PSYC 135 - Cognition Flashcards

Questions and Answers

Our attention has been said to involve a _____ that filters out everything except information we are attending to.

bottleneck

You are in your living room baby-sitting a five year old while watching an important class lecture online. The child is making so much noise; you are repeating what you hear in the lecture to yourself. This is most similar to _____.

shadow tasking

You are at a playground with your little brother, and you hear a child yell, 'MOM!' You notice a dozen women pause in their conversations, turning their heads to see if it was their child calling for them. This is an example of _____.

cocktail party effect

Treisman's modified filter model of attention suggests that some information passes through, but only after it has been ranked in terms of _____.

attenuated Signup and view all the answers

According to Treisman's dictionary unit, the lower the threshold of information, _____.

the more likely the information is attended to Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following scenarios best illustrates the notion that our attention is like a spotlight? (Select one)

Tony's focus on his video game Signup and view all the answers

In your textbook, a study was discussed in which participants were asked to complete two tasks at once or separately, and their performance in both conditions was compared. This experiment employed _____.

dual-task method Signup and view all the answers

Who developed the feature integration model of attention?

Anne Treisman (Sykes & Gelade) Signup and view all the answers

An example of a conjunction target would be _____.

identifying a target based on color, shape or both Signup and view all the answers

Localization of function or features in attention processes is consistent with _____.

the feature integration theory Signup and view all the answers

Zaretskaya et al. (2013) found activity in the _____ during a task involving a global percept.

right parietal cortex Signup and view all the answers

Noticing a red flower among a field of purple flowers illustrates _____.

the attention capture phenomenon Signup and view all the answers

Participants in Simons & Chabris' (1999) study did not notice when a gorilla walked across a scene. This illustrates _____.

inattentional (change) blindness Signup and view all the answers

Participants in Simons & Levin's (1998) study did not notice when a person asking them for directions was switched with another person. This illustrates _____.

change blindness Signup and view all the answers

If you had to turn your car wheel left to make a right turn, you would likely get confused. This illustrates _____.

simon effect Signup and view all the answers

The two mechanisms hypothesized to underlie the Simon effect are _ and _.

attentional-movement hypothesis = referential-coding hypothesis Signup and view all the answers

Difficulty naming the print color of a word for a different color (word 'blue' written in red ink) illustrates _____.

stroop task Signup and view all the answers

In Stroop's study (1935) on automatic processing in attention, he found that participants took less time to name colors when the word and color were _, and more time when they were _.

same; different Signup and view all the answers

Processing that is not controlled and does not tax cognitive resources is _, whereas processing due to an intention that consumes cognitive resources is _.

automatic processing; controlled processing Signup and view all the answers

Perhaps one of the most important ways to turn a controlled task into an automatic one is _____.

practice Signup and view all the answers

Clive Wearing lost his ability to form new memories due to damage to his _____, resulting from encephalitis.

hippocampus Signup and view all the answers

Memory processes include encoding, storage and ____.

retrieval Signup and view all the answers

Imagine that you are sitting in class, listening to your professor lecture, viewing slides on the projector that he is flipping through. You close your eyes and see the image of the last screen fade. This is an example of _____.

sensory memory Signup and view all the answers

Multiple choice questions are an example of _ tests and essay questions are examples of _ tests.

recognition; recall Signup and view all the answers

Very brief memories are called __; brief memories are called _; long held memories are called ___.

sensory; short-term; long term Signup and view all the answers

You are participating in a study in which you are presented with an array of letters. However, you are only asked to report the top line of 5 rows (much like an eye exam). This best illustrates _____.

partial-report method Signup and view all the answers

_ is an intermediate memory storage that begins processing of perceptual information transferred from _.

short-term memory; sensory memory Signup and view all the answers

When you were young, your teacher likely had you write your name, phone number, and address out repeatedly in order to help you remember them. This rehearsal helped get the information from _ to _.

