Semester 2: Cognitive and Biological

Approach
Final Exam Study Guide
Section 1

Cognitive Psychology
Focuses on how the interactions of thinking, emotion, creativity, and problem-solving abilities affect
how and why you think the way you do.
Cognitive psychologists argued that scientific psychology should include research on mental processes.
These mental processes include:
● Perception,
● Thinking,
● Decision-making,
● Problem-solving,
● Memory
● Language
● Attention
We must be cognitive misers,we often make the choice not to actively process information
● IDK
● IDC
● IDHT

Section 2

Memory
There are many different types of memory and there is no one such thing which can be called
"memory." We now define it as learning that has persisted over time; it is information that has been
acquired, stored, and can be retrieved.

The two main pieces are Short Term and Long Term Memory.

● Short Term: sensory information is recognized or considered important; it is coded and sent to
STM (working memory), limited capacity and duration of around 12 seconds.
● Long Term : information is rehearsed or attended to is recorded and transferred into LTM,
unlimited capacity and potentially unlimited duration

Within long term memory there are several other types of memory:
 ● Semantic memory: Factual knowledge that you have. This is what many people think about when
they think about "memory."
● Episodic memory: These are your autobiographical memories, memories of events or experiences
● Procedural memory: Memories of how to do something - also habits that we have are procedural
memory.
● Facial recognition: The ability to recall and recognize faces. Damage to the fusiform gyrus can
affect this type of memory and is called prosopagnosia.

Kearins (1981)

Used a sample of forty-four adolescent desert Indigenous Australians aged 12 - 16 years (27 boys, 17
girls) and 44 adolescents (28 boys, 16 girls) of white Australian origin. The basic procedure was that
Kearins placed 20 objects on a board divided into 20 squares. Indigenous Australian. The children
were instructed that when the cover was removed, they should "look hard at all the things and try to
remember where they all are," and that the subsequent task was a reconstruction of the board with the
objects in the same arrangements and white Australian children were told to study the board for 30
seconds. Kearins found that the Indigenous Australian children performed significantly better than the
white Australian children in placing the objects into their original locations. These interesting results
suggest that survival needs may shape and reward a particular way of encoding information in
memory.

Sensory Memory

The sensory memory store buffer does not process information. Its function is to detect information
and hold it until it is either transferred further into the short-term memory store or lost. Sensory
memory consists of, visual, auditory, olfactory,etc. Traces in iconic memory decay after 1 second of
inattention, while traces in echoic memory can decay after 2–5 seconds.

Section 3

Multi-Store Model of Memory

Milner’s magic number: The capacity of short-term memory has been extensively studied, and it has
been established to be 7±2 chunks of information.The trick is that a chunk is not only an individual unit.
The Digit span test is a demonstration of how STM is limited in capacity. Miller (1956) found that by
chunking data we are able to remember more information.

Milner (1966)

● longitudinal case study focusing on a patient referred to as HM.

● At 27, HM became incapacitated by seizures resulting in him not able to live a normal life
● William Scovilole performed an experimental surgery removing tissue from the medial temporal
lobe (including the hippocampus) on both sides of HM’s brain.
● After the operation, it was observed that he forgot daily events as quickly as they occurred.
● HM, despite maintaining a strong childhood memory and maintaining a largely unchanged
personality, struggled to recall the 12 years prior to the operation.
● HM primarily suffered from anterograde amnesia (a type of memory loss that occurs when
 you can't form new memories).
○ He was unable to remember the faces of people he met after the operation.
● Aim: Better understand the effects that the surgery had had on patient HM.
○ HM could not acquire new episodic knowledge or new semantic knowledge.
○ This suggests that the brain structures that were removed from his brain are important for
the transfer of information from short-term to long-term memory.

