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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

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MCAT 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
Q

What are the two waves that predominate on EEG?

A

Beta and Alpha

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26
Q

What is stage 1 of sleep?

A

Light sleep that is dominated by theta waves on EEG.

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27
Q

What is stage 2 of sleep?

A

Slightly deeper than 1 - includes theta waves, sleep spindles and K complexes.

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28
Q

What is cognition?

A

Looks at how our brains process and react to the incredible information overload presented to us by the world.

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29
Q

What is cognitive development?

A

the development of one’s ability to think and solve problems across the lifespan.

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30
Q

What is assimilation?

A

The process of classifying new information into existing schemata

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31
Q

What is schema?

A

Organized patterns of behavior and thought

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32
Q

What is accommodation?

A

Process by which existing schemata are modified to encompass this new information

33
Q

What is the difference between primary and secondary circular reactions?

A

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
Q

What is representational thought?

A

When the child begins to create mental representation of external objects and events.

35
Q

What is fluid intelligence?

A

problem-solving skills

36
Q

What is crystallized intelligence?

A

use of learned skills and knowledge

37
Q

What is delirium?

A

Rapid fluctuation in cognitive function that is reversible and caused by medical causes.

38
Q

What is an availability heuristic?

A

Used when trying to decide how likely something is. Make decisions based on how easily similar instances can be imagined.

39
Q

What is the representativeness heuristic?

A

Categorizing items on the basis of whether they fit the prototypical, stereotypical or representative image of the category.

40
Q

What is the base rate fallacy?

A

Using prototypical or stereotypical factors while ignoring the actual numerical information.

41
Q

Disconfirmation principle

A

When a potential solution to a problem fails during testing, this solution should be thrown out.

42
Q

Confirmation bias

A

Tendency to focus on the information that fits an individual’s beliefs, while rejecting information that goes against them.

43
Q

What is the recognition-primed decision model?

A

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
Q

Define emotion.

A

subjective experience of a person in a certain situation.

45
Q

Reticular formation.

A

A neural structure located in the brainstem, communicates with fibers from the prefrontal cortex, contributing to alertness.

46
Q

What is stage 3 and 4 of the sleep cycle?

A

deep (slow-wave) sleep. Delta waves predominate. This is where most sleep disorders occur.

47
Q

What is REM sleep?

A

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
Q

How long is the sleep cycle?

A

90 minutes. Cycles through 1-2-3-4-3-2-REM

49
Q

When is melatonin released?

A

Changes in the light in the evening trigger release of melatonin by the pineal gland, resulting in sleepiness.

50
Q

When do cortisol levels rise?

A

In the morning, help promote wakefulness – produced in the adrenal cortex.

51
Q

Circadian rhythms.

A

Generally circuit a 24 hour day - internally generated rhythms.

52
Q

What is the activation synthesis theory?

A

dreams are caused by wide-spread, random activation of neural circuitry.

53
Q

What is the problem-solving dream theory?

A

dreams are a way to solve problems while you are sleeping.

54
Q

What is the cognitive process dream theory?

A

dreams are merely the sleeping counterpart of consciousness

55
Q

What are neurocognitive models of dreaming?

A

Seek to unify biological and psychological perspectives on dreaming by correlating the subjective, cognitive experience of dreaming with measurable physiological changes.

56
Q

What are dyssomnias?

A

Make it difficult to fall asleep, stay asleep, or avoid sleep.

57
Q

What are parasomnias?

A

abnormal movements or behaviors during sleep

58
Q

What are depressants?

A

Alcohol, barbiturates, benzodiazepines. Promote or mimic GABA activity in the brain.

59
Q

What are stimulants?

A

Amphetamines, cocaine and ecstasy. They increase dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin concentration at the synaptic cleft.

60
Q

What are opiates and opioids?

A

heroin, morphine, opium and prescription pain medications such as oxycodone and hydrocondone. They can cause death by respiratory depression.

61
Q

What are hallucinogens?

A

LSD, peyote, mescaline, ketamine and psilocybin-containing mushrooms.

62
Q

What effects does marijuana have?

A

depressant, stimulant and hallucinogenic effects. Its active ingredient is THC

63
Q

What is selective attention?

A

allows one to pay attention to a particular stimulus while determining if additional stimuli in the background require attention.

64
Q

What is divided attention?

A

Used automatic processing to pay attention to multiple activities at once.

65
Q

What does language consist of?

A

phonology, morphology, semantics, syntax and pragmatics

66
Q

What is phonology?

A

the sound of speech

67
Q

What is morphology?

A

the building blocks of words, such as the rules for pluralization or past tense.

68
Q

What is semantics?

A

The meaning of words

69
Q

What is syntax?

A

rules dictating word order

70
Q

What are pragmatics?

A

changes in language delivery depending on context.

71
Q

What is the nativist theory of language development?

A

language acquisition is innate and controlled by the language acquisition device.

72
Q

What is the learning theory of language development?

A

language acquisition is controlled by operant conditioning and reinforcement by parents and caregivers.

73
Q

What is the social interactionist theory of language development?

A

explains language acquisition as being caused by a motivation to communicate and interact with others.

74
Q

What is the Whorfian hypothesis?

A

the lens through which we view and interpret the world is created by language.

75
Q

Where are speech areas found in the brain?

A

The dominant hemisphere (usually left)

76
Q

What does the Broca’s area control?

A

The motor function of speech

77
Q

What does Wenicke’s area control?

A

Language comprehension

78
Q

What does the arcuate fasciculus do?

A

connects Wernicke’s area and Broca’s area

MCAT Behavioral Sciences (12 decks)

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