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PSYC1020 Mind, Brain & Behaviour Pt 2

Lainie Tilse Psychology English 138 cards

Cards in this deck (138)

  1. 1Describe the difference between the primacy effect and the recency effect in relation to free recall memory.The primacy effect is the memory best for things learned first. The recency effect is the memory for things learned last.
  2. 2Describe "context" in relation to free recall memory.Memory is better when you are in the context you learned the material in.
  3. 3Describe "internal state" in relation to free recall memory.Memory is better when your internal state is the same as at the time of learning.
  4. 4Define memory abstraction.The cognitive process by which we encode and store the essential meaning of a message and not the exact details of learning events.
  5. 5Define schema memory.A set of ideas about objects and events associated with familiar activity.
  6. 6What did Loftus & Palmer show about the effect of post-event leading questions on memory?That memories can be easily distorted depending on the way the questions are phrased. Leading questions can manipulate responses.
  7. 7What is the difference between episodic and semantic memory?Episodic memory is memory for specific events. Semantic memory is general knowledge.
  8. 8What is the difference between procedural and declarative memory?Procedural memory is unconscious recollection. Declarative memory is conscious recollection.
  9. 9True or false: Long term memory involves dynamic and changeable processes which can readily distort memories.True.
  10. 10True or false: Memory is heavily influences by how we encode and arrange information and by it's meaning to us.True.
  11. 11What is the difference between top-down and bottom-up processing?Top-down processing is the development of pattern recognition through the use of contextual information. Bottom-up processing is data-driven perception that starts at the sensory input of stimulus.
  12. 12Define incubation in relation to problem-solving.A process of unconscious recombination of thought elements that were stimulated through conscious work at one point in time, resulting in novel ideas at some later point in time.
  13. 13Define functional fixedness.A cognitive bias that limits a person to using an object only in the way it is traditionally used.
  14. 14True or false: High evaluation situations tend to increase functional fixedness and decrease creativity.True.
  15. 15What is extrinsic motivation?External rewards.
  16. 16True or false: Extrinsic rewards tend to increase functional fixedness and decrease creativity.True.
  17. 17Describe Newell & Simon's method of research on problem-solving.Introspective method. Subjects verbalised their thoughts while solving a problem. Researchers used this verbal protocol as a record of the person's "problem space".
  18. 18What is process tracing?A study of multiple data points are collected in comparison to simple input-output methods, where only one measurement is taken.
  19. 19Name the six stages of Newell & Simon's "problem space".Initial state, goal, sub-goals, possible operations, strategies and solution pathways.
  20. 20What are heuristics?Simple rules governing judgment or decision-making. "Judgmental shortcuts that generally get us where we need to go – and quickly – but at the cost of occasionally sending us off course."
  21. 21Define the availability heuristic.The availability heuristic is a mental shortcut that relies on immediate examples that come to mind when evaluating a specific concept, method or decision.
  22. 22What is the representativeness heuristic?The representativeness heuristic is used when making judgments about frequency or probability based on one's mental prototype.
  23. 23Describe the conjunction fallacy.Conjunction fallacy occurs when it is assumed that specific conditions are more probable than a single general one.
  24. 24True or false: An employer will use the representativeness heuristic to make a decision about a future employee.True. The employer will often ask, "Would person X be good at doing Y?"
  25. 25Describe the anchoring and adjustment heuristic.People will start with an implicitly suggested reference point (anchor) and make adjustments to it to reach their estimate. Also known as the primacy heuristic.
  26. 26The idea of "first impressions endure" is an example of what type of heuristic?Anchoring and adjustment (primacy) heuristic.
  27. 27Describe the halo effect.A cognitive bias in which an observer's overall impression of an entity influences the observer's feelings and thoughts about that entity's character or properties.
  28. 28Describe the horn effect.A cognitive bias that causes you to allow one trait, either good or bad, to overshadow other traits.
  29. 29Describe framing effects.The way a decision is presented influences the outcome of the decision. For example, will someone be more likely to buy a product if it is labelled 10% fat or 90% fat free?
