Cog. Psy. Exam 2

Front 1

ACQUISITION

Back 1

THE PROCESS OF PLACING NEW INFORMATION INTO LONG-TERM MEMORY

Front 2

THE PROCESS OF PLACING NEW INFORMATION INTO LONG-TERM MEMORY.

Back 2

ACQUISITION

Front 3

STORAGE

Back 3

STATE IN WHICH A MEMORY ONCE ACQUIRED, REMAINS UNTIL IT IS RETRIEVED. STORAGE IS NOT A DORMANT PROCESS, BUT RATHER A DYNAMIC FORM OF STORAGE WHERE OLDER MEMORIES ARE INTEGRATED WITH (AND SOMETIMES REPLACED BY) NEWER KNOWLEDGE.

Front 4

THE STATE IN WHICH A MEMORY, ONCE ACQUIRED, REMAINS UNTIL IT IS RETRIEVED.

Back 4

STORAGE

Front 5

RETRIEVAL

Back 5

THE PROCESS OF LOCATING INFORMATION IN MEMORY AND ACTIVATING THAT INFORMATION FOR USE.

Front 6

THE PROCESS OF LOCATING INFORMATION IN MEMORY AND ACTIVATING THAT INFORMATION FOR USE.

Back 6

RETRIEVAL

Front 7

GOOD LEARNING DEPENDS ON

Back 7

HOW THE MEMORY IS TO BE USED LATER.

Front 8

INFORMATION PROCESSING

Back 8

A PARTICULAR APPROACH TO THEORIZING IN WHICH COMPLEX MENTAL EVENTS, SUCH AS LEARNING AND REMEMBERING, AND DECIDING ARE UNDERSTOOD AS BEING BUILT UP OUT OF A LARGE NUMBER OF DISCRETE STEPS. THESE STEPS OCCUR ONE BY ONE, WITH EACH PROVIDING AS ITS OUTPUT THE INPUT TO THE NEXT STEP IN THE SEQUENCE.

Front 9

A PARTICULAR APPROACH TO THEORIZING IN WHICH COMPLEX MENTAL EVENTS, SUCH AS LEARNING, REMEMBERING, AND DECIDING, ARE UNDERSTOOD AS BEING BUILT UP OUT OF A LARGE NUMBER OF DISCRETE STEPS. THESE STEPS OCCUR ONE BY ONE, WITH EACH PROVIDING AS ITS OUTPUT THE INPUT TO THE NEXT STEP IN THE SEQUENCE.

Back 9

INFORMATION PROCESSING

Front 10

A GREAT DEAL OF INFORMATION PROCESSING THEORY FOCUSED ON ______

Back 10

THE PROCESS OF INFORMATION ACQUISITION -- THE PROCESSES THROUGH WHICH INFORMATION WAS DETECTED, RECOGNIZED, AND ENTERED INTO MEMORY STORAGE.

Front 11

THE PROCESS THROUGH WHICH INFORMATION IS DETECTED, RECOGNIZED, AND ENTERED INTO MEMORY STORAGE

Back 11

ACQUISITION

Front 12

MODAL MODEL

Back 12

A SPECIFIC CONCEPTION OF THE ARCHITECTURE OF MEMORY. WORKING MEMORY SERVES BOTH AS THE STORAGE SITE FOR MATERIAL NOW BEING CONTEMPLATED AND AS THE LOADING PLATFORM FOR LONG-TERM MEMORY. INFO CAN REACH WORKING MEMORY THROUGH THE PROCESSES OF PERCEPTION, OR IT CAN BE DRAWN FROM LONG TERM MEMORY. ONCE IN WORKING MEMORY, MATERIAL CAN BE FURTHER PROCESSED, OR IT CAN SIMPLY BE RECYCLED FOR SUBSEQUENT USE.

Front 13

THIS MODEL ENCOURAGED A LARGE QUANTITY OF VALUABLE RESEARCH, BUT HAS NOW LARGELY BEEN SET ASIDE, WITH MODERN THEORIZING OFFERING A VERY DIFFERENT CONCEPTION OF WORKING MEMORY.

Back 13

MODAL MODEL

Front 14

MODEL WHERE WORKING MEMORY SERVES BOTH AS THE STORAGE FOR INFO BEING CONTEMPLATED AND AS THE LOADING PLATFORM FOR LTM. INFO CAN REACH WORKING MEMORY THROUGH THE PROCESSES OF PERCEPTION, OR IT CAN BE DRAWN FROM LONG-TERM MEMORY, MATERIAL CAN BE FURTHER PROCESSED, OR IT CAN BE RECYCLED FOR SUBSEQUENT USE.

Back 14

MODAL MODEL

Front 15

SHORT-TERM MEMORY =

Back 15

WORKING MEMORY

Front 16

WORKING MEMORY =

Back 16

SHORT TERM MEMORY

Front 17

STORAGE SYSTEM WHERE INFO IS HELD WHILE IT IS BEING WORKED ON.

Back 17

WORKING MEMORY AKA SHORT-TERM MEMORY

Front 18

WORKING MEMORY

Back 18

STORAGE SYSTEM WHERE INFO IS HELD WHILE IT IS BEING WORKED ON.

Front 19

ALL INDICATIONS ARE THAT THIS IS A SYSTEM, NOT A SINGLE ENTITY, AND THAT INFO IS HELD HERE VIA ACTIVE PROCESSES, NOT PASSIVE STORAGE.

Back 19

WORKING MEMORY

Front 20

PART OF MEMORY THAT HOLDS ON TO INFORMATION CURRENTLY IN USE

Back 20

WORKING MEMORY - AKA - SHORT TERM MEMORY.

Front 21

INFORMATION IN THIS PART OF MEMORY IS INSTANTLY AND EASILY AVAILABLE TO YOU.

Back 21

WORKING MEMORY -AKA- SHORT-TERM MEMORY.

Front 22

VIRTUALLY ALL TASKS RELY ON WORKING MEMORY BECAUSE

Back 22

VIRTUALLY ALL MENTAL TASKS INVOLVE INPUTS OR SEQUENCES OF STEPS THAT ARE STRETCHED OUT IN TIME.

