CH 1 Cognitive Psychology Reisberg

anarthria

A disorder characterized by an inability to control the muscles needed for ordinary speech. Anarthric individuals cannot speak, although other aspects of language functioning are unimpaired.

working-memory system

A system of mental resources used for holding information in an easily accessible form. The central executive is at the heart of this system, and the executive then relies on a number of low-level assistants, including the visuospatial buffer and the articulatory rehearsal loop.

transcendental method

A type of theorizing first proposed by the philosopher Immanuel Kant. To use this method, you first observe the effects or consequences of a process and then ask, What must the process have been in order to bring about these effects?

neuropsychology

The branch of psychology concerned with the relation between various forms of brain dysfunction and various aspects of mental functioning. Neuropsychologists study, for example, amnesia, agnosia, and aphasia

central executive

The hypothesized director of the working-memory system. This is the component of the system needed for any interpretation or analysis; in contrast, mere storage of materials can be provided by working memory's assistants, which work under the control of the central executive. Also see executive control.

introspection

The process through which you "look within," to observe and record the contents of your own mental life

working memory

The storage system in which information is held while that information is being worked on. All indications are that working memory is a system, not a single entity, and that information is held here via active processes, not via some sort of passive storage. Formerly called "short-term memory."

cognitive neuroscience

The study of the biological basis for cognitive functioning

phonological buffer

A passive storage device that serves as part of the articulatory rehearsal loop. The phonological buffer serves as part of the mechanisms ordinarily needed for hearing. In memory rehearsal, however, the buffer is loaded by means of subvocalization. Materials within the buffer then fade, but they can be refreshed by new covert speech under the control of the central executive

span test

A procedure used for measuring working memory's holding capacity. In newer studies, the operation span test is used

concurrent articulation task

A requirement that someone speak or mime speech while doing some other task. In many cases, the person is required to say "Tah-Tah-Tah" over and over, or "one, two, three, one, two, three." These procedures occupy the muscles and control mechanisms needed for speech, and so they prevent the person from using these resources for subvocalization

behaviorist theory

Broad principles concerned with how behavior changes in response to different configurations of stimuli (including stimuli often called "rewards" and "punishments"). In its early days, behaviorist theory sought to avoid mentalistic terms

subvocalization

Covert speech, in which you go through the motions of speaking, or perhaps form a detailed motor plan for speech movements, but without making any sound.

articulatory rehearsal loop

One of the low-level assistants hypothesized as part of the working-memory system. This loop draws on subvocalized (covert) speech, which serves to create a record in the phonological buffer. Materials in this buffer then fade, but they can be refreshed by another cycle of covert speech