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

Chapter 4: Cognition, Consciousness, and Language Flashcards

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1
Q

What does the dual-coding theory state?

A

Both verbal association and visual images are used to process and store information

e.g. a picture of a “tree” and the word “tree” can recall the same info

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2
Q

What are the four key components of the information processing model?

A
  1. Thinking requires sensation, encoding, and storage of stimuli
  2. Stimuli has to be analyzed by the brain first before used in decision making
  3. Decisions made in one situation can be used to solve new problems (situational modification)
  4. Problem solving is dependent on cognition level, and context/complexity of the problem
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3
Q

What is cognitive development?

A

The development of one’s ability to think and solve problems across the life span

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4
Q

What is the limiting factor in childhood for cognitive development?

A

The pace of brain maturation

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5
Q

Which psychology discipline was Jean Piaget a key figure in?

A

Developmental psychology

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6
Q

What are the 4 stages of cognitive development?

SPCF

A
  1. Sensorimotor
  2. Preoperational
  3. Concrete operational
  4. Formal operational
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7
Q

What did Piaget believe about how people progressed through the stages of development?

A

Continuous and sequential process

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8
Q

What is a schema?

A

Can be a concept, behavior, or sequence of events

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9
Q

What do children do with new information? What is this process called?

A

Must process and place them into existing schemata or build new one

The process of processing new information is adaptation

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10
Q

What is assimilation?

A

The process of classifying new information into existing schemata

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11
Q

What is accommodation?

A

The process by which existing schemata are modified to encompass this new information

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12
Q

When would you need to use accommodation instead of assimilation?

A

If information does not fit neatly into existing schemata

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13
Q

What occurs in Piaget’s sensorimotor stage?

A
  • Learn to manipulate the environment to meet physical needs
  • Learn to coordinate sensory input with motor actions
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14
Q

What are 2 types of behavior patterns in the sensorimotor stage?

A
  1. Primary circular reactions
  2. Secondary circular reactions
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15
Q

What are primary circular reactions? Give an example.

A

Repetitions of body movements that originally occurred by chance, e.g. sucking your thumb

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16
Q

What are secondary circular reactions? Give an example.

A

When manipulation is focused on something outside the body, e.g. throwing toys from a high chair

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17
Q

Why are secondary circular reactions repeated?

A

The child gets a response from the environment

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18
Q

What is the key milestone that ends the sensorimotor stage?

A

Object permanence

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19
Q

Object permanence marks the beginning of _________________ _________, in which the child has begun to create mental representations of external objects and events.

A

Representational thought

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20
Q

How long does the preoperational stage last?

A

2 to 7 years of age

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21
Q

What 2 things characterize Piaget’s preoperational stage?

A
  1. Symbolic thinking
  2. Egocentrism
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22
Q

What is symbolic thinking?

A

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

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23
Q

What is egocentrism?

A

The inability to imagine what another person thinks or feels

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24
Q

The preoperational stage also includes the inability to grasp the concept of ____________________, which is the understanding that a physical amount remains the same, even if there is a change in shape or appearance.

A

Conservation

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25
Q

Piaget believed that the inability to understand conservation was due to ________________, which is the tendency to focus on only one aspect of a phenomenon, while ignoring other important elements.

A

Centration

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26
Q

How long does the concrete operational stage last?

A

About 7 to 11 years of age

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27
Q

What characterizes the concrete operational stage?

A
  1. Understanding conservation
  2. Understanding others’ perspectives
  3. Engaging inlogical thought if working with concrete objects/information

Cannot think abstractly

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28
Q

When does the formal operational stage start and what does it coincide with?

A

Starts around 11 years of age, coincides with adolescence

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29
Q

What characterizes the formal operational stage?

A
  1. Ability to think logically about abstract ideas
  2. Problem solving
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30
Q

What is hypothetical reasoning?

A

Ability to mentally manipulate variables in a number of ways, generally within the scope of scientific experiments

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31
Q

What did Lev Vygotsky propose of cognitive development?

A

Cognitive development is driven by children’s internalization of their culture, e.g. interpersonal/societal rules, symbols, and language

Kids can develop skills further with help from adults or other kids

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32
Q

Reaction time (increases/decreases?) steadily in early adulthood.

