PSY307 Cognition Final Exam!

Visual Search: Conjunction Search RESULTS (4)

-2 features being changed (2 diff colors & 2 diff shapes). -Had to look for 2 features. Need Conscious attention to put 2 features together. (Diff from before, where feature just popped out). -In this task, increased the # of distracters caused the ability to detect the amount of features to be much longer. -Longer to to detect the object. -Difficulty of the task is based on how similar the objects are. -Similarity of features, not the # of distracters to be combined affects difficulty! -Serial Processing = Not just looking for 1 feature, but looking for more features, combination of features (conjunction search).

Flanker Compatibility Task (4)

-A task in which PP are told to carry out a task that requires them to focus their attention on specific stimuli & to ignore others. -Is the center letter an H or S? -Easy/Compatible: Fastest Response to target. -Hard/Competing: Slower response.

Treisman's Feature Integration Theory (3)

-Object 1st automatically analyzed into its basic features. -Simply lists features contained in object. -Does not consider relationship between those features.

2 Types of Orienting (4)

-Overt -Covert

Feature Detection Theory -Tresiman & Schmidt (1982) (3)

-PP shown shapes & numbers for 1/5 of a second. Were told to report the numbers & then the shape. -They report illusory conjunctions (combination of features from diff stimuli). -In situations in which we aren't paying attention, we might mix up features of objects. Errors derive from early processing of features at an individual level. -If we create illusory conjunctions, it means that we are perceiving them (shapes & colors) as separate at some point. -Means that an early stage in perceiving info, we don't see a red triangle.e We see triangle (shape) and we see red (color). See the MAIN FEATURES!

Tanaka & Farah (1993) - Face Recognition (3)

-PP studied pictures of faces & names and homes & owner's names. They had to memorize the "name of the owner of the house" and the "name of the person's face" who was presented. -Tested with isolated-part v. whole-object. Asked to recall the names.

Prototype Theories - Solso & McCarthy (1981) (3)

-PP were shown faces (no prototype). -Recognition test with old faces, new faces, & prototype. -PP more confident that they had seen the prototype than the actual old items! -Showed that these prototype faces that were never seen before were identified as old! -These ratings were given higher confidence values than exemplar faces! -Reasoned that previously experienced common features of Faces create a complex visual memory of faces that PP actually never saw. -Possibly works - cause there's evidence that our mind does build prototype - use it to recognize other objects..

Ebbinghaus's Memory Experiment

-Plotted a forgetting curve, which showed that you lose a lot of information in the first hour. -The Curve indicates that memory drops rapidly for the 1st 2 days and then it levels off. -Important because demonstrated that memory could be quantified & that functions like the forgetting curve could be used to describe a property of the mind.

Perception (3)

-Process of recognizing, organizing, & interrupting info coming from senses. -Different from sensation (how our sense organs react to the environment - the action potential the brain receives). -A process that gives meaning to our information. -Perceptions can change based on added information. -How do we perceive? Bottom-up & Top-down process.

Top-Down Processing (3)

-Processing that involves a person's previous knowledge or expectations (construction). -Represents "what" we already have in our brain & how that interprets the data. -Ex: The info thats tell you, this combination of curves and colors that are black is a "dog". -Your previous knowledge from your memories/experiences that help you interpret what you're seeing. -The way you interpret using past knowledge is top-down. -Processing that begins with a person's prior knowledge or expectations.

Bottom Up Processing (3)

-Processing that starts with information received by receptors (stimulation of the receptors). -Analysis of sensory input (detection). -Pattern of activation of neurons from our sensory receptors which go all the way up to our brain. Neurons that are firing tell you what you're actually seeing. (You're seeing this color & this shape). -Start with simple features & work way up to the brain. -The actual stimulus is the bottom-up. -All sensory experiences begin with bottom-up.

-Occipital Lobe (2)

-Processing, Interpretation, & integration of visual stimuli. -Primary receiving area for vision. -Primary Visual Cortex (V1) - Recognition of size, color, light, motion, dimensions, etc. -Visual Association Area - Interpretation of info acquired through V1.

Cueing Paradigm - Posner et al. (1980) RESULTS (4)

-Reaction Time faster for VALID cues compared to INVALID cues. -Attention facilitates processing. Attention effect = Valid RT - Invalid RT -Attention is like a Spotlight or zoom lens. What falls within the spotlight is processed faster than what falls outside. Everything outside the spotlight takes longer to detect... -BUT.... attention is also object based too.

