Quiz Gecko Study Guide PDF

Language Language involves production and comprehension: Broca’s area= speech production Wernicke’s area= speech comprehension Communication is the primary function of language Structure of language: Form, meaning (semantics), grammar (syntax) and use (pragmatics) Phonemes: smallest unit/eleme...

Language Language involves production and comprehension: Broca’s area= speech production Wernicke’s area= speech comprehension Communication is the primary function of language Structure of language: Form, meaning (semantics), grammar (syntax) and use (pragmatics) Phonemes: smallest unit/element of sound in a spoken language Orthography: refers to letter that make up a written language Morpheme: the smallest unit of language (units of meaning in a language) ​ E.g “cow”=single morpheme “cows” two morphemes because the s provides significant information Syntax: system of grammatical rules (e.g the dog bites the man and not bites the man the dog) Semantics: the aspect of language related to meaning Pragmatics: the use of language within a particular context/implicit versus literal meaning (e.g what’s up means how are you and not look up) How we perceive language: Written language is perceived by the visual system Spoken language is perceived by the auditory system Producer vs comprehender (speaker vs listener) we often act as both roles in a dialogue or conversation Conversation can refer to anything whereas dialogue essentially is a spoken exchange between two people 4 components of language comprehension: 1.​ Perception 2.​ Recognition 3.​ Syntactic Analysis  4.​ Semantic and pragmatic analysis Word Superiority effect: -​ Letters are more easily recognised in contexts of words Phoneme Restoration effect: -​ top-down processing of language (contextual information is used to fill in missing information in spoken language) People known around 40,000-60,000 words Mental lexicon= the collection of known words in out long-term memory Word Recognition and Lexical Access: -​ written language marks spaces between words, spoken language does not mark any spaces=Segmentation Problem (explains why is might be easier to read a new language rather than detect the meaning from spoken words) Related words/neighboring words can prime other words (reading doctor after nurse might enhance your understanding and the speed at which you understand the word) Syntactic Interpretation: -​ understanding/analysing sentences -​ Syntactic parsing: building the syntactic structure is part of the process that explain how a sentence is understood Deep and Surface Structure: Deep structure: derived from phrase structure rules like those discussed earlier (e.g the dog bit the man) Surface Structure: The lineart order that is produced (e.g the man was bitten by the dog) Tip of the tongue phenomenon: a state where you experience a sensation of knowing a word and have accessed its semantic and syntactic representations, but not its phonological form Perception Lecture 3 Perception begins with the sensations we register from the outside world. -​ ears, eyes, nose, tongue, skin Sensory system: -​ a system that receives and processes input from stimuli in the environment -​ composed of sense organs which contains receptor cells -​ Receptor cells translate environmental stimuli into neural signals for the brain to receive and interpret -​ send neural signals to appropriate part of the brain through nerve cells The Visual System Four parts of the visual system: 1.​ Sense organ= eyes 2.​ Receptor cells= rods and cones in retina 3.​ Nerve conduit to the brain= optic nerve 4.​ Related brain area= Primary Visual Cortex (V1) Cornea: ​ includes the pupil and iris ​ transparent and clear dome-shaped outer layer of eye ​ light enters  ​ provides protection from dust and other particles ​ initial for clear vision ​ shape remains constant and does not change focusing power as the lens does ​ responsible for about 65-75% of the eye’s focusing ability Lens: ​ light is focused and projected upside down onto the cells at the back of the eye that make up the retina ​ can be made thinner or thicker through ciliary muscles to adjust focus ○​ Nearby focus= thick lens ○​ Distant focus=thin lens Retina: ​ Processes the light and transforms it to neural impulses sent and interpreted by the brain Pupil: ​ controls depth of field ○​ Dilation= increase ○​ Constriction= decrease ​ Pupil size ranges from 2 mm diameter (bright surrounding) to 8 mm (almost pitch black surrounding) ​ Image quality improves with constriction Cones and Rods Cones Rods Comparison Preferred Luminance Higher Lower Acuity Higher Lower Number app. 6 million app. 120 million Light adaptation Faster Slower Absolute Sensitivity Lower Higher Color Vision Yes No Visible Spectrum -​ Light is a stream of particles or a wave. -​ Light is the range of wavelengths -​ colors is related to wavelength of light -​ visible light is part of electromagnetic spectrum which ranges from 370-700 nm Cone cells and color: ​ located in the retina and are sensitive to different wavelengths of light  ○​ Three types: blue, green and red sensitive cone cells Color is one dimension of the sensation produced when light rays stimulate the photoreceptors of the retina (Spectrum can appear different to individuals, although the same words for colors might be used) Three components of color: 1.