Front 23

PART OF MEMORY THAT INCLUDES ALL THE INFORMATION YOU'RE NOT THINKING ABOUT RIGHT NOW, BUT IS STILL PART OF YOUR KNOWLEDGE BASE

Back 23

LONG-TERM MEMORY

Front 24

THE STORAGE SYSTEM WHERE WE HOLD ALL OF OUR KNOWLEDGE AND MEMORIES. IT HOLDS MEMORIES THAT ARE NOT CURRENTLY ACTIVATED.

Back 24

LONG TERM MEMORY.

Front 25

LONG TERM MEMORY

Back 25

STORAGE SYSTEM WHERE WE HOLD OUR KNOWLEDGE AND MEMORIES. IT HOLDS MEMORIES THAT ARE NOT CURRENTLY ACTIVATED.

Front 26

ACTIVATED MEMORIES ARE REPRESENTED IN ___

Back 26

WORKING MEMORY

Front 27

CONTAINS MEMORIES THAT ARE NOT CURRENTLY ACTIVATED

Back 27

LONG TERM MEMORY

Front 28

MUCH OF THE MATERIAL IN THIS TYPE OF MEMORY LIES DORMANT.

Back 28

LONG TERM MEMORY -- THIS IS WHAT MAKES THE PROCESS OF RETRIEVING INFO FROM LTM OFTEN REQUIRES HUNTING AND CAN BE EFFORTFUL AND SLOW.

Front 29

MEMORY TEST WHERE THE PERSON IS ASKED TO COME UP WITH AS MANY ITEMS AS POSSIBLE FROM A PARTICULAR SOURCE

(EX - THE LIST YOU HEARD EARLIER OR THINGS YOU SAW YESTERDAY)

Back 29

FREE RECALL

Front 30

FREE RECALL

Back 30

MEMORY TESTING WHERE THE PERSON IS ASKED TO COME UP WITH AS MANY ITEMS AS POSSIBLE FROM A SOURCE

(EX - THE LIST YOU HEARD EARLIER OR THINGS YOU SAW YESTERDAY)

Front 31

MEMORY TESTS WHERE PARTICIPANTS ARE FREE TO REPORT THE ITEMS IN ANY ORDER THEY CHOOSE.

Back 31

FREE RECALL TEST

Front 32

Are all records of the past mediated by equivlent processes and systems?

Back 32

No, most are distinct and dissociable from one another even though the can often overlap in areas.

Front 33

Network Hypothesis Regarding Memory Errors

Back 33

1. Memory is a huge network of interconnected nodes.
2. Memories of events can be thought of as small groups of nodes which are densely connected with one another, and less connected to other events/groups of nodes.
3. Memory connections link these events to pre-existing knowledge. This means there are *many* retrieval paths.
4. However, there are no clear boundaries separating the contents of one memory event from the other events or pre-existing knowledge.
5. As a result it can be difficult to separate memory for related episodes. This can result in info being incorrectly transplanted or grafted between similar events.

Front 34

DRM Paradigm =

Back 34

Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) Paradigm

Front 35

DRM Paradigm

Back 35

When using a DRM procedure a person sees or hears a list of words that are all related by a single theme (ex-sweet) However, the word that names the theme is not included in the list. The DRM Paradigm is a reference to the fact that people remember far more (almost 90%) of the words when they are united by a theme, but are equally as likely to falsely recall that the theme word was included in the list.

Front 36

A person sees or hears a list of words that are all related by a single theme (ex-sweet) However, the word that names the theme is not included in the list. This is a reference to the fact that people remember far more (almost 90%) of the words when they are united by a theme, but are equally as likely to falsely recall that the theme word was included in the list.

Back 36

DRM Paradigm

Front 37

Because perceptual heuristics help us interpret and remember the world _______ can be due to schematic knowledge

Back 37

Intrusions

Front 38

Incorrectly remembering magazines at a doctor's office or books in a professor's office is an example of how _______ can cause ________

Back 38

Schematic Knowledge can cause Intrusions

Front 39

Information processing

Back 39

A particular approach to theorizing in which complex mental events, such as learning, remembering, and deciding, are understood as being built up out of a large number of discrete steps. These steps occur one by one, with each providing as its 'output” the input to the next step in the sequence. (page 165)

Front 40

Modal model

Back 40

A nickname for a specific conception of the 'architecture” of memory. In this model, working memory serves both as the storage site for material now being contemplated and as the 'loading platform” for long-term memory. Information can reach working memory through the processes of perception, or it can be drawn from long-term memory. Once in working memory, material can be further processed, or it can simply be recycled for subsequent use. This model encouraged a large quantity of valuable research, but has now largely been set aside, with modern theorizing offering a very different conception of working memory. (page 165)

Front 41

Long-term memory (LTM)

Back 41

The storage system in which we hold all of our knowledge and all of our memories. Long-term memory contains memories that are not currently activated; those that are activated are represented in working memory. (page 166)

Front 42

Free recall

Back 42

A method of assessing memory. The person being tested is asked to come up with as many items as possible from a particular source (such as 'the list you heard earlier” or 'things you saw yesterday”), in any sequence. (page 167)

Front 43

Primacy effect

Back 43

An often-observed advantage in remembering the early-presented materials within a sequence of materials. This advantage is generally attributed to the fact that you can focus attention on these items, simply because, at the beginning of a sequence, you are obviously not trying to divide attention between these items and other items in the series. Often contrasted with recency effect. (page 167)

Front 44

Recency effect

Back 44

The tendency to remember materials that occur late in a series. If the series was just presented, the recency effect can be attributed to the fact that these late-arriving items are still in working memory (simply because nothing else has arrived after these items, to bump them out of working memory). (page 167)

Front 45

Serial position

Back 45

A data pattern summarizing the relationship between some performance measure (often, likelihood of recall) and the order in which the test materials were presented. In memory studies, the serial position curve tends to be U-shaped, with people best able to recall the first-presented items (the primacy effect) and also the last-presented items (the recency effect). (page 167)

Front 46

Memory rehearsal

Back 46

Any mental activity that has the effect of maintaining information in working memory. Two types of rehearsal are often distinguished: maintenance rehearsal and elaborative rehearsal. (page 168)

