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MCAT Behavioral Sciences > Ch 4 - Cognition, Consciousness, and Language > Flashcards

Ch 4 - Cognition, Consciousness, and Language Flashcards

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MCAT flashcards
1
Q

How is thought more than just that of which we are conscious?

A

the brain processes and makes decisions about the importance of various stimuli below the level of conscious awareness

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2
Q

What is information processing model?

A

states that the brain encodes, stores, and retrieves information more like a computer

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3
Q

How does abstract thinking develop?

A

the ability to think abstractly develops over the life span

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4
Q

What limits and influences cognitive development?

A
  • early cognitive development is limited by brain maturation
  • culture, genes, and environment also influence cognitive development
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5
Q

What is Piaget’s stages of cognitive development?

A
  • sensorimotor: focuses on manipulating the environment to meet physical needs through circular reactions (object permanence ends this stage)
  • preoperational: focuses on symbolic thinking, egocentrism, and centration
  • concrete operational: focuses on understanding the feelings of others and manipulating physical (concrete) objects
  • formal operational: focuses on abstract thought and problem solving
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6
Q

What is considered normal with declining cognitive?

A
  • mid level decline while aging is normal

- significant changes may signify an underlying disorder

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7
Q

What biological factors affect cognition?

A

organic brain disorders
genetic and chromosomal conditions
metabolic derangement
drug use

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8
Q

What does problem solving require?

A

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

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9
Q

What is mental set?

A

a pattern of approach for a given problem (an inappropriate mental set may negatively impact problem solving)

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10
Q

What is a functional fixedness?

A

the tendency to use objects only in the way they are normally utilized, which may create barrier to problem solving

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11
Q

What are different types of problem solving?

A

trial and error, algorithms, deductive reasoning (deriving conclusions from general rules), and inductive reasoning (deriving generalizations from evidence)

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12
Q

How do Heuristics, biases, intuition, and emotions help in decision making but may also lead to erroneous or problematic decisions?

A
  • heuristics: shortcuts or rules of thumb used to make decisions ( available - how easily similar instances can be imagined; representative - how a particular item or situation fits a given proto/stereotype)
  • biases: exist when an experimenter or decision maker is unable to objectively evaluate information
  • intuition: a “gut feeling” regarding a particular decisions (however, intuition can often be attributed to experience with similar situations)
  • emotional state often plays a role in decision making
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13
Q

What does Gardener’s theory of multiple intelligences propose?

A

seven areas of intelligence including: linguistic, logical - mathematical, musical, visual - spatial, bodily - kinesthetic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal

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14
Q

What are the different states of consciousness?

A

alertness, sleep, dreaming, and altered states of consciousness

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15
Q

What is alertness?

A
  • the state of being awake and able to think, perceive, process, and express information
  • Beta and alpha waves predominate on EEG
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16
Q

What are the stages of sleep?

A
  • 1: light sleep and is dominated by theta waves on EEG
  • 2: slightly deeper and includes theta waves, sleep spindles, and K complexes
  • 3 & 4: deep (slow wave) sleep where delta waves predominate on EEG (located of most sleep-wake disorders with non rapid eye movement NREM) - dreaming focuses on consolidating declarative memories
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17
Q

What is rapid eye movement (REM) sleep?

A
  • sometimes called paradoxical sleep
  • the mind appears close to awake on EEG, but the person is asleep
  • eye movements and body paralysis occur
  • dreaming focuses on consolidating procedural memories
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18
Q

What is the sleep cycle?

A
  • approximately 90 minutes for adults

- normal cycle is stage 1-2-3-4-3-2-REM or just 1-2-3-4-REM although REM becomes more frequent toward the morning

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19
Q

Which 2 hormones are most associated with maintaining sleep?

A
  • changes in light in the evening trigger release of melatonin by the pineal gland resulting in sleep (melatonin mellows you out)
  • cortisol levels increase in the early morning and help promote wakefulness (cortisol helps get you up)
  • circadian rhythms normally trend around a 24 hour day
20
Q

When does dreaming occur and what affects the content?

A
  • most dreaming occurs during REM, but some dreaming occurs during other sleep stages
  • there are many different models that attempt to account for the content and purpose of dreaming
21
Q

What is dyssominas and parasomnias?

A

sleep wake disorders

  • dyssomnias: duration/timing of sleep disturbed (insomnia, narcolepsy, sleep apnea/deprivation)
  • parasomnias: abnormal behavior during sleep (night terrors and sleep walking)
22
Q

What is hypnosis?

A
  • a state of consciousness in which individuals appear to be in control of their normal faculties but are in a highly suggestible state
  • often used for pain control, psychological therapy, memory enhancement, weight loss, and smoking cessation
23
Q

What is meditation?