​ Hue - which wavelengths are reflected from the source 2.​ Brightness - the intensity of reflected/emitted light 3.​ Saturation - how much white is mixed with the hue Red + Green + Blue = white Theories on Color Vision Trichromatic theory: -​ Helmholtz theory -​ explains our ability to perceive different colors as a result of the pattern of activation from the three cones (red, blue, green) -​ color blind people lack one cone Opponent-process theory: -​ receptor cells in the brain respond positively to one color and negatively to another -​ when blue is presented the blue-yellow cells are active, but when yellow is presented they are inhibited The Olfactory Sense System Lecture 4 The olfactory system (smell) contains receptor cells in the nose that translate the chemical information in the air then are then converted into neural signals, carried to the olfactory bulb in the brain. Olfactory bulb located in the brain There are app. 396 types of olfactory receptors (OR) Ech receptor can detect a range of odorants but be more specialized in specific subsets of odors Odor identification: -​ the ability to recognize and name specific scents -​ tests are commonly used in clinical research to evaluate olfactory function -​ it can also be measured in other ways such as: -​ odor detection - the ability to detect a presence of a smell -​ odor discrimination - the ability to distinguish between different smells -​ odor intensity and pleasantness - evaluating how strong or pleasant an odor s perceived to be -​ Standardized tests - (e.g UPSIT) exists to measure the ability to identify odors Individual differences in olfaction ​ the variation of OR characteristics suggests the possibility of of individual differences in olfaction ​ Example of odorant that smells different to different individuals: ○​ Steroid androstenone- a derivative of testosterone, which can be found in human sweat ​ Specific anosmia - the absence of smell for a large range of scents- the exact number anosmias unknown ​ Acquired anosmia → hyposmia - the reduction of ability to smell due to infections in sinuses and nasal cavity, neurological disease, etc. ​ Gender differences - the ability to identify common odors across biological genders (generally women are more successful) ​ Discriminable odors - app. 10,000 ○​ Aristotle argued there are 6 distinct odors: sour, pungent, astringent, acid, succulent and sweet ○​ Amoore argued there are 7: musky, pungent, putrid, peppermint, camphor, ether, floral Adaptation to smells ​ we adapt to continuously present odors Functions of smell: 1.​ Ingestion - detection of substances to be ingested 2.​ Avoiding environmental hazards - detection of fire, predators etc. 3.​ Social communication - reproduction (e.g the avoidance of inbreeding) 4.​ Regulation of appetite - 5.​ Navigating through space - for instance, blind people develop a better sense of olfaction  6.​ Facilitate attention - for instance, the search of a banana may be improved by smelling the aroma of it Neural pathways for smells: Axons of receptor cells form bundles (olfactory nerves) which pass through holes in cribriform plate Olfactory nerves - axons of receptor cells form bundles Piriform - primary olfactory processing region in brain Interaction between taste and smell: -​ when we eat there’s an interaction between taste and smell (olfactory and gustatory) Factors contributing to flavor: ​ Touch ​ Hearing (is it crispy?) ​ Vision (coloring, red color can increase appeared sweetness) ​ Cognitive expectations (e.g changing from milk to dark chocolate might suggest more intense chocolate flavor) The Vestibular Sense System (inner ear)  -​ The vestibular sense system provides information about body motion and body position that helps us maintain balance and detect movements -​ is important in eye movement control and positioning of the body Otoliths: -​ part of inner ear that sense linear movements (respond to linear acceleration) and gravity -​ contain patch of hair cells, utricular and saccular maculas -​ cilia from hair cells covered in jelly (otolithic membrane) -​ otolithic membrane contain calcium salt crystals = ear stones/otoliths (weighs more than endolymph) a.​ otoliths are affected by gravity and indicates head positioning -​ linear acceleration causes cilia to bend backwards -​ Two otoliths: 1.​ utricle 2.​ saccule Endolymph: -​ fluid found in the three semicircular canals of the vestibular sense organ Semicircular canals: responds to rotational motion of the head Motion sickness: ​ mismatch between visual and vestibular information about motion ​ activates the autonomic nervous system and leads to feelings of nausea  Attention Continued Lecture 7 Visual attention two functions: -​ Orientation -​ Integration Visual filtering: attention functions as a spotlight Capacity models of attention recognize the limitations in the cognitive resources available for the task -​ attention depends on the mount of mental effort required for a task in relation to the cognitive resources currently available for the task Divided Attention: Dual-task method: a study in which people had to complete two tasks simultaneously where you have to divide your attention. Results concluded there are not enough attentional resources to complete both tasks How Attention Affects: Perception, Action and Memory: The Simon Effect: -​ when you see you hear a