Section 4

Working Memory Model

The theory of working memory was first posited by Baddley and Hitch in 1974. The model aims to
explain memory in a way that addresses the limitations of Multi Store model of memory

● Short term memory is not just one store but a number of different stores
● Long term memory is a passive store that holds previously learned material for use by the Short
term memory when needed.
● Most memory is handled by the various short term memory stores

Your working memory consists of the five different components actively working together to facilitate
functioning memory:

○ Central Executive
○ Episodic Buffer (short term memory)
○ Phonological Loop (short term memory)
○ Visual-Spatial Sketchpad (short term memory)
○ Long term memory

The model predicts that when using the same modality the two tasks will interfere with each other and the
performance will be hindered. In tasks that use different modalities the model predicts that the
performance of the tasks will not be significantly hindered in this case. The dual task method supports
the theory of working memory in that it suggests there are different short term memory stores.

Section 5

Schema Theory
Schemas are used to organize knowledge, assist recall, guide behavior,make predictions, and to help us to
make sense of current experiences. The concept of schema was first used by Jean Piaget in 1926. He
suggested that children learn using existing schemas that are either accommodated or assimilated.

● Schemas are cognitive structures that are derived from prior experience and knowledge.
● Schemas are culturally specific.
● Schema Theory predicts that what we already know will influence our processing of information
● New information is processed under existing schema
● Scripts are schema about events in time rather than schema for objects.
● When events don’t follow our scripts, we can become frustrated, angry, disappointed, or simply
confused.

There are many special cases and types of schemas, depending on the particular aspect of human
experience that is influenced by mental representations.

● Social Schemas: mental representations about various groups of people, for example, stereotypes
● Scripts: schemas about sequences of events like going to a restaurant or making coffee
● Self-schemas: mental representations about ourselves

Bartlett (1932)

The aim of the study was to investigate how the memory of a story is affected by previous knowledge.
Bartlett wanted to see if cultural background and unfamiliarity with a text would lead to distortion of
memory when the story was recalled. He hypothesized that memory is reconstructive and that people
store and retrieve information according to expectations formed by cultural schemas.

● Bartlett's study indicates that remembering is not a passive but rather an active process, where
information is retrieved and changed to fit into existing schemas.
● This is done to create meaning in the incoming information. According to Bartlett, humans
constantly search for meaning.
● Based on his research Bartlett formulated the theory of reconstructive memory. This means that
memories are not copies of experiences but rather a reconstruction.
Section 6

Reliability of Memory

Schemas can influence memory processes at all stages of information processing, including encoding and
retrieval. Studies like Anderson and Pichert (1978) show that schemas can determine what you do and
do not remember even after the information has been coded and stored in the long-term memory.

● Retrieval of information from Long Term Memory may depend on whether or not you are using a
particular schema.
● This is why we sometimes find it difficult to recall things, but then they “jump back” to us when
the context changes and something in the new context triggers those memories.
● When we reconstruct memory, we are activating schemas that are relevant to an event. In this
process, we may distort memories.
● Bartlett refers to this as efforts after meaning, i.e. trying to make the past more logical, more
coherent, and generally more ‘sensible’,

Section 7

Research Methods

● Theories using a biological approach will be looking for biological explanations. They assume to
know the functions and effects of bodily processes in order to find answers
● Cognitive Approach Based on the assumption that the way we perceive and think about the
world and ourselves affects our behavior. The causation within the cognitive approach is
primarily rooted in subconscious responses
● Cultural Approach Based on the assumption that our behavior is influenced by other people and
the environment. This approach recognises that people do not exist in a vacuum and that as social
beings we are easily persuaded by others.

Theories
● Based on a hypothesis
● Backed by Evidence
● Testable
● Based on a concrete foundation or “approach”
TEACUP. That is the theory is Testable, Empirical, Applicable, has Construct Validity, is Unbiased and
Predictive.
Section 8

Experiments
The goal of an experiment is to determine whether a cause-and-effect relationship exists between two
variables. The experiment is an example of quantitative research, which generates numerical data.

● Experiment: a research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors

(independent variables) to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process
● Independent Variable: the experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is
being studied.
● Dependent Variable: the outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to
manipulations of the independent variable
● Controlled variables - variables that are kept constant in order to avoid influencing the
relationship between the IV and the DV.
● Standardized procedure - the idea that directions given to participants during an experiment are
exactly the same. This is the most basic form of "control" for a study.
● Random allocation to conditions: In a true experiment, participants are randomly allocated to
conditions in order to avoid sampling bias.

