Chapter 1: Know the different research traditions (e.g. introspection, cognitive psychology, etc.)
Introspection: Started in the late 1800s, william wundt. Psychology is the study of conscious
mental events. Required systematic training and recording your own thoughts and experiences.
Learning about one’s inner self, or mental states. Problems with introspection method: not all
thoughts are conscious, cannot measure well.
Behaviorist Movement: 20th century, focused on observable stimuli and mental events. Cant
explain behavior.
Introspective methods are not scientific, we need to study mental events to understand behavior.
Transcendental method: reason backwards from observations to cause of behavior.
Cognitive psychology: Study mental events indirectly, measure observable stimuli, develop and
test hypotheses. Ulric Neisser: Father of cognitive psychology
Behaviorism: Learning is a change in behavior.
Cognitive neuroscience: study of brain systems to understand mental functioning
Clinical neuropsychology: Study of brain function based on damaged brains
Chapter 2: Know the 4 lobes of the brain, amygdala, and capgras syndrome
Capgras Syndrome: Patients can recognize loved ones, but think they’re imposters. Facial
recognition involves two systems: cognitive and emotional appraisal. Linked to abnormalities in
the amygdala and prefrontal cortex.
Amygdala is linked to emotional processing: feelings of familiarity, emotional decision-making.
Damage results in lack of emotional response.
Prefrontal cortex damage impairs analytical reasoning.
Human brain has three main structures: Hindbrain, midbrain, forebrain.
Hindbrain: top of spinal cords, key life functions. Has cerebellum ( largest region of the
hindbrain), pons, and medulla.
Midbrain: coordinates eye movement, relays auditory information, regulates pain information.
Forebrain: surrounds the midbrain and most of the hindbrain. Includes cortex (outer surface of
forebrain, approx 80% of the brain), four lobes, and subcortical structures.
Subcortical parts: thalamus (sensory relay station), hypothalamus (controls behaviors for specific
biological needs), limbic system (amygdala [emotional processing] and hippocampus [learning and
memory])
Right and left hemisphere is separated by corpus colosseum (commissures [think bundles of fibers
that carry information])
Chapter 3: Know what and where systems, blind spot, and gestalt movement
Akinetopsia: unable to perceive motion.
Visual system: Has photoreceptors (rods [sensitive to low lights, none in fovea, color-blind] and
cones [cannot function in dim light, color-sensitive, mostly in or near fovea]) Light -> Cornea ->
Lens -> Retina
Parallel Processing: speed and efficiency, mutual influence from multiple systems.
What system: pathway between occipital lobe and inferotemporal cortex, aids in identification
of visual objects
Where system: pathway between occipital lobe posterior parietal cortex, aids in perception of an
object’s location
Binding problem: Reuniting elements of stimulus that were addressed by different systems
Gestalt psychologists: the perceptual whole is often different than the sum of its parts
There are no rods or cones at the retina’s bond spot, because there are neural fibers that fill up
near the the optic nerve exit the eyeball.
Chapter 4: Top-down vs bottom-up mechanisms, well-formedness
Bottom-up processing: Processes shaped by the stimulus, data driven.
Top-down processing: processes shaped by knowledge, concept-driven.
Well-formedness: How closely a letter sequence conforms to typical patterns of spelling in the
language. The more well-formed a letter sequence: the easier it is to recognize the sequence, the
greater the context effects produced by the sequence on recognition. Also influences errors,
misinterpreting words.
Chapter 5: Change blindness vs inattentional blindness, deep processing
Inattentional blindness: the failure to see a prominent stimulus, even if one is staring at it.
Results in failure to perceive or remember the stimulus.
Change blindness: the inability to detect changes in a scene despite looking at it directly. Can be
demonstrated in videos and movies.
Unilateral neglect syndrome: cannot attend to inputs from one side of the body
Selective attention: focuses on one task while ignoring other stimuli
Early selection hypothesis: only the attended input is analyzed and perceived, unattended
information receives little analysis
Late selection hypothesis: all inputs are analyzed, selection occurs after analysis, selection may
occur before consciousness or later, unattended info may be perceived but is forgotten
Chapter 6: Long term vs working memory, Working memory capacity, phonological buffer vs visuospatial
buffer
Long-term memory: all of one’s knowledge and beliefs, larger and more permanent storage place
than STM
Short-term memory: where information is held while in use
Working memory capacity is 7 plus or minus 2 items
Phonological buffer: passively stores sound representation (internal echo)
Visuospatial buffer: helper component that deals with visual material and imagery (storage of
visual materials)
Chapter 7: Source confusion, retrograde vs anterograde amnesia, familiarity and credibility
Source confusion: memory error where one misremembers something that was learned
Retrograde amnesia: the inability to remember events that occurred before the event that
triggered memory disruption
Anterograde amnesia: the inability to remember experiences after the event that triggered the
memory disruption
Familiarity: in absence of source memory, recognition depends on feelings of familiarity.
