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Psychology
Cognition and Consciousness
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What is the Atkinson-Shiffrin memory model? | sensory input -> sensory memory (unattended info is lost) -> short term memory (STM)(maintenance rehearsal)(unrehearsed memory is lost) -> long term memory (LTM)(some info may be lost over time)(retrieval from LTM to STM) |
| Define attention | It is the process of concentrating on a select amount of info from a wide range of available info |
| What are the different types of attention? | Selective and divided |
| Define selective attention | It is when a choice is made to concentrate on a particular stimulus and to ignore other, less salient stimuli |
| What is an example of selective attention? | When you're at a party and you are able to ignore other conversations and focus on your own |
| Define divided attention | Your concentration is split between performing two or more tasks or inputs |
| What is an example of divided attention? | Making coffee while scrambling eggs |
| What is the display-size effect? | It refers to the direct relation between the number of distractors in an array and the time required to locate a target stimulus among them Ex: finding an N with M's scattered around) |
| What is feature-integration theory? | It states that it is easier to perform a feature search than it is to perform a conjunction search Ex: easier to find a grey square surrounded by many black squares, than finding a grey square surrounded by black squares and grey circles) |
| What is the similarity theory? | The more similar the target stimuli is to the distractor, the more difficult the search will be, regardless of the number of features Ex: harder to find capital N when surrounded by other capital letters compared capital N w/ lower case letters |
| What is the guided search theory? | All searches require two stages: developing a mental representation of the target and evaluating all of the activated elements to find the target |
| What is inattentional blindness? | It refers to the inability to see something in plain sight because of attending to another stimulus |
| What is another name for inattentional blindness? | Perceptual blindness |
| What is change blindness? | It refers to a person's inability to detect visual changes in a scene he or she is directly looking at |
| What is the stroop effect? | It is a phenomenon that demonstrates a problem with selective attention |
| What is attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)? | It is a psychological condition characterized by a failure to give close attention to details as well as an inability to sustain attention |
| What are the main symptoms of ADHD? | They are hyperactivity, impulsivity, and inattention |
| Explain spatial neglect | Also called hemi-neglect, is a type of attentional dysfunction characterized by a lack of attention paid toward a particular visual field. It is often associated with a lesion located on the contralateral aspect of the brain |
| What is occurring when someone has spatial neglect? | They fail to process info from half of their visual environment, despite possessing functioning sensory systems |
| What is an example of spatial neglect? | If a lesion is found on the left hemisphere then it is associated with an inability to process info coming from the right visual field and vice versa |
| Define concept | It is a mental representation through which we understand the world |
| What are the different types of categories? | Natural and artifact |
| Define categories | Multiple concepts that have similar characteristics are grouped together and organized |
| Define natural categories | It is groupings that occur in the natural world and have predictable properties |
| What are examples of natural categories? | Trees and clouds |
| Define artifact categories | It is human-made groupings with ambiguous, imprecise boundaries |
| What are examples of artifact categories? | Furniture and clothes |
| What are the theories for how a concept becomes part of a categories? | Feature-based theory, prototype theory, exemplar-based reasoning theory, and a theory-based view of meaning |
| Explain feature-based theory | It is when concepts are placed into categories based on their defining features ? |
| What is an example of feature-based theory | To be included into the category of husband you put possess the features of male and married |
| How does the feature-based theory fail? | It tends to break down when considering more complicated categories such as games |
| Explain prototype theory | It is when concepts are grouped together by their degree of similarity to a prototype |
| What is an example of prototype theory? | Prototype= soda; coca cola is closer to the prototype soda than sparkling lemonade |
| Define prototype | It is the ideal or average model based on what we have previously encountered |
| Explain exemplar-based reasoning theory | It is when concepts are grouped together by their degree of similarity to an exemplar |
| Define exemplar | It is a specific remembered instance that is most typically thought of when a category is mentioned |
| What is an example of exemplar-based reasoning theory? | Considering the category of fruit, an apple might be the first concept to come to mind. Apple now serves as the standard to which all objects of the category fruit are compared. How closely are peaches and bananas is to an apple defines its membership |
| What is the difference between a prototype and a exemplar? | Prototype= abstract ideal Exemplar= actual concept |
| Explain theory-based view of meaning | It is when a concept is placed into a category based on a general idea constructed from experience |