-Recognition by Component (RBC) Theory (3)

-Recognition of objects is based on 3D features called Geons. -Geons are perceptual building blocks that can be combined to create objects. -Identified 36 basic geons (every shape is made up of geons) -Objects are identified by geons & relationship between them.

Attention (4)

-Restricting mental resources to a subset of the available information in order to improve the speed or accuracy of the cognitive processes. -Need to invest mental resources (energy) -Using attention as a way of focusing. -Orienting, selecting subset of possible sensory inputs/tasks, & allocating mental resources.

Where is the Face Recognizing area? (3)

-Right Inferotemporal cortex (lower portion of temporal cortex), called the Fusiform Face Area, FFA. -There is higher activation level in FFA when perceiving faces as opposed to objects.

Disconfirming Early Selection Model: Wood & Crowan (4)

-Same Dichotic experiment, but compared different names (not only the participants name). -35% of PP recognized own name, but none recognized other names. -MAYBE IMPORTANT info (name) bursts through filter? -Idea of Leaky filter? (maybe some things just slip through around the gate, especially if they are relevant enough)

Overt Orienting (4)

-Shifting attention by willfully selecting a location in space. -Eye movement depends on what you're looking at. -Move attention willfully. -Where is it that you're actually looking at.

Selective Attention (4)

-Ability to attend to one source of information while ignoring other sources. -Idea that out of everything we experience in the environment, we select a very small part of stimuli to further process it, & we disregard everything else. -When orient to a specific task, ignore everything else. -Dichotic Listening Task (Cherry, 1953). --> Attention operates as a peripheral gate, selecting relevant info, allowing us not to be overwhelmed. -Two Models: Early Model (Physical Properties - Broadbent's Filter Model) & Late Model (Semantic Characteristics)

Cognitive Psychology

-Act or Process of knowing. -Study of mental process by which humans learn about & interact with the world (i.e., how people perceive, learn, remember, & think about information).

Structural-Description Models (3)

-Addresses how people may perceive more complex shapes in the environment. -Essentially feature-analysis theory for recognition of 3D objects. -Recognition by Component (RBC) Theory. <-- Bottom-Up Processing.

Attenuator -Treiman's Attenuation Model (4)

-Analyses physical characteristics and everything else. -Enough Processing to distinguish incoming message. -Attenuator tones down things that are of little relevance. -Contains the Dictionary Unit.

Object-Based vs. Location-Based Attention (4)

-Attention works in many different ways. -In scenes that are very static, our attention tends to wander based on location. -In dynamic scenes we tend to lock our attention on a specific object and follow it.

Brain Plasticity (2)

-Brain can reorganize after brain damage. Called Remapping. -Plasticity has critical periods (a time frame in which changes need to happen so the brain can reorganize itself, but after that critical period has passed, you're stuck with it) -Experience-Expectant Processes = Critical period, in which certain experiences must happen if we want our brain to develop normally. Depending on the cognitive abilities we are referring to we have different critical abilities. (Ex: Vision = first 4 months of life. If not exposed to light before 4 months of life, we can't see again)

Expressive Aphasia (2)

-Broca's Aphasia (Frontal) - Disorder linked to language. -Speech out problems (leaves out connecting words) -Telegramatism - language made out of telegraphic sentences that are completely missing the grammar connectors (overemphasize nouns). -Unable to form complete sentences & difficulty understanding sentences. -Problem in producing language and they understand that they are messing up.

Object Perception (3)

-Can be broken down into 3 stages: -1. Parsing (gestalt laws of perceptual organization - we fill in the blank). Separating and creating the shapes from the environment. Separating objects from people. Gives us information that we use to separate things in our environment. -2. Surface Interpretation (color, texture). I know that looks a little harder/softer -3. Recognition - Linking sensory input to memory representation. Bottom UP firing with something I already have in my mind. Linking that particular firing pattern of neurons with the pattern of objects. Do not have single, unified theory on object recognition -2 Theories of objects recognition fall mainly 2 categories: 1. Image-matching Models & 2. Structural-Description Models.

