Modern Cognitive Psychology
to conduct experiments that allow us to make inferences about how the mind works
Assumption of modern cognitive psychology
the mind is like a computer
-it processes information, sometimes in stages
-it has processing limits/capacities
challenge of modern cognitive psychology
almost every experiment has multiple interpretations
solution to the problems of modern cognitive psychology
do more experiments to rule out interpretations
Selective attention
ability to focus on (select) on what is relevant and ignore what is irrelevant
-can involve sustaining attention to one target, or shifting attention between multiple targets
Cocktail Party Phenomenon
focus of attention on selected aspects of the environment and block out the rest
shadowing
Dichotic Listening Task
repeat message and not be confused about what is in the unattended ear
Unattended Message (Dichotic Listening Task)
-not consciously aware of the meaning of the message
-Do not notice the switching of language
-Do notice if the volume or pitch of voice changes
unattended message
There must be some filter built into the mind to keep (some of) the ___________ __________ out
early
If physical changes (e.g., frequency, loudness, etc) are noticed in the unattended message then _________ (surface-level) features processed before filtering occurs
late (semantic) information is processed before filtering occurs
If meaning - based changes (e.g., language change) are noticed in the unattended message then
Sensory Memory
Broadbent's Filtering Model
-surface/physical features processed in all channels
-only one message can get through the channel
Detector
meaning information processed for attended channels
-ends at short term memory
physical features
___________ _____________ seem to be processed before the filtering occurs
early
Our minds probably have an ___________ feature
Evidence against Broadbent
-cocktail party effect: notice your own name
-follow meaning into unattended channel (Treisman, 1964)
Attenuator
Treisman
-unattended message is not filtered out completely, just attenuated (weakened down)
dictionary unit
the threshold of activation if higher for words that you do not hear as often
low
You are able to pick out your own name very easily because it has a ________ threshold
context
_____________ can lower the threshold of activation for a particular word
Filter Model (Broadbent, 1958)
Attenuation Model (trainman, 1960; 1964)
Detector - late selection
meaning processing in both messages before the filer
Late Selection (Deutch & Deutch, 1963)
early detection models
filter and attenuator occur before meaning is processed
late selection
meaning is processed in both messages before filter
Evidence for late selection
Word in unattended ear biases interpretation of sentence in attended ear
Did the speaker have a low-pitched voice or a high-pitched voice?
According to Broadbent's Filter Model, you would be most likely to answer which question about an unattended message:
Manatee
According to Treisman's attenuation model, which of these words should be LEAST likely to be noticed when presented in an unattended channel?
Treisman, by suggesting that the message in the attended channel sets you up to notice something in the unattended channel
Which model of selective attention is able to account for the phenomenon of people "following" a message into a previously unattended channel?
McKay
the word in the unattended channel causes you to bias the meaning of the sentence in the attended channel
Possibly; you may process the meaning but not noticed
Could the late selection model account for the finding of people following a message?
example of shifting attention
finding Waldo in a picture
overt shifts of attention
shifting attention from one place to another by moving the eyes
covert shifts of attention
shifting attention from one place to another while keeping the eyes stationary
attentional capture
a physical shift of attention due to something salient in the environment
e.g., contrast, motion or change, loudness
bottom-up influence of attention
looking at something you know will help you next
ex: making a peanut butter sandwich -- looking at what item you need next
top-down influence
knowledge, past experiences, interests, goals
covert shifts of attention
shifting attention from one place to another while keeping the eyes stationary
ex: The "no-look pass
Posner's Precuing task
How to study covert attention?
Spotlight Metaphor
attention is like a spotlight or zoom lens that facilitates information processing
Posner's 3-State Model of Attention
Disengage -> Move -> Engage
hemispatial neglect
site of brain damage in neglect: right parietal lobe
result: inattention to Left side of space
example of hemispatial neglect
woman draws daisies but leaves left side completely blank
inattention blindness
a failure to perceive information that is fully visible while performing an attentionally demanding task
-can happen even if you are looking directly at the thing
Look But Fail to See" (LBFTS) driving accidents
an example of inattentional blindness
expectations
People are more likely to notice events that are consistent with ___________________
disruption
changes to a scene under typical viewing conditions will capture attention. but, the change signal can be hidden by any sort of ____________ such as a flicker
makes it harder to detect small changes
A flicker can cause a global change which
USS Vincennes - 1988 - shot down commercial airliner and killed almost 300 bc someone read the altitude signal wrong
example of divided attention
4times
Talking on the cell phone while driving increase accident risk by
Your attention is divided
Why is it bad to talk on cell phone and drive?
Peripheral interference hypothesis
interference from holding phone, dialing, looking at dial pad, etc.