Experiments

● Lab experiment: an experiment done under highly controlled conditions.

● Field experiment: an experiment done in a natural setting. There is less control over variables.
● A true experiment: An IV is manipulated and a DV is measured under controlled conditions.
Participants are randomly allocated to conditions.
● A quasi-experiment: No IV is manipulated and participants are not randomly allocated to
conditions. Instead, it is their characteristics that set them apart
● A natural experiment: An experiment that is the result of a "naturally occurring event."
Issues

● Extraneous variables are undesirable variables that influence the relationship between the
independent and dependent variables.
● Researcher bias is when the experimenter thinks they see what he or she is looking for, the
expectations of the researcher consciously or unconsciously affect the findings of the study
● Participant variability is a limitation of a study when the characteristics of the sample affect the
dependent variable.
● Artificiality is when the situation created is so unlikely to occur that one has to wonder if there is
any validity in the findings.
● Demand characteristics occur when participants act differently simply because they know that
they are in a study. They may try to guess the aims of the study and act accordingly.
○ Expectancy effect: the participant attempts to discern the experimenter's hypotheses
with the goal of "helping" the researcher. This may result in acting in a certain way or
 giving the "right answer."
○ Screw you effect: the participant attempts to discern the experimenter's hypotheses, but
only in order to destroy the credibility of the study.
○ Social desirability effect: This is when the participant answers in a way that makes
him/her look good to the researcher. This is done to avoid embarrassment or judgment.

The null hypothesis states that the IV will have no effect on the DV, or that any change in the DV will be
due to chance. The goal of any research is to be able to reject the null hypothesis.

Sampling Techniques
Psychologists take a sample from a population when collecting participants for research and
experiments. Often psychologists talk about a target population.

If a sample has low external validity, it’s possible that this is due to sampling bias. Sampling bias occurs
when demographics within a target population are over included within a sample in a way that is not
representative of a target populations traits as a whole

YAVIS bias - that is, Young, Attractive, Verbal, Intelligent, and Social.

Types of Sampling

● Self-selected sampling- People that sign-up are usually motivated and are less likely to drop out
of the research.
● Opportunity sampling- Also known as a convenience sample. This is when you use a
pre-existing sample .It is an easy way to get participants because they are readily available. The
groupings often tend to be relatively homogeneous.
● Random sampling- A random sample is defined as a sample in which everyone in the target
population had the same probability of being chosen. This is often seen as an ideal sampling
technique, but if the target population is too large, then random sampling is not really possible.
● Purposive sampling- A purposive sample is looking for people with a very specific set of
traits.This is often accomplished by a self-selected sample.
● Snowball sampling- Also known as a network sample. This is another type of purposive
sampling, but network sampling is used when you are looking for participants from a specific
group that would not respond to an ad in a paper. For example, former drug addicts, people
engaged in illegal activities, or victims of domestic violence. It could also be because you think
that a participant could help you find people more efficiently.
● Stratified sampling- Stratified sampling attempts to make a sample that reflects the sub-groups
within a target population. Ideally, the participants are randomly selected from each "stratum."
The problem with stratified samples is that one has to be careful about how they label the groups
within a community.
Section 9

Experimental Design
In an independent samples design, the sample is randomly allocated to one condition of the experiment

● Order effects are controlled for since each participant only experiences one condition
● Demand characteristics are less likely as the participants will most likely not guess the hypothesis
● The same materials can be used for all conditions.
● Participant variability - each group will have different participants. The personal differences in
each group might affect the outcome
● More participants are required

In a repeated measures design, you have one sample of participants that receives each condition of an
experiment.
● Each participant is compared to him or herself. Participant variables are therefore controlled.
● Fewer participants are required.
● Order effects - participants have to experience more than one condition so there may be
confounding variables.
● Practice effect- when participants get better at something just because they keep doing it.
● Demand characteristics - the participants may guess the goal of the experiment and change their
behavior
● Often it is not possible to use the same materials.
● Participant attrition- when participants leave a study

Limitations of Experiments
Priming is defined as activating particular representations or associations in memory just before
carrying out an action or task

Order Effects: changes in participants' responses that result from the order in which the experimental
conditions are presented to them.

