PSYC 3330 - Exam 1
replication
THQ: Scientist A is trying to produce the same results that Scientist B reported, using the same methods. This is called...
peripheral and central nervous systems
THQ: The nervous system is generally divided up into which two subsystems?
the human brain because of the lack of understanding of its processes and their intricacies
THQ: What is the most sophisticated computing device in the (known) universe?
independent variable
THQ: a researcher conducting an experiment on hearing presents words at different decibel levels and measures whether the participant can correctly identify them. What is the best description of the role that decibel level plays in this experiment?
including a large sample of participants
THQ: a researcher is studying a theory of memory that requires participant to learn and recall a lot of information under different experimental conditions. The researcher is concerned that there will be a high degree of variability among participants' performance, due to differences in underlying aptitude for learning, rather than the experimental condition. Which of these techniques would typically be used to deal with this kind of variability?
one hundred billion (86 billion)
THQ: about how many neurons are there in the human brain?
consistent practice
THQ: automatic behaviors develop after which of the following? (Stroop effect lab)
the color names being displayed in different colors
THQ: for this lab, interference in certain tasks was caused by which of the following? (Stroop effect lab)
flexible thinking (making decisions about how to respond to novel, constantly changing conditions that have never been encountered before)
THQ: historically, artificial intelligence has been least successful at tasks that require what kind of capability?
the mind may be thought of as software, running on the hardware of the brain
THQ: in computer terminology, "hardware" refers to the physical structure of a computer (the monitor, transistors, memory cards, etc.) while "software" refers to the programs running on the computer, such as a search engine or a video game. Which one of these most appropriately describes the idea of thinking of cognition as a kind of computation?
nurture
THQ: in the context of the nature-versus-nurture debate, what did behaviorists believe produced cognition?
applied research
THQ: let's say a company is designing a new screen for use in a laptop. They hire a researcher to test different designs to determine which ones lead to better visibility. Which kind of research would they be conducting?
removing an unpleasant stimulus - negative reinforcement generating an unpleasant stimulus - positive punishment removing a pleasant stimulus - negative punishment generating a pleasant stimulus - positive reward
THQ: match the description to the correct operant learning technique
a visual pattern presented to an experimental subject - stimulus the behavior of the experimental subject based on the visual pattern - response
THQ: match the description to the correct term
idealism - only the mind exists physicalism - only the body exists dualism - both the mind and body exist separately neutral monism - the mind and body are the same thing
THQ: match the philosophical view with its description
mental chronometry
THQ: measuring the timing of different mental processes is termed... (Stroop effect lab)
detection condition, discrimination condition, choice condition
THQ: order the different conditions of Donder's experiment, based on observed average reaction times, from shortest to longest
reaction time for reading the color in which the word is printed
THQ: the dependent variable (the variable you are measuring) for this study is which of the following? (Stroop effect lab)
an algorithm
THQ: what is the name for a technique used to compute a function?
computer programs that can learn rather than being programmed (they no longer have to rely on step-by-step processing)
THQ: what is the primary driver of recent dramatic progress in artificial intelligence?
introspection
THQ: what technique did the structuralists use to study the mind?
function
THQ: what word describes a mapping between a set of inputs and a set of outputs?
learning in the absence of reinforcement
THQ: which of the following best describes latent learning?
variation in people's behavioral responses
THQ: which of the following is typically accounted for by performing multiple trials for a given condition in an experiment?
to show that behavioral responses can be dramatically modified by conditioning
THQ: which of the following was the purpose of the Little Albert experiment?
cognition depends on non-physical mechanisms other options: the brain is enormously complex the brain is embedded in the larger context of the body and the world the brain must be considered within the contexts in which it operates
THQ: which of these is NOT an offered reason as to why studying the physical brain alone might be insufficient to understand cognition?
secrete hormones into the bloodstream other options: gather information from sensory systems, send information to the brain, direct the movement of muscles
THQ: which of these is not one of the basic goals of the nervous system mentioned above?