Front 47

Digit-span task

Back 47

A task often used for measuring working memory's storage capacity. Research participants are read a series of digits (e.g., '8 3 4”) and must immediately repeat them back. If they do this successfully, they are given a slightly longer list (e.g., '9 2 4 0”), and so forth. The length of the longest list a person can remember in this fashion is that person's digit span. Also see operation span. (page 172)

Front 48

7 plus-or-minus 2

Back 48

A number often offered as an estimate of the holding capacity of working memory. (page 173)

Front 49

Chunk

Back 49

The hypothetical storage unit in working memory; it is estimated that working memory can hold 7 plus-or-minus 2 chunks. An unspecified quantity of information can be contained within each chunk, since the content of each chunk depends on how the memorizer has organized the materials to be remembered. (page 173)

Front 50

Operation span

Back 50

A measure of working memory's capacity. This measure turns out to be predictive of performance in many other tasks, presumably because these tasks all rely on working memory. This measure is also the modern replacement for the (less useful) measure obtained from the digit-span task. (page 175)

Front 51

Maintenance rehearsal

Back 51

A rote, mechanical process in which items are continually cycled through working memory, merely by being repeated over and over. Also called 'item-specific rehearsal,” and often contrasted with elaborative rehearsal. (page 178)

Front 52

Relational rehearsal

Back 52

A form of mental processing in which you think about the relations, or connections, among ideas. The connections created (or strengthened) in this way will later guide memory search. (page 179)

Front 53

Elaborative rehearsal

Back 53

A way of engaging materials to be remembered, such that you pay attention to what the materials mean and how they are related to each other, or to other things in the surroundings, or to other things you already know. Often contrasted with maintenance rehearsal. (page 179)

Front 54

Rehearsal loop

Back 54

See articulatory rehearsal loop. (page 179)

Front 55

Intentional learning

Back 55

The acquisition of memories in a setting in which people know that their memory for the information will be tested later. Often contrasted with incidental learning. (page 182)

Front 56

Incidental learning

Back 56

Learning that takes place in the absence of any intention to learn and, correspondingly, in the absence of any expectation of a subsequent memory test. Often contrasted with intentional learning. (page 182)

Front 57

Shallow processing

Back 57

A mode of thinking about material in which you pay attention only to appearances and other superficial aspects of the material; shallow processing typically leads to poor memory retention. Often contrasted with deep processing. (page 182)

Front 58

Deep processing

Back 58

A mode of thinking in which you pay attention to the meaning and implications of the material; deep processing typically leads to excellent memory retention. Often contrasted with shallow processing. (page 182)

Front 59

Level of processing

Back 59

An assessment of how 'deeply” newly learned materials are engaged; shallow processing involves thinking only about the material's superficial traits; deep processing involves thinking about what the material means. Deep processing is typically associated with a greater probability of remembering the now-processed information. (page 183)

Front 60

Retrieval path

Back 60

A connection (or series of connections) that can lead to a sought-after memory in long-term storage. (page 187)

Front 61

Mnemonic strategy

Back 61

A technique designed to improve memory accuracy and to make learning easier; in general, mnemonic strategies seek in one fashion or another to help memory by imposing an organization on the materials to be learned. (page 188)

Front 62

Peg-word systems

Back 62

A type of mnemonic strategy using words or locations as 'pegs” on which to 'hang” the materials to be remembered. (page 189)

Front 63

Introspection

Back 63

The process through which you 'look within,” to observe and record the contents of your own mental life. (page 10)

Front 64

Behaviorist theory

Back 64

Broad principles concerned with how behavior changes in response to different configurations of stimuli (including stimuli often called 'rewards” and 'punishments”). In its early days, behaviorist theory sought to avoid mentalistic terms. (page 11)

Front 65

Transcendental method

Back 65

A type of theorizing first proposed by the philosopher Immanuel Kant. To use this method, you first observe the effects or consequences of a process and then ask, What must the process have been in order to bring about these effects? (page 14)

Front 66

Working memory

Back 66

The storage system in which information is held while that information is being worked on. All indications are that working memory is a system, not a single entity, and that information is held here via active processes, not via some sort of passive storage. Formerly called 'short-term memory.” (page 17)

Front 67

Span test

Back 67

A procedure used for measuring working memory's holding capacity. In newer studies, the operation span test is used. (page 17)

Front 68

Working-memory system

Back 68

A system of mental resources used for holding information in an easily accessible form. The central executive is at the heart of this system, and the executive then relies on a number of low-level assistants, including the visuospatial buffer and the articulatory rehearsal loop. (page 17)

Front 69

Central executive

Back 69

The hypothesized director of the working-memory system. This is the component of the system needed for any interpretation or analysis; in contrast, mere storage of materials can be provided by working memory's assistants, which work under the control of the central executive. Also see executive control. (page 17)

Front 70

Articulatory rehearsal loop

Back 70

One of the low-level assistants hypothesized as part of the working-memory system. This loop draws on subvocalized (covert) speech, which serves to create a record in the phonological buffer. Materials in this buffer then fade, but they can be refreshed by another cycle of covert speech. (page 18)

Front 71

Subvocalization

Back 71

Covert speech, in which you go through the motions of speaking, or perhaps form a detailed motor plan for speech movements, but without making any sound. (page 18)

Front 72

Phonological buffer

Back 72

A passive storage device that serves as part of the articulatory rehearsal loop. The phonological buffer serves as part of the mechanisms ordinarily needed for hearing. In memory rehearsal, however, the buffer is loaded by means of subvocalization. Materials within the buffer then fade, but they can be refreshed by new covert speech under the control of the central executive. (page 18)

Front 73

Concurrent articulation task

Back 73

A requirement that someone speak or mime speech while doing some other task. In many cases, the person is required to say 'Tah-Tah-Tah” over and over, or 'one, two, three, one, two, three.” These procedures occupy the muscles and control mechanisms needed for speech, and so they prevent the person from using these resources for subvocalization. (page 20)

Front 74

Cognitive neuroscience

Back 74

The study of the biological basis for cognitive functioning. (page 23)

Front 75

Anarthria

Back 75

A disorder characterized by an inability to control the muscles needed for ordinary speech. Anarthric individuals cannot speak, although other aspects of language functioning are unimpaired. (page 23)

Front 76

Neuropsychology

Back 76

The branch of psychology concerned with the relation between various forms of brain dysfunction and various aspects of mental functioning. Neuropsychologists study, for example, amnesia, agnosia, and aphasia. (page 23)

