Cognitive Psychology Chapter 1, 2, 3, 4

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Briefly summarize the seven major themes for cognitive psychology.

1. Nature versus nurture: We can explore how covariations and interactions in the environment (e.g., an impoverished environment) adversely affect someone whose genes otherwise might have led to success in a variety of tasks. 2. Rationalism versus empiricism: We can combine theory with empirical methods to learn the most we can about cognitive phenomena. 3. Structures versus processes: Instead of focusing solely on the study of the contents or of the processes of the mind, we can explore how mental processes operate on mental structures. 4. Domain generality versus domain specificity: When studying processes, we can explore which might be domain general and which might be domain specific. 5. Validity of causal inferences versus ecological validity: We can combine a variety of methods, including laboratory methods and more naturalistic ones, to converge on findings that hold up, regardless of the method of study. 6. Applied versus basic research: We can combine the two kinds of research so that basic research leads to applied research, which leads to further basic research, and so on. 7. Biological versus behavioral methods: We can try to synthesize biological and behavioral methods so that we understand cognitive phenomena at multiple levels of analysis.

Explain the terms dialectic, thesis, and antithesis and how they relate to each other.

A dialectic is a developmental process whereby ideas evolve over time through a back-and-forth exchange of ideas; in a way, it is like a discussion spread out over an extended period of time. The dialectical process looks like this: 1. A thesis is proposed. A thesis is a statement of belief. After a while, however, certain individuals notice apparent flaws in the thesis. 2. An antithesis emerges. Eventually, or perhaps even quite soon, an antithesis emerges. An antithesis is a statement that counters a thesis. 3. A synthesis integrates the viewpoints. Sooner or later, the debate between the thesis and the antithesis leads to a synthesis, which integrates the most credible features of each of two (or more) views.

Define the rationalist and empiricist positions.

A rationalist believes that the route to knowledge is through thinking and logical analysis. That is, a rationalist does not need any experiments to develop new knowledge. A rationalist who is interested in cognitive processes would appeal to reason as a source of knowledge or justification. An empiricist believes that we acquire knowledge via empirical evidence— that is, we obtain evidence through experience and observation. To explore how the human mind works, empiricists would design experiments and conduct studies in which they could observe the behavior and processes of interest to them. Empiricism therefore leads directly to empirical investigations of psychology.

Identify and discuss the roles of three neurotransmitters.

Acetylcholine is associated with memory functions, and the loss of acetylcholine through Alzheimer's disease has been linked to impaired memory functioning in Alzheimer's patients. Acetylcholine also plays an important role in sleep and arousal. When someone awakens, there is an increase in the activity of so called cholinergic neurons in the basal forebrain and the brainstem. Dopamine is associated with attention, learning, and movement coordination. Dopamine also is involved in motivational processes, such as reward and reinforcement. Schizophrenics show high levels of dopamine. This fact has led to the "dopamine theory of schizophrenia," which suggests that high levels of dopamine may be partially responsible for schizophrenic conditions. Drugs used to combat schizophrenia often inhibit dopamine activity. In contrast, patients with Parkinson's disease show low dopamine levels, which leads to the typical trembling and movement problems associated with Parkinson's. When patients receive medication that increases their dopamine level, they (as well as healthy people who receive dopamine) sometimes show an increase in pathological gambling. Gambling is a compulsive disorder that results from impaired impulse control. When dopamine treatment is suspended, these patients no longer exhibit this behavior. These findings support the role of dopamine in motivational processes and impulse control. Serotonin plays an important role in eating behavior and body-weight regulation. High serotonin levels play a role in some types of anorexia. Specifically, serotonin seems to play a role in the types of anorexia resulting from illness or treatment of illness. For example, patients suffering from cancer or undergoing dialysis often experience a severe loss of appetite. This loss of appetite is related, in both cases, to high serotonin levels. Serotonin is also involved in aggression and regulation of impulsivity. Drugs that block serotonin tend to result in an increase in aggressive behavior.

What if cognitive processes did not interact with each other? Provide some examples of how our (cognitive) lives would be different—what would be the implications?

Although cognitive psychologists try to study and often isolate the functioning of specific cognitive processes, they know that these processes work together. For example, memory processes depend on perceptual processes. What you remember depends in part on what you perceive. But noncognitive processes also interact with cognitive ones. For example, you learn better when you are motivated to learn. Cognitive psychologists therefore seek to study cognitive processes not only in isolation but also in their interactions with each other and with noncognitive processes.

Design an experiment looking at study habits. Make sure to include the following terms: hypothesis, control group, experimental group, independent variable, dependent variable, and control and confounding variables.

An hypothesis, or statement of expected research outcomes should be stated. Independent variables are aspects of an investigation that are individually manipulated, or carefully regulated, by the experimenter, while other aspects of the investigation are held constant (i.e., not subject to variation). Dependent variables are outcome responses, the values of which depend on how one or more independent variables influence or affect the participants in the experiment. When the experimenter manipulates the independent variables, he or she controls for the effects of irrelevant variables and observes the effects on the dependent variables (outcomes). These irrelevant variables that are held constant are called control variables. Another type of variable is the confounding variable. Confounding variables are a type of irrelevant variable that has been left uncontrolled in a study. Obviously, when conducting research, we must be careful to avoid the influence of confounding variables. The experimental group receives the treatment of interest while the control group does not and serves as a comparison to identify the effects of the treatment.

Describe the different types of strokes and the impact they have on the brain.

An ischemic stroke usually occurs when a buildup of fatty tissue occurs in blood vessels over a period of years, and a piece of this tissue breaks off and gets lodged in arteries of the brain. Ischemic strokes can be treated by clot-busting drugs. The second kind of stroke, a hemorrhagic stroke, occurs when a blood vessel in the brain suddenly breaks. Blood then spills into sur- rounding tissue. As the blood spills over, brain cells in the affected areas begin to die. This death is either from the lack of oxygen and nutrients or from the rupture of the vessel and the sudden spilling of blood. The prognosis for stroke victims depends on the type and severity of damage. Symptoms of stroke appear immediately on the occurrence of stroke.

Explain the advantages that both applied and basic research have for society.

Basic research seeks fundamental insights about cognition while applied research seeks effective uses of cognition in real-world settings.

How might research that is "basic" in the short run become practical and applied in the long run? Give an example.

Basic research seeks fundamental insights about cognition while applied research seeks effective uses of cognition in real-world settings.

Describe the basic premise behind behaviorism and point out what weaknesses led to the cognitive revolution.

Behaviorism focuses only on the relation between observable behavior and environmental events or stimuli. The idea was to make physical whatever others might have called "mental." Behaviorism may be considered an extreme version of associationism. It focuses entirely on the association between the environment and an observable behavior. According to strict, extreme ("radical") behaviorists, any hypotheses about internal thoughts and ways of thinking are nothing more than speculation. Behaviorism was challenged on many fronts such as language acquisition, production, and comprehension. First, although it seemed to work well to account for certain kinds of learning, behaviorism did not account as well for complex mental activities, such as language learning and problem solving. Second, more than understanding people's behavior, some psychologists wanted to know what went on inside the head. Third, using the techniques of behaviorism to study nonhuman animals was often easier than studying human ones. Nonetheless, behaviorism continues as a school of psychology, although not one that is particularly sympathetic to the cognitive approach, which involves metaphorically and sometimes literally peering inside people's heads to understand how they learn, remember, think, and reason.

What are the major types of brain tumors? What symptoms do they produce? How are they diagnosed and treated?

Brain tumors, also called neoplasms, can affect cognitive functioning in serious ways. Tumors can occur in either the gray or the white matter of the brain. Two types of brain tumors can occur. Primary brain tumors start in the brain. Most childhood brain tumors are of this type. Secondary brain tumors start as tumors somewhere else in the body, such as in the lungs. Brain tumors can be either benign or malignant. Benign tumors do not contain cancer cells. They typically can be removed and will not grow back. Cells from benign tumors do not invade surrounding cells or spread to other parts of the body. If, however, they press against sensitive areas of the brain, they can result in serious cognitive impairments. They also can be life-threatening, unlike benign tumors in most other parts of the body. Malignant brain tumors, unlike benign ones, contain cancer cells. They are more serious and usually threaten the victim's life. They often grow quickly. They tend to invade surrounding healthy brain tissue. In rare instances, malignant cells may break away and cause cancer in other parts of the body. Common symptoms of brain tumors include headaches (usually worse in the morning); nausea or vomiting; changes in speech, vision, or hearing; problems balancing or walking; changes in mood, personality, or ability to concentrate; problems with memory; muscle jerking or twitching (seizures or convulsions); and numbness or tingling in the arms or legs. The diagnosis of brain tumor typically is made through neurological examination, CT scan, or MRI. The most common form of treatment is a combination of surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy.

List three of the different research methods used by psychologists, as mentioned in the chapter, and describe how they differ from one another.

CONTROLLED LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS: - Easy to administer, score, and statistically analyze - High probability of drawing valid causal inferences NEUROSCIENTIFIC RESEARCH: - Provides "hard" evidence of cognitive functions - Alternative view of cognitive processes - Possibility to develop treatments for cognitive deﬁcits SELF-REPORTS:Access to - introspective insights from participants' point of view

Give an example from your own life in which you were classically conditioned.

Classical conditioning is learning that occurs when a neutral stimulus is paired with an unconditioned stimulus that reliably causes an unconditioned response. Because of this association, the neutral stimulus loses its neutrality and takes on the same power as the unconditioned stimulus to cause the response.

List the three main regions of the brain and the structures in each.

Correct The forebrain is the region of the brain located toward the top and front of the brain. It includes the cerebral cortex, the basal ganglia, the limbic system, the thalamus, and the hypothalamus. The midbrain helps to control eye movement and coordination. By far the most indispensable of these structures is the reticular activating system (RAS). The hindbrain comprises the medulla oblongata, the pons, and the cerebellum.

Describe how René Descartes and John Locke applied rationalism and empiricism to understanding the human mind.

Descartes viewed the introspective, reflective method as being superior to empirical methods for finding truth. The famous expression cogito, ergo sum (I think, therefore I am) stems from Descartes. He maintained that the only proof of his existence is that he was thinking and doubting. Descartes felt that one could not rely on one's senses because those very senses have often proven to be deceptive (e.g., think of optical illusions). Locke, in contrast, had more enthusiasm for empirical observation. Locke believed that humans are born without knowledge and therefore must seek knowledge through empirical observation. Locke's term for this view was tabula rasa (meaning "blank slate" in Latin). The idea is that life and experience "write" knowledge on us. For Locke, then, the study of learning was the key to understanding the human mind. He believed that there are no innate ideas.

Both artificial intelligence programs and humans can be seen as processors of information. How has computer science influenced cognitive science?

Digital computers played a fundamental role in the emergence of the study of cognitive psychology. One kind of influence is indirect—through models of human cognition based on models of how computers process information. Another kind is direct— through computer simulations and AI. In computer simulations, researchers program computers to imitate a given human function or process. Examples are performance on particular cognitive tasks (e.g., manipulating objects within three-dimensional space) and performance of particular cognitive processes (e.g., pattern recognition). Some researchers have attempted to create computer models of the entire cognitive architecture of the human mind. Their models have stimulated heated discussions regarding how the human mind may function as a whole. Sometimes the distinction between simulation and AI is blurred. For example, certain programs are designed to simulate human performance and to maximize functioning simultaneously. An alternative approach, simulation, looks at how chess grand masters solve chess problems and then seeks to function the way they do. The program would be successful if it chose, in a sequence of moves in a game, the same moves that the grand master would choose. It is also possible to combine the two approaches, producing a program that generally simulates human performance but can use brute force as necessary to win games.

