Unit 1 Notes 9/30/15 9:35 PM

In what manner did socrates share his philosophy?

STUDY GUIDE

Notes to go with PSC 100Y lecture slides.  

These are additional notes about the pictures and info. Follow along with the lecture slides. These notes do NOT include all of the information that is already written on the lecture notes  slides. It is an organized summary.

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What is Cognitive Psychology?

• Examines the mental processes the field of cognitive psychology focuses on mental  operations related to thinking, learning, & communication

• It includes topics on perception memory attention, language thinking, and decision making  

o Ex. Perception & memory-seeing a flower, how do you know? Have you seen  or felt?

Whose idea is antithesis?

o Ex. Driving-skills your learned & retained= procedural memory

o Recall other aspects of the event when you are behind the wheel for first time  such as the first car, or emotional experiences – episodic memory  

Introduction to Cognitive Psychology History 1-1 

Socrates

• First famous Greek philosopher 

• Shared his philosophy through dialogues

Plato

• Founder of rationalism We also discuss several other topics like How does feedback fit into linear model approach?

o Argued knowledge comes from the idea and logical analysis, not observation o Interested in math, which comes from logical analysis

• Argued we are born with all the knowledge, we just need to find it through rational  analysis  

How does wundt view introspection?

If you want to learn more check out What causes lactose intolerance?

Aristotle

• Founder of Empiricism 

o Knowledge comes from observing the world through our senses

o Interested in bio & physics, which require observation We also discuss several other topics like How does modern society treat individualism?

Epistemology = Theory of Knowledge

Introduction to Cognitive Psychology History 1-2 

Descartes

• Rationalist 

o Logical > empirical  

o Idea > object

• Like Plato, Descartes was a rationalist Don't forget about the age old question of What do implementation provisions that statute to do?

• Believed there are illusions in the world/can’t trust your senses. Empirical observation is  NOT knowledge because of illusions

• **I think; therefore I am.”**  

Locke  

• Empiricist 

• In contrast to Plato, who thought we are born with all the knowledge, Locke believed we  gain our knowledge through associations

o At birth, he believed our mind is “a blank slate”

• Like Aristotle, Locke believed we gain knowledge through experience = empirical

Thesis: Plato’s idea that rational analysis is the source of all knowledge

Antithesis: Aristotle’s idea of Empiricism

Synthesis: Kant combines ideas from both philosophies, leading to a new and better philosophy  We also discuss several other topics like What's a commerce clause?

Kant

• German philosopher

• **Empiricism is not enough to combine observations to knowledge** o Associating one thing with another really isn’t enough Empiricism. You lack a  framework for organizing your observation. Can’t bring together your  

observations to gain knowledge.  

• **Rationalism is not enough because you need more information.**

• Argued we are born with some basic concepts that guide our acquisition of knowledge o “Pure concepts of understanding” If you want to learn more check out What makes emails asynchronous?

o Like rationalists, Kant believed we were born with something  

o Like empiricists, Kant believed our observation played a role in knowledge. o Similar to nature nurture debate

• Introduction to Cognitive Psychology History 1-3 

Wundt

• The FIRST psychologist 

• Research method was introspection, which is observing own thoughts while engaging in  various activities

• Introspection is no longer considered a valid source of evidence because of the lack of  replication

Problem of other minds = we can see behavior but we have no direct access to contents of  someone else’s mind

Qualia = the internal and subjective component of perceptions of sensory inputs

Freud

• Psychodynamics theory = different mental entities

o The id, ego, and superego  

• IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTION

o Much of human behavior comes from unconscious processes; contents of  awareness are only the tip of the iceberg

Introduction to Cognitive Psychology History 1-4 

Thorndike

o Behaviorist 

o “Puzzle box experiment”

o PHD thesis: carefully measured the ability of animals in a rigorous manner o Law of effect = If a behavior is followed by something positive, it will be strengthened; if  it is followed by something negative, it will be weakened

Skinner

o All human behavior can be explained by a set of simple rules of learning o Same rules controlled the behavior of other animals like rats & pigeons

9/30/15 9:35 PM

Notes to go with PSC 100Y lecture slides.  

These are additional notes about the pictures and info. Follow along  with the lecture slides. These notes do NOT include all of the  information that is already written on the lecture notes slides. It is  an organized summary. 

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Introduction to Cognitive Psychology History 1-5 

Behaviorism

o Behaviorism was a reaction against unobservable mental entities (like Freud) o Rejects mental untestable concepts

o Mental activity does not exist or mental activity is epiphenomenal (has no causal effect)

Philosophical zombie = brain is sufficient to produce normal looking behavior, without  awareness

Radical behaviorism  

o All interesting aspects of human behavior arise from a simple set of conditioning  processes

Thesis: We can study mental processes by asking people to describe them (introspection) Antithesis: Behaviorism. We cannot study mental processes because of the problem of other  minds.

Synthesis: Cognitive psychology.  

Introduction to Cognitive Psychology History 1-6 

Downfall of Behaviorism

• Epistemological basis

o Epistemology is the theory of knowledge

o Science often involves testing unobservable theoretical entities like electrons o Can test hypotheses about unobservable mental operations by looking at  effects on behavior (even if we don’t have access to their qualia)

o This undercuts behaviorist’s claim that we cannot study mental operations

Introduction to Cognitive Psychology History 1-7 

Downfall of Behaviorism

o Failed to explain many aspects of human behavior such as language

o Basic idea of behaviorism is conditioning  

o Chomsky argued behaviorists’ approach could never really explain human language and  therefore not a sufficient general approach

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Notes to go with PSC 100Y lecture slides.  