Front 77

Term

Back 77

Description

Front 78

Capgras syndrome

Back 78

A relatively rare disorder, resulting from specific forms of brain damage, in which the afflicted person recognizes the people in his or her world but denies that they are who they appear to be. Instead, the person insists, these familiar individuals are well-disguised impostors. (page 30)

Front 79

Neuroimaging technique

Back 79

A method for examining either the structure or the activation pattern within a living brain. (page 31)

Front 80

Amygdala

Back 80

An almond-shaped structure in the limbic system that plays a central role in emotion and in the evaluation of stimuli. (page 31)

Front 81

Prefrontal cortex

Back 81

The outer surface (cortex) of the frontmost part of the brain (i.e., the frontmost part of the frontal lobe). This brain area has many functions but is crucial for the planning of complex or novel behaviors, so this brain area is often mentioned as one of the main sites underlying the brain's executive functions. (page 32)

Front 82

Hindbrain

Back 82

One of the three main structures (along with the forebrain and the midbrain) of the brain; the hindbrain sits atop the spinal cord and includes several structures crucial for controlling key life functions. (page 35)

Front 83

Cerebellum

Back 83

The largest area of the hindbrain, crucial for the coordination of bodily movements and balance. (page 36)

Front 84

Midbrain

Back 84

One of the three main structures (along with the forebrain and the hindbrain) of the brain; the midbrain plays an important role in coordinating movements, and it contains structures that serve as 'relay” stations for information arriving from the sensory organs. (page 36)

Front 85

Forebrain

Back 85

One of the three main structures (along with the hindbrain and the midbrain) of the brain; the forebrain plays a crucial role in supporting intellectual functioning. (page 36)

Front 86

Cortex

Back 86

The outermost surface of an organ in the body; psychologists are most commonly interested in the brain's cortex. (page 36)

Front 87

Convolutions

Back 87

The wrinkles visible in the cortex that allow the enormous surface area of the human brain to be stuffed into the relatively small volume of the skull. (page 37)

Front 88

Longitudinal fissure

Back 88

The separation dividing the brain's left cerebral hemisphere from the right. (page 37)

Front 89

Cerebral hemisphere

Back 89

One of the two hemispherical brain structures -- one on the left side, one on the right -- that constitute the major part of the forebrain in mammals. (page 37)

Front 90

Frontal lobe

Back 90

The lobe of the brain in each cerebral hemisphere that includes the prefrontal area and the primary motor projection area. (page 37)

Front 91

Central fissure

Back 91

The separation dividing the frontal lobes on each side of the brain from the parietal lobes. (page 37)

Front 92

Parietal lobe

Back 92

The lobe in each cerebral hemisphere that lies between the occipital and frontal lobes and includes some of the primary sensory projection areas, as well as circuits that are crucial for the control of attention. (page 37)

Front 93

Lateral fissure

Back 93

The separation dividing the frontal lobes on each side of the brain from the temporal lobes. (page 37)

Front 94

Temporal lobe

Back 94

The lobe of the cortex lying inward and down from the temples. The temporal lobe in each cerebral hemisphere includes the primary auditory projection area, Wernicke's area, and, subcortically, the amygdala and hippocampus. (page 37)

Front 95

Occipital lobe

Back 95

The rearmost lobe in each cerebral hemisphere, and which includes the primary visual projection area. (page 37)

Front 96

Subcortical

Back 96

Beneath the surface (i.e., beneath the cortex). (page 37)

Front 97

Thalamus

Back 97

A part of the lower portion of the forebrain that serves as a major relay and integration center for sensory information. (page 37)

Front 98

Hypothalamus

Back 98

A small structure at the base of the forebrain that plays a vital role in the control of motivated behaviors such as eating, drinking, and sexual activity. (page 37)

Front 99

Limbic system

Back 99

A set of brain structures including the amygdala, hippocampus, and parts of the thalamus. The limbic system is believed to be involved in the control of emotional behavior and motivation, and it also plays a key role in learning and memory. (page 37)

Front 100

Hippocampus

Back 100

A structure in the temporal lobe that is involved in the creation of long-term memories and spatial memory. (page 37)

Front 101

Commissure

Back 101

One of the thick bundles of fibers via which information is sent back and forth between the two cerebral hemispheres. (page 39)

Front 102

Corpus callosum

Back 102

The largest of the commissures linking the left and right cerebral hemispheres. (page 39)

Front 103

Lesion

Back 103

A specific area of tissue damage. (page 39)

Front 104

Computerized axial tomography (CT scanning)

Back 104

A neuroimaging technique that uses X-rays to construct a precise three-dimensional image of the brain's anatomy. (page 40)

Front 105

Positron emission tomography (PET scanning)

Back 105

A neuroimaging technique that determines how much glucose (the brain's fuel) is being used by specific areas of the brain at a particular moment in time. (page 40)

Front 106

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

Back 106

A neuroimaging technique that uses magnetic fields (created by radio waves) to construct a detailed three-dimensional representation of brain tissue. Like CT scans, MRI scans reveal the brain's anatomy, but they are much more precise than CT scans. (page 41)

Front 107

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

Back 107

A neuroimaging technique that uses magnetic fields to construct a detailed three-dimensional representation of the activity levels in different areas of the brain at a particular moment in time. (page 41)

Front 108

Electroencephalography

Back 108

A recording of voltage changes occurring at the scalp that reflect activity in the brain underneath. (page 43)

Front 109

Event-related potential

Back 109

Changes in an EEG in the brief period just before, during, and after an explicitly defined event, usually measured by averaging together many trials in which this event has occurred. (page 43)

Front 110

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)

Back 110

A technique in which a series of strong magnetic pulses at a specific location on the scalp causes temporary disruption in the brain region directly underneath this scalp area. (page 46)

Front 111

Localization of function

Back 111

The research endeavor of determining what specific job is performed by a particular region of the brain. (page 46)

Front 112

Primary projection areas

Back 112

Regions of the cortex that serve as the brain's receiving station for sensory information (sensory projection areas) or as a dispatching station for motor commands (motor projection areas). (page 48)

