Cognition Flashcards
what is the dual-hormone hypothesis?
testosterone + cortisol jointly regulate status-seeking tentendcies
who initially started to research cognitive abilities in children? why did he start his work?
Jean Piaget
he noticed children were answering questions wrong on tests he wanted to standardize so he observed that children reason differently at different ages
3 processes Piaget suggested:
Assimilation
Accommodation
Equilibration
what were the stages of development according to Piaget? milestones and which is most important for adolescence?
sensorimotor (0-2): object permanence, language aquisition
Preoperational (2-7): symbolic thinking, egocentrism
concrete operational (7-11): conservation, decentration
formal operational (11-12+): hypothetico-deductive reasoning
formal operational
competence performance gap:
knowing something but not having the skills to explain it. What they know vs. how well they can explain it.
What are the different steps of information processing theory?
attention (selective, divided), memory (working, long-term (autobiographical), speed, organization
what are the two periods where there is an overproduction of synapses?
0-2, 10-12 (frontal lobe, plan, problem solve)
pruning
synapses that are unused die to make better/stronger ones (grey matter)
whatever we chose to keep will continue in adolescence
myelin
white (matter) fatty substance that protects the axon to promote the speed of messages
age of opportunity
(ex:opportunity to do better)
The brain is still very plastic and changes in response to experience, so there are changes in the neural structures of our brain
ex: negative experiences can lead to someone being more susceptible to peer pressure
Pre-frontal cortex
Brain’s CEO - planning, memory, mood, organization
- adolescents are more likely to act without thinking, and have more cognitive flexibility
Amygdala
responsible for emotional responses (fear, anger, love)
Limbic system
develops before the pre-frontal cortex which leads to a higher risk of delinquency
hippocampus
the brains filing cabinet
what are the 5 cognitive milestones?
Relativism, thinking about thinking (egocentrism), multidimensionality, abstract thinking, thinking about possibilities (mentalizing)
Thinking about possibilities (mentalizing)
stop thinking of things at face value -> arguing with parents
using hypotheses and deducing inferences
think what might’ve been “if/then”
mentalizing: understanding the perspectives and mental states of others
abstract concepts
abstract reasoning
understand the importance of friendships + relationships
politics, philosophy, religion
thinking about thinking (egocentrism)
metacognition: monitor+evaluate their thinking
introspection, self-consciousness
starts in childhood - peaks in adolescence (11-17)
Egocentrism:
imaginary audience: “everyone is looking at me”
personal fable: “I’m unique no one understands me”
invincibility: “nothing bad will happen to me”
multidimensionality
can describe things in more complex ways
ex: I like math cause … and science cause…
understand double-entendres
relativism
they argue with things that they see aren’t absolute facts
- must do their own research
skepticism: they doubt what they’re told
The social brain
activates when inferring other’s facial expressions -> reactive to moods
face processing = high activation in PFC
mentalizing: understanding sarcasm, perspective-taking
What are causes/outcomes of the social brain?
sensitivity to social cues: what your peers think/say about you
more susceptible to peer pressure: limbic system b4 pfc = more emotional + unreasonable
Anorexia nervosa
- doesn’t eat : afraid of gaining weight
- amenoria: period is delayed for at least 3 months
Bulimia
also fear of weight gain but instead there is binge eating involved with moments of purging (compensatory behavior (vomiting, dieting pills, laxatives
- more than 2 times a week for a min of 3 months
Binge-eating disorder
bulimia minus the purging
1 time a week for a minimum of 3 months
very full = depression, shame, guilt
Avoidant/restrictive
doesn’t eat, not cause of fear of weight gain but because of a fear of eating (ex: choking,
undernourrished