| What is an example of theory-based view of meaning? | Category = MVP, it’s someone who benefits the team in all aspects. They try their hardest, performs their best, and maintains a positive attitude despite losses. This theory depends on explanation rather than a word or two |
| Define schema | It is a broad pattern of what is normal in a given situation |
| What is an example of a schema? | Schema= sporting event You know to sit in your seat only, bathrooms are most crowded during halftime, & it’s okay to drop peanuts shells on the floor |
| Define sterotype | It is a fixed, generalized belief about a particular concept |
| What is an example of a problem with schemas? | Stereotypes, because they can lead to prejudiced attitudes |
| Define script | It is an example of a schema that contains info regarding the order in which things should occur |
| What is an example of a script? | A script for a restaurant tells you how to behave and what to expect. One's script allows one to understand and participate in the restaurant experience despite new waiters, new restaurant, and new food |
| Define cognitive process | The type of problems we face, as well as how we choose to approach them |
| What are the different kinds of problems? | Well-structured and ill-structured |
| Define well-structured problems | Also called well-defined problems, have a clearly specified goal and path to a solution |
| What is an example of a well-defined problem? | How to put together a 100-piece puzzle or how to find the volume of water within a cylinder |
| Define ill-structured problems | Also known as ill-defined problems, do not have clear paths or solutions |
| What is an example of ill-defined problems? | How to get into a top tier medical school or how to solve world hunger |
| Define algorithms | It is sequences of steps that always produce a correct answer |
| What are examples of algorithms? | Following a recipe step-by-step to make your grandma's famous chili or using a mathematical formula to find out the time it would take to reach the moon |
| Define heuristics | It is mental shortcuts that do not guarantee a correct answer but effectively narrow the problem space and simplify the problem in order to speed up the process |
| What are the different types of heuristic problem-solving? | Hill-climbing strategy and means-end analysis |
| Define hill-climbing strategy | You simply choose the option that moves you directly towards your goal (path that leads uphill) |
| What is a drawback for hill-climbing strategy? | Sometimes you need to move backwards to go forward |
| Define means-end analysis | You compare the current state to the goal state and then try to decrease this distance with the available means. The problem is broken down, or simplified, into smaller sub problems, each with its individual goals to be solved |
| Define analogy | A current problem is compared to similar, already-solved problem, and the solution is translated |
| Define trail-and-error | All possible solutions are tried until one works |
| Define insight | A sudden, novel solution to a problem- succeeds. Also called aha moment |
| Define a problem-solving set | It is a collection of beliefs and assumptions that a person makes about a problem based on previous experiences |
| What are other name for problem-solving set? | Mental set or einstellung |
| Explain the einstellung effect | It describes the negative effect of previous experience when solving problems |
| Define functional fixedness | It is the tendency to be rigid in how they think about an object's function. People's past experience with an object can prevent them from using the object in novel ways |
| Explain confirmation bias | People tend to seek out solutions that are simple and agree with what they already think is probably true |
| What is an example of confirmation bias? | Someone who believes in global warming will answer the question of why icecaps are melting accordingly. They will say cause is increased CO2 concentrations, someone who does not believe in global warming might attribute it to a natural climate cycle |
| Define belief perseverance | It is the tendency to stick with one's initial beliefs, even in the face of new contradicting evidence |
| What is the basis for cognitive dissonance theory? | The need for consistency |
| What are some barriers to problem-solving? | Making assumptions and getting sidetracked by irrelevant information |
| Define creativity | It is the process of producing something innovative and valuable |
| Define convergent thinking | It narrows down the possibilities to find one answer |
| Define divergent thinking | It attempts to generate a variety of ideas to a problem |
| What are the stages of Wallas' stages of creativity? | Preparation, incubation, illumination, and verification |
| Explain the preparation stage of Wallas' stages of creativity | Information is gathered about the problem |
| Explain the incubation stage of Wallas' stages of creativity | The problem is momentarily set aside and processed unconsciously. Although there is no direct effort or attention paid to the current problem, the brain's mental processes are still at work |
| Explain the illumination stage of Wallas' stages of creativity | A key insight into solving the problem is suddenly realized |
| Explain the verification stage of Wallas' stages of creativity | The creative thinker confirms that the new idea does lead to the problem's solution |
| Define subjective utility | It refers to an individual's judged value of it |
| Define subjective probability | It refers to an individual's estimated likelihood of the event's occurrence |
| What is the equation for expected value? | Subjective probability times subjective utility |
| What are the different types of heuristics in decision-making? | Availability heuristics and representative heuristics |
