Human Information Processing

Human Information Processing: An Introduction to Psychology aims to convey the excitement of modern experimental psychology to the beginning student. The book discusses the organization of auditory perceptions; neural information processing; and the theories of pattern recognition. The text also describes the visual system; the dimensions of vision; the auditory system; and the dimensions of sound. The neural basis of memory; transient memories; the structure of memory; and memory processes are also considered. The book further tackles language acquisition; the process of learning and cognitive development; problem solving; and decision making. The text also looks into motivation and the biochemical responses to stress. Psychologists and students taking psychology and related courses will find the book useful."

Preface Acknowledgments Notes to the Reader 1. Human Perception Interpreting Sensory Messages Matching templates Pattern Recognition Organizing degraded images Competing organizations OrganizinG Auditory Perceptions Organization without meaning Making the sensory data fit the interpretation The Importance of Rules Perception of space The importance of context Feature Analysis Stopping the image Aftereffects What to Look at for Motion Aftereffects The explanation of aftereffects Orientation-specific color adaptation Perception without Features Seeing with the skin Suggested Readings Perception Art 2. Neural Information Processing The Eye of a Frog The Anatomy of Detectors Physiological Procedures The neuron Recording neural responses Designing Neural Circuits Basic Circuits The building blocks Extracting Contours Sensitivity versus specificity Lateral inhibition Circuits for extracting contours Center-surround fields On-off circuits Responses with Time Circuits for producing transient responses Responding to Movement Circuits for detecting movement Signal Processing in the Lateral Geniculate Nucleus Extracting Features Simple cells Dipoles Complex cells Hypercomplex cells Conclusion Suggested Readings Models of the nervous system 3. Theories of Pattern Recognition Pandemonium Features for recognizing letters How to build pandemoniums Features for recognizing speech Feature detectors for speech Summary of feature analysis Analysis by Synthesis A matter of context Wet socks The importance of redundancy Synthesizing a sensory message The Sequence of Operations Features versus Expectations Suggested Readings 4. The Visual System Light Decibels The Optical Path The pupil The lens The retina Chemical Responses to Light The photochemical reaction The Neuroanatomy of Vision The retinal network The Pathway to the Brain Sampling Visual Information Eye movements The localizing channel Vision without a visual cortex Vision without a superior colliculus Suggested Readings5. The Dimensions of Vision The Perception of Brightness Mach bands Brightness contrast Brightness and Depth Adaptation Equibrightness contours Temporal Characteristics of Vision Integration time When flashing lights become continuous Critical flicker Color Mixing Colors The color wheel Paints and Lights Afterimages Color Sensitivity of Cones Opponent-process color theory Induced contrast Suggested Readings Color vision 6. The Auditory System The Physics of Sound The frequency of sound The intensity of sound Decibels The Mechanics of the Ear The inner ear Movements of the basilar membrane The hair cells Electrical Responses to Sound Tuning curves Temporal coding in neural responses Coding of intensity information Acoustic information processing Suggested Readings 7. The Dimensions of Sound Loudness Equiloudness contours Listening to music Masking The measurement of loudness Pitch The musical scale The mel scale Place theory: position on the basilar membrane Periodicity pitch Masking the missing fundamental Pitch Discrimination Without a Basilar Membrane Evidence against the periodicity pitch theory The duplicity theory of pitch perception The Critical Band Auditory Space Perception Localization Binaural interactions Importance of binaural listening Recordings The precedence effect Suggested Readings 8. Neural Basis of Memory The Memory Systems Sensory information storage system Short-term memory Long-term memory Storing Information Neural circuits of memory The Chemistry of Memory RNA changes and learning Learning after alterations in the available RNA Memory transfer Disorders of Memory Electroconvulsive shock Amnesias The cases of H.M. and N.A. Mechanisms of memory The Search for Long-Term Memory One Brain or Two Split brains in animals Split brains in humans Two brains: fixed or flexible Conclusions Suggested Readings 9. Transient Memories Sensory Information Stora The Tachistoscope The capacity of SIS Short-Term Memory Errors in recall from short-term memory Rehearsal Forgetting Attributes of memory From Short- to Long-Term Memory The Phenomena of Attention Selecting messages Processing the rejected message Memory without attention Theories of Attention The attenuator model The active synthesizing-process model Suggested Readings 10. The Structure of Memory Answering Questions When to retrieve information Retrieving an image Retrieval as problem solving Retrieval and comprehension The Importance of Understanding A Model of Memory Remembering concepts Primary and secondary concepts Remembering events Suggested Readings 11. Memory Processes Mechanisms for Input and Output Processing an input Making responses Deducing a Person's Memory Structure Searching Memory Multistage search processes Reorganizing Thoughts Correcting errors Evaluating an input Viewing the Data Base Understanding versus Remembering Memory as Information Processing Suggested Readings 12. Language Meaning through actions The importance of labels The Structure of Language Meaning structure and surface structure English Grammar On communicating the structure On communicating the meaning Learning a Language Learning rules Imitation Language as communication The first steps in communication Understanding Suggested Readings 13. Learning and Cognitive Development Sensorimotor Schemata A sensorimotor schema The Phenomena of Learning Contingencies between actions and outcomes Detecting corrections Contingencies between the environment and outcomes Summary Classical Conditioning Cognitive Learning Reinforcement as a signal Learning and awareness Learning by experimentation The importance of expectations Cognitive Development Sensorimotor learning The Development of Images Preoperational thought Concrete operations Formal operations Thinking Suggested Readings Principles of learning 14. Problem Solving The Anatomy of a Problem Protocols The protocol from DONALD + GERALD The problem behavior graph Strategies of Problem Solving Searching for solutions Selecting operators Limitations of the protocol analysis Internal States Versus Protocol States The Machinery of Thought Rules versus facts Subroutines Short-term memory Suggested Readings 15. Decision Making Determining Values The psychological value of money The value of complex alternatives Cognitive strain What is being optimized The Logic of Choice Risky Decision Making Utility in risky choices Probability Expected value Subjective probability Representativeness and availability Subjective expected utility Gambling Gathering Evidence Odds A test for cancer The Cuban Missle Crisis The Aftereffects of Decision Making Rationalization Of grasshoppers and things Postdecisional rationalization Conclusions Suggested Readings 16. Decisions in a Social Context Social Influence on Decision Making Bystander Behavior Bystander apathy Compliance with authority Interactive Decisions Bargaining The bargaining procedure The process of negotiation Strategic negotiations The tactics of conflict Games and Decisions Suggested Readings 17. Motivation Brain Mechanisms of Motivation Electrical control of hunger and thirst Disrupting the motivational control systems Motivational Control Systems A numerical test Terminating eating Nonbiological factors Responding to Uncertainty Responses to stress Biochemical Responses to Stress Responses to conflict Responding to nothing Neural mechanisms of arousal Sleep Interpreting Emotional Arousal Emotions: one or many To be mad or euphoric Motivation and Cognition Suggested Readings Appendix A. Measuring Psychological Variables Sensory Experiences Scaling Scale types Scaling techniques Magnitude estimation The power law "How much" versus "what kind" Interpretation of the power function Range of applicability Cross-modality matching How to scale Suggested Readings Appendix B. Operating Characteristics The Decision Problem The Dice Game The criterion rule Confidence ratings The normal distribution Problems The fire-sprinkler problem Memory The dice problem revisited Suggested Readings Bibliography Using Basic Reference Material Annual reviews Psychological abstracts The science citation index The journals General Readings Collected readings References Author Index Subject Index

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Human Information Processing

An Introduction to Psychology

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