Author Archives: Joshua B Gray

Bottom-up and Top-down Processing: A Collaborative Duality

Throughout the course, I struggled to clearly understand the difference between bottom-up and top-down processing as it relates to perception. Bottom-up processing is any processing that originates with the incitement of the sensory receptors. (Goldstein, 2011) Top-down processing always begins with a person’s previous knowledge, and forecasts due to this already acquired knowledge. (Goldstein, 2011) While I was driving home from my place of work on this unassuming Thursday evening, I had quite the realization while immobile at a stop sign. The interplay between bottom-up and top-down processing had actually caused me to stop at the stop sign. It became quite obvious how the two processes work in harmony in order to make this world negotiable for a human being. It seems that the two operate together more often than not, which, at times, makes them difficult to distinguish between.

It seems that driving an automobile is a great example of the teamwork between bottom-up and top-down processing. According to education-portal.com: “In the case of avoiding an on-coming car, it’s good that we don’t have to stop and think about what is going on before acting.” (http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/bottom-up-processing-in-psychology-examples-definition-quiz.html#lesson) This assumption seems to be true. Some of our seemingly automatic reactions when we are driving a car are due to bottom-up processing. If a deer runs out in front of our car, we will most likely attempt to avoid a collision reflexively. We have perceived the deer through our visual receptors, and come to a stop. This has occurred without much conscious consideration and prior knowledge needed. The processing of this event appears to have happened by dominantly bottom-up means.

What about the stop sign? Is this bottom-up or top-down? I believe the correct answer is: both. In order for me to consider this stop sign, I must first visually perceive the octagonal red sign we all know so well. This initial perception comes from the environment and appears to be bottom-up. But, how do I even know what a stop sign is? I know the action I must take when this stop sign is perceived due to top-down processing. Psychologist Richard Gregory believes that when something is viewed, we develop a “perceptual hypothesis,” which is rooted in our knowledge and information about previous experiences. (http://www.simplypsychology.org/perception-theories.html) Previously, in my life, I learned about the concept of a stop sign, and what to do when encountering one while driving. I cannot perceive the stop sign in the environment without bottom-up processing, and would also have no idea what to do with this visual information without my previous experience with the theory (top-down processing). What side of the road to drive on, driving on green, and essentially all of the rules of the road, seem to rely on both bottom-up and top-down processes in discussing perception.

James Gibson argues that: “There is enough information in our environment to make sense of the world in a direct way.” (http://www.simplypsychology.org/perception-theories.html) He insists that information provided to our senses by the environment is all that is needed in order for us to interact with our surroundings. (http://www.simplypsychology.org/perception-theories.html) The idea of a stop sign seems to contradict this assessment. If I were to simply perceive the shape, color, etc. of a stop sign without any top-down processes occurring, I would not know the meaning of the sign. This lack of knowledge would result in myriad accidents.

Instead of struggling to delineate both processes separately, my stop sign revelation has made these concepts clearer. This duality seems to occur quite regularly in our everyday lives, and is essential to our negotiation through this often-ambiguous world.

 

Bibliography

 

Education Portal -. (n.d.). Education Portal. Retrieved April 24, 2014, from http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/bottom-up-processing-in-psychology-examples-definition-quiz.html#lesson

 

Goldstein, E. B. (2011). Cognitive psychology: connecting mind, research, and everyday experience (3rd ed.). Australia: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

 

McLeod, S. (n.d.). Visual Perception Theory. Visual Perception. Retrieved April 23, 2014, from http://www.simplypsychology.org/perception-theories.html

Examining and Improving the Eyewitness

Myriad of people in the world were outraged due to the September 21st, 2011 execution of Troy Davis in the state of Georgia. Davis was convicted for the 1989 murder of an off-duty police officer. This case brought about bitter controversy; largely based upon the fact that seven of the nine key eyewitnesses in the trial had since recanted their initial testimonies. According to The Innocence Project, “Eyewitness misidentification is the single greatest cause of wrongful convictions, playing a role in 75% of convictions overturned through DNA testing. (http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/mental-mishaps/201110/executing-the-innocent-eyewitness-memory-errors-lead-injustice) Troy Davis’ story is just one of many in which the reliability of eyewitness testimony must be called into question.

