chapter 7 - slides 1 to 26 Flashcards
What is cognitive psychology? (define cognition and then cognitive psychology)
cognition=thinking
- Perception
- Knowledge
- Problem-solving
- Judgement
- Language
- Memory
Define steps of cognition.
Information sensations, emotions and memories, thoughts, behaviour
Is most of cognition automatic?
yes!
How does the brain organize information?
By concepts and prototypes.
Define concepts.
Categories of linguistic information, images, ideas, or
memories. Based on semantic information. (like bins of information - folders in different classes but in our brain)
- Can be complex and abstract (e.g. love) or concrete (e.g. dog).
Define semantic information.
literal information about work you take in (Semantics is the study of linguistic meaning)
Define prototype.
-the “best” (relative of experiences, culture, etc.) example or representation of a concept.
Give an example of prototype.
Love: what read in books, issue is that best is not same for everyone, problematic because we can be rigid on concepts (stereotyping)
Dog: photo of dog Berger almand vs rat (experiences, make adjustments to combat it)
Contrast natural and artificial concepts.
Natural concepts:
- Created “naturally” through either direct or indirect experience.
- More reliant on prototypes
- E.g. animals, plants, weather, natural objects
Artificial concepts:
- Human created
- Defined by a specific set of characteristics.
- Less reliant on prototypes
- E.g. shapes, scientific categories, technical terms
Define schemata.
Schema – a mental construct consisting of a collection of related
concepts.
* Help us understand the world
* Navigate social situations
* Predict outcomes
* Automatically engaged
What are two schemas of social situations?
role and event schema
Describe role schema. (+give an example)
Role schemas: cognitive
frameworks that represent our
expectations about how people
in certain roles are supposed to
behave
* Based on people
* Expected behaviours based on
their roles
example: police: safety, tickets, authority, helpful (depends on experiences)
Describe event schemas (cognitive scripts) +give an example
- Event schemas: cognitive
frameworks that represent our
expectations for sequences of
actions in specific situations or
events. - Based on situations (events)
- Predictable
- Culture specific
example: elevator example, also restaurants, classrooms, funerals, etc.
What does language have to do with our
thoughts?
-to understand each other
-way language is constructed
Define language.
Language – a communication system that involves using words and systematic rules to organize those words to transmit information from one individual to another.
What are the 6 components of language and define each.
Lexicon – the words of a given language.
Grammar – the set of rules that are used to convey meaning through the use of
the lexicon.
Phoneme – a basic sound unit (ah, eh,).
Morphemes – the smallest units of language that convey some type of
meaning.
Language is constructed through semantics and syntax.
Semantics – the meaning we derive from morphemes and words.
Syntax – the way words are organized into sentences.
Let’s look at the structure of the English language…
What is a phoneme?
Phoneme: Smallest unit
of sound that is
recognizable as speech
rather than random
noise
What is a phonological rule?
Phonological rules: how
phonemes can be
combined to produce
speech sounds
What are morphemes and morphological rules?
Morphemes: The smallest meaningful units of language
* Morphological rules: Set of rules that indicate how morphemes
can be combined to form words
What is the difference between free morphemes and bound morphemes?
Free morpheme: a word that can stand alone
* Duck
* Bound morpheme: must be combines with another morpheme
(-er,
-s, -ing, un-, re-…)
* Duckling (ling)
What are the different units of the English language?
phonemes bottom of pyramid, words or morphemes, phrases and sentence
Let’s look into the different theories of language development. What is behaviourism explanation?
Behaviourist explanation: language is learned through
operant conditioning and imitation (some level of reward, baby makes sound for example, rewarding for you and the baby, reward motivates, baby will want to learn language)
What is nativist explanation?
- Nativist explanation: Noam Chomsky argue that language is innate
- Universal Grammar: proposes that all humans are born with an innate
ability to learn language that is hardwired into our brains - Language acquisition device (LAD): Theoretical collection of mental
processes that facilitate language learning. - Children do not need to be explicitly taught language; they only need
exposure to linguistic input, and their LAD will help them grasp the
underlying rules of that language
-JUST HEARING LANGUAGE CAN BE ENOUGH TO LEARN
What did Noam Chomsky propose?
Noam Chomsky – proposed that the mechanisms underlying
language acquisition are biologically determined.
- Language develops in the absence of formal instruction.
- Language acquisition follows similar patterns in children from
different cultures/backgrounds.
What is the critical period?
Critical period – proficiency at acquiring language is maximal early
in life.
- Being deprived of language during the critical period impedes the
ability to fully acquire and use language.
What is a case that describes the importance of the critical period?
Case Study of Genie:
Critical Periods
-the effects of language deprivation during the critical period can be seen in the case study of Genie.
What is interactionist explanations?
- Interactionist explanations
argue that social interactions
play a crucial role in
language - Social experience interacts
with innate, biological
language abilities
What are the stages of language and communication development?
LOOK AT SLIDE 19!
Let’s look at problem-solving strategies.
Define trial and error, algorithm and heuristic.
Trial and error – continue trying different solutions until problem is
solved.
Algorithm – step-by-step problem-solving formula.
Heuristic – general problem-solving framework.
- Short-cuts.
- A “rule of thumb”.
What is availability heuristic?
- A mental rule of thumb
whereby people base a
judgment on the ease with
which they can bring
something to mind. (example people more afraid of going on plane than car even if statistically more accidents in cars)
What is representativeness heuristic?
A mental shortcut whereby people classify something according
to how similar it is to a typical case.
* Tom is a 42-year old who reads non-fiction books, listens to National Public Radio,
and plays tennis in his spare time. Which is more likely?
* a. Tom is an Ivy League professor
* b. Tom is a truck driver
* Base rate fallacy: view an event or object as extremely representative and make a
probability judgment without stopping to consider base rate values.
What is backwards heuristic?
Starts with the desired end
goal and works step by step in
reverse to find the solution or
path needed to reach that goal (not a huge one).