target you press the left side of the computer, and the right side when you see or hear another target -​ participants reaction time was affected by the location of the presentation (participants were much slower when when the word right was presented in the left era and vice versa) Focused attention: -​ used for searching and detecting stimuli in external environment Selective attention: -​ used for filtering out other stimulus Divided attention: -​ used for focusing on more than one stimuli simultaneously An important function of attention is to manage both external distractions (e.g people talking, construction work etc.) and internal distractions (e.g hunger, intrusive thoughts etc.) Mind-wandering: -​ is defined as distractions cause by internal events, such as thoughts or feelings that are task-unrelated or task-irrelevant Flow-state Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (1990):  -​ reaching a state hyper-focus of transcendental zone/imergeness where your cannot be disrupted by internal or external stimuli (almost effortlessly) -​ optimal state -​ a merging of action and awareness -​ does not require effort to maintain Attention Attention: involves many cognitive processes (perception, memory, language, problem solving etc.) Executive function: -​ attention is related to EF, a set of abilities we rely on to accurately complete a task We choose something in the environment to hold in our current consciousness to the exclusion of other things in the environment We are limited by information-processing capacities of the brain, CNS, and sensory organs The Stroop task (1935): -​ interfering stimuli test that measures attentional ability -​ demonstrating the distinction between automatic and controlled processing -​ reading=automatic task naming the print color=controlled processing -​ also a tool used to diagnose ADHD  Automaticity is promoted by practice Stroop’s third experiment focused on the role of practise on the interference test Automatic processing: -​ occurs without intention Controlled processing: -​ requires conscious effort Two primary ways of directing attention: 1.​ Outward: visual and auditory sensory systems to focus on something externally 2.​ Inward: internally engaging in cognitive tasks (recalling information, complex problem solving etc.) Auditory attention: -​ acting on sounds i situational (we can decide what to hear or dismiss) Information filtering: -​ important function of auditory attention (filter out irrelevant stimuli -​ e.g cocktail party effect, shadowing task Broadbent’s (1958): -​ there is a limited amount of information we can focus on at a particular time Shadowing Task (Cherry 1953): -​ two competing messages being simultaneously played, one in each ear -​ participants had to focus their attention on the target message and was then asked to repeat it -​ participants completed the task surprisingly well -​ when asked what they heard in the competing message they did not perform as well Psychophysics: -​ a field in which the process of changing the physical stimulus in the environment into a perception is studied -​ Findings suggested: -​ The absolute threshold, least amount of light/sound that can be detected by humans -​ The Difference threshold, which is the smallest difference between two or more stimuli that can be detected or the smallest change in a single stimuli that can be perceived Computational approach: -​ perception begins with units that are then added together and interpreted as a whole  -​ featured-focused approach (units are added together to understand the full object or scene -​ Bottom-up Processing: -​ E.g, application to verbal language: Phonemes (sound cues) -​ Geons=features of objects; basic three dimensional features of objects (cylinders, cones etc.) we identify geons first and then the object that the geons make up -​ Top-down Processing (Gregory, 1980) knowledge dependent approach (depends on the knowledge we have of the stimuli in our environment and the given context) -​ The reason for illusions -​ Theory of unconscious inference (Hermann von Helmholtz)- perception is automatic/effortless perception Gestalt approach: -​ organizational principles allows us to interpret stimuli in our environment creating a meaningful whole that is different than the summation of its units -​ “the whole is other the the sum of its parts” -​ mainly top-down processing -​ gestalt means (form or whole in German) 1.​ similarity - objects are grouped according to their similarity 2.​ proximity - objects are grouped according to their proximity in a scene 3.​ good continuation - objects are perceived as continuous in cases where it is expected they would continue 4.​ closure - objects are perceived as whole even in cases where parts are eluded or missing 5.​ Pragnanz - objects are perceived in the simplest way possible Perception-action approach: -​ the goals of action perceived through more more direct perception -​ “what for” aspect of perception -​ Affordance=perception of possible behaviors (e.g can i pass through that hole) -​ Perception and action are intricately linked and so they must be considered together -​ judgment of our environment can be influenced by our current body perspective -​ Areas of the brain involved: -​ What pathway - object recognition (ventral pathway) -​ Where pathway - location of object (dorsal pathway)