Chapter 10 Flashcards
what is cognition
“to think”
allowing us to manipulate info internally to construct models of the world
addresses thinking, language and intelligence
what is knowledge
entire body of info acquired through study, investigation, observation and experience
using symbols, mental representations
what is symbolic representation
language is an example of symbolic representation
- no resemblence to the actual object
what are analogical representation
a representation that maintains some of the characteristics of the real object
- such as maps
what is it meant by mental image
referring to a representation of any sensory experience that is stored in memory and can be retrieved for use later
to supply the organization in our minds, we use organizing ideas such as concepts from specific instances and occurrences we experience
what is a prototype
a representation of a category formed by averaging all members in that category
when thinking about a category, you might retrieve a specific instance of a concept or an exemplar
t/f concept formation can be a type of theory building
true
how does problem solving help us solve a problem
problem solving = defined as the use of information to meet a specific goal
recognizing the problem
developing strategies
evaluating the success of the strategies
what are the 4 steps to problem solving
- understand the problem
- make a plan
- carry out the plan
- look back
what is a mental set
barrier to forming useful representation of a problem
- getting stuck on the wrong mental set or framework for thinking about a problem
a type of mental set = functional fixedness = a persons tendency to think about an object in the most typical form and no others (solving problems by using objects creatively)
what are algorithms
a precise step-by-step set of rules that will reliably generate a solution to a problem
explain heuristics
algorithms take time to make and we often substitute rules of thumb or create shortcuts to problem solving
they are faster since they do not go thru all the evaluation
explain the 4 types of heuristics
- availability heuristics
- it is used when people predict that events are easy to think about will be more frequent - seeing news reports talking about shark attacks and now you think shark attacks are more common then they are. - representativeness heuristic
- leads people to estimate that stimuli similar to a prototype are more likely to fit the category than are stimuli different from the prototype
- a person looks more like a truck driver than a prof so you wouldnt think they were a prof based on the persons mental prototype - recognition heuristic
- a rule of thumb in which a higher value is placed on the more easily recognized alterative
- when asked which 2 cities are bigger, they will pick the one they are more familiar with - affect heuristic
- relevant in the way people make important choices - we use our emotional responses to each choice to guide out decisions
based on our past experiences with similar choices we develop a gut reaction to our options, which push us toward alternatives we expect to produce
t/f solutions require time to work
true
failure to make immediate progress should not be the basis for discarding a promising solution
what are some individual differences in decision making
- maximizers
- people who strive to reach the best outcomes
- related to increase feelings of regret and reduced self-esteem - satisficers
willing to choose outcomes that are merely acceptable
- related to more happiness and well-being + adaptive decision making
what is language
a system for communicating thoughts and feelings using signals, voice, gestures, symbols
- lots of languages are lost or will be lost soon
what are phonemes and morphemes
ph = a speech sound
c in cat
mor = smallest component of speech that carried meaning
(pre)school, (sur)urban
they are combined into phrases and sentences according to rules of grammar
what is aphasia
the loss of the ability to speak or understand language
reading and written are often but not always impacted
what are the major areas of the brain that control language
left side of the brain
motor cortex, primary auditory cortex
Broca’s area
Wernicke’s Area
explain Broca’s area
Located in the left frontal lobe, Broca’s area is responsible for speech production and articulation. Damage to this area can lead to
Broca’s aphasia, characterized by difficulty in forming grammatically correct speech while comprehension remains intact.
explain wernickes area
Wernicke’s Area: Found in the left temporal lobe, Wernicke’s area is crucial for language comprehension. Damage to this area results in
Wernicke’s aphasia, where individuals produce fluent but nonsensical speech and struggle to understand language.
what are the 3 major patterns for animal communication
signaling danger and identifying territories
signals that communicate magnitude
communicating thru sequence of behavior
- most likely to look for language between chimps, gorillas
what is the fastest way to learn a language
two-way interactive in the form of conversation
learning, reinforcing the social nature of this behaviour
more language learning occurs when a real person is speaking with the child face to face than when a child is listening to the same speaker on television
explain dyslexia
difficulty in learning to read
genetic factors
results in differences in the symmetry of the cerebral hemispheres
when reading they show less activity in the pathway connecting visual cortex in the occipital lobe to the Wernicke’s area in the the temporal lobe
showed greater activiation of brocas area when participating in speech production
what does it mean to be bilingual or multilingual
fluently more than 1 language
does knowing more than one language have any benefit
thru cognitive tests they found the opposite
bilingual speakers must engage in cognitive tasks such as switching between languages and inhibiting words from one language when speaking the other, their practice at these skills would translate into improved executive function capabilities compared to monolingual speakers.
t/f ASL is its own unique language
true
language - generally found in the left hemisphere of the brain
spatial function - right hemi
Would bilingualism predict performance on the working memory tasks
no difference between mono and bi
small advantage in certain aspects of working memory performance
what is intelligence
the individuals ability to understand complex ideas, to adapt, learn from experience, to engage in various forms of reasoning and overcome obstacles
what is psychometrics
to measure intelligence, mental abilities and other attributes
Francis Galton (nature vs nurture)
what is eugenics
the belief that selective human breeding can improve the genetics makeup of the human species eradicating genetic defects and other undesirable characteristics
explain IQ
intelligence quotient
dividing the children mental age by their chronological age x 100
alfred binet and lewis terman
- today they not longer use the concept of mental age
we know that almost all the IQ falls within the range of 70-130 = 2 standard deviation
what is general intelligence (g)
a measure of an individuals overall intelligence as opposed to specific abilities
can be broken into fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence
what is fluid intelligence
refers to the ability to think logically without needing previously learned knowledge - such as seeing patterns in a visual stimulus
what is crystallized intelligence
the ability to think logically using specific learned knowledge
requires specific learned knowlegde such as vocab or times tables
what is the emotional quotient inventory 2.0
developed to access the emotional and social intelligence
t/f intelligence measures are positively correlated with the thickness of the cerebral cortex
true
mostly in the prefrontal and the temporal lobes
what is the flynn effect
IQ test results are increasing throughout the years
improvements in health, education and nutrition are likely the reason + mentally stimulating activities