Independent of source memory, remember judgements are accompanied with souce info, know
judgements only have feelings of familiarity
Chapter 8: Memory connections, intrusion errors, repressed memories
Memory connections: link knowledge. Pros: serve as retrieval paths, link to schematic
knowledge. Cons: undermine accuracy.
Intrusion errors: errors in which other knowledge intrudes into the remembered event (Deese-
Roediger-Mcdermott Procedure)
Repressed memories: when memories are lost due to trauma, can be recovered but as false
memories
Chapter 9: 12 Levels of categories, family resemblance, prototype vs exemplar, graded membership
Levels of categories: basic-level of category, not too vague or specific.
Family resemblance: members of a category may have a resemblance, features may be shared. No
defining features, yes to characteristic features
Prototype: category example that possess all the characteristic features
Exemplar: examples of category
Graded membership: grading how close members are to the prototype in a category
Chapter 10: Phonology, production of speech, morpheme vs phoneme
Phonology: sequence of phonemes that is acceptable in language, rules on how sounds should be
assembled
Production of speech: categorized on voicing, manner of production (restriction of airflow), and
place of articulation
Morpheme: words or pieces of words
Phoneme: smallest units of sound
Hierarchy: Phoneme -> Morpheme -> Word -> Phrase -> Sentence
Chapter 11: Chronometric studies, types of imagery, mental rotation
Chronometric studies: ask participants to judge or manipulate studies and measure how long it
takes
Visual imagery: can be deduced using the active parts of the brain
Spatial imagery: may be based in motion or body imagery, does not rely on visual imagery
Differences in both: influenced by task, personal preference, and individual ability
Eidetic imagery: photographic memory
Mental rotation: suggests mental images preserve spatial info in three dimensions, women more
accurate, men faster
Chapter 12: Diagnostic information, availability heuristic
Base-rate information: information about how frequently something generally occurs
Diagnostic information: information indicating whether an individual case belongs to a
category. When given both, base-rate is ignored.
Availability heuristic: relying on availability as a substitute for frequency, form of attribute
substitution
Heuristics: efficient strategies that lead to the correct answer
Chapter 13: Problem-solving set vs problem space
Problem-solving set: process by which one determines the steps needed to reach a goal
Problem Space: set of all spaces that can be reached in solving a problem, very extensive
Chapter 14: Types of intelligence, link between working memory and intelligence
Intelligence tests have strong test-retest reliability
General intelligence: a capacity that provides an advantage on any mental task ( factor analysis:
looks for common factors in tests)
Specialized intelligence: more specialized, “math” smart
Hierarchy: General -> linguistic, numerical, spatial -> subtests
Fluid intelligence: ability to deal with novel problems
Crystalized intelligence: acquired knowledge
Practical intelligence: “street smarts”
Emotional intelligence: understand and control emotions
Multiple intelligences: musical, naturalistic, interpersonal
Lobes in partiel involved in control of attention, frontal lobe necessary for working memory.
Longer working memory means more intelligence
Chapter 15: Executive control, neural correlates of consciousness, Qualia
Executive control: requires a way to initiate or override actions, a way to represent goals, info
about inputs and mental processes. No unconscious actions
Neural correlates of consciousness: events in nervous system that occurs at the same time and
may be a biological basis of a specific mental state or event
Qualia: one’s subjective experience that cannot be conveyed to others (pain of headache)
Access consciousness: ones sensitivity and access to certain types of information
Judgement and Reasoning- What is the strategy in which people base their estimates of frequency on how
easily they can think of examples of the relevant category? Availability Heuristics
Judgement and Reasoning- What term refers to the tendency in a pattern of data for observations of another
sort? Covariation
Judgement and Reasoning- What term refers to an error in which participants perceive 2 variables as being
somehow linked to each other when in fact they're not? Illusory Covariation
Judgement and Reasoning- Descriptive info that indicates that you are likely to be a member of a category (or
fit the category's stereotype) is referred to as what? Diagnostic Information
Judgement and Reasoning- People tend to be more alert and responsive to evidence that supports their
preexisting beliefs than evidence that challenges them. This effect is called? Confirmation Bias
Problem Solving and Intelligence- What is best described as a reading problem despite normal intelligence?
Dyslexia
Problem Solving and Intelligence- What (A) intelligence refers to an ability to think about novel problems
while what (B) intelligence refers to an acquired knowledge and skills? (A) Fluid (B) Crystallized
Problem Solving and Intelligence- It was starting to rain and Marcus did not have an umbrella or a hat. To
keep dry, he held his psychology textbook over his head. In this case, Marcus has solved the problem by what?
Functional Fixedness
Problem Solving and Intelligence- The extreme to which a participant can come up with normal cues for
familiar objects (Eg using a brick as a stepladder) is an indication of what type of thinking? Divergent
Thinking
Problem Solving and Intelligence- The gradual increase in IQ scores around the world over the past few decades
is referred to as the what? Flynn Effect
