Cog Psych 2

Front 1

Attention

Back 1

focusing on specific features, objects, or locations or on certain thoughts or activities

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Attenuation theory of attention

Back 2

Anne Threisman's model of selective attention that proposes that selection occurs in two stages; the first stage, an attenuator analyzes the incoming message and lets through the attended message and also the unattended message, but at a lower strength

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Attenuator

Back 3

in Treisman's model of selective attention, this analyzes the incoming message in terms of physical characteristics, language, and meaning

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Autism

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a developmental disorder in which one of the major symptoms is withdrawal of contact from other people

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Automatic processing

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processing that occurs automatically, without the person intending to do it, and that also uses few cognitive resources

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Balint's syndrome

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a condition caused by brain damage in which a person has difficulty focusing attention on individual objects

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Bottleneck model

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model of attention that proposes that incoming information is restricted at some point in processing, so only a portion of the information gets through to consciousness

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Change blindness

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difficulty in detecting changes in similar, but slightly different, scenes that are presented one after another; the changes are often easy to see once attention is directed to them, but are usually undetected in the absence of appropriate attention

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Cocktail party effect

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the phenomenon that occurs when, in the process of focusing attention on one message or conversation, a message from another source enters consciousness; this can occur when a person is focusing attention on a conversation at a party and suddenly hears his name from across the room

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Cognitive load

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the amount of a person's cognitive resources needed to carry out a particular cognitive task

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Cognitive resources

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the idea that a person has a certain cognitive capacity, or resources, that can be used for carrying out various tasks

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Compatible flanker

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a stimulus in the display for a flanker compatibility task that is associated with a response that is the same as or compatible with the response that the participant is supposed to make to a target stimulus

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Controlled processing

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processing that involves close attention

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Covert attention

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occurs when attention is shifted without moving the eyes, commonly referred to as seeing something out of the corner of one's eye

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Dichotic listening

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the procedure of presenting one message to the left ear and a different message to the right ear

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Dictionary unit

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a component of Treisman's attenuation theory of attention; this processing unit contains stored words and thresholds for activating the words

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Divided attention

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the ability to pay attention to, or carry out, two or more different tasks simultaneously

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Early selection model

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model of attention that explains selective attention by early filtering out of the unattended message

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Endogenous attention

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occurs when a person consciously decides to scan the environment to find a specific stimulus or monitor what is happening

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Exogenous attention

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attention that is automatically attracted by a sudden visual or auditory stimulus

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Eye tracker

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a device for measuring where people look in a scene and how they move their eyes from one fixation point to another

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Feature integration theory

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an approach to object perception developed by Treisman that proposes that object perception occurs in a sequence of stages in which features are first analyzed and then combined to result in perception of an object

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Fixation

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in perception and attention, a pausing of the eyes on places of interest while observing a scene

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Flanker compatibility task

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a procedure in which participants are instructed to respond to a target stimulus that is flanked, or surrounded, by distracter stimuli that they are supposed to ignore; the degree to which the distracter interferes with responding to the target is taken as an indication of whether the distracter stimuli are being processed

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Focused attention stage

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the second stage of Treisman's feature integration theory; according to this, attention causes the combination of features into perception of an object

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High load tasks

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a task that uses most or all of a person's resources and so leaves little capacity to handle other tasks

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Illusory conjunctions

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a situation, demonstrated in experiments by Treisman, in which features from different objects are inappropriately combined

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Inattentional blindness

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not noticing something even though it is in clear view, usually caused by failure to pay attention to the object or the place where the object is located

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Incompatible flanker

Back 29

a stimulus in the display for a flanker compatibility task that is associated with a response that is different from the response that the participant is supposed to make to a target stimulus

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Late selection model

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a model of selective attention that proposes that selection of stimuli for final processing does not occur until after the information in the message has been analyzed for meaning

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Location based attention

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models of attention that propose that attention operates on whatever stimuli are at a particular location

