Cognitive Processes A GOOD GUIDE
Lecture 1
● Understand and be able to describe the limitations of behaviourism which
led to the Cognitive revolution using specific examples such as language,
the need for internal mental representations and concepts like attentional
overload and attentional limits.
● Understand Tolman’s perspective on internal mental representations and
be able to describe the evidence he found in rat maze navigation which
supported this viewpoint.
● Understand the additive factors method which allows cognitive
psychologists to draw inferences about internal mental processes (as
described by Snodgrass and in the lecture). Be able to apply this method
to the memory scanning task.
● Understand with the use of the actual outcome of the memory scanning
example, the difference between the aims of fields like artificial
intelligence, and Cognitive Psychology.
● Understand the difference between a parallel and serial search in memory
and the manner in which this is inferred from reaction time data plotted
against set size.
● Understand and be able to give examples as to why Cognitive
Psychologists do not rely on introspection as a methodology and seek
objective measures. Examples may include reasoning errors such as the
certainty and pseudo-certainty effects demonstrated in the lecture.
Lecture 2
● Understand and be able to give examples of situations where focused
visual or auditory attention leads to limited processing of other stimuli.
● Be able to define, distinguish and give examples of focused attention,
divided attention, inattentional blindness, and change blindness.
● Understand and be able to describe the difference between an early, late
or flexible locus of selection.
● Be able to both give and interpret examples which demonstrate an early,
late or flexible locus of selection.
● Be able to define and distinguish between endogenous and exogenous
attention as it relates to guided searched and attentional capture.
● Understand the role of attention according to Treisman’s FIT (feature
integration theory) and the visual search evidence (for both feature and
conjunction targets) which supports it.
Lecture 3
● Be able to both list the features of (capacity, duration, format) and describe
the evidence supporting the features of both kinds of sensory memory
(iconic and echoic).
● Be able to both list the features of and describe the evidence supporting
the features of short-term memory (capacity, duration, format)
● Understand the nature of the limit of short-term memory and how it can be
worked around using chunking and hierarchical chunking
● Be able to describe and define the primacy and recency effects and
explain with evidence why they are thought to have different origins.
● Be able to describe the particular kind of amnesia Clive Wearing suffers
from and how it affects his existence.
● Understand and be able to describe the more modern (active)
representation of short-term memory known as working memory, and be
able to distinguish between its three components.
● Be able to describe three pieces of evidence supporting the existence and
nature of the phonological loop within working memory.
Lecture 4
● Be able to define, distinguish between and give examples of semantic
memory and episodic memory
● Be able to describe Collins and Loftus’s hierarchical network model of
memory, the assumptions made, the manner in which meaning is
represented within it (superset and property relationships), and the
sentence verification method used to test its validity
● Understand how meaning in stored within a propositional network, and
implications for memory of specific sentence structure
● Understand and be able explain parallel distributed processing (PDP)
models of memory: how memories are stored in them, how they work, and
what they are good at and bad at
● Understand and be able to describe the famous “War of the Ghosts”
experiment by Bartlett and its findings which led to the proposition of
schemas
● Be able to define, describe and give examples of schema, how schema
are used to benefit memory economy, but also result in distortions,
omissions, false inclusions and other kinds of errors.
● Be able to define, distinguish, identify and give examples of different kinds
of schema: person schema (stereotypes) and event schema (scripts).
● Be able to describe, identify and apply an understanding of the
misapplication of a script.
Lecture 5
● Have an understanding of how priming works in reference to spreading
activation on an associational network.
● Be able to define and give examples of procedural memory, and describe
at least three possible reasons why it is hard to verbalise.
● Be able to define and distinguish between an explicit memory test and an
implicit memory test.
● Be able to describe how the stem completion form of an implicit memory
task is used to establish implicit memory.
● Be able to describe the distinct features of implicit memory when
compared to explicit memory (dissociations) in regard to duration,
modality/format change, and impact of level of processing.
● Have an understanding of how the transfer appropriate processing
account of these dissociations renders unnecessary the proposal of
another memory system.
● Understand and be able to describe the DRM (Deese, Roediger &
McDermott) false memory paradigm in relation to words presented and
words not presented, and the usual findings.
