CH-340 Essentials of Cognitive Psychology Study Exam

The ability to recognize objects despite changes in their appearance, like viewing them at different angles or distances. This allows us to see an object as the same, even if the image on our retina changes.

Visual cues that help us perceive depth and distance using only one eye. These cues can be used to create the illusion of depth in 2D images.

A monocular depth cue that makes parallel lines appear to converge in the distance.

A monocular depth cue where an object that is closer to the viewer will overlap with an object that is farther away.

The organ responsible for balance is located in the inner ear.

The ability to perceive the location of a sound source by using the differences in sound intensity and arrival time between the two ears.

Certain parts of the human body, such as the lips, tongue, genitals, soles of the feet, and palms of the hands, are highly sensitive to touch.

A-delta fibers respond to sharp, immediate pain, while C-fibers react to dull, persistent pain.

The axon is a long, slender projection of a nerve cell (neuron) that conducts electrical signals away from the cell body (soma) towards other neurons, muscles, or glands. It is responsible for transmitting information over long distances within the nervous system.

The refractory period is a brief period of time after a neuron has fired an action potential during which it is unable to fire another one. This period is essential for regulating the frequency of nerve impulses and ensuring proper signal transmission.

A neuron needs a receptor for a specific neurotransmitter in order to respond to it. Receptors are specialized proteins that bind to neurotransmitters, triggering a cascade of events within the neuron.

The sympathetic nervous system is part of the autonomic nervous system, responsible for the body's 'fight-or-flight' response to stress. It triggers physiological changes such as increased heart rate, dilated pupils, and sweating.

Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter that plays a key role in memory and learning. Low levels of acetylcholine are associated with Alzheimer's disease, which is characterized by cognitive decline and memory loss.

Norepinephrine is a neurotransmitter that plays a role in alertness, arousal, and mood regulation. It is also involved in the body's 'fight-or-flight' response.

The parasympathetic nervous system is the 'rest and digest' branch of the autonomic nervous system. It helps to conserve energy and promote relaxation after stressful situations.

Brain plasticity refers to the brain's ability to adapt and change in response to experience, learning, and injury. This adaptive capability allows the brain to rewire itself and compensate for damage.

The failure to notice a fully visible object when our attention is directed elsewhere. Even if the object is in plain sight, we can be blind to it if we're focused on something else.

A technique used to study auditory attention, where participants listen to two separate messages played simultaneously to each ear and are instructed to repeat one of the messages aloud.

A model of visual attention that proposes attention can be directed to a specific location in space, like a spotlight, and the ability to perceive stimuli decreases as they move farther away from the center of attention.

A type of attention that is automatically drawn to a stimulus, driven by its salience or unexpectedness. It's involuntary and bottom-up.

This model suggests that when multiple tasks share cognitive processes, performance on those tasks will be negatively affected. However, if tasks require different cognitive processes, multitasking can be more efficient.

A type of attention that involves shifting our gaze to the objects or locations we want to attend to. It's associated with eye movements.

A type of attention that allows us to focus on a specific object or location without moving our eyes. It's 'hidden' or 'covert' because our gaze doesn't reveal our focus.

The ability to understand spoken or written language.

The ability to produce language, speaking or writing, using vocabulary and grammatical rules.

Behaviors that indicate potential for autism in toddlers. Examples include lack of eye contact, gaze following, response to pointing or their name, and response to disturbing stimuli.

How children learn their primary language. It involves comprehension preceding production, learning words from context, developing grammar through trial and error, and sound production happening after comprehension.

A theory of categorization that suggests we categorize items by comparing them to specific, stored examples of that category (exemplars).

A theory of categorization that suggests we categorize items by comparing them to a mental prototype, an idealized representation of that category.

The way information is presented (framed) can influence our decisions even if the underlying data is the same.

Instructions that involve elaborating on the information and making it personally relevant (e.g., relating it to survival, explaining it to someone else) lead to higher recall.

The iconic memory task tests sensory memory, which is our brief, immediate memory of sensory information.

Exemplar-based learning involves activating specific memories of examples, while prototype formation relies on activating a general representation of a category.

Conditioned learning is a type of implicit memory, separate from long-term explicit memory, which includes semantic, episodic, and declarative memory.

The reminiscence bump refers to our enhanced ability to remember events from our late teens and early twenties.

Anterograde amnesia hinders the formation of new long-term memories.

Sleep plays a crucial role in strengthening and stabilizing memories.

Reconsolidation is the process where memories are re-encoded and potentially modified when they are retrieved.

Explicit memory is the conscious recollection of facts and events (e.g., remembering what you did over spring break), while implicit memory involves unconscious skills and procedures (e.g., remembering how to swim).

The physiological changes in our bodies, like increased heart rate or sweating, don't always match the emotion we're feeling. Different emotions can cause similar physiological reactions, and sometimes we misattribute the cause of our physical state to the wrong emotion.

There are two ways our brains process emotions: the 'fast' (X-pathway) and the 'slow' (C-system). The fast track relies mostly on the amygdala, leading to quick, gut reactions. The slow track involves the prefrontal cortex, allowing for more thoughtful analysis.

This debate explores whether our traits and abilities are primarily determined by our genes (nature) or our experiences (nurture). Intelligence is a good example: some believe intelligence is mainly inherited, while others believe it's shaped by learning and environment.

This theory suggests that human needs are arranged in a pyramid, with basic survival needs at the bottom and more complex needs, like self-actualization, at the top. We must satisfy lower-level needs before moving onto higher-level ones.

This school of psychology emphasizes that our perception of the world is more than just the sum of its parts. We tend to see patterns and wholes, rather than focusing on individual elements.

There are various models that explain how we focus on specific information. For example, the 'spotlight model' suggests that we focus on a limited area of space. The 'threaded cognition model' shows that some tasks might interfere with each other while others do not.

These are patterns of delivering rewards or punishments that influence how we learn. 'Intermittent reinforcement', where rewards are given inconsistently, is particularly effective because it makes behaviors hard to extinguish.

We have different levels of awareness, like being fully conscious, daydreaming, or asleep. Each level involves different brain activity and experiences.