A

Increases

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33
Q

Time-based prospective memory, which is the ability to remember to perform a task at a specific time in the future, (improves/declines?) with age.

A

Declines

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34
Q

What are the 2 types of intelligence?

A

Fluid and crystallized

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35
Q

What is fluid intelligence?

A

Involves solving new or novel problems, possibly using creative methods

ability to process new information, learn, and solve problems

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36
Q

What is crystallized intelligence?

A

Related to solving problems using acquired knowledge, can be procedural

your stored knowledge, accumulated over the years

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37
Q

How do fluid and crystallized intelligence trend as we age?

A

Fluid intelligence peaks in early adulthood, declines with age.

Crystallized intelligence peaks in middle adulthood, remains stable with age.

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38
Q

Decline in intellectual abilities in adulthood is linked to what?

A

How long an older adult retains the ability to function in activities of daily living, e.g. bathing, dressing, etc.

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39
Q

Disorders and conditions that are characterized by a general loss of cognitive function are collectively known as _______________.

A

Dementia

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40
Q

What does dementia often begin with and what does it progress to?

A

Often begins with impaired memory, progresses to impaired judgment and confusion

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41
Q

What is the most common cause of dementia?

A

Alzheimer’s disease

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42
Q

What type of dementia is caused by high BP and repeated microscopic brain clots?

Impaired blood flow to the brain

A

Vascular dementia

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43
Q

What is delirium?

A

Rapid fluctuation in cognitive function that is reversible and caused by medical (nonpsychological) causes

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44
Q

What is a mental set?

A

The tendency to approach similar problems in the same way

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45
Q

_____________ _____________ is defined as the inability to consider how to use an object in a nontraditional manner.

A

Functional fixedness

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46
Q

What is deductive reasoning?

What is it also known as?

A

Starts from a set of general rules and draws conclusions from the given information

Top-down reasoning

you make inferences by going from general premises to specific conclusions

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47
Q

What is inductive reasoning?

What is it also known as?

A

Seeks to create a theory via generalizations; starts with specific instances, then draws a conclusion from them

Bottom-up reasoning

takes you from specific to general

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48
Q

What are heuristics?

A

Simplified principles used to make decisions

“rules of thumb”

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49
Q

What is the availability heuristic?

A

Base the likelihood of an event on how easily examples of that event come to mind

Usually leads to correct decision, but not always

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50
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

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51
Q

Using prototypical or stereotypical factors while ignoring actual numerical information is called?

A

The base rate fallacy

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52
Q

What is the disconformation principle?

A

If a solution to a problem fails during testing, this solution should be discarded

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53
Q

What is confirmation bias?

A

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

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54
Q

What is hindsight bias?

A

Tendency for people to overestimate their ability to predict the outcome of events that already happened

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55
Q

The inability to reject a particular belief despite clear evidence to the contrary is ?

A

Belief perserverance

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56
Q

The ability to act on perceptions that may not be supported by available evidence is?

A

Intuition

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57
Q

Intuition is more accurately described by the ________________-_________ _____________ ________

A

Recognition-primed decision model

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58
Q

Robert Sternberg’s triarchic theory of human intelligence defines 3 subtypes of intelligence which are?

A
  1. Analytical intelligence
  2. Creative intelligence
  3. Practical intelligence
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59
Q

What is the “g factor”?

A

General intelligence factor

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60
Q

The g factor, or underlying variable of intelligence, is often measured with standardized tests that generate an _____________________ _____________ for the test taker.

A

intelligence quotient (IQ)

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61
Q

How do you calculate IQ?

A
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62
Q

Alertness is maintained by neurological circuits in the ______________ __________ at the very front of the brain. Fibers from this structure communicate with the ______________ ______________, a neural structure located in the brainstem, to keep the structure awake and alert.

A

Prefrontal cortex
Reticular formation

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63
Q

Sleep is studied by recording brain wave activity occurring during the course of a night’s sleep. This is done with ____________________________, or _____.

A

electroencephalography
EEG

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64
Q

What does an EEG record?