● Be able to describe the nature of Kim Peek’s unique memory ability in
conjunction with his unique conceptual memory flaw, and understand in
relation to the DRM evidence what may have been occurring in his case.
● Be able to define and give examples of flashbulb memories; and be able
to explain why psychologists use such events to study emotional memory.
● Consider the evidence regarding flashbulb memories and be able to
explain and argue about differences and similarities with ordinary
memories and their significance.
● Understand the key findings of Conway’s et al’s flashbulb memory study
and the best and worst remembered kinds of memory.
● Be able to discuss, with evidence and examples, and defend, a view of
memory which emphasises its malleability and fragility and how ‘features’
of a memory do not necessarily speak to its accuracy.
● Be able to define infantile amnesia and describe three possible
explanations for its occurrence
● Understand the nature of the reminiscence bump and the evidence which
established it as a phenomenon
Lecture 6
● Understand the impact of aging on memory and how attitudes and effort
distort the impact further. Be able to illustrate this with reference to
recognition and recall data, schema concerning the elderly across
cultures, and the impact of labelling a memory test as a “test” (Rahal et al.)
● Understand how the ‘method of loci’ works and how it may have been
used by ancient cultures
● Understand the key differences between recall and recognition tests, and
the impact that this has on advice for both studying for and completing
multiple choice exams.
● Be able to explain and apply evidence which suggests technology is
reducing the amount of material we are committing to organic memory.
● Be able to define and explain transfer appropriate processing, and have a
good understanding of Godden and Baddeley’s (1975) swimming pool
study on context, and the differences they found between the recall and
recognition data.
● Be able to define and distinguish between proactive and retroactive
interference.
● Have an understanding of “levels of processing”, its impact on memory,
and the importance of carefully defining depth to avoid a circular logic.
● Be able to describe Bransford and Johnston’s (1972) balloon study, its
method and key findings, and what these suggest about when it is
important to give a structure for encoding.
● Be able to describe and apply the findings of Dunlosky et al. (2013) on
effective study techniques in regard to: rereading, practice testing, and
distributed practice.
● Have an understanding of Roediger and Karpicke’s (2006) test enhanced
learning study, and be able to describe the key findings and their
implications in regard to study and memorisation.
Mental Health Conditions A GOOD GUIDE
Lecture 1
1. Be able to describe key issues in language and stigma in mental health conditions
2. Understand and be able to describe why the empirical method is needed to
explore mental health condition description, causation, and treatment
3. Understand and be able to explain key differences between “normal” and
“abnormal” behaviour.
4. Be able to identify and apply the 3D’s (deviates, distress, dysfunction) of
psychopathology. Be able to recognise the limitations of the 3D’s.
5. Understand and be able to describe and explain the key features of different
mental health professionals in Australia, including their qualification pathways and
treatment approach
6. Understand the pathways to being a registered and clinical psychologist in
Australia
Lecture 2
1. Be able to describe, identify, and apply the key features of the biomedical model of
mental illness
2. Be able to identify the benefits and limitations of the biomedical model of mental
illness
3. Be able to describe, identify, and apply the key features of the psychoanalytic
model of mental illness, including key concepts, the causes of maladjustment,
historical significance of the approach and approach to treatment.
4. Be able to describe, identify, and apply the key features of the humanistic model of
mental illness, including key concepts, the causes of maladjustment, historical
significance of the approach and approach to treatment.
5. Be able to describe, identify, and apply the key features of the behavioural model
of mental illness, including key concepts, the causes of maladjustment, and
approach to treatment.
6. Be able to describe, identify, and apply the key features of the
cognitive-behavioural model of mental illness, including key concepts, the causes of
maladjustment, and approach to treatment.