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Low load tasks

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a task that uses few resources, leaving some capacity to handle other tasks

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Object based attention

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model of attention proposing that the enhancing effects of attention can be located on a particular object

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Overt attention

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shifting attention by moving the eyes

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Preattentive stage

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the first stage of Treisman's feature integration theory, in which an object is analyzed into its features

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Precueing

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a procedure in which participants are given a cue that will usually help them to carry out a subsequent task

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Saccadic eye movements

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eye movements from one fixation point to another

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Same object advantage

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occurs when the enhancing effect of attention spreads throughout an object so that attention to one place on an object results in a facilitation of processing at other places on the object

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Scene schema

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a person's knowledge about what is likely to be contained in a particular scene; this can help guide attention to different areas of a scene

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Selective attention

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the ability to focus on one message and ignore all others

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Shadowing

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the procedure of repeating a message out loud as it is heard

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Stimulus salience

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bottom up factors that determine attention to elements of a scene; examples are color, contract, and orientation

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Stroop effect

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refers to the fact that people find this task difficult when the ink color differs from what the word spells

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Anaphoric inference

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an inference that connects an object or person in one sentence to an object or person in another sentence

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Causal inference

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an inference that results in the conclusion that the events described in one clause or sentence were caused by events that occurred in a previous clause or sentence

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Coherence

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the representation of a text or story in a reader's mind so that information in one part of the text or story is related to information in another part

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Garden path sentence

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a sentence in which the meaning that seems to be implied at the beginning of the sentence turns out to be incorrect, based on information that is presented later in the sentence

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Given new contract

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in a conversation, a speaker should construct sentences so that they contain both given information and the new information

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Inference

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the process by which readers create information that is not explicitly started in the text

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Instrument inference

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an inference about tools or methods that occurs while reading text or listening to speech

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Interactionist approach to parsing

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the approach to parsing that takes into account all information - both semantic and syntactic - to determine parsing as a person reads a sentence; assigns more weight to semantics

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Language

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a system of communication through which we code and express our feelings, thoughts, ideas, and experiences

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Late closure

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in parsing, when a person encounters a new word, the parser assumes that this word is part of the current phrase

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Lexical ambiguity

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when a word can have more than one meaning

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Lexical decision task

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a procedure in which a person is asked to decide as quickly as possible whether a particular stimulus is a word or a nonword

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Lexical priming

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priming that involves the meaning or words; typically occurs when a word is followed by another word with a similar meaning

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Lexicon

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a person's knowledge of what words mean, how they sound, and how they are used in relation to other words

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Morphene

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the smallest unit of language that has a definable meaning or a grammatical function

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Parsing

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the mental grouping of words in a sentence into phrases

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Phoneme

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the shortest segment of speech that, if changed, changes the meaning of the word

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Phonemic restoration effect

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when a phoneme in a word is heard even though it is obscured by a noise

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Psycholinguists

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the field concerned with the psychological study of language

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Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

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the idea that the nature of language in a particular culture can affect the way people in that culture think

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Semantics

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the meanings of words and sentences

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Situation model

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a mental representation of what a text is about

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Speech segmentation

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the process of perceiving individual words within the continuous flow of the speech signal

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Syntactic priming

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hearing a statement with a particular syntactic construction

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Syntax

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the rules for combining words into sentences

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Syntax first approach to parsing

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the approach to parsing that emphasizes the role of syntax

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Temporary ambiguity

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a situation in which the meaning of a sentence, based on its initial words, is ambiguous because a number of meaning are possible, depending on how the sentence unfolds

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Word frequency

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the relative usage of words in a particular language

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Word frequency effect

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the phenomenon of faster reading time for high frequency words that for low frequency words

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Word superiority effect

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the idea that letters are easier to identify when they are part of a word than when they are seen in isolation or in a string of letters that do not form a word

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Acrobat problem

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used to illustrate how the way a problem is stated can influence its difficulty