● Practice effect: when we ask participants to do a task repeatedly, and they improve as a result
● Fatigue effect:when asked to take part in several conditions of the same experiment, participants
get tired or they may get bored. Participants might lose motivation to try their best or their
concentration may be impaired, influencing the results.
● Interference effect:when the fact that you have taken part in one condition affects your ability to
take part in the next condition

Controls

● One control is called counterbalancing. This is when you vary the order in which the conditions
are tested. If order effects did not play a role in the research, then the results should be the same
for both groups.
● There needs to be a long enough pause between conditions.
● Often researchers use a filler task in order to clear the "mental palette" of the participants. This
controls for interference effects.
 Bias
● Researcher bias is when the beliefs or opinions of the researcher influence the outcomes or
conclusions of the research.
● P-Hacking: when a researcher tries to find patterns in their collected data that can be presented as
statistically significant, without first positing a specific hypothesis.
● Confirmation Bias:when a researcher searches for or interprets information in a way that
confirms a pre-existing belief or hypothesis
● Publication Bias: that often only studies with results are published.
● Funding Bias:who funded the study? Studies funded by special interest groups or corporations
who have a vested interest in the result are more susceptible to bias

Validity

Internal validity may also be affected by the construct validity of a study - that is, investigating if the
measure really is measuring the theoretical construct it is supposed to be. This has to do with the
operationalization of the variables.

External validity is the extent to which the results of a study can be generalized to other situations and to
other people. There are 2 ways of testing external validity. One is to determine if the sample is biased. If
the sample is not representative of the population that it is drawn from, the study lacks external validity.
This is also known as population validity.

The second way is to consider the ecological validity of a study.

Section 10

Ethics
Ethics refers to the correct rules of conduct necessary when carrying out research. All around the world
the activities of psychologists are regulated by codes of ethics. These codes outline the ethical principles
and procedures to be followed in all aspects of a psychologist’s professional activities: counseling,
testing and research.

● Informed Consent
● Protections from Harm
● Anonymity and Confidentiality
● Withdrawal from Participation
● Data Fabrication
● Plagiarism
● Publication Credit
● Sharing Data

Qualitative Research
The objective of qualitative research is to describe and possibly explain events and experiences.
Qualitative researchers study people in their own environment, preferably in naturally occurring
settings, such as schools, homes, hospitals, and streets.

The data consist of text - for example, from transcripts or field notes. Textual data are open-ended and
open for interpretation. The term used is “rich data”.

In observations, the researcher enters a situation where some behavior of interest is likely to take place
and then makes notes about it.The aim is to gather first-hand information in a naturally occurring
situation.

● Participant Observation- gain close and intimate familiarity with a given area of interest
through personal involvement with people in their natural environment.
● Non-Participant Observation-The researcher observes participants, with or without their
knowledge. The researcher does not take an active part in the situation
.
A case study is defined as an in-depth investigation of human experience. A single case can be one
person, but it could also be a family, a social group, an event, or an organization.

● Intrinsic- focused on resolving a problem or better understanding a specific case. There is no

goal of generalizing the findings.
● Instrumental- The goal of such case studies is to draw conclusions that may be applied outside of
that original case.

Interviews are an important way to collect qualitative data. They may be used as the primary research
method in a study, or they may be used in combination with other methods. For example, before and after
carrying out an observation, it is common to carry out interviews to get a deeper insight into the
behaviors and cognitive processes of the participants.

● Unstructured- A list of predetermined questions, called an interview schedule, may be used, and
if there are some questions that are asked to all interviewees, they will be open-ended questions
that can be asked in any order.
● Focus Groups-Used to study what a specific group of people think or feel about a topic. The
members of a focus group often have a common characteristic that is relevant to the topic of
investigation, which is why purposive sampling is often used.