  30. 30What is confirmation bias?The tendency to seek out confirmatory information only.
  31. 31What is illusory correlation?The belief that two things go together when they are in fact not related.
  32. 32What is hindsight bias?The inclination to see an event as having been predictable after the event has occurred, despite there having been little or no objective basis for predicting it. Also known as the knew-it-all-along effect.
  33. 33What is the "better than average" effect?The tendency to rate one’s self (and one’s group) as better than average on most positive abstract features.
  34. 34Describe cognitive conceit.The illusory or deluded belief that our perceptions, memories and judgements are accurate.
  35. 35How can the effects of cognitive conceit be lessened?We can improve by acknowledging our limitations, not relying solely on our own intuitive judgements, paying attention and cultivating mindfulness and using external supports.
  36. 36What is the difference between electrical signals and chemical neuron signals?Electrical signals occur within the neuron. Chemical signals occur between neurons as a neurotransmitter across a synapse.
  37. 37Describe the path of a pre-synaptic signal.Axon, axon terminal, synapse.
  38. 38Describe the path of a post-synaptic signal.Synapse, dendrite, cell body.
  39. 39What is the simplified process of a reflex in relation to the motor neuron?The sensory neuron (input) passes signal to the motor neuron (output) to cause muscles contraction (reflex).
  40. 40What is a neurotransmitter?A chemical "messenger", released from the pre-synaptic terminal to act on post-synaptic receptors.
  41. 41Name eight neurotransmitters.Glutamate, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), acetylcholine (ACh), noradrenaline, dopamine, serotonin, endorphins and anandamide.
  42. 42What is the purpose of the synaptic vesicles?They store neurotransmitters in the pre-synaptic terminal. They join with the cell membrane wall to release the neurotransmitter to the synaptic cleft.
  43. 43Describe neurotransmitter receptors."Gates" on the post-synaptic side. Neurotransmitters in the synaptic cleft will join with receptors. Receptors will open the ion channels and change membrane potential on post-synaptic neuron to receive them.
  44. 44True or false: The receptors can receive any type of neurotransmitter.False. Each receptor only binds to a specific type of neurotransmitter.
  45. 45How does the "lock and key" function of neurotransmitter receptors relate to drug effects?Neurotransmitters only "activate" their specific type of receptor. Drugs can act on specific receptors to cause specific effects. For example, L-DOPA for Parkinson's disease replaces dopamine in the brain.
  46. 46What does the neurotransmitter retake pump do?Clears the neurotransmitter from the synaptic cleft back into the pre-synaptic terminal.
  47. 47What is the purpose of enzymes?Enzymes break down the neurotransmitters in the synaptic cleft.
  48. 48What do the neurotransmitter retake pump and enzymes have in common?They both stop neurotransmitter signalling to the post-synaptic neuron.
  49. 49Name the two types of anti-depressant drugs that work to increase serotonin signalling.Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) and Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOIs). Both act to keep serotonin in the synaptic cleft for longer, which increase serotonin signalling.
  50. 50Describe the process of neurotransmitter release.Depolarisation of the axon terminal (action potential) triggers a release of the neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters act on receptors to open ion channels and pass a chemical signal.
  51. 51Name two possible outcomes of receptor binding.Depolarisation and hyperpolarisation.
  52. 52What is the difference between excitatory and inhibitory potentials?Excitatory Post-Synaptic Potentials (EPSPs) cause depolarisation and are closer to the threshold for action potential. Inhibitory Post-Synaptic Potential (IPSPs) cause hyperpolarisation and are further from the threshold for action potential.
  53. 53True or false: "Graded potentials" refers to the sum of excitatory and inhibitory inputs.True.
  54. 54True or false: Graded potential at the axon hillock depends on the strength of the synapse connection.True. It also depends on the timing of inputs.
  55. 55What is the difference between a strong and weak synapse connection?A strong connection causes a large change in membrane potential. A weak connection causes a small change.
