PSY 108 Midterm 1 Study Guide PDF

Introduction to Cognitive Psychology Definition of cognition: -The term cognition, or mental activity, refers to the acquisition, storage, transformation, and use of knowledge -Cognition is inescapable, meaning that your cognitive processes are always at...

Introduction to Cognitive Psychology Definition of cognition: -The term cognition, or mental activity, refers to the acquisition, storage, transformation, and use of knowledge -Cognition is inescapable, meaning that your cognitive processes are always at work -They grant you the ability to recognize and interpret stimuli in your environment and to react strategically to such information. Cognitive approach to psychology -the cognitive approach is a theoretical orientation that emphasizes people's thought processes and their knowledge -For example, a cognitive approach to the study of depression might emphasize how biases toward negative thoughts and perceptions contribute to the experience of depression, as well as the ways that being depressed may impact one's attentional and memory abilities Origins of cognitive psychology – how did they influence the field of cognitive psych? ○ Introspection - Wundt -Wilhelm Wundt, considered the founder of experimental psychology, introduced introspection as a method to study mental processes. He trained observers to analyze their sensations under controlled conditions. While groundbreaking, introspection is now seen as subjective and unreliable, leading to its decline in favor of more objective methods in cognitive psychology. ○ Early memory researchers - Ebbinghaus, Calkins, James -Hermann Ebbinghaus conducted one of the earliest systematic studies of memory, using nonsense syllables to minimize prior language knowledge effects. He explored factors like time intervals between learning sessions to understand memory retention. -Mary Whiton Calkins, in the U.S., discovered the recency effect—better recall of the last items in a list—and advocated for studying cognitive processes in real-world settings. She was also the first woman president of the APA. -William James, critical of both Wundt and Ebbinghaus, focused on theorizing about everyday psychological experiences. His work in Principles of Psychology emphasized the mind’s active and inquiring nature and introduced topics like attention, memory, and the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon.  ○ Behaviorism - Watson, Tolman -John B. Watson, the leading behaviorist, focused on observable behavior, primarily using animal studies. He rejected the study of unobservable mental processes like thoughts and images. Behaviorists, including Watson, emphasized learning and measured behavior changes in response to environmental stimuli, often through experiments like rats navigating mazes. -Edward Tolman challenged strict behaviorist views by showing that rats developed mental representations, or cognitive maps, of mazes, even without rewards. Tolman’s work introduced the idea of internal mental processes, shifting the focus toward cognition, and laid the groundwork for cognitive psychology. ○ Gestalt psychology -Gestalt psychology, originating in early 20th-century Europe, emphasized that humans naturally organize perceptions and that “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” Gestalt psychologists opposed both Wundt’s introspection and behaviorism's stimulus-response focus, arguing for the importance of understanding patterns and context in perception. They also emphasized insight in problem-solving, where seemingly unrelated parts suddenly form a cohesive solution. Cognitive revolution - Piaget, Chomsky -By the late 1930s, dissatisfaction with behaviorism grew due to its inability to explain complex human behavior. This shift, known as the "cognitive revolution," emphasized internal mental processes like memory, attention, and language. Jean Piaget contributed by exploring stages of cognitive development in children, showing how their thinking evolves with age. Noam Chomsky's critique of behaviorism, particularly in language acquisition, argued that humans possess an innate ability for language, which cannot be fully explained by stimulus-response models. Empirical research, ecological validity -Cognitive psychology, since the cognitive revolution, has influenced various areas of psychology by focusing on internal mental processes. However, critics highlight concerns about ecological validity, questioning whether lab-based experiments reflect real-world scenarios. For instance, traditional memory studies often use artificial tasks, like memorizing lists of words in controlled settings, which may not generalize well to everyday life. Modern cognitive psychologists emphasize the importance of balancing both laboratory-based and ecologically valid research to understand real-world cognitive processes. Connectionist approach  -In contrast to classical information-processing models, the connectionist approach highlights networks of interconnected processing units resembling neuron connections in the brain. This model suggests that cognitive processes can occur simultaneously rather than in strict serial order, accounting for the rapidity and efficiency of human cognition (Barrett, 2009; Gazzaniga et al., 2009). Cognitive neuroscience -Cognitive neuroscience integrates cognitive psychology with neuroscience to explore how cognitive processes are implemented in the brain. Advances in neuroimaging technologies have enhanced our understanding of brain function, revealing how various neural systems contribute to