These are additional notes about the pictures and info. Follow along with the lecture slides.  These notes do NOT include all of the information that is already written on the lecture notes  slides. It is an organized summary.

______________________________________________________________________________ Introduction to Cognitive Psychology Cognitive Neuroscience 1-1 

Parts of a neuron

Input – where info is collected. The dendrites

Output – through electrical impulses. Axons.

Axons are coated with myelin, an insulator which makes the information travel faster. Made of  fat.  

Introduction to Cognitive Psychology Cognitive Neuroscience 1-2 

Action potentials are all or none. They do not get smaller as they travel down the axon. When an  axon splits, the action potential goes down all branches with no loss of size.  

Typically measure the output of a neuron as its firing rate which is the number of action  potentials or spokes per second  

Post synaptic potential may be large or small depending on how may are active at the same time.  Neurons coding the area near the dark region receive less inhibition.

Introduction to Cognitive Psychology Cognitive Neuroscience 1-3 

Corpus callosum- band of axons crossing hemispheres. Connecting left and right hemispheres  and allows them to communicate.  

Cerebral cortex: single sheet of disuse divided into two halves

Thalamus-right in the center of the brain/relay station for sensory information  Hippocampus: Part of the cerebral cortex that’s important for long term memory

There are 4 lobes named after the bones fused together to form the skull

• Frontal  

• Parietal  

• Occipital

• Temporal

• Introduction to Cognitive Psychology Cognitive Neuroscience 1-4 

Light must first travel through the pupil, iris, lens (THE FLIPPER), and the retina, which  contains photoreceptors

• The lens INVERTS the image!

• When you stare at an object directly, that is the FOVEA. Think of it as the middle of  the retina, the middle of your stare, the FOCUS = FOVEA.  

• The LEFT hemisphere codes the RIGHT visual field. That is how we get contralateral  coding of information in the visual system.

9/30/15 9:35 PM

Introduction to Cognitive Psychology Cognitive Neuroscience 2-1 

Three major approaches for determining the relationship between an anatomical area and a  cognitive process

• 1. DAMAGE-measure the cognitive process in people or animals with damage in a  specific brain area

• 2. STIMULATE-stimulate the area and measure the cognitive process

• 3. NEURAL ACTIVITY-measure neural activity in the area while the cognitive  process is engaged

Lesions

• 1. DAMAGED part of the brain

o A major cause is disruptions in the blood supply

▪ STOKE

▪ Blood clots can get stuck in narrow arteries = cell death = swelling

▪ DEAD NEURONS can NEVER be replaced, however, other parts that  

are not damaged in the brain may reorganize to take over the function  

of the part that was lost.  

• 2. Hippocampos: very important for memory

• 3. Open/closed head injuries can also create lesions, again, damages in the brain

o Introduction to Cognitive Psychology Cognitive Neuroscience 2-2 

Although there are limitations to studying such lesions, there are different approaches that help  us study these damages.  

• 1. OVERLAP-study a group of patients with similar symptoms

• 2. ARTIFICIAL- create artificial lesions in animals

• 3. STIMULATION- during neurosurgery, such as those during brain tumor, can allow  doctors to stimulate brain activity by showing patients pictures

We devote a lot of cortical space to controlling the hand and face, more than the elbow or knee.  That gives us finer abilities to control month and hand movements.  

LIMITATIONS during Noninvasive stimulation:

• Small number of patients

• Part of the brain is unhealthy

• Neurosurgery is delicate

Introduction to Cognitive Psychology Cognitive Neuroscience 2-1 

• EEG: Hard to see activity related to specific cognitive processes

• By averaging over multiple trials, we are bale to isolate the neural activity triggered  by stimulus.  

• ERP: Good temporal solution, but poor spatial. In other words, good at telling us  WHEN not WHERE.  

o Introduction to Cognitive Psychology Cognitive Neuroscience 2-2 • Structural brain imaging: excellent spatial resolution. Used to see internal structures.  • MRI: usually gives a picture of brain structure, but not what’s active

• Functional brain imaging: PET: a small amount of radiation is injected into the  bloodstream and into the brain & you can study the neural activity

• Functional MRI: no radiation injection (that’s the advantage of this approach) o Downside: blood flow changes slowly. Takes about 6 seconds.

*REMEMBER THE LAST SLIDE

9/30/15 9:35 PM

9/30/15 9:35 PM

Notes to go with PSC 100Y lecture slides.  

These are additional notes about the pictures and info. Follow along with the lecture slides.  These notes do NOT include all of the information that is already written on the lecture notes  slides. It is an organized summary.

______________________________________________________________________________ Introduction to Cognitive Psychology Cognitive Neuroscience 1-1 

Parts of a neuron

• Input – where info is collected. The dendrites

• Output – through electrical impulses. Axons.

• Axons are coated with myelin, an insulator which makes the information travel faster.  Made of fat.  

Introduction to Cognitive Psychology Cognitive Neuroscience 1-2 

Action potentials are all or none. They do not get smaller as they travel down the axon. When an  axon splits, the action potential goes down all branches with no loss of size.  

Typically measure the output of a neuron as its firing rate which is the number of action  potentials or spokes per second  

Post synaptic potential may be large or small depending on how may are active at the same time.  Neurons coding the area near the dark region receive less inhibition.  

Introduction to Cognitive Psychology Cognitive Neuroscience 1-3 

Corpus callosum- band of axons crossing hemispheres. Connecting left and right hemispheres  and allows them to communicate.  

Thalamus-right in the center of the brain