short-term memory; long-term memory Signup and view all the answers

You just recently bought a new cell phone and had to change your phone number. However, your old phone number keeps interfering with your ability to remember your new phone number. This is an example of _____.

proactive interference Signup and view all the answers

You have been working at a bank for the last 4 years, but they recently changed systems and you had to relearn how to perform every task. However, after a while, you notice that you cannot remember how you used to perform these tasks using the old system. This is an example of _____.

retroactive interference Signup and view all the answers

Old information interfering with the storage or retrieval of new information is _, as new information interfering with the storage or retrieval of old information is _.

proactive interference = retroactive interference Signup and view all the answers

Being able to recall what you had for breakfast yesterday illustrates your _____.

long-term memory (LTM) Signup and view all the answers

Your memory for the name of presidents or capitals of countries are examples of _____.

semantic memory Signup and view all the answers

Remembering how to drive a car is an example of _____.

procedural memory Signup and view all the answers

When you took your introductory psychology course, you likely learned a little bit about many different areas of psychology. However, as you began taking other psychology courses, you likely found that your professors would _______ on information you already learned in your introductory psychology course. Essentially, you were adding new information onto existing information that you already knew.

build Signup and view all the answers

The phonological loop is to _ as the visuospatial sketchpad is to _.

verbal information = visual information Signup and view all the answers

The ___ controls the flow of information between the _, the _, and the ___.

central executive = episodic buffer Signup and view all the answers

During college, you took several semesters of a foreign language. According to Ebbinghaus, you would ___ a lot of information early on, but then the rate of loss _ as the length of time ___.

forget; slows; increases Signup and view all the answers

_____ is a neural process by which memories are strengthened and more permanently stored in the brain.

Consolidation Signup and view all the answers

_____ seems to be important in aiding the consolidation process.

Sleep Signup and view all the answers

Of the three main processes of memory - encoding, storage, and retrieval - _ and _ are the processes most under our control.

encoding; retrieval Signup and view all the answers

You are presented with the following questions: 1) Is KITTEN in all capital letters? 2) Does KITTEN rhyme with MOOSE? 3) Is KITTEN a type of animal? Which would you most likely remember?

3 Signup and view all the answers

_ is to questions about typeface as _ is to questions about sentence completion.

Shallow processing = deep processing Signup and view all the answers

While studying for a psychology exam, you devise a poem about Piaget's stages of development to help you remember. This is an example of _____.

deep processing Signup and view all the answers

Research has shown that the best way to study is _____.

a little bit at a time, over several weeks Signup and view all the answers

One reason why spacing your studying out is best is because _____.

you are increasing the number of retrieval cues Signup and view all the answers

The beginning of a word list is to _ as the end of a word list is to _.

the primacy effect = the recency effect Signup and view all the answers

The primacy effect depends on _ as the recency effect depends on _.

long-term memory = short-term memory Signup and view all the answers

When memorizing a list of words, you are most likely to demonstrate _____ if you are tested on the list the next day.

the primacy effect Signup and view all the answers

When memorizing a list of words, you are most likely to demonstrate _____ if you are tested on the list immediately afterwards.

the recency effect Signup and view all the answers

Jodie insists on getting to class 2 hours before an exam so she has plenty of time to review her notes in the same classroom where she both learned the information and will be taking the exam. She must support _____.

environmental context effects Signup and view all the answers

Joseph was very anxious when taking his GRE exam, although he was not anxious while studying for it. According to the idea of _____, he will not do well on the GRE exam.

mood-dependent effects Signup and view all the answers

_____ described 'seven sins of memory.'

Daniel Schacter Signup and view all the answers

_____ is a term for normal decay and forgetting of information over time.

Transience Signup and view all the answers

A lack of attention during encoding or retrieval results in poor memory, and is known as _____.

Absentmindedness Signup and view all the answers

Imagine you are watching a movie, and you recognize an actor. Their name is 'on the tip of your tongue' - this is an example of _____.

Blocking Signup and view all the answers

Altering memories or creating false memories for events we have never experienced is _____.

