CH 2
What is perception?
Using past knowledge to interpret sensory stimuli.
Define Change Blindness.
Failure to detect a change in an object or scene.
Explain Inattentional Blindness.
Failing to notice a completely visible object that unexpectedly appears when attention is focused on specific events in a scene.
What does Cognitive Psychology emphasize?
Cognitive Psychology emphasizes our thought processes and knowledge.
What does Wilhelm Wundt emphasize in his approach to psychology?
Wilhelm Wundt emphasizes introspection, which involves the systematic analysis of one's own sensations and the study of mental processes.
What is the role of top-down processing in detecting differences between two scenes?
Top-down processing encourages assuming the basic meaning of the scene remains stable, helping to identify important changes more quickly.
Role of iconic memory?
Preserves visual stimulus image briefly.
Give an example of Change Blindness.
It takes longer to perceive a change when it's important to the scene, like recognizing a change in a helicopter near an airplane compared to a change in the height of a railing in a restaurant scene.
Why is learning about cognition important?
Cognition occupies a major portion of human psychology, influencing various areas such as clinical psychology and education.
Who was the first to scientifically study memory and is known for the "forgetting curve"?
Hermann Ebbinghaus.
Difference between distal and proximal stimuli?
Distal is actual objects; proximal is sensory input.
Where is the primary visual cortex located?
In the occipital lobe.
How does the visual system handle perceptual representations, and why do these mistakes occur?
The visual system is accurate in creating the "gist" or general interpretation of a scene, focusing on what is important. Cognitive errors can be traced to the use of a rational strategy, allowing attention to prioritize the more important task at hand.
Who is considered the founder of psychology, and what is introspection?
Wilhelm Wundt is the founder of psychology, and introspection is the systematic analysis of one's sensations, focusing on describing mental processes.
How does Cognitive Neuroscience combine cognitive psychology and neuroscience?
Cognitive Neuroscience combines cognitive psychology with brain assessment methods, exploring which brain areas activate during mental functions.
According to Gestalt psychology, what does figure represent in figure-ground perception?
Figure represents a distinct shape with clearly defined edges.
How does top-down processing aid reading?
Helps in recognizing ambiguous letters or scrambled words by using pre-existing knowledge.
Explain the connection between Change Blindness and the theme of cognitive errors.
Cognitive errors, including Change Blindness, can often be traced to the use of a rational strategy that prioritizes attention to the more important task.
What is the Cognitive Revolution, and why did it make cognitive psychology popular?
The Cognitive Revolution started in 1956 and became popular due to the limitations of behaviorism in explaining complex behaviors. It emphasized inborn language capacity, the influence of previous knowledge on memory, and developmental approaches.
Contrast the Serial Processing and Parallel Processing in artificial intelligence.
Serial processing views cognitive processes as a series of separate operations, while parallel processing handles signals simultaneously, resembling the human brain's functioning.
Describe the weaknesses of the Feature-Analysis Approach in object recognition.
The Feature-Analysis Approach explains simple recognition but struggles with recognizing complex shapes, as real-world objects move, are distorted, and contain too many contours and features.
What does Recognition-by-Components Theory propose, and how many geons are generally enough information to classify an object?
Recognizes objects using simple 3-D shapes (geons); 3 geons often classify an object.
Why is Inattentional Blindness more likely to occur in cognitively demanding tasks?
Inattentional Blindness is more likely when the primary task is cognitively demanding, as attention is focused on that task.
Explain the Cognitive Science interdisciplinary field.
Cognitive Science is an interdisciplinary field that includes cognitive psychology, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, linguistics, philosophy, and anthropology. It explores questions about the mind, emphasizing the manipulation of internal representations of the outside world.
What is the Information-Processing Approach, and what are its assumptions?
The Information-Processing Approach suggests mental processes are like a computer, progressing through stages. Assumptions include stimuli presentation, multiple processing stages, decision-making, and response.