Front 113

Primary motor projection areas

Back 113

The strip of tissue, located at the rear of the frontal lobe, that is the departure point for nerve cells that send their signals to lower portions of the brain and spinal cord, and which ultimately result in muscle movement. (page 48)

Front 114

Primary sensory projection areas

Back 114

The main points of arrival in the cortex for information arriving from the eyes, ears, and other sense organs. (page 48)

Front 115

Contralateral control

Back 115

A pattern in which the left half of the brain controls the right half of the body, and the right half of the brain controls the left half of the body. (page 48)

Front 116

Association cortex

Back 116

The traditional name for the portion of the human cortex outside of the motor and sensory projection areas. (page 51)

Front 117

Apraxia

Back 117

A disturbance in the capacity to initiate or organize voluntary action, often caused by brain damage. (page 51)

Front 118

Agnosia

Back 118

A disturbance in a person's ability to identify familiar objects. (page 51)

Front 119

Neglect syndrome

Back 119

See unilateral neglect syndrome. (page 51)

Front 120

Aphasia

Back 120

A disruption to language capacities, often caused by brain damage. (page 51)

Front 121

Neuron

Back 121

An individual cell within the nervous system. (page 52)

Front 122

Glia

Back 122

A type of cell found (along with neurons) in the central nervous system. Glial cells have many functions, including the support of neurons, the repair of neural connections in case of damage, and a key role in guiding the initial development of neural connections. A specialized type of glia also provide electrical insulation for some neurons, allowing much faster transmission of neural signals. (page 52)

Front 123

Cell body

Back 123

The area of a biological cell containing the nucleus and the metabolic machinery that sustains the cell. (page 52)

Front 124

Dendrites

Back 124

The part of a neuron that usually detects the incoming signal. (page 52)

Front 125

Axon

Back 125

The part of a neuron that typically transmits a signal away from the neuron's cell body and carries the signal to another location. (page 52)

Front 126

Neurotransmitter

Back 126

One of the chemicals released by neurons in order to stimulate adjacent neurons. See also synapse. (page 52)

Front 127

Synapse

Back 127

The area that includes the presynaptic membrane of one neuron, the postsynaptic membrane of another neuron, and the tiny gap between them. The presynaptic membrane releases a small amount of neurotransmitter that drifts across the gap and stimulates the postsynaptic membrane. (page 55)

Front 128

Threshold

Back 128

The activity level at which a cell or detector responds, or fires. (page 55)

Front 129

Fire

Back 129

To respond in a discrete and specific way -- as when a neuron, after receiving a strong enough stimulus, sends a signal down its axon, which in turn causes a release of neurotransmitter from the membrane at the end of the axon. (page 55)

Front 130

Action potential

Back 130

A brief change in the electrical potential of an axon. The action potential is the physical basis of the signal sent from one end of a neuron to the other and usually triggers a further (chemical) signal to other neurons. (page 55)

Front 131

All-or-none law

Back 131

The principle stating that a neuron or detector either fires completely or does not fire at all; no intermediate responses are possible. (Graded responses are possible, however, by virtue of the fact that a neuron or detector can fire more or less frequently, and for a longer or shorter time.) (page 55)

Front 132

Cornea

Back 132

The transparent tissue at the front of each eye that plays an important role in focusing the incoming light. (page 56)

Front 133

Lens

Back 133

The transparent tissue located near the front of each eye that (together with the cornea) plays an important role in focusing the incoming light. Muscles control the degree of curvature of the lens, allowing the eye to form a sharp image on the retina. (page 56)

Front 134

Retina

Back 134

The light-sensitive tissue that lines the back of the eyeball. (page 56)

Front 135

Photoreceptor

Back 135

A cell on the retina that responds directly to the incoming light; photoreceptors are of two kinds: rods and cones. (page 56)

Front 136

Rod

Back 136

A photoreceptor that is sensitive to very low light levels but that is unable to discriminate hues and that has relatively poor acuity. Often contrasted with cone. (page 56)

Front 137

Cone

Back 137

A photoreceptor that is able to discriminate hues and that has high acuity. Cones are concentrated in the retina's fovea and become less frequent in the visual periphery. Often contrasted with rod. (page 57)

Front 138

Acuity

Back 138

The ability to discern fine detail. See also visual acuity. (page 58)

Front 139

Fovea

Back 139

The center of the retina and the region on the eye in which acuity is best; when you look at an object, you are lining up that object with the fovea. (page 58)

Front 140

Bipolar cell

Back 140

A type of neuron in the eye. Bipolar cells receive their input from the photoreceptors and transmit their output to the retinal ganglion cells. (page 58)

Front 141

Ganglion cell

Back 141

A type of neuron in the eye. The ganglion cells receive their input from the bipolar cells, and then the axons of the ganglion cells gather together to form the optic nerve, carrying information back to the lateral geniculate nucleus. (page 58)

Front 142

Optic nerve

Back 142

The bundle of nerve fibers, formed from the retina's ganglion cells, that carries information from the eyeball to the brain. (page 58)

Front 143

Lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN)

Back 143

An important way station in the thalamus that is the first destination for visual information sent from the eyeball to the brain. (page 59)

Front 144

Lateral inhibition

Back 144

A pattern in which cells, when stimulated, inhibit the activity of neighboring cells. In the visual system, lateral inhibition in the optic nerve creates edge enhancement. (page 59)

Front 145

Edge enhancement

Back 145

A process created by lateral inhibition in which the neurons in the visual system give exaggerated responses to edges of surfaces. (page 60)

Front 146

Single-cell recording

Back 146

A technique for recording the moment-by-moment activation level of an individual neuron within a healthy, normally functioning brain. (page 60)

Front 147

Receptive field

Back 147

The portion of the visual field to which a cell within the visual system responds. If the appropriately shaped stimulus appears in the appropriate position, the cell's firing rate will change. The firing rate will not change if the stimulus is of the wrong form or is in the wrong position. (page 61)

Front 148

Center-surround cell

Back 148

A neuron in the visual system that has a 'donut-shaped” receptive field; stimulation in the center of the receptive field has one effect on the cell; stimulation in the surrounding ring has the opposite effect. (page 62)

Front 149

Area V1

Back 149

The site on the occipital lobe where axons from the lateral geniculate nucleus first reach the cerebral cortex. This site is (for one neural pathway) the location at which information about the visual world first reaches the brain. (page 64)

