Ch 4- Cognition, Consciousness, Language Flashcards
“The study of _____ looks at how our brains process and react to the incredible information overload presented to us by the world.”
Cognition
What are the 4 key components (pillars) of the information processing model?
- Thinking requires sensation, encoding, and storage of stimuli
- Stimuli must be analyzed by the brain (rather than responded to automatically) to be useful in decision-making
- Decisions made in one situation can be extrapolated and adjusted to help solve new problems (also called situational modification)
- Problem-solving is dependent not only on the person’s cognitive level, but also on the context and complexity of the problem”
“is the development of one’s ability to think and solve problems across the lifespan.”
Cognitive Development
_______ was one of the most influential figures in developmental psychology.
Jean Piaget
insisted that there are qualitative differences between the way that children and adults think, and thus divided the lifespan into four stages of cognitive development:”
sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational.
How did page say infants learn?
Through instinctual interaction with the environment
What is a schema according to Jean Piaget?
“A schema can include a concept (What is a dog?), a behavior (What do you do when someone asks you your name?), or a sequence of events (What do you normally do in a sit-down restaurant?)”
“Piaget theorized that new information is processed via _______
Adaptation
Adaptation comes about by 2 complimentary processes: Assimilation and Accommodation
According to Piaget, ______ is the process of classifying new information into existing schemata. If the new information does not fit neatly into existing schemata, then accommodation occurs.
_________ is the process by which existing schemata are modified to encompass this new information.”
“Assimilation; Accommodation is the process by which existing schemata are modified to encompass this new information.”
What is the first stage of Piagets stages and what happens
“sensorimotor stage, starting at birth and lasting until about two years of age. In this stage, a child learns to manipulate his or her environment in order to meet physical needs.”
“Primary circular reactions are the repetition of a body movement that originally occurred by chance, such as sucking the thumb; usually, the behavior is repeated because the child finds it soothing. Secondary circular reactions occur when manipulation is focused on something outside the body, such as repeatedly throwing toys from a high chair. These behaviors are often repeated because the child gets a response from the environment (such as a parent picking up the dropped toy). ”
In the first stage of Piaget (Sensorimotor) what are the 2 different types of circular reactions? (named for their repetitive nature)
“Primary circular reactions are the repetition of a body movement that originally occurred by chance, such as sucking the thumb; usually, the behavior is repeated because the child finds it soothing.
Secondary circular reactions occur when manipulation is focused on something outside the body, such as repeatedly throwing toys from a high chair.
These behaviors are often repeated because the child gets a response from the environment (such as a parent picking up the dropped toy). ”
What is the key milestone that ends the sensorimotor stage (piaget)
Object permanence
“Object permanence marks the beginning of representational thought, in which the child has begun to create mental representations of external objects and events.”
“Object permanence marks the beginning of ________, in which the child has begun to create mental representations of external objects and events.”
Representational Thought
The pre-operatational stage lasts from what age and what is it characterized by
“lasts from about two to seven years of age, and is characterized by symbolic thinking, egocentrism, and centration.”
“Symbolic thinking refers to the ability to pretend, play make-believe, and have an imagination. Egocentrism refers to the inability to imagine what another person may think or feel. Centration is the tendency to focus on only one aspect of a phenomenon, or inability to understand the concept of conservation”
________ refers to the ability to pretend, play make-believe, and have an imagination.
_______ refers to the inability to imagine what another person may think or feel.
______ is the tendency to focus on only one aspect of a phenomenon, or inability to understand the concept of conservation”
“Symbolic thinking; Egocentrism; Centration
“The preoperational stage lasts from about two to seven years of age, and is characterized by symbolic thinking, egocentrism, and centration.”
The Concrete operational stage lasts from what age and what is it characterized by
7 to 11;
“In this stage, children can understand conservation and consider the perspectives of others. ”
So no egocentrism or contration
“Additionally, they are able to engage in logical thought as long as they are working with concrete objects or information that is directly available. These children have not yet developed the ability to think abstractly.”
The Formal operational stage lasts from what age and what is it characterized by
Starts at 11;
“marked by the ability to think logically about abstract ideas. Generally coinciding with adolescence, this stage is marked by the ability to reason
about abstract concepts and problem-solve.”
What is Piagets pendulum experiment?
