Chapter 6 - Transition to Modern Cognitivism Flashcards
Higher mental processes
- unobservable processes that occur in the mind
- what we normally think of as “thinking”
Dopamine
- brain chemical involved in neural transmission
- dopaminergic cells are found in the pleasure centers of the brain, and areas that control physical movement
- excessive activity (eg. cocaine, electrical stimulation, rewards) leads to reactions of pleasure
Norepinephrine
- neurotransmitter linked with arousal, memory, and learning
Acetylcholine
- neurotransmitter present in the PNS and CNS
- involved in voluntary activity and physiological functions
- also involved in CNS for learning and memory
Serotonin
- neurotransmitter
- mostly found in the gut where it regulates intestinal activity
- also implicated in human emotion and cognitive activity
- low levels may be associated with depression
Hebb rule
- the repeated cofiring of two related neurons will lead to a permanent change in the strength of the synapse (connection) between them
Cell assembly
- hypothetical structure in Hebb’s theory
- circuit of neurons that reactivate one another
- corresponds to relatively simple sensory input
Phase sequence
- in Hebb’s theory
- an integrated arrangement of related cell assemblies
- corresponds to a concept or percept
Habituation
- highly common form of learning
- organism’s responses to stimulation gradually diminish or cease
- most often occurs following mild, repetitive stimulation
Sensitization
- common form of learning
- organism’s response to stimulation increases in intensity
- most often occurs following intense stimulation
Reactivity
- the capacity of the organism to react to external stimuli
Plasticity
- the property of the organism that allows it to change as a function of repeated stimulation
Long-term potentiation
- a lasting neurological change defined by an increase in the responsiveness of neurons
Long-term depression
- a neurological change defined by a lasting decline in the strength of the connection between two neurons (decline in synaptic strength)
Set
- tendency to respond or perceive in a predetermined way
Attention
- state of the reacting organisms that implies a narrowing and focusing of perception
- selection and emphasis to that which the organism responds
Arousal
- changes in functions such as heart rate, respiration rate, electrical activity in cortex, and electrical conductivity of skin
- refers to degree of alertness, awareness, vigilance or wakefulness
Neobehaviorist
- Hull
- did not limit theory to observable stimuli and responses, but also considered what occurs between the two
Mechanistic behaviorism
- concern with the machine-like, predictable aspects of behaviour and a refusal to consider mentalistic explanations for behaviour
Reductionist
- term used to describe theories that try to understand a process or a phenomenon by reducing it to its smallest components
Cognitivism
- approaches to theories of learning concerned with intellectual events such as problem solving, information processing, thinking, and imagining
Cognitions
- things that are known
- refers to knowing, understanding, problem solving, and related intellectual processes
Cognitive maps
- Tolman’s term for a mental representation of a physical environment in which goals are located as well as an internal representation of relationships between behaviour and goals
Insight
- the perception of relationships among elements of a problem situation
- problem-solving method that contrasts with trial and error
- Gestalt
Präganz
- “good form”
- what we perceive tends to take the best possible form, where best usually refers to a principle like closure, continuity, similarity, or proximity
Behavioral field
- Gestalt
- the individual’s personal perception of reality
- also called the psychological field
Productive thinking
- type of thinking that results from insight rather than from rote learning
- often used as a synonym for creative thinking
Constructivism
- term for student-centred approaches to teacher
- eg. discovery-oriented approaches, reciprocal learning, cooperative instructive
- assumption that learners should build knowledge from themselves
Direct teaching
- authoritarian approach for teaching
- teachers are the primary source of information
Logical positivism
- philosophy of science
- things are real and exact and they can therefore be described and measured literally and accurately