Dichotic Listening Task (Cherry, 1953) (4)

-Cherry thought that attention worked like a peripheral gate, everything that falls within out gate we take in & process it (meaning). -PP listen to 2 messages simultaneously in each ear. They are instructed to pay attention to one (attend message) & to repeat it out loud (shadowing). Also instructed to ignore the other (unattended message). -Found = Really good at remembering & repeating the attended message, but couldn't remember/repeat the unattended message. Paying attention to one, makes it difficult to process another one at the same time. -PP could only report some physical characteristics of the unattended stimulus, but not the meaning. Gender of voice. -Everything outside the gate, we don't know, just know the perceptual features (high/low pitch; sex), but not the meaning.

Distributed Coding (2)

-Coarse Coding = Idea that neurons have sensitivity to particular range. -Input compared across different neurons. -All neurons fire, but pattern is DIFFERENT depending on stimulus. -The same neurons will fire when they detect a stimuli, but patterns in which they fire will be different. -The different pattern will tell you that you are looking at different stimuli. -This is why the brain is able to code for infinite amount of stimuli. -Few neurons needed to indicate a wide range of stimuli.

Quantitative Coding (2)

-Coding for quantity (how much of something is there). -How many times a neuron actually fires (the frequency of which action potentials are being generated). -The frequency of which action potentials are being generated & fired are coded by how strong the stimulus is. -Firing Rate = Neurons fire more frequently when stimulus is more intense (e.g., louder noise, harder pressure).

Disconfirming Early Selection Model: Mooray (1959) (4)

-Conducted same Dichotic Experiment, expect in one ear there is the attended message have to listen to & shadow. In the other ear (unattended/ignore) keeps repeating the PP's name. -33% of PP recognized name being said ("cocktail party effect" -Something peculiar about our name.

Top Down Theories (3)

-Constructive Perception (Perceptual Constancy) -Context Effect

Dictionary Unit - Treiman's Attenuation Model (4)

-Contains stored word with threshold for being activated. -Lower threshold = more sensitive -Information ranked on relevant importance. -Tells brain, this is important you should be careful when this thing is around. -Ranking is accomplished by difference threshold of activation. -Name has very low threshold of activation - should be able to pay attention to it/

Frontal Lobe - Left Hemisphere (2)

-Contains the Broca's Area. -Brocas area - Controls facial neurons, speech, & language comprehension (grammar processing). Involved in language processing. -Damage = Broca's Aphasia also known as Expressive (Agrammatic) Aphasia.

Cueing Paradigm - Posner et al. (1980) (4)

-Covert Attention! -Overt attention directed at the cross. -Told PP to look at the cross so focusing their attention on it. Told that there is a cue (arrow) that warned them where the target would be. -Had to Press the button when the target appeared. -Target appeared at cued location (valid cue) or not (invalid cue).

Optic Ataxia (3)

-Damage to the Dorsal Pathway (Occipital to Parietal). -Inability to use visual system to guide movement. -Can recognize objects but can't accurately reach for them.

Disconfirming Attenuation Model - McKay (4)

-Dichotic Listening Task -PPs were read a sentence (They were throwing stones at the bank) in the attended ear and were read either the word "river" or "money" in the unattended ear. -Then PP were presented with Target Sentences (1. Threw stones toward side of the river or 2. Threw stones at the savings and loan association). -They were then asked which is closer in meaning to what you heard?

Disconfirming Early Selection Model: Gray & Wedderburn (1960) (4)

-Did Dichotic listening task. -PP instructed to shadow the message presented in one year. -The attended ear received the message "Dear 7 Jane". The unattended ear received the message "9 Aunt 6". -Rather than reporting the "Dear 7 Jane" message that was in the attended ear, the PP reported hearing "Dear Aunt Jane", -Switching to the unattended channel to say "aunt" means that PP's attention had jumped from one ear to the other and then back again. Picked up info from both ears in a way that made sense. -Shadow meaningful message that switches ear!

Damage to the Ventral Stream (3)

-Different kinds of deficits. -Associative Aphasia = Difficulty with recognizing objects, but can still recognize names. -Prosopagnosia (FFA) = Inability to recognize faces, but can still recognize objects. -Double Dissociation = 2 functions we are discussing, object recognition & face recognition are two separate functions & are independent from each other (can have one, and not the other). There are diff brain areas/mechanisms that are involved in one task and not the other. Can damage one without damaging the other.

Electroencephalography (EEG) & Event-related Potential (ERP) (1)

-EEG measures electrical activity in the brain. So you know how fast neurons are firing. -Look at EEG while someone is performing a task. -Get ERP from EEG. ERP looks at average response in relation to specific events. -Advantage: Temporal Resolution (Activity in time - know when took place) -Disadvantage: Spatial Resolution - Don't know where the neurons are firing bc taken at the scalp level.