7. Understand and describe the benefits, limitations, similarities, and differences of
each of the psychological models of mental illness
8. Understand and describe the key features of the DSM approach to diagnosis and
classification of mental illness
9. Understand and describe the benefits, limitations, similarities, and differences of
the DSM approaches to diagnosis and classification of mental illness
Lecture 3
1. Understand and be able to explain key physical, cognitive, and behavioural
elements of anxiety
2. Be able to differentiate normal anxiety from anxiety as a mental health condition
3. Understand and be able to explain key differences between DSM-IV and DSM-5
anxiety and related disorders
4. Be able to describe, identify, and apply the key features of Panic Attacks, including
features, associated thought processes, and its place as a specifier within DSM-5
diagnoses
5. Be able to describe, identify, and apply the key features of Panic Disorder,
including diagnostic features, prevalence, and course
6. Understand and be able to describe Clark (1988) Cognitive Model of Panic
Disorder
7. Understand and be able to describe key treatment elements for Panic Disorder
Lecture 4
1. Be able to describe, identify, and apply the key features of Specific Phobias,
including diagnostic features, causes, prevalence, and course.
2. Be able to differentiate normal fears from specific phobia as a mental health
condition
3. Be able to describe, identify, and apply the key features of Generalised Anxiety
Disorder, including diagnostic features, associated thought processes, prevalence,
and course.
4. Be able to describe, identify, and apply the key features of Obsessive Compulsive
Disorder, including diagnostic features, and associated thought processes
5. Understand and be able to describe the differences within and between
obsessions and compulsions in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
6. Understand and be able to explain key elements of treatment for anxiety disorders
Lecture 5
1. Understand and be able to explain key differences between DSM-IV and DSM-5
mood disorders
2. Be able to differentiate normal sadness from depressive disorders as a mental
health condition
3. Be able to describe, identify, and apply the key features of a Major Depressive
Episode and Major Depressive Disorder, including diagnostic features, prevalence,
and course.
4. Be able to describe, identify, and apply the key features of a Persistent Depressive
Disorder, including diagnostic features, prevalence, and course.
5. Understand and be able to describe the differences between Major Depressive
Disorder and Persistent Depressive Disorder
6. Understand and be able to explain biological and psychological theories of
depression
7. Understand and be able to explain biological and psychological treatments of
depression
8. Understand and be able to explain the risk of depression among gender diverse
youth
Lecture 6
1. Understand and be able to explain key differences between DSM-IV and DSM-5
Feeding and Eating Disorders
2. Be able to describe, identify, and apply the key features of Anorexia Nervosa,
including diagnostic features, associated features, severity, subtypes, prevalence,
and course.
3. Be able to describe, identify, and apply the key features of Bulimia Nervosa,
including diagnostic features, associated features, prevalence, and course.
4. Be able to describe, identify, and apply the key features of Binge Eating Disorder,
including diagnostic features, prevalence, and course.
5. Understand and be able to explain the similarities and differences between
Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, and Binge Eating Disorder
6. Understand and be able to explain biological, psychological, and sociocultural
theories of causation in eating disorders
7. Understand and be able to explain biological and psychological treatments of
eating disorders
8. Understand and be able to explain the risk of eating disorders among gender and
sexuality diverse individuals
Neuroscience A GOOD GUIDE
Based on the material covered in each lecture, you should be able to answer the
questions listed below.
Lecture 1:
● What are the different divisions of the peripheral nervous system? What
are their different functions?
● What are the different forms of protection offered to the central nervous
system?
● What are the two branches of the autonomic nervous system, and how
can we characterise their functions?
● How and why do drugs used to treat psychological conditions, such as
depression, cause side-effects in the body?
● What are the 3 membranes of the meninges and how do they differ?
● What happens at the level of the spinal cord?
Lecture 2:
● What are the fluid-filled cavities in our brain and why are they there?
● What does the brainstem do? What can happen to it after a head injury
and why is that dangerous?
● Where is the cerebellum and what does it do?
● What structures sit at the very centre of the brain, at the top of the brain
stem? What are their functions?
● What parts of the brain make up the limbic system and the basal ganglia?
What aspects of behaviour do they contribute to?
● Why is your cortex so wrinkled? What are the different lobes, and what
different functions are they specialised for?
● What connects your two hemispheres?
● How has the brain changed during the course of evolution?
Lecture 3:
● What is the primary job of any neuron?
● What sort of signals do neurons send and what direction do they travel
along a neuron?
● What is the resting state of a neuron? What charge does it have?
● What happens when a neuron is depolarised?
● How many states can a neuron have? What does this tell us about the sort
of signalling they are capable of?
