Chapter 8 Flashcards
Cognition
Mental processes involved in acquiring, processing, and storing knowledge
Cognitive Psychology
Science of how people think, learn, remember, and perceive
Concept
Mental representation of an idea
Graded Membership
Some objects apply to one category more strongly than other
Prototype
Mental representation of the average item in a certain category
Semantic network
Diagram
Priming
Activation of individual concepts in LTM
Linguistic Relativity/Whorfian Hypothesis
The language we use determines how we understand the world
Reasoning
Drawing conclusions from evidence
Deductive Reasoning
Moving from general premises to specific facts
Inductive Reasoning
Moving from specific facts to general premises
Problem Solving
Accomplishing a goal when solution is not clear
Algorithm
Problem solving strategies based on series of rules
Heuristics
Problem solving strategies that stem from prior experiences
Critical Thinking
Critically analyzing sources
Metacognitive thinking
Thinking about one’s thinking
Mental Set
Cognitive obstacle that occurs when a routine solution is applied to a new situation
Functional Fixedness
Not able to apply problem-solving routine in a novel way
Deductive Reasoning (from lecture)
Conclusions drawn after receiving two premises. Relates to belief-bias effect
Belief Bias
Preexisting beliefs distort logical reasoning
Inductive Reasoning
Relies on specific facts to draw conclusions that may not be true (scientific method)
Analogy Heuristic
To solve a new problem, find parallel analogies
Judgement
Reaching conclusions about events and people
Decision Making
Accepting and rejecting option
Availability Heuristic
Estimate likelihood of events based on memory (ex. car crash/plane crash analogy)
Representativeness Heuristic
Judge things in terms of how well they relate to prototypes. (eg expecting things to look a certain way)
Conjunction Fallacy
Finding a member of two larger categories is more probable than a member of both
Anchoring Heuristic
People’s judgements result from an initial (typically numerical) estimate
Framing
The way an issue is posed
Belief Perserverance
Someone holds their belief even in the face of opposing evidence
Confirmation Bias
Individual searches for only evidence that supports their theory
Language Production
What someone says and the processes involved in producing the language
Language Understanding
Interpretation and contextualization of language
Language
Words and ways people communicate meaning
Aphasia
Damage to areas of the brain that are involved in producing and understanding language
Broca’s Area
Region of the brain involved in producing language
Vernicke’s Area
Area of the brain associated with understanding of words
Phonetics
The way words sound
Syntax
How words are arranged in sentences
Semantics
What a word means in a context
Pragmatics
Aspects of meaning not captured by original definition (sarcasm, gestures)
Morphemes
Smallest unit of meaning in a language (ex. banks - bank and s)
Phonemes
Smallest unit of sound in a language
Syntax (structure of language)
Rules for arranging words in sentences
Grammar
Entire set of rules for combing symbols and sounds
Sensitivity Period
Period during which babies learn language simply by hearing it
Fast Mapping
Ability to map concepts after a single exposure
Nativist Theory
We discover language rather than learn it (Chomsky LAD)
FOXP2 Gene
Involved in understanding language. Mutated in people with language disorders.
Structural Ambiguity
Moving around parts of speech to change meaning