Action Potential (2)

-Each action potential travels all the way down the axon without ever changing its size. -When the signal reaches the end of an axons, a chemical called a neurotransmitter is released that makes it posisible for the signal to be transmitter across the synaptic gap.

Broadbent's Filter Model (1958) (4)

-Early Selection = Info is filtered before meaning is analyzed. Filter decides if info is relevant enough to go through & be processed in the detector. -1. Sensory Memory = holds all incoming info for a very brief time before transfer to next stage. -2. Filter = Selects input based on physical characteristics. -3. Detector = Processes meaning. -Idea = Filtering occurs at the level of basic features, perceptual features, before you even analyze meaning of things. -Idea is explained well in Dichotic Listening Task.

Comparing Theories of Selection (4) - Early

-Early: Filtering = Processing of the perceptual features. -Only info we attended & selected is processed for meaning. (Everything else stays at the perceptual level). -We can totally ignore an unattended stream. -Evidence that shows that its not really just perceptual features.

Selective Attention = Early Model v. Late Model (4)

-Early: Focuses on physical properties. Selection happens at this basic features level. Broadbent's filter model. (Ex: Bouncer only looks at your dress code). -Late: Focuses on Semantic Characteristics/meaning. Selection happens at the meaning level. (Ex: Bouncer wants to know about you're life, and if you're nice enough hell let you in).

Brain Plasticity -Blakemore & Cooper (1970) (2)

-Experience-Dependent -Neurons tune to stimuli commonly found in the environment. -Raised kittens in basic environment. An environment with only vertical lines, so thats all they saw. -Found that their neurons in the visual cortex fire when they see vertical lines, but don't respond to any other types of orientation. So only respond to vertical lines. -Perceptual Narrowing: As time goes by our perceptual ability narrows down, in the sense that we become more and more specialized to process the information we are more likely to see in our environment. -Neuron can be removed/rewired when no longer needed. So use it or lose it.

Experiments & Quasi Experiments (1)

-Experiments = Highly "controlled environment" -Manipulate the IV (create levels) & randomly assign participants. -Measure the DV. -Quasi: Lacks the random assignment aspect. -Groups that occur naturally, so can't control all variables. Use groups that already exist. -Advantage: Enables isolation of causal factors. -Disadv: Lacks ecological validity.

Change Blindness (4)

-Failure to detect changes in objects or scenes. -Change is detected more quickly when cues were provided (hints). -Occurs especially when your attention is divided even just a little. So when they put a blank picture in between the 2 pics, had more change blindness. -Diverting attention even for a millisecond causes one to be more prone to change blindness. -Rensink & Coll. (1997)

Inattention Blindness (4)

-Failure to notice appearance of New Object in a scene. -Simons & Chabris (1999)

Orienting - Attention (4)

-Focusing mechanism that prepares you for encoding information. -Overt vs. Covert. -Voluntary vs. Reflexive (Goal Driven v. Stimulus Driven) -Studied through Visual Search Tasks. -Attention needs to integrate features! -Primitive features are processed independently, automatically, & then bound together by attention to form objects.

Late Selection Model - Deutsch & Deutsch (4)

-Forget early & intermediate selection, we process everything all the same time. -All information if processing for meaning. -Attention operates AFTER perception is complete, controlling access to awareness and memory. -Info we respond to is selected relatively "late" in the processing. What attention does is simply controls our awareness. -All info (unattended & attended) is analyzed. for meaning in order to select an input for full awareness. Whether or not info is elected is dependent on how relevant it is at the time.

Object-Based Attention: Egly et al. 1994 RESULTS (4)

-Found diff RT when target was in location B vs. C. -Even when the target was in the same rectangle, RT were slower. But RT still faster in the same object compared to diff. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? -This means that attention works in many diff ways. -For static scenes, location-based visual attention can be likened to a spotlight effect that scans diff locations. -For dynamic scenes, object-based visual attention can involve a mechanism that locks onto objects & follows them as they move.

Disconfirming Attenuation Model - McKay RESULTS (4)

-Found that the meaning of the biasing word ("river" or "money") affected the PP choice. -Means even if PP are unconscious of what they heard in the unattended channel, the info still went through. Went in at full force that it influenced the memory of what they the sentence that was consistent with the biasing word. -This led to late selection model, which proposed that most of the incoming info is processed to the level of meaning before the message to be processed is selected.