Section 11

The Brain
The first principle of the biological approach to behavior implies that behavior may be the product of
brain structure. This leads us to the idea of localization. Localization of function is the idea that every
behavior is associated with a specific brain region.

● Cortex- It is the largest part of the human brain associated with higher-order functions such as
abstract thought or voluntary action. The cortex is divided into four sections called the
temporal lobe, parietal lobe , frontal lobe and occipital lobe.
● Cerebellum- It is associated with coordination of movement and balance. It also plays a role in
learning – specifically, in classically conditioned responses.
● Limbic System- Emotional brain, consists of Thalamus, Hypothalamus, Amygdala, and
Hippocampus,
● Brain Stem-responsible for regulating life functions, such as breathing, heart rate, and blood
pressure
Localization
Studies have shown that damage to a very specific brain area may demonstrate a very specific
malfunction in behavior. (Tan and Broca’s area)Further supporting the idea of localization is
Wernicke’s area. Wernicke’s area was discovered by Carl Wernicke. Wernicke’s area is responsible for
the comprehension of written and spoken language.

● Wilder Penfield- Canadian Neurosurgeon, cortical homunculus

● Karl Lashley- Equipotential, Rats with brain damage, Mass action
● Mass Action- The less cortex, the slower and more inefficient the learning. The key idea here
is that performance deterioration depends on the percentage of cortex destroyed but not on the
location of the destroyed cells.
● Equipotentiality- this refers to the ability of one part of the cortex to take over the functions of
another part of the cortex.

Neuroscience supports relative localization: it admits localization for some functions under some
conditions, but it also clearly outlines limits of localization. Localization is not static. Functional areas
move about. For example, people with damage to a functional brain area may learn to “re-specialize”
other brain areas to perform this function. This is known as neuroplasticity.

● Neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain to change throughout the course of life. The change
occurs through the making and breaking of synaptic connections between neurons
● synaptic plasticity: the ability of the neuron to form new synaptic connections and break up the
old ones.
● cortical remapping: the phenomenon when brain area X assumes the functions of brain area Y,
for example, due to injury
Maguire et al (2000)
The aim of the study was to see whether the brains of London taxi drivers would be somehow different as
a result of their exceptional knowledge of the city and the many hours that they spend behind the wheel
navigating the streets of London.
● taxi drivers were compared with the MRI scans of 50 right-handed males who did not drive taxis
● The posterior hippocampi of taxi drivers were significantly larger relative to those of control
subjects and the anterior hippocampus were significantly smaller
● the right posterior hippocampus correlated with the amount of time spent as a taxi driver. More
years, larger hippocampus
● It appears that the posterior hippocampus is involved when previously learned spatial information
is used, whereas the anterior hippocampal region may be more involved during the encoding of
new environmental layouts.

Neuroimaging

We can determine which method is best for differing circumstances using these parameters along with
each technique's individual pros and cons. Universal parameters include Spatial Resolution, Temporal
Resolution and Random Noise.
● Spatial resolution: the ability to discriminate between nearby locations
● Temporal resolution: the smallest time period in which changes in brain activity can be
 registered.
● Random noise: Brain activity associated with the task that the subject is performing has to be
separated from all sorts of background activity. Potential sources of noise are head movements or
even simply breathing.

Types
● CAT Scans-CAT scans work on the principle of differential absorption of X-rays. Bone and
hard tissue absorb X-rays better than soft tissue. As multiple X-ray beams go through the head
it is possible to reveal the structural features of the brain.
● Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)- During an MRI the person’s head is put in a strong
magnetic field, which aligns the spinning atoms of brain molecules. Then, a radio-wave pulse
momentarily disorients the atoms. After excitation by the magnetic field each tissue returns to its
equilibrium state. .When these pulses of energy are detected by the scanner, the relative
distribution of hydrogen atoms in the brain can be mapped.
● Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)-The signal that is analyzed by the fMRI
scanner to reconstruct brain activity is known as BOLD (blood-oxygen-level dependent) signal.
The flow of oxygenated blood directly correlates with the energy used by brain cells, and this
directly corresponds to the level of activity in a specific brain region.
● Positron emission tomography (PET)-A radioactive tracer is used that binds itself to molecules
naturally used in the brain, such as glucose. This radioactive tracer is administered into the
subject’s blood stream It then depicts brain activity by showing each brain area’s consumption of
its chemical fuel, the sugar glucose.
● Electroencephalography (EEG)-Electroencephalography (EEG) measures electric potentials
generated by neural circuits.when large groups of neurons fire synchronously, electric potentials
generated by these impulses become detectable at the heads surface.This information is used to
generate an electroencephalogram.