  56. 56True or false: If enough excitatory inputs occur together close enough in time, membrane potential will exceed the threshold, trigger an action potential and "fire" the neuron.True.
  57. 57What is neural integration?The sum of all inputs. This determines whether the sensory neuron (input) passes signal to the motor neuron (output) to cause a muscles contraction (action).
  58. 58True or false: You higher brain can inhibit or boost reflexes through neural integration.True.
  59. 59True or false: A neuron receives many inputs but only has one output.True.
  60. 60True or false: The brain is an enormous integrator of information and adapts with learning.True.
  61. 61True or false: If the sum of all inputs is high, the cell will not "fire".False. When the sum of all inputs is high enough, an output is triggered and the cell is "fired".
  62. 62True or false: Brain lesions can explain normal brain function by examining what changes when part of the brain is damaged.True. However, this works on the assumption that whatever changes occur must rely on the damaged part of the brain.
  63. 63True or false: Primary motor neurons "fire" for movements in a preferred direction. A single neuron can be measured to find the preferred direction. By measuring many neurons, the intended direction can be decoded.True.
  64. 64What type of neuron recording is best for localisation and timing of brain function?Single neuron recording.
  65. 65Which nervous system is the measuring of brain function most concerned with?Autonomic nervous system.
  66. 66What are the strengths of single neuron recording?It is best for localisation and timing of brain function.
  67. 67What are the weaknesses of single neuron recording?It is highly invasive (electrodes directly into the brain) and is only performed on animals currently.
  68. 68What does an EEG measure?Measures voltage changes from electrodes placed on the scalp.
  69. 69True or false: Brain activity in EEG shows constant oscillations. The frequencies of these oscillations change with alertness and sleep.True.
  70. 70What do ERPs measure?Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) measure brain activity related to a specific event or stimulus. Peaks represent different stages of processing of the stimulus.
  71. 71What are the strengths of ERPs?ERPs show precise time of processing and are a direct measure of electrical activity in the brain.
  72. 72What are the problems with ERPs?It's difficult to localise brain activity because of poor spatial resolution across the scalp.
  73. 73What is the difference between the way PET and fMRI measure activity?PET uses radioactive substances injected into the bloodstream. fMRI measures the change in blood oxygen levels.
  74. 74What is the difference between MRI and fMRI?MRI studies brain anatomy. Functional MRI (fMRI) studies brain function.
  75. 75What is a BOLD signal?Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) signals show changes in blood oxygen levels. BOLD signals are measured by an fMRI.
  76. 76What do fMRIs measure?Change in blood flow associated with neural activity. This is measured by tracking the blood oxygen level (BOLD signal).
  77. 77What are the strengths of fMRI?It provides good localisation of brain activity.
  78. 78What are the problems with fMRI?It gives an indirect measure of brain activity (the BOLD signal is slow) and it is expensive.
  79. 79Why are BOLD signals an indicator of brain activity?Increased brain activity needs increased blood flow, meaning that more oxygen is delivered to the blood. This increases the oxygen levels in the blood and increases the BOLD signal.
  80. 80Why is fMRI used to measure BOLD signals?Haemoglobin carries oxygen in the blood. fMRI is sensitive to oxygenated versus deoxygenated haemoglobin.
  81. 81True or false: BOLD responses are immediate, making fMRI highly accurate.False. BOLD responses are slow and delayed compared with neural activity. This makes fMRI an indirect measure of brain activity.
  82. 82True or false: Brain measurement is able to infer what people are thinking ("mind-reading").False. We cannot infer what people are thinking or feeling based on the measurement of their brain activity.
  83. 83Define reverse inference.A reverse inference would be the question of what cognitive process or behaviour is occurring given the brain activity.
  84. 84What are the strengths of an EEG?It shows the precise time of processing.
  85. 85What are the weaknesses of EEGs?It is difficult to localise brain activity as it measures from across the scalp.
  86. 86True or false: Neurons do not regenerate but new neurons are constantly "born" from neural stem cells.True.