Attentional interference hypothesis
interference from diverting attention from driving to the conversation itself
diverting attention from driving
Just having to attend to something and think of a related word ended up
tracking task with joystick with easy/hard courses
example of attentional interference hypothesis
factors that affect divided attention success
1. Task Difficulty
2. Task Similarity
3. Practice
Task Difficulty
Strayer & Johnston (2001)
at some point you have to give up accuracy on one task to maintain the other
Central Capacity Theory
-predicts performance trade-offs between two simultaneous tasks
-more capacity towards one = worse performance on the other
effects of task difficulty can be swamped by those of task similarity
Problems with Central Capacity Theory
-independent attentional resources
ex: verbal versus spatial tasks
Tasks may be performed by independent cognitive processing systems
divided attention
is hardest when tasks compete for the same resources
no comprehensive theory of how many modules there are
Problem with modular theories of attention:
automatic processing
With enough practice, certain tasks can be accomplished using _______________ __________________
attentional resources
Automatic processing require little-to-no use of ________________ ________________
ex. of automatic processes
-singing a familiar song, navigating a well-practiced routine
-can even occur without intention, as when driving on "autopilot mode
Schneider and Shiffrin (1977)
Divide attention between remembering target and monitoring rapidly presented stimuli
-performance improved with practice
-practice can help some tasks become autonomic
So practicing driving while using your phone won't do much good either
Practice did not help performance on more difficult versions of the task (e.g., when targets and distractors were both numbers)
motion, color, shape
Different parts of the brain process different types of information:
Treisman's Feature Integration Theory
Attention is critical to the binding process
Treisman's Feature Integration Theory
Preattentive Stage
FIT; individual features processed
-object features are analyzed separately and exist in them mind as "free floating" rather than bound
-preconscious (occurs prior to awareness)
-parallel processing
parallel processing
all of the features are analyzed at the same time
-part of preattentive stage
focused attention stage
FIT; features combined into objects
-free-floating features are bound into coherent objects
-attention is the "glue" that binds them together
-serial processing
-requires attention
no
Does the preattentive stage require attention?
serial processing
must focus attention on each object sequentially
Evidence for FIT
-illusory conjunctions
-Balint's Syndrome
-Reaction Time Studies: Feature vs. Conjunction search
illusory conjunctions
perceptual "mix-ups" between object features due to lack of attention
they can fail to bind features correctly
When you only allow people to process something very quickly,
attend to the shapes
Asking people to _____________ __________ _____ ___________ instead of the numbers eliminated illusory conjunctions
-evidence that attention requires binding
Balint's Syndrome
rare disorder that results from bilateral parietal lobe damage
-no preference for a specific visual field
-inability to focus attention on individual objects
-unusually high rate of conjunction errors
serial processing
occurs when inputs are processed sequentially, or one at a time.
The more inputs there are, the longer reaction times will be on the task
parallel processing
occurs when inputs are processed all at the same time
-reaction times will stay the same as inputs are added
visual search
is a general term for the process of looking for one item among multiple items
feature search
a visual search in which the target can be located based on a single feature
-are accomplished using parallel processing
-also called pop out search
-fast, automatic
conjunction search
a visual search in which the target must be located based on a combination of features
-slowed down with more things to look at
-have to bind letter to color
-requires attention and serial processing
this is evidence that feature search uses parallel processing
When an item can be found based on a single feature, adding more non-targets to the display does not slow down search time
This is evidence that a conjunction search used serial processing
When an item can only be found based on a conjunction of features, adding non-targets to the display DOES slow search times
preattentive processing alone
According to FIT, feature search can be accomplished by
occurs in parallel
Because the preattentive processing ___________ ________ ____________, adding more display items does not increase search time
-target referred to as a "pop-out" item
conjunction search
requires the binding of multiple features (focused attention stage)
serial process
Binding is a __________ ____________, so more display items means longer search times
Preattentive stage
-free floating features analyzed
-does not require attention
-parallel processing
-can support performance on a feature search
focused attention stage
-features bound into objects
-does require attention
-serial processing
- can support performance on a conjunction search
none of the above
-feature search, parallel processing, do not need attention
It takes Fred 400 ms to find a blue circle in a set of 20 yellow circles. According to Feature Integration Theory, Fred would find the blue circle FASTER if:
finding a single red "o" in a group that is made up of half red "L"s, and half blue "o"s
Which of these is an example of a conjunction search?
completing the stage requires attention
According to Treisman's Feature Integration Theory, which of the below is NOT true about the preattentive stage?