| Define availability heuristics | It is a judgement that is made based on the perceived frequency or likelihood of an event |
| What is an example of availability heuristics? | When asked which was more likely the cause of death in America, stomach cancer or car accidents. Most American choose car accidents. Stomach cancer kills twice as many people, but because car accidents are mentioned more in medias people, think it's true |
| Define conjunction fallacy | It is the mistaken belief that a smaller, specific subset of a category is more probable than the larger, general set |
| What is an example of conjunction fallacy? | When asked which word construction appears more often on the English language: -ing or ----n-, people though -ing, but -ing is a subset of words whose second to last letter is n |
| Define representative heuristics | One's judgement of an event is based on its similarity to the prototype of the population and its perceived randomness |
| What is an example of representative heuristics? | Thinking that because someone is wearing a suit and tie and carrying a briefcase, that they must be a lawyer, because they look like the stereotype of a lawyer |
| Define gambler's fallacy | It is a mistaken belief that demonstrates the errors associated with representative heuristics |
| Define cognitive biases | It describes the tendency to think and perceive something in a particular way. It functions to decrease the effort required to make decisions at the expense of errors |
| What are the different kinds of biases? | Illusory correlation, overconfidence, and hindsight bias |
| Define illusory correlation | It is the phenomenon by which people perceive a relationship between two unrelated variables |
| What is an example of illusory correlation? | A man believes all teenagers are selfish. When he goes to the store and the person in front of him doesn't hold the door open for him he assumes that they're a selfish teenager |
| Define overconfidence | It is a bias in which a person's evaluation of his or her own judgments is greater then the actually accuracy of those judgements |
| Define hindsight bias | It is the idea that, when one evaluates a past event, he or she feels that the results were always predicable and should have been obvious |
| What is another name for hindsight bias? | Knew-it-all-along effect |
| Define framing effect | It is a change in how a problem is presented that affects decision-making. When making a decision, people tend to seek risks with negative framing and avoid risks with positive framing |
| Define deductive reasoning | It is the process of reasoning from a general statement or premise to reach a logical conclusion about specific examples or instances. This is based on abstract, hypothetical thinking rather than concrete events |
| Define inductive reasoning | It is the process of reasoning from specific experiences or observations to form a general conclusion. Since this reasoning is based on supported evidence, the conclusion formed is probable, but not certain |
| What is an example of deductive reasoning? | 1) All fruits have seeds 2) An apple is a fruit 3) Therefore, all apples have seeds |
| What is an example of inductive reasoning? | 1) All biological life forms that we know depend on liquid water to exist 2) Therefore, if we discover a new biological life form, it will probably depend on liquid water to exist Conclusion is probable, but not certain |
| Define intelligence | It is the capacity to learn from experiences and the ability to adapt to the surrounding environment |
| What are the different kinds of cognitive theories of intelligence? | The theory of multiple intelligence, the triarchic theory of intelligence, and the three-stratum model of intelligence |
| Define the theory multiple intelligence | It states that intelligence is a collection of many abilities rather than just one |
| Define savant syndrome | It is when a person is exceptionally advanced in one area of functioning but suffers from severe cognitive deficits |
| What are the different kinds of intelligence from the theory of multiple intelligence? | Linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, intrapersonal, and naturalist |
| Define the triarchic theory of intelligence | It proposes three intelligences that contribute to cognitive ability. Analytical abilities, creative abilities, and practical abilities |
| Define analytical abilities | It is the ability to analyze a problem and to evaluate he possible solutions (compare solutions). Also known as componential |
| Define creative abilities | It is the ability to generate novel ideas and to act adaptively in unfamiliar situations (invent solutions). Also known as experiential |
| Define practical abilities | It is the ability to fit into changing environment and perform everyday tasks (apply solution). Also known as contextual |
| Define the three-stratum model of intelligence | It is arranged in a hierarchy consisting of three strata. The bottom layer is called narrow stratum, the second layer is called broad stratum, and the top layer is called the general startum |
| Explain the narrow stratum layer | It includes specific abilities such as reading comprehension and spelling ability |
| Explain the broad stratum layer | It includes short-term memory, retrieval ability, and information processing speed. Along with crystallized and fluid intelligence |
| Define crystallized intelligence | Information acquired over a lifetime through experiences |
| Define fluid intelligence | It is the ability to apply basic information processing skills |
| Explain the general stratum layer | It consists of the g factor (general intelligence) |
