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FINAL EXAMINATION

COGNITION 435, Spring 1998

INSTRUCTIONS

In the second sheet you will find 8 questions. You have to choose 5 questions you want to answer. Answering more than five questions will not give you more points. The length of each answer must be between one and two pages. Organize your answer in a logic way (writing first an outline may help you in this process; see the APA manual for further suggestions). Often you have to start with a description of the phenomenon, theory, or technique (for example, if the question asks about neuroimaging techniques, you should give a short description and main features of the techniques). Then answer EACH POINT of the question. It may be good to organize our answer in different sections with a short title (for example: Importance of signal detection theory in human factors). I will consider incomplete answers that do not address all the points mentioned in the question.

I will evaluate your personal effort of synthesis and organization of the material. You will not find a simple answer to these questions in the book, so your task is to put together different information from the lectures, the guest lectures, and the textbook. You are encouraged to look for other sources of information and to discuss with other students. However, final elaboration and writing of the answers must be your own. It is very important to create your own summary of the material and add your comments when possible. However, as we learned during this course, make sure that you stay close to the empirical evidence.

Format: Use headers, and WRITE YOUR NAME ON TOP OF EACH PAGE. Start with the number of the question (e.g.: "Question #1") and then write the answer. Please, remember to NUMBER THE PAGES of the final.

QUESTIONS

1. In this course we had several examples, especially in the guest lectures, of use of brain imaging techniques to study cognitive processes. Describe how neuroscience and neuroimaging techniques such as PET, ERPs, and fMRI can help us understanding cognitive processes. Why is important to know where and when in the brain a mental process occurs? Which kind of important information we can get from these techniques and what are their limits?

2. In class we discussed how knowledge about cognitive processes can be applied to solve problems in the real world. After looking at the collection of abstracts on applications of cognitive psychology in the class web page, summarize which types of knowledge and which methodologies of cognitive psychology have been used for this purpose.

3. What is the role of inhibitory processes in cognition (for example: attention, executive functions)? What is the relationship between inhibitory processes and frontal lobe dysfunction? Which types of deficits can be explained in terms of inhibitory dysfunctions?

4. The concept of automatic and controlled processes is very important in cognitive psychology. Describe the characteristics of these two types of processes, the empirical data supporting this distinction, and which phenomena (such as the Stroop effect) can be accounted for by the automatic/controlled distinction.

5. Working memory is a very important concept in cognitive psychology. What are the characteristics of working memory? Give some examples of everyday life activity that involve the use of working memory and discuss which kinds of limitations in our cognitive abilities can be attributed to the limited capacity of working memory.

6. Several psychologists have proposed that memories are not rigidly determined but that rather they change in time. Give different examples of how memory changes in time and which factors influence this process. At which stage do you think the transformation occurs (encoding, storage, retrieval)? What are the possible functions of those changes in time?

7. Describe the concept of "critical period". How does this concept apply to language development? Discuss different critical periods that have been found in language (or other cognitive functions, such as perception). What are the implications of this concept for brain development and learning theories?

8. Organization is an important principle of our cognitive system functioning. Discuss the role of organization in perception, memory, and categorization (for example: schemas, categorical organization in retrieval, etc.). What do you think are the functions and the advantages of organization in our cognitive system?

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