4 - Cognition, Consciousness, and Language Flashcards
Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development (4)
- Sensorimotor
- Preoperational
- Concrete Operational
- Formal Operational
Sensorimotor Stage
0-2 years; child learns to manipulate environment to meet physical needs; characterized by circular reactions
Preoperational Stage
2-7 years; characterized by symbolic thinking, egocentrism, and centration
Concrete Operational Stage
7-11 years; characterized by understanding of conservation, consideration of other’s perspectives, and logical thought when working with concrete objects or information that is directly available
Formal Operational Stage
11 years; characterized by problem-solving and thinking logically about abstract ideas
Primary Circular Reactions
repetition of body movement that occurred by chance; repetition occurs because it is soothing (e.g. sucking thumb); sensorimotor stage
Secondary Circular Reactions
repetition of movement that is focused on something outside of the body; repetition occurs because child usually gets a response from the environment (e.g. child throws toy from high chair and mom picks it up); sensorimotor stage
Object Permanence
the understanding that objects continue to exist, even when out of view; a key milestone that ends sensorimotor stage (e.g. “peek-a-boo” is entertaining for children in snsorimotor stage because they lack object permanence)
Object Permanence
the understanding that objects continue to exist, even when out of view; a key milestone that ends sensorimotor stage (e.g. “peek-a-boo” is entertaining for children in snsorimotor stage because they lack object permanence)
Egocentrism
the inability to image what a person may think or feel
Centration
the tendency to focus on only one aspect of a phenomenon or the inability to understand the concept of conservation (e.g. child thinks two small slices of pizza is more than one much larger slice)
Time-Based Prospective Memory
the ability to remember to perform a task at a specific time in the future; declines with age
Fluid Intelligence
problem-solving skills; peaks in early adulthood but declines with age
Crystallized Intelligence
the use of learned skills and knowledge; peaks in middle adulthood but declines with age
Delirium
rapid fluctuation in cognitive fxn that is reversible and caused by nonphysiological causes such as electrolyte and pH disturbances, malnutrition, low blood sugar, infection, drug rxn, alcohol withdrawal, and pain
Mental Set
the tendency to approach similar problems in the same way
Functional Fixedness
the inability to consider how to use an object in a non-traditional manner
Deductive Reasoning
top-down reasoning; starts from set of general rules and draws conclusions from the information given
Inductive Reasoning
bottom-up reasoning; seeks to create theory via generalizations
Heuristics
simplified principles used to make decisions; provide a more efficient - although sometimes inaccurate - method for problem solving
Availability Heuristics
decision based on likelihood (and how easily a similar instance can be imagined; e.g. used to decide whether there’s more letters that begin with “K” than have “K” as their 3rd letter
Representativeness Heuristic
categorization of items based on where they fit as prototypical, stereotypical, or representative images of a category; e.g. coin is flipped 10x and lands heads 10x, based on this info one might think it will either land heads again due to established pattern or tails because probability should even out
Base Rate Fallacy
using prototypical or stereotypical factors while ignoring actual numerical information
Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences
- linguistic
- logical-mathematical
- musical
- visual-spatial
- bodily-kinesthetic
- interpersonal
- intrapersonal
**Gardner argues that Western culture values the first two abilities over the others
Spearman’s “g-factor”
general intelligence factor; theory behind existence of “g-factor” is based on observation that performance on different cognitive tasks is in many cases positively correlated, indicating an underlying factor/variable is playing a role; underlying factor/variable is often measured with IQ test
IQ Formula
[(mental age)/(chronological age)] x 100 = IQ
- *Mean = 100
- *SD = 15
Disconfirmation Principle
discarding a solution to a problem after this potential solution fails during testing
Confirmation Bias
the tendency to focus on information that fits an individual’s beliefs, while rejecting information that goes against them
Belief Perseverance
the inability to reject a particular belief despite clear evidence to the contrary
Intuition
the ability to act on perceptions that may not be supported by available perceptions
Recognition-Primed Decision Model
describes how people make quick, effective decisions by via experience and recognition of similar experiences; explains intuition
Accepted States of Consciousness (4)
Consciousness: awareness of both the world and one’s own existence within that world
(1) Alertness
(2) Sleep
(3) Dreaming
(4) Altered states of consciousness
Alertness is maintained by neurological circuits between which brain two structures?
prefrontal cortex + reticular formation
**a brain injury that results in the disruption of these connections results in a comatose state
The sleep stages form a complete cycle that lasts about ___ minutes
90
Which brain waves characterize brain wave activity when we are awake?
- alpha
- beta
Beta waves
occur when person is awake, alert, or attending to mental task that requires concentration; high frequency
Alpha waves
occur when we are awake but relaxing; slower than beta waves and more synchronous
Stage 1 Sleep
dozing off; theta waves
Stage 2 Sleep
deeper sleep; theta waves, sleep spindles, K complexes
Stage 3 + 4 Sleep
SWS marked by difficulty in rousing a person from sleep; slower EEG activity; delta waves (low frequency)
Slow Wave Sleep is associated with (3)
associated with cognitive recovery, DECLARATIVE memorly consilidation, and increases growth hormone release
Non-Rapid Eye Movement Sleep (NREM)
stages 1-4
REM Sleep
aka paradoxical sleep; arousal levels reach that of wakefulness (e.g. HR, breathing, and EEG mimic wakefulness) but muscles are paralyzed; characterized by dreaming and PROCEDURAL memory consolidation
Mneumonic for the sequential order of brain waves during sleep
“BAT-D”
Note: remember that a BAT sleeps during the Day
How does the makeup of a sleep cycle change as the night progresses?