| What is Piaget's stages of cognitive development? | It analyzes how children interact with their with their environments and actively explore their surroundings. There are four stages: sensorimotor stage, preoperational stage, concrete operational stage, and the formal operational stage |
| Explain Piaget's first stage, sensorimotor | Ranges from birth to about two years old (when they start speaking). Babies during this time are exploring the world by touching and sucking on things, and looking and listening. The main developmental phenomenon are object permanence and stranger anxiety |
| Define object permanence | It is the awareness that objects continue to exist even when they are not perceived |
| What is stranger anxiety? | As babies become more socialized, they often show fear, anxiety, and distress toward unfamiliar faces. Starts around 8 months old |
| Explain Piaget's second stage, preoperational | Ranges from two- six or seven years old. Children are not able to perform mental operations, such as reasoning, but they can begin to think in terms of images. Starting to play pretend. Development phenomenon's are conservation and theory of mind |
| Define conservation | The quantity of a substance remains unchanged despite changes in its shape |
| Define theory of mind | It develops near the end of the preoperational stage. It is an ability to infer another person's mental state and thus explain and predict their behaior |
| Explain Piaget's third stage, concrete operational | Ranges from ages seven- eleven. Characterized by the ability to think logically about concrete events, BUT the inability to comprehend hypothetical or abstract concepts. Can understand conversations and are capable of inductive reasoning |
| Explain Piaget's fourth stage, formal operational | Begins around age twelve and proceeds through adulthood. Children are able to think logically about hypothetical and abstract instances. They are capable of deductive reasoning |
| What are some cognitive changes that occur in late adulthood? | It is multidirectional. Generally, attention and memory declines with age, the slowing of information processing, decline in problem-solving, decision making, and executive control. Crystallized intelligence increases as you age, but fluid peaks early |
| What are the factors that influence cognitive development? | Culture, heredity, and environment |
| Explain a stroke | It is a vascular accident marked by stoppage of blood flow to part of the brain |
| What are the characterizations of a stroke? | Loss of speech, a loss of language comprehension, and impaired thought processes, as well as motor deficits |
| What are the theories for language development? | The learning perspective, the nativist perspective, and the interactionist perspective |
| Explain the learning perspective of language development | It suggests that children develop the use of language through associative conditioning (classical and operant) and observational learning It is based on the behaviorist ideas of B.F. Skinner |
| Explain the nativist perspective of language development | It stems from the idea that the entire complexity of language cannot be learned from experience alone |
| What is the language acquisition (LAD)? | It is an area in the brain with a set of innate transformational grammatical rules |
| Explain the interactionist perspective of language development | It is based on the idea that children acquire new understandings that they wish to communicate with others Based largely on the work of Lev Vygotsky |
| What is the zone of proximal development? | It is an area of optimal learning in which a child develops language skills through the child-adult interactions What the child can communicate with assistance |
| Define linguistic relativity | It is the idea that speakers of different languages utilize different cognitive processes that influence how they think |
| What is another name for linguistic relativity? | Sapir-Whorf hypothesis |
| Define linguistic determinism | It is the idea that language ENTIRELY determines how we think |
| What is another name for linguistic determinism? | Strong Sapir-Whorf hypothesis |
| What parts of the brain are strongly associated with language? | The Broca's area and Wernicke's area |
| Explain the Broca's area | It is responsible for speech production |
| What happens when the Broca's area is damaged? | It results in the loss of the ability to speak words, but the ability to comprehend language is conserved |
| Explain the Wernicke's area | It is responsible for language comprehension |
| What happens when the Wernicke's area is damaged? | People maintain the ability to speak, but fail to understand the meaning of words |
| Define consciousness | It is the awareness we have of our environment as well as our mental process |
| Natural occurring consciousness includes what? | Alertness, sleeping, daydreaming, and drowsiness |
| What are the main types of brain waves? | Beta, alpha, theta, and delta waves |
| Explain alertness | It is the state of consciousness characterized by being awake. When one is alert they are fully aware of their environment and their thoughts. Characterized by beta waves with a brain frequency of between 13 and 30 Hz |
| Explain daydreaming | It is a state of consciousness where one is awake, but not. fully alert. It leaves one more relaxed and less focused. It is characterized by alpha waves with a frequency between 8 and 13 Hz |
| Explain drowsiness | It is a state of consciousness associtaed with even less awareness than daydreaming , often experienced just before falling asleep or right after waking up. Characterized by theta waves and a frequency between 3 and 8 Hz |
| Explain sleep | It is a state of consciousness that involves the inhibition of most voluntary muscles and sensory activity. Deep sleep is characterized by delta waves with a frequency between 1 and 3 Hz |