It seems that many of the eyewitnesses who retracted their original testimony in the Troy Davis case were initially pressured by law enforcement to identify Davis as the culprit. This revelation brings to light the potential fragility of memory when exposed to misleading postevent information, or misleading information that is advertised following the presence of an event. (Goldstein, 2011) Based upon this idea, even a seemingly simple statement such as, “Did you see what he looked like”, could be very misleading in the event that the perpetrator was not a man. Errors due to familiarity were also rampant in the particular case of Mr. Davis. According to an article by Brandon L. Garrett, the police showed numerous photographs, which included Troy Davis’, to potential eyewitnesses. This occurred at least five to ten days after the murder had occurred. In the meantime, Troy Davis’ picture was strewn about the neighborhood, deeming him a wanted man. (http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2011/09/eyes_on_an_execution.html) It seems that the rampant display of Mr. Davis’ photograph would have made him extremely relevant and familiar to those who lived in the neighborhood in which the poster was displayed. This fact, coupled with the decay in memory over the five to ten days between the event and recall, served to weaken the feedback of the witnesses.

While the unreliability of many eyewitness testimonies is a rather alarming fact, there are some measures that can be taken to ensure that recall is as accurate as possible. Iowa State University psychologist Gary Wells suggests carrying something to record events at all times. This may be a notepad, voice recorder, or other device. It seems that with the progression of smartphone technologies, most people have a portable video camera at their disposal. Dr. Wells is adamant about swiftly documenting events of note. He iterates: “What’s important is to externalize your memory as soon as possible because memories fade and change very quickly.” (http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=97861) Dr. Wells is also a supporter of placing attention on the perpetrator, rather than the victim of the crime. While attention is directed toward the victim, the committer of the act, and any surrounding details may be lost due to this narrowing of attention. This will make any later recall of important details about the offender and his/her surroundings more difficult.

In discussing what law enforcement can do to improve its practices, Rebecca Brown of The Innocence Project states that: “The primary reform is blind administration of lineups.” (http://www.psmag.com/legal-affairs/eyewitness-ids-can-be-made-better-with-research-34084/) Having an individual who is not aware of the suspect’s identity manage the photographs shown will diminish the possibility that those being questioned will fall victim to misleading postevent information or any suggestiveness.

Unfortunately, cases reminiscent of Troy Davis’ are all too common. We must realize the malleability of memory, and take steps to ensure proper eyewitness recall. In the words of Loftus and Ketcham, memory is not “preserved in stone, but a living thing that changes shape, expands, shrinks, and expands again.” (http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=97861)

Bibliography

 Garrett, B. L. (n.d.). Troy Davis execution set for Sept. 21: case proves the fallibility of eye witnesses.. Slate Magazine. Retrieved April 13, 2014, from http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2011/09/eyes_on_an_execution.html

Goldstein, E. B. (2011). Cognitive psychology: connecting mind, research, and everyday experience (3rd ed.). Australia: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Hyman, I. (2011, October 1). Executing the Innocent? Eyewitness Memory Errors Lead to Injustice. Psychology Today: Health, Help, Happiness + Find a Therapist. Retrieved April 11, 2014, from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/mental-mishaps/201110/executing-the-innocent-eyewitness-memory-errors-lead-injustice

Onion, A. (2013, October 16). How to Be a Better Eyewitness. ABC News. Retrieved April 14, 2014, from http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=97861

Rosenfeld, D. (2011, July 25). Eyewitness IDs Can Be Made Better. Pacific Standard. Retrieved April 14, 2014, from http://www.psmag.com/legal-affairs/eyewitness-ids-can-be-made-better-with-research-34084/

