Marissa Irelan and I presented on the CogLab named Simon Effect. In this CogLab, the participants had to react to a visual stimuli, a green or red square, by pressing keys on a keyboard. They were testing to see if the reaction is faster and more accurate when a stimulus occurs in relatively the same location as the response, event though the location information may be irrelevant to the actual task. By studying the Simon Effect, researchers are able to look closer into our decision making stage called “response selection.” This stage of decision making is after you have identified the stimulus, so then you have to choose what your response will be. However, this isn’t to be confused with the last stage where you actually execute your response …show more content…
The independent variable of the study was whether or not the subjects had to move the control handle or press the keys towards or away from the stimulus, in simpler words the direction of the response. The dependent variable is the reaction time because it depends on which direction the participation moves the control handle or presses the keys. The data from both the original study and the CogLab version are needed when looking at decision making. It is important because it can help us better understand the way our brain processes when we make …show more content…
The CogLab on Simon effect focuses on the visual system, more precisely, processing sensory information and producing an appropriate motor response. Specifically this CogLab relates to chapter three which is about visual perception. Now after participating in the study and learning more in depth about the Simon effect, I have gained a better understanding about natural tendency in visual processing, and how the location of an object can affect your decision making skills. In addition, after looking more in depth at the original study, I understand how researchers conduct experiences for cognitive psychology by focusing on the cognitive processing and how it affects our visual
Schacter, D. L., Gilbert, D. T., & Wegner, D. M. (2010). Psychology. (2nd ed., p. 600). New York: Worth Pub.
Although correlation does not equal causation, we can conclude that similar cognitive processes, such as interference and automaticity, have influenced the results in our experiment. This can be expressed by the data and in identifying and saying aloud/reading a simple number compared to quantifying simple numbers. The cognitive load of reading familiar or smaller words is lower than that of counting, thus creating perchance a longer reaction time. In the experiment conducted in class as well as the one conducted by Stroop, the issue of divided attention may have been a great factor in interference or prolonged reaction time in the conditions. Psychological refractory period which states that the response to a second stimulus is slowed down by the first stimulus being processed; this can be a cause for the finding of increased reaction time when conflicting information is given. Attention may unconsciously be given to the less complex task, which is reading/identifying, and counting the main and more complex task may be interfered by the simpler stimulus. The expectation of having a longer reaction time when conducting the incongruent task was referenced back to the Stroop effect due to the similar implications of identifying and saying aloud the color presented in the print of the color descriptive word (Stroop,
Gibson (1979) developed an ecological approach to the study of visual perception, which is a new and radical approach to the whole field of psychology that humans perceive their environment directly without mediation by cognitive process or by mental entities. According to his assertion of direct perception, there is enough information in our environment to make sense of the world (Gibson, 1977). Gibson (1979) said “direct perception is an activity of getting information from ambient array of light” (p. 147), and further called this a process of information pickup. That is, there is no need for mental processing since every object and event in the world have inherent meanings that are detected and exploited by humans. So his perception is based on information, not on sensations, which is in contrast with the conventional perspective of perception.
In this documentary we get to discover the differences between our conscious and unconscious brain. This video provides us with useful information on how and why our brains act in the way they do using multiple tests to prove each point. Our brains are made of parts, like a car, and they all are needed in order to function properly. The video names the parts and the functions of each throughout the video. They use a magician’s tricks throughout the documentary to show how our brains suppress what is not in our “spotlight” attention proving that our brain can only focus on one thing at a time. If we compare this to our textbook, it says that this is called selective attention. The marshmallow test, showed in the video, helps us understand how
Libet’s free will experiment was a study on whether human beings have free will/control over the actions they take or if it is just a response from the brain. He studied the electrical impulses that occur in the brain before actions take place- the readiness potential or RP. By using a cathode ray oscilloscope as a timer, he had subjects report when they became aware of conscious thought before an action. Subjects were asked to flex their wrists when they felt the need. Libet similarly observed subjects ability change their minds or not perform an action. Libet found the subjects could veto an action. Libet suggested that we all do this spontaneous veto action, normally
In Stephen Jay Gould’s essay, “Some close encounters of a mental kind,” Gould discussed about how certainty can be both blessing and dangerous. According to Gould, certainty can be blessing because it can provide warmth, comfort and secure. However, it can also be a danger because it can trick our mind with false information of what we see and remember in our mind. Gould also talked about the three levels of possible error in direct visual observation: misperception, retention and retrieval. According to Gould, our human mind is the greatest miracle of nature and the wicked of all frauds and tricksters mixed. To support his argument and statements, he used an example of an experiment that Elizabeth Loftus, a professor from University of California Irvine, did to her students and a personal experience of his childhood trip to the Devils Tower. I agree with Gould that sight and memory do not provide certainty because what we remember is not always true, our mind can be tricky and trick us into believing what we see/hear is real due to the three potential error of visual observation. Certainty is unreliable and tricky.