| What are the distinct stages of sleep? | Stage 1, stage 2, stage 3, stage 4, and REM sleep |
| What happens right before stage 1 of sleep? | EEG records mostly alpha waves, which starts stage 1 |
| Explain what happens during stage 1 of sleep | It is characterized by decreased alpha waves and increased theta waves and it lasts roughly 20 minutes. We are most easily awakened and experience involuntary muscle twitches. |
| Explain what happens during stage 2 of sleep | Characterized by increased theta waves and two distinct waveforms called K-complex and sleep spindle. Body temp decreases, and breathing and heart rate slows |
| Define K-complex | They are single, large-amplitude, high-voltage waves that are believed to suppress cortical arousal and aid aid sleep-based memory consolidation |
| Define sleep spindle | They are short burst of 12 - 14 Hz waves that also suppress cortical arousal. From here we fall into a deeper, slow-wave sleep |
| Explain what happens during stage 3 of sleep | It is characterized by a decreased theta waves and increased delta waves |
| Explain what happens during stage 4 of sleep | It is the deepest stage of sleep for humans and it is composed almost entirely of delta waves |
| Explain what happens during REM sleep | It is characterized by low-amplitude, mixed-frequency brain waves very similar to those of an alert and actively thinking person |
| What is another name for REM sleep? | Paradoxical sleep |
| How does a single sleep cycle usually last? | 90- 100 minutes |
| What does a single sleep cycle look like? | 1-> 2 -> 3 -> 4 -> 3 -> 2 -> REM |
| What does two sleep cycles look like? | 1-> 2 -> 3 -> 4 -> 3 -> 2 -> REM -> 2 -> 3 -> 4 -> 3 -> 2 -> REM |
| What happens to the brain wave frequency, brain wave amplitude, and brain wave voltage as one progresses from stage 1 to stage 4 of sleep? | Gradual decrease of brain wave frequency, increase on brain wave amplitude, and an increase in brain wave voltage |
| What part of the brain is dreaming associated with? | Prefrontal cortex |
| What is the physiological function theory of dreaming? | It states that dreams and REM sleep provide regular brain stimulation, which helps develop and preserve neural pathways |
| What is the information processing theory of dreaming? | It states that dreams help organize the day's events and consolidate memories |
| What is the neural activation theory of dreaming? | It states that REM sleep activates neural pathways that contain random visual memories, which the brain connects into stories in the form of dreams |
| What are the main theories for why we sleep? | Adaptation theory, recuperation theory, and the consolidation theory |
| What is the adaptation theory? | It contends that human beings evolved to sleep during the nighttime to conserve energy and to avoid predation. Heavily dependent on the sense of vision of survival. Focuses on when we sleep rather than why we sleep |
| What is the recuperation theory? | It states that being awake disrupts our body's homeostasis and that sleep is necessary to restore it. Supported b/c during sleep our body's show muscle growth, protein synthesis, tissue repair, and growth hormone released |
| What is the consolidation theory? | It states that sleep is essential to maintain proper brain plasticity. Sleep helps process info and experiences learned throughout the day and helps strengthen a memory'd neural network w/in long-term storage |
| Define circadian rhythms | It is your biological timing mechanism |
| Explain the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) | It is a small cluster and it's the circadian control center. It processes info concerning the length of day and night and signals to the pineal gland, either to increase or decrease its production of melatonin |
| What does melatonin do? | It causes the body to become more relaxed and sleepy |
| What causes the pineal gland to releases melatonin? | The absence of light information from retinal ganglion cells ultimately signals the release of melatonin |
| Define sleep disorders | They are any medical disorder that negatively affects normal, healthy sleep patterns |
| What are the main sleep disorders? | Insomnia and hypersomnia |
| Define insomnia | It is a persistent disorder that causes one to struggle to fall or remain asleep |
| Define hypersomnia | It is excessive sleepiness or excessive sleep itself |
| Explain sleep apnea | It is when someone stops breathing periodically and suddenly awaken to gasp for air before falling back asleep. Can happen about 100 times per night |
| What is marcolepsy | It is a type of hypersomnia. It is characterized by serve daytime sleepiness and brief 5- 10 minute bouts of sleep "attacks", which causes the narcoleptic to quickly enter slow-wave REM sleep |
| What are the different ways that your state of consciousness can be induced? | Meditation, hypnosis, and consciousness-altering drugs (psychoactive drugs) |
| What are the main types of consciousness-altering drug? | Depressants, stimulants, and hallucinogens |
| Explain causation bias | It reflects a tendency to infer cause-and-effect relationships that do not exist |
| Define mental set | It refers to using a familiar framework to solve particular types of problems |
| Define groupthink | It is irrational, often detrimental, decision-making performed by a group whose members make the decision(s) in a way that minimizes conflict within the group |
| Define group polarization | It refers to a common pattern in group decision making where decisions are reached that are more extreme than decisions or beliefs that individual members would endorse |
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