● What is myelin? What does it do?
● How do neurons communicate with one another? Where does this
communication occur?
● How might a neurotransmitter from one neuron affect another neuron?
● What stops the effects of neurotransmitters in the synapse?
● Where do most psychoactive drugs work in the nervous system?
● In what ways can drugs interact with neurotransmission?
Lecture 4:
● What methods can be used to show that a specific part of the brain is
necessary for a given function?
● What four methods can be used to obtain functional maps of the human
brain?
● What is EEG? What are its strengths and weaknesses?
● How does PET work? What are its strengths and weaknesses?
● What does fMRI measure? What are its strengths and weaknesses?
● What is MEG? What are its strengths and weaknesses?
● What four regions of the hypothalamus are involved in feeding? What
does each area do?
Lecture 5:
● List some of the known impacts of sleep deprivation (less than 7 hours pe
night)?
● What areas of the brain are responsible for keeping us aroused? What
neurotransmitters are involved?
● What system controls our circadian cycle? What causes jetlag?
● What is “sleep pressure” and what is responsible for it?
● What happens if you skip a night’s sleep?
● What area and neurotransmitter is implicated in the onset of sleep?
● What happens to EEG activity during sleep? What areas of brain are
responsible for this?
● What are the characteristics of REM sleep? What causes it? How does it
change within a night and across the lifespan? What reduces REM sleep?
● What is the brains primary reward pathway? How was it discovered? What
neurotransmitter is involved? What behavioural disorder might involve this
pathway.
Lecture 6:
● What is lateralisation? What function is the most strikingly lateralised?
Which hemisphere is dominant for this function?
● What is the dichotic listening task? What does it show about lateralisation
of language?
● What is aphasia? What causes it?
● What are the two forms of aphasia? How do they differ? What
neurological damage causes each type?
● What has happened to a “split-brain” patient?
● What did Roger Sperry show in his split-brain patients?
● What can the right hemisphere do?
● Where is the hippocampus?
● Damage to the hippocampus causes what syndrome?
● Who was HM? Why was he interesting?
● What did Brenda Milner show about the functions of the hippocampus
through her studies with HM?
● What is Wernicke-Korsakoff’s syndrome? What causes it? What area of
the brain is affected?
● What neurological changes accompany Alzheimer’s disease?
Learning and motivation A GOOD GUIDE
Based on the material covered in each lecture, you should be able to answer the
questions listed below.
Lecture 1:
● What is classical conditioning?
● Who is Ivan Pavlov and what did he do?
● What is second order conditioning?
● What is extinction?
Lecture 2:
● What is Thorndike’s Law of Effect?
● What is instrumental conditioning?
● What are the different types of instrumental conditioning and what do they
involve?
● What are the different schedules of reinforcement and what do they
involve?
● What is shaping?
Lecture 3:
● What is stimulus control?
● What is generalisation?
● What is discrimination?
● What is a discriminative stimulus?
● What is discrimination learning?
Lecture 4:
● What is social learning?
● What other social processes affect learning (but are not considered social
learning)?
● How can classical conditioning occur by observation?
● What is emulation, and imitation?
● What is social modelling?
Lecture 5:
● What factors affect conditioning?
● What is (and isn’t) learning?
● How can learning and performance differ?
● What are reflexes and instincts?
● What are habituation and sensitisation?
Lecture 6:
● What is motivation?
● How are instincts motivated?
○ What is a fixed action pattern?
○ What is a sign stimulus?
● What are habits vs goals?
● What is incentive motivation?
● What is delayed reward discounting?
Mental Abilities A GOOD GUIDE
Lecture 1
Understand what a construct is and how we might measure it
Describe the difference between latent and manifest variables
Describe the difference between implicit and explicit theories of intelligence
Lecture 2
Explain how Binet’s scale worked and describe his goals and stipulations
Describe the contributions of H.H Goddard and L. Terman
Calculate mental age, ratio IQ and deviation IQ
Lecture 3
Gain exposure to some common tests and understand the principles of
psychological assessment
Understand how to differentiate between a single underlying factor and multiple
abilities
Lecture 4
Describe the difference between fluid and crystallized intelligence
Describe evidence that these are different types of intelligence
Describe how to separate true score from error
Explain how reliability is measured and describe different types of reliability
Explain how validity is measured and describe different aspects of validity
Lecture 5
Define a heritability estimate and outline how it is calculated.
