T3: PSYC 309 > Cognitive Control > Flashcards

Cognitive Control Flashcards

(58 cards)

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1
Q

is multitasking typically good?

A

nope
–> consistently and objectively hurts perfformance
–> can make a person less focused

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2
Q

when is multitasking easier?

A

when at least one of the tasks does not require substantial cog effort

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3
Q

what is cognitive control

A

also executive control
= The ability to orchestrate thought and action in accordance with internal goals
–> Makes activities purposeful

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4
Q

what are 2 types of cognitive control?

A
  1. proactive (in anticipation of an event)
  2. reactive (during an event)
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5
Q

is cognitive control housed in a single part of the brain?

A

nope, spread out around different brain areas

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6
Q

what are mental resources

A

limitations in how much info the mind can process at a given time

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7
Q

is cog control illimited?

A

nope, requires attention and has a limited capacity

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8
Q

what is internal attention

A

determines how much info can be prioritized within the mind
Ie, it’s processing limit

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9
Q

what are 4 factors that determine whether we can multitask efficiently?

A
  1. cognitive load
  2. cognitive overlap
  3. automatic processes
  4. controlled processes
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10
Q

cognitive load

A

the difficulty of a task
–> if easier (low cog task), we can perform other tasks simultaneously
–> as long as the combined load does not exceed our mental capacity
–> but if the tasks are more demanding, its better to do them one at a time

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11
Q

cognitive overlap

A

how much the demands of simultaneous tasks compete for the SAME mental resources
–> high competition when texting (visual) while walking (visual)
–> low competition when listening to music (audi) while walking (visual)

*doesn’t mean its impossible just that there is a significant cost

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12
Q

what is cognitive interference

A

When a load is high or when 2 tasks overlap, resulting in worse performance
–> studied through dual task tasks

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13
Q

automatic processes

A

When we perform a task that requires only minimal cognitive effort
ie walking

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14
Q

controlled processes
+ what happens in the brain?

A

When cognitive load is much higher
–> recruits brain areas in PFC to exert supervisional attention control

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15
Q

what happens with cog control when there are lesions in the PFC?

A

cog control is impaired
–> inability to switch task rules, start brushing teeth in the middle of an interview

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16
Q

what type of task is hindered with lesions in the PFC?

A

delayed alternation tasks
=In which reward predictably alternates between two options, i.e. pushing button A, then B etc. Patients will keep picking the option that was previously rewarded despite the obvious pattern

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17
Q

what is the mozart effect

A

ppl used to think having ur child listen to mozart made them smarter

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18
Q

what is the actual effect of music?

A

can increase arousal but not IQ
–> music can ultimately be useful or hurtful, depending on what you’re studying

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19
Q

what is inhibition?

A

= One of the central functions of cognitive control.
The ability to suppress information, thoughts, or actions that may interfere with ongoing behavior
–> forces us to focus on given tasks

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20
Q

name the 4 tasks we’re gonna talk about

A
  1. stop signal task
  2. stroop task
  3. simon task
  4. flanker task
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21
Q

stop signal test
1. what does it measure
2. how does it work

A
  1. measure of inhibition
  2. individuals must respond as fast as they can to a green dot by pressing a button but sometimes a stop signals happens, either early or late
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22
Q

what can we see bc of the stop signal test

A

it is harder to inhibit when rushed or when the need to inhibit occurs infrequently
(the later the signal, the harder to inhibit a response)

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23
Q

what other type of task also requires inhibition?

A

continuous performance tasks
–> shows decremenst in sustained attention or vigilance

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24
Q

what does the stroop task measure

Study These Flashcards
A

perceptual conflict

25
what do we see during the stroop task
Reading colour name whose colours are coherent is much easier than reading colour names who are not coherent with the actual colours
26
what does the simon task measure, and what else is it called?
spatial inference task --> tests response conflict
27
why does the stroop task hard?
reading is automatic and inhibition is needed
28
simon task
2 buttons and 2 circles of different colors compatible condition: press the same color, same side button as on the screen incompatible condition: press the opposite color / opposite side button
29
what do we see in the simon task?
a spatial incompatibility exists between the target location and the responding hand will slow down response time --> this requires more cognitive control
30
what are flanker words/symbols
words/symbols that are automativally processed and need to be inhibited when incompatible
31
flanker test
Central arrowheads are the target, and the other stimuli are distractors (flankers) --> similar to stroop but with images
32
types of interference in the flanker test
1. perceptual interference 2. response interference
33
perceptual inference
when flankers are closer to the target
34
response interference
when flankers offer conflicting responses
35
what do we see in the flanker tests
Flankers are automatically processed and have to be inhibited when they’re incompatible, so it takes longer
36
what 2 things happen when we detect conflict?
1. conflict monitoring 2. conflict measurement
37
conflict monitoring
- detects interference --> Happens when perceptual inputs compete for attention or when response options compete for selection
38
where does conflict monitoring happen?
in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) --> the more interference, the more active
39
when else does the ACC light up?
when we detect or perform errors (error detection) and when prediction errors occur
40
prediction errors
whenever you do not receive the reward or outcome you predicted
41
what does the ACC initially do?
initiates the error response (oh shit) which allows cog control mechanisms to respond adaptively to mistakes
42
conflict resolution
Reduces interference, monitors people’s actions, adjusts for problems
43
through what do we resolve conflict?
either with inhibition or other behavioural adjustements
44
where does conflict resolution largely happne?
the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex --> inhibits distracting interference --> the more active, the LESS interference
45
error related negativity (ERN)
- EEg shows response to error, the ERN - predicting of various behaviours from substance abuse relapses (lower ERN) to OFC symptoms (higher ERN)
46
what is speeded response selection
= People struggle to do more than one thing at a time in rapid succession
47
what is mental chronometry
the study of the timing of perceptual and cognitive processing, based on measurements of response time to different stimuli and tasks --> allows us to know about attentional blink disparities
48
what does mental chronometry reveal?
psychological refractory period --> fundamental limitation in info processing
49
2 models used to explain psych refractory period
1. central bottleneck model 2. resource sharing
50
central bottleneck model
= Assumes that only one response can be selected at a time, so the second response is queued
51
resource sharing
= Response to both stimuli can be selected at the same time, but priority is strategically given to the first response, slowing the second response
52
what do we actually do when we say we multitask?
task switching --> objectively slowed and less accurate
53
3 features affected with task switching
1. switch cost 2. preparation effect 3. residual switch cost
54
switch cost
speed (response time) and accuracy (error rate) penalty that comes with having to switch tasks.
55
preparation effect
if advance knowledge is given of the upcoming task and time allowed to prepare for it, the average switch cost is usually reduced.
55
residual switch cost
even with long delays with ample time to prepare for the next target, the task-switch cost does not completely go away --> practice will reduce this but will never completely eliminate it
56
what happens if we have more time in between trials?
the switch cost is minimized because of the preparation effect
57
is multitasking EVER the superior option?
not really --> No matter how practiced you are at multitasking, research suggests that you will always be less efficient and accurate than if you work in a more focused manner that minimizes going back and forth between tasks
T3: PSYC 309
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