The Influence of Music on Long-Term Memory

I came across the uplifting story of Henry, an elderly gentleman who has been living in a nursing home for over a decade. Henry hunches over in a chair, uncommunicative, and seemingly out of touch with the world that is bustling around him. When he is spoken to, Henry gives incomprehensible responses, if any at all. He does not remember his own daughter even after she refers to him as “Pop.” Henry suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, a progressive, degenerative disorder that attacks the brain. (http://www.alzfdn.org/AboutAlzheimers/definition.html) When Henry is given an iPod playing some of his favorite music to listen to, he shockingly transforms into a much more communicative and vivacious individual. Upon questioning, Henry remembers his favorite songs and artists, and seems to take an emotional journey back in time to the days of his youth. The music has seemingly sparked Henry’s long-term, and more specifically, episodic memory.

It seems Henry is experiencing Endel Tulving’s idea of “mental time travel” due to the presence of music. (Goldstein 158) He seems to “go” somewhere specific to listen. Henry states: “Cab Calloway was my number one band-guy I liked” After being asked about his favorite childhood musician. http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/04/11/alzheimers-patient-awakens-when-listening-to-music-from-his-past/) Henry is animated, and seems engaged in conversation about his music even after it has stopped playing. Something in the sounds has given Henry back some cognitive abilities that he seemed to have lost due to the devastatingly degenerative effects of Alzheimer’s.

The fact that music has had this miraculous affect on Henry is amplified by the fact that advanced Alzheimer’s disease (which Henry seems to have) involves the shriveling of the cortex, and shrinking of the hippocampus in the brain. These areas of the brain are involved in remembering, and in the formation of new memories, respectively. (http://www.alz.org/braintour/healthy_vs_alzheimers.asp) The fact that Henry had such a positive response to this music could actually be one of the reasons that he remembered it so well. According to the article, “Unforgettable film music: The role of emotion in episodic long-term memory for music” in BMC Neuroscience, “Musical excerpts rated as very positive are remembered better.” (http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2202/9/48) This leads one to believe that Henry’s positive association with the tune that he was hearing correlated to his remembering of the particular song. Perhaps, if he had been exposed to a song he did not prefer from his youth, he would not have recalled the song at all. The article concludes that such positive emotions related to music actually aid in the retrieval of memories. Stephen Henderson echoes this sentiment in his article “Music and Memory: The Crossroads,” when he says: “Music itself is indeed an emotional and autobiographical stimuli.” (http://longevity3.stanford.edu/henderson/2011/06/08/music-and-memory-the-crossroads/) When Henry is positively emotionally stimulated, he begins to have these “autobiographical,” and episodic experiences.

As Henry remembers Cab Calloway, and even sings Cab’s rendition of “I’ll be Home for Christmas,” the impact of music on cognition becomes apparent. While it was particularly intriguing to witness the activation of Henry’s long-term episodic memory, it appears as though we are only at the beginning of understanding just how far into the depths of degeneration music can reach. Fortunately, there seem to be encouraging discoveries being made in terms of music’s affect on Alzheimer’s patients, particularly.  A recent Boston University Study has demonstrated that while music has been scientifically proven to assist in the activation of lapsed memories, there is also evidence that music may aid in the formation of new memories. (http://www.bu.edu/today/2010/music-boosts-memory-in-alzheimer%E2%80%99s/) Perhaps with continued research on the influence of music on memory in those suffering with dementia, Henry can someday find new songs to feel excited about.

