Human Information Processing

Human Information Processing: An Introduction to Psychology, Second Edition, was written to reflect recent developments, as well as anticipate new directions, in this flourishing field. The ideas of human information processing are relevant to all human activities, most especially those of human interactions. The book discusses all the traditional areas and then goes beyond: consciousness, states of awareness, multiple levels of processing (and of awareness), interpersonal communication, emotion, and stress. The book begins with an introduction to some of the more interesting phenomena of perception and poses some of the puzzles faced by those who would attempt to unravel the structures. Separate chapters cover the systems of most interest for human communication: the visual system and the auditory system; the structure of the nervous system; and the systems of memory: sensory information storage, short-term memory, and long-term memory. Subsequent chapters deal with the different aspects of memory, including show how memory is used in thought, in language, and in decision making. Also examined are the neurological basis of memory and the representation of knowledge within memory.

Preface

Acknowledgments

1. Human Perception

Preview

Interpreting Sensory Messages

Matching Templates

Data-Driven and Conceptually Driven Processing

Some Perceptual Phenomena

Organizing Degraded Images

Competing Organizations

Organization without Meaning

Making the Data Fit the Conceptualization

The Importance of Rules

Perception of Space

The Importance of Context

Feature Analysis

Stopping the Image

Aftereffects

The Explanation of Aftereffects

Orientation-Specific Color Adaptation

Perception without Features

Review of Terms and Concepts

Suggested Readings

Perception

Art

2. The Visual System

Preview

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

Review of Terms and Concepts

Suggested Readings

3. The Dimensions of Vision

Preview

Sensory Experiences

The Perception of Brightness

Brightness Contrast

Mach Bands

Spatial Frequency Analysis

The Measurement of Visual Sensitivity

Equibrightness Contours

Temporal Characteristics of Vision

Integration Time

When Flashing Lights Become Continuous

Critical Flicker

Colors

The Color Circle

Making Paints Mix as Lights

Color Sensitivity of Cones

Induced Contrast

Opponent Process Color Theory

Review of Terms and Concepts

Suggested Readings

Color Vision

Spatial Frequency Analysis

4. The Auditory System

Preview

The Ear

The Physics of Sound

The Frequency of Sound

The Intensity of Sound

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

Review of Terms and Concepts

Suggested Readings

5. The Dimensions of Sound

Preview

Sensory Experiences

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

Evidence against the Periodicity Pitch Theory

The Duplicity Theory of Pitch Perception

The Critical Band

Auditory Space Perception

Localization

Importance Of Binaural Listening

The Precedence Effect

Recordings

Review of Terms and Concepts

Suggested Readings

6. Neural Information Processing

Preview

Part I: Neural Processes

The Eye of a Frog

Physiological Procedures

Basic Neural Circuits

Lateral Inhibition

Responding to Movement

Part II: Brain Processes

From the Eye to the Brain

Extracting Features

Acoustic Information Processing

What Next?

Conclusion

Review of Terms and Concepts

Suggested Readings

7. Pattern Recognition and Attention

Preview

Recognizing Patterns

Pandemonium

How to Build Pandemoniums

Features for Recognizing Speech

The Segmentation Problem

Classifying Speech Sounds

Feature Analysis is Not Sufficient

A Matter of Context

The Importance of Redundancy

Data-Driven and Conceptually Driven Processing

Specialist Demons

The Blackboard and the Supervisor

The Analysis of a Sentence

On the Power and Weakness of the Specialist System

The Phenomena of Attention

Selecting Messages

Processing the Rejected Message

Specialist Demons and the Supervisor

Conclusion

Review of Terms and Concepts

Suggested Readings

8. The Memory Systems

Preview

The Storage Systems

Sensory Information Storage System

Short-Term Memory

Long-Term Memory

Sensory Information Storage

The Capacity of SIS

Short-Term Memory

Errors in Recall From Short-Term Memory

Rehearsal

Forgetting

Attributes of Memory

Selective Interference: A Useful Experimental Tool

Review of Terms and Concepts

Suggested Readings

9. Using Memory

Preview

From Short-Term Memory to Long-Term Memory

Learning Lists

Memory and Attention

Memory without Attention

Integrative Processes

The Need for Organization

Depth of Processing

Strategies for Remembering

Mnemonics

The Study of Long-Term Memory

Answering Questions

Retrieving an Image

Review of Terms and Concepts

Suggested Readings

10. The Representation of Knowledge

Preview

Representing Information in Memory

The Structure of Concepts

Semantic Definitions

Semantic Networks

Sensory Images and Motor Control Images

Primary and Secondary Concepts

Remembering Events

Episodic and Semantic Memory

Using the Data Base

Prototypes

Mental Images

An Experiment on Images

A Final Comment

Review of Terms and Concepts

Suggested Readings

11. The Neural Basis of Memory

Preview

Storing Information

Neural Circuits of Memory

Disorders of Memory

Electroconvulsive Shock

Amnesias

The Cases of H.M. and N.A.