Front 150

Parallel processing

Back 150

A system in which many steps are going on at the same time. Usually contrasted with serial processing. (page 65)

Front 151

Serial processing

Back 151

A system in which only one step happens at a time (and so the steps go on in a series). Usually contrasted with parallel processing. (page 66)

Front 152

P cells

Back 152

Specialized cells within the optic nerve that provide the input for the parvocellular cells in the lateral geniculate nucleus. Often contrasted with M cells. (page 66)

Front 153

M cells

Back 153

Specialized cells within the optic nerve that provide the input for the magnocellular cells in the lateral geniculate nucleus. Often contrasted with P cells. (page 66)

Front 154

Parvocellular cells

Back 154

Cells in the lateral geniculate nucleus specialized for the perception of patterns. Often contrasted with magnocellular cells. (page 66)

Front 155

Magnocellular cells

Back 155

Cells in the lateral geniculate nucleus specialized for the perception of motion and depth. Often contrasted with parvocellular cells. (page 66)

Front 156

What system

Back 156

The system of visual circuits and pathways leading from the visual cortex to the temporal lobe and especially involved in object recognition. Often contrasted with the where system. (page 66)

Front 157

Where system

Back 157

The system of visual circuits and pathways leading from the visual cortex to the parietal lobe and especially involved in the spatial localization of objects and in the coordination of movements. Often contrasted with the what system. (page 67)

Front 158

Binding problem

Back 158

The problem of reuniting the various elements of a scene, given the fact that these elements are initially dealt with by different systems in the brain. (page 68)

Front 159

Neural synchrony

Back 159

A pattern of firing by neurons in which neurons in one brain area fire at the same time as neurons in another area; the brain seems to use this pattern as an indication that the neurons in different areas are firing in response to the same stimulus. (page 69)

Front 160

Conjunction error

Back 160

An error in perception in which someone correctly perceives what features are present but misperceives how the features are joined, so that (for example) a red circle and a green square might be misperceived as a red square and a green circle. (page 70)

Front 161

Term

Back 161

Description

Front 162

Form perception

Back 162

The process through which people see the basic shape, size, and position of an object. (page 77)

Front 163

Object recognition

Back 163

The steps or processes through which people identify the objects they encounter in the world around them. (page 77)

Front 164

Necker cube

Back 164

One of the classic ambiguous figures; the figure is a two-dimensional drawing that can be perceived as a cube viewed from above or as a cube viewed from below. (page 78)

Front 165

Figure/ground organization

Back 165

The processing step in which the perceiver determines which aspects of the stimulus belong to the central object (or 'figure”) and which aspects belong to the background (or 'ground”). (page 80)

Front 166

Bottom-up influences

Back 166

The term given to effects governed by the stimulus input itself and that shape the processing of that input. Often contrasted with top-down influences. (page 86)

Front 167

Top-down influences

Back 167

The term given to factors arising from your knowledge and expectations, and shaping your processing of the stimulus input. (page 86)

Front 168

Visual features

Back 168

The constituents of a visual pattern -- vertical lines, curves, diagonals and so on -- that, together, form the overall pattern. (page 87)

Front 169

Integrative agnosia

Back 169

A disorder caused by a specific form of damage to the parietal lobe; people with this disorder appear relatively normal in tasks requiring them to detect whether specific features are present in a display, but they are impaired in tasks that require them to judge how the features are bound together to form complex objects. (page 88)

Front 170

Tachistoscope

Back 170

A device that allows the presentation of stimuli for precisely controlled amounts of time, including very brief presentations. (page 88)

Front 171

Mask

Back 171

A visual presentation used to interrupt the processing of another visual stimulus. (page 88)

Front 172

Priming

Back 172

A process through which one input or cue prepares a person for an upcoming input or cue. (page 89)

Front 173

Repetition priming

Back 173

A pattern of priming that occurs simply because a stimulus is presented a second time; processing is more efficient on the second presentation. (page 89)

Front 174

Word-superiority effect

Back 174

The data pattern in which research participants are more accurate and more efficient in recognizing words (and wordlike letter strings) than they are in recognizing individual letters. (page 90)

Front 175

Feature net

Back 175

A system for recognizing patterns that involves a network of detectors, with detectors for features as the initial layer in the system. (page 93)

Front 176

Activation level

Back 176

A measure of the current status for a node or detector. Activation level is increased if the node or detector receives the appropriate input from its associated nodes or detectors; activation level will be high if input has been received frequently or recently. (page 93)

Front 177

Response threshold

Back 177

The quantity of information, or quantity of activation, needed in order to trigger a response. (page 93)

Front 178

Bigram

Back 178

A pair of letters. For example, the word 'FLAT” contains the bigrams FL, LA, and AT. (page 94)

Front 179

Detector

Back 179

A node within a processing network that fires primarily in response to a specific target contained within the incoming perceptual information. (page 94)

Front 180

Distributed knowledge

Back 180

Information stored via a distributed representation. (page 101)

Front 181

Excitatory connection

Back 181

A link from one node, or one detector, to another, such that activation of one node activates the other. Often contrasted with inhibitory connection. (page 103)

Front 182

Inhibitory connection

Back 182

A link from one node, or one detector, to another, such that activation of one node decreases the activation level of the other. Often contrasted with excitatory connection. (page 103)

Front 183

Recognition by components model

Back 183

A model (often referred to by its initials, RBC) of object recognition. In this model, a crucial role is played by geons, the (hypothesized) basic building blocks out of which all the objects we recognize are constructed. (page 104)

Front 184

Geon

Back 184

One of the basic shapes proposed as the building blocks of all complex three-dimensional forms. Geons take the form of cylinders, cones, blocks, and the like, and they are combined to form 'geon assemblies.” These are then combined to produce entire objects. (page 105)

Front 185

Viewpoint-independent recognition

Back 185

A process in which the ease or success of recognition does not depend on the perceiver's particular viewing angle or distance with regard to the target object. (page 106)

Front 186

Viewpoint-dependent recognition

Back 186

A process in which the ease or success of recognition depends on the perceiver's particular viewing angle or distance with regard to the target object. (page 106)

