Chapter 6 - Transition to Modern Cognitivism

Question 1

Higher mental processes

Answer 1

• unobservable processes that occur in the mind

- what we normally think of as “thinking”

Question 2

Dopamine

Answer 2

• 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

Question 3

Norepinephrine

Answer 3

• neurotransmitter linked with arousal, memory, and learning

Question 4

Acetylcholine

Answer 4

• neurotransmitter present in the PNS and CNS
• involved in voluntary activity and physiological functions
• also involved in CNS for learning and memory

Question 5

Serotonin

Answer 5

• 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

Question 6

Hebb rule

Answer 6

• the repeated cofiring of two related neurons will lead to a permanent change in the strength of the synapse (connection) between them

Question 7

Cell assembly

Answer 7

• hypothetical structure in Hebb’s theory
• circuit of neurons that reactivate one another
• corresponds to relatively simple sensory input

Question 8

Phase sequence

Answer 8

• in Hebb’s theory
• an integrated arrangement of related cell assemblies
• corresponds to a concept or percept

Question 9

Habituation

Answer 9

• highly common form of learning
• organism’s responses to stimulation gradually diminish or cease
• most often occurs following mild, repetitive stimulation

Question 10

Sensitization

Answer 10

• common form of learning
• organism’s response to stimulation increases in intensity
• most often occurs following intense stimulation

Question 11

Reactivity

Answer 11

• the capacity of the organism to react to external stimuli

Question 12

Plasticity

Answer 12

• the property of the organism that allows it to change as a function of repeated stimulation

Question 13

Long-term potentiation

Answer 13

• a lasting neurological change defined by an increase in the responsiveness of neurons

Question 14

Long-term depression

Answer 14

• a neurological change defined by a lasting decline in the strength of the connection between two neurons (decline in synaptic strength)

Question 15

Set

Answer 15

• tendency to respond or perceive in a predetermined way

Question 16

Attention

Answer 16

• state of the reacting organisms that implies a narrowing and focusing of perception
• selection and emphasis to that which the organism responds

Question 17

Arousal

Answer 17

• 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

Question 18

Neobehaviorist

Answer 18

• Hull

- did not limit theory to observable stimuli and responses, but also considered what occurs between the two

Question 19

Mechanistic behaviorism

Answer 19

• concern with the machine-like, predictable aspects of behaviour and a refusal to consider mentalistic explanations for behaviour

Question 20

Reductionist

Answer 20

• term used to describe theories that try to understand a process or a phenomenon by reducing it to its smallest components

Question 21

Cognitivism

Answer 21

• approaches to theories of learning concerned with intellectual events such as problem solving, information processing, thinking, and imagining

Question 22

Cognitions

Answer 22

• things that are known

- refers to knowing, understanding, problem solving, and related intellectual processes

Question 23

Cognitive maps

Answer 23

• 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

Question 24

Insight

Answer 24

• the perception of relationships among elements of a problem situation
• problem-solving method that contrasts with trial and error
• Gestalt

Question 25

Präganz

Answer 25

• “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

Question 26

Behavioral field

Answer 26

• Gestalt
• the individual’s personal perception of reality
• also called the psychological field

Question 27

Productive thinking

Answer 27

• type of thinking that results from insight rather than from rote learning
• often used as a synonym for creative thinking

Question 28

Constructivism

Answer 28

• term for student-centred approaches to teacher
• eg. discovery-oriented approaches, reciprocal learning, cooperative instructive
• assumption that learners should build knowledge from themselves

Question 29

Direct teaching

Answer 29

• authoritarian approach for teaching

- teachers are the primary source of information

Question 30

Logical positivism

Answer 30

• philosophy of science

- things are real and exact and they can therefore be described and measured literally and accurately