“Children were given a pendulum in which they could vary the length of the string, the weight of the pendulum, the force of the push, and the height of the swing. They were asked to find out what determined the frequency of the swing. Children in the concrete operational stage manipulated the variables at random and even distorted the data to fit preconceived hypotheses. Adolescents, on the other hand, were able to hold all variables but one constant at a given time, proceeding methodically to discover that only the length of the string affects the frequency.
“Lev Vygotsky, a prominent educational psychologist proposed what relating to what drives cognitive development?
“proposed that the engine driving cognitive development is the child’s internalization of her culture, including interpersonal and societal rules, symbols, and language.”
Relating to intelligence, what are the 2 different types of intelligences and what are they?
“Fluid intelligence consists of problem-solving skills, while crystallized intelligence is more related to use of learned skills and knowledge. ”
“Fluid intelligence was shown to peak in early adulthood, while crystallized intelligence peaked in middle adulthood. Regardless, both types of intelligence have been shown to decline with age.”
“is rapid fluctuation in cognitive function that is reversible and caused by medical (nonpsychological) causes
Delirium
What is a mental set
“the tendency to approach problems in the same way.”
What is the first step to solving a problem?
Frame the problem (“create a mental image or schematic of the issue._ Then generate potential solution and begin to test them
What is Dunckers Candle Problem?
“You walk into a room and see a box of matches, some tacks, and a candle. Your task is to mount the candle on the wall so that it can be used without the wax dropping on the floor.”
Concept is Problem-solving can be impeded by an inappropriate mental set, as well as by functional fixedness”
“Functional fixedness can thus be defined as the inability to consider how to use an object in a nontraditional manner.”
In psychology what are 4 different types of problem solving?
- Trial and Error
- Algorithms
- Deductive Reasoning
- Inductive Reasoning
“is a less sophisticated type of problem-solving in which various solutions are tried until one is found that seems to work.
Trial and Error
While an educated approach may be used, this type of problem-solving is usually only effective when there are relatively few possible solutions.”
A form of problem solving where there is a formula or procedure for solving a certain type of problem.”
Algorithm
“These can be mathematical or a set of instructions, designed to automatically produce the desired solution.”
_______ starts from a set of general rules and draws conclusions from the information given. (General to specific)
“Deductive (top-down) reasoning
“Remember that a deduction is a solution that must be true based on the information given. This is why answers on the MCAT that merely might be true (but don’t have to be) are never the correct answer.”
“Inductive (bottom-up) reasoning seeks to create a theory via generalizations. This type of reasoning starts with specific instances, and then draws a conclusion from them
______ is a type of problem solving which seeks to create a theory via generalizations. This type of reasoning starts with specific instances, and then draws a conclusion from them.”
“Inductive (bottom-up) reasoning
What are the tools we use indecision making process
Heuristics, Biases, Intuition, and Emotions
“are simplified principles used to make decisions; they are colloquially called rules of thumb. ”
Heuristics
“ The availability heuristic is used when we try to decide how likely something is.
“ As an example, answer the following question: Are there more words in the English language that start with the letter “K” or that have “K” as their third letter?”
“Most people approach this question by trying to think of words that fit into each category. Because we’re so used to classifying words by their first letter, it is easier to think of words beginning with “K.” Thus, in this case, the availability heuristic tends to lead to an incorrect answer.”
“The representativeness heuristic involves categorizing items on the basis of whether they fit the prototypical, stereotypical, or representative image of the category. ”
“The representativeness heuristic involves
categorizing items on the basis of whether they fit the prototypical, stereotypical, or representative image of the category. ”
“ Using prototypical or stereotypical factors while ignoring actual numerical information is called the base rate fallacy.”
What is the disconfirmation principle
“the evidence obtained from testing demonstrated that the solution does not work.
“When a potential solution to a problem fails during testing, this solution should be discarded.”
What is confirmation bias?
“the tendency to focus on information that fits an individual’s beliefs, while rejecting information that goes against them. ”
“also contributes to overconfidence, or a tendency to erroneously interpret one’s decisions, knowledge, and beliefs as infallible. ”
What is overconfidence
a tendency to erroneously interpret one’s decisions, knowledge, and beliefs as infallible. ”
“can be defined as the ability to act on perceptions that may not be supported by available evidence.”
Intuition
“Often, people may have beliefs that are not necessarily supported by evidence, but that a person “feels” to be correct.”