As part of a research project for a biological psychology class, you are assigned to work with experienced researchers who have access to equipment that allows you to study the human brain. Describe two electrical in vivo techniques and how they would allow you to learn about the human brain.

Electroencephalograms (EEGs) are recordings of the electrical frequencies and intensities of the living brain, typically recorded over relatively long periods. Through EEGs, it is possible to study brainwave activity indicative of changing mental states such as deep sleep or dreaming. To obtain EEG recordings, electrodes are placed at various points along the surface of the scalp. The electrical activity of underlying brain areas is then recorded. The information, therefore, is not localized to specific cells. The EEG is sensitive to changes over time. For example, EEG recordings taken during sleep reveal changing patterns of electrical activity involving the whole brain. Different patterns emerge during dreaming versus deep sleep. EEGs are also used to diagnose epilepsy because they can indicate whether seizures appear in both sides of the brain at the same time, or whether they originate in one part of the brain and then spread. To relate electrical activity to a particular event or task (e.g., seeing a flash of light or listening to sentences), EEG waves can be measured when participants are exposed to a particular stimulus. An event-related potential (ERP) is the record of a small change in the brain's electrical activity in response to a stimulating event. The fluctuation typically lasts a mere fraction of a second. ERPs provide good information about the time- course of task-related brain activity. In any one EEG recording, there is a great deal of "noise"—that is, irrelevant electrical activity going on in the brain. ERPs cancel out the effects of noise by averaging out activity that is not task-related. Therefore, the EEG waves are averaged over a large number (e.g., 100) of trials to reveal the ERPs. The resulting wave forms show characteristic spikes related to the timing of electrical activity, but they reveal only general information about the location of that activity (because of low spatial resolution as a result of the placement of scalp electrodes).

Briefly summarize each of the antecedents to cognitive psychology; include the paradigms' founders and main tenets or beliefs in your discussion.

Functionalism: Seeks to understand what people do and why they do it. This principal question about processes was in contrast to that of the structuralists, who had asked what the elementary contents (structures) of the human mind are. Functionalists held that the key to understanding the human mind and behavior was to study the processes of how and why the mind works as it does, rather than to study the structural contents and elements of the mind. Structuralism: Seeks to understand the structure (configuration of elements) of the mind and its perceptions by analyzing those perceptions into their constituent components (affection, attention, memory, and sensation). Pragmatism: Pragmatists believe that knowledge is validated by its usefulness: What can you do with it? Pragmatists are concerned not only with knowing what people do; they also want to know what we can do with our knowledge of what people do. Synthesis: Associationism: Associationism examines how elements of the mind, such as events or ideas, can become associated with one another to result in a form of learning. Behaviorism (extreme form of associationism): Behaviorism focuses only on the relation between observable behavior and environmental events or stimuli. The idea was to make physical whatever others might have called "mental." Behaviorism may be considered an extreme version of associationism. It focuses entirely on the association between the environment and an observable behavior. According to strict, extreme ("radical") behaviorists, any hypotheses about internal thoughts and ways of thinking are nothing more than speculation Gestalt psychology: Gestalt psychology states that we best understand psychological phenomena when we view them as organized, structured wholes. According to this view, we cannot fully understand behavior when we only break phenomena down into smaller parts. Synthesis: Cognitivism: Cognitivism is the belief that most human behavior explains how people think. It rejects the behavioristic notion that psychologists should avoid studying mental processes just because they are unobservable. Cognitivism is, in part, a synthesis of earlier forms of analysis, such as behaviorism and Gestaltism. Like behaviorism, it adopts precise quantitative analysis to study how people learn and think; like Gestaltism, it emphasizes internal mental processes.

How does Gazzaniga view the question of hemispheric specialization? How do the hemispheres function independently and how do they function together?

Gazzaniga does not believe that the two hemispheres function completely independently but rather that they serve complementary roles. For instance, there is no language processing in the right hemisphere (except in rare cases of early brain damage to the left hemisphere). Rather, only visuospatial processing occurs in the right hemisphere. Gazzaniga has argued that the brain, and especially the right hemisphere of the brain, is organized into relatively independent functioning units that work in parallel. According to Gazzaniga, each of the many discrete units of the mind operates relatively independently of the others. These operations are often outside of conscious awareness. Although these various independent and often subconscious operations are taking place, the left hemisphere tries to assign interpretations to these operations.

Compare and contrast the two major types of head injuries. What are the long-term implications of head injuries in terms of functioning?

Head injuries are of two types. In closed-head injuries, the skull remains intact, but there is damage to the brain, typically from the mechanical force of a blow to the head. Slamming one's head against a windshield in a car accident might result in such an injury. In open-head injuries, the skull does not remain intact but rather is penetrated, for example, by a bullet. Damage resulting from head injury can include spastic movements, difficulty in swallowing, and slurring of speech, as well as many other cognitive and behavioral problems. Cognitive symptoms can vary widely, depending on the area of the brain that is affected. Patients may experience concentration problems, may have difficulty understanding others or speaking and putting their own thoughts in words, may find it hard to understand abstract concepts, or may have trouble remembering things.

Explain the concept of hemispheric specialization. Include in your discussion a description of the abilities of each hemisphere and the role of the corpus callosum.

Hemispheric specialization refers to the idea that certain functions are predominantly localized in one hemisphere or the other. The left hemisphere is important not only in language but also in movement. People with apraxia—disorders of skilled movements—often have had damage to the left hemisphere. These people have lost the ability to carry out familiar purposeful movements such as forming letters when writing by hand. Another role of the left hemisphere is to examine past experiences to find patterns. Finding patterns is an important step in the generation of hypotheses. The right hemisphere is largely "mute". It has little grammatical or phonetic understanding. But it does have good semantic knowledge. It also is involved in practical language use. People with right-hemisphere damage tend to have deficits in following conversations or stories. They also have difficulties in making inferences from context and in understanding metaphorical or humorous speech. The right hemisphere also plays a primary role in self-recognition. In particular, the right hemisphere seems to be responsible for identifying one's own face. The corpus callosum is a dense aggregate of neural fibers connecting the two cerebral hemispheres. It transmits information back and forth. Once information has reached one hemisphere, the corpus callosum transfers it to the other hemisphere.

Identify some behavior of interest. Come up with a number of different hypotheses that might explain the behavior. For each hypothesis, include evidence that would support and evidence that would not support each hypothesis.

Hypotheses are tentative proposals regarding expected empirical consequences of the theory, such as the outcomes of research.

Briefly describe a correlational study and an experiment and then compare and contrast the two types of designs.

In controlled experimental designs, an experimenter usually will conduct research in a laboratory setting. The experimenter controls as many aspects of the experimental situation as possible. Basically, the two kinds of variables in any given experiment are independent and dependent variables. Independent variables are aspects of an investigation that are individually manipulated, or carefully regulated, by the experimenter, while other aspects of the investigation are held constant (i.e., not subject to variation). Dependent variables are outcome responses, the values of which depend on how one or more independent variables influence or affect the participants in the experiment.

What is the basic premise of metabolic imaging? Identify at least two metabolic imaging methods and explain how they are conducted.

Metabolic imaging techniques rely on changes that take place within the brain as a result of increased consumption of glucose and oxygen in active areas of the brain. The basic idea is that active areas in the brain consume more glucose and oxygen than do inactive areas during some tasks. An area specifically required by one task ought to be more active during that task than during more generalized processing and thus should require more glucose and oxygen. PET scans measure increases in oxygen consumption in active brain areas during particular kinds of information. To track their use of oxygen, participants are given a mildly radioactive form of oxygen that emits positrons as it is metabolized (positrons are particles that have roughly the same size and mass as electrons, but that are positively rather than negatively charged). Next, the brain is scanned to detect positrons. A computer analyzes the data to produce images of the physiological functioning of the brain in action. PET scans are not highly precise because they require a minimum of about half a minute to produce data regarding glucose consumption. If an area of the brain shows different amounts of activity over the course of time measurement, the activity levels are averaged, potentially leading to conclusions that are less than precise. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a neuroimaging technique that uses magnetic fields to construct a detailed representation in three dimensions of levels of activity in various parts of the brain at a given moment in time. This technique builds on MRI, but it uses increases in oxygen consumption to construct images of brain activity. The basic idea is the same as in PET scans, but the fMRI technique does not require the use of radioactive particles. Rather, the participant performs a task while placed inside an MRI machine. This machine typically looks like a tunnel. When someone is wholly or partially inserted in the tunnel, he or she is surrounded by a doughnut-shaped magnet. An fMRI creates a magnetic field that induces changes in the particles of oxygen atoms. More active areas draw more oxygenated blood than do less active areas in the brain. So shortly after a brain area has been active, a reduced amount of oxygen should be detectable in this area. This observation forms the basis for fMRI measurements. These measurements then are computer analyzed to provide the most precise information currently available about the physiological functioning of the brain's activity during task performance. A related procedure is pharmacological MRI (phMRI). The phMRI combines fMRI methods with the study of psychopharmacological agents. These studies examine the influence and role of particular psychopharmacological agents on the brain. phMRIs have been used to examine the role of agonists (which strengthen responses) and antagonists (which weaken responses) on the same receptor cells. These studies have allowed for the examination of drugs used for treatment. The investigators can predict the responses of patients to neurochemical treatments through examination of the person's brain makeup. Overall, these methods aid in the understanding of brain areas and the effects of psychopharmacological agents on brain functioning. Another procedure related to fMRI is diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). DTI examines the restricted dispersion of water in tissue and, of special interest, in axons. Water in the brain cannot move freely, but rather, its movement is restricted by the axons and their myelin sheaths. DTI measures how far protons have moved in a particular direction within a specific time interval. This technique has been useful in the mapping of the white matter of the brain and in examining neural circuits. Some applications of this technique include examination of traumatic brain injury, schizophrenia, brain maturation, and multiple sclerosis A recently developed technique for studying brain activity bypasses some of the problems with other techniques. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) temporarily disrupts the normal activity of the brain in a limited area. Therefore, it can imitate lesions in the brain or stimulate brain regions. TMS requires placing a coil on a person's head and then allowing an electrical current to pass through it. The current generates a magnetic field. This field disrupts the small area (usually no more than a cubic centimeter) beneath it. The researcher can then look at cognitive functioning when the particular area is disrupted. Magnetoencephalography (MEG) measures brain activity from outside the head (similar to EEG) by picking up magnetic fields emitted by changes in brain activity. This technique allows localization of brain signals so that it is possible to know what different parts of the brain are doing at different times. It is one of the most precise of the measuring methods. MEG is used to help surgeons locate pathological structures in the brain.

List and describe the function of the various neuronal structures.

Neurons vary in their structure, but almost all neurons have four basic parts. These include a soma (cell body), dendrites, an axon, and terminal buttons. The soma contains the nucleus of the cell (the center portion that performs metabolic and reproductive functions for the cell). It is responsible for the life of the neuron and connects the dendrites to the axon. The dendrites are branchlike structures that receive information from other neurons, and the soma integrates the information. Learning is associated with the formation of new neuronal connections. The axon is a long, thin tube that extends (and sometimes splits) from the soma and responds to the information, when appropriate, by transmitting an electrochemical signal, which travels to the terminus (end), where the signal can be transmitted to other neurons. The terminal buttons are small knobs found at the ends of the branches of an axon that do not directly touch the dendrites of the next neuron. Rather, there is a small gap, the synapse. The synapse serves as a juncture between the terminal buttons of one or more neurons and the dendrites (or sometimes the soma) of one or more other neurons.

Neurological disorders like Parkinson's may be treated with medications that affect neurotransmitter systems. Identify a major side effect of medications used for Parkinson's and explain how it is that drugs intended to affect movement or cognition have such a broad array of side effects unrelated to the reasons the drugs were prescribed.