Front 187

Prosopagnosia

Back 187

A syndrome in which patients lose their ability to recognize faces and to make other fine-grained discriminations within a highly familiar category, even though their other visual abilities seem relatively intact. (page 108)

Front 188

Term

Back 188

Description

Front 189

Form perception

Back 189

The process through which people see the basic shape, size, and position of an object. (page 77)

Front 190

Object recognition

Back 190

The steps or processes through which people identify the objects they encounter in the world around them. (page 77)

Front 191

Necker cube

Back 191

One of the classic ambiguous figures; the figure is a two-dimensional drawing that can be perceived as a cube viewed from above or as a cube viewed from below. (page 78)

Front 192

Figure/ground organization

Back 192

The processing step in which the perceiver determines which aspects of the stimulus belong to the central object (or 'figure”) and which aspects belong to the background (or 'ground”). (page 80)

Front 193

Bottom-up influences

Back 193

The term given to effects governed by the stimulus input itself and that shape the processing of that input. Often contrasted with top-down influences. (page 86)

Front 194

Top-down influences

Back 194

The term given to factors arising from your knowledge and expectations, and shaping your processing of the stimulus input. (page 86)

Front 195

Visual features

Back 195

The constituents of a visual pattern -- vertical lines, curves, diagonals and so on -- that, together, form the overall pattern. (page 87)

Front 196

Integrative agnosia

Back 196

A disorder caused by a specific form of damage to the parietal lobe; people with this disorder appear relatively normal in tasks requiring them to detect whether specific features are present in a display, but they are impaired in tasks that require them to judge how the features are bound together to form complex objects. (page 88)

Front 197

Tachistoscope

Back 197

A device that allows the presentation of stimuli for precisely controlled amounts of time, including very brief presentations. (page 88)

Front 198

Mask

Back 198

A visual presentation used to interrupt the processing of another visual stimulus. (page 88)

Front 199

Priming

Back 199

A process through which one input or cue prepares a person for an upcoming input or cue. (page 89)

Front 200

Repetition priming

Back 200

A pattern of priming that occurs simply because a stimulus is presented a second time; processing is more efficient on the second presentation. (page 89)

Front 201

Word-superiority effect

Back 201

The data pattern in which research participants are more accurate and more efficient in recognizing words (and wordlike letter strings) than they are in recognizing individual letters. (page 90)

Front 202

Feature net

Back 202

A system for recognizing patterns that involves a network of detectors, with detectors for features as the initial layer in the system. (page 93)

Front 203

Activation level

Back 203

A measure of the current status for a node or detector. Activation level is increased if the node or detector receives the appropriate input from its associated nodes or detectors; activation level will be high if input has been received frequently or recently. (page 93)

Front 204

Response threshold

Back 204

The quantity of information, or quantity of activation, needed in order to trigger a response. (page 93)

Front 205

Bigram

Back 205

A pair of letters. For example, the word 'FLAT” contains the bigrams FL, LA, and AT. (page 94)

Front 206

Detector

Back 206

A node within a processing network that fires primarily in response to a specific target contained within the incoming perceptual information. (page 94)

Front 207

Distributed knowledge

Back 207

Information stored via a distributed representation. (page 101)

Front 208

Excitatory connection

Back 208

A link from one node, or one detector, to another, such that activation of one node activates the other. Often contrasted with inhibitory connection. (page 103)

Front 209

Inhibitory connection

Back 209

A link from one node, or one detector, to another, such that activation of one node decreases the activation level of the other. Often contrasted with excitatory connection. (page 103)

Front 210

Recognition by components model

Back 210

A model (often referred to by its initials, RBC) of object recognition. In this model, a crucial role is played by geons, the (hypothesized) basic building blocks out of which all the objects we recognize are constructed. (page 104)

Front 211

Geon

Back 211

One of the basic shapes proposed as the building blocks of all complex three-dimensional forms. Geons take the form of cylinders, cones, blocks, and the like, and they are combined to form 'geon assemblies.” These are then combined to produce entire objects. (page 105)

Front 212

Viewpoint-independent recognition

Back 212

A process in which the ease or success of recognition does not depend on the perceiver's particular viewing angle or distance with regard to the target object. (page 106)

Front 213

Viewpoint-dependent recognition

Back 213

A process in which the ease or success of recognition depends on the perceiver's particular viewing angle or distance with regard to the target object. (page 106)

Front 214

Prosopagnosia

Back 214

A syndrome in which patients lose their ability to recognize faces and to make other fine-grained discriminations within a highly familiar category, even though their other visual abilities seem relatively intact. (page 108)

Front 215

Term

Back 215

Description

Front 216

Dichotic listening

Back 216

A task in which research participants hear two simultaneous verbal messages -- one presented via headphones to the left ear, a second presented to the right ear. In typical experiments, participants are asked to pay attention to one of these inputs (the attended channel) and urged to ignore the other. (page 119)

Front 217

Attended channel

Back 217

In selective attention experiments, research participants are exposed to simultaneous inputs and instructed to ignore all of these except one. The attended channel is the input to which participants are instructed to pay attention. Often contrasted with unattended channel. (page 119)

Front 218

Unattended channel

Back 218

A stimulus (or group of stimuli) that a person is not trying to perceive. Ordinarily, little information is understood or remembered from the unattended channel. Often contrasted with attended channel. (page 119)

Front 219

Shadowing

Back 219

A task in which research participants are required to repeat back a verbal input, word for word, as they hear it. (page 119)

Front 220

Cocktail party effect

Back 220

A term often used to describe a pattern in which a person seems to 'tune out” all conversations reaching his or her ears except for the conversation he or she wishes to pay attention to; however, if some salient stimulus (such as the person's name) appears in one of the other conversations, the person is reasonably likely to detect this stimulus. (page 121)

Front 221

Filter

Back 221

A hypothetical mechanism that would block potential distractors from further processing. (page 121)

Front 222

Fixation target

Back 222

A visual mark (such as a dot or a plus sign) at which one points one's eyes (or 'fixates”). Fixation targets are used to help people control their eye position. (page 122)

Front 223

Inattentional blindness

Back 223

A pattern in which perceivers seem literally not to see stimuli right in front of their eyes; this pattern is caused by the participants' attending to some other stimulus and not expecting the target to appear. (page 123)