A
  • involves a quieting of the mind and is often used for relief of anxiety
  • played a role in many of the world’s religions
24
Q

What are depressants?

A
  • include alcohol, barbiturates, and benzodiazepines

- promote and mimic GABA activity in the brain (increase)

25
Q

What are stimulants?

A
  • include amphetamines, cocaine, and ecstasy

- increase dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin concentration at the synaptic cleft

26
Q

What are opiates and opioids?

A
  • include heroin, morphine, opium, and prescription pain medications such as oxycodone and hydrocodone
  • can cause death by respiratory depression
27
Q

What are hallucinogens?

A
  • include LSD, peyote, mescaline, ketamine, and psilocybin-containing mushrooms
28
Q

What effects does marijuana have?

A
  • has depressant, stimulant, and hallucinogenic effects

- its active ingredient is tetrahydrocannabinol

29
Q

What is drug addiction meditated by?

A
  • by the mesolimbic pathway, which includes the nucleus accumbens, medial forebrain bundle, and ventral tegmental area
  • dopamine is the main neurotransmitter in this pathway
30
Q

What does selected attention allow?

A

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

31
Q

How does divided attention work?

A

used automatic processing to pay attention to multiple activities at one time

32
Q

What are the sections of languages?

A
  • phonology: actual sound of speech
  • morphology: building blocks of words, such as rules for pluralization, past tense, etc.
  • semantics: meaning of words
  • syntax: rules dictating word order
  • pragmatics: the changes in language delivery depending on context
33
Q

What are the different theories of language development?

A
  • nativist (biological) theory: innate ability to pick up language via the language acquisition device (LAD)
  • learning (behavorist) theory: by operant conditioning and reinforcement by parents and caregivers
  • social interactionist theory: motivation to communicate and interact with others
34
Q

What is Whorfin hypothesis?

A
  • linguistic relativity

- states that the lens through which we view and interpret the world is created by language

35
Q

Where are speech areas found in brain?

A

the dominant hemisphere, usually left

36
Q

What is Broca’s area?

A
  • controls the motor functions of speech

- damage results in Broca’s aphasia, a non fluent aphasia in which generating each word requires great effort

37
Q

What is Wernicke’s area?

A
  • controls language comprehension

- damage results in Wernicke aphasia, a fluent, nonsensical aphasia with lack of comprehension

38
Q

What connects Wernicke and Broca’s area and what happens if it is damaged?

A
  • connected by arcuate fasciculus
  • damage results in conduction aphasia, marked by the inability to repeat words heard despite intact speech generation and comprehension
39
Q

What is the difference between dementia and delirium?

A
  • dementia: often begins with impaired memory, but later progresses to impaired judgement and confusion
  • delirium: rapid fluctuation in cognitive function that is reversible and caused by medical causes
40
Q

What is the intelligence quotient (IQ)?

A

mental age/chronological age x 100%

41
Q

What is the difference between controlled processing and automatic processing?

A
  • control: maintain undivided attention on task, used for new/complex tasks
  • automatic: used for less critical stimuli in divided attention, familiar/repetitive function
42
Q

What is the function of the filter in selective attention?

A

allows us to focus on one set of stimuli while scanning others in background for important information

43
Q

What are the language milestones for the following ages:

  • 9-12 months
  • 12-18 months
  • 18-20 months
  • 2-3 years
  • 5 years
A
  • 9-12 mo: babbling
  • 12-18 mo: increase by about 1 word/month
  • 18-20 mo: explosion of language and combining words (2 word sentences)
  • 2-3 years: longer sentences with 3+ words
  • 5 years: language rules largely mastered
44
Q

What is the difference between deductive reasoning, representative heuristic, base rate fallacy, and confirmation bias?

A
  • deduction: refers to drawing a conclusion by integrating different pieces of evidence
  • representative: involves categorization and classification based on how well an individual example fits its category
  • confirmation: occurs when a person only seeks information that reinforces his/her opinion
  • base: occurs when proto-stereotypical factors are used for analyses rather than actual data
45
Q

What is the difference between activation-synthesis theory, problem solving theory, cognitive process theory, and neurocognitive theory?

A
  • activation: dreams are caused by widespread, random activation of neural circuity
  • problem: dreams are used to solve problems while sleeping due to untethering of dreams from obstacles perceived while awake
  • cognitive: wakeful and dreaming states use the same mental systems within the brain, particularly stream of consciousness
  • neuro: seek to unify cognitive and biological perspectives by correlating the subjective dream experience with psychological experience of dreaming
46
Q

What is cataplexy?

A
  • sudden loss of muscle tone and intrusion of REM sleep during waking hours, usually in response to a startling or emotional trigger
  • narcolepsy with sleep paralysis

MCAT Behavioral Sciences (12 decks)

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