Cognitive Psychology Concepts and Theories
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Questions and Answers

What does schema theory suggest about our perception and memory?

  • They rely solely on external stimuli.
  • They are identical for all individuals.
  • They are always accurate representations of reality.
  • They can be changed to fit our existing schemas. (correct)

    • What role do feature detectors play in cognitive psychology?

  • They facilitate memory storage of events.
  • They enhance linguistic capabilities.
  • They identify shapes and patterns from stimuli. (correct)
  • They govern emotional responses.

    • What is selected attention according to Broadbent's model?

  • Prioritizing inputs to avoid overload. (correct)
  • The elimination of all sensory information.
  • A way to enhance memory retention.
  • The simultaneous processing of all inputs.

    • What does the term 'bottleneck' refer to in Broadbent's theory?

    <p>A stage in processing that limits information flow.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What aspect of the cerebral cortex is highlighted in the description of cognitive processes?

    <p>It possesses modular functions across different areas.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    According to cognitive psychology, what is a primary reason for processing limitations?

    <p>An excess of sensory information.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the concept of modularity in the brain imply?

    <p>Certain areas of the brain have specialized functions.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which cognitive process is involved in distinguishing lines at various angles?

    <p>Feature detection.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which hemisphere of the brain is typically dominant in right-handed individuals?

    <p>Left hemisphere</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What function is mainly associated with the right hemisphere of the brain?

    <p>Non-verbal input processing</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which brain region is primarily responsible for visual input processing?

    <p>Occipital lobe</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What may occur if there is damage to the occipital lobes?

    <p>Impaired visual perception</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Long-term potentiation (LTP) is associated with which of the following?

    <p>Lowered firing threshold for neurons</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In the context of absentmindedness, what does 'action slips' refer to?

    <p>Automated responses to stimuli</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which lobe of the brain is involved in the perception of pain and sensory feedback?

    <p>Parietal lobe</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What was the specific impairment observed in the amnesic patient discussed?

    <p>Inability to form long-term memories</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a key limitation of automatic processes?

    <p>They lack flexibility in novel situations.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Where is the override system for automatic processes believed to be located?

    <p>In the frontal lobes of the brain.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the purpose of having an internal schema or template?

    <p>To compare sensory information against known patterns.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which approach emphasizes how we segregate figures from the background?

    <p>Gestalt Psychology.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What phenomenon may occur if the supervisory attention system fails to override automatic processes?

    <p>Perseveration of automatic behavior.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which statement best describes conscious awareness?

    <p>It is a subjective experience that remains largely unexplained.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How might one recognize shapes that are rotated from a template?

    <p>By mentally rotating the template to fit the shape.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What potential issue arises from the reliance on automatic processes?

    <p>Difficulty in adapting to complex tasks.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the key concept behind feature-extraction theories?

    <p>Breaking objects down into component features</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In the Pandemonium model, how are objects processed?

    <p>Using multiple layers of demons in a bottom-up approach</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are geons referred to in the context of feature-extraction theories?

    <p>Basic three-dimensional components for object recognition</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the primary function of parallel distributed processing (PDP) models?

    <p>To mimic brain function through flexible schemas</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How do visual illusions help in understanding perception?

    <p>They provide insights into perceptual processes at various levels</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What characteristic of sounds often indicates they come from the same source?

    <p>The similarity in frequencies of the sounds</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which phenomenon demonstrates how a listener's mental state can affect auditory perception?

    <p>Phantom word illusions</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is size constancy in the context of perception?

    <p>Recognizing that distant objects appear smaller due to perspective</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is proprioception primarily responsible for?

    <p>Tracking body position</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What limitation is addressed by using PDP models instead of traditional methods?

    <p>The requirement of numerous individual cells for recognition</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What aspect of kinesthesis is crucial for tasks like hand-eye coordination?

    <p>Understanding body movement</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What do feature-extraction theories have in common with template theories?

    <p>Both involve breaking down objects in different ways</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is haptic information primarily gained through?

    <p>Active exploration of the environment</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What processing method is predominantly involved in how we perceive texture and resistance through touch?

    <p>Bottom-up processing</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What term is used to describe the combination of touch, proprioception, and kinesthesis during exploration?

    <p>Haptic information</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following contributes to a listener's frame of mind affecting auditory perception?

    <p>Cognitive biases and expectations</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is covert attention?

    <p>Attention that is hidden and does not reveal where a person is looking.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What effect do valid cues have on response times compared to neutral cues?

    <p>Valid cues produce a faster response than neutral cues.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following statements is true about exogenous attention?

    <p>Exogenous attention is invoked by sudden stimuli in the environment.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is gaze-mediated orienting?

    <p>The ability to share attention with another person based on their gaze direction.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What was the primary finding related to invalid cues in the experiment?

    <p>Invalid cues resulted in slower responses than neutral cues.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following best describes the role of central cues compared to peripheral cues?

    <p>Central cues can sometimes trigger automatic attention shifts even when uninformative.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In the context of attention processes, what does 'top-down' refer to?

    <p>Attention that is intentional and goal-directed.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What advantage does the ability to capture attention from environmental changes provide?

    <p>It enhances the overall effectiveness of attentional control.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Study Notes

    Cognitive Psychology

    • Cognitive psychology studies how the brain processes information, encompassing mental processes like perception, learning, memory, thinking, and language.