- earlier in the night SWS predominates
- later in the night REM predominates
How do sleep cycles change over one’s lifespan?
- children have 50 min sleep cycles vs adults 90 min
- children spend more time in SWS
What hormone contributes to sleepiness?
Melatonin
decrease in light to retina –> hypothalamus –> pineal gland –> release of melatonin
What hormone contributes to wakefulness?
Cortisol
increase in light to retina –> release of CRF from hypothalamus (corticotropin releasing factor) –> release of ACTH from anterior pituitary –> cortisol release from adrenal cortex
In what sleep stage does dreaming occur?
- 75% of dreaming in REM
- rest of dreaming occurs in stage 2 upwards
Activation Synthesis Theory
states that dreams are caused by widespread, random activation of neural circuitry
Dyssomnias
disorders that make it difficult to fall asleep or avoid sleep (e.g. narcolepsy, insomnias, and sleep apnea)
Parasomnias
abnormal movements or behaviors during sleep (e.g. night terrors and sleep walking)
In what stage do most sleep disorders occur?
NREM
Cataplexy
loss of muscle control and sudden intrusion of REM sleep during waking hours
Hypnagogic Hallucinations
hallucinations when trying to go to sleep
Hypnopompic Hallucinations
hallucinations when trying to wake up
Obstructive Sleep Apnea
physical blockage in pharynx or trachea prevents airflow
Central Sleep Apnea
brain fails to send signals to diaphragm to breathe
REM Rebound
an earlier onset and greater duration of REM sleep that occurs following sleep deprivation
EEG waves during meditation
resembles Stage 1 sleep with theta and slow alpha waves
Alcohol’s chemical effects on brain
- increase in GABA activity (a Cl- channel that causes hyperpolarization of membrane); brain inhbition
- increase in dopamine; mild euphoria
Alcohol Myopia
a short-sighted view of the world that occurs when logical reasoning is affected by intoxication and one is unable to recognize the consequences of their actions
Benzodiazepines chemical effects on brain
- increase in GABA activity
e. g. lorazepam, alprazolam, diazepam, clonazepam
Stimulants chemical effects on brain
increase frequency of action potentials; each drug does so by different mechanism
Amphetamines Mechanism of Action
increase release of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin at the synapse; decrease their reuptake
Opiates vs. Opioids
- opiates = naturally occuring form (e.g. morphine, codeine)
- opioids = semi-synthetic derivatives (e.g. heroine, oxycodone, hydrocodone)
THC chemical effects on brain
- acts at cannabinoid, glycine, and opioid receptors
- THC inhibits GABA activity
- THC indirectly increases dopamine activity
Mesolimbic Reward Pathway
- 1 of 4 dopaminergic pathways in brain; activation accounts for positive reinforcement of substance abuse
- includes nucleus accumbens (NAc), ventral tegmental area (VTA) and medial forebrain bundle (MFB) which connects the two
Phonology
the actual sound of language
Phonemes
speech sounds; ~40 in English, more in other languages
Morphology
the structure of words
Morphemes
building blocks of words; (e.g. the word redesigned can be broken down into re- , -design- , and -ed)
Semantics
the association of meaning with a word
Syntax
how words are put together to form a sentence
Pragmatics
the dependence of language on context and pre-existing knowledge; in other words, the manner in which we speak may differ based on audience and our relationship to them (e.g. when asking to share a seat on a bus with stranger may ask more formally than to a friend who we’d just tell to move over)
Prosody
the rhythm, cadence, and inflection of our voices
Timeline of Language Acquisition in Children
9-12 months = babbling
12-18 months = ~ 1 word per month
18-20 months = “explosion” of language and combining words
2-3 years = longer sentences (3 words or more)
5 years = language rules largely mastered
Errors of Growth
child applies a grammatical rule (often morpheme) in a situation in which it does not apply; e.g. runned instead of ran
Nativist (Biological) Theory
advocates for the existence of some innate capacity for language; innate ability is called “Language Acquisition Device (LAD)”
Language Acquisition Device
a theoretical brain pathway that allows infants to process and absorb language rules
Critical Period for Language Acquisition
2 years to puberty; believed by Nativists that if no language exposure occurs during this time, any later training is largely ineffective
Learning (Behaviorist) Theory
language acquisition by operant conditioning (parental reinforcement)
Social Interactionist Theory
language acquisition is driven by child’s desire to communicate and behave in social manner; focus is on interplay between biological and social processes
Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis
aka Whorfian Hypothesis; suggests that our perception of reality is determined by the content of language; in other words, language affects the way we think instead of the other way around
Broca’s Area
responsible for the motor function of speech via connections to the motor cortex; located in the inferior frontal gyrus of frontal lobe in dominant hemisphere (usually left)
Wernicke’s Area
responsible for language comprehension; located in superior temporal gyrus of temporal lobe in dominant hemisphere (usually left)
Arcuate Fasciculus
a bundle of axons that connects Broca’s and Wernicke’s
Expressive Aphasia
damage to Broca’s; results in deficit of language production
Receptive Aphasia
damage to Wernicke’s; results in deficit of language comprehension which leads patients to speak nonsensical word combinations
Conduction Aphasia
damage to arcuate fasciculus; speech production and comprehension are intact since broca’s and wernicke’s are unaffected, but PT is unable to repeat something that is said since connection between two regions is lost