 

Sources:

 

http://www.alzfdn.org/AboutAlzheimers/definition.html)

 

http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/04/11/alzheimers-patient-awakens-when-listening-to-music-from-his-past/

 

http://www.alz.org/braintour/healthy_vs_alzheimers.asp

 

http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2202/9/48

 

http://longevity3.stanford.edu/henderson/2011/06/08/music-and-memory-the-crossroads/)

 

http://www.bu.edu/today/2010/music-boosts-memory-in-alzheimer%E2%80%99s/

 

Goldstein, E. B., (2011). Cognitive Psychology: Connecting Mind, Research, And Everyday Experience (3rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. (Original work published 2005)

“Prosopagnosia” by Joshua Gray

You are in a crowded department store mindlessly meddling through the vast array of merchandise. You recognize most of the items very quickly, perhaps even unconsciously. You suddenly hear your name from across the store. Somebody recognizes you. When you turn around, you see a person standing there, but you just do not know whom this person is. The struggle to decipher the identity of this stranger continues as they babble on as if they have known you forever. We have all experienced this dreaded, albeit momentary lapse in memory. But what if that person across the store was your own wife or mother? This is the sort of horror that people like college student Jacob Hodes deal with every day of their lives. Jacob suffers from a condition called prosopagnosia, or more commonly, face blindness.

Prosopagnosia seems like a condition reserved for Hollywood’s silver screen, but is much more common than one might want to believe. Garga Chatterjee, a doctoral candidate pursuing research in prosopagnosia at Harvard University stated: “2.5 percent of the world’s population has the disorder. That’s one person in every 50. That is not rare at all.” (http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/09/living-with-face-blindness/279898/) People with prosopagnosia can tell that they are looking at a face, but cannot differentiate one face from another face. They must use other empirical cues to decipher who it is they are communicating with. Many people with this condition have suffered damage to a specific area on the temporal lobe of the cerebral cortex of the brain. (Goldstein, 2011)

While people coping with this debilitating disorder struggle through life laboriously attempting to recognize people close to them, it seems as though we are still in the early stages in regard to our understanding and ability to diagnose the condition. There exist only 100 documented cases of prosopagnosia in worldwide literature on medicine. If 2.5 percent of the world’s population truly does suffer from face blindness, this is a startling discrepancy. Perhaps one of the problems in this lack of diagnoses lies in the traditional nature of the research. Prosopagnosia has classically been studied in people who develop the disorder following a traumatic brain injury or a stroke. There have been recent developments in research that have made clear the existence of “developmental” or “congenital” prosopagnosia. There may exist a genetic factor prevalent in this disorder that was ignored in the past. (http://prosopagnosiaresearch.org/index/information)

Jacob Hodes never suffered a stroke or a traumatic brain injury. When Jacob told his family about his diagnosis, his own father’s prosopagnosia was discovered. It seems that Jacob suffers from the more recently discovered congenital form of the disorder. As Jacob struggles through college classes, parties, and general life, he lives with the fact that there is no current cure for face blindness known to researchers.

Can you imagine looking at yourself in the mirror, and not even recognizing your own face? As devastating as this sounds, this is something that 1 in 50 people may be dealing with worldwide. As intelligent or insightful as an individual may be, prosopagnosia is an often crippling diagnosis, which can lead to feelings of isolation or depression, and fear of social situations. Hopefully research in medicine and neuroscience can find a cure for this disorder sooner rather than later. Jacob Hodes said: “It’s not that I don’t know everyone. The problem is I don’t know whom I know.” (http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/09/living-with-face-blindness/279898/) As research develops, perhaps Jacob will one day recognize his friends and loved ones without the use of compensatory mechanisms. It would be nice to know whom you know.

 

*Watch Jacob’s appearance on “60 Minutes.”- http://www.cbsnews.com/news/face-blindness-when-everyone-is-a-stranger-20-03-2012/

 

Sources:

Chowhan, S. (2013, September 24). Living With Face Blindness. The Atlantic. Retrieved January 29, 2014, from http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/09/living-with-face-blindness/279898/

Goldstein, E. B., (2011). Cognitive Psychology: Connecting Mind, Research, And Everyday Experience   (3rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. (Original work published 2005)

http://prosopagnosiaresearch.org/index/information