Visual Search: Feature Search RESULTS (4)

-Green Square (in the red square field) was the fastest only because it differed in ONE feature, everything else was the same. -Basic features popping out w/out necessarily paying attention to them. -Parallel Processing = Search time is independent of distracter number. -Basic features are detected at the same accuracy & speed. The search slope (on chart) can be flat for targets defined by: color, orientation, curvature, motion, & depth. -What does this imply? -Remember Parsing? Simple features form boundaries. Processed automatically! They POP OUT! -Basic features are usually processed w/o needing attention.

How do Neural Circuits Work? (2)

-Group of interconnected neurons that are responsible for neural processing. Can result in a neuron that responds best to a specific stimulus. -2 Properties: Convergence and Interaction of excitatory & inhibitory signals. -Convergence: Occurs when different neurons (2+) send messages to one single neuron. Multiple neurons all converge (connect) to one neuron (Many presynaptic to one postsynaptic). This allows the neuron to provide info about length of stimulus by increasing the amount of excitatory transmitter released. The firing rate has increased for that one neuron receiving all info. -Through combination of excitatory and inhibitory signals in circuits (combining different properties), neuron tunes to best respond to a specific stimulus (become more and more specialized)

Attenuation Explains... (4)

-Hearing your name when that stream is supposed to be ignored. -Switching channels in order to make a complete sentence.

Constructive Perception - Top Down Theory (3)

-Higher order thinking is involved in Perception. -What you perceived is shaped by what you know & what you think. -Perceptual Constancy = Perceive familiar objects as having a constant shape, size, & brightness despite changes. (Ex: Pic of me & dad standing in the background. Looks like him squishing him, but we know that Dad is further away in the pic. Actually constructing that image based on knowledge we have that humans don't shrink.

Face Recognition (3)

-Human faces are made up same geon structure. -They are perceived differently than other objects. They are recognized NOT ONLY as features, but configuration as well! -They have Spatial relationships/properties (size of parts & distance btw them). -Spatial Properties = Relationships among parts is more easily perceived for Upright Faces. We perceive inverted for discolored faces differently. -Holistic Perception = We remember faces as whole patterns not individual features. (Task = showed us a face, then showed us just the eyes & had to guess which eyes belonged to the face. Then showed us several faces & we had to guess the right face. More pp chose the right face over eyes).

Image-Matching Models (3)

-Idea that we are matching this particular pattern of firing with something we have. -3 theories: -Template Theories -Prototype Theories -Feature Detection Theories -All are bottom up theories! We see distinctive parts & then we combine them! Start with what we detect and build it up.

Context Effect - Top Down Theory (3)

-Idea that we are much better at recognizing things when we them within a context as opposed to free flowing themselves. Objects presented in context are easier to recognize than objects presented alone. -Word Superiority Effect = Faster at recognizing letters presented within words as compared to isolated letters. The Context of the word helps up & makes recognizing specific components better. -Configural-Superiority Effect = When ever you see things in context, you're actually much better at spotting those specific features. (Pomerantz 1981).

Template Theory (3)

-Image Matching Model -Have Multiple templates (copies) stored in memory. And what we do when ever we se something is we try to find a match. -Sensory info (object pattern) is compared to Templates until the match is found. -We have a copy for every single thing out there. -Either you find that exact copy that matches what you're looking at or you don't -- object not recognized.

Prototype Theories (3)

-Image Matching Model -Matching to a Prototype - an idealized element. Abstract of average characteristics of a particular subject. -In order to recognize objects, need to find a match, but not talking about an actual identity, talking about similarity. -Recognition based on "distance" in similarity between perceived item & prototype. -When you see diff elements of a category, you build a prototype. Brain begins to notice what the common areas are. -The Idea that we decide whether something is a member of a category by determining whether it is similar to a standard representation of a category (prototype). -Posner & Keele (1968 Image) -Solso & McCarthy (1981)

Feature Detection Theory (3)

-Image Matching Theory -Stimulus composed of small components called Distinctive Features (involves identification of basic features/characteristics of objects). When you see an object & identify its features. -Recognition of those features of the objects allow us to recognize the objects. -Perceptual system constructs objects from simple features (ex: lines). -Hubel & Wiesel (1965) - feature detectors in visual cortex. -Gibson (1969) -Treisman & Schmidt (1982) -Treisman's Feature Integration Theory

Case Studies (1)

-Intensive/detailed study of one person. -Advantage: Very good for theory development -Disadvantage: Small Sample so can't generalize -Ex: H.M.