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Analogical encoding

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a technique in which people compare two problems that illustrate a principle; designed to help people discover similar structural features of cases or problems

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Analogical paradox

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participants in psychological experiments tend to focus on surface features in analogy problems, whereas people in the read world frequently use deeper, more structural features

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Analogical problem solving

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the use of analogies as an aid to solving problems; typically the solution to one problem, the source problem, is presented that is analogous to the solution to another problem, the target problem

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Analogical transfer

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the application of problem solving strategies experienced in solving one problem to the solution of another, similar problem

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Analogy

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making a comparison in order to show a similarity between two different things

Front 80

Candle problem

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a problem in which a person is given a number of objects and is given the task of mounting a candle on a wall so it can burn without dripping wax on the floor; problem used to study functional fixedness

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Convergent thinking

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thinking that works toward finding a solution to a specific problem that usually has a correct answer

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Creative cognition

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a technique developed by Finke to train people to think creatively

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Design fixation

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presenting a sample design influences the creation of new designs

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Divergent thinking

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thinking that is open ended, involving a large number of potential solutions

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Experts

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person who has become acknowledges as being extremely skilled or knowledgeable in that field

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Fixation

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in problem solving, people's tendency to focus on a specific characteristic of the problem that keeps them from arriving at a solution

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Functional fixedness

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an effect that occurs when the ideas a person has about an object's function inhibit the person's ability to use the object for a different function

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Goal state

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in problem solving, the condition that occurs when a problem has been solved

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Ill-defined problem

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a problem in which it is difficult to specify a clear goal state or specific operators

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Initial state

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in problem solving, the conditions at the beginning of a problem

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Insight

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sudden realization of a problem's solution

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Intermediate state

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in problem solving, the various conditions that exist along the pathways between the initial and goal states

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In vivo problem solving research

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observing people to determine how they solve problems in real world situations

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Means end analysis

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a problem solving strategy that seeks to reduce the difference between the initial and goal states; this is achieved by creating subgoals, intermediate states that are closer to the goal

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Mental set

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a preconceived notion about how to approach a problem, which is determined by a person's experience or what has worked in the past

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Mutilated checkerboard problem

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a problem that has been used to study how the statement of a problem influences a person's ability to reach a solution

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Operators

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in problem solving, permissible moves that can be made toward a problem's solution

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Problem

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a situation in which there is an obstacle between a present state and a goal state and it is not immediately obvious how to get around the obstacle

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Problem space

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the initial state, goal state, and all the possible intermediate states for a particular problem

Front 100

Radiation problem

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a problem posed by Duncker that is used to study the role of analogy in problem solving

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Restructuring

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the process of changing a problem's representation

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Reverse acrobat problem

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used to show how the way a problem is stated can influence its difficulty

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Source problem

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a problem or story that is analogous to the target problem and which therefore provides information that can lead to a solution to the target problem

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Structural features

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the underlying principle of a problem

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Subgoals

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in the means end analysis approach, intermediate states that move the process of solution closer to the goal

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Surface feature

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specific elements that make up a problem

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Target problem

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a problem to be solved

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Think aloud protocol

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a procedure in which participants are asked to say out loud what they are thinking while doing a problem

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Tower of Hanoi problem

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a problem used to illustrate the process involved in mean's end analysis

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Two string problem

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a problem described by Maier which was devised to illustrate the operation of functional fixedness

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Water jug problem

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a problem described by Luchins that illustrates how mental set can influence the strategies that people use to solve a problem

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Well defined problem

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a problem that has a correct answer; there are usually procedures that will lead to a solution

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Affirming the antecedent

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a conditional syllogism of the following form: if q, p; therefore, q

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Affirming the consequent

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a conditional syllogism of the following form: if p, then q; q; therefore, p

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Antecedent

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in a conditional syllogism the term p in the conditional premise, if p, then q

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Availability heuristic

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basing judgments of the frequency of events on what events come to mind

