unit 3 review
Cognitive psychology explores mental processes like perception and memory. It examines how we process information, from sensory input to complex decision-making. The field draws on theories like information processing and connectionism to understand how our minds work.
Key concepts include top-down and bottom-up processing, schemas, and various memory systems. Researchers study attention, cognitive biases, and real-world applications in areas like eyewitness testimony and human factors engineering. Ongoing debates address nature vs. nurture and the role of consciousness in learning.
Key Concepts and Theories
- Cognitive psychology studies mental processes (perception, memory, attention, language, problem-solving, decision-making)
- Information processing model compares the mind to a computer system with input, processing, storage, and output stages
- Top-down processing uses prior knowledge, expectations, and context to interpret sensory information
- Bottom-up processing relies on the sensory information itself to build perceptions from simple features to complex objects
- Schemas are mental frameworks that organize and interpret information based on past experiences (restaurant schema)
- Parallel distributed processing (PDP) models propose that information is processed simultaneously across a network of interconnected units (neurons)
- Connectionism suggests that mental processes emerge from the activation patterns across neural networks
Sensory Processing and Perception
- Sensation refers to the detection of physical energy by sensory receptors (eyes, ears, skin)
- Perception involves interpreting and organizing sensory information to create meaningful experiences
- Transduction converts physical energy into electrical signals that the brain can process (light into neural impulses)
- Feature detection identifies basic elements of sensory stimuli (lines, edges, colors)
- Gestalt principles describe how the brain organizes perceptual elements into coherent wholes
- Proximity groups nearby elements together
- Similarity groups elements with similar characteristics (shape, color)
- Continuity perceives smooth, continuous lines rather than disjointed segments
- Perceptual constancy maintains a stable perception despite changes in sensory input (size constancy, color constancy)
- Depth perception uses binocular cues (retinal disparity) and monocular cues (linear perspective, occlusion) to estimate distance
Types of Memory Systems
- Sensory memory briefly holds raw sensory information for further processing
- Iconic memory stores visual information for a fraction of a second
- Echoic memory stores auditory information for a few seconds
- Short-term memory (STM) holds a limited amount of information (7 ± 2 items) for a brief period (15-30 seconds)
- Working memory is an active system that manipulates and updates information in STM
- Long-term memory (LTM) stores information for an extended period, potentially indefinitely
- Explicit (declarative) memory involves conscious recollection of facts and events
- Semantic memory stores general knowledge and concepts (capital of France)
- Episodic memory stores personal experiences tied to specific times and places (graduation ceremony)
- Implicit (non-declarative) memory influences behavior without conscious awareness
- Procedural memory stores skills and habits (riding a bicycle)
- Priming occurs when exposure to a stimulus influences the response to a later stimulus (word completion tasks)
Memory Encoding and Retrieval
- Encoding is the process of converting information into a format that can be stored in memory
- Maintenance rehearsal involves repeating information to keep it active in STM
- Elaborative rehearsal relates new information to existing knowledge, enhancing encoding into LTM
- Retrieval is the process of accessing stored information from memory
- Recall involves actively reproducing information from memory (essay questions)
- Recognition involves identifying previously encountered information (multiple-choice questions)
- Retrieval cues are stimuli that help access stored memories (a song triggering a childhood memory)
- Context-dependent memory occurs when the retrieval environment matches the encoding environment
- State-dependent memory occurs when the internal state during retrieval matches the state during encoding (mood, drug use)
Attention and Its Role
- Attention is the selective focus on specific aspects of the environment while ignoring others
- Selective attention filters information, prioritizing relevant stimuli and inhibiting irrelevant ones (cocktail party effect)
- Divided attention involves simultaneously focusing on multiple tasks or stimuli
- Sustained attention is the ability to maintain focus on a task over an extended period (air traffic control)
- Bottom-up (exogenous) attention is driven by salient or unexpected stimuli in the environment (a loud noise)
- Top-down (endogenous) attention is voluntarily directed based on goals, expectations, or prior knowledge
- Attentional blink occurs when focusing on one stimulus impairs the detection of a subsequent stimulus within a brief time window
- Change blindness is the failure to notice changes in a visual scene due to attentional limitations
Cognitive Biases and Illusions
- Cognitive biases are systematic errors in thinking that influence judgment and decision-making
- Confirmation bias is the tendency to seek and interpret information in a way that confirms preexisting beliefs
- Availability heuristic judges the likelihood of events based on how easily examples come to mind (overestimating the risk of plane crashes)
- Representativeness heuristic categorizes objects or events based on their similarity to prototypes (assuming a quiet person is a librarian)
- Anchoring bias relies too heavily on the first piece of information encountered (initial price in negotiations)
- Hindsight bias is the tendency to perceive past events as more predictable than they actually were
- Illusions demonstrate the difference between perception and reality
- Müller-Lyer illusion shows equal lines appearing different lengths due to arrowheads
- Ebbinghaus illusion shows a circle appearing larger or smaller depending on the size of surrounding circles
Real-World Applications
- Eyewitness testimony relies on the accuracy of perception, attention, and memory, which can be influenced by biases and misinformation
- Human factors engineering applies cognitive principles to design user-friendly interfaces and systems (aviation cockpits)
- Advertising uses attention-grabbing techniques and memory strategies to influence consumer behavior
- Educational practices can be informed by research on attention, memory encoding, and retrieval strategies (spaced repetition, testing effect)
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) helps individuals identify and change maladaptive thought patterns and behaviors
- Decision support systems use cognitive models to aid in complex decision-making (medical diagnosis)
Ongoing Research and Debates
- Nature vs. nurture: the relative contributions of genetic factors and environmental experiences to cognitive development
- Modularity vs. generality: whether cognitive processes are domain-specific or share common underlying mechanisms
- Implicit vs. explicit learning: the role of conscious awareness in acquiring knowledge and skills
- Embodied cognition: the idea that cognitive processes are grounded in sensory and motor experiences
- Neuroplasticity: the brain's ability to reorganize and adapt in response to experience, injury, or disease
- Artificial intelligence (AI) and cognitive modeling: using computational models to simulate and understand human cognition
- Individual differences in cognitive abilities: the study of variations in perception, attention, memory, and other cognitive processes across individuals
- Cultural influences on cognition: how cultural factors shape perception, attention, memory, and other cognitive processes