Comparing Theories of Selection (4) - Intermediate

-Intermediate: Attenuation. -Maybe when you're paying attention to one thing, you're not blocking everything else out, just toning down the volume. -All info goes through and gets processed, just volume gets turned down. -Unless its our own name, then it captures our attention.

Frontal Lobe (2)

-Involved in movement, planning, fine motor movement, & decision making. -Receives signals from the senses & plays an important role in perception that involves the coordination of info received through 2 or more senses. -Primary Motor Cortex: Controls the execution of movement. -Prefrontal Cortex: In charge of higher commission tasks. -Obritofrontal Cortex: Impulse, control, reward decision making. Large role in personality & emotional/social understanding.

Comparing Theories of Selection (4) - Late

-Late: Awareness! What we decide to pay attention & make conscious happens LATER after everything is processed. -Words in the unattended stream are processed. Not a matter of filtering info out, everything comes in just not at the level of awareness that you're processing meaning. When consciously aware.

Cognition & the Brain - Localization of Function (2)

-Localization - Functions are localized in specific areas of the brain. Specific areas of the brain serve specific functions. -Functions are specialized, so there are particular cognitive functions which are in particular cognitive brain areas. -The idea of localization is supported by the existence of a separate primary receiving area for each sense, by the effects of brain damage on perception, & by the result of brain imaging experiments. BUT..... -Plasticity occurs too (Brain connections change as a result of experience, injury, drugs).

Imaging Techniques (1)

-MRI-fMRI (Structural/Functional) -Detect changes in metabolism or blood flow in the brain. -Very good bc takes pics of the brain in all different directions/shapes possible. Get info of the structure & use it to measure function (based on how the blood flows to areas - see what areas are more active through this). -Advantage: fMRI has good spatial resolution. Descriptive! Disadvantage: But temporal resolution is limited. Neuronal activity is not directly observed. Loud & Expensive.

Covert Orienting (4)

-May be looking at you, but really paying attention to something else. -"Spotlight of Attention" -It's independent of eye movement. -Mentally shifting one's attention/focus without moving one's eyes.

Parietal Lobe (2)

-Middle of head -Devoted to the sense of touch & integration of sensations. -Processes info that comes from our receptors. -Gives info about our location in space & tactile info we receive from our body. -Primary Somatosensory Cortex = Processing of tactile & proprioceptive info. -Somatosensory Association Cortex = Integration of sensations relative to body position & orientation. Visuo-motor coordination. Allows us to take info info from occipital lobe & combine it with the info the parietal lobe receives to reach for things (important pathway).

Is attention inefficient?

-Most unseen stimuli are not HIGH on ecological validity. -Change blindness allows visual system to not be overwhelmed by irrelevant changes. -Cognitive errors often result from use of a rational strategy. -TOP-DOWN Processing - Expectations that we have help us perceive our information (attention is being affected by our knowledge of what is usually found in the scene).

Is the Fusiform Face Area (FFA) specifically for detecting faces? (3)

-NO! It's also specific for expert metric subordinate class-action. -It's really specialized for any task that requires this subtle & very precise/small discrimination of major properties. -Ex: If a extreme bird expert looks at diff birds & can discriminate the diff types, then this area would light up. -If we become super experts in recognizing shapes, this area would be very active during that task.

Neurons Structure (2)

-Nerve net = a network of continuously interconnected nerve fibers. -Cell Body -Dendrites -Axon (myelinated) -Terminal Buttons -Synapse = small gap bw the end of the neuron's axon & the dendrites of another neuron. -They don't touch each other.

How do Neurons get Tuned (become specialized)? (2)

-Neural Processing = occurs when groups of interconnected neurons work together to get things done. -Neurons form a Neural Circuit (groups of neurons). Properties: 1). Convergence 2). Interaction of excitatory & inhibitory signals.

Tanaka & Farah (1993) RESULTS - Face Recognition (3)

-No difference between Houses on the whole-part & isolated-part conditions. Still able to identify the name of the homeowner associated with the house. -But with faces it matters! -Better able to recognize the name when we see the whole face compared to just seeing the parts/features of the face.