Knowing which patient is having an MI without seeing an EKG is intuition: This intuition can be more accurately described by the recognition-primed decision model
“is the subjective experience of a person in a certain situation. ”
Emotion
How a person feels often influences how a person thinks and makes decisions.”
“emotions that a person expects to feel from a particular decision are also involved. For example, if a person believes a car will make them feel more powerful, he or she may be more likely to purchase that car.”
__________ is one of the most all-encompassing definitions of intelligence… with seven defined types of intelligence:
linguistic, logical–mathematical, musical, visual–spatial, bodily–kinesthetic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. ”
“Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences
“Gardner argues that Western culture values the first two abilities over the others (linguistic and logical-math)
“Gardner’s multiple intelligences include
linguistic
logical–mathematical, musical
visual–spatial
bodily–kinesthetic, interpersonal intrapersonal
What is the original formula for calculating IQ?
IQ= (mental age/Chronological Age) x 100
“is one’s level of awareness of both the world and one’s own existence within that world.”
Consciousness
What are the accepted states of consciousness?
Alertness, Sleep, Dreaming, Altered
“is a state of consciousness in which we are awake and able to think. In this state, we are able to perceive, process, access information, and express that information verbally. ”
Alert
“In the alert state, we also experience a certain level of physiological arousal. Cortisol levels tend to be higher, and electroencephalogram (EEG) waves indicate a brain in the waking state.”
“Fibers from the prefrontal cortex communicate with the reticular formation, a neural structure located in the brainstem, to keep the cortex awake and alert. A brain injury that results in disruption of these connections results in coma.”
“There are four characteristic EEG patterns correlated with different stages of waking and sleeping:
beta, alpha, theta, and delta waves.”
“There is a fifth wave that corresponds to REM sleep, which is the time during the night when we have most of our dreams. These sleep stages form a complete cycle lasting about 90 minutes.”
How long do sleep stage cycles usually last for
90 minutes
_____ and _____ waves characterize brain wave activity when we are awake”
“Beta and alpha waves
“Beta waves have a high frequency and occur when the person is alert or attending to a mental task that requires concentration. Beta waves occur when neurons are randomly firing.
“Alpha waves occur when we are awake but relaxing with our eyes closed, and are somewhat slower than beta waves. Alpha waves are also more synchronized than beta waves.”
______ have a high frequency and occur when the person is alert or attending to a mental task that requires concentration. Occur when neurons are randomly firing.
______ occur when we are awake but relaxing with our eyes closed, and are somewhat slower than beta waves.
Beta Waves; Alpha Waves
“Beta and alpha waves characterize brain wave activity when we are awake”
Alpha waves are also more synchronized than beta waves.”
“As soon as you doze off, you enter ______, which is detected on the EEG by the appearance of ____ _____
Stage 1; Theta Waves
“At this point, EEG activity is characterized by irregular waveforms with slower frequencies and higher voltages.”
“As you fall more deeply asleep, you enter Stage 2 with sleep spindles and K complexes”
“Remember the sequential order of these brain waves—beta, alpha, theta, delta—by combining their first letters to form BAT-D and remember that a bat sleeps during the day.”
“As you fall even more deeply asleep, you enter Stages 3 and 4, also known as
slow-wave sleep (SWS)
“EEG activity grows progressively slower until only a few sleep waves per second are seen. These low-frequency, high-voltage sleep waves are called delta waves”
“ SWS has been associated with cognitive recovery and memory consolidation, as well as increased growth hormone release.”
“Remember the sequential order of these brain waves—beta, alpha, theta, delta—by combining their first letters to form BAT-D and remember that a bat sleeps during the day.”
“Stages 1 through 4 of sleep are all part of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep; rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is when
interspersed between cycles of the NREM sleep stages”
“In this stage, arousal levels reach that of wakefulness, but the muscles are paralyzed. It is also called paradoxical sleep because one’s heart rate, breathing patterns, and EEG mimic wakefulness, but the individual is still asleep. ”
“Remember the sequential order of these brain waves—beta, alpha, theta, delta—by combining their first letters to form BAT-D and remember that a bat sleeps during the day.”
What is the arousal level of REM Sleep
“In this stage, arousal levels reach that of wakefulness, but the muscles are paralyzed. It is also called paradoxical sleep because one’s heart rate, breathing patterns, and EEG mimic wakefulness, but the individual is still asleep.