A

An average of the electrical patterns within different portions of the brain

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65
Q

What are the 4 characteristic EEG patterns correlated with different stages of waking and sleeping? There is a 5th wave that corresponds to what?

A
  1. Beta
  2. Alpha
  3. Theta
  4. Delta
  5. REM sleep
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66
Q

How long is the cycle that the sleep stages form?

A

90 minutes

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67
Q

Which 2 waves characterize brain wave activity when we are awake?

A

Beta and alpha waves

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68
Q

Beta waves have a (low/high?) frequency and occur when?

A

High frequency; occur when person is alert or concentrating. Occurs when neurons are randomly firing.

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69
Q

Alpha waves occur when? Are they (slower/faster?) than beta waves? Are they (more/less) synchronized than beta waves?

A

When we are awake but relaxing with our eyes closed

They are slower and more synchronized than beta waves

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70
Q

After you doze off, you enter what stage? This is detected on the EEG by the appearance of what type of waves?

A

Stage 1: NREM1
Theta waves

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71
Q

In Stage 1 (NREM1), EEG is characterized by irregular waveforms with (slower/faster?) frequencies and (lower/higher?) voltages?

A

Slower frequencies
Higher voltages

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72
Q

As you fall more deeply asleep, you enter what stage? The EEG shows what type of waves?

What 2 things characterize these waves?

A

Stage 2: NREM2
Theta waves with sleep spindles and K complexes

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73
Q

What are sleep spindles?

A

Bursts of high-frequency waves

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74
Q

What are K complexes?

A

Singular high-amplitude waves

75
Q

As you fall even more deeply asleep, you enter what stage? Also known as what?

EEG activity gets progressively slower, these (low/high?) frequency, (low/high?) voltage waves are called what?

A

Stage 3: NREM3
Aka slow-wave sleep (SWS)
Low-frequency, high-voltage delta waves

Very difficult to wake someone up here

76
Q

Stages 1-3 are known as ____-__________ ____ ______________ sleep, which is where NREM comes from.

A

non-rapid eye movement

77
Q

Interspersed between cycles of NREM is what?

A

rapid eye movement (REM) sleep

78
Q

In REM sleep, arousal levels are (less than, equal to, more than) arousal levels during wakefulness, but the muscles are paralyzed.

A

equal to

79
Q

What is REM sleep known as? Why?

A

Paradoxical sleep; heart rate, breathing patterns, and EEG mimic wakefulness, but the person is still asleep

80
Q

Early in the night, what type of sleep dominates? How about later in the night?

A

SWS dominates early on, REM sleep later on

81
Q

Over the lifespan, the length of the sleep cycle (increases/decreases)?

A

Increases

82
Q

Do children or adults spend more time in SWS?

A

Children

83
Q

Sleepiness can be partially attributed to blood levels of what hormone? What is this hormone derived from and what gland does it come from?

A

Melatonin; serotonin-derived; pineal gland

84
Q

The ________ has direct connections to the hypothalamus, which controls the pineal gland; thus, (increasing/decreasing?) light can cause the release of melatonin.

A

retina; decreasing

85
Q

____________ is a steroid hormone produced in the adrenal cortex. Its levels slowly (increase/decrease?) in the early morning because increasing light causes the release of ________________________-____________ factor from the hypothalamus.

A

Cortisol; increase; corticotropin-releasing (CRF)

86
Q

CRF causes the release of ________________________ hormone from the anterior pituitary, which stimulates cortisol release, which contributes to wakefulness.

A

adrenocorticotropic

87
Q

Most dreaming occurs during ____; however, soon after we enter Stage _ sleep, our mental experience starts to shift to a dreamlike state.

A

REM; 2

88
Q

REM dreams tend to be (shorter/longer?) and (less/more?) vivid than those experienced during NREM sleep.

A

longer; more

89
Q

What does the activation-synthesis theory say about dreams?

A

Dreams are caused by widespread, random activation of neural circuitry, which can mimic incoming sensory info or trigger memories, desires, needs, and other experiences. The cortex tries to stitch the unrelated info together.

90
Q

What does the problem-solving theory say about dreams?

A

Dreams are a way to solve problems while you are sleeping

91
Q

What does the cognitive process dream theory say about dreams?