cognitive tasks (Gazzaniga et al., 2009). This integration enables researchers to examine brain activity during cognitive tasks, bridging the gap between cognitive psychology and neuroscience. Computer metaphor of the mind (and the information processing system) -From the 1970s to the present, the computer metaphor has served as a popular framework for understanding human cognition, positing that cognitive processes operate similarly to computer operations. While acknowledging differences between the human brain and computers, both systems share common principles, such as processing and limited capacity. Cognitive processes are viewed as information flowing through a series of stages, akin to a computer's operations (Leahey, 2003; MacKay, 2004). Lecture Material: History of Cognitive Psychology ○ Zeitgeist “Spirit of the times”, the ideas prevalent in a period and place Ex. fashion, decades, generations ○ Mental set A perspective and/or set of assumptions that define how people view a problem, often constraining alternative approaches in some fundamental manner “Think outside of the box” → box = the mental set Bruner and Potter (1964) illusion -Out-of-focus images are more difficult to recognze if they are initially presented at a very out-of-focus level -a very out-of-focus level creates a mental set that impairs identification Examples of mental sets – rabbit/duck image, old/young lady, dalmatian, spinning dancer, green needle/brainstorm Insight problems (aha moments) – not twins problem, donkey matchstick problem, six matchsticks problem  Examples of Zeitgeists in psychology [mental set, method, proponents, problems] ○ Structuralism Mental set -the mind and its perceptions can be understood by analyzing those perceptions into their constituent components Method -introspection – looking inwards at pieces of information passing through consciousness Main Proponent -Wilhelm Wundt Problems with introspection and with reducing mind-to-structure -introspections can be wrong -cannot introspect on all processes -different people get different results (blue and black vs. yellow and white dress) -overlooks dynamic processes ○ Functionalism Mental set -the mind is best understood by examining the processes of the mind rather than its contents -focus on the functional value of psychosocial processes Method -various methods — introspection, observation, experiment Proponents -William James Heavy reliance on introspection. ○ Associationism and Behaviorism Mental Set: three basic principles -connectionisitic -learning results from the co-occurrence of events or actions that occur at the same time -reductionisitc -complex behavior can be explained by understanding the simple associations on which it is based -environmental -assumes all aspects of behaviors are learned -proponents -Locke, Ebbinghaus, Thorndike, Skinner ○ Computer Metaphor (Cognitive Psychology)  -can think of information flowing through the mind like information flowing through a computer or a telephone system Visual and Auditory Recognition Definition of perception and object recognition -Perception is the process by which the brain interprets sensory information, allowing us to understand our environment. It involves combining incoming stimuli from the senses with prior knowledge and experiences to create meaningful representations. Object recognition is a specific aspect of perception that focuses on identifying and categorizing objects in the environment based on sensory input, enabling us to distinguish between different entities and understand their significance. Visual system ○ Distal vs proximal stimuli -Distal stimuli are the actual objects in the environment, such as a pen on a desk, while proximal stimuli refer to the sensory information registered by our receptors, like the image formed on the retina from that pen. Object recognition occurs by identifying the distal stimulus despite imperfect proximal information, often relying more on shape than color or texture to distinguish objects. ○ Sensory memory - iconic memory -Sensory memory is a high-capacity storage system that accurately records information from our senses. Specifically, iconic memory, which is a type of visual sensory memory, retains an image of a visual stimulus for a short time after the stimulus has vanished. This allows for brief retention of visual information, facilitating object recognition. ○ Primary visual cortex and occipital lobe -The primary visual cortex, located in the occipital lobe at the back of the brain, is responsible for the initial processing of visual stimuli. It combines visual information from both eyes and plays a crucial role in object recognition. Visual information travels from the retina to the primary visual cortex rapidly (about 50–80 milliseconds) and activates additional cortical areas involved in more complex visual processing. For example, the parietal lobe assists in recognizing tools, while the inferotemporal cortex is key for identifying complex objects like faces. ○ Figure-ground relationship -The figure-ground relationship is a fundamental principle in Gestalt psychology, highlighting how humans instinctively organize visual stimuli into distinct shapes (figures) against a background (ground). The figure is perceived as  closer and more dominant, while the ground recedes. In ambiguous situations, such as the vase-faces effect, the roles of figure and ground can reverse, illustrating how our perceptual system actively organizes stimuli. This phenomenon is influenced by neural adaptation in the visual cortex, as well as our tendency