perceive someone wearing a red hat and a blue shirt as though they were wearing a blue hat and a red shirt
Someone with Balint's Syndrome would most likely to:
these two tasks, when combined, typically exceed one's attentional capacity
According to Central Capacity Theory, it is difficult to drive a car and talk on the phone because:
the mind is unobservable
The biggest challenge for cognitive psychology
cognitive neuroscience
the study of the physiological basis of cognition
neuron
-building blocks of the nervous system
-each has a cell body, an axon, and dendrites
cell body
contains mechanisms to keep cell alive
dendrites
branches reaching from the cell body, which receive information from other neurons
-the neuron's INBOX
axons
tube filled with fluid that transmits information to other neurons
-the neuron's OUTBOX
axon potential
electrical impulse that happens when a neuron is stimulated
-travels down the axon of that neuron until it reaches the axon terminal
neurotransmitters
At the axon terminal, chemicals called ___________________ are released across a synapse, which stimulate the next neuron
synapse
small gap between two neurons where communication occurs
Depolarization
The process during the action potential when sodium is rushing into the cell causing the interior to become more positive.
Repolarization
Return of the cell to resting state, caused by reentry of potassium into the cell while sodium exits the cell.
Hyperpolarization
an increase in the membrane potential of a cell, relative to the normal resting potential
resting potential
The difference in electric charge between the inside and outside of a neuron's cell membrane
work on how much neurotransmitters are going to pass on from one neuron to another
SSRI's mechanism of action
myelin sheath
allows electrical signal to travel faster down the axon
polarization
reaction chain that causes channels to open to allow other ions in
Edgar Adrian (1928)
measured action potentials from single neurons in the skin
neuronal representation
Rate of firing increased as pressure increased but kept same shape and amplitude
Hubel & Wiesel (1960s)
neural representation in early visual cortex in the occipital lobe
simple feature detectors
basic building blocks of visual representation
hierarchical processing
information is processed by ascending through increasingly complex levels of the nervous system
probably not; that would be inefficient
Is the entire brain organized hierarchically?
specificity coding
specialized type of neuron for every stimulus
complex objects
are represented by a number of different neurons
population coding
representation by the pattern of firing of a large number of neurons
sparse coding
representation only a small group of neurons; more neurons stay silent
specificity coding
having a separate button for everything that you want to represent
population coding
combination lock; a combination of neurons can represent a number of different things
localization of function
specific cognitive functions are enabled by specific areas of the brain
distributed representation
specific cognitive functions involve many areas of the brain
neuropsychological studies
studies of cognition in people with brain damage
brain imaging
measuring activity of intact brains during cognitive tasks
double dissociation
the strongest possible evidence that two cognitive processes are located in different areas of the brain
Broca's area
damage impairs language production, but not language comprehension
frontal lobe
-knows what is being asked, taken long time to find words and words aren't always in order
Wernicke's area
damage impairs language comprehension, but not language production - talks a lot but does not make sense - exudes confidence
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)
measures activity in specific regions of the brain indirectly by measuring properties of blood
-record brain activity while people looks at images or different tasks
one area of the brain
Feats of everyday life can rarely be accomplished using just
brain networks
Cognitive neuroscientists now ask question about the functions of ______________ ____________ in addition to individual brain regions
Diffusor tensor imaging (DTI)
technology to examine white matter tracts, or bundles of axons that allow signals to travel across the brain
A brain lesion in Region A impairs attention but not memory; a brain lesion to Region B impairs memory but not attention
Which of these is an example of a double dissociation?
increase the rate of action potentials
If someone were to press their finger into your arm, increasing the pressure would do what to the neurons that are your arm's sensory receptors:
Fusiform Face Area (FFA)
damage causes prosopagnosia or "face blindness"
can't tell apart of recognize different faces
Parahippocampal Place Area (PPA)
cares about locations or scenes
Extrastriate Body Area (EBA)
bodies and body parts other than faces
structural brain imaging
measuring brain structure
functional brain imaging
what is going on in the brain while people are performing cognitive tasks
neurostimulation
modulating (increasing or decreasing) neural excitability over specific regions to determine effects on behavior
examples of structural brain imaging
-Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
-Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI)
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
measure the volume of the brain and individual structures
Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI)
measure the integrity of white matter tracts (bundles of axons) that create communication between structures
correlational
Relationships between brain structure and brain function are
causal
When changes to cognition follow brain damage (e.g., lesion patients), we can infer a ____________ relationship
epiphenomenon
a secondary phenomenon that is a by-product of another phenomenon
brain activity could be present in a certain region during imagery, but not be necessary for imagery
subtraction method
Most fMRI designs rely on the _______________ ______________
pure insertion
Assumption of _____________ ___________ is particularly problematic for fMRI experiments
transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)
electromagnetic coil used to induce electrical activity in underlying brain tissue
-can be used to disrupt or enhance neural activity
-can make causal claims about the role of certain regions - "virtual lesions
can only stimulate brain structures that are accessible from the skull
-effects are short lived
TMS limitations
Behaviorism
Ivan Pavlov
Behaviorism
the use of classical and operant conditioning at the primary research tools in Psychology
Functionalism
William James
Structuralism
the use of introspection as the primary research tool in Psychology
Cognitive Revolution
rats have cognitive maps that they use during spatial navigation
Cognitive Revolution
the digital computer can serve as a useful analogy for the mind
Functionalism
We should not ask what is inside the mind. Instead, we should ask why the mind works the way it does and what purposes it serves
Cognitive Revolution
George Miller's finding that most people can hold 7 +/- 2 digits in mind at once
Behaviorism
John Watson
Structuralism
Wilhelm Wundt
Structuralism
the mind is made up of individual sensations
Structuralism
With training, people can learn to directly observe the contents of their minds
Cognitive Revolution
Edward Tolman
Cognitive Revolution
Even though we cannot directly observe the mind, we can design experiments that allow us to infer things about the mind based on behavior
Cognitive Revolution
the mind processes information using discrete processing stages
early selection models
Both Broadbent's Filter Model and Treisman's Attenuation Model are considered to be ___________ _______________ _________
late selection model
In a ________ _______________ ___________, the filter/attentuator stage would occur AFTER the detector/dictionary unit stage
Treisman's Attenuation Model
Which model of selective attention can best explain this finding of switching over to unattended channels in a shadowing task?
