4. Cognition

Question 1

Info processing model

Answer 1

thinking requires sensation, encoding and storage of stimuli; brain analyzes stimuli to make decisions; decisions can be adjusted to solve new problems aka situational modification; problem solving is based on cognition and complexity of problem

Question 2

List and explain 4 stages of Piaget’s cognitive development

Answer 2

1) sensorimotor - 0-2 years. child learns to manipulate environment to meet physical needs; consists of circular rxns. ends w/ object permanence and representational thought
2) preoperational - 2-7 years; symbolic thinking (ability to pretend), egocentrism (inability to imagine another person’s feelings), centration (focusing on one aspect of a situation); may be unable to complete conservation task (ex: can’t tell if same amount of liquid in a tall+skinny beaker vs short+wide beaker)
3) concrete operational - 7-11 years; can think logically only w/ concrete objects and info; can complete conservation task (ex: can tell if same amount of liquid in a tall+skinny beaker vs short+wide beaker)
4) formal operational - 11 yrs+; can think logically about abstract ideas and problem solving; can process complex emotions; can do algebraic operations

Question 3

primary vs secondary circular rxns

Answer 3

repetition of movement occuring by chance (ex: sucking thumb) vs manipulation outside of body (ex: throwing toys)

Question 4

object permanence vs representational thought

Answer 4

child understands that objects exists not in view vs child creates mental representations of external objects

Question 5

Piaget’s adaptation of schema (ie. methods to process modify schemas): assimilation vs accommodation

Answer 5

incorporating new info to existing info vs modifying existing info to understand new info

Question 6

Describe the timeline of language acquisition. Language acquisition device

Answer 6

9-12 mo: babbling 
12-18 mo: 1 word/mo
18-20 mo: explosion of random words
2-3 years: 3 word sentences
5 years+: master
hypothesized pathway that aids children in ascertaining the rules of a language during their early development; active during childhood, and lost during adulthood

Question 7

Lev Vgotsky

Answer 7

cognitive development = based on culture

Question 8

fluid intelligence vs crystallized intelligence

Answer 8

solve problems w/ speed and insight, w/ problem solving and critical thinking; peaks thru early adult yrs to old age vs solve problems w/ learned skills, concrete facts, acquired knowledge; peaks at elderly yrs

Question 9

Concordance rates

Answer 9

likelihood of twins developing same traits

Question 10

rooting reflex vs Moro reflex vs Babinski reflex vs grasping reflex

Answer 10

anything touching cheek –> head turns vs any head movements –> arms fan out vs anything touching sole –> toes fan out vs holding something in hands

Question 11

What’s parallel play?

Answer 11

children playing together w/o influencing e/o

Question 12

Representative vs availability heuristic

Answer 12

categorizing items based on their stereotypical or prototypical categories vs how likely something is, use info that’s readily available

Question 13

anchoring bias

Answer 13

using initial piece of info to make subsequent judgments

Question 14

essentialism

Answer 14

object’s characteristics make up what they are

Question 15

Aphasia. Broca’s vs Wernicke’s vs conduction aphasia vs anomia vs agraphia

Answer 15

Deficit in language production or comprehension. Loss in word production, aka expressive aphasia or non-fluent aphasia vs loss in word comprehension, aka receptive aphasia or sensory aphasia vs arcuate fasciculus is affected —> word production and comprehension is fine but they can’t repeat what they said vs inability to name objects vs inability to write

Question 16

Errors of growth

Answer 16

When a child applies grammatical rules to where it doesn’t apply (ex: runned instead of ran, funner instead of more fun)

Question 17

Selective attn vs divided attn

Answer 17

Focusing on one part of sensorium while ignoring others, includes cocktail party phenomenon vs multitasking, includes automatic and controlled processing

Question 18

Problem solving. Diff types of problem solving

Answer 18

Finding out what needs to be done to reach a goal not readily available. Inducing structure, arrangement, transformation

Question 19

Types of problem solving: inducing structure vs arrangement vs transformation

Answer 19

Person needs to find relation or pattern b/w items in the problem (ex: series completion, analogy) vs person must rearrange some items to satisfy some criteria (ex: anagrams) vs person must complete series of transformation to meet sub goal (ex: tower of Hanoi, water jug problem)

Question 20

Problem solving strategies: trial and error vs sub goals vs analogically thinking/reasoning vs changing representation vs taking a break/incubation

Answer 20

Trying various slns until one works vs completing intermediate steps toward a goal (ex: analogies, tower of Hanoi) vs finding relations b/w slns of previous problem vs current problem (ex: fortress) vs representing problem in diff ways like graphs, flowcharts, tables, lists, eqns vs actually taking a break; incubation - gradual generation of a sln to a problem; insight - finding a sln to a problem after initially failing to do so

Question 21

Barriers to problem solving: irrelevant info vs unnecessary constraint vs mental set vs functional fixedness

Answer 21

False notion that all info in the problem = needed to solve the problem vs individuals assume there are rules that don’t exist vs solving a problem in the same way you did in the past, but it might not work for the current problem vs tendency to perceive an object by its common use (ex: use a screwdriver for only screwing when you can also use it as a hammer)

Question 22

Schema vs script

Answer 22

Cognitive framework of a subject or event, can be dynamic and modified to fit a new experience (ex: gender schema: women stay home and men go to work; a girl who meets a business woman will change her gender schema into thinking that women can go work too) vs a series of expected actions for a particular situation (ex: when dad comes home drunk, mom gets annoyed and children stay away; or when grocery shopping, you park, go in store, grab a cart, shop, checkout, then go home)

Question 23

Robert Sternberg intelligence theory

Answer 23

creative intelligence, analytical intelligence, and practical intelligence

Question 24

How to calculate IQ? Binet’s IQ test

Answer 24

mental age/chronological age * 100; from Stanley-Binet IQ test - measure performance cognitive tests compared to standards at given ages

Question 25

G factor. Spearman’s g factor test

Answer 25

stands for general intelligence; describes some additional factor that accounts for the amount of intelligence an individual has. measures human intelligence in psychometric and cognitive tasks

Question 26

Galton’s intelligence test vs Thorndike’s intelligence test

Answer 26

tests intelligence in cognitive tasks vs tests for social, mechanical, and abstract intelligence