Patients with Parkinson's disease show low dopamine levels, which leads to the typical trembling and movement problems associated with Parkinson's. When patients receive medication that increases their dopamine level, they (as well as healthy people who receive dopamine) sometimes show an increase in pathological gambling. Gambling is a compulsive disorder that results from impaired impulse control. When dopamine treatment is suspended, these patients no longer exhibit this behavior. This can occur because of the complexities of neurotransmitter symptoms. Neurotransmitters may affect many different brain systems and thus affect a range of behaviors and experiences.

Briefly explain the differences in Plato and Aristotle's approaches to acquiring knowledge and how they find their ways into contemporary cognitive psychology.

Plato was a rationalist. A rationalist believes that the route to knowledge is through thinking and logical analysis. That is, a rationalist does not need any experiments to develop new knowledge. A rationalist who is interested in cognitive processes would appeal to reason as a source of knowledge or justification. In contrast, Aristotle (a naturalist and biologist as well as a philosopher) was an empiricist. An empiricist believes that we acquire knowledge via empirical evidence— that is, we obtain evidence through experience and observation. Empiricism therefore leads directly to empirical investigations of psychology. In contrast, rationalism is important in theory development. Rationalist theories without any connection to observations gained through empiricist methods may not be valid; but mountains of observational data without an organizing theoretical frame- work may not be meaningful. We might see the rationalist view of the world as a thesis and the empirical view as an antithesis.

When Henry Molaison, known to generations of psychology students as HM, the man who, following surgical damage to his hippocampus in an attempt to lessen his seizures, suffered profound and wide-ranging memory loss, died in 2008, he had arranged to donate his brain to science for post mortem examination. Why is it that, even with today's sophisticated imaging techniques, post mortem analyses remain scientifically valuable?

Post mortem analyses are typically performed on individuals who have brain lesions as a result of injury, disease or surgery or who have abnormal brain structures as a result of congenital differences. Although some such lesions can be created in animals for the purposes of research, they cannot ethically be created in humans for the purpose of research. Neuroimaging techniques, while they are continuously advancing in their ability to provide both static and dynamic images of the brain, may miss subtle structural differences that are visual when stained brain slices are viewed under the microscope.

How can researchers trace observed behavior resulting from brain damage to a certain location in the brain once a patient has died?

Postmortem studies and brain dissections have been done for centuries. Even in the twenty-first century, researchers often use dissection to study the relation between the brain and behavior. In the ideal case, studies start during the lifetime of a person. Researchers observe and document the behavior of people who show signs of brain damage while they are alive. Later, after the patients die, the researchers examine the patients' brains for lesions—areas where body tissue has been damaged, such as from injury or disease. Then the researchers infer that the lesioned locations may be related to the behavior that was affected. The case of Phineas Gage was explored through these methods.

You are working for a company developing a new customer response system. Explain what the advantages and disadvantages would be in terms of using a program based on artificial intelligence versus a computer simulation.

The advantages include: Exploration of possibilities for modeling cognitive processes /machine learning Allows clear hypothesis testing Wide range of practical applications (e.g., robotics for performing dangerous tasks) Disadvantages include: Limitations imposed by hardware and software

Describe ipsilateral and contralateral projection in the human brain.

The cerebral cortex forms the outer layer of the two halves of the brain—the left and right cerebral hemispheres. Although the two hemispheres appear to be similar, they function differently. The left cerebral hemisphere is specialized for some kinds of activity, whereas the right cerebral hemisphere is specialized for other kinds. For example, receptors in the skin on the right side of the body generally send information through the medulla to areas in the left hemisphere in the brain. The receptors on the left side generally transmit information to the right hemisphere. Similarly, the left hemisphere of the brain directs the motor responses on the right side of the body. The right hemisphere directs responses on the left side of the body. Not all information transmission is contralateral—from one side to another. Some ipsilateral transmission—on the same side— occurs as well. For example, odor information from the right nostril goes primarily to the right side of the brain. About half the information from the right eye goes to the right side of the brain; the other half goes to the left side of the brain. In addition to this general tendency for contralateral specialization, the hemispheres also communicate directly with one another. The corpus callosum is a dense aggregate of neural fibers connecting the two cerebral hemispheres. It transmits information back and forth. Once information has reached one hemisphere, the corpus callosum transfers it to the other hemisphere. If the corpus callosum is cut, the two cerebral hemispheres cannot communicate with each other. Although some functioning, such as language, is highly lateralized, most functioning—even language—depends in large part on integration of the two hemispheres of the brain.

Describe the gross anatomy and general functions of the cerebral cortex.

The cerebral cortex plays an extremely important role in human cognition. It enables us to think. Because of it, we can plan, coordinate thoughts and actions, perceive visual and sound patterns, and use language. Without it, we would not be human. The cerebral cortex forms a 1- to 3-millimeter layer that wraps the surface of the brain somewhat like the bark of a tree wraps around the trunk. In human beings, the many convolutions, or creases, of the cerebral cortex include three elements. Sulci (singular: sulcus) are small grooves. Fissures are large grooves. And gyri (singular: gyrus) are bulges between adja- cent sulci or fissures. These folds greatly increase the surface area of the cortex. If the wrinkly human cortex were smoothed out, it would take up about 2 square feet. The volume of the human skull has more than doubled over the past 2 million years, allowing for the expansion of the brain, and especially the cortex. The surface of the cerebral cortex is grayish. It is sometimes referred to as gray matter because it primarily includes the grayish neural-cell bodies that process the information that the brain receives and sends. In contrast, the underlying white matter of the brain's interior includes mostly white, myelinated axons.

Identify the four lobes of the brain and outline the major functions of each.

The frontal lobe, toward the front of the brain, is associated with motor processing and higher thought processes, such as abstract reasoning, problem solving, planning, and judgment. It tends to be involved when sequences of thoughts or actions are called for. It is critical in producing speech. The prefrontal cortex, the region toward the front of the frontal lobe, is involved in complex motor control and tasks that require integration of information over time. The parietal lobe, at the upper back portion of the brain, is associated with somatosensory processing. The primary somatosensory cortex receives information from the senses about pressure, texture, temperature, and pain. It is located right behind the frontal lobe's primary motor cortex. If your somatosensory cortex were electrically stimulated, you probably would report feeling as if you had been touched. The parietal lobe also helps you perceive space and your relationship to it—how you are situated relative to the space you are occupying. It is also involved in consciousness and paying attention. The temporal lobe is located below the parietal lobe, directly under your temples. It is associated with auditory processing and comprehending language. Some parts are more sensitive to sounds of higher pitch, others to sounds of lower pitch. The auditory region is primarily contralateral. Both sides of the auditory area have at least some representation from each ear. If your auditory cortex were stimulated electrically, you would report having heard some sort of sound. The temporal lobe is also involved in retaining visual memories. For example, if you are trying to keep in memory The occipital lobe is associated with visual processing. The occipital lobe contains numerous visual areas, each specialized to analyze specific aspects of a scene, including color, motion, location, and form. Projection areas are the areas in the lobes in which sensory processing occurs. These areas are referred to as projection areas because the nerves contain sensory information going to (projecting to) the thalamus. It is from here that the sensory information is communicated to the appropriate area in the relevant lobe. Similarly, the projection areas communicate motor information downward through the spinal cord to the appropriate muscles via the peripheral nervous system (PNS). The visual cortex is primarily in the occipital lobe. Some neural fibers carrying visual information travel ipsilaterally from the left eye to the left cerebral hemisphere and from the right eye to the right cerebral hemisphere. Other fibers cross over the optic chiasma and go contralaterally to the opposite hemisphere. In particular, neural fibers go from the left side of the visual field for each eye to the right side of the visual cortex. Complementarily, the nerves from the right side of each eye's visual field send information to the left side of the visual cortex.

What are the major functions of the hypothalamus?

The hypothalamus is involved in regulating the endocrine system; the activities of the autonomic nervous system; survival behavior (e.g., fighting, feeding, fleeing, and mating); consciousness; and emotions, pleasure, pain, and stress reactions.

Describe Farah's research on childhood poverty and cognitive neuroscience. What are the implications of her work?

The most profound effects of poverty are in kindergarteners are in the language and executive function systems. In first graders and in middle school students, there were striking SES disparities in language and executive function, as well as in declarative memory. Language ability in middle school was predicted by the amount of cognitive stimulation they experienced as 4-year-olds—being read to, being taken on trips, and so on. In contrast, declarative memory ability in middle school was predicted by the quality of parental nurturance received as young children—being held close, being paid attention to, and so on. The latter finding might seem an odd association. Why would affectionate parenting have anything to do with memory? Yet research with animals shows that when a young animal is stressed the resulting stress hormones can damage the hippocampus, a brain area important for both stress regulation and memory. This research has also shown that more nurturing maternal behavior can buffer the young animal's hippocampus against the effects of stress. This is consistent with the hypothesis that the stressful environment of poverty affects hippocampal development, with additional help or hindrance from parenting. These findings suggest that reducing poverty and providing needed supports to the parents of infants and young children may have far-reaching impacts on their ability to function in and contribute to society.

Describe the homunculus of the primary motor cortex. How is the size of a given structure on the homunculus (for example, the lips as opposed to the toes) related to function? Compare this to the somatosensory homunculus.

The motor cortex can be mapped to show where, and in what proportions, different parts of the body are represented in the brain. Maps of this kind are called homunculi (homunculus is Latin for "little person") because they depict the body parts of a person mapped on the brain. For both motor and sensory function, the size of the body part in the homunculus is related to function. Those areas of the body that are particularly sensitive or that are used in fine, complex motions have larger representations in the brain.

Explain how Ebbinghaus's idea of rehearsal aids in learning in a classroom.

Through his self-observations, Ebbinghaus studied how people learn and remember material through rehearsal, the conscious repetition of material to be learned. Among other things, he found that frequent repetition can fix mental associations more firmly in memory. Thus, repetition aids in learning.

An individual with intractable epilepsy has had her corpus callosum severed in an attempt to reduce her seizures. The patient has been asked to draw a three-dimensional form with her left hand. The patient is successful. However, when asked to draw the same object with the right hand, the patient was not able to perform the task successfully. Why not?

Visuospatial processing occurs in the right hemisphere and motor control is contralateral, so the patient is able to accurately draw a cube with the contralateral (left) hand but not the ipsilateral hand.

. Which part of the brain seems to play an important role in the recognition of faces? a. fusiform gyrus of the temporal lobe b. inferior colliculi c. dorsal raphe nuclei d. lateral geniculate nuclei

.The philosopher who believed that the route to knowledge is through thinking and logical analysis was ____. a. Plato b. Locke c. Wundt d. Aristotle

A ____ refers to an exact model of a distinctive pattern or form, used as the basis for perception of patterns or forms. a. template b. proximate c. percept d. Gestalt

A person with lesions in the visual cortex may report not being able to see information; however, if forced to answer about an item, the person can often correctly guess the location and orientation of various objects. This suggests that some processing of visual information occurs outside of conscious awareness, a process called ____. a. blindsight b. peripheral vision c. change blindness d. signal detection theory

A rationalist ____. a. uses logical analysis to understand the world and people's relations to it b. is a follower of Aristotle's empiricist philosophy c. supports the idea of monism over dualism d. believes that knowledge is acquired through experience and observation

A study on pattern perception looked at stimuli in which a single "larger" letter was constructed of smaller letters (e.g., using small "s" letters to make a large "H"). In this study, participants were asked to identify the individual components (small letters) or identify the large letter. When the small letters were positioned close together, in general, participants were faster at identifying the larger letter versus the smaller letters. This is known as a. global precedence effect. b. local precedence effect. c. macro-identity effect. d. recognition-by-components.