the mind and brain are separate entities and the non-physical mind causes intelligent behavior
THQ: which of these viewpoints is the least compatible with the scientific study of cognition?
digestion
THQ: which of these would not be considered part of cognition?
artificial intelligence
a branch of computer science and engineering concerned with building machines that can perform human-like intelligent behaviors AI has been able to advance in recent years (particularly regarding visual object and speech recognition) because computers are now being programmed to learn in an approach called machine learning
Skinner box
a chamber used to contain and automatically provide behavioral feedback to an animal during operant conditioning experiments
hippocampus
a complex structure which is involved in memory formation and is structurally an extension of the temporal lobe of the cortex and is involved in the formation of long-term memories
cortical blindness
a condition in which an individual with damage to the visual cortex will report having no visual experience, despite having working eyes
transistor
a device used in computers to control whether or not a current flowed through parts of the system
human factors
a field of psychology concerned with applying scientific findings to the design of systems that people interact with; applied research
cognitive psychology
a field of psychology concerned with studying intelligence through the observation of behaviors generally depends on measuring behaviors, such as how long it takes to respond to some presented stimulus, in order to develop theories of the underlying neurophysiological processes; "indirect" and drawing a lot of conclusions
cerebral cortex
a folded, layered structure that is the largest single structure and the most superficial portion of the human brain bigger in humans than in any other species; the site of cognition
reinforcement learning
a form of behavioral conditioning based on punishment and reinforcement (reward) feedback
classical conditioning
a learning protocol in which an involuntary behavior is paired with a stimulus, eventually leading to that behavior being elicited by the stimulus alone; discovered with Pavlov's dogs; showed us that behavior can be learned
reaction time (RT)
a measure of how long it takes an experimental subject to respond to a given task or query
operant conditioning
a method of conditioning that reinforces certain behaviors through a system of rewards and punishments
cognitive revolution
a movement in the 1950s that proposed that the mind could be understood as a computational system
experimental subject/participant
a person upon whom a psychological experiment is being conducted
blindsight
a phenomenon in which someone who reports blindness due to cortical damage still shows behavior consisting with come perception
nervous system
a portion of the body consisting of neurons, nerves, and glial cells whose function is to allow different portions of the body to communicate with one another
peripheral nervous system (PNS)
a portion of the nervous system consisting of all neurons, nerves, and glial cells outside of the nervous system; input
replication
a process in scientific research in which a previous experiment is repeated using the same methods as the original
Stroop effect/inference
a psychological phenomenon in which reporting the ink color of words is slowed down when the words spell out the name of a different color
think-aloud protocol
a research method that involved having participants verbally describe their thought process as they are performing a specified task
naturalistic observation
a research technique in which the behaviors of people or other organisms are observed as they occur in their natural environment, without any experimental intervention
fight-or-flight
a response by the sympathetic nervous system that prepares the body with increased strengths and stamina in response to a perceived threat
behaviorist
a school of psychology that emphasized using observable stimuli and behaviors as the basis of scientific experimentation; Watson & Skinner; intervening processes a "black box" whose workings could not be analyzed scientifically
structuralism
a school of psychology whose approach relied on introspecting on one's own conscious mental states in order to understand the mind
behavioral neuroscience
a scientific field that assesses behavior and neurological factors in animals as models of human function
cognitive neuroscience
a scientific field that merges brain imaging with behavioral experimentation
computational neuroscience
a scientific field that uses computer models of the brain to model real brain function
algorithm
a set of operations that produces the input/output mapping of a function
hypothalamus
a small but highly complex cluster of neurons that lies in the center of the brain that regulates multiple involuntary behavioral functions involved in regulating involuntary functions like body temperature, hunger and thirst, fatigue, and certain sexual behaviors
brainstem
a stalk-like structure at the base of the brain that connects it to the spinal cord and regulates involuntary functions like heart rate and breathing
parasympathetic nervous system (PNS)
a subdivision of the autonomic nervous system that regulates certain bodily functions under conditions when immediate action is not needed
sympathetic nervous system