Other Studies of Amnesia

Localization of Brain Function

Specialization of the Two Hemispheres of the Brain

Split Brains in Animals

Hemispheric Specialization in Humans

Two Brains: Fixed or Flexible

Specialized Hemispheres—Specialized Thought

Conclusion

Review of Terms and Concepts

Suggested Readings

General

Memory Mechanisms

Memory Deficits

Hemispheric Specialization

12. Language

Preview

Language and Communication

Conversational Postulates

Communicating Knowledge Structures

The Rules of Language

English Grammar

The Problem of Reference

The Power of Words

Words and Morphemes

Lexical Decomposition

Psychological Mechanisms of Language Understanding

Understanding Sentences

A System for Understanding Language

Demons

Understanding a Particular Sentence

Garden Path Sentences

Summary

Review of Terms and Concepts

Suggested Readings

13. Learning and Cognitive Development

Preview

Cognitive Learning

Laws of Learning

Learned Helplessness

Reinforcement as a Signal

Learning and Awareness

Cognitive Development

Learning by Experimentation

The Importance of Expectations

Sensorimotor Learning

Preoperational Thought

Concrete Operations

Formal Operations

Thinking

Learning a Language

Learning the Vocabulary

The Problem Faced by the Child

Learning Words

Overgeneralization and Overdiscrimination

Learning to Speak

Imitation

Language as Communication

Performance Limits

Learning as Additions to Knowledge

Review of Terms and Concepts

Suggested Readings

General Issues in Learning

Development

First Language Learning

Learning Complex Topics

14. Problem Solving and Decision Making

Preview

The Anatomy of the Problem

Protocols

The Procotol From Donald + Gerald

The Problem Behavior Graph

Strategies of Problem Solving

Searching for Solutions

Selecting Operators

Limitations of Protocol Analysis

How Good is Human Problem Solving?

Limits Imposed by Short-term Memory

Overcoming the Limits

Decision Making

Determining Values

The Psychological Value of Money

The Value of Complex Alternatives

What is Being Optimized?

Risky Decision Making

Utility in Risky Choices

Probability

Expected Value

Subjective Probability

Representativeness and Availability

Conclusion

Review of Terms and Concepts

Suggested Readings

Problem Solving

Decision Making

15. The Mechanisms of Thought

Preview

Thinking

Conscious and Subconscious Modes of Thought

Subconscious Problem Solving

Some Principles of Processing

The Processor

Memory

The Trade-off Between Memory and Processing

Day-Arithmetic

Time Sharing and Multiple Processors

Human Thought Mechanisms

Dual Processing Units in the Human

Meditation

The Meddlesome Nature of S

The Virtues of S

States of Awareness

The Analysis of Human Thought

Review of Terms and Concepts

Suggested Readings

16. Social Interactions

Preview

Prototypes and Schemas

Social Stereotypes

Being Sane in Insane Places

Attribution Theory

Attributing the Cause of Another's Behavior

Attributing the Causes of Our Own Behavior

Forming Impressions

Information Integration

Order Effects

Patterns of Social Interaction

Stereotyped Patterns of Interaction

I'm Information Processing, You're Information Processing

Scripts

The Processes of Social Influence

Bystander Behavior

Bystander Apathy

Conformity

Compliance

Interactive Decisions

Bargaining

The Bargaining Procedure

The Process of Negotiation

Summary

Review of Terms and Concepts

Suggested Readings

17. Stress and Emotion

Preview

Stress

How to Produce Stress

Cognitive Causes of Stress

Performance Under Stress

Interpreting Emotional Arousal

Emotions: One or Many?

Interpreting Emotions Through Context

A Model of Emotional Arousal

Review of Terms and Concepts

Suggested Readings

Appendix A. Measuring Psychological Variables

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 Game Revisited

Suggested Readings

Bibliography

Using Basic Reference Material

Annual Reviews

Psychological Abstracts

The Science Citation Index

The Journals

General Readings

References

Author Index

Subject Index