Section 12

Neurotransmission

The nervous system is a system of neurons, the nervous cells. A neuron consists of three parts: the body
(soma), dendrites and axon. Dendrites and axon are laments that extrude from the soma: typically
multiple dendrites but always a single axon.

● Axon- transmit signals further

● Soma-receive signals from other neurons,
● Dendrites-receive signals from other neurons,
Dendrites listen. Axons speak

Neurons
A synapse is a structure that connects two neurons. Each neuron on average has about 15,000 synapses
with other neurons. The nature of information transmission in the nervous system is partly electrical and
partly chemical.
● action potential—a brief electrical charge that travels down its axon.
● Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers.
● A released neurotransmitter is available in the synaptic gap for a short period during which it
may be destroyed, pulled back in through reuptake, or reach the postsynaptic membrane and
 bind to one of the receptors on its surface.

Neurotransmitters
The exact number of neurotransmitters is unknown but more than 100 have been identified. All
neurotransmitters are broadly divided into two groups: excitatory and inhibitory
● Excitatory neurotransmitters allow the impulse to cross the synapse. They produce stimulating
effects on the brain.
● Inhibitory neurotransmitters stop the impulse, preventing it from crossing the synapse. They
produce calming effects on the brain.
Types
● Dopamine-It is an excitatory neurotransmitter that is involved in motivation and in controlling
the brain’s reward and pleasure centers and in regulating emotional responses. It also has a
hand in learning and attention
● Serotonin-t is an inhibitory neurotransmitter that is involved in mood, hunger, arousal and
regulating sleep cycles. It is the “feel good” neurotransmitter. It’s undersupply is linked to
depression
● Norepinephrine-Helps control alertness and arousal. This is the arousal of the senses. Think
fight or flight. It triggers the production and release of adrenaline and other fear related
hormones
Hormones
They are chemical messengers that are manufactured by the endocrine glands that travel through the
bloodstream and affect other tissues.Hormones only influence cells that have receptors for this particular
hormone.. When a hormone binds to a receptor it launches a sequence of changes, some of which are
genomic: gene activation or gene suppression. This means that hormones do not influence behavior
directly. Instead, they change the probability that a certain behavior will occur

Types
● Oxytocin- produced in the hypothalamus and released into the blood by the pituitary gland. It
plays a role in sexual reproduction, childbirth and social bonding. It has been referred to as “the
love hormone”, “the bonding hormone” and “the cuddle chemical”.
● Adrenaline-secreted by the adrenal glands and is responsible for arousal and the "fight or flight"
response. This is a part of it activating the sympathetic nervous system. This is when you just
react rather than think. It also plays a role in emotional memory formation.
● Melatonin-secreted by the pineal gland. It signals the relaxation and lowers body temperature
that helps with a night of restful sleep
● Testosterone-produced by the testes. It stimulates muscle development and hair growth. Often it
plays a facilitative role in aggressive behavior
● Neuropeptides-produced by the hypothalamus and can also act as a neurotransmitter in the
brain.It stimulates food intake, reduces anxiety and stress, reduces pain perception, and affects the
circadian rhythm.
● Cortisol-Secreted by the adrenal glands; helps control blood sugar levels, regulate metabolism,
reduce inflammation, and assist with memory formation. Its function is to increase the amount
of glucose in the blood and to increase the metabolism of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates, this
provides the energy for the "Fight or Flight Response."