a subdivision of the autonomic nervous system that unconsciously regulates certain functions of the body to prepare for immediate action
introspection
a technique employed by the structuralists to study the mind by training people to examine their own conscious experiences
optogenetics
a technique used to control the activity of brain cells based on introducing light-sensitive proteins into the cells and activating them with light
cognitivism
an approach in psychology that uses behavior as a method of developing and testing theories of the underlying processing of the mind; a more "indirect" kind of science
information processing
an approach to human cognition that views it as a type of computation with sensory information serving as an input which is processed by the brain to determine a behavioral output
stimulus
anything used to stimulate the senses as part of an experimental procedure, such as an image or a sound
nerves
bundles of connective tissue between neurons that allows them to communicate with one another and other parts of the body
glial cells
cells within the nervous system that provide support for neurons and overall nervous system function
speed-accuracy tradeoff
in an experiment with a speeded response, this refers to when participants sacrifice accuracy for greater speed or vice-versa
latent learning
learning in the absence of any reward or punishment conditioning, as in Tolman's maze experiments; goes against hard-core behaviorism b/c it demonstrates ability to generate novel, intelligent behaviors
opsins
light activated proteins
functions
mappings from inputs to outputs
autonomic nervous system (ANS)
portion of the peripheral nervous system that connects to most organs in the body and regulates certain unconscious bodily functions
automatic processing
processing that happens even without the allocation of selective attention, typically for highly familiar stimuli or tasks
trials
repetitions of an experimental condition, typically used in order to compensate for variability in performance across attempts
applied research
research conducted with the goal of developing a useful product, tool, or solution to a problem
basic research
scientific research that is concerned with trying to understand the world and its phenomena, without regard to a specific end-use of this knowledge
neurons
specialized cells that can receive and transmit information
congruent
stimuli are consistent between name and color (Stroop effect lab)
controlled tasks
tasks that require attentional monitoring to execute
response
the behavior an experimental subject engages in after a stimulus is presented
independent variables
the conditions that are being manipulated by the experimenter in order to determine their effects on the dependent variable
neuroscience
the field of science with the study of the brain and related physiological systems
cerebrum
the largest portion of the human brain, sitting at the top of the brain and consisting of the cerebral cortex and related structures devoted to controlling and regulating voluntary behavior
white matter
the layer of the cortex underneath the gray matter, consisting of axonal nerve tracts
central nervous system (CNS)
the portion of the nervous system consisting of the brain and spinal cord; cognition primarily takes place here (in the brain); processing/output
dependent variables
the properties that are being measured in an experiment
mind-body problem
the question of how mental events, such as thoughts, beliefs, and sensations, are related to physical mechanisms taking place in the body (such as cellular or molecular processes in the brain)
mental chronometry
the scientific study of the speed of mental processes
reflex action
the simplest form of autonomic behavioral responses in which the spinal cord generates the behavioral signal without the brain stimulus generates an immediate behavioral action triggered by the spinal cord before the information reaches the brain; ex. jerking your hand back from a hot stove
cognition
the sum of mental activities resulting in the acquisition of information from the environment, processing that information, and using it to make a behavioral decision the acquisition and processing of sensory information about the world in order to make behavioral decisions the field of cognition is primarily concerned with understanding the processes that allow things to go right in people's minds and brains
gray matter
the topmost layer of the cortex, consisting of neuronal cell bodies
idealism
the view that all of reality is mental in nature (type of monism)
physicalism/materialism
the view that all reality is physical or material in nature (type of monism)
neutral monism
the view that the mental and physical are identical and all of reality is made of this one kind of thing
dualism
the view that the mind and body consist of fundamentally different kinds of substances or properties (body = physical, mind = mental)
monism
the view that there is only one kind of basic substance in the world, whether exclusively physical or exclusively mental
computational modeling
understanding the brain based on simulating brain processes of functions using computer-based models; want to imitate human cognition
individual differences
variations in performance across different individuals in cognitive tasks
neuroscience, cognitive psychology, and computational modeling
what are the three main approaches to studying cognition?