Behavioral Sciences Ch4 Flashcards
Cognition
How our brains process and react to the incredible information overload presented to us by the world
Information processing model
The brain encodes, stores and retrieve information much like a computer
Piaget’s stages of cognitive development
SENSORIMOTOR STAGE
- Focus on manipulating the environment to meet physical needs through circular reactions
- Object permanence ends this stage
PREOPERATIONAL STAGE
- Symbolic thinking, egocentrism, and centration
CONCRETE OPERATIONAL STATE
- understanding the feelings of others and manipulating physical objects
FORMAL OPERATIONAL STAGE
- Abstract thought ad problem solving
What are some biological factors that affect cognition
- Brain disorders
- genetic and chromosomal conditions
- metabolic derangements
- drug use
Problem solving
Requires identification and understanding of the problem, generation of potential solutions, testing of potential solutions and evaluation of results
Mental set
a pattern of approach for a given problem
- Inappropriate mental set can negatively affect problem solving
Functional Fixedness
The tendency to use objects only in the way they are normally utilized, which may create barriers to problem solving
Types of Problem solving
- Trial and error
- Algorithms
- Deductive reasoning: deriving conclusions from a general set of rules
- Inductive reasoning: deriving generalizations from evidence
Heuristics
Shortcuts or rules of thumb used to make decisions
Biases
When an experimenter or decision maker is unable to objectively evaluate information
Intuition
A gut feeling regarding a particular decision. However, intuition can often be attributed to experience with similar situations
Gardner’s Theory of Multiple intelligences
At least eight areas of intelligence
- linguistic, logical-mathematical, music, visual-spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalist
What are the states of consciousness
Alertness, sleep, dreaming, and altered states
Alertness
The state of being awake and able to think, perceive, process, and express information
- beta and delta waves predominate on electroencephalography
Sleep
STAGE 1
- light sleep, theta waves
STAGE 2
- slightly deeper, theta waves, sleep spindles (bursts) and K complexes (single spikes)
STAGE 3 & 4
- slow wave sleep, delta waves, consolidate declarative memories through dreaming
RAPID EYE MOVEMEMNT
- EEG close to awake, but person asleep
- eye movement and body paralysis
- Consolidate procedural memeories
Sleep cycle
- About 90 min in adults
- Normal cycle 1-2-3-4-3-2-REM, although REM becomes more frequent in the morning
Melatonin release
- Triggered by changes in light
- released by pineal gland
- results in sleepiness
Cortisol
Increase in early morning and help promote wakefulness
Dreaming
- Mostly occurs during REM sleep
- Many different models to account for the content and purpose of dreaming
Dyssomnias
Disorders that make it difficult to fall asleep, stay asleep, or avoid sleep
Parasomnias
abnormal movements or behaviours during sleep
Insomnia
difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep
- related to anxiety, depression, medications or disruption of sleep cycles and circadian rhythms
Narcolepsy
lack of voluntary control over the onset of sleep
- Cataplexy: a loss of muscle and intrusion of REM in waking hours
- Usually caused by emotional trigger
Sleep paralysis
a sensation of being unable to move despite being awake
Sleep apnea
an inability to breath during sleep
- Obstructive: physical blockage in the pharynx or trachea prevents airflow
- Central: brain fails to send signals to the diaphragm to breathe
Hypnosis
A state of consciousness in which individuals appear to be in control of their normal faculties but are highly suggestible
- Often used for pain control, psychological therapy, memory enhancement, weight loss, smoking cessation
Meditiation
Involves quieting of the mind and is often used for relief of anxiety or religious purposes
Depressents
- Alcohol, barbiturates, benzodiazepines
- Promote or mimic GABA activity in the brain
Stimulants
- Amphetamines, cocaine, ecstasy
- Increase dopamine, norepinephrine or serotonin concentration in the synaptic cleft
Opiates and Opioids
- Heroin, morphine, opium, and prescription pain medications (oxycodone)
- Cause death by respiratory depression
- Bind to opioid receptors suppressing pain
Hallucinogens
- Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), peyote, mescaline, ketamine, psilocybin containing mushrooms
- Distortions of reality and enhanced sensory experiences
- Increased HR, BP, dilation of pupils, sweating and increased body temperature
Marijuana
- Depressant, stimulant, and hallucinogenic effects
- Active ingredient THC
What pathway mediates drug addication
The mesolimbic pathway, which includes the nucleus accumbens, medial forebrain bundle and ventral tegmental area
- dopamine is the main neurotransmitter of this pathway
Selective attention
Allows one to pay attention to a particular stimulus while determining if additional stimuli in the background required attention
Divided attention
Uses automatic processing to pay attention to multiple activities at one time
Phonology
Actual sound of speech
Morphology
the building blocks of words
Semantics
meaning of words
Syntax
rules dictating word order (grammer)
Paragmatics
the changes in language delivery depending on context
Nativist Theory
Explains language acquisition as being innate and controlled by the language acquisition device (LAD)
Learning theory
Explains language acquisition as being controlled by operant conditioning and reinforcement by caregivers
Social interactionist theroy
Explains language acquisition as being caused by a motivation to communicate and interact with others
Whorfian Hypothesis
States that the lens through which we view and interpret the world is created by language
Broca’s Area
Motor function of speech is controlled
- damage results in Broca’s aphasia - nonfluent aphasia in which generative generating each word requires great effort
Wernicke’s Area
Language comprehension
- Damage results in Wernicke’s Aphasia - fluent nonsensical aphasia with lack of comprehension
Arcuate fasciculus
connects Wernicke’s and Broca’s area
- Damage results in conduction aphasia - the inability to repeat words heard despite intact speech generation and comprehension
