Laboratory in Cognitive Psychology Psyc 393

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Laboratory in Cognitive Psychology Psyc 393

• Prof Clarissa Reese, Ph.D.
• TA Colby Carter

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To Do List

• What is cognitive psychology?
• How do we study cognitive psychology?
• Syllabus

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Behavior is the evidence, but is no longer the
subject matter of psychology-- George Miller
(1956)
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Cognition

• The collection of mental processes and
  activities used in perceiving, remembering,
  thinking, and understanding,
• as well as the act of using those processes
• (all higher mental processes
• used in everyday life)

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Cognitive Science

• Study of human thought using all scientific
  techniques, including all relevant scientific
  disciplines for exploring cognition
• Cognitive Psychology
• Linguistics
• Philosophy
• Social Science
• Computer Science
• Neuroscience

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The Assumptions of Cognitive Science

• Mental processes exist
• Mental processes can be studied scientifically
• Behavior gives us insight into mental processes
• They take time
• Errors give us clues about mental processes
• Neuroimaging shows brain areas associated with
  different tasks
• Humans are active information processors
• I can prove itdo not read this word

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elephant
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The Big Issues

• Attention
• Limited in quantity
• Only partially under our control
• Essential to most processing
• Poorly understood
• e.g., Cell phones while driving

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The Big Issues

• Automatic vs. Controlled processes
• Some processes occur automatically, while others
  are slow, conscious and demand lots of attention
• e.g., reading
• How does this happen?
• Is it a good thing?

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The Big Issues

• Data-driven vs. Conceptually-driven Processes
• Raise your hand when you have identified the
  picture

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What Do You See?
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The Big Issues

• Data-driven vs. Conceptually-driven Processes
• Try to see it the way you did the first time
  Can you?
• The first time it was data-driven ? trying to
  piece together the information in the picture to
  see the image
• The second time it was conceptually-driven ?
  because you know the image is there it pops out
  at you

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The Big Issues

• Representation
• How is information represented in memory?
• It stands for one aspect of an object or idea but
  does not replicate it entirely
• e.g., maps (road maps, contour maps, population
  maps, vegetation maps)
• ? No one map completely
  duplicates the terrain

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The Big Issues

• Implicit vs. Explicit Memory
• Unconscious vs. Conscious cognition
• How do these affect your behavior and thinking?
• e.g., H.M.

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The Big Issues

• Metacognition
• What we know about how we think
• e.g., write reminders to self so we do not forget
• Is this knowledge accurate?
• Can it mislead us?

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The Big Issues

• Brain
• How and where is information stored in the brain?
• Study broken brains to tell us about how normal
  brains work
• Brain imaging

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Research Methods

• So how do we study Cognitive Processes?
• Reaction Time (ms)
• Accuracy (error rates)
• Verbal Protocols
• Neuroimaging

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Reaction Time(cognitive processes take time)
Reaction Time (ms)
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Research Methods

• Reaction Time (RT)
• The time elapsed between some stimulus and the
  persons response to the stimulus
• Typically measured in milliseconds (ms)
• 1000 milliseconds 1 second
• Lets try it!

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Research Methods

• Accuracy Measures
• How many errors a subject makes
• Which are recalled correctly and which are not
• Types of errors
• e.g., KLXCRN ? KLXTRN
• Measured as proportion or correct

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Brain and Cognition

• Cognitive Neuropsychology
• Analysis changes in cognitive function which
  result from brain injury
• K.C. motorcycle accident ? no ability to
  remember anything from his past (playing chess
  with someone last week) but still remembers facts
  (e.g., how to play chess)
• What does this tell us about memory?

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Brain and Cognition

• Brain Imaging
• Are different brain areas active when you
• Read the word ELEPHANT
• See an elephant
• Imagine an elephant

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Methods of Investigation

• Lesions
• Animals
• Patients
• Stroke
• Tumors
• Head injury

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Stroke
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Tumor
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Head Injury
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Phineas Gage

• A railroad foreman (1848)
• An explosion forced a steel rod through his head
• He was no longer Gage
• Lost his job, worked as a sideshow exhibit

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Dissociation

• Dissociation occurs when a patient has brain
  damage leading to some cognitive deficit, but
  other cognitive abilities are preserved
• E.g., H.M. has no ability to store LTM, but his
  STM is completely normal ? LTM and STM must be
  different systems

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Methods of Investigation

• Direct Stimulation
• Animals
• Patients

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Imaging Brain Function

• Electrophysiology
• Electroencephalograms (EEGs) passive recording
  from multiple electrodes
• Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) measures
  response to a specific stimulus

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Measuring ERPs in an infant
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EEG
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Imaging Brain Function

• Computerized Tomography (CT)
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

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CT scan demonstrating enlargement of the
ventricles in a patient with schizophrenia
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Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

• Method for studying body and brain tissue
• Magnetic fields align hydrogen atoms
• When field is removed, molecules release energy
  as radio waves
• Calculate tissue density from radio waves
• Clear, 3D images

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MRI Scanner
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Imaging Brain Function

• Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
• Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)

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Positron Emission Tomography (PET)

• Analysis of brain activity, using glucose with a
  radioactive tracer

• Active areas use more glucose and sensors detect
  radioactivity (bright spots)

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PET Scanner
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fMRI
(oxygenated blood flows active areas)
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Syllabus

• Everything you wanted to know about Psyc 393 and
  more

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Grading

• 6 Assignments (300 points)
• 50 points each (submitted twice)
• Research Proposal (50 points)
• Conference Presentation (50 points)
• Final Paper (100 points)

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