“Recent studies have associated REM more with procedural memory consolidation and SWS with declarative memory consolidation.”
What is a sleep cycle?
“ refers to a single complete progression through the sleep stages.
“Early in the night, SWS predominates as the brain falls into deep sleep and then into more wakeful states. Later in the night, REM sleep predominates.
“Over the lifespan, the
length of the sleep cycle increases from approximately 50 minutes in children to 90 minutes in adults”
How does sleep cycle length change in lifespan
“Over the lifespan, the length of the sleep cycle increases from approximately 50 minutes in children to 90 minutes in adults”
“ Children also spend more time in SWS than adults.”
“Sleepiness can partially be attributed to blood levels of _____, a serotonin-derived hormone from the pineal gland”
Melatonin
“The retina has direct connections to the hypothalamus, which controls the pineal gland; thus, decreasing light can cause the release of melatonin.”
“Cortisol, a steroid hormone produced in the adrenal cortex, is also related to the sleep–wake cycle. Its levels slowly increase during early morning because increasing light causes the release of corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) from the hypothalamus. ”
Which hormones play a role in circadian rhythms?
Melatonin and cortisol
“The retina has direct connections to the hypothalamus, which controls the pineal gland; thus, decreasing light can cause the release of melatonin.”
“Cortisol, a steroid hormone produced in the adrenal cortex, is also related to the sleep–wake cycle. Its levels slowly increase during early morning because increasing light causes the release of corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) from the hypothalamus.
“CRF causes release of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) from the anterior pituitary, ”
What is the activation-synthesis theory of dreams?
“dreams are caused by widespread, random activation of neural circuitry.”
“This activation can mimic incoming sensory information and also consists of pieces of stored memories, current and previous desires, met and unmet needs, and other experiences.”
“ The cortex then tries to stitch this unrelated information together, resulting in a dream that is both bizarre and somewhat familiar.”
What is the problem solving dream theory?
“dreams are a way to solve problems while you are sleeping. Dreams are untethered by the rules of the real world, and thus allow interpretation of obstacles differently than during waking hours. ”
What is the cognitive process dream theory?
“dreams are merely the sleeping counterpart of stream-of-consciousness.
Just as you may be thinking about an upcoming weekend trip when your consciousness quickly shifts to your upcoming MCAT Test Day, so too does the content of a dream rapidly shift and change.”
What is the Model of dreaming that seeks to unify biological and psychological perspectives on dreaming by correlating the subjective, cognitive experience of dreaming with measurable physiological changes.”
Neurocognitive models of dreaming
What are the 2 categories of sleep disorders and what are they?
Dissomnias and Parasomnias
Dissomnias-refer to disorders that make it difficult to fall asleep, stay asleep, or avoid sleep, and include insomnia, narcolepsy, and sleep apnea.
Parasomnias- are abnormal movements or behaviors during sleep, and include night terrors and sleepwalking. Most sleep disorders occur during NREM sleep.”
What is narcolepsy
“a condition characterized by lack of voluntary control over the onset of sleep.
“The symptoms of narcolepsy are unique, and include cataplexy, a loss of muscle control and sudden intrusion of REM sleep during waking hours, usually caused by an emotional trigger”
What are hypnagogic and hypnopompic hallucinations”
“are hallucinations when going to sleep or awakening respectively
“Hypnagogic hallucinations occur when one is going to bed. Hypnopompic hallucinations occur when one is popping up out of bed.”
What is an inability to breathe during sleep. What are the 2 types?
Sleep apnea
Can be either obstructive or central. Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when a physical blockage in the pharynx or trachea prevents airflow; central sleep apnea occurs when the brain fails to send signals to the diaphragm to breathe.”
A parasomnia that is common in children, are periods of intense anxiety that occur during slow-wave sleep.”
Night Terror
Because they occur during SWS the child experiencing the episode is very difficult to wake, and usually does not remember the dream the next morning. ”
What stage of sleep does sleep walking occur?