Feature Detection Theory - Gibson (1969) (3)

-Showed pair of letters to PP and they had to decide if letters were the same or not. -IV = Pairs share critical features vs. Not shared features -DV = RT -Harder task was the task that the letters were more similar. -The more features the pair of letters and in common, the slower the reaction time.

Temporal Lobe (2)

-Side of the head -Hearing, language comprehension, information retrieval (memory). -Primary Auditory Cortex & Primary Olfactory Cortex -Important subcortical areas = Amygdala and Hippocampus. -Other Specialized Visual Area = Fusiform Face Area (FFA). -Contains the Wernicke's Area - Responsible for decoding words/sentences (language comprehension). -Damage = Receptive Aphasia.

Neural Tuning - Hubel & Wiesel (1965) (2)

-Simple Cells = only respond to specific orientation. -Complex Cells = only to specific direction -End Stopped Cells = only response to specific size & direction.

Feature Detection Theory Limitations (3)

-Simply lists features contained in the object. -Does not consider the relationships between hose features. -The relationship is what changes.

Visual Search: Feature Search (4)

-Some Processing precedes orienting! There are processes that occur in the pre-attentive, automatic level. (Process all info that is presented at the same time). -Feature search done is PARALLEL. Features of diff objects are processed at the same time! -Ex: Find the diff object.

Visual Search: Conjunction Search (4)

-Some processing requires voluntary attention! -Conjunction search done SERIALLY! Need to detect presence of specific combination. -Feature Integration = attention required to integrate/combine features of diff objects -Serial Processing = Linear increases in time with number of distracters. Slope is going up (its diff). -Number of distracters is really important.

Psychobiological Research (1)

-Studies relationship between cognitive performance & cerebral events/structures. -Types: EEG-EEP, PET, MRI, Fmri -Post-mortem studies -Advantages: Hard Evidence of cognitive functioning by relating them to physiological activity. -Disadvantages: Expensive; risk of making inferences about normal functioning based on abnormal brain functioning.

Disadvantages of Template Theory (3)

-System is too rigid, perception needs flexibility. -Requires huge numbers of templates just for one object, so if the object is slightly crooked you would need another template. -Too TIME CONSUMING.

Pomerantz 1981 (3)

-Task was to spot the different stimuli and press the button. -Measure reaction time. -Target Alone had a slower reaction time than the Target in the Composite. -Target spotted faster in a context!

Brain Plasticity - Maguire (2000, 2006) (2)

-Taxi Drivers vs. Controls -Taxi drivers showed larger posterior hippocampi (storage of spatial representations) compared to control. -Hippocampal volume correlated with time spent as Taxi Driver. -Bus drivers do not show the same pattern (taxi drivers navigate, bus drivers don't). -Brain connections are experience - dependent (depending on experience we have the brain is organizing itself, becoming specialized). Neurons tun to stimuli commonly found in the environment.

Prototype Theories - Posner & Keele (1968 Image) (3)

-The A & B images. -The more similar a novel pattern was to a prototype, the easier it was to correctly say which letter it was.

The WHERE (how) Pathway

-The Dorsal Pathway -Location (Going Up) -From the Occipital Lobe to the Parietal Lobe. (Parietal lobe responsible for integration of the senses. Processes info we receive from all senses & spatial location). -Links the visual perception with the location (allows us to place objects in space). -Parietal Lobe is responsible for determining an objects location. -Damage = Optic Ataxia.

The WHAT Pathway

-The Ventral Pathway -"Recognize" (Going down) -From the Occipital Lobe (strait cortex) to the Temporal Lobe (From visual cortex to memory). -Actually linking the visual perception with the memory representation. -Responsible for determining an objects' identity.

Stimulus Representation - How do action potentials convey the richness of information we sense? (2)

-The shape & height of action potentials remained the same as increased pressure is added, but the rate of nerve firing (the # of action potentials traveling down per second) increases. -So the intensity of a stimulus can be represented by the rate of nerve firing. -Rate of firing is related to the intensity of stimulation, which in turn, is related to the magnitude of an experience such as feeling pressure on the skin or experiencing the brightness of a light. -Quantitative Coding, Qualitative Coding, & Distributive Coding.

Intermediate Selection - Treiman's Attenuation Model (4)

-There is no filter! Instead there is an Attenuator. -Attenuator = Analyzes physical characteristics & everything else. Enough processing to distinguish incoming messages. -Everything comes through, but the info that you're interested in comes in at full force; things that have little relevance are tuned down (volume down). -Theres a dictionary unit = stores words; decides if reaches threshold for output (contains info how relevant things are).

