385 Exam 2 Flashcards
What are executive functions?
Executive functions refer to a family of top-down mental processes needed for concentration and attention when instinct or intuition would be insufficient or impossible.
What are the three core executive functions?
The three core executive functions are inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility.
What is inhibitory control?
Inhibitory control involves controlling attention, behavior, thoughts, and/or emotions to override strong internal predispositions or external lures.
What does inhibition of thoughts refer to?
Inhibition of thoughts refers to cognitive inhibition, such as suppressing a good memory that had recently come to mind.
What does inhibition of attention involve?
Inhibition of attention involves selective or focused attention, such as scanning a crowd to find someone.
What does inhibition of behavior entail?
Inhibition of behavior involves self-control, such as a professor speaking in French or driving on the right side of the road.
What is working memory?
Working memory is a limited capacity system that temporarily stores and uses recently presented information.
What is the role of working memory?
Working memory plays a critical role in decision making, problem solving, movement production, evaluation, and long-term memory.
What is cognitive flexibility?
Cognitive flexibility refers to the ability to adapt flexibly to a constantly changing environment.
What are examples of cognitive flexibility?
Examples include changing perspectives spatially or interpersonally and trying various ways to solve a problem.
What are higher order executive functions?
Higher order executive functions include reasoning, problem solving, and high-level planning.
What is reasoning?
Reasoning is the ability to reach logical conclusions based on prior information.
What is problem solving?
Problem solving is the process of constructing and applying mental representations of problems to find solutions.
What is high-level planning?
High-level planning focuses on setting broad goals, timelines, and resource allocation.
What is short-term memory?
Short-term memory is a limited capacity system that temporarily stores information without manipulation.
What is long-term memory?
Long-term memory is a more permanent storage repository of information with relatively unlimited capacity.
What are the subsystems of long-term memory?
The subsystems of long-term memory include semantic memory, episodic memory, and procedural memory.
What is semantic memory?
Semantic memory stores general knowledge about the world based on experiences.
What is episodic memory?
Episodic memory stores knowledge about personally experienced events and their temporal associates.
What is procedural memory?
Procedural memory enables us to know ‘how to do’ something, as opposed to knowing ‘what to do’.
What is declarative knowledge?
Declarative knowledge is knowledge about what to do in a situation that is verbalizable.
What is procedural knowledge?
Procedural knowledge enables one to actually perform a skill and is typically not verbalizable.
What is encoding in memory processes?
Encoding is the process of transforming information into a form that can be stored in memory.
What is storage in memory processes?
Storage is the process of placing information in long-term memory.