Sleepwalking
Also night terrors
Both are parasomnias
What is REM rebound
“an earlier onset and greater duration of REM sleep compared to normal when sleep deprived person sleeps
“can be defined as a state in which a person appears to be in control of his or her normal functions, but is in a highly suggestible state”
Hypnosis
“Hypnosis starts with hypnotic induction, in which the hypnotist seeks to relax the subject and increase the subject’s level of concentration. Then, the hypnotist can suggest perceptions or actions to the hypnotized person. ”
“effective hypnosis requires a willing personality and lack of skepticism on the part of the patient.”
What does meditation show on an EEG
“resembles Stage 1 sleep with theta and slow alpha waves.”
Decreases HR and BP
How does alcohol exert its effects on the brain?
“It increases activity of the GABA receptor, a chloride channel that causes hyperpolarization of the membrane”
ETOH increases dopamine=euphoria
“One of the main effects on logical reasoning is the inability to recognize consequences of actions, creating a short-sighted view of the world called alcohol myopia.”
How does ETOH relate to socioeconomic status
“Alcoholism rates tend to be higher for those of lower socioeconomic status (SES), but low-SES alcoholics tend to enter recovery sooner and at higher rates.”
Drug that acts as a hallucinogen combined with an amphetamine.”
Ecstasy
What are the physiological effects of hallucinogens such as LSD
“Physiologic effects include increased heart rate and blood pressure, dilation of pupils, sweating, and increased body temperature.”
“Drug addiction is highly related to the _____ _____ _____, one of four dopaminergic pathways in the brain”
mesolimbic reward pathway
“ This pathway includes the nucleus accumbens (NAc), the ventral tegmental area (VTA), and the connection between them called the medial forebrain bundle (MFB). ”
What is the pathway for the mesolimbic reward pathway? (important for drug addiction)
This pathway includes the nucleus accumbens (NAc), the ventral tegmental area (VTA), and the connection between them called the medial forebrain bundle (MFB). ”
“This addiction pathway is activated by all substances that produce psychological dependence. Gambling and falling in love also activate this pathway.”
“refers to concentrating on one aspect of the sensory environment, or sensorium.
Attention
“Selective attention is focusing on one part of the sensorium while ignoring other stimuli.”
“Divided attention is the ability to perform multiple tasks at the same time. ”
What is the cocktail party phenomenon?
“evidence of a different interpretation of selective attention where original viewed as all nothing process and ignoring other stimuli
“Selective attention is probably more of a filter that allows us to focus on one thing while allowing other stimuli to be processed in the background. ”
“Only if the other stimuli are particularly important—one’s name being mentioned, a sudden flash of light, pain—do we shift our attention to them.”
What are the 5 basic components of language?
Phonology, Morphology, Semantics, Syntax, and pragmatics
“Phonology refers to the actual sound of language.
“Morphology refers to the structure of words.”
“Semantics refers to the association of meaning with a word”
“Syntax refers to how words are put together to form sentences.”
“pragmatics refers to the dependence of language on context and pre-existing knowledge.”
Phonology refers
to the actual sound of language.
Children when learning a language must also learn when subtle differences between speech sounds represent a change in meaning or not; the pronunciation of a word varies between people. The ability to make this distinction is called categorical perception
Children when learning a language must also learn when subtle differences between speech sounds represent a change in meaning or not; the pronunciation of a word varies between people. The ability to make this distinction is called.
categorical perception
“Morphology refers
to the structure of words.
“Many words are composed of multiple building blocks called morphemes, each of which connotes a particular meaning. Consider the word redesigned, which can be broken into three morphemes: re–, indicating to do again; –design–, the verb root; and –ed, indicating an action in the past.”
“Semantics refers to
the association of meaning with a word. ”
“Syntax refers to
how words are put together to form sentences”
“A child must notice the effects of word order on meaning: Nathan has only three pieces of candy has a very different meaning than Only Nathan has three pieces of candy.”
“pragmatics refers
to the dependence of language on context and pre-existing knowledge.”
“In other words, the manner in which we speak may differ depending on the audience and our relationship to that audience. Imagine asking to share a seat on a bus. Depending on whom we ask, we may word this request in wildly different ways. To a stranger, we may be more formal: Pardon me, do you mind if I share this seat? To a close friend, we may be less so: Hey, move over! ”
In language what is prosody?
“the rhythm, cadence, and inflection of our voices.”
What is the timeline of language acquisition?