A

Dreams are merely the sleeping counterpart of stream-of-consciousness

92
Q

Sleep-wake disorders are divided into what 2 categories?

A

Dyssomnias
Parasomnias

93
Q

What do dyssomnias refer to?

A

Disorders that make it difficult to fall asleep, stay asleep, or avoid sleep

e.g. insomnia, narcolepsy, sleep apnea

94
Q

What do parasomnias refer to?

A

Abnormal movements or behaviors during sleep

e.g. night terrors and sleepwalking

95
Q

Do most sleep-wake disorders occuring during REM or NREM sleep?

A

NREM

96
Q

The symptoms of narcolepsy include ____________, a loss of muscles control and sudden intrusion of REM sleep during waking hours, usually caused by an emotional trigger.

A

Cataplexy

97
Q

Narcolepsy is also characterized by sleep paralysis and ____________ and ____________ hallucinations, which are hallucinations when going to sleep or awakening.

A

Hypnagogic, hypnopompic

98
Q

What are the 2 types of sleep apnea?

A

Obstructive
Central

99
Q

What causes obstructive sleep apnea?

A

A physical blockage in the pharynx or trachea prevents airflow

100
Q

What causes central sleep apnea?

A

The brain fails to send signals to the diaphragm to breathe

101
Q

What are night terrors and when do they occur?

A

Periods of intense anxiety that occur during slow-wave sleep

Difficult to wake because of SWS

102
Q

What is another name for sleepwalking?

A

Somnambulism

103
Q

What should you do when someone sleepwalks?

A

Guide them back to bed to avoid disrupting SWS

104
Q

While one cannot make up for los sleep, people who are permitted to sleep normally after sleep deprivation often exhibit ______ __________, an earlier onset and greater duration of REM sleep compared to normal.

A

REM rebound

105
Q

____________ can be defined as a state in which a person appears to be in control of normal functions, but is in a highly suggestible state.

A

Hypnosis

106
Q

What stage of sleep does meditation resemble? What 2 types of waves are present?

A

Stage 1; theta and slow alpha waves

107
Q

________________ reduce nervous system activity, resulting in a sense of relaxation and reduced anxiety. What is the most common type? Another example?

A

Depressants; alcohol and sedatives

108
Q

Alcohol increases the activity of the ________ receptor, a chloride channels that causes hyperpolarization of the membrane.

A

GABA

109
Q

The (hyper/hypo?)polarization of the GABA receptor by alcohol causes generalized brain inhibition at the physiological level, which results in diminished arousal at moderate doses.

A

hyperpolarization

110
Q

Excessive consumption of alcohol may be associated with a notable lack of self-control called ____________________, which occurs because the centers of the brain that prevent inappropriate behavior are also depressed.

A

Disinhibition

111
Q

Alcohol increases levels of ____________, causing mild euphoria.

A

Dopamine

112
Q

Alcohol can create an inability to recognize consequences of actions known as ____________ ____________.

A

Alcohol myopia

113
Q

Alcoholism rates tend to be higher for those of (lower/higher?) SES, but people with (lower/higher?) SES tend to enter recovery sooner and at higher rates.

A

Lower; lower

114
Q

Long-term consequences of alcoholism can include what?

A
  • cirrhosis, liver failure
  • pancreatic damage
  • gastric/duodenal ulcers
  • GI cancer
  • brain disorders (Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome) - deficiency of thiamine (Vitamin B1)
115
Q

____________ tend to depress central nervous system activity, resulting in calm, relaxation, and drowsiness.

A

Sedatives

116
Q

What are the 2 types of sedatives?

A
  1. Barbiturates
  2. Benzodiazepines
117
Q

____________ were historically used as anxiety-reducing (anxiolytic) sleep medications, but have mostly been replaced by ________________________, which are less prone to overdose.

A

Barbiturates
Benzodiazepines

118
Q

Sedatives increase ________ activity, causing a sense of relaxation. However, barbiturates and benzodiazepines can be highly addictive. If taken with ____________, overdoses of sedatives can result in coma or death.

A

GABA, alcohol

119
Q

Stimulants (decrease/increase?) arousal in the nervous system.

