Cognition Flashcards
This perspective views the mind as being like a computer that receives, data, processes it, stores some of it, and makes decisions based on how it’s processed.
Information processing model
The information processing model is in stark contrast to behaviorism which states that only _______ could be studied scientifically and avoided any speculation about internal states.
Behavior
First stage proposed by Piaget
Sensorimotor stage (birth until 2 yrs old)
- the child really starts to acquire language
- infants primarily interact with the world through processing sensory input and by engaging in motor activities
- acquisition of object permanence
- circular reactions
- stranger anxiety
Understanding that objects exist outside of one’s perception
Object permanence
Refers to the intentional repetition of something that either happened accidentally, like dropping a toy, or had an interesting effect, like flipping a light switch
Circular reactions
Stranger anxiety transition
Transition that occurs at around 8 or 9 months, from a previous pattern in which infants are generally open to strangers to an new one in which strangers provoke intense worry
Second stage of cognitive development by pIaget
Preoperational stage (age 2-7)
- children represent objects symbolically, using words and images (symbolic thought)
- take part in vivid imaginative play
- can only engage in minimal logic thinking
- egocentrism, lack of conservation, and centration
Difficulty imagining the world from the perspective of others, have not yet developed an understanding of conservation
Egocentrism
Tendency to focus on a single property or parameter of an object to the exclusion of others
Centration
Third stage of cognitive development by Piaget
Concrete Operational Stage (about 7 to 11)
- more abstract reasoning but only as applied to concrete objects
- develop understanding of conservation
- lose egocentrism and become more skilled at problem solving that involves taking others’ perspectives into account.
- develop logical reasoning skills
- perform better at inductive tasks
Generalizing logical conclusions based on empirically observed phenomena
Inductive tasks
Involve applying logical principles to make predictions in a top-down way
Deductive tasks
Stage 4 of cognitive development by Piaget
Formal operation stage (11 to 16 and then persists into adulthood)
- the ability to fully engage in abstract logic kicks in
- adolescents become able to handle hypotheticals, reasons abstractly, and make nuanced moral judgements
Refers to a cognitive framework that organizes information about things that one perceives in the outside world, with implications for the actions that can be taken in response
Schema
When you preserve your schema by concluding that animal must not be a cow
Assimilation
When you expand your schema by acknowledging that cows can have additional colors
Accommodation
Refers to problem-solving skills that can be applied to new situations, without any reliance on previously existing knowledge
Fluid intelligence
Reflects the ability to deploy one’s knowledge and skills to solve problems
Crystallized intelligence
When cognitive decline and memory impediments interfere with a person’s ability to function in the world
Dementia
Disease which involves the formation of beta-amyloid plaques un the brain
Alzheimer’s disease
This can be useful when we understand the problem, we’re trying to solve enough to come up with a workable space of possible solutions, but not enough to predict the exact solutions
Trial and error problem-solving technique
A problem-solving technique that involves applying a fixed set of steps. Unlike trial and error, a lot of thought and insight can go into designing it but similar to trial and error, it doesn’t require a conceptual understanding of the problem
Algorithm