According to Hubel and Wiesel, ____ cells receive input from neural cells projected from the thalamus and then fire in response to lines of particular orientations and positions in the receptive field. These cells differ from one another in that each cell responses only to a specific line orientation. a. simple b. complex c. subcortical d. hypercomplex

According to ____, all searches, whether conjunctive or feature, involve two stages. The first stage involves the analysis of features and the second involves combining features into objects. a. feature-integration theory b. movement-filter theory c. Broadbent's model d. similarity theory

According to signal-detection theory, a ____ occurs when we correctly identify the presence of a signal. a. hit b. false alarm c. miss d. correct rejection]

According to the ____ theories of attention, people have a fixed amount of attentional capacity that they allocate to the perceived task requirements. a. attentional-resource b. filter and bottleneck c. neurological d. signal-detection

According to the ____ theory, the difficulty of eliminating distractors depends on the characteristics they do or do not share. a. similarity b. commonality c. feature-integration d. signal-detection

Adrian has Alzheimer's and has a difficult time with his memory. The doctors say that his memory difficulties are associated with low levels of ____. a. acetylcholine b. dopamine c. dratonin d. serotonin

After conducting an experiment, the means for the two groups are not identical which may suggest a difference between the two groups. However, in order to be sure, you need to analyze the experimental results in terms of the likelihood that the result simply occurred by chance. This is called ____. a. statistical significance b. practical significance c. descriptive statistics d. meta-analysis

All of the following are part of the limbic system EXCEPT the ____. a. primary motor cortex b. septum c. amygdala d. hippocampus

Although the midbrain is not as important in mammals as in nonmammals, it is significant in that it houses the reticular activating system, which is essential in regulating ____. a. consciousness, heartbeat, and breathing b. bodily coordination, balance, and muscle tone c. breathing, swallowing, and digestion d. the signals passing from one part of the brain to another

An empiricist ____. a. believes that knowledge is acquired through experience and observation. b. is a follower of Plato's rationalist philosophy about the source of knowledge c. supports the idea of mind-body dualism d. believes that the mind and the body are separate entities

As a child, every time you went to a place with large crowds, your mother had you wear a bright colored shirt. She knew that it would be easier to spot you in the crowd by the color of your shirt. She was making use of ____. a. a feature search b. vigilance c. divided attention d. a conjunction search

Associationism is a school of psychology that examines ____. a. how elements of the mind become linked to each other to result in learning b. how people come to evaluate the accuracy of their own memory and cognitions c. the process of forming mental images of real objects and the relationships between them d. the positive or negative evaluations of objects and events and how they develop

At the end of the branches of an axon are the ____, which look like small knobs. a. terminal buttons b. synapses c. nodes of Ranvier d. astrocytes

Both _____ anxiety influence attentional processes. a. state-based and trait-based b. avoidant and nonavoidant c. internal and external d. overt and covert

Dorothy conducted an experiment in which there was a 20 point difference between the experimental and control group. The statistical test suggests that this result did not occur simply by chance. Dorothy's results are said to have (found) ____. a. statistical significance b. practical significance c. descriptive statistics d. meta-analysis

Erica is conducting experimental research in which she is looking at the effect of type of music on intellectual development. What is the dependent variable in this example? a. type of music b. intellectual development c. the control group d. the experimental group

Erica is conducting experimental research in which she is looking at the effect of type of music on intellectual development. What is the independent variable in this example? a. type of music b. intellectual development c. the control group d. the experimental group

Farah's (2000) research using faces, parts of faces, houses and parts of houses found that ____. a. face recognition involved primarily configurational processing b. face recognition involves primarily feature analysis c. both processes are equally involved in face recognition d. neither process is involved in face recognition

Immanuel Kant ____. a. believed in an integration of rationalism and empiricism b. completely rejected all forms of rationalism and empiricism c. believed only in rationalism d. believed only in empiricism

In ____, the two eyes send increasingly differing images to the brain as objects approach the eyes. a. binocular disparity b. interposition c. binocular convergence d. motion parallax

In a ____ we look for just one characteristic (e.g., color, shape, or size) that makes our search object different from all others. a. Feature search b. Characteristic selectivity c. Signal scanning d. Visual selective attention

In an experimental design, what is often the variable of interest that is being manipulated? a. extraneous variable b. independent variable c. dependent variable d. confounding variable

In which technique do researchers document the behaviors of individuals thought to have brain damage and then, after the person dies, examine the brain for lesions? a. postmortem studies b. in vivo techniques c. ipsilateral transmission d. brain damage analysis (BDA)

James Gibson defines ____ as the informational medium for vision. a. reflected light from the object. b. the actual object c. your mind perceiving the object d. sound waves generated by the object

Lequoia decides to conduct a study at the mall. She watches people at the mall for very specific behavior and simply keeps track of the number of times the behavior occurred for various groups. This is be an example of ____. a. naturalistic observation b. structuralism c. case study d. self-report

Part of dialectic thinking includes a(n) ____, where a counterstatement to previous beliefs emerges. a. antithesis b. synthesis c. thesis d. pragmatics

People who have an ____ have trouble perceiving sensory information. a. agnosia b. apraxia c. aphasia d. amnesia

People with optic ____ deficit have trouble reaching for things a. ataxia b. apraxia c. aphasia d. amnesia

Research suggests that children of mothers with lower levels of education show ____ of selective attention on neural processing a. reduced effects b. increased effects c. no effects d. random effects

Santiago says that in order to understand cognitive processes, we need to look directly at the brain to see how it functions. Ayami disagrees and says that we need to look at how people perform on various cognitive tasks. This disagreement is an example of the theme of ____. a. biological versus behavioral methods b. validity of inferences versus ecological validity c. nature versus nurture d. rationalism versus empiricism

Skinner's argument included the idea of operant conditioning, which refers to his belief that ____. a. the strengthening or weakening of behavior, depending upon the presence or absence of reinforcement or punishment, explains all human behavior b. all human behavior can be explained by operant conditioning, involving the strengthening or weakening of behavior, depending only on the presence of punishment c. human behavior is highly unpredictable and, as a result, only some human behavior can be explained in terms of reinforcement-punishment relationships d. human behavior cannot be understood without taking into account the purpose of the behavior

Split-brain patients sometimes have difficulty reconciling information that is ____ and thus largely localized in the left hemisphere with information that is ____ and thus generally localized in the right hemisphere. a. verbal; spatial b. spatial; verbal c. visual; auditory d. tactile; olfactory

Suppose there are two radio stations, one receiving signals from the western hemisphere and one receiving signals from the eastern hemisphere. A cable connects the two stations so that signals sent out from one half of the world can be transmitted to the other half. This cable is analogous to the brain's ____. a. corpus callosum b. cerebral cortex c. white matter d. medulla oblongata

The ____ phenomenon refers to the process of tracking one conversation in the face of the distraction of other conversations. a. cocktail party b. dichotic listening c. bidirectional attention d. subliminal perception

The basal ganglia of the forebrain are crucial to ____. a. motor function b. hearing c. sleeping and waking d. regulating behavior necessary for species survival

The cerebral hemispheres and cortex can be divided into four parts, called ____, that are largely arbitrary anatomical regions divided by fissures. a. lobes b. sulci c. gyri d. ventricles

The landmark experiment in which dogs salivate at the sight of the person who feeds them provides an example of ____. a. classically conditioned learning b. instrumental learning c. social learning d. physiological psychology

The neurochemical messages processed by the rods and cones of the retina travel via the ____ cells to the ____ cells. a. bipolar; ganglion b. astroglial; oligodendroglia c. photoreceptors; photopigments d. foveal; scleral

The theory of direct perception is a ____. a. bottom-up theory b. top-down theory c. complete theory of perception d. template theory

The two halves of the brain, which rely on the corpus callosum for communication, are called _____. a. hemispheres b. lobes c. contralaterals d. caudals

What is the junction between terminal buttons of one neuron with the dendrites of other neurons called? a. synapse b. soma c. nodes d. hillock

What part of the eye is a clear dome that protects the eye? a. cornea b. crystalline lens c. iris d. vitreous humor

What type of technique takes advantage of the brain's consumption of glucose or oxygen and specifically looks for which part of the brain is most active during more generalized processing? a. metabolic techniques b. electrical techniques c. static techniques d. functional techniques

When developing a ____ computer system, the goal is to have a system that demonstrates intelligent processing of information. a. artificial intelligence (AI) b. engineered intelligence (EI) c. technologically engineered intelligence (TEI) d. information processing approach

When the amygdala is stimulated, what reactions are likely to result? a. fearful hallucinations, frightening flashbacks in memory b. dizziness, headache, loss of consciousness c. insomnia, inability to concentrate, restlessness d. intense concentration

When your eyes are exposed to a uniform field of stimulation (e.g., a red surface area without any shades, a clear blue sky, or dense fog), you will stop perceiving that stimulus after a few minutes and see just a gray field instead. Such a uniform visual field is called a(n) ____. a. Ganzfeld b. percept c. illusion d. geon

Which abilities have been found to be localized on the right side of the brain for most split-brain patients? a. the ability to follow stories b. nearly all language functions c. skilled, purposeful movement d. finding patterns in visual stimuli

Which behaviorist was willing to look inside the "black box?" a. Tolman for his work with mazes b. Pavlov for his work with dogs. c. Skinner for his work with rats. d. Watson for his work with Little Albert.

Which disorder is caused by an interruption in the flow of blood to the brain and often results in noticeable loss in cognitive functioning? a. vascular disorder b. dementing disorder c. neurodegenerative disorder d. neoplastic disorder

Which effect occurs when recognition of an object is easier when it is seen in a grouping rather than when the object is presented in isolation? a. configural-superiority effect b. direct perception c. computational configuration effect d. synthetic conglomeration effects

Which major theme of cognitive psychology relates to whether the brain should be studied through methods like sophisticated imaging techniques or should focus on measurable performance like how many items from a list can be recalled? a. biological versus behavioral methods b. validity of inferences versus ecological validity c. nature versus nurture d. rationalism versus empiricism

Which model of selective attention suggests that messages that are of high importance to a person may break through the filter of selective attention? a. Moray's selective filter model b. the multimode theory c. Deutsch and Deutsch's late filter model d. Treisman's attenuation model

Which neuroimaging technique is able to look at increases in oxygen use to produce an image of the working brain? a. fMRI b. MRI c. CT d. ERP

Which neurons contribute to depth perception by integrating incoming information from both eyes? a. binocular b. disparity c. ganglion d. horizontal

Which of the following is LEAST consistent with the purpose of functionalism? a. the study of an organism independent of its environment b. the study of mental processes c. the study and uses of consciousness d. the study of the relationship between the organism and its environment

Which of the following is a legitimate criticism of behaviorism? a. The behavioristic principles did not explain language learning well. b. The law of effect did not generalize to humans. c. Classical conditioning only works on animals. d. All of the above are legitimate criticisms.

Which of the following would most likely involve the septum? a. Mike is frightened by a man pointing a knife at him. b. Mike remembered a man who sold him a knife. c. Mike sees a man who using a knife to peel vegetables. d. Mike sees a photo of a man whittling with a knife.

Which part of the brain is responsible for regulating behavior that is important for the survival of the organism and regulating emotions and reactions to stress? a. hypothalamus b. thalamus c. pons d. cerebellum

Which short and thick photoreceptors work well in situations in which the light is bright? a. cones b. ganglion cells c. rods d. vitreous humor

Which statement about attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is true? a. Those with it have difficulty focusing their attention. b. Those with it focus too much on details. c. It often appears in late adulthood. d. Medicines used to treat it affect the neurotransmitter acetycholine.