    Stages of Cognitive Processing

    • Input → Perception → Learning and Memory Storage → Retrieval → Thinking

    Approaches to Studying Cognitive Psychology

    • Experimental psychology: Scientific testing of psychological processes in humans and animals.
    • Computer modeling: Simulating human cognitive processes using computers, often used to test information-processing mechanisms.
    • Cognitive neuropsychology: Studying brain activities underlying cognitive processes, often through investigating cognitive impairment in brain-damaged patients.
    • Cognitive neuroscience: Investigating human cognition by relating it to brain structure and function, typically using brain-imaging techniques.

    Key Concepts

    • Behaviorism: An approach to psychology focusing on observable behavior, rejecting the consideration of internal mental processes.
    • Gestalt psychology: Emphasizes how components of perceptual input become grouped and integrated into patterns and whole figures.
    • Schema: A mental pattern, usually derived from past experiences, used to interpret new information. Schemas are influenced by personal experiences.
    • Top-down processing: Uses stored knowledge and schemas to interpret incoming stimuli.
    • Bottom-up processing: Processing driven by information contained in the incoming stimulus itself.
    • Feature detectors: Specialized neural units tuned to specific stimulus features (like lines of a particular angle). Feature detectors combine to detect more complex features; combining these further detects more complex patterns.
    • Limited-capacity processor model: The idea that our brains have limited cognitive resources and that information processing must be prioritized; this process is known as selective attention.
    • Sensory/perception: Sensory information refers to raw, bottom-up input from senses and how that is interpreted by cognitive processes is perception.
    • Blindsight: The ability for some functionally blind people to detect visual stimuli at an unconscious level without conscious awareness.
    • Templates: Stored representations of objects enabling object recognition.
    • Reversible figures: Illustrations useful in understanding how figures and their ground are perceived.
    • Feature extraction theories: Analyzing objects as combinations of features rather than storing complete templates.
    • Pandemonium model: A feature extraction theory with levels of 'demons' that detect specific features. This is a bottom-up approach; and feature combination is through hierarchical structure.
    • Geons: Three-dimensional features that are combined to allow object recognition.
    • Parallel distributed processing (PDP): A model that attempts to model the brain's processing by using a network of interconnected nodes.
    • Visual illusions: Occur when the perceptual system's interpretation of the world doesn't accurately reflect reality.
    • Sensory conspicuity: Describes how easily an object can be detected by the senses. Attention conspicuity: The prominence of an object that attracts one's focused attention.
    • Visual search: Experimental procedure of searching through a field of objects to locate a target.
    • Constructivist approach: The idea that our perception is built up from incomplete sensory information using stored knowledge. We act as 'scientists,' forming hypotheses about stimuli and testing them.
    • Masking: A disruptive effect of an auditory or visual pattern presented immediately after a stimulus. A noise mask is one example of masking.
    • Re-entrant processing: Communication between different brain areas is never strictly one-way; a signal going from one area to another is typically followed by a signal returning to the first area.
    • Gibsonian view of perception: Perception involves interacting with the world, perceiving is direct and involved in how we act.
    • Ventral stream: A visual pathway primarily associated with object recognition and identification
    • Dorsal stream: A visual pathway primarily associated with processing spatial information, object location, and driving behaviour responses.
    • Auditory localisation: The ability of the brain to locate the source of a sound.
    • Binaural cues and spectral cues: Help us determine azimuth (horizontal location), and elevation (vertical location) of sounds respectively.
    • Mental models: Cognitive constructions that represent problem premises and how the premises are interpreted.
    • Sensory overload: A condition where a cognitive system is overwhelmed by excessive incoming sensory information
    • Proprioception/Kinesthesis: Proprioception is about the position of the body, limbs, and joints in space, while kinesthesis is about awareness of movement. These are essential for coordination and movement.
    • Haptic information: A combination of touch, kinesthesis, and proprioception, crucial for interacting with objects in our environment.
    • Attention: A cognitive process that involves selection and prioritization of information, central to perception and memory. This can be directed intentionally (endogenous) or unintentionally (exogenous)
    • Spotlight of visual attention analogy: Describes how attention can highlight the objects/events in the "spotlight". Focusing attention on a particular region.
    • Saccades: rapid eye movements essential for visual exploration.
    • Covert attention: Focussing attention without eye movements. This is often associated with endogenous attention tasks.
    • Conjunction search/pop-out: Combining features during a search is often slower than processing something that 'pops out'' or easily discerned.
    • Breakthrough: the ability of unattended information to sometimes reach conscious awareness.
    • Early/late selection: Early selection models suggest that attentional selection occurs relatively early in the processing stream, filtering out information before it's fully processed. Late selection models, conversely, argue that most stimuli are initially processed and meaning is made before attentional filtering takes place.
    • Selective filtering/selective set: selective filtering requires selection for one source of information for further processing; selective set tasks require that a target be detected from a small set of possibilities.
    • Stroop effect: A demonstration of the relationship between controlled and automatic attention. A particular example of automatic and controlled processing.
    • Slips of action: Errors in executing action sequences when one part of the sequence goes wrong or is omitted.
    • Contention scheduler: A part of the attention control system that automatically prioritizes a task and allows smooth, unconscious execution of automatic behaviours; important in everyday tasks and interactions.
    • Frontal lobe syndrome: The pattern of deficits in goal-directed and behaviour arising from damage to the frontal lobes.
    • Combining tasks: Multi-tasking is the process of trying to perform two or more tasks at once.

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    Description

    This quiz explores fundamental concepts in cognitive psychology, including schema theory, attention models, and brain modularity. It addresses how perception and memory are influenced by cognitive processes and the role of various brain regions. Test your understanding of important theories and neural mechanisms in cognition.

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