- 9 to 12 months: babbling
- 12 to 18 months: about one word per month
- 18 to 20 months: “explosion of language” and combining words
- 2 to 3 years: longer sentences (3 words or more)
- 5 years: language rules largely mastered”
What is an error of growth
When a child applies a grammatical rule (often a morpheme) in a situation where it does not apply: runned instead of ran, or funner instead of more fun. ”
“For the most part, language is substantially mastered by the age of
Five!
What are the 3 theories of language aquisition?
- Nativist (biological) Theory
- Learning (Behaviorist) Theory
- Social Interactionist Theory
Theory of language acquisition largely credited to linguist Noam Chomsky, advocates for the existence of some innate capacity for language.”
The nativist (biological) Theory
“Chomsky is known for his study of transformational grammar. He focused on syntactic transformations, or changes in word order that retain the same meaning; for example, I took the MCAT vs. The MCAT was taken by me. Chomsky noted that children learn to make such transformations effortlessly at an early age.”“He therefore concluded that this ability must be innate.”
“In the nativist (biological) theory of language acquisition, this innate ability is called the _______, a theoretical pathway in the brain that allows infants to process and absorb language rules.”
language acquisition device (LAD)
“Nativists believe in a critical period for language acquisition between two years and puberty. If no language exposure occurs during this time, later training is largely ineffective.”
“A ________ is a time when environmental input has maximal effect on the development of an ability.”
Sensitive Period
Most psychologist consider the sensitive period for language development to be before the onset of puberty.”
_______ Theory of language acquisition proposed by B. F. Skinner, explained language acquisition by operant conditioning.
“The learning (behaviorist) theory”
Very young babies are capable of distinguishing between phonemes of all human languages, but by six months of age, show a strong preference for phonemes in the language spoken by their parents. Skinner explained language acquisition by reinforcement.”
“over time, the infant perceives that certain sounds have little value and are not reinforced, while other sounds have value and are reliably reinforced by parents and caregivers. ”
“The __________ of language development focuses on the interplay between biological and social processes.”
social interactionist theory
“cquisition is driven by the child’s desire to communicate and behave in a social manner, such as interacting with caretakers and other children. Interactionist theory allows for the role of brain development in the acquisition of language.”
“Linguist Benjamin Whorf proposed the _____ Hypothesis. Suggests that our perception of reality—the way we think about the world—is determined by the content of language.”
Whorfian hypothesis, also called the linguistic relativity hypothesis
“For instance, the Inuit language has a wide variety of names for different types of snow, whereas the English language has very few. Therefore, according to the Whorfian hypothesis, Inuits are better at discriminating subtleties between different types of snow than English speakers are. (Retarded)
“This is a somewhat controversial notion, but most linguists agree that language can influence how we think to some degree.”
“Broca’s area, located in the ________, controls the motor function of speech via connections with the motor cortex. Wernicke’s area, located in the ________, is responsible for language comprehension”
inferior frontal gyrus of the frontal lobe; superior temporal gyrus
Both are located in the dominant hemisphere, which is usually the left hemisphere”
“Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area are connected by the arcuate fasciculus, a bundle of axons that allows appropriate association between language comprehension and speech production.”
“Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area are connected by the _________, a bundle of axons that allows appropriate association between language comprehension and speech production.”
arcuate fasciculus
“is a deficit of language production or comprehension.”
Aphasia
In Wernicke’s (receptive) aphasia, Because speech comprehension is lost, these patients speak nonsensical sounds and inappropriate word combinations devoid of meaning. often believe that they are speaking and understanding perfectly well, even though the people around them have no comprehension of what is being said. This can also be very frustrating to patients.”
“if the arcuate fasciculus is affected, the resulting aphasia is known as _______
conduction aphasia
“ecause Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas are unaffected, speech production and comprehension are intact. However, the patient is unable to repeat something that has been said because the connection between these two regions has been lost. This is a very rare form of aphasia.”
“The________ states that the brain encodes, stores, and retrieves information much like a computer.”
“The information processing model
“Piaget’s stages of cognitive development are
sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational.”
“The sensorimotor stage focuses on manipulating the environment to meet physical needs through circular reactions. Object permanence ends this stage.
The preoperational stage focuses on symbolic thinking, egocentrism, and centration.
“The concrete operational stage focuses on understanding the feelings of others and manipulating physical (concrete) objects.
The formal operational stage focuses on abstract thought and problem-solving.”