Which static imaging technique uses a strong magnetic field to analyze magnetic changes in the energy of the orbits of nuclear particles in the molecules of the body? a. MRI b. BSE c. ERT d. PET

Which technique for studying the brain occurs after the death of the individual, and relates function prior to death to observable brain features after death? a. postmortem b. in vivo c. aspiration lesions d. cryogenic blockade

Which theme of cognitive psychology relates to how we discover truth about ourselves and the world, through the use of reason and logic or through observing and testing what we can sense? a. rationalism versus empiricism b. biological versus behavioral methods c. structures versus processes d. nature versus nurture

Which theory characterizes our ability to correctly state whether or not a particular stimulus has been presented? a. signal-detection theory b. change blindness c. attentional-resource d. attentional integration theory

Which type of mental representation is stored in a manner that is independent of the object's appearance to the observer? a. object-centered representation b. state-dependent representation c. viewer-centered representation d. form-centric representation

Which type of research is interested in identifying which parts of the brain and what specific brain activity are associated with particular cognitive tasks? a. psychobiological research b. cerebral relational analysis c. structural relational analysis d. biological research

With _____, researchers program computers to imitate a given human function or process, or to solve a problem in the same way a human would. a. computer simulations b. ecological programming c. social cognition d. naturalistic observation

____ involves being able to select which stimuli to attend to. a. Orienting b. Alerting c. Executive attention d. Searching

____ refers to an experience involving the preconscious level of consciousness, in which a person tries to remember something that is known to be stored in memory, but that the person cannot quite retrieve. a. The tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon b. The tip-of-awareness phenomenon c. Freudian slip d. Subliminal perception

____ refers to our ability to attend to some stimuli while ignoring or minimally processing other stimuli. a. Selective attention b. Vigilance c. Search d. Multiple-task processing

____ refers to the process by which particular stimuli activate mental pathways that enhance the ability to process subsequent stimuli related to the initial stimuli in some way. a. Priming b. Feature enhancement c. Conjunction processing d. Binaural processing

____ refers to transmission of information to the opposite side, whereas ____ refers to transmission to the same side. a. Contralateral; ipsilateral b. Occipital; frontal c. Ipsilateral; contralateral d. Parietal; temporal

____ showed that people tend to use Gestalt principles, even when confronted with novel stimuli. a. Palmer b. Gibson c. Marr d. Hubel and Wiesel

. How might you use a configurational system to recognize cars? a. You examine each feature of the car and match it to a type in memory. b. You view the car holistically and then recognize it as a mustang. c. You classify the car based on the type of engine it has. d. You break the car into geons to determine its type.

. Lorraine is conducting an experiment in which she eats an apple and attempts to analyze her experience. What technique is she using? a. vivisection b. introspection c. behaviorism d. naturalism

. ____ refers to a severe deficit in the ability to perceive sensory information. a. Amnesia b. Agnosia c. Dyslexia d. Aphasia

. _____ involves being prepared to focus on incoming information. a. Orienting b. Alerting c. Executive attention d. Searching

A leader in guiding functionalism toward pragmatism was ____, whose chief functional contribution to the field of psychology was his landmark book, Principles of Psychology. a. John Dewey b. William James c. Edward Lee Thorndike d. Hermann Ebbinghaus

A study on pattern perception looked at stimuli in which a single "larger" letter was constructed of smaller letters (e.g., using small "s" letters to make a large "H"). In this study, participants were asked to identify the individual components (small letters) or identify the large letter. When the small letters were positioned widely spaced, in general, participants were faster at identifying the smaller letters versus the larger letters. This is known as a. the global precedence effect b. the local precedence effect c. recognition-by-components d. micro-identity effect

A(n) ____ is left uncontrolled in an experiment. Such a variable could contribute to difference in performance making it difficult to interpret the results of the experiment. a. independent variable b. confounding variable c. dependent variable d. controlled variable

According to ____ theory, the key factor affecting the relative ease or difficulty of visual searches is whether or not we must combine various characteristics of objects to successfully complete our search. a. similarity b. feature-integration c. commonality d. signal-detection

According to signal-detection theory, a ____ occurs when we incorrectly report that a signal is present when it is, in fact, absent. a. hit b. false alarm c. miss d. correct rejection

According to the ____ theories of attention, information is selectively blocked out or attenuated as it passes from one level of processing to the next. a. attentional-resource b. filter and bottleneck c. neurological d. signal-detection

Alice does not recognize her own face in the mirror. Alice is experiencing _____. a. spatial agnosia b. prosopagnosia c. simultagnosia d. visual-object agnosia

Alice is a lifeguard at a busy beach. When on duty, she must remain alert to detect someone having difficulties in the water or other potentially dangerous situations, despite prolonged periods during which no danger is present. Alice's job requires great ____. a. selective attention b. vigilance c. search d. multiple-task processing

Another name for a tumor is ____. a. hemorrhagia b. neoplasm c. ischemia d. apraxia

Derrick has a number of electrodes attached to his head. He is probably about to participate in a study involving use of ____. a. fMRI b. ERPs c. PET d. CT scan

Disturbance in the ____ region of the cortex can lead to simultagnosia. a. parietal b. temporal c. occipital d. frontal

Ecological validity refers to the degree to which lab data hold true when altered to account for ____. a. ecological differences between the lab and the outside environment b. the degree to which data gathered in a lab will apply outside the lab, given the influences of the environment on cognitive activity c. the accuracy of predictions of how test subjects will react when placed in an environment with different ecological relationships d. the effect ecological changes have on the behavior of organisms in the particular environment

French physician Marc Dax noticed a relationship between the loss of speech and the side of the brain in which damage had occurred in patients suffering from ____. a. prosopagnosia b. aphasia c. ablation d. schizophrenia

Generally, people with agnosia have normal sensations of what is in front of them but have trouble with the ____ pathway. a. where b. what c. whether d. how

Gestalt psychology has most greatly influenced, specifically, the study of ____. a. emotion b. insight c. behavior d. linguistics

In some areas of the brain, some ____ cells fire maximally only in response to very specific shapes (e.g., a hand or a face). a. simple b. complex c. subcortical d. hypercomplex

In which color deficiency does a person have a difficult time with greens? a. achromacy b. deuteranopia c. protanopia d. tritanopi

Information about your bedroom, such as the number of windows in it, is often easily pulled from ____ awareness to conscious awareness. a. superconscious b. preconscious c. subconscious d. unconscious

James was interested in a new study technique and whether it would have an impact on the retention of information when compared to a traditional study method. James had the experimental group, with the new study technique, study psychology, while the other group, with the old technique, studied Greek. In this example, the type of material (psychology versus Greek) would be an example of (a) ____. a. antithesis b. confounding variable c. random sample d. representative sample

Jennifer has damage to a certain area of her brain. She can remember people and events from long ago, but she cannot remember where she ate lunch today. Judging by her symptoms, Jennifer may have damage to the ____. a. hypothalamus b. hippocampus c. thalamus d. corpus callosum

Karpicke (2009) developed a task in which participants had to learn and recall Swahili-English word pairs. After subjects first recalled the meaning of a word, that pair was either dropped, presented twice more in a study period, or presented twice more in text periods. Subjects took a final recall test one week later. Which research method was used here? a. artificial intelligence b. controlled laboratory experiment c. neuroscientific research d. self-report

Kent is a chronic alcoholic and is homeless. As a result of both his chronic heavy alcohol use and his dietary deficiencies, Kent's ____ has deteriorated and he is experiencing memory problems. a. hypothalamus b. hippocampus c. septum d. amygdala

Marla is carefully transplanting tomato seedlings as she has often done when a neighbor stops by to chat. After Marla has resumed her task, she stops suddenly, realizing she has failed to put fertilizer in the bottom of the hole before she puts in the seedling. Marla has made a(n) ____. a. perseveration b. omission c. description error d. associative-activation error

Most motor information transmission is ____. a. parietal b. contralateral c. ipsilateral d. occipital

Of the following, a pragmatist would most likely support the study of knowledge that ____. a. exists for its own sake b. can be used to help people become better educated c. enables us to speculate further on the relationship between body and mind d. has no specific use, but is highly interesting from a psychological perspective

Painters often use ____ in their work to provide a perspective of depth to the artwork. a. viewer-centered representation b. monocular depth cues c. perceptual constancies d. binocular depth cues

Paul Broca believed that ____. a. localization of function does not exist b. the left hemisphere of the brain is critical to normal speech function c. the right hemisphere of the brain is critical to normal speech function d. neither hemisphere of the brain is critical to normal speech function

Physicians make a determination of brain death based in part on the lack of activity of the ____. a. midbrain b. brainstem c. medulla oblongata d. cerebellum

Rationalism is to ____ as empiricism is to ____. a. observable evidence; theory b. theory; observable evidence c. manipulation; measure d. hypothesis; theory

Research indicates that the neurotransmitter ____ is involved in alerting. a. epinephrine b. norepinephrine c. serotonin d. dopamine

Suppose you are a radiologist reading mammograms. Your job is to determine whether there are any suspicious, possibly malignant images. In this type of task, the stimulus that you are attempting to detect may be called a ____. a. filter b. signal c. false alarm d. hit

Texture gradients, relative size, interposition, linear perspective, and aerial perspective are all examples of ____ depth cues. a. binocular b. monocular c. primary d. higher-order

The "law of effect" states that a stimulus will tend to produce a certain response over time if the ____. a. stimulus is conditioned b. organism is repeatedly rewarded for that response c. organism is repeatedly punished for that response d. stimulus and the response are both unconditioned

The Gestalt principles of form perception, including proximity, similarity, closure, continuity, and symmetry, all support the overarching law of ____. a. parsimony b. Prägnanz c. organization of elements d. coherence

The ____ and ____ both play a role in anger. a. amygdala; hippocampus b. septum; amygdala c. hippocampus; septum d. primary motor cortex; septum

The ____ plays a critical role in the formation of new memories. a. thalamus b. hippocampus c. hypothalamus d. aphasia

The ____ theme of cognitive psychology relates to whether one should use carefully controlled experiments or use natural observations. a. structures versus processes b. validity of inferences versus ecological validity c. nature versus nurture d. domain generality versus domain specificity

The approach to studying the brain in order to understand what specific part of the brain controls what specific skills or behaviors is called ____. a. synthesis b. localization of function c. ecological validity d. lobotomy

The cerebral cortex is often referred to as ____, whereas the myelinated nerve fibers of the brain's interior are often called ____. a. contralateral; ipsilateral b. gray matter; white matter c. ipsilateral; contralateral d. white matter; gray matter

The goal of structuralism was to understand the "content" of the mind by ____. a. synthesizing constituent parts of perceptions b. analyzing perceptions into their constituent parts c. observing responses to various stimuli d. creating a cognitive framework for new ideas

The idea of the modularity of the mind was also stated, albeit in different terms, by Franz Joseph Gall, a(n) ____. a. Freudian b. phrenologist c. associationist d. behaviorist

The law of ____ states that we view any given visual array in a way that most simply organizes the different elements into a stable and coherent form. a. parsimony b. Prägnanz c. organization of elements d. coherence

The optic nerve consists of axons from ____ cells. a. amacrine b. ganglion c. horizontal d. oligodendroglia

The parietal lobe is primarily responsible for ____. a. planning and execution of movement b. somatosensory processing c. auditory processing d. visual processing

Theresa, the assistant principal of a middle school, often finds herself dealing with accusations of wrongdoing made by one student against another. When she does so, she will not accept circumstantial evidence. Instead, Theresa allows only evidence that she can see, or "hard," observational evidence, to be used in deciding whether a student has violated rules. Theresa could be referred to as a(n) ____. a. monist b. empiricist c. rationalist d. nativist

Three types of chemical substances appear to be involved in neurotransmission: ____. a. monoamine neurotransmitters, amino-acid neurotransmitters, and neurobinders b. monoamine neurotransmitters, amino-acid neurotransmitters, and neuropeptides c. amino-acid neurotransmitters, neurobinders, and cerebropeptides d. monoamine neurotransmitters, neuropeptides, and neurobinders

Tom puts his hand on a warm stove burner and senses the heat coming from the stove. The message of warmth travels from his hand to which lobe of the brain? a. occipital b. parietal c. temporal d. frontal

Ulric Neisser synthesized the early filter and the late filter models in part by proposing that there are two processes governing attention: ____. a. foreground and background processes b. preattentive and attentive processes c. signal and noise processes d. target and distracter processes

What percentage of the adult population has language functions predominantly localized in the left hemisphere of the brain? a. 100 b. 90 c. 50 d. 20

When viewing a picture that is half one person's face and half another person's face, a split brain patient would most likely ____. a. ask why you are showing her half of two different faces b. say the image portrays the whole face of whomever is depicted on the right side c. point to the image of the whole face of whomever is depicted on the right side d. simply be unable to answer because the question seems nonsensical

Which best describes the dual-task paradigm used to study divided attention in the laboratory? a. Participants are asked to listen information presented to one ear and repeat the information heard. b. Participants are asked to watch a film showing two activities superimposed on one another. c. Participants watch a screen and press a button when a particular feature is present. d. Participants are asked to watch a film that is sometimes presented with sound effects and sometimes without.