to alternate between interpretations to resolve visual paradoxes. ○ Illusory/subjective contours -Illusory contours, or subjective contours, occur when we perceive edges or shapes that are not physically present in a visual stimulus. For instance, in certain visual illusions, such as an inverted white triangle appearing in front of another triangle and dark gray circles, observers report seeing contours where none exist. This phenomenon demonstrates our tendency to "fill in the blanks" when interpreting visual scenes, which can sometimes lead to perceptual errors. Gestalt psychologists find illusory contours significant, as they illustrate that human perception extends beyond the raw sensory information provided by the distal stimulus. Theories of visual object recognition -Researchers propose several theories of object recognition, including template matching, which compares stimuli to stored patterns. However, this approach fails to account for variations, such as recognizing handwritten letters. More flexible theories, like feature analysis and recognition-by-components, suggest that perception relies on identifying distinct features or components of objects, allowing for adaptability in recognizing various stimuli depending on the task. ○ Feature-analysis theory -Feature-analysis theory posits that visual stimuli consist of a limited set of distinctive features. For example, when recognizing letters, the theory suggests we store specific characteristics for each letter, such as the curved component, vertical line, and diagonal line of the letter R. When encountering a new letter, our visual system identifies the presence or absence of these features and compares them to the stored features in memory, enabling recognition despite variations in handwriting. Distinctive features -Distinctive features are the specific components that make up a visual stimulus. In the context of recognizing letters, these features include elements like curves, lines, or angles. For example, the letter R has a distinctive curved component, a vertical line, and a diagonal line. Our visual system detects these features and compares them to stored knowledge to recognize the letter, even when handwritten versions vary. Examples, problems  -Feature-analysis theory explains how we recognize letters and patterns by analyzing distinctive features. For example, Eleanor Gibson's research showed that people took longer to differentiate similar letters like P and R compared to dissimilar ones like O and L. Neuroscience research supports this, showing neurons in the primary visual cortex respond to specific features like the orientation of lines. However, the theory struggles with recognizing complex, natural shapes like animals, as these shapes contain far more intricate and dynamic features than simple letters. ○ Recognition-by-Components theory Geons Examples, problems (modifications) -Irving Biederman's recognition-by-components theory explains how humans recognize three-dimensional objects by using simple shapes called geons. Like letters forming words, geons combine to form objects. Biederman’s research, including fMRI studies, shows that different parts of the cortex respond to geons. However, the theory was modified to include the viewer-centered approach, which accounts for the fact that people recognize objects more quickly from standard viewpoints. When objects are seen from unusual angles, mental rotation helps match the object to stored views in memory, though this may take extra time. This theory, along with feature-analysis theory, helps explain object recognition, but further research is needed to account for more complex real-world objects. Box 2.1 - fMRI -Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a brain imaging technique developed in the 1990s. It works by tracking oxygen-rich blood flow, which increases in areas of the brain that are actively performing cognitive tasks. As the brain does not store oxygen, the flow increases in specific regions to support neural activity. This allows researchers to observe which brain areas are involved in certain tasks. fMRI can capture brain activity in about one second and provides detailed illustrations of active brain regions. However, it’s important to note that multiple brain regions often cooperate to process complex tasks. Top-down vs bottom-up processing (examples of each) -Bottom-Up Processing: This approach emphasizes the importance of stimulus characteristics in recognizing an object. Physical stimuli are registered on sensory receptors, which then send this information to higher levels in the perceptual system. For instance, when you look at an object, you notice its shape, size, and color, starting from the basic features to more complex recognition. This is evident when recognizing isolated objects based solely on their visual characteristics. Top-Down Processing: This involves how a person's knowledge, expectations, and memory influence object recognition. Context and prior experiences shape our perceptions, allowing for quicker recognition of objects. For example, when trying to decipher a hastily written letter, surrounding letters in a word help identify it. Similarly, context (like being in a coffee shop) aids in recognizing objects based on expectations about their shapes and functions. ○ Top-down processing and reading + word superiority effect -Top-down processing influences reading by using context to interpret letters and words, like recognizing "H" in "THE" or "A" in "MAN" (Carreiras et al., 2013). The word superiority effect shows letters are