Suggestibility Signup and view all the answers

Having a song stuck in your head all day is an example of ____.

Transience Signup and view all the answers

Sir Frederick C. Bartlett found that participants in his study tended to reconstruct memories based on _____.

cultural biases Signup and view all the answers

Mary participates in a study where she is asked to read the following words: 'frigid, chilly, winter, freeze, shiver, frost, air, wet' - and she is asked to write down all of the words she remembers. She includes 'snow' in the list of words she remembers, even though 'snow' wasn't on the list. This is an example of _ using the __ method.

False memory; DRM procedure Signup and view all the answers

_ amnesia is to the events before the damage as _ amnesia is to events following damage.

retrograde = anterograde Signup and view all the answers

_____ involves unintentional retrieval of memory.

Implicit memory Signup and view all the answers

Anne suffers from amnesia and cannot remember she keeps her knitting materials in her living room or that she has spent years knitting. However, once she sits down, she knits effortlessly. Anne has an intact _____.

Explicit memory Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Attention Concepts

Bottleneck: Attention filters out irrelevant information, focusing only on what is attended to.
Shadow Tasking: Similar to multitasking; performing an important task while managing distractions.
Cocktail Party Effect: The ability to notice specific stimuli (e.g., your name) amidst a noisy environment.
Attenuated Information: Some information can be processed if deemed relevant, based on rankings of importance in Treisman’s model.

Attention Mechanisms

Dictionary Unit: Lower threshold for certain information increases likelihood of being noticed.
Dual-Task Method: Performance comparison in multitasking versus single tasks reveals decreased efficiency when tasks are combined.
Feature Integration Model: Developed by Anne Treisman, explaining how we combine features (like color and shape) to identify objects.

Visual and Memory Processing

Conjunction Target: Example includes identifying a specific item that requires integration of distinct features (e.g., color and shape).
Hippocampus Role: Critical for forming new memories; damage leads to memory impairment.
Sensory Memory: Brief retention of information that fades quickly; exemplified by fleeting visual impressions.

Types of Memory

Long-Term vs. Short-Term Memory: Long-term retains extensive information, while short-term holds smaller amounts for brief periods.
Proactive & Retroactive Interference: Proactive involves old information disrupting new; retroactive involves new interfering with recall of old.
Semantic Memory: Memory for general knowledge, such as facts and concepts; contrasted with procedural memory for tasks like driving.

Encoding and Retrieval

Deep vs. Shallow Processing: Deeper encoding (e.g., meaningful associations) leads to better retrieval than superficial processing.
Retrieval Cues: Increasing retrieval cues can enhance memory recall.
Spacing Effect: Studying over time improves retention compared to cramming.

Memory Errors and Effects

Primacy and Recency Effects: Early and recent items in lists are more easily recalled; linked to long-term and short-term memory respectively.
Environmental Context Effects: Studying in the same context as learning enhances retrieval.
Mood-Dependent Effects: Emotional states during learning can affect recall performance.

Amnesia and Memory Types

Retrograde Amnesia: Loss of memories prior to a brain injury.
Anterograde Amnesia: Inability to form new memories after an injury.
Implicit Memory: Unconscious retrieval of skills and tasks; contrasted with explicit memory which requires conscious thought.

Memory Distortions

Suggestibility: Altering memories based on external influences or misinformation.
False Memory: Recalling events that did not occur; demonstrated using the DRM procedure showing how related words can create false memories.
Cultural Biases: Memory reconstructions influenced by participant's cultural background and experiences.

Important Figures and Theories

Daniel Schacter: Identified "seven sins of memory," which encompass various ways memory can fail.
Consolidation: The process by which memories are stabilized and stored permanently, influenced by factors like sleep.

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Description

Test your knowledge on key concepts in cognition with these flashcards designed for PSYC 135 at SJSU. Explore terms like 'bottleneck' and 'shadow tasking' that are crucial for understanding attention and cognitive processes. Ideal for students preparing for exams or wanting to reinforce their learning.