1What disciplines are relevant to the study of cognitive science?
Philosophy, neuroscience, computer science/AI, anthropology, linguistics, psychology
2What is the information processing perspective of cognition?
It has computation
3To understand any behavior, what are Tinbergen’s 4 questions?
Mechanism What stimuli and
physiological mechanisms produce the behavior?
Adaptive significance
What are the adaptive problems the behavior solves?
Ontogeny
How does the behavior develop in individuals over the lifespan?
Phylogeny
What is the evolutionary history of the behavior in the organism’s lineage?
4What are Marr’s 3 levels of explanation?
Marr (1982) proposed that information-processing events can be
described at 3 levels:
Computational level. What is the goal of this computation?
Why is it appropriate? What is the logic of the strategy by
which it is carried out?
• Algorithmic level. How is this computation implemented?
In particular, what is the representation of input and output,
and what is the algorithm for transformation?
• Implementational level. How can the representation and
algorithm be realized physically?
5What Dennett’s 3 “stances” for predicting behavior?
The Intentional Stance: Treating an entity
as if it had intentions. We predict it will.
behave in accordance with those intentions.
• The Design Stance: Treating an entity as if
it had been designed in a certain way. We
predict it will behave as designed.
• The Physical Stance: Treating an entity in
terms of its physical nature. We predict it
will operate on physical principles.
6How do Braitenberg's vehicles produce behaviors that look like they have intentions?
reacts towards the light.
7How does an organism’s physical body and environment constraint their behavior? How
does this play out in Trichinella Spiralis?
their physical body can adapt to a set of situations. the parsaite enters through the mouth mates and drills a hole to the intestinal wall where it reproduces. it does simple actions and still able to thrive in a compex enviroment. has few nuerons.
8What are the three requirements for evolution by natural selection?
. Variation of traits within a reproducing population
2. Traits are transmitted from parent to offspring
(inheritance)
3. Trameaits have consequences for survival and reproduction
(selection)
• No goals, just a mechanism for sorting.
• Fitness is determined by the environmental niche
9How do breeding experiments with mice and foxes provide evidence that some aspects of
cognition are genetic?
tamed foxes produce tamed. aggressive produce aggressive
10If evolution is about survival of the fittest, how can prosocial traits evolve?
Cooperation leads to survival. Humans are social creatures and work better if we cooperate.
11What are the parts of a neuron? How does a neuron receive and send signals?
The dendrites receive information
The soma(cell body) integrates information
the axon transmits information which releases neurotransmitters
12What are the functions of neurotransmitters? What are the major excitatory and inhibitory
neurotransmitters?
Release chemcial messages through the body.reases neurotransmitters from the synaptic cleft. Major excitatory is glutamate and inhibitory is gabba.
13Damage to what part of the brain led to anterograde amnesia in patient H.M., indicating its
important role in forming new memories.
the hippocampus.
14What are the problems with explanations of brain function in cognition that rely on
functional localization?
the areas of the brain heavily dependent on one another. Damages to two different areas have the same effect.
15What is classical conditioning?
Classical conditioning, also known as Pavlovian conditioning or respondent conditioning, is a type of learning where a neutral stimulus becomes associated with an unconditioned stimulus, leading to a conditioned response.
16What is the relationship between US, UR, CS, and CR?
Unconditioned stimulus (UCS): This is a stimulus that naturally evokes an unconditioned response without prior learning. For example, food is an unconditioned stimulus that naturally causes salivation.
Unconditioned response (UCR): This is the automatic, involuntary response elicited by the unconditioned stimulus. For example, salivation is an unconditioned response to food.
Conditioned stimulus (CS): This is a neutral stimulus that, after being paired with the unconditioned stimulus, comes to elicit a conditioned response. For example, a bell ringing can become a conditioned stimulus if it is repeatedly paired with the presentation of food.
Conditioned response (CR): This is the learned response elicited by the conditioned stimulus. For example, a dog salivating in response to the bell ringing is a conditioned response.
17What is operant conditioning?
Operant conditioning, also known as Skinnerian conditioning or instrumental conditioning, is another type of learning that focuses on modifying behavior through consequences.
18How is it different from classical conditioning?
focus on Volentary behaviour. Learning process of consequence of behaviour
19What is prediction error and what is its role in theories of reinforcement learning?
In reinforcement learning (RL), prediction error plays a crucial role as the driving force behind learning and adapting to an environment. It represents the difference between an agent's predicted outcome and the actual outcome it experiences. This discrepancy serves as a signal that the agent's current understanding of the environment is incomplete or inaccurate, prompting it to update its internal model and adjust its behavior accordingly.
20Does all learning necessarily require reinforcement? What is the evidence that it doesn’t?
No, Our inherent curiosity, our ability to observe and learn from others, and the natural adaptability of our brains all contribute to learning without relying solely on external motivators.