recognized faster in words than in random strings, e.g., "p" in "plan" vs. "pnla" (Dahan, 2010). Context also speeds word recognition, like quickly identifying "juice" in "Mary drank her orange juice" (Ashby et al., 2005). Rueckl and Oden’s (1986) study confirmed that both features (bottom-up) and context (top-down) work together for word recognition. Overuse of top-down processing ○ Change blindness ○ Inattentional blindness -Top-down processing is usually efficient, but it can lead to errors like change blindness and inattentional blindness. Change blindness occurs when we fail to notice changes in a scene, like when participants in Simons and Levin's (1997) study didn’t detect a stranger switch during a conversation. Inattentional blindness happens when we focus on one part of a scene and miss unexpected but visible changes elsewhere (Most et al., 2005). These "smart mistakes" show how over-reliance on top-down processing can sometimes hinder accuracy. Face recognition ○ Gestalt ○ Prosopagnosia  -Face recognition research often focuses on prosopagnosia, a disorder where individuals can’t recognize faces but can still identify other objects. People with this condition may fail to recognize close family members, despite being able to identify emotions or parts of a face, which appear disconnected rather than unified (Farah, 2004; Gazzaniga et al., 2009). ○ Face-inversion effect -The face-inversion effect refers to the phenomenon where people are significantly better at recognizing upright faces compared to upside-down ones. This suggests that face recognition relies on holistic processing, as inverted faces disrupt this process, making recognition more difficult ○ Applied research -Applied research in face recognition examines real-world situations, such as cashier accuracy in identifying ID photos and security surveillance systems. Cashier ID accuracy: Kemp et al. (1997) found that supermarket cashiers accepted accurate photo IDs 93% of the time but failed to reject incorrect ones 64% of the time when photos looked similar. Security surveillance: Burton et al. (1999) showed that people are much better at recognizing familiar faces from video than unfamiliar ones. Even experienced police officers were no better than students at identifying unfamiliar professors in video clips. This research highlights the challenges of recognizing unfamiliar faces and the importance of familiarity in face recognition tasks. ○ Schizophrenia -Schizophrenia, a serious psychological disorder, affects emotions, hallucinations, and cognitive processing. People with schizophrenia often struggle with facial perception and recognizing facial expressions. Face recognition studies: Research by Pomarol-Clotet et al. (2010) found that individuals with schizophrenia and a control group performed similarly in identifying emotions from a set of standardized photos. However, those with schizophrenia responded more slowly. This suggests that while schizophrenia impacts cognitive tasks broadly, it might not uniquely impair facial recognition, especially when intelligence and other factors are matched. Characteristics of speech perception (e.g. phonemes) ○ Word boundaries  ○ Variability in phoneme pronunciation (three kinds) ○ Phonemic restoration ○ The role of visual cues on speech perception (e.g. McGurk effect) -Word Boundaries Word boundaries are often indistinct in speech, with physical pauses occurring less than 40% of the time. The brain uses knowledge of language to effectively segment phrases into words. Variability in Phoneme Pronunciation 1. Inter-Speaker Variability: Different speakers produce the same phonemes differently based on factors like gender and age. 2. Imprecise Production: Speakers often slur or omit sounds, adding complexity to perception. 3. Coarticulation: The pronunciation of a phoneme is influenced by surrounding phonemes, altering its sound. Phonemic Restoration Listeners can fill in missing phonemes based on contextual cues, demonstrating top-down processing that allows reconstruction of obscured sounds. The Role of Visual Cues on Speech Perception (e.g., McGurk Effect) Visual information, such as lip movements, aids speech perception, especially in noise. The McGurk effect shows how visual and auditory signals can conflict, leading to blended perceptions. Special mechanism vs general mechanism theories of speech perception -Special Mechanism Theories The special mechanism approach posits a phonetic module that allows rapid and accurate speech processing, supported by categorical perception of ambiguous sounds. General Mechanism Theories General mechanism theories argue that speech perception relies on the same cognitive processes used for other auditory tasks, emphasizing learning and the influence of visual cues. Lecture Material: Definition of perception -interpreting sensory events (ie. recognizing a flash of light as lightning) Definition of sensation -detecting sensory events (ie. experiencing light hitting our eyes) Perceptual organization ○ Gestalt psychology and “laws of perceptual organization” -Gestalt psychologists: invented the basic principles that allow us to understand which aspects of a visual scene belong together and which come from separate objects -Gestalt psychology: developed theories if perception based on the notion that the whole is more than the sum of its part -You cannont just look at individual objects in isolation -Motion typically arises, even if they are not moving, we perceive it as moving -Laws of perceptual organization -proximity: objects that are near one another in