Object-Based Attention: Egly et al. 1994 (4)

-There's 2 rectangles, a cue signal which indicated where a target should appear, & then a target. Once the target appears, PP instructed to press the button as fast as they could. -Target appeared in either 3 locations - spot where cue indicated (a), on the same object but opposite side (b), or on the other rectangle (c). Lengths are all the same from. -If attention words as a spotlight & the cue was always on one spot (A), then there shouldn't be any difference in the PP ability to detect the target since location B & C are within the same spotlight. Should be same reaction time (BUT IT'S NOT).

How do Neurons communicate with each other?

-They Communicate through synapses, which are made of terminal buttons of the presynaptic neuron & dendrites of the postsynaptic neuron. -The synapse is where the transformation of an electrical signal (action potential) into a chemical signal (neurotransmitter) occurs. -So neurons communicate through action potentials. -Action potentials = electrical potential that travels down a neuron's axon. -When this electrical potential reaches the end of an axon, it produces the opening of the vesicle that contains neurotransmitters. These neurotransmitters are then released and cross over the synaptic gap & bind to the receptors on the postsynaptic cell, which starts the cycle all over again. -These neurotransmitters transmit signals to other neurons. These signals can be excitatory or inhibitory.

Positron Emission Tomography (PET) (1)

-This is where you inject a radioactive substance into the brain and use it to measure the blood flow. Provides a map of the brain with the blood flow. -Advantage: Great Spatial Resolution - can see what brain areas are active. When doing a task it gives us the ability to locate what area of the brain is active with the blood flow (radioactive material). -Disadvantage: Temporal Resolution - Don't know when the area was active. So doesn't tell us what point in time (in the task) the area was active. Also its radio active.

McGurk Effect (3)

-Top-Down Effect - an Auditory Effect. -Knowledge we have affects our perception. -Visual information is overpowering what our ears are registering. Interpreting that same sound in a different way depending on what you're seeing. -Ex: Bababababa Fafafafafa. We think that the articulation is supposed to go with a specific sound. -What you already know is affecting other cognitive tasks.

Gauthier & Colleagues (1999) - Face Recognition (3)

-Trained PP in Greebles recognition until they became "Greeble Experts". -Measure activation in Fusiform Face Area during recognition task (greebles v. faces). -Same activation level for Greeble vs. faces after training. -FFA also activates when you're a bird or car expert, recognizing birds/cars. -Prosopagnosic that are experts in cars/birds lose that ability to recognize faces. -FFA is activated by greebles in greebles expert (expert metric classification, not face-specific system).

Qualitative Coding (Tuning, np, ____, _____) (2)

-Tuning = Different neurons respond differently to different stimuli. Neurons are tuned so they respond to specific stimulus. -How do neurons get tuned? -Neural Processing -Neural Circuits -The Qualitative differences of how neurons fire.

Important Properties of Geons (3)

-View invariance & discriminality (doesn't matter what angle/ orientation/occlusion, you can still ID the geon). Distinguished from each other under all viewpoints. -Resistance to visual noise (Can generally perceive geons even under noisy circumstances). -Some neurons are view-invariant, but generally view-specific.

Receptive Aphasia (2)

-Wernicke's Aphasia (Temporal) - Difficulty in understanding language. -Can't comprehend, can't repeat, but can speak spontaneously. -Errors in the selection of phonemes (ex: "trable" for table). -Failure in selecting proper word (empty speech) -Not always entire aware of the nonsense bc comprehension is impaired. -Brain selects the wrong sound, which means thew word they come up with is nonsensical.

Selective Attention - Lavie (1995) (4)

-Where the filtering occurs depends on task load. (How much of a person's cognitive resources are used in a task). -It's one thing when you're involved in a really demanding task thats also resource consuming. -Proposed that the amount of cognitive resources that remains as a person is carrying out a primary task determines how well the person can avoid attending to task-irrelevant stimuli. -Ex: When taking a hard test where have to devote all of cognitive resources, you're not going to hear the people talking in the corner b/c so concentrated.

Treiman's Attenuation Model Diagram (4)

1. Messages --> 2. Sensory Memory --> 3. Attenuator --> 4. Detector

3 Types of Neurons (2)

1. Sensory (Unipolar) - afferent 2. Motor (Multipolar) - efferent (normal looking) 3. Interneuron (Bipolar) - connect both.