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MCAT Behavioral Sciences > Behavioral Sciences Chapter 4: Cognition, Consciousness and Language > Flashcards

Behavioral Sciences Chapter 4: Cognition, Consciousness and Language Flashcards

1
Q

What is the information processing model?

A

States that the brain encodes, stores and retrieves information much like a computer.

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2
Q

What is early cognitive development limited by?

A

Brain maturation

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3
Q

What are Piaget’s stages of cognitive development?

A

sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational and formal operational.

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4
Q

What is the sensorimotor stage of cognitive development?

A

Focuses on manipulating the environment to meet physical needs through circular reactions. Object permanence ends during this stage.

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5
Q

What is object permanence?

A

Knowledge that an object does not cease to exist when the object cannot be seen.

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6
Q

What are circular reactions?

A

a repetitive reaction that achieves a desired response

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7
Q

What is the preoperational stage of cognitive development?

A

Focuses on symbolic thinking, egocentrism and centration.

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8
Q

What is symbolic thinking?

A

The ability to pretend, play make-believe and have an imagination.

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9
Q

What is egocentrism?

A

Self-centered view of the world in which one is not necessarily able to understand the experience of another person.

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10
Q

What is centration?

A

Tendency to only focus on one aspect of a phenomenon.

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11
Q

What is the concrete operational stage of cognitive development?

A

Focuses on understanding the feelings of others and manipulating physical (concrete) objects

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12
Q

What is the formal operational stage of cognitive development?

A

Focuses on abstract thought and problem solving

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13
Q

What are biological factors that affect cognition?

A

organic brain disorders, genetic and chromosomal conditions, metabolic derangements and drug use.

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14
Q

What does problem solving require?

A

identification and understanding of the problem, generation of potential solutions, testing of potential solutions and evaluation of results

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15
Q

What if a mental set?

A

A pattern of approach for a given problem.

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16
Q

What is functional fixedness?

A

The tendency to use objects only in the way they are normally utilized, which may create barriers to problem-solving.

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17
Q

What are the different types of problem-solving?

A

trial-and-error, algorithms, deductive reasoning, and inductive reasoning.

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18
Q

What is the difference between inductive reasoning and deductive reasoning?

A

Inductive - deriving generalizations from evidence.

Deductive - deriving conclusions from general rules.

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19
Q

What are heuristics?

A

shortcuts or rules of thumb used to make decisions

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20
Q

What are biases?

A

exist when an experimenter or decision-maker is unable to objectively evaluate information.

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21
Q

What is intuition?

A

A ‘gut feeling’ regarding a decision. However, intuition can often be attributed to experience with similar situations.

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22
Q

What are the seven areas of Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences?

A

linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, visual-spatial, bodily kinesthetic, interpersonal and intrapersonal

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23
Q

What can variations in intellectual ability be attributed to?

A

combination of environment, education and genetics

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24
Q

What is alertness?

A

the state of being awake and able to think, perceive, process and express information.