space or time are perceived as belonging together -similarity: items that are similar tend to be grouped together -symmetry: objects are symmetrical, we are more likely to group them together -closure: the mind may experience elements it does not perceive through sensation, in order to complete a regular figure (that is, to increase regularity) ○ Figure-ground segregation -a type of perceptual organization in which we identify a figure from the background Bottom-up vs. top-down perception (examples of each as well as examples of when they interact) Bottom-up process: - process by which we construct a perception by analyzing information falling on our receptors (ie. on our retinas) - Actual physical characteristics of stimulus drive perception - Realism: we see the world as it literally is - Ie. white and gold vs. black and blue dress - Ie. brainstorm vs. green needle Top-down process: - Knowledge, expectations, or thoughts influence perception (ie. changing “brainstorm” to “green needle” through your thoughts) - “Percpetion is not determined simply by stimulus patterns; rather it is a dynamic searching for the best interpretation of the available data”  - Recognition can take place when features are occluded ○ Examples of change blindness and inattentional blindness and implications -Change Blindness: failure to detect a change in an object or a scene - Top-down processes interfere with noticing changes in details -Inattentional blindness: when we fail to notice when an unexpected bit completely visible object suddenly appears - Ie. monkey business illusion: when the money randomly appears, but we are focused on the basketball being passed around -implications: -Overactive top-down processing - The visual system is fairly accurate in creating the “gist” or general interpretation of a scene - Conceptual understanding interferes with noticing changes of perceptual details, even very significant ones ○ Depth perception (monocular vs binocular depth cues examples) - A further illustration of interaction of bottom-up and top-down processing - We often use our own experiences to infer the depth from multiple visual cues - Monocular depth cues - Cues that can provide depth information with one eye closed - Binocular depth cues - Cues that require both eyes Why do we study illusions? Relevance of illusions to perception ○ Depth perception illusions Ames Room  Mueller-Lyer illusion - Left line must be farther away; this must mean it’s bigger than it appears Shepard table illusion - Placement of the legs and table siding makes you see the table on the left as being longer than the table on the right Waterfall - Ingenious use of monocular depth cues to produce paradoxical perceptions  ○ Contrast detection - We perceive objects relative to the other nearby objects ○ Color constancy - Color constancy: perceived color or objects remain relatively constant under varying illumination conditions ○ Shape constancy ○ Auditory illusions Shepard tone - Auditory illusion of a tone that seems to continually ascend or descend in pitch, yet which ultimately gets no higher or lower - “A musical barber’s pole” - Youtube link for example Phonemic Restoration Expectancy effect (Reversible auditory messages) - Expectations allow us to hear more than is specified McGurk effect - Procedure (REFER TO SLIDES) - See GA - Hear BA - Experience DA - Top-down processes integrate perpetual and auditory cues leading to the experience of compromise phenome Big picture conclusion on perception - We are not directly experiencing reality  - Our brain uses various sophisticated inference processes to take its “best guess” of reality - We are experiencing our brain’s simulation of reality Attention and Consciousness Definition of attention - the concentration of awareness on some stimulus to the exclusion of other stimuli Divided vs selective attention Divided attention - Attempting to pay attention to several different things at the same time - Multi-tasking: reading and instant messaging - People may believe that they can multitask, but the research does not support this illusion - People perform faster and more accurately if they work on one task at a time - Takes time to reorient following a switch - Cellphones and driving - Reaction times during driving are 20% slower than without a cellphone - Driving suffers even when using the speakerphone - You’re better off talking to a passenger than someone on a hands-free call Selective attention Tasks used to measure selective attention and what they say about selective attention? ○ Dichotic listening - One message is presented to the left ear and a different message presented to the right ear - Shadow one of the messages - People will notice very little about the unattended message ○ Stroop task/effect How has the Stroop task been modified and used in other domains? ○ Visual search The isolated-feature/combined-feature effect The feature-present/feature-absent effect - The isolated feature/combination feature effect - Look at the two figures below. In each case, search for a blue X. Notice whether you take about the same amount of time on these two tasks - The feature present/feature absent effect  - People can typically locate a feature that is present more quickly than a feature that is absent Orienting attention network and executive action network and their relation to attention -The orienting attention network is involved in visual searches, shifting attention between spatial locations, and is located primarily in the parietal lobe. It develops early in life and is responsible for selecting