A

Increase

120
Q

How do stimulants work?

A

Increasing the frequency of action potentials

121
Q

________________ cause increased arousal by INCREASING release of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin at the synapse and DECREASING their reuptake.

A

Amphetamines

122
Q

What do amphetamines do to arousal, appetite, and sleep?

A

Increase arousal
Reduce appetite
Decrease need for sleep

123
Q

Prolonged use of high doses of amphetamines can result in what?

A

Stroke or brain damage

124
Q

____________ acts on dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin, but it simply DECREASES reuptake of the neutrotransmitters.

A

Cocaine

125
Q

Cocaine has similar effects as amphetamines, but also have what properties?

A

Anesthetic and vasoconstrictive properties

126
Q

____________ acts as a hallucinogen combined with an amphetamine.

A

Ecstasy

127
Q

________ and ________ are types of narcotics, also known as painkillers.

A

Opiates and opioids

128
Q

________ is derived from the poppy plant.
________ are naturally occurring forms of opium, e.g. morphine and codeine.
________ are semisynthetic derivatives of opium, e.g. oxycodone, hydrocodone, heroin.

A

Opium
Opiates
Opioids

129
Q

What do opium compounds bind to? They act as ________________ agonists and cause a (decreased/increased?) reaction to pain and a sense of euphoria.

A

Opioid receptors
Endorphin
Decreased

130
Q

Overdose on opium can cause death by ______________ ______________, in which the brain stops sending signals to breathe.

A

respiratory suppression

131
Q

________ was originally created as a substitute for morphine. Once injected, the body rapidly metabolizes it to morphone.

A

Heroin

132
Q

Treatment for opioid addiction may include use of ____________, a long-acting opioid with lower risk of overdose.

A

Methadone

133
Q

________________ are drugs which typically cause introspection, distortions of reality and fantasy, and enhancement of sensory experiences.

A

Hallucinogens

e.g. LSD

134
Q

The activity chemical in marijuana is known as ________________ (THC).

A

tetrahydrocannabinol

135
Q

How does THC work? Which 3 receptors does it work on?

A

It acts at cannabinoid receptors, glycine receptors, and opioid receptors.

136
Q

THC inhibits ____ activity and indirectly increases ________ activity.

A

GABA, dopamine

137
Q

Drug addiction is highly related to the ________________ reward pathway, one of four dopaminergic pathways in the brain.

A

mesolimbic

138
Q

The mesolimbic reward pathway includes what 3 components?

A
  1. Nucleus accumbens (NAc)
  2. Ventral tegmental area (VTA)
  3. The connection between NAc and VTA called the medial forebrain bundle (MFB)
139
Q

__________ __________ is focusing on one part of the sensorium (sensory environment) while ignoring other stimuli.

A

Selective attention

140
Q

What is the cocktail party phenomenon?

A

Another interpretation of selective attention; background stimuli continues to be processed while we are still focusing on one thing

selective attention filters out stimuli to allow us to focus on one thing

ability to focus one’s attention a particular stimulus while filtering out a range of other stimuli

141
Q

What tests can test selective attention?

A

Dichotic listening tests

142
Q

Most new or complex tasks require undivided attention and utilize ____________ (____________) processing.

A

Controlled (efforful)

143
Q

Familiar or routine actions can be performed with ____________ processing.

A

Automatic

144
Q

What are the 5 basic components of language?

A
  1. Phonology
  2. Morphology
  3. Semantics
  4. Syntax
  5. Pragmatics
145
Q

What is phonology?

A

The sound of language

146
Q

There are about 40 speech sounds, or ____________, in English.

A

phonemes

147
Q

When a language has subtle differences in speech sounds that represent a change in meaning, children must learn to distinguish those phonemes. This is an ability called _______________ _______________.

A

Categorical perception

148
Q

The ability to recognize a word as being the same, even if the pronunciation of the word varies between people, is what?

A

Constancy

149
Q

What is morphology?

A

The structure of owrds

150
Q

Many words are composed of multiple building blocks called ____________, each of which connotes a particular meaning.

A

Morphemes

151
Q

What is semantics?

A

The association of meaning with a word

152
Q

What is syntax?