Focused Attention Stage
Used serial processing
Preattentive Stage
occurs prior to conscious awareness
Focused Attention Stage
can support performance on a conjunction search
Preattentive Stage
Representations of "free floating features
Focused Attention Stage
Requires attention
Focused Attention Stage
Features are bound into coherent objects
Preattentive Stage
Can support performance on a feature search
Preattentive Stage
Uses parallel processing
specificity - because you need a specialized type of neuron for each stimulus
Of the three types of coding, which is the least efficient way to represent information in the brain?
-transcranial magnetic stimulation
-brain lesion patients
supports causal claims about brain-behavior relationships
-structural MRI
-Functional MRI
-Diffusion Tensor Imaging
supports correlational claims about brain-behavior relationships
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
temporarily disrupts or enhances activity in a certain brain region
Structural MRI
measures the volume of specific brain regions
Diffusion Tensor Imaging
measures the integrity of axon bundles that allow brain regions to communicate
Functional MRI
identifies brain regions that are active during a cognitive task by measuring blood flow
Brain Lesion Patients
identifies the effects of structural damage to specific brain regions on performance on cognitive tasks
Functional MRI
relies on the logic of the subtraction method to relate brain regions to cognitive processes
-studies of patients with brain lesions
Which of these methods allows you to make CAUSAL claims about brain-behavior relationships?
TMS
-makes people temporarily better at things
-can make causal claims about the role of certain regions
Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI)
Which technique is best able to determine how bundles of axons in the brain allow regions to communicate?
TMS cannot be used on structures that are deep within the brain
Which of the choices below describes a limitation of transcranial magnetic stimulation?
sensations
According to structuralism, our overall experience is determined by combining basic elements of experience the structuralists called ________________
Analytic Introspection (Wundt)
a technique in which trained subjects described their experiences and thought processes in response to stimuli. this requires extensive training because the subjects' goal was to describe their experience in terms of elementary mental elements
Donders (procedure)
simple reaction time vs. choice reaction time
Donders (results/conclusions)
choice reaction time takes 1/10 seconds longer; therefore, it takes 1/10 second to make a decision
Donders (contribution)
first cognitive psychology experiment
Wundt (procedure)
analytic introspection
Wundt (results and conclusions)
no reliable results
Wundt (contribution)
established the first laboratory of scientific psychology
Ebbinghaus (procedure)
savings method to measure forgetting
Ebbinghaus (results and conclusion)
forgetting occurs rapidly in the first 1 to 2 days after original learning
Ebbinghaus (contribution)
quantitative measurement of mental processes
James (procedure)
no experiments; reported observations of his own
James (results and conclusions)
description of a wide range of experiences
James (contribution)
first psychology textbook; some of his observations are still valid today
Tolman
Who created the idea of a cognitive map?
information - processing approach
an approach that traces sequences of mental operations involved in cognition. The operations of the mind can be described as occurring in a number of stages
Donald Broadbent
the first to propose the flow diagram of the mind which represents what happens in a person's mind when directing attention to one stimulus in the environment
structural models
represents structures in the brain that are involved in specific functions
process models
illustrate how a process operates
selective attention
the ability to focus on one message while ignoring all others, has been demonstrated using the dichotic listening procedure
Broadbent's filter model
proposes that the attended message is separated from the incoming signal early in the analysis of the signal
Treisman's model
proposes later separation and adds a dictionary unit to explain how sometimes the unattended message can get through
late selection model
propose that selection doesn't occur until messages are processed enough to determine their meaning
Lavie
processing capacity and perceptual load