sensory input. In contrast, the executive attention network operates during tasks requiring conflict resolution, such as inhibiting automatic responses (e.g., Stroop task). It is primarily located in the prefrontal cortex and develops later, playing a key role in top-down control of attention, crucial for learning and complex cognitive tasks. Box 3.1 - PET Scan -A positron emission tomography (PET) scan measures blood flow in the brain by injecting a radioactive chemical. This chemical accumulates in active brain regions during cognitive tasks, allowing researchers to create images of brain activity. PET scans are useful for studying processes like attention and memory but have limited temporal resolution. While they provide location-based information similar to fMRI, PET scans are less commonly used due to their reliance on radioactive material, lower resolution, and higher cost. They cannot precisely capture the timing of cognitive processes. Theories of attention ○ Bottleneck theories (e.g. Broadbent filter theory; Treisman’s Filter amplitude theory) -Bottleneck Theories: Bottleneck theories suggest that humans can process only a limited amount of information at a time, similar to how a bottle's narrow neck restricts flow. Early theories, like Broadbent's filter theory, proposed that information is filtered at an early stage, allowing only one message to pass through. Treisman's filter attenuation theory modified this, suggesting that unattended messages are weakened, not blocked entirely. Bottleneck theories were later rejected for underestimating the flexibility of attention, as information is lost throughout multiple stages of processing. ○ Feature-integration theory Distributed vs focused attention Illusory conjunction Binding problem -Anne Treisman's Feature-Integration Theory proposes that attention can be either distributed or focused, forming a continuum.  Distributed Attention: Involves automatic parallel processing of the entire visual field, allowing features to be registered simultaneously. It's a low-effort process where features seem to "pop out." Focused Attention: Involves serial processing, where objects are analyzed one at a time. This slower process is used for complex stimuli to "bind" features like color and shape into a unified whole. Illusory Conjunction: Occurs when attention is overloaded, leading to incorrect combinations of features (e.g., seeing a "blue T" when viewing a blue N and a green T). The theory highlights the binding problem, where the visual system separately processes features, needing focused attention to integrate them accurately. Definition of consciousness and how it differs from attention -Consciousness refers to the awareness individuals have about their external environment and internal mental states, such as perceptions, thoughts, memories, and feelings. It encompasses our ability to interpret the world, reflect on personal experiences, and understand others' mental states. Consciousness is closely related to, but distinct from, attention. While attention can operate automatically without conscious awareness (e.g., braking at a red light), consciousness typically involves more deliberate, controlled attention. Consciousness became a focus in psychology with the rise of cognitive approaches, and key topics include limitations on conscious thought, difficulty in escaping certain thoughts, and phenomena like blindsight. Thought suppression and ironic (rebound) effects of mental control -Thought Suppression refers to the deliberate attempt to avoid thinking about a particular thought or subject. Ironically, when individuals try to suppress certain thoughts, they often experience a rebound effect, where the thought becomes more persistent. This phenomenon is known as the ironic effect (Wegner, 1994). For example, if you're instructed not to think about a "white bear," your mind is likely to focus on it even more. Research suggests that the more one tries to suppress a thought, the more likely it is to re-enter consciousness, often with greater intensity. Blindsight -Blindsight is a condition where individuals with damage to their visual cortex cannot consciously see objects in certain areas but can accurately identify aspects like location and motion without awareness.  Key Points Unconscious Perception: Individuals report blindness but perform above chance on visual tasks. Bypassing Visual Cortex: Some visual information reaches other brain areas, enabling processing without conscious awareness. Implications: Highlights that consciousness is not necessary for all visual processing and that our conscious experience may not accurately reflect our perceptual abilities. Mindfulness meditation -Mindfulness meditation enhances moment-to-moment awareness of thoughts and feelings without judgment, boosting attention and conscious awareness. Key Points Definition: Nonjudgmental observation of experiences (Kabat-Zinn, 1990). Benefits: Reduces anxiety, prevents depression relapse, and alleviates ADHD symptoms. Mechanisms: Improves self-regulation of attention and emotions (Verdonk et al., 2020). Applications: Available in university courses and community programs for better mental and physical health. Lecture Material: Definition of attention (William James) - the concentration of awareness on some stimulus to the exclusion of other stimuli ○ Divided attention (examples of) Divided attention - Attempting to pay attention to several different things at the same time - Multi-tasking: reading and instant messaging - People may believe that they can multitask, but the