Cognitive Psychology

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Attention:

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mentally focusing on some stimulus

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Perception:

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interpreting sensory information to yield meaningful information

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Pattern Recognition:

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classifying a stimulus into a known category

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Memory:

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the storage facilities and retrieval processes of cognition

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Recognition:

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the retrieval of information in which the processor must decide whether the information presented has been previously presented (see recall as well)

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Recall:

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The retrieval of information in which the processor must generate most of the information without aids.

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Knowledge Representation:

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the mental depiction, storage, and organization of information

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Artificial Intelligence:

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a branch of computer science concerned with creating computers that mimic human performance on cognitive tasks

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Association:

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a connection or link between two units or elements

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Behaviorism:

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a school of psychology that seeks to define psychological research in terms of observable measures, emphasizing the scientific study of behavior.

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Between-subjects design:

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A research paradigm in which different experimental subjects participate in different experimental conditions.

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Brain Imaging:

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the construction of pictures of the anatomy and functioning of intact brains through such techniques as CAT or CT, PET, MRI, and fMRI.

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Clinical Interview:

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a research paradigm in which an investigator begins by asking participants a series of open-ended questions but follows up on the responses with specific questions that have been prepared in advance.

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Cognitive Neuropsychology:

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a school of psychology that investigates the cognitive abilities and deficits of people with damages or otherwise unusual brain structures.

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Cognitive Revolution:

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a movement in psychology that culminated after WWII, characterized by a belief in the empirical accessibility of mental states and events.

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Cognitive Science:

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an interdisciplinary field drawing on research from cognitive psychology, computer science, philosophy, linguistics, neuroscience, and anthropology. The central issues addressed involve the nature of mind and cognition and how information is acquired, stored, and represented.

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Computer Metaphor:

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the basis for the information processing view of the brain. Different types of psychological processes are thought to be analogous to the workings of a computer processor.

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Connectionism:

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an approach to cognition emphasizing parallel processing of information through immense networks of interconnected nodes. Models developed in the connectionist tradition are sometimes declared to share certain similarities with the way collections of neurons operate in the brain; hence, some connectionist models are referred to as neural networks.

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Controlled Observation:

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a research paradigm in which an observer standardizes the conditions of observation for all participants, often introducing specific manipulations and recording responses.

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Ecological Approach:

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an approach to the study of cognition emphasizing the natural contexts or settings in which cognitive activities occur, and the influences such settings have in the ways in which cognitive activities are acquired, practiced, and executed.

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Ecological Validity:

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a property of research such that the focus of study is something that occurs naturally outside an experimental laboratory.

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Empiricism:

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a philosophical doctrine emphasizing the role of experience in the acquisition of knowledge.

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Experiment:

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a test of a scientific theory in which the researcher manipulates the independent variable.

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Experimental Control:

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a property of research such that the causes of different behaviors or other phenomenon can be isolated and tested. Typically, this involves manipulating independent variables and holding constant all factors but the one(s) of interest.

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Functionalism:

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a school of psychology that emphasizes questions such as why the mind or a particular cognitive process works by the way(s) it does.

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Genetic Epistemology:

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a Piagetian approach to the study of cognitive development that emphasizes the intellectual structures underlying cognitive experience at different developmental points and the ways in which the structures adapt to environmental experience.

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Gestalt Psychology:

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a school of psychology emphasizing the study of whole entities rather than simple elements. Gestalt psychologists concentrate on problems of perception and problem solving and argue that people's cognitive experience of simple elements but, rather, to the overall structure(s) of their experience.

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Human Factors Engineering:

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An applied area of research that focuses on the design of equipment and technology that are well suited to people's cognitive capabilities.

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Individual Differences:

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Stable patterns of performance that differ qualitatively and/or quantitatively across individuals.

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Information-Processing Approach:

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an approach to cognition that uses a computer metaphor in its explanations. Information processing equates cognition with the acquisition, storage, and manipulation of information through a system consisting of various storage places and systems of exchange.

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Introspection:

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a methodological technique in which trained observers are asked to reflect on and report on their conscious experience while performing cognitive tasks.