Which cues about depth are represented in just two dimensions and can be seen with just one eye? a. viewer-centered representations b. monocular depth cues c. perceptual constancies d. binocular depth cues

Which function of attention involves the ability to correctly state whether or not a particular stimulus has been presented? a. stimulus observation b. signal detection c. attentional integration d. stimulus selection

Which major theme of cognitive psychology looks at the extent we use highly controlled experiments versus naturalistic techniques? a. biological versus behavioral methods b. validity of inferences versus ecological validity c. rationalism versus empiricism d. structures versus processes

Which model of selective attention suggests that, while there are multiple channels for sensory input, only one channel is processed while the other channels of information are filtered out before sensory processing? a. Treisman's attenuation model b. Broadbent's model c. Single channel detection theory d. Deutsch and Deutsch's late filter model

Which neurotransmitter is most associated with attention, reward and reinforcement, learning, and motivational processes? a. acetylcholine b. dopamine c. GABA d. serotonin

Which of the following processes would most likely involve the limbic system? a. Bill stretches his arms high into the air. b. Bill is walking home at night and is startled by a runner. c. Bill solves a physics problem. d. Bill feels an acute pain in his wrist.

Which part of the hindbrain contains neural fibers that pass signals from one part of the brain to another and thus serves as a relay station? a. medulla oblongata b. pons c. cerebellum d. limbic system

Which part of the left hemisphere of the brain appears to contribute to language comprehension? a. Dax's area b. Wernicke's area c. Lashley's area d. Broca's area

Which perceptual deficit causes a person to have a difficult time navigating the everyday environment? a. simultagnosia b. spatial agnosia c. prosopagnosia d. visual-object agnosia

Which strategy suggests that information is characterized by its relation to a well-known or prominent item? a. item centered representation b. landmark centered representation c. object-centered representation d. viewer-centered representation

Which technique for studying cognition temporarily disrupts normal activity of the brain in a very small area by placing a coil on the person's head and passing a current through it? a. EEG b. TMS c. MRI d. MEG

Which theme of cognitive psychology relates to the relative contributions of our genetic inheritances and our surrounding environments? a. structures versus processes b. nature versus nurture c. biological versus behavioral methods d. rationalism versus empiricism

Who is known for the development of the concept "modularity of the mind"? a. B.F. Skinner b. Jerry Fodor c. Albert Bandura d. Donald Broadbent

____ is the means by which we actively select and process a limited amount of information from all of the information captured by our senses, our stored memories, and our other cognitive processes. a. Arousal b. Attention c. Consciousness d. Priming

____ refer to nontarget stimuli that divert our attention away from the target stimulus. a. Signals b. Distracters c. Secondary stimuli d. Secondary signals

____ refers to a degree of physiological excitation, responsivity, and readiness for action relative to a baseline. a. Awareness b. Arousal c. Attention d. Vigilance

____ refers to a person's ability to attend to a field of stimulation over a prolonged period, during which the person seeks to detect the appearance of a particular target stimulus of interest. a. Selective attention b. Vigilance c. Search d. Multiple-task processing

____ refers to a severely impaired ability to recognize human faces. a. Spatial agnosia b. Prosopagnosia c. Simultagnosia d. Visual-object agnosia

____ refers to accidentally repeating steps of an automatic procedure after the procedure has been completed. a. Omissions b. Perseverations c. Description errors d. Data-driven errors

____ refers to an experimental task in which you listen to two different messages and then are required to repeat back only one of the messages as soon as possible after you hear it, while ignoring the other. a. Selective listening b. Shadowing c. Unilateral attention d. Uniaural listening task

. Most people can listen to music and write a paper simultaneously, but it is harder to listen to the news station and concentrate on writing at the same time. This is because ____. a. music is often relaxing and makes it easier to concentrate b. people are often upset by what is on the news and that harms their concentration c. listening to the news and writing a paper both require verbal processing d. most people do not listen to the news all that often or closely, so it is novel

. Which approach emphasizes observable evidence as the means to acquiring new knowledge? a. rationalism b. monism c. empiricism d. nativism

. ____ is the belief that most human behavior explains how people think. a. Associationism b. Behaviorism c. Cognitivism d. Gestantism

A cognitive psychologist is LEAST LIKELY to study whether ____. a. people can pay attention to multiple stimuli at once without losing accuracy b. advertising using animation is more memorable than advertising using no animation c. a group of people present affect how much is given to charity d. the reading speed of college graduates differs from that of high school graduates

According to ____ theories of form perception, we attempt to match characteristics of a pattern to those stored in memory, rather than to match a whole pattern to a template or a prototype. a. constructive-perception b. prototype c. feature-matching d. computational

According to signal-detection theory, a ____ occurs when we incorrectly report that a signal is absent, when it is, in fact, present. a. hit b. false alarm c. miss d. correct rejection

Brian was playing a game of three truths and a lie with some of his friends. The goal of the group is to identify the lie. Brian observed that the bigger the lie, the more the person would scratch his/her face. He thought that if he plotted amount of scratching by severity of lie that there would be a relation. Brian is thinking of what type of study? a. quasi-experimental design b. multivariate statistics c. correlation d. experimental design

Connell, age 32, was in a bad motorcycle accident. He was airlifted to a tertiary care facility and when his family arrived, they were informed that it was likely Connell was brain dead. To determine whether Connell is, in fact, brain dead, his doctors must determine that his ____ has been damaged so severely that various reflexes of the head (e.g., the pupillary reflex) are absent for more than 12 hours. a. frontal lobe b. corpus callosum c. brainstem d. pons

Disruption in the hippocampus does NOT seem to result in deficits in ____ memory. a. declarative b. short-term c. procedural d. long-term

Disturbance in the temporal region of the cortex can lead to ____, in which a person is unable to pay attention to more than one object at a time. a. visual-object agnosia b. prosopagnosia c. simultagnosia d. optic agnosia

Dr. Rubiosa studies the formation of internal representations of abstract ideas while Dr. Collingswood focuses on how internal representations interact and affect each other and how they affect cognition. Which major theme does this illustrate? a. nature versus nurture b. rationalism versus empiricism c. structure versus processes d. applied versus basic research

Identification of an item may be influenced by surrounding information especially when the sensory information is ambiguous. This illustrates ____ effects. a. micro-identity b. direct assimilation c. context d. synthetic conglomeration

In ____ we intend to deviate from a routine activity we are implementing in familiar surroundings, but at a point at which we should depart from the routine, we fail to pay attention and to regain control of the process. a. loss of activation error b. omissions c. capture errors d. perseverations

In ____, the two eyes increasingly turn inward as objects approach the eyes; in turn, the brain interprets these muscular movements as indications of distance from the eyes. a. binocular disparity b. interposition c. binocular convergence d. motion parallax

In a ____ search, we must search for a combination of stimulus characteristics.. a. selectivity b. polymorphism c. conjunction d. feature

In a ____, every individual in the population of interest has an equal chance of being selected for an experiment. a. representative sample b. single-subject design c. random sample d. systematic sampling

In an experimental design, what is often the outcome or the variable that is being measured (e.g., score on a test)? a. extraneous variable b. independent variable c. dependent variable d. confounding variable

In which color deficiency can a person see only shades of gray and no color at all? a. akinetopsia b. deuteranopia c. rod monochromacy d. tritanopia

In which color deficiency does a person has a difficult time distinguishing between the reds and the greens? a. achromacy b. deuteranopia c. protanopia d. tritanopia

In which mental representation is the object stored in the way it is experienced by the perceiver? a. object-centered representation b. state-dependent representation c. viewer-centered representation d. egocentric representation

Information that is available for cognitive processing but that currently lies outside of conscious awareness exists at the ____ level of awareness. a. superconscious b. conscious c. preconscious d. unconscious

Joe is walking around a room completely in the dark. He cannot see anything. When he feels the doorknob with his hand, he pulls the door open. What location in the brain most directly enabled him to accomplish what he attempted? a. the temporal lobe b. the occipital lobe c. the parietal lobe d. the cerebral fissures

John Watson, the founder of radical behaviorism, was an American psychologist who ____. a. rejected all aspects of functionalism b. supported the functionalist movement and was one of its most ardent supporters c. rejected some aspects of functionalism, but at the same time drew heavily from the functionalists d. altered the course of functionalism and later renamed the movement "behaviorism"

Juan has a disorder affecting his ability to perform skilled movements. Juan most likely has ____. a. dyslexia b. aphasia c. apraxia d. agnosia

Julie sees a flower, she notes it is red and appears to be a rose. What is the distal object? a. photon absorption in the rods and cones b. the reflection of light off the rose c. the actual rose d. molecules released the rose

Madden's (2007) research examining the impact of aging on visual search ability has found that ____. a. older participants are more accurate but slower than younger participants b. younger participants are more accurate but slower than older participants c. younger participants are more accurate and faster than older participants d. there are no age differences on visual search tasks

Many perceptual deficits are very specific and may only affect, for example, recognition of faces or perception of particular colors. This supports the idea of ____. a. cross-system integration b. associative processing c. modularity d. interactionism

Mary wakes up in the middle of the night to hear a loud thump coming from the stairway. She then hears creaking and a voice whispering. Her ____ lobe makes it possible for her to hear the sounds. a. occipital b. parietal c. temporal d. frontal

Mrs. M has difficulties with managing relationships. She is paranoid about anything that is said and often interprets comments as an attack on her or her family. These symptoms and others are studied by a therapist for years and then written up to help others understand her particular constellation of symptoms. This is an example of a ____. a. naturalistic observation b. psychobiological research c. case study d. self-report

Part of dialectic thinking includes a(n) ____, where a statement of belief is proposed. a. antithesis b. synthesis c. thesis d. pragmatics

Some individuals experience closed-head injuries in combat or in accidents. What characterizes a closed-head injury? a. The skull has been penetrated and the brain has been damaged. b. There is no evidence of any physical damage but there is a psychological disorder. c. The skull has not been penetrated but there is damage to the brain. d. The damage has occurred over time as a result of repeated head injuries.