research does not support this illusion - People perform faster and more accurately if they work on one task at a time - Takes time to reorient following a switch - Cellphones and driving - Reaction times during driving are 20% slower than without a cellphone - Driving suffers even when using the speakerphone - You’re better off talking to a passenger than someone on a hands-free call How is it measured? (Dichotic listening) - One message is presented to the left ear and a different message presented to the right ear  - Shadow one of the messages - People will notice very little about the unattended message Theories of attention ○ Broadbent’s Filter Theory - Early selective filter allows people to attend to one channel based on physical characteristics ○ Treisman’s Filter amplitude theory - Filter turns down the “volume” on unattended channel - Filter is not all-or-none ○ Deutsch & Deutsch late selection theory - All incoming stimuli are processed, however quickly forget one channel - Evidence: people show evidence of processing the semantic content of the unattended channel even if they don’t remember it ○ Perceptual Load theory - Everyone has limited attentional capacity - The amount of attentional capacity allocated to the main task (attended channel) depends on the perceptual load of the main task - Low perceptual load: hearing the numbers 1-10 - High perceptual load: listening to a lecture on quantum mechanics - Early selection occurs when load is high; late selection occurs when load is low Visual search – what is it and what phenomena are associated with it? - Find a target in a visual display with numerous distractions (ie. Where’s Waldo) Characteristics of automaticity and examples - Some examples - Driving a car (particularly a standard car) - Playing an instrument - Riding a bike - Typing on the keyboard - Characteristics of automatic processes - Occur without intention - Relatively unconscious - Consume no conscious resources Definition of Consciousness - People have relatively complete access to some thought processes, but only limited access to other thought processes  Three levels of consciousness (definition, examples and characteristics) ○ Non-consciousness (aka unconscious) - Information that is below the surface awareness Subliminal perception and how it has been investigated - The effects of stimuli that are presented below the threshold of awareness Unconscious priming - Priming: presentation of a priming word/object just before another word/object leads to facilitated processing of the second word/object if they are related ○ Experiential consciousness - Ongoing experience - The current contents of the experience Can it be controlled/suppressed? - yes White bear paradigm and rebound effects - Do not think about a white bear → two conditions: think about anything, think about anything but not a white bear - Rebound effect: initial suppression of specific thoughts can produce an emergence of those thoughts after we stop trying to suppress them ○ Meta-consciousness (aka meta-awareness) - One’s explicit understanding of the current contents of experience Translation dissociations - Meta-awareness misrepresents the contents of the experience - Occurs when, in the process of reflection, individuals embellish, distort, or neglect aspects of their experience - Ex. shouting, “I’m not angry” Temporal dissociations - Experiences we have in the absence of meta-awareness - Occurs when individuals temporarily fail to take stock of their experiences - Ex. mind wandering while reading Mind wandering while reading - Non-conscious - The activation of associates of read words (priming) - Experimental conscious - What one is mind wandering about  - Met-conscious/meta-awareness - Recognition that one has been mind wandering instead of reading - Why do we mind wander while reading? - Schooler suggests that we do this because we don’t know we’re mind wandering (that is, we lack meta-conscious awareness of our thoughts) ○ Research study on self-caught vs. probe-caught mind wandering - Self-caught - Reported mind wandering every time they noticed it - Mind wandering with meta-awareness - Probe-caught - Periodically pinged and asked, “just now, were you mind wandering?” - Mind wandering without meta-awareness - Do people mind wander without awareness? - Results - Yes, we know this because sometimes the probe (or “ping”) caught them - If they had awareness, they’d have stopped mind wandering and reported no mind wandering when probed What is Reality movie (General questions regarding the movie, no highly specific questions) -Overview: The documentary explores the nature of reality, consciousness, and perception through a scientific and philosophical lens, guided by neuroscientist Dr. David Eagleman. Key Themes: Perception vs. Reality: Our understanding of reality is shaped by our perceptions, which the brain constructs from sensory input. Neuroscience: The film examines how the brain processes information and creates experiences, including topics like synesthesia and altered states of consciousness. Philosophical Questions: It raises questions about free will and the objective nature of reality. Experiments and Examples: Eagleman presents optical illusions and conditions like colorblindness to illustrate how perception can differ from reality. Expert Insights: The film features interviews with experts in neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy, offering diverse perspectives. Conclusion: What is Reality? encourages viewers to reflect on their perceptions and the complexities of consciousness.