...e argued the conscious delay, was likely due to the activity of a higher level of higher control areas that were in preparation for an upcoming decision way before it moved into conscious awareness.
As with the mental map experiments, the fact that reaction time depends directly on the degree of rotation has been taken as evidence that we solve the...
The most famous series of experiments to empirically address the problem of free will were those conducted by Benjamin Libet and colleagues (Libet, Gleason, Wright, & Pearl, 1983; Libet, 1985). He analyzed the timing of conscious awareness of movement, and concluded that voluntary action begins with unconscious activity in the brain. Libet’s findings have been replicated in several more recent studies, such as those by Soon, Brass, Heinze, & Haynes (2008) and Bode, He, Soon, Trampel, Turner, Haynes (2011). Collectively, these results have almost conclusively determined that the conscious decision to act is preceded by unconscious neural action; however, the application of these findings to the problem of free will is still a subject of debate. To some experimental neuroscientists (Libet, 1985; Soon et al., 2008; Haggard, 2011; Fried, Mukamel, & Kreiman, 2011), these studies indicate that free will, or the conscious will ...
The relation of automaticity and the brain can be seen by performing tasks and examining brain activity before and after automaticity training. Before the training of automaticity, the sections of the brain used when performing serial reaction time (SRT) tasks are an activation of a wide network of frontal and striatal regions, as well as parietal lobe (Poldrack et al. 2005). After the training of a...
Sternberg, R. J. (1999). Cognitive psychology (2nd ed.). Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace College Publishers
The way that our brain processes information and responds to the awareness of things is a very complex system with in the brain. One study mentioned talks about the integration of senses in the brain and how we process the information. “Another study better illustrates the integrative nature of this synchrony. Words were presented in various locations on a screen; whether the subject became aware of the word’s color or if its location-indicated by being able to recall is later-depended on whether a frontal or temporal area was activated during the presentation. But if the individual registered both the color and the location, additional activity occurred in a part of the parietal cortex (Uncapher, Otten, & Rugg, 2006).” (Garrett, pg.501) This research demonstrates how different people react differently to stimuli and different levels of their cognition and awareness. It is important for people to develop a sense of awareness in order to function fully in the world. The book argues “that one apparent advantage is that it enables consistency and a playfulness in our behavior that would not be possible otherwise. (Garrett, pg. 502) It is human nature to rely on a consistency and the ability to plan ahead which is why the function of awareness is so important to the human
In the present study, the behavioral and cortical properties of the McGurk effect and its sensitivity to different SOAs were investigated. A strong McGurk effect was found on behavioral data. The McGurk effect in our research sample was skewed to the right visual lead, auditory lag side in both he ID- and SJ-task. This is in line with the typical visual lead McGurk bias which was found by Wassenhove et al. (2007) and Munhall et al. (1996). It suggests that our brains are used to reduce differences in time onset between auditory and visual stimuli. As mentioned before, light travels faster than sound, but both arise mainly from the same source as the auditory stimulus. Our brains adapt to this and form a perception which unites these stimuli. (Fuijisaki, Shimojo, Kashino & Nishida, 2004).
The seaside is one of my favorite places. According to my expectation, as soon as I arrived at Santa Monica beach, I recalled the memories of happiness, pleasure, serenity, and comfort. I think that this mantal experience is based on my memory and my past experience that may be related to the beach, because I always felt these emotions whenever I came the beach. So, it can be considered as a kind of “Necker tube.” I think that my past experiences and prior knowledge related to the beach ,which is a stimulus, helped me make inferences. My perceptions of the beach come from what I saw, what I thought, and what I felt at the beach. When it comes to visual illusions, such as the Necker tube, Gregory believed that the brain may create incorrect hypotheses, leading to several errors of
When magnetic field is applied to a current carrying conductor in a direction perpendicular to that of the flow of current, a potential difference or transverse electric field is created across a conductor. The potential difference created across the conductor due to the applications of magnetic field in a direction perpendicular to that of the flow of current is called Hall Effect.