Sonia lays in a hospital bed and cannot be awakened. Scans of her brain show damage to the ____, which is important for regulating overall level of consciousness. a. corpus callosum b. white matter c. reticular activating system d. medulla oblongata

Splitting your attentional resources between two or more different task is called ____. a. selective attention b. feature search c. divided attention d. signal detection

The ____ appears to be important in the regulation of vigilance. a. frontal lobe b. occipital cortex c. amygdala d. pons

The ____ approach is based on the notion that the whole differs from the sum of its individual parts. a. structuralist b. functionalist c. Gestalt d. decompositional analysis

The ____ refers to the psychological difficulty in selective attention that occurs when a literate person attempts to name the colors of ink used to print the color words for other colors (e.g., "blue" may be printed in red ink). a. semantic confusion phenomenon b. feature-integration problem c. Stroop effect d. signal effect

The ____ theme of cognitive psychology relates to whether we should focus on the content of the human mind or should focus on the processes of human thinking. a. rationalism versus empiricism b. domain generality versus domain specificity c. structures versus processes d. nature versus nurture

The cerebral cortex is ____. a. the main lobe of the forebrain b. the bridge between the left and the right hemispheres of the brain c. a one- to three-millimeter-thick layer that covers the surface of the brain d. a layer, covering the surface of the brain, that comprises about 60% of the brain

The chemical messengers of the nervous system are called ____. a. synapse b. hormones c. neurotransmitters d. neurobinders

The combination of rational with empirical methods so as to get the "best of both worlds" represents, in dialectical terms, a(n) ____. a. thesis b. antithesis c. synthesis d. antisynthesis

The corpus callosum serves to ____. a. make certain contralateral transmissions ipsilateral b. regulate the transmission of information along the cerebral cortex c. allow transmission of information between the left and right hemispheres d. transmit information from the left and right hemispheres to the spinal cord

The direct perception, template theories, feature theories, and recognition-by-components theory are all ____. a. cognition-driven theories b. stimulus models c. bottom-up theories d. top-down theories

The forebrain includes the ____. a. corpus callosum, cerebellum, and cerebral cortex b. hippocampus, medulla, pons, and thalamus c. cerebral cortex, basal ganglia, the limbic system, thalamus, and hypothalamus d. amygdala, reticular activating system, and corpus callosum

The limbic system is important to ____. a. memory retrieval b. relaying sensory information c. emotion, motivation, and learning d. motor information

The main functions of the temporal and occipital lobes, respectively, are ____. a. visual processing and auditory processing b. gustatory processing and olfactory processing c. auditory processing and visual processing d. olfactory processing and gustatory processing

The pandemonium model, based on the notion that metaphorical "demons" with specific duties receive and analyze the features of a stimulus, is a ____ theory of perception. a. template b. prototype c. feature-matching d. computational

The parietal lobe contains the ____, which is involved in experiencing pressure, texture, temperature, and pain. a. association areas b. primary motor cortex c. primary somatosensory cortex d. primary visual cortex

Top-down processing is to bottom-up processing as constructivist is to ____. a. distal stimulus b. configural superiority c. direct perception d. perceptual constancy

Transduction of electromagnetic light energy into neural electrochemical impulses occurs in the ____. a. cornea b. crystalline lens c. retina d. vitreous humor

Trying to locate a particular friend in a crowded auditorium or a particular key term in a large list of terms are examples of ____. a. selective attention b. vigilance c. search d. multiple-task processing

What is the "face positivity" effect in older participants? a. They are better able to recognize faces that are not distorted. b. They are better able to recognize faces that are of the same race. c. They are better able to recognize faces that show a happy emotion. d. They are better able to recognize faces that are the same age as they are.

What was the pattern of results that Marcel (1983) found using primes that have two different meanings (e.g., palm: hand or tree)? a. He showed evidence for positive priming only (facilitation). b. He showed evidence of negative priming only (inhibition). c. His results depended on whether or not the prime was viewed long enough to become conscious. d. He found priming effects only when the prime was consciously viewed.

When our routines are interrupted, we may accidentally skip steps despite the fact that our routines are well learned. This describes a(n) _____. a. capture error b. perseveration c. omission d. description error

When someone opens a door, we do not experience the door as becoming distorted in form, from a rectangle to a diamond to a flat, thin stripe, and the like. Rather, we recognize the door as remaining in its original form. This phenomenon is called ____ constancy. a. distal b. proximal c. shape d. size

Which approach emphasizes logical analysis as the means to acquiring new knowledge? a. tabula rasa b. synthesis c. rationalism d. empiricism

Which best describes the capacity model of attention? a. Attention has a filter that can move dependent on the level of meaning we assign to it. b. Attention has several filters at the sensory level. c. We have a fixed amount of attention that we can use on multiple tasks. d. We learn to pay attention and the more we practice the better we get.

Which color deficit is the result of a malfunction in one of the mechanism for color perception in which the person may have a difficult time distinguishing particular colors? a. achromatopsia b. akinetopsia c. dichromacy d. monochromacy

Which color deficit is true color-blindness in that the person really has no ability to see any color? a. deuteranopia b. dichromacy c. monochromacy d. protanomaly

Which context effect occurs when a target line that is part of a 3-D drawing is identified more accurately than when the line is part of a disjoined 2-D pattern? a. configural-superiority effect b. direct perception c. object-superiority effect d. complex line drawing effect

Which example is most analogous to the goal of structuralism? a. Scientists study an entire assembled jigsaw puzzle in order to understand each of the pieces. b. Scientists look at how the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle fit together in order to understand the assembling process. c. Scientists look at each piece of a jigsaw puzzle in order to understand the whole puzzle as assembled. d. Scientists study the different ways a jigsaw puzzle can be assembled to form different images.

Which hypothesis suggests that there are two distinct visual pathways in the brain; one pathway is important for identifying the object and the other for identifying the function of the object? a. Identity/Location b. Identity/Use c. What/How d. What/Where

Which individual supported the rationalist view and largely rejected the pure empirical view? a. Kant b. Aristotle c. Descartes d. Locke

Which long thin photoreceptors work well under situations in which light is dim? a. cones b. crystalline lens c. rods d. ganglion cells

Which major theme for cognitive psychology relates to whether research should focus on fundamental cognitive processes or focus on practical uses for the knowledge that results from the experiment? a. domain generality versus domain specificity b. structures versus processes c. applied versus basic research d. rationalism versus empiricism

Which model of selective attention suggests that instead of blocking out stimuli, the filter merely weakens the strength of all stimuli other than the target stimulus? a. Broadbent's model b. Deutsch and Deutsch's late filter model c. Treisman's attenuation model d. Guided search model of information processing

Which of the following would most likely involve activity in the amygdala? a. Wilma sees a cute cat but the cat will not come when she calls. b. Wilma talks about her own pets, who she obviously loves c. Wilma is frightened when the horse she is riding rears up. d. Wilma leans over to pet a large dog who likes to be petted.

Which perceptual deficit is thought of in terms of damage to the "how" visual pathway, and results in difficulties with using visual inputs to guide movements? a. tritanopia b. akinetopsia c. optic ataxia d. apoptosis

Which statement best describes our understanding of perception? a. Bottom-up theories outline perceptual processing step-by-step. b. Top-down theories outline perceptual processing step-by-step. c. Perception involves a combination of both bottom-up and top down processing. d. Little is understood about perception at the current time.

Which technique to study the living brain is based on examining the recording of the electrical frequencies and intensities of the brain over time? a. CT b. PET c. EEG d. MRI

Which techniques for studying the brain obtain a still image that can help with revealing the structures of the brain? a. metabolic techniques b. electrical techniques c. static techniques d. functional techniques

Which type of metabolic imaging technique uses a radioactive form of oxygen that emits positrons as it is metabolized to look at the physiological functioning of the brain in action? a. EEG b. GMT c. PET d. ERPs

Which type of stroke is due to a blood vessel in the brain suddenly breaking and filling the surrounding tissue with blood, causing cells to die? a. ischemic stroke b. neoplasms c. hemorrhagic stroke d. aphasic stroke

Which type of study simply looks for a statistical relationship between two or more variables without manipulating the variables of interest? a. quasi-experimental design b. multivariate statistics c. correlation d. experimental design

Which view of perception suggests that stimuli may be richly informative and perceptual processes may be very complex? a. bottom-up b. intelligent topographical c. synthesis of bottom-up and top-down d. top-down

You are watching your favorite TV show when a friend enters the room and wants to engage you in conversation. You really want to watch your show, but know that you should attend to the conversation. You try to do both. This is an example of ____. a. selective attention b. feature search c. divided attention d. signal detection theory

Your roommate has made it abundantly clear to you that you are to pick up a particular bottle of wine on your way back from class and you dutifully stop at the wine store, only to discover you cannot remember the name of the wine. You are experiencing a(n) ____ error. a. data-driven b. associative-activation c. loss of activation d. description

____ features are those that constitute the small-scale or detailed aspects of a given pattern. a. Mega b. Micro c. Local d. Global

____ includes both the feeling of awareness and the content of awareness. a. Arousal b. Attention c. Consciousness d. Priming

____ is well known for his work with split-brain patients. a. Lashley b. Broca c. Gazzaniga d. Dax

____ processing refers to cognitive processing that requires conscious control and effort that is performed one step at a time. a. Natural b. Procedural c. Controlled d. Automatic

____ refers to situations in which we actively seek out particular stimuli. a. Selective attention b. Vigilance c. Search d. Multiple-task processing

____ refers to the process by which a person repeats a procedure so frequently that the procedure changes from being highly conscious and effortful to being relatively automatic and effortless. a. Habituation b. Adaptation c. Automatization d. Dishabituation

____ start with the stimulus, are data driven, and view perception as occurring when the information from the stimulus is transported to the brain. a. Cognition-driven theories b. Stimulus models c. Bottom-up theories d. Top-down theories

_____ is a cross-disciplinary approach that uses ideas and methods from cognitive psychology, cognitive neuroscience, AI, philosophy, linguistics, and anthropology. a. Mind-brain studies b. Cognitivism c. Cognitive science d. Biobehavioral psychology

Karl Lashley's work in biological psychology led him to work with which key issue that deals with the location of individual cognitive processes in the brain? a. Monistic localization in brain function b. Prosopagnosia c. The brain as an organizer of behavior d. Hysteresis

A person who fails to detect changes that occur for attended or unattended objects in a viewed scene is demonstrating ____. a. blindsight b. divided attention c. a conjunction search d. change blindness

A philosopher who largely rejected acquisition of knowledge by empirical means was ____. a. John Locke b. Aristotle c. David Hume d. René Descartes

According to signal-detection theory, a ____ occurs when we correctly report that a signal is absent. a. hit b. false alarm c. miss d. correct rejection

According to the ____ theory of object perception, objects are recognized based on the perception of the distinctive arrangement of various geons (a set of three dimensional geometrical elements) that compose each object. a. feature-matching b. prototype c. template d. recognition-by-components

Although the brain makes up only one fortieth of the total weight of the adult human body, it uses ____ of the circulating blood, available oxygen, and available glucose. a. one-thirtieth b. one-twentieth c. one-tenth d. one-fifth

Based on extensive research, Karl Lashley concluded that localization of specific memories ____. a. can be demonstrated through the use of a large variety of techniques b. can be demonstrated only by using incision c. can be demonstrated only by using ablation d. cannot be demonstrated

Bill, an interior designer, believes that it is not enough to just place furniture in a room to create an aesthetically-pleasing tableau. He wants to know how the people who will live in the room will use the room and the furniture and objects in it and why they will use it the way they do. Bill's approach seems most similar to the way ____ view understanding the mind. a. Gestaltists b. structuralists c. neo-Freudians d. functionalists

Cells called ____ transmit information throughout the nervous system. a. glia b. astrocytes c. myelin d. neurons

Christia is in the process of developing a research idea. She currently is reviewing various ____, which consists of explanatory principles for the phenomenon of interest. a. correlational studies b. dependent variables c. hypotheses d. theories

Damage to the hippocampus can result in loss of memory function in which old information can be recalled but new memories cannot be formed. One form of hippocampal damage is called ____. a. "locked-in" syndrome b. apraxia c. aphasia d. Korsakoff's syndrome

Descartes is best described as having been a(n) ____. a. functionalist b. behaviorist c. empiricist d. rationalist