  87. 87In which two areas of the brain can new neurons be "born"?Hippocampus and subventricular zone for olfactory bulb.
  88. 88Define synaptogenesis.A generation of new synapses (brain connections). These are constantly formed and strengthened with experience and learning.
  89. 89Define environmental enrichment in relation to synaptogenesis."Enriched" conditions lead to growth of dendrites and more extensive synaptic connections. This could relate to Bronfenbrenner's developmental theory?
  90. 90Explain neuroplasticity in relation to experience.Brain reorganisation with experience. For example, strings players have larger sensory cortex areas for their left hand fingers from use and experience.
  91. 91Explain neuroplasticity in relation to brain damage.Brain reorganisation after damage. For example, if brain damage occurs after an accident, the motor cortex can reorganise through rehabilitation and recover function.
  92. 92Define maladaptive plasticity.Behavioural loss or development of disease symptoms resulting from aberrant plasticity changes in the brain.
  93. 93Describe some of the effects that Patient H.M. displayed after having his hippocampus removed.Caused severe memory loss. He could remember and recall things from before the surgery but could not form any new long term memories. He could learn new skills but not remember how he had learned them.
  94. 94The hippocampus is responsible for which two parts of long term memory?Declarative (episodic and semantic) and encoding.
  95. 95Which parts of the brain are responsible for procedural long term memory?Basal ganglia and cerebellum.
  96. 96Define long term potentiation (LTP).Change in the structure of synapses to give stronger signals between neurons. This encourages the release of more neurotransmitters and more post-synaptic receptors.
  97. 97Describe "Hebbian learning".Repeated firing of pre-synaptic and post-synaptic neurons at the same time will strengthen synaptic connection. Remember as: "neurons that fire together, wire together".
  98. 98How does the amygdala relate to classical conditioning?The amygdala is responsible for fear and arousal. Fear is conditioned through the use of a CS and an US to elicit a CR.
  99. 99True or false: The basis of neuroplasticity learning is that brain pathways that are used often are strengthened.True.
  100. 100Describe the theoretical concept of "grandmother cells".Neurons could represent a certain concept, such as your grandmother. Billions of neurons can encode billions of concepts and memory may be represented by groups of neurons each encoding specific concepts of objects.
  101. 101Describe the spreading activation model theory.Spreading activation is a theoretical method for searching associative networks, neural networks, or semantic networks in the brain.
  102. 102True or false: The left hemisphere is responsible for logic, while the right hemisphere is responsible for creativity.False. The brain is not divided and lateralised by logic and creativity.
  103. 103What are the limitations to what optical illusions (such as the bistable optical illusion) tell us?Optical illusions can tell us about how the visual systems in our brain gives rise to our conscious perception. They cannot, despite popular belief, provide insight into our personality.
  104. 104True or false: Personality traits can be mapped to the left or right hemisphere.False: There is no empirical evidence for lateralisation of personality functions. General personality traits do not map to left or right hemisphere dominance.
  105. 105True or false: Language is lateralised to the left hemisphere in most people.True.
  106. 106True or false: Some cognitive functions rely more on one side of the brain than the other.True.
  107. 107Define contralateral functions.Cognitive functions occurring in one hemisphere of the brain that are responsible for functions on the opposite side of the body. For example, body movement is a contralateral function because the left hemisphere controls the right side of the body.
  108. 108True or false: Language is always lateralised to the left hemisphere.False. Although language is lateralised to the left hemisphere for most people, this is not always the case.
  109. 109When using fMRI to observe language lateralisation, what is commonly found?fMRI often shows activation in both hemispheres, making it difficult to determine specific lateralisation.
  110. 110What percentage of right-handed people have language lateralised to their left hemisphere?95%.
  111. 111What percentage of left-handed people have language lateralised to their left hemisphere?70%.
  112. 112Explain the WADA test.It involves using an anasthetic drug in the left or right carotid artery to stop function of one hemisphere for a few minutes so that any speech or language deficits will become apparent. Often used before removal surgery for epilepsy.
