Cognition Flashcards
PSY 1
cognition
how brain works & reacts to info presented to us
dual processing theory
sound and visuals are used to process & store info
information processing model
brain doesn’t work like computer
it processes info for decision, emotions, and problem solving
Cognitive development
Development of the ability to think and solve problems across a lifespan
What are the four stages of cognitive development?
Sensorimotor
preoperational
concrete operation
formal operation
jean piaget
Qualitative differences between the way adults and children think
schema
a concept, behavior, or a sequence of events
what did Piaget say about new information
He said that new information is processed through adaptation which comes from two processes: assimilation & accommodation
assimilation
grouping new info into existing memories (like concept, events)
Accommodation
Existing schemata (concepts, events) that are modified for new information
What is the duration of the sensorimotor stage?
birth to 2 years
What is circular reactions in sensorimotor stage?
When a child manipulates the environment to meet their physical needs
What is primary circular reaction and give an example
Primary circular reaction is the baby’s understanding of their own body
ex: realizing that sucking thumb is soothing
What is secondary circular reaction and give an example
it is when the baby finds something in the environment interesting & repeats it
ex: pushing the toy and finding it to move
object permanence
8-12 months
infant recognizes that object exists
representational thoughts
18-24 months
ability to think about objects and events that are not physically present.
preoperational stage
2-7 years
Includes symbolic thinking, egocentrism and centration
Symbolic thinking in pre operational stage
Ability to pretend, play, make believe, and have imagination
Ecocentrism in preoperational stage
Inability to imagine what another person may think or feel
Centration in preoperational stage
Tendency to focus on only one aspect of phenomenon-inability to understand other aspect of the conversation
Concrete operational state
7-11 years
Understand others perspective
formal operational stage
11+ years
think logically about abstract ideas
pendulum experiment
Children try to identify and isolate which factors (string length. height of release. weight) affect the speed of pendulum
What was the result of the pendulum experiment?
7-11 concrete stage : Unable to isolate factors and identify which factor is affecting the speed
11+ formal stage: Able to identify and isolated factor is affecting the speed
What did Lev Vygotsky proposed?
He proposed that cognitive development of a child is dependent on his culture
Name one type of fluid intelligence
Problem solving skills
Crystallized intelligence
Use of learned skills and knowledge
dementia
Intellectual decline following impaired memory, impaired judgment and confusion
Vascular dementia
high blood pressure causes mini-clot in the brain
what are some factors that can cause intellectual disabilities?
Infections in the brain
Birth complication
It can be recent syndrome
Genetic diseases
Parenting styles
drug use
delirium
Fast fluctuation in cognitive function
could be due to medical reasons and is reversible
mental set
tendency to approach similar problems in the same way
Functional fixedness
Inability to consider how to use an object in an untypical way
Cannot use an object in a way they have not been taught
Availability heuristic
used when people estimate the likelihood of an event based on how easily examples come to mind.
You assume your car would be stolen because you just heard the news about it
Representative heuristic
You judge according to the stereotype and looks not based on statistics
Base Rate Fallacy
Ignoring the general rate of an event and focusing on a particular incident that might be bad
Belief perspective/perseverance
Sticking to one’s initial belief while rejecting the clear evidences against it
Confirmation bias
Seeking out information that confirms our previous biases or beliefs
disconfirmation principle
Changing one’s previous beliefs based on new contradicting information
Intuition
Act on perceptions that is not supported by evidences
Recognition Primed decision model
Brain sorts information into a pattern
rule of thumb
Rules of thumb are simple, practical guidelines that help in making quick decisions or solving common problems
What are the barriers to effective problem solving?
confirmation bias, functional fixedness, mental set, emotional barriers, availability heuristic, representativeness heuristic, belief perspective, stereotyping, judice
What are the approaches to problem solving?
trail & error, heuristic, algorithm,
overconfidence
Cognitive bias where individual has excessive beliefs in their own skills
What are Howard Gardner’s seven types of intelligence?
Linguistic, logical mathematical, musical, visual-spatial, bodily-kinesthetic interpersonal & intrapersonal
spearman’s g factor
Represents general intelligence underlying all cognitive abilities
such as ability to read makes him good in many subjects
intelligence quotient
Obtaining a standardized number for the intelligence measure
What other factors can vary intellectual abilities?
Parents’ expectation, socioeconomic status, nutrition, genes, environment educational experience
What are the 3 states of consciousness?
Dreaming, sleep, altered state of consciousness
what can cause altered state of consciousness?
Hypnosis, mediation, drug induced, sickness, dementia, delirium & coma
What part of the brain is responsible for alertness?
prefrontal cortex
reticular formation: neural structure located in the brain stem
both communicate (loss of this leads to coma)
What are the waves found from EEG that correspond to brain activity?
beta
alpha
theta
delta
sawtooth
beta wave
When we are awake, alert and doing a mental task