Chapter 7 - Cognition Flashcards
Mental representations that stand for objects or events and have a picture like quality.
Mental images
Mental activity that goes on in the brain when a person is organizing and attempting to understand information and communicating information to others.
Thinking (cognition)
Ideas that represent a class or category of objects, events, or activities.
Concepts
The most general form of a type of concept, such as “animal” or “fruit”; _______ refers to highest in status or standing.
Superordinate concept
An example of a type of concept around which other similar concepts are organized, such as “dog”, “cat”, or “pear”.
Basic level type
The most specific category of a concept, such as one’s pet dog or a pear in one’s hand; _______ refers to lowest in status or standing.
Subordinate concept
Concepts that are defined by specific rules or features.
Formal concepts
Concepts people form as a result of their experiences In the real world.
Natural concepts
An example of a concept that closely matches the defining characteristics of a concept.
Prototype
Process of cognition that occurs when a goal must be reached by thinking and behaving in certain ways.
Problem solving
Problem-solving method in which one possible solution after another is tried until a successful one is found.
Trial and error (mechanical solution)
Very specific, step-by-step procedures for solving certain types of problems.
Algorithms
An educated guess based on prior experiences that hells narrow down the possible solutions for a problem. Also known as “rule of thumb”
Heuristic
Assumption that any object (or person) sharing characteristics with the members of a particular category is also a member of that category.
Representative heuristic
Estimating the frequency or likelihood of an event based on how easy it is to recall relevant information from memory or how easy it is for us to think of related examples.
Availability heuristic
Heuristic in which the difference between the starting situation and the goal is determined and then steps are taken to reduce that difference.
Means-end analysis
A block to problem solving that comes from thinking about objects in terms of only their typical functions.
Functional fixedness
The tendency for people to persist in using problem-solving patterns that have worked for them in the past.
Mental set
The tendency to search for evidence that fit one’s beliefs while ignoring any evidence that does not fit those beliefs.
Confirmation bias
The process of solving problems by combining ideas or behavior in new ways.
Creativity
Type of thinking in which a problem is seen as having only one answer, and all lines of thinking will eventually lead to that single answer, using previous knowledge and logic.
Convergent thinking
Type of thinking in which a person starts from one point and comes up with many different ideas or possibilities based on that point.
Divergent thinking
The ability to learn from one’s experiences, acquire knowledge, and use resources effectively in adapting to new situations or solving problems.
Intelligence
The ability to reason and solve problems, or general intelligence.
G factor
The ability to excel in certain areas, or specific intelligence.
S factor
Sternberg’s theory that there are three kinds of intelligence: analytical, creative, and practical.
Triarchic theory of intelligence
The ability to break problems down into component parts, or analysis, for problem solving.
Analytical intelligence
The ability to deal with new and different concepts and to come up with new ways of solving problems.
Creative intelligence
The ability to use information to get along in life and become successful.
Practical intelligence
A number representing a measure of intelligence, resulting from the division of one’s mental age by one’s chronological age and then multiplying that quotient by 100.
Intelligence quotient (IQ)
The tendency of a test to produce the same scores again and again each time it is given to the same people.
Reliability
The degree to which a test actually measures what it’s supposed to measure.
Validity
A type of intelligence measure that assumes that IQ is normally distributed around a mean of 100 with a standard deviation of about 15.
Deviation IQ scores
Condition in which a person’s behavioral and cognitive skills exist at an earlier developmental stage than the skills of others who are the same chronological age; may also be referred to as developmentally delayed.
Intellectual disability
The 2 percent of the population falling on the upper end of the normal curve and typically possessing an IQ of 130 or above.
Gifted
The awareness of and ability to manage one’s own emotions as well as the ability to be self-motivated, able to feel what others feel, and socially skilled.
Emotional intelligence
A system for combining symbols (such as words) so that an unlimited number of meaningful statements can be made for the purpose of communicating with others.
Language
The system of rules governing the structure and use of a language.
Grammar
The system of rules for combining words and phrases to form grammatically correct sentences.
Syntax
The smallest units of meaning within a language.
Morphemes
The rules for determining the meaning of words and sentences.
Semantics
The basic units of sound in language.
Phonemes
Aspects of language involving the practical ways of communicating with others, or the social “niceties” of language.
Pragmatics
The theory that thought processes and concepts are controlled by language.
Linguistic relativity hypothesis
Theory that concepts are universal and influence the development of language.
Cognitive universalism