Front 224

Change blindness

Back 224

A pattern in which perceivers do not see, or take a long time to see, large-scale changes in a visual stimulus. This pattern reveals how little people perceive, even from stimuli in plain view, if they are not specifically attending to the target information. (page 125)

Front 225

Early selection

Back 225

A proposal that selective attention operates at an early stage of processing, so that the unattended inputs receive little analysis. (page 128)

Front 226

Late selection

Back 226

A proposal that selective attention operates at a late stage of processing, so that the unattended inputs receive considerable analysis. (page 128)

Front 227

Response time

Back 227

The amount of time (usually measured in milliseconds) needed for a person to respond to a particular event (such as a question or a cue to press a specific button). (page 130)

Front 228

Limited-capacity system

Back 228

A group of processes in which resources are limited so that extra resources supplied to one process must be balanced by a withdrawal of resources somewhere else, with the result that the total resources expended do not exceed some limit. (page 134)

Front 229

Spatial attention

Back 229

The mechanism through which you allocate processing resources to particular positions in space, so that you more efficiently process any inputs from that region in space. (page 134)

Front 230

Unilateral neglect syndrome

Back 230

A pattern of symptoms in which patients ignore all inputs coming from one side of space. Patients with this syndrome put only one of their arms into their jackets, eat food from only half of their plates, read only half of words (e.g., they might read 'blouse” as 'use”), and so on. (page 139)

Front 231

Divided attention

Back 231

The skill of performing multiple tasks simultaneously. (page 145)

Front 232

Response selector

Back 232

A (hypothesized) mental resource needed for the selection and initiation of a wide range of responses, including overt responses (e.g., moving in a particular way) and covert responses (e.g., initiating a memory search). (page 149)

Front 233

Perseveration error

Back 233

A pattern of responding in which you produce the same response over and over, even though you know that the task requires a change in response. This pattern is often observed in patients with brain damage in the frontal lobe. (page 150)

Front 234

Goal neglect

Back 234

A pattern of behavior in which you fail to keep your goal in mind, so that (for example) you rely on habitual responses even if those responses will not move you toward the goal. (page 150)

Front 235

Automaticity

Back 235

A state achieved by some tasks and some forms of processing, in which the task can be performed with little or no attention. Automatized actions can, in many cases, be combined with other activities without interference. Automatized actions are also often difficult to control, leading many to refer to them as 'mental reflexes.” (page 155)

Front 236

Controlled tasks

Back 236

Tasks that are novel or that require flexibility in one's approach; these tasks usually require attention, so they cannot be carried out if the person is also busy with some other task. Usually contrasted with automatic tasks. (page 155)

Front 237

Automatic tasks

Back 237

Tasks that are well practiced and that do not require flexibility; these tasks usually require little or no attention, and they can be carried out if the person is also busy with some other task. Usually contrasted with controlled tasks. (page 155)

Front 238

Stroop interference

Back 238

A classic demonstration of automaticity in which people are asked to name the color of ink used to print a word, and the word itself is a different color name. For example, research participants might see the word 'yellow” printed in blue ink and be required to say 'blue.” Considerable interference is observed in this task, with participants apparently unable to ignore the word's content, even though it is irrelevant to their task. (page 155)

Front 239

Term

Back 239

Description

Front 240

Context-dependent learning

Back 240

A pattern of data in which materials learned in one setting are well remembered when the person returns to that setting, but less well remembered in other settings. (page 201)

Front 241

Context reinstatement

Back 241

A procedure in which someone is led to the same mental and emotional state he or she was in during a previous event; context reinstatement can often promote accurate recollection of that event. (page 203)

Front 242

Retrieval cue

Back 242

An instruction or stimulus input, provided at the time of recall, that can potentially guide recall and help the person to retrieve the target memory. (page 203)

Front 243

Encoding specificity

Back 243

The tendency, when memorizing, to place in memory both the materials to be learned and also some amount of the context of those materials. As a result, these materials will be recognized as familiar, later on, only if the materials appear again in a similar context. (page 205)

Front 244

Node

Back 244

An individual unit within an associative network. In a scheme using local representations, nodes represent single ideas or concepts. In a scheme using distributed representations, ideas or contents are represented by a pattern of activation across a wide number of nodes; the same nodes may also participate in other patterns and therefore in other representations. (page 206)

Front 245

Associations

Back 245

Functional connections that are hypothesized to link nodes within a mental network or detectors within a detector network; these associations are often hypothesized as the 'carriers” of activation, from one node or detector to the next. (page 206)

Front 246

Associative links

Back 246

See associations. (page 206)

Front 247

Subthreshold activation

Back 247

Activation levels below response threshold. Subthreshold activation, by definition, will not trigger a response; nonetheless, this activation is important because it can accumulate, leading eventually to an activation level that exceeds the response threshold. (page 206)

Front 248

Summation

Back 248

The addition of two or more separate inputs so that the effect of these combined inputs is greater than the effect of any one of the inputs by itself. (page 206)

Front 249

Spreading activation

Back 249

A process through which activation travels from one node to another, via associative links. As each node becomes activated, it serves as a source for further activation, spreading onward through the network. (page 207)

Front 250

Lexical-decision task

Back 250

A test in which participants are shown strings of letters and must indicate, as quickly as possible, whether each string of letters is a word in English or not. It is supposed that people perform this task by 'looking up” these strings in their 'mental dictionary.” (page 209)

Front 251

Semantic priming

Back 251

A process in which activation of an idea in memory causes activation to spread to other ideas related to the first in meaning. (page 210)

Front 252

Recall

Back 252

The task of memory retrieval in which the rememberer must come up with the desired materials, sometimes in response to a cue that names the context in which these materials were earlier encountered ('Name the pictures you saw earlier”), sometimes in response to a question that requires the sought-after information ('Name a fruit” or 'What is the capital of California?”). Often contrasted with recognition. (page 211)

Front 253

Recognition

Back 253

The task of memory retrieval in which the items to be remembered are presented and the person must decide whether or not the item was encountered in some earlier circumstance. Thus, for example, one might be asked, 'Have you ever seen this person before?” or 'Is this the poster you saw in the office yesterday?” Often contrasted with recall. (page 211)

Front 254

Source memory

Back 254

A form of memory that allows you to recollect the episode in which learning took place or