  113. 113What is the difference between contralateral and ipsilateral functions?Contralateral is cognitive functions for the opposite side of the body. Ipsilateral is cognitive functions for the same side of the body.
  114. 114True or false: The primary motor and sensory cortex is contralateral.True.
  115. 115True or false: Each side of the visual space is mapped to the contralateral visual cortex.True.
  116. 116True or false: The image from the left eye goes to the right hemisphere and the right eye's image goes to the left hemisphere.False. The input to each half of the retina is split. The left side of vision from both eyes goes to the right hemisphere and the right side of vision from both eyes goes to the left hemisphere. This is important for depth perception.
  117. 117What is the corpus callosum?Axons of neurons (nerve fibres) that connect the left and right hemispheres. This allows the transfer of information between the two hemispheres.
  118. 118A split brain patient would be able to verbally identify an image on which side of their field of vision?Right. The image would be sent to the left visual cortex and then processed in the language area, also in the left hemisphere. If the image was on the left, it would be processed in the right visual cortex and could not be transferred to the language area in the left hemisphere.
  119. 119What is a split brain patient?When a patient has a severed corpus callosum.
  120. 120True or false: In split brain patients, the left hemisphere can tell what it has seen, while the right hemisphere can only show what it has seen via the left hand.True.
  121. 121What is the difference between top-down attention and bottom-up attention?Top-down attention is conscious controlled, while bottom-up attention is automatic and involuntary.
  122. 122What is spacial neglect?Lesions and damage to the parietal cortex, resulting in deficits in directing attention to one side of space (contralateral to brain lesion) that are not due to visual deficits.
  123. 123Define simultagnosia.When a person cannot perceive multiple objects simultaneously. They will ignore objects on the neglected or damaged side.
  124. 124ADHD, OCD or reward addictions indicate deficits in which lobe.Frontal lobe, associated with executive and inhibitory control.
  125. 125What kind of neuropsychological tasks can be used to identify ADHD?Continuous performance tasks as they are particularly sensitive to attention deficits in children.
  126. 126What is one reason why a frontal lobotomy may be performed?To treat severe cases of psychosis for which there is no other treatment. For example, schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.
  127. 127Define mirror neurons.Neurons that fire both when performing an action and when observing someone else perform the same action.
  128. 128What effects do mirror neurons have?Learning by imitation, social bonding and understanding others.
  129. 129Describe the simulation theory in relation to mirror neurons.We understand others' mental and emotional states and intentions by simulating their state in our own mind, based on our own knowledge from past experience.
  130. 130Explain the mirror system theory.We understand actions when we map the visual representation of the observed action onto our motor representation of the same action.
  131. 131What did motor cortex simulation over the primary motor cortex show?It caused a muscle twitch in the hand. It found that the size of the hand muscle response (EMG) indicates the level of excitability (activity) in the primary motor cortex.
  132. 132Explain interference effects in relation to mirror neurons.Observing others' actions can interfere with executing our own actions.
  133. 133Explain empathy in relation to mirror neurons.When we observe emotions of others, some of their brain state is mirrored or simulated in our own brain.
  134. 134Explain the theory of learning by association in relation to mirror neurons.Mirror neurons form associations between observed and experienced states.
  135. 135True or false: During testing for neural empathy, the unpleasantness of pain was observed during both actual pain and observed pain.True.
  136. 136Describe group association in relation to neural mirroring.Neural empathy and mirroring is stronger for people we perceive to be "like us". This can lead to group behaviour involving in-groups (favouritism, conformity, helping) and out-groups (prejudice, discrimination, conflict).
  137. 137What is multi-person social neuroscience?A very recent research field that measures synchrony between interacting partners.
  138. 138—

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Psychology Flashcards on PSYC1020 Mind, Brain & Behaviour Pt 2, created by Lainie Tilse on 19/06/2017.
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Lainie Tilse · Jun 2017
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Jun 20, 2017
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