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Limited-Capacity Processor:

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a system that acquires, stores, manipulates, and/or transmits information but has fixed limits on the amount or rate of processing that it can accomplish.

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Localization of Function:

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the "mapping" of brain areas to different cognitive or motor functions; identifying which neural regions control or are active when different activities take place.

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Mental Representation:

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an internal depiction of information.

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Nativism:

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a philosophical doctrine emphasizing the role of innate factors in the acquisition of knowledge.

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Neural Network:

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(see connectionism)

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Paradigm:

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a body of knowledge that selects and highlights certain issues for study. It includes assumptions about how a particular phenomenon ought to be studied and the kinds of experimental methods and measures that are appropriate to use.

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Person-Machine System:

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the idea that machinery operated by a person must be designed to interact with the operator's physical, cognitive, and motivational capacities and limitations.

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Quasi-Experiment:

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an empirical study that appears to involve some, but incomplete, experimental control--for example, through nonrandom assignment of subjects to conditions.

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Structuralism:

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one of the earliest schools of cognitive psychology, focusing on the search for the simplest possible mental elements and the laws that govern the ways in which they could be combined.

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Ablation:

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the removal of cells or tissues, often through surgical means.

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Amygdala:

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an area of brain tissue with extensive connections to the olfactory system and hypothalamus, thought to be involved in mood, feeling, instinct, and short-term memory.

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Aphasia:

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a disorder of language, thought to have neurological causes, in which either language production, language perception, or both are disrupted.

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CAT Scan:

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(Computerized Axial Tomography) an imaging technique in which a highly focused beam of X-rays is passed through the body from many different angles. Differing densities of the organs of the body result in different deflections of the X-rays, allowing visualization of the organ.

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Cerebral Cortex:

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the surface of the cerebrum, the largest structure of the brain, containing both sensory and motor nerve cell bodies.

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Corpus Callosum:

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the large neural structure containing fibers that connect the right and left cerebral hemispheres.

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EEG:

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(Electroencephalography) A technique to measure brain activity, specifically, to detect different states of consciousness.

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ERP:

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(Event-Related Potential) An electrical recording technique to measure the response of the brain to various stimulus events.

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Executive Functioning:

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Cognitive processes including planning, making decisions, implementing strategies, inhibiting inappropriate behaviors, and using working memory to process information.

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ὁράω (ἑόρακα in perfect)

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I am seeing

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fMRI:

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(Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) An imaging technique that uses MRI equipment to examine blood flow in a noninvasive, nonradioactive manner.

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Forebrain:

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The part of the brain containing the thalamus, hypothalamus, hippocampus, amygdala, and the cerebral cortex.

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Frontal Lobe:

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A division of the cerebral cortex located just beneath the forehead containing the motor cortex, premotor cortex, and the prefrontal cortex.

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Hindbrain:

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The part of the brain (containing some of the most evolutionary primitive structures) that is responsible for transmitting information from the spinal cord to the brain, regulating life support functions, and helping to maintain balance.

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Hippocampus:

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a structure of the brain in the medial temporal lobe; damage or removal can result in amnesia.

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Hypothalamus:

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a structure of the forebrain that controls the pituitary gland and so-called homeostatic behaviors, such as eating, drinking, temperature control, sleeping, sexual behaviors, and emotional reactions.

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Lateralization:

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Specialization in function of the two cerebral hemispheres.

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Medulla Oblongata:

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A structure in the hindbrain that transmits information from the spinal cord to the brain and regulates life support functions such as respiration, blood pressure, coughing, sneezing, vomiting, and heart rate.

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Midbrain:

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The part of the brain containing structures that are involves in relaying information between other brain regions, or in regulating levels of alertness.

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Motor Cortex:

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a structure in the frontal love that controls fine motor movement of the body.

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MRI:

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(Magnetic Resonance Imaging) a body-imaging technique in which a person is surrounded with a strong magnetic field. Radio waves are directed at a particular part of the body, causing the centers of hydrogen atoms in those structures to align themselves in predictable ways. Computers collate information about how the atoms are aligning and produce a composite 3-D image.

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Occipital Lobe:

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A division of the cerebral cortex located at the back of of the head that is involved in the processing of visual information.

