CP- Week 3

Research Methods
Types:
Basic Research- Seeks to answer fundamental questions about human behaviour.
Applied Research- Investigates the issues that have direct implications in everyday life
and finds solutions.

Need for empirical bases

Unbiased
To be published in public domain along  with methodology

Organizing Knowledge:  
Laws- General principles that can be applied to all situations
Theory- Integrated set of principle that explains and predicts meaning but not all ossify
relationships within a given domain of enquiry

Hypothesis- very specific falsifiable prediction about the relationship between two or
more variable

Descriptive Research- intended provide you a snap shot of the current state.
Case Study
Surveys
Naturalistic Observation
Correlational Research- intended to discover the relationship between two or
more variables-->  +ve and -ve
Predictor Variable
Outcome Variable
Experimental Research- first creates an initial equivalence among participants and
conditions, then engages in manipulation of certain variables and measures the
effect of these manipulations on other variables.
Validity problems
Construct validity- is measured variable actually measuring the said variables
Statistical Conclusion Validity- Concern about statistics
Internal validity- Effect of variables other than independent on dependant variable
External validity- weather the results can be generalized or not
Meta Analysis

Research in CP
Experimental Research
Measures in CP- Time taken to process a particular thing
How accurately the thing is processed 

Mental Chronometry- scientific study of processing speed or reaction time of cognitive

tasks to infer the content, duration, and temporal sequencing of mental operations-
core paradigm in CP
Reaction Time- Elapsed time between presentation of a stimuli and the behavioural
response- Fransiscus Donders
RT--> Processing Speed--> Processing Efficiency
Fransiscus Donders- Choice reaction task takes more time than simple reaction
task- One of the 1st experiments in CP
Sternberg- reaction times are proportional to n and not the log of n in case of a
recognition reaction time or in case of a recognition experiment
Encode, Compare, Decide, Respond- Reaction time is proportional to no. of items in
memory set
Memory retrieval- Serial comparison task, Takes fixed amount of time
Posner Task- Measure mental processes using a pair of letters
Stroop Task- The colour presented might not be the same as its name. Eg- Colour
blue named "yellow" or Colour red named "green"

RT of sound is faster than RT of light

RT is used in research of
Language
Attention
Memory

Using FMRI:
Fusiform Face Area
Para-hippocampal Place Area
Extra Striate Body Area
Event Related Potentials (ERP)- Electroencephalograph tasks
Is recorded by putting a small disc of electrodes placed down on the person scalp.
Each electrode picks up signals C from the groups of neurons that fire together in
the brain under the skull.
ERP used to investigate real time processes
Cannot pinpoint the source of signals

N400 and P600 response

Sensation and Perception

Perception- process by which the cognitive system constructs an internal representation
of the outside world

Stages in Perceptual Processes

Sensation- subjective experiences
Sound is psychological event- Without brain to register the transduced physical energy,
there is no sound
Representation- of sensory input
Perception
Influences of Perception

Psychophysics
Measuring different sensations
Psychology + Physics
G.Boring- Internal and external interaction- Scientific psychology
Psychophysics links perception to physical stimuli

Thresholds
Absolute threshold- Smallest amount of stimulus that can be detected
Difference Threshold- Least amount by which two sensory stimuli can differ for an
individual to perceive them as different

Ways to determine thresholds

Method of Adjustment- Ask the observer to adjust the stimulus till the can detect
Method of limits- The experimenter adjusts the stimuli
Interval of uncertainty- difference between values
Point of subjective equality- Mean
Method of constant stimuli- fixed set of values presented multiple times in a quasi
random order to be detected

Signal Detection Theory

Our perception in general Is controlled by evidence and decision processes
Detection theory or signal detection theory is a means to measure the ability to
differentiate between information-bearing patterns and random patterns that distract
from the information(noise)

Cost benefit analysis