template matching theory
The brain stores mental “templates” for every possible visual stimulus
Recognition occurs when an incoming image matches a stored template exactly
issue: struggles to explain how we recognize objects that vary in appearance
feature detection theory
Neurons as Feature Detectors:
- This theory proposes that neurons in the visual cortex are specialized for detecting specific features of visual stimuli
Hubel and Wiesel’s Discovery:
- They provided evidence for feature detectors in the cat’s visual cortex.
- They found that specific neurons fired in response to lines of particular orientations
feature integration theory
- preattentive stage
- Automatic and parallel detection of basic features (color, orientation, etc.) - focused attention stage
- Attention is used to combine these features into a unified object representation
attention
selectively concentrating on one thing while ignoring others (limited capacity)
cognitive load
the mental effort imposed on the working memory
- the amount of information that the memory can hold and process at one time
Treisman’s attenuation model
suggests that attention weakens unattended information but does not completely block it (can still be captured if it is important)
Kahneman’s capacity model
- attention is based on arousal and task demands
- when demands of multiple tasks exceed the available attentional capacity performance on one or both tasks may suffer
multimode theory of attention
- This theory suggests that attention can operate at different stages of information processing
- From early sensory filtering to late semantic filtering
- The stage at which selection occurs depends on
- The specific task demands
- The amount of effort required
multitasking can increase…
cognitive load
technology and attention
- Contribute to high cognitive loads
- reduce attention efficiency
sensory memory
ultra short term storage
short-term memory
- Memory mechanism that allows us to retain a certain amount of information
- It temporarily retains processed information that either fades quickly or turns into long-term memory
long-term memory
- The memory process in the brain that takes information from the STM store
- It creates long-lasting memories
explicit memories
memories of facts or events
implicit memories
skills or habits
multi-store model
- Atkinson and Shiffrin assume there are three separate memory stores
- Information is transferred between these stores in a linear sequence
working memory model
This model describes how we actively process and manipulate information in our minds for cognitive tasks
4 main components
1. central executive
2. the phonological loop
3. visual-spatial sketchpad
4. the episodic buffer
central executive
the control center, responsible for attention, task switching and coordinating other components
visuospatial sketchpad
allows us to visualize and manipulate objects in our minds
phonological loop
processes verbal and auditory information
episodic buffer
It integrates information from the other components and LTM into a single, coherent episode
heuristic
mental shortcuts or rule of thumbs
- fast and efficient
- do not guarantee a correct solution
algorithms
step-by-step procedures
- time consuming
- guarantee a correct solution
SOAR
Another problem-solving model
Views problem solving as searching through a problem space of states and operators