A

How words are put together to form sentences

153
Q

____________ refers to the dependence of language on context and preexisting knowledge. The manner in which we speak may differ depending on the audience and our relationship to that audience.

A

Pragmatics

154
Q

An important precursor to language is ____________.

A

Babbling

155
Q

For hearing children, babbling reaches its highest frequency when?
What about hearing impaired children?

A

9 and 12 months
Ceases soon often after it begins

156
Q

From 12 to 18 months, children add about how many words per month?

A

One

157
Q

Starting around 18 months, children experience a ____________ ____________, in which they learn dozens of words and use them with varying inflection and gestures.

A

naming explosion

158
Q

Children may also frequently fall into ____________, in which they inappropriately apply a term to an object that bears cursory similarities to the term.

A

Overextension

159
Q

Between 18 and 20 months of age, begin to do what with words?

A

Combine them

160
Q

By the age of 2 or 3 years, children can do what?

A

Speak in longer sentences

161
Q

What is an error of growth?

A

A child applies a gramatical rule (often a morpheme) in a situation where it does not apply

162
Q

Language is substantially mastered by what age?

A

5 years of age

163
Q

The ____________ (biological) theory, is credited to Noam Chomsky, which advocates for the existence of some innate capacity of language.

A

nativist

164
Q

Chomsky studied ________________________ ____________, which is how changes in word order can retain the same meaning.

A

transformational grammar

165
Q

Transformational grammar is a type of ____________ ____________ ________, a theoretical pathway in the brain that allows infants to process and absorb language rules.

A

language acquisition device (LAD)

166
Q

Nativists believe in a ____________ ____________ for language acquisition between 2 years and puberty. Without exposure during this time, later training is ineffective.

A

critical period

167
Q

It has been seen that children without prior exposure to language may be able to learn some rules. This shows that there is likely a ____________ ____________, rather than a critical period. This is a time when environmental input has maximal effect on the development of an ability.

A

sensitive period

168
Q

When is the sensitive period for language development?

A

Before the onset of puberty

169
Q

The ____________ (behaviorist) theory, proposed by BF Skinner, explained language acquisition by operant conditioning.

A

learning

170
Q

According to the behaviorist theory, language is acquired by ________________, i.e. caregivers repeat and reinforce sounds that sound most like the language they speak.

What is a flaw of this theory?

A

reinforcement

Doesn’t account for the vocabulary explosion

171
Q

Benjamin Whorf proposed the Whorfian hypothesis, aka the ____________ ____________ ____________, which suggests that our perception or reality - the way we think about the world - is determined by the content of language.

A

linguistic relativity hypothesis

i.e. language affects the way we think rather than the other way around

172
Q

Where are Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area located in the brain?

A

the dominant hemisphere, usually the left hemisphere

173
Q

Where specifically is Broca’s area located?

A

The inferior frontal gyrus of the frontal lobe

174
Q

What does Broca’s area control?

A

The motor function of speech via connections with the motor cortex

175
Q

Where specifically is Wernicke’s area located?

A

The superior temporal gyrus of the temporal lobe

176
Q

What is Wernicke’s area responsible for?

A

Language comprehension

177
Q

What connects Broca’s and Wernicke’s area?

A

The arcuate fasciculus - a bundle of axons that allow association between language comprehension and speech production

178
Q

A deficit of language production or comprehension is called ?

A

Aphasia

179
Q

When damage occurs to Broca’s area, speech comprehension is intact, but the patient has reduced/absent ability to produce spoken language. This is called what?

A

Broca’s (expressive) aphasia

180
Q

What is it like having Broca’s aphasia?

A

Feels like having every word on the tip of your tongue

181
Q

When Wernicke’s area is damaged, motor production and fluency of speech is retained but comprehension of speech is lost. This is called what?

A

Wernicke’s (receptive) aphasia

182
Q

What is it like having Wernicke’s aphasia?

A

Speak nonsensical sounds and make inappropriate word combinations

They believe they’re speaking fine, but people cannot understand

183
Q

If the arcuate fasciculus is affected, this is called what?

What occurs?

A

conduction aphasia; patient cannot repeat something that has been said

MCAT Behavioral Sciences (12 decks)

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