Midterm 1 Review - Cognitive Psychology FW

Midterm 1 Review - Cognitive Psychology FW (University of Guelph)

• This document is a review for a midterm exam in Cognitive Psychology at the University of Guelph.
• It covers material pertaining to learning, cognitive psychology, and neuropsychology
• The review provides information on encoding, retention, metacognition, and different schools of thought. It also includes analysis of cognitive processes, neuroimaging techniques, and the mind-brain relationship

Learning How To Learn

• Acquisition of Information (Encoding):

  • Repetition is crucial for learning, as demonstrated by Ebbinghaus's studies.
  • Massed practice (cramming) is less effective than distributed practice (spaced learning). Distributed practice leads to better long-term retention.
  • Encoding variability (interleaving) involves learning different things at the same time and is more effective than blocking (learning one thing at a time).

• Retention of Information:

  • Retrieval practice (testing effect) is critical for effective long-term retention.
  • Variability in learning situations makes generalized knowledge possible.
  • Desirable difficulty involves challenging your learning to enhance understanding.

• Metacognition:

  • Understanding and monitoring the quality of your learning process is a crucial skill.
  • Ability to assess your learning via external factors like speed of retrieval, and perceptual clarity can be misleading.

Intro to Cognitive Psychology

• Cognitive Psychology: A field encompassing mental processes, including perception, memory, and thinking.
• Schools of Thought:
  • Introspection (Wilhelm Wundt) attempts to understand the mind by examining one's own thoughts and feelings.
  • Transcendental method (Immanuel Kant) finds solutions by looking at visible effects.
  • Functionalism (William James) focuses on the functions of the brain, rather than just its structure.
  • Behaviorism (B.F. Skinner) studies observable behaviours and how they change through environmental stimuli.

Cog. Neuro. Methods

• Mind-Brain Relationship:
  • The mind and brain interact and influence each other.
  • Dualism suggests the mind and brain are separate entities.
• Historical Perspectives:
  • Phrenology focused on the idea that different mental abilities are associated with specific areas of the brain.
  • Equipotentiality suggests all brain regions contribute equally to complex functions.
• Neuroimaging:
  • Computerized scans present a way to measure and visualize brain structure and activity.
  • Measures include fMRI/ MRI/ EEG to understand brain processes.

Neuropsychology:Impaired Neural Function

• Reversible Lesions: Temporary impairments used to study brain function. Phineas Gage serves as a compelling example of this.
• Neuropsychology: Investigating psychological impacts from neural damage. Boca's and Wernicke's aphasia are studied in the context of impaired language.
• Prosopagnosia is studied to measure the capacity for face recognition.
• Neuroimaging Techniques: Useful for investigating brain activity and diagnosing/understanding brain damage. (ECG, fMRI, EEG, and FEMG).

Perception

• Sensation: The process where sensory receptors transduce physical stimuli into neural impulses.
• Perception: The process where sensory input is interpreted into meaningful percepts.
• Contralateral Organization: Information from one side of the body is processed in the opposite side of the brain.
• Psychophysics: The relationship between physical stimuli and how they are perceived.
• Basic Elements of Vision: Contrast and orientation are essential aspects of how our visual system perceives the world.
• Bottom-up and top-down processing: Bottom-up processing is driven by the sensory input, while top-down processing is influenced by prior knowledge and expectations.

Attention

• Attention: Focusing awareness on a select subset of stimuli.
• Selection Attention: A form of attention where you select what to focus on.
• Early/ Late Selection: Early selection filters information before any meaningful interpretation. Late selection filters information after some interpretation.
• Overt/ Covert: overt attention involves eye movement, whereas covert attention involves mental attention.
• Attentional Orienting Paradigms: Techniques used to measure selective attention.
• Endogenous/ Exogenous: Endogenous attention is internally driven, while exogenous attention is externally driven by a stimulus.
• Capacity Limitations: Attention has limits to the amount of stimuli it can process at once.
• Mind Wandering: A shift in attention away from the task at hand.
• Psychological Refractory Period: The time it takes before attention can be switched.

Advanced Cognitive Processes

• Task Switching: Shifting attention between incompatible tasks simultaneously.