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25
What are the two waves that predominate on EEG?
Beta and Alpha
26
What is stage 1 of sleep?
Light sleep that is dominated by theta waves on EEG.
27
What is stage 2 of sleep?
Slightly deeper than 1 - includes theta waves, sleep spindles and K complexes.
28
What is cognition?
Looks at how our brains process and react to the incredible information overload presented to us by the world.
29
What is cognitive development?
the development of one's ability to think and solve problems across the lifespan.
30
What is assimilation?
The process of classifying new information into existing schemata
31
What is schema?
Organized patterns of behavior and thought
32
What is accommodation?
Process by which existing schemata are modified to encompass this new information
33
What is the difference between primary and secondary circular reactions?
Primary - body movement that happened by chance (sucking thumb), that is repeated because it is soothing. Secondary - Manipulation is focused on something outside the body
34
What is representational thought?
When the child begins to create mental representation of external objects and events.
35
What is fluid intelligence?
problem-solving skills
36
What is crystallized intelligence?
use of learned skills and knowledge
37
What is delirium?
Rapid fluctuation in cognitive function that is reversible and caused by medical causes.
38
What is an availability heuristic?
Used when trying to decide how likely something is. Make decisions based on how easily similar instances can be imagined.
39
What is the representativeness heuristic?
Categorizing items on the basis of whether they fit the prototypical, stereotypical or representative image of the category.
40
What is the base rate fallacy?
Using prototypical or stereotypical factors while ignoring the actual numerical information.
41
Disconfirmation principle
When a potential solution to a problem fails during testing, this solution should be thrown out.
42
Confirmation bias
Tendency to focus on the information that fits an individual's beliefs, while rejecting information that goes against them.
43
What is the recognition-primed decision model?
A decision-making model in which experience and recognition of similar situations one has already experiences play a large role in decision-making and actions; also one of the explanations for the experience of intuition.
44
Define emotion.
subjective experience of a person in a certain situation.
45
Reticular formation.
A neural structure located in the brainstem, communicates with fibers from the prefrontal cortex, contributing to alertness.
46
What is stage 3 and 4 of the sleep cycle?
deep (slow-wave) sleep. Delta waves predominate. This is where most sleep disorders occur.
47
What is REM sleep?
Rapid eye movement sleep (aka paradoxical sleep): mind appears close to awake, but the person is asleep. Eye movements and body paralysis occur in this stage. Dreaming focuses on procedural memories.
48
How long is the sleep cycle?
90 minutes. Cycles through 1-2-3-4-3-2-REM
49
When is melatonin released?
Changes in the light in the evening trigger release of melatonin by the pineal gland, resulting in sleepiness.
50
When do cortisol levels rise?
In the morning, help promote wakefulness -- produced in the adrenal cortex.
51
Circadian rhythms.
Generally circuit a 24 hour day - internally generated rhythms.
52
What is the activation synthesis theory?
dreams are caused by wide-spread, random activation of neural circuitry.
53
What is the problem-solving dream theory?
dreams are a way to solve problems while you are sleeping.
54
What is the cognitive process dream theory?
dreams are merely the sleeping counterpart of consciousness
55
What are neurocognitive models of dreaming?
Seek to unify biological and psychological perspectives on dreaming by correlating the subjective, cognitive experience of dreaming with measurable physiological changes.
56
What are dyssomnias?
Make it difficult to fall asleep, stay asleep, or avoid sleep.
57
What are parasomnias?
abnormal movements or behaviors during sleep
58
What are depressants?
Alcohol, barbiturates, benzodiazepines. Promote or mimic GABA activity in the brain.
59
What are stimulants?
Amphetamines, cocaine and ecstasy. They increase dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin concentration at the synaptic cleft.
60
What are opiates and opioids?
heroin, morphine, opium and prescription pain medications such as oxycodone and hydrocondone. They can cause death by respiratory depression.
61
What are hallucinogens?
LSD, peyote, mescaline, ketamine and psilocybin-containing mushrooms.
62
What effects does marijuana have?
depressant, stimulant and hallucinogenic effects. Its active ingredient is THC
63
What is selective attention?
allows one to pay attention to a particular stimulus while determining if additional stimuli in the background require attention.
64
What is divided attention?
Used automatic processing to pay attention to multiple activities at once.
65
What does language consist of?
phonology, morphology, semantics, syntax and pragmatics
66
What is phonology?
the sound of speech
67
What is morphology?
the building blocks of words, such as the rules for pluralization or past tense.
68
What is semantics?
The meaning of words
69
What is syntax?
rules dictating word order
70
What are pragmatics?
changes in language delivery depending on context.
71
What is the nativist theory of language development?
language acquisition is innate and controlled by the language acquisition device.
72
What is the learning theory of language development?
language acquisition is controlled by operant conditioning and reinforcement by parents and caregivers.
73
What is the social interactionist theory of language development?
explains language acquisition as being caused by a motivation to communicate and interact with others.
74
What is the Whorfian hypothesis?
the lens through which we view and interpret the world is created by language.
75
Where are speech areas found in the brain?
The dominant hemisphere (usually left)
76
What does the Broca's area control?
The motor function of speech
77
What does Wenicke's area control?
Language comprehension
78
What does the arcuate fasciculus do?
connects Wernicke's area and Broca's area

MCAT Behavioral Sciences (12 decks)

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