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Base rate

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the relative proportions of different classes in a population; failure to consider these can often lead to errors of reasoning

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Categorical syllogism

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a syllogism in which the premises and conclusion describe the relationship between two categories by using statements that begin with all, no, or some

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Conclusion (of syllogism)

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the final statement in a syllogism, which follows form the two premises

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Conditional syllogism

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syllogism with two premises and a conclusion

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Confirmation bias

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the tendency to selectively look for information that conforms to our hypothesis and to overlook information that argues against it

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Conjunction rule

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the probability of the conjunction of two events cannot be higher than the probability of a single constituents

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Consequent

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in a conditional syllogism, the term q in the conditional premise "if p then q"

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Decisions

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making choices between alternatives

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Deductive reasoning

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reasoning that involves attention to meaning and relating an item to something else; usually associated with elaborative rehearsal

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Denying the antecedent

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a conditional syllogism of the form: if p, then q, not p; therefore not p

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Denying the consequent

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a conditional syllogism of the form: if p, then q, not q; therefore not q

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Expected emotion

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emotion that a person predicts he or she will feel for a particular outcome of a decision

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Expected utility theory

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the idea that people are basically rational, so if they have all of the relevant information, they will make a decision that results in the maximum expected utility

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Evolutionary perspective on cognition

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the idea that many properties of our minds can be traced to the evolutionary principles of natural selection

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Falsificaiton principle

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the reasoning principle that to test a rule, it is necessary to look for situations that would falsify the rule

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Framing effect

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decisions are influenced by how the choices are stated

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Illusory correlation

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a correlation that appears to exist between two events, when in reality there is no correlation or it is weaker than it is assumed to be

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Immediate emotion

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emotion that is experienced at the time a decision is being made

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Incidental immediate emotion

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immediate emotion unrelated to the decision

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Inductive reasoning

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reasoning in which a conclusion follows from a consideration of evidence; this conclusion is stated as being probably true rather than definitely true

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Integral immediate emotion

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immediate emotion that is associated with the act of making a decision

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Law of large numbers

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the larger the number of individuals that are randomly drawn from a population, the more representative the resulting group will be of the entire population

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Neuroeconomics

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an approach to studying decision making that combine research from the fields of psychology, neuroscience, and economics

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Omission bias

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the tendency to do nothing to avoid having to make a decision that could be interpreted as causing harm

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Opt-in procedure

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procedure in which a person must take an active step to choose a course of action

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Opt-out procedure

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procedure in which a person must take an active step to avoid a course of action

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Permission schema

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a pragmatic reasoning schema that states that if a person satisfies condition A, then they get to carry out action B

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Pragmatic reasoning schema

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a way of thinking about cause and effect in the world that is learned as part of experiencing everyday life

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Premise

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the first two statements in a syllogisms

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Reasoning

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cognitive processes by which people start with information and come to conclusions that go beyond that information

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Representativeness heuristic

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the probability that an event A comes from class B can be determined by how well A resembles the properties of class B

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Risk aversion

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the tendency to make decisions that avoid risk

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Risk aversion strategy

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a decision making strategy that is governed by the idea of avoiding risk

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Risk taking strategy

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a decision making strategy that is governed by the idea of taking risks

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social exchange theory

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an important aspect of human behavior is the ability for two people to cooperate in a way that is beneficial to both people

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Stereotype

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an oversimplified generalization about a group or class of people that often focuses on negative characteristics

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Syllogism

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a series of three statements, two premises followed by a conclusion

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Ultimatum game

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a game in which a proposer is given a sum of money and makes an offer to a responder as to how this money should be split between them; the responder must choose to accept or reject the offer; used to study people's decision making strategies

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Utility

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outcomes that achieve a person's goals

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Validity

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quality of a syllogism whose conclusion follows logically from its premises

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Wason four card problem

Back 157

used to study the mechanisms that determine the outcomes of conditional reasoning tasks