Describe the evidence that IQ is substantially heritable.
Explain why researchers may use monozygotic (identical) twins to determine the
heritability of mental abilities.
Identify potential confounding factors that influence the interpretability of twin studies.
Lecture 6
Describe group differences in IQ
Outline the propositions put forward in The Bell Curve and evaluate these premises
Describe stereotype threat as it relates to IQ tests
Describe the Flynn effect and its causes
Perception A GOOD GUIDE
The following questions will give you some sense for the content that you are
expected to have mastered from my lectures. This is not intended to be exhaustive,
as I explicitly stated what content in the lectures are not examinable.
Lecture 1
Learning objective: to explain why perception is a problem, and some of the deeper
questions about what makes it a problem.
Study questions:
What is the distinction between perception and sensation?
What process is common to all of the different senses, and what does it mean?
What are the 6 senses of perception?
What is the problem of qualia?
What is synesthesia, and how does this impact on ideas about qualia?
What problems do illusion create for our understanding of the perception of the real
world?
Chemical senses
Learning objective: to understand the different chemical senses and how they work
(to the extent that it’s understood)
Study questions:
What is the ‘dimensionality reduction’ problem in taste?
What are papillae? How do taste receptors signal and what do they signal?
What is responsible for the variability in taste sensitivity if different people?
How many different primary taste sensations do we have, what are they, and what is
the functional role of each?
Are we sensitive all of the different tastes equally? If not, why not? Which are we
most sensitive to and why?
Are different taste sensations localized to different parts of the tongue?
What is the labeled line model of taste?
What are supertasters, and what makes them different from normal tasters?
What makes something spicy? What types of receptors signal spicy food to the
brain?
What is the shape pattern theory of olfaction? What is wrong with this theory?
What is ‘flavor’?
Somatosensory
Learning objective: to understand the basic functioning of the senses of the body,
and how this information is organized in the brain.
Study questions:
What are the two major subsystems of the somatosensory (somatic) system, and
what information do they convey?
How do mechanoreceptors work (in general)?
What signals the perceptual quality of a stimulus? What signals the quantity or
intensity of that signal?
What are the two general types of touch fibers, and what do they convey?
What causes the two waves of pain?
What distinguishes pain sensitivity to all other senses?
What is referred pain?
What are proprioceptors and what information do they convey?
How is the somatosensory system represented in cortex?
What is the consequence of having some parts of the body have more receptors
than others in terms of cortical area?
The ear
Learning objective: to understand the different functions of the ear, and how these
functions are carried out by the different components of the ear.
Study questions:
What are the 3 general parts of the ear?
What is the vestibular sense organ, and how does it work?
What is the vestibular ocular reflex? What is the perceptual effect if it either
overcompensates or undercompensates for head movements?
What is sound, and how it is transmitted into the inner ear?
What are the different dimensions of sound, and what does each mean in terms of
the perception of sound?
Why is decibels measured on a log scale?
Why do musical instruments that play the same note sound different?
What are the different functions of the 3 parts of the ear?
What is the function of the middle ear?
How does the inner ear convert sound into electrical impulses?
How are different frequencies of sound detected in the cochlea?
What is phase locking of neural responses? What frequencies are encoded this
way?
Vision
Learning objective: to understand the processes required for vision; the problem of
image formation, the problem of transduction, and the perception of color
Study questions:
What is light, and what makes it strange in terms of how waves normally behave?
What is the general problem of image formation? Why isn’t this a problem for pinhole
cameras, but it is for eyes like ours that have much larger holes that lets light in?
Why is myopia increasing at such an alarming rate?
What is the duplicity theory of vision?
What are the different mechanisms of light adaptation?
How are rods and cones distributed on the retina? Why do we have to look to the
side to see a faint star in the night sky?
What are two perceptual consequences of our eyes being organized backwards,
where the receptors are farthest from the incoming light?
Why can we use just three colored lights to generate all of our different experiences
of color?