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Parietal Lobe:

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a division of the cerebral cortex located at the top rear part of the head; contains the primary somatosensory cortex.

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PET:

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(Positron Emision Tomography) a brain-imaging technique that shows which areas of the brain are most active at a given point in time.

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Phrenology:

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the idea (now discredited) that psychological strengths and weaknesses could be precisely correlated to the relative sizes of different brain areas.

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Plasticity:

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the ability of some brain regions to "take over" functions of the damaged regions.

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Pons:

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A structure in the hindbrain that acts as a neural relay center, facilitating the crossover of information between the left side of the body and the right side of the brain and vice versa. It is also involved in balance and in the processing of both visual and auditory information.

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Prefrontal Cortex:

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a region in the frontal lobe that is involved with executive functioning

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Primary Somatosensory Cortex:

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a region in the parietal lobe involved with executive functioning

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Temporal Lobe:

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a division of the cerebral cortex located on the side of the head, involved in the processing of auditory information and in some aspects of memory.

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Thalamus:

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a structure in the forebrain involved in relaying information, especially to the cerebral cortex.

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Attention Hypothesis of Automatization:

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the proposal that attention is needed during a learning phase of a new task.

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Attentional Capture:

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a phenomenon in which certain stimuli seem to "pop out" and require a person to shift cognitive resources to them, automatically.

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Attenuation Theory:

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a model of attention in which unattended perceptual event are transmitted in weakened form but not blocked completely before being processed for meaning.

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Automatic Processing:

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the carrying out of a cognitive task with minimal resources. Typically, automatic processing occurs without intention, interferes minimally with other cognitive tasks, and may not involve conscious awareness.

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Controlled Processing:

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the carrying out of a cognitive task with a deliberate allocation of cognitive resources. Typically, controlled processing occurs on difficult and/or unfamiliar tasks requiring attention and is under conscious control.

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Dichotic Listening Task:

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a task in which a person hears two or more different, specially recorded messages over earphones and is asked to attend to one of them

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Divided Attention:

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the ways in which a cognitive processor allocates cognitive resources to two or more tasks that are carried out simultaneously.

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Dual-Task Performance:

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an experimental paradigm involving presentation of two tasks for a person to work on simultaneously.

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Feature Integration Theory:

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a proposal that perception of familiar stimuli occurs in two stages. The first, automatic, stage involves the perception of object features. The second, attentional, stage involved the integration and unification of those features.

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Filter Theory:

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states that there are limits on how much information a person can attend to at any given time

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Inattentional blindness:

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the phenomenon of not perceiving a stimulus that might be literally right in front of you, unless you are paying attention to it.

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Late-selection Theory:

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a model of attention in which a cognitive processor comes to develop linguistic competence and performance.

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Priming:

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the facilitation in responding to one stimulus as a function of prior exposure to another stimulus.

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Psychological Refractory Period (PRP):

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an interval of time following presentation of a first stimulus, presumably because of a central bottle-neck in attentional processing.

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Schema Theory:

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a theory of attention that claims unattended information is never perceived.

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Selective Attention:

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the focusing of cognitive resources on one or a small number of tasks to the exclusion of others.

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Stroop Task:

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a subject sees a list of words (color terms) printed in an ink color different from the word named. The subject is asked to name the ink colors of the words in the list and demonstrates great difficulty in doing so, relative to a condition in which noncolor words form the stimuli.

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Modal Model of Memory:

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a theoretical approach to the study of memory that emphasizes the existence of different memory stores (for example, sensory memory, STM, LTM.)

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Sensory Memory:

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a memory store thought to hold onto incoming sensory information for very brief periods of time. A different sensory memory store is hypothesized for each sensory system.

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Serial Position Effect:

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the phenomenon that items at the beginning or end of a list of items are more easily recalled than are items in the middle of the list.

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Primacy Effect:

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the improvement in retention of information learned at the beginning of a task.

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Recency Effect:

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the improvement in retention of information learned at the end of a task.

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Rehearsal:

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a mnemonic strategy of repeating information to facilitate retention and later retrieval.

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Icon:

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a sensory memory storage system for visual material or stimuli.

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Echo:

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a sensory memory storage system for auditory material or stimuli.