Dysfunction of the basal ganglia is known to cause ____. a. visual agnosia b. semantic memory loss c. extreme fear d. motor deficits

Elma, an automobile factory worker, learns how to install a car air conditioner by watching a fellow worker install the part. The knowledge Elma has just acquired is ____ acquired knowledge. a. experimentally b. reductively c. innately d. empirically

Fred needs to spot a particular friend in a crowded auditorium. Fred's friend has very bright red hair, so Fred scans the hall for very bright red hair. Fred is using a ____ search. a. characteristic b. selective c. conjunction d. feature

Gibson's direct perception model is sometimes referred to as a(n) ____, because of Gibson's concern with perception as it occurs in the everyday world rather than in laboratory situations. a. anti-laboratory view b. real-life view c. world model d. ecological model

In Farah's two-system account of pattern recognition, one system specializes in the recognition of parts of objects, and the second system specializes in recognizing ____. a. various features of objects b. motion of objects c. stationary features d. larger configurations

In the making of a movie, any particular scene is often filmed several times. No matter how hard they try during the editing process, there is often some discontinuity in the scenes (e.g., an object suddenly changes location from one location to another). Failure to notice these changes would be an example of ____. a. blindsight b. divided attention c. conjunction search d. change blindness

Locke believed that all knowledge is gained empirically, beginning at birth, when our minds are a blank slate, or ____. a. de dato b. quae non c. hic et nunc d. tabula rasa

Melanie can sense all parts of her visual field, but the objects she sees do not mean anything to her. This phenomenon is called ____. a. visual amnesia b. prosopagnosia c. simultagnosia d. visual-object agnosia

Mistakes are to controlled processes as ______ are to automatic processes. a. tip-of-the-tongue effects b. data c. Stroop effects d. slips

Pragmatism concerns itself most directly with the ____. a. methods of acquiring knowledge b. degree to which knowledge is empirical c. philosophical implications of knowledge d. usefulness of knowledge

Psychology is sometimes viewed as a merging of ____. a. philosophy and monism b. rationalism and physiology c. physiology and empiricism d. philosophy and physiology

Santiago and Ayami disagree on the direction of their research lab. Santiago is simply interested in a particular phenomenon and wants to study it for the pure sake of knowledge; Ayami, however, wants to be able to take what is learned and use it in practical settings. Their disagreement is an example of ____. a. nature versus nurture b. rationalism versus empiricism c. structure versus processes d. applied versus basic research

Tan, a patient of Broca's who had severe speech problems, was capable of uttering only one syllable "Tan" (hence the name). After Tan's death, examination of his brain revealed a number of lesions in the frontal lobe. It was ascertained from this that parts of the frontal lobe are important for speech production. Gathering knowledge from someone about brain function after death with known difficulties is an example of ____. a. Broca's technique b. brain capacity functional analysis c. in vivo techniques d. postmortem studies

The ____, located in the hindbrain, is responsible for controlling the heartbeat, and to some extent, breathing, swallowing, and digestion. a. pons b. cerebellum c. cerebral cortex d. medulla oblongata

The convolutions of the cerebral cortex comprise ____, which are small grooves; ____, which are raised areas or bulges; and ____, which are large grooves. a. sulci; fissures; gyri b. fissures; sulci; gyri c. gyri; fissures; sulci d. sulci; gyri; fissures

The effects of practice on automatization show a ____ curve, in which early practice effects are great and later practice makes less and less difference in the degree of automatization. a. curvilinear b. monotonic c. positively accelerated d. negatively accelerated

The frontal lobe is responsible for ____. a. sensing pain and pressure b. visual processing c. auditory processing d. higher thought processes and motor processing

The school of thought that focuses on answering the question of "What do people do and why do they do it?" is called ____. a. Gestaltism b. structuralism c. psychoanalysis d. functionalism

The viewpoint of direct perception was championed by ____. a. John Watson b. Johanes Ponzo c. Irvin Rock d. James Gibson

Thomas is supposed to stop for milk, bread and cheese on his way from home from work. This requires that he get off train two stops early to pick up the items. Unfortunately, he does not remember to get off early and must backtrack to get to the store. Thomas has made a(n) ____. a. description error b. omission c. perseveration d. capture error

Verlys just picked up mail at her post office box and is standing at a table sorting it. Catalogs and junk mail get thrown away while important mail is placed in her bag. Unfortunately, she drops several important pieces of mail into the trash. This is best described as a(n) ____. a. omission b. perseveration c. habituation d. description error

What attentional dysfunction, typically due to lesions in the parietal lobes, occurs when a person ignores information from half of their visual field? a. single hemisphere neglect b. anterior attentional deficit c. signal detection failure d. spatial neglect

What does research on attention state about multitasking? a. A small percentage of the population is extremely good at multitasking. b. Everyone can be trained to multitask effectively c. Multitasking requires computer proficiency. d. Multitasking makes you slower and more prone to make mistakes.

What is the expert-individuation hypothesis? a. Once humans are adult, they are experts at face recognition. b. The fusiform gyrus is active only when viewing faces. c. Configurational processing is idiosyncratic in each person. d. Activity in the fusiform gyrus is related to expertise.

When compared to the population, a ____ does a good job of reflecting many of the characteristics of the population. a. systematic sampling b. cross-sectional design c. random sample d. representative sample

When seeing a pair of eyeglasses, a patient with ____ might first note that there is a circle, then there is another circle, then a crossbar, and finally guess that he is looking at a bicycle. a. visual amnesia b. prosopagnosia c. simultagnosia d. visual-object agnosia

When someone approaches us, we do not experience the person becoming larger as he or she comes closer, despite the fact that the retinal image is enlarging dramatically. This phenomenon is called ____ constancy. a. distal b. proximal c. shape d. size

Which area of the brain is known to sort information and send it to appropriate areas in the cerebral cortex? a. hippocampus b. basil ganglia c. amygdala d. thalamus

Which depth-perception cues are based on information received from both eyes? a. object-centered b. monocular c. higher order d. binocular

Which hypothesis suggests that there are two distinct visual pathways in the brain; one pathway is important for the location of the object in space and the other is for identifying the object? a. Identity/Location b. Identity/Use c. What/How d. What/Where

Which model of selective attention suggests that the filter for blocking signals occurs after sensory processing and allows for both perceptual and conceptual analysis of information to take place? a. Treisman's attenuation model b. perceptual-conceptual theory c. guided search model d. Deutsch and Deutsch's late filter model

Which neurotransmitter is important for regulating impulsivity and is associated with eating behavior as well as aggressive behavior? a. acetylcholine b. dopamine c. GABA d. serotonin

Which of the following is NOT a primary function of attention? a. vigilance b. search c. selective attention d. consciousness

Which of the following is NOT an in vivo technique for viewing the structures and functions of the brain? a. recording the electrical activity of the brain b. still-imaging of the brain (e.g., CT scan, MRI scan) c. examining how radioactive material is transported and used in the brain d. dissecting the brain to locate possible lesions

Which of the following would most likely involve the use of the frontal lobe? a. Tia sees her finger in a nutcracker. b. Tia feels incredible pain when she gets her finger caught in a nutcracker. c. Tia hears a nutcracker closing. d. Tia considers how to use an oddly designed nutcracker to crack a nut.

Which part of the brain, located in the frontal lobe, is important for controlling movement? a. the ventricles b. the cerebral fissures c. somatosensory cortex d. primary motor cortex

Which part of the hindbrain is responsible for coordination, balance, and muscle tone and also includes memory related to procedural movements? a. hypothalamus b. amygdala c. septum d. cerebellum

Which patient has symptoms consistent with damage to the medulla oblongata? a. The patient who is experiencing both short-term and long-term memory loss b. The patient who is not able to sense pain or pressure c. The patient who displays irregular aggression patterns d. The patient who experiences heartbeat irregularity and breathing problems

Which principle suggests that we divide visual information into information that appears closer and better defined and that which appears further away and unhighlighted? a. object specification b. binocular depth cues c. decompositional analysis d. figure-ground

Which researcher examined the impact of rehearsal on memory using himself as a subject? a. Tolman b. Dewey c. Kant d. Ebbinghaus

Which technique for studying the brain occurs while the individual is alive, and specific cerebral damage is conducted to see the effects on function? a. postmortem b. cryogenic blockade c. extracellular unit recording d. in vivo

Which technique involves measuring brain activity through detection of magnetic fields by placing a device over the head? a. TMS b. fMRI c. EEG d. MEG

Which type of stroke occurs when fatty tissue that has built up over years breaks free and then becomes lodged in an artery in the brain? a. neoplastic stroke b. hemorrhagic stroke c. dementing stroke d. ischemic stroke

Wilhelm Wundt's idea of ____ involved looking inward at the contents of one's consciousness. a. projection b. introversion c. repression d. introspection

Yaun participates in an experiment in which he sees various stimuli on a computer screen. After the experiment, Yaun is to provide feedback about what he thought was going on cognitively. This is an example of ____. a. naturalistic observation b. individual observation c. case study d. self-report

Your child attends a school that requires all children to wear particular uniforms, although the shirts can be white or light blue and the pants and skirts can be khaki or dark blue. Although it can be difficult to spot your child, when it is raining, it is easy for you to spot the red umbrella that your child uses in the sea of dark umbrellas. The search has changed from ____ to _____. a. a feature search; a conjunction search b. selective attention; divided attention c. divided attention; selective attention d. a conjunction search; a feature search

Your child attends a school that requires all children to wear particular uniforms, although the shirts can be white or light blue and the pants and skirts can be khaki or dark blue. When you search for your child in a sea of children whose faces you cannot see, you must search for a child wearing the same color shirt and pants as your child wore, with the same color hair of your child and the same height and build of your child. In other words, you must use a ____ search. a. a feature b. polymorphic c. divided d. a conjunction

Your usual walk home has been changed because of construction. Instead of turning right when you pass the park, you must now turn left right before the park. Unfortunately, you typically do not remember this until you are midway through the park. You are making a(n) ____ error. a. loss of activation b. description c. data-driven d. associative activation

Your younger sibling has a nasty habit of trying to annoy you when you are calling a phone number that is not already in your phone by shouting out random numbers as you enter the correct digits. Your sibling is hoping you will make a(n) ____ error. a. loss of activation b. description c. associative-activation d. data driven

____ features are those that give a form its overall shape. a. Mega b. Micro c. Local d. Global

____ model combines early-filter and later-filter models by suggesting that there are two processes, preattentive and attentive, that govern attention. a. Kihlstrom's b. Treisman's c. Deutsch's d. Neisser's

____ occurs when our perception of an object remains the same even when our proximal sensation of the distal object changes. a. Distal stimulus b. Proximal stimulus c. Sensation constancy d. Perceptual constancy

____ perception is also known as intelligent perception, because it states that higher-order thinking plays an important role in perception. a. Synthetic b. Unconscious c. Direct d. Constructive

____ perception refers to a key view of perception which asserts that the perceiver builds the stimulus that is perceived, using sensory information as the foundation for the structure, but also considering the existing knowledge and thought processes of the person. a. Synthetic b. Unconscious c. Direct d. Constructive

____ presentation refers to the simultaneous presentation of different auditory stimuli (such as verbal messages) to each ear. a. Binaural b. Equalized c. Parallel d. Dichotic

____ processing refers to cognitive manipulation that requires no conscious decisions or intentional effort. a. Natural b. Procedural c. Controlled d. Automatic

____ refer(s) to the set of psychological processes by which people recognize, organize, synthesize, and give meaning (in the brain) to the sensations received from environmental stimuli (in the sense organs). a. Comprehension b. Recognition c. Sensation d. Perception

____ refers to a situation in which we must prudently allocate cognitive resources so we can complete two or more tasks simultaneously. a. Selective attention b. Vigilance c. Search d. Divided attention

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