Behavioral Science: Cognition, Consciousness, Language Flashcards
Piaget’s (4) Stages of Cognitive Development
There are qualitative differences between the way that children and adults think.
- Sensorimotor: birth - 2 yrs. Learn to manipulate environment to meet physical needs. Primary and secondary circular reactions. Object permanence (end of stage).
- Preoperational: 2-7 yrs. Symbolic thinking, egocentrism, and centration.
- Concrete operational: 7-11 yrs. Conservation, consider perspectives of others, logical thought working w/ concrete objects.
- Formal operational: 11 yrs and beyond. Logical thought working with abstract ideas. Reasoning and problem-solving.
Problem-Solving: Trial-and-Error
Various solutions are tried until one is found that seems to work.
Problem-Solving: Algorithms
Formula or procedure for solving a certain type of problem.
Problem-Solving: Deductive Reasoning (Top-Down)
Starts from a set of general rules and draws conclusions from info given.
Problem-Solving: Inductive Reasoning (Bottom-Up)
Starts with specific instances, then draws a conclusion from them. Creates theory via generalizations.
Decision-Making: Heuristics (2) (Availability, Representative)
Heuristics: simplified principles used to make decisions. Can lead you astray, but are essential to speed and efficiency.
- Availability: make decisions based on how easily similar instances can be imagined. Used when deciding how likely something is.
- Representative: categorize items based on whether they fit the prototypical, stereotypical, or representative image of the category.
Decision-Making: Biases (4) (Disconfirmation, Confirmation, Overconfidence, Belief Perseverance)
Can impede a person’s analysis of available evidence.
- Disconfirmation: evidence obtained from testing demonstrated that the solution doesn’t work.
- Confirmation: tendency to focus on info that fits an individual’s beliefs, while rejecting info that goes against them. Contribute to overconfidence.
- Overconfidence: tendency to erroneously interpret one’s decisions, knowledge, and beliefs as infallible.
- Belief perseverance: inability to reject a particular belief despite clear evidence to the contrary.
Decision-Making: Intuition
Ability to act on perceptions that may not be supported by available evidence.
Decision-Making: Emotion
Subject experience of a person in a certain situation.
Emotions experienced while decision is being made AND emotions that a person expects to feel from a particular decision are involved in decision-making process.
States of Consciousness: Alertness
Awake and able to think. Higher cortisol levels. EEG waves Beta (high f, alert or attending task requiring concentration) and Alpha (slower than Beta, awake but relaxing w/ eyes closed).
States of Consciousness: Sleep
EEG waves Theta and Delta.
4 stages of NREM sleep. REM sleep is interspersed b/w cycles of NREM sleep stages. REM sleep associated with memory consolidation and dreams; paradoxical sleep.
States of Consciousness: Dreaming (3 Theories / Neurocognitive Models)
- Activation-synthesis: caused by widespread, random activation of neural circuitry –> mimic incoming sensory info, pieces of stored memories, desires, needs, etc. –> cortex tries to stitch unrelated info together –> dreams.
- Problem-solving: dreams are a way to solve problems while you’re sleeping. Dream world is untethered by real world –> different interpretation of things.
- Cognitive process: dreams are the sleeping counterpart of the stream of consciousness.
States of Consciousness: Altered States (Hypnosis and Meditation)
Hypnosis: person appears to be in control on normal functions, but is in highly suggestible state.
Meditation: quieting the mind for some purpose. Decreases heart rate and BP. EEG resemble Stage 1 sleep w/ Theta and slow Alpha waves.
Sleep Disorders (Types of Dyssomnia and Parasomnia)
Dyssomnia: difficulty falling or staying asleep, or avoiding sleep. Insomnia, narcolepsy (cataplexy, sleep paralysis, hypnagogic and hypnopompic hallucinations), sleep apnea.
Parasomnia: abnormal movements or behaviors during sleep (NREM). Night terrors, sleepwalking.
Consciousness-Altering Drugs: Depressants
Alcohol, Barbiturates, Benzodiazepines.
All increase GABA activity. All reduce NS activity –> relaxation and reduced anxiety.
Consciousness-Altering Drugs: Stimulants
Amphetamines (increase DA, NE, 5-HT release at synapse and decrease reuptake), Cocaine (decrease DA, NE, 5-HT reuptake), Ecstasy.
Increase arousal of NS via increase of action potentials.
Consciousness-Altering Drugs: Opiates
Morphine, Codeine.
Opioids: bind to opioid receptors in PNS, CNS –> decrease rxn to pain and sense of euphoria. Oxycodone, hydrocodone, heroin.
Naturally occurring forms of opium.
Consciousness-Altering Drugs: Hallucinogens
LSD, peyote, mescaline, ketamine, shrooms, marijuana (THC acts at cannabinoid, glycine, opioid receptors –> increase GABA and DA activity).
Cause distortions of reality and fantasy, enhancement of sensory experience, and introspection.
Types of Attention (2) (Selective and Divided)
Selective: filter allows us to focus on one thing while allowing other stimuli to be processed in the background. Cocktail party phenomenon.
Divided: ability to perform multiple tasks at the same time. Familiar/routine actions can be performed w/ automatic processing –> permits brain to focus on other tasks w/ divided attention.
Components of Language: Phonology
The actual sound of the language. Phonemes are speech sounds.
Components of Language: Morphology
The structure of words. Morphemes are building blocks of words. Redesigned = re + design + ed.
Components of Language: Semantics
The associations of meaning with a word.
Components of Language: Syntax
How words are put together to form a sentence.
Components of Language: Pragmatics
Dependence of language on context and pre-existing knowledge.