“The sensorimotor stage focuses on
manipulating the environment to meet physical needs through circular reactions. Object permanence ends this stage.
The preoperational stage focuses on
symbolic thinking, egocentrism, and centration.
“The concrete operational stage focuses on
understanding the feelings of others and manipulating physical (concrete) objects.
The formal operational stage focuses on
abstract thought and problem-solving.”
“A_______ is a pattern of approach for a given problem. An inappropriate mental set may negatively impact problem-solving.”
Mental Set
________ ________ is the tendency to use objects only in the way they are normally utilized, which may create barriers to problem-solving.”
“Functional fixedness
“Types of problem-solving include
trial-and-error, algorithms, deductive reasoning (deriving conclusions from general rules), and inductive reasoning (deriving generalizations from evidence).”
are shortcuts or rules of thumb used to make decisions.”
“Heuristics
______ exist when an experimenter or decision-maker is unable to objectively evaluate information.”
Biases
______ is a “gut feeling” regarding a particular decision. However, intuition can often be attributed to experience with similar situations.”
Intuition
“Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences proposes seven areas of intelligence including:
linguistic, logical–mathematical, musical, visual–spatial, bodily–kinesthetic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal.”
“States of consciousness include
alertness, sleep, dreaming, and altered states of consciousness.”
_______ is the state of being awake and able to think, perceive, process, and express information. _________ waves predominate on electroencephalography (EEG).”
Alertness; Beta and Alpha
“Stage 1 is light sleep and is dominated by _______ on EEG. Stage 2 is slightly deeper and includes
Theta Waves; theta waves, sleep spindles, and K complexes.”
“Stages 3 and 4 are deep sleep _______ . ______ waves predominate on EEG.
slow-wave sleep (SWS); Delta
Most sleep disorders occur during Stage 3 and 4 non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. Dreaming in SWS focuses on consolidating declarative memories.”
Most sleep disorders occur during
Stage 3 and 4 non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep
Dreaming in SWS focuses on
consolidating declarative memories.”
“The sleep cycle is approximately_______ for adults; the normal cycle is Stage 1–2–3–4–3–2–REM, although REM becomes more frequent toward the morning.”
90 minutes
“Sleep disorders include _______, such as insomnia, narcolepsy, sleep apnea, and sleep deprivation; and _______, such as night terrors and sleepwalking (somnambulism).”
dyssomnias; parasomnias
“include alcohol, barbiturates, and benzodiazepines. They promote or mimic GABA activity in the brain.”
Depressants
“include amphetamines, cocaine, and ecstasy. They increase dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin concentration at the synaptic cleft.”
Stimulants
include heroin, morphine, opium, and prescription pain medications such as oxycodone and hydrocodone. They can cause death by respiratory depression.”
Opiates and opioids
include lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), peyote, mescaline, ketamine, and psilocybin-containing mushrooms.”
“Hallucinogens
“has depressant, stimulant, and hallucinogenic effects. Its active ingredient is tetrahydrocannabinol.”
Marijuana
Drug addiction is mediated by the ______ ________, which includes the nucleus accumbens, medial forebrain bundle, and ventral tegmental area. Dopamine is the main neurotransmitter in this pathway.
Mesolimbic Pathway
allows one to pay attention to a particular stimulus while determining if additional stimuli in the background require attention.”
“Selective attention
“uses automatic processing to pay attention to multiple activities at one time.”
Divided attention
explains language acquisition as being innate and controlled by the language acquisition device (LAD).”
“The nativist (biological) theory
explains language acquisition as being controlled by operant conditioning and reinforcement by parents and caregivers.”
“The learning (behaviorist) theory
explains language acquisition as being caused by a motivation to communicate and interact with others.”
“The social interactionist theory
states that the lens through which we view and interpret the world is created by language.”
“The Whorfian (linguistic relativity) hypothesis
“The motor function of speech is controlled by Broca’s area. Damage results in _____ ______, a nonfluent aphasia in which generating each word requires great effort.”
Broca’s aphasia
“Language comprehension is controlled by Wernicke’s area. Damage results in ________, a fluent, nonsensical aphasia with lack of comprehension.”
Wernicke’s aphasia
“The arcuate fasciculus connects Wernicke’s area and Broca’s area. Damage results in ______ _______, marked by the inability to repeat words despite intact speech generation and comprehension.
conduction aphasia
