Cognition Flashcards
What is thinking or cognition defined as?
It can be defined as mental activity that goes in the brain when a person is processing information (organising, understanding and communicating information).
What are the 2 systems of thinking?
System 1 and System 2 thinking.
Describe the System 1 mode of thinking.
System 1 thinking involves making quick decisions and using cognitive shortcuts, which is guided by our innate abilities and personal experiences.
System 1 is thought to be faster, more intuitive and more emotional, however it may rely on faulty heuristics, biases and prejudices.
Describe the System 2 mode of thinking.
System 2 thinking involves relatively slow, analytical and rule based, it is more dependent on our formal educational experiences.
System 2 is thought to be slower, more deliberative and logical. It is also thought to take conscious control over the more automatic System 1 thinking, particularly in complex cases.
What are mental images?
Mental images are mental representations that stand for objects or events and have a picture-like quality.
What occurs in the process of creating a mental image?
In creating mental images, areas of the cortex associated with storing knowledge send information to the visual cortex, where the image is perceived in the “mind’s eye”.
Is generating a mental image of a cup a top-down process or a bottom-up process?
Top-down process, as you are trying to use and organise pre-existing visual knowledge to create the mental image of a cup.
Is seeing and perceiving a visual stimulus of a cup a bottom-up process or a top-down process?
Bottom-up process, as you visually see the cup, processing and analysing its features, to build up the perception that it is a cup.
What are concepts?
Concepts are ideas that represent a class or category of objects, events, or activities.
Concepts are used to think about objects or events without having to think about all specific examples of the category.
What are the two types of concepts?
Formal concepts and natural concepts.
What are formal concepts and what is an example of one?
Formal concepts are concepts with very strict definitions, such as the concept of a square as a shape with four equal sides.
What are natural concepts and what is an example of one?
Natural concepts are where the concepts form not as a result of a strict set of rules but rather as the result of experiences with these concepts in the real world.
For example, vehicles are a natural concept (cars? trucks? raft? bobsled?).
What is the purpose of having natural concepts?
Natural concepts help people understand their surroundings in a less structured manner than school-taught formal concepts, they form the basis for interpreting surroundings and events that may occur in everyday life.
What are prototypes of a concept? Give an example of a prototype.
Prototypes are an example of a concept that closely matches the defining characteristics of the concept.
For example, an apple can be considered a prototype of fruit.
How can prototypes of a concept differ among individuals? Give an example.
Prototypes develop according to the exposure a person has to objects in that category.
For example, people who grow up around banana trees may identify as bananas as the prototypical fruit instead.
What are schemas of a concept? Give an example.
Schemas are mental generalisations about objects, places, events and people.
For example, one’s schema for a library would include books and bookshelves.
What are scripts of a schema? Give an example.
Scripts are a kind of event schema that involves a familiar sequence of activities.
For example, going to a movie would include travelling to the theatre, choosing a movie, getting a movie ticket, buying popcorn, etc.
What is a cognitive map?
A cognitive map is a cognitive representation of physical space (e.g. rat maze) or non-physical relations (e.g. family tree).
What is problem-solving defined as?
A process of cognition that occurs when a goal must be reached by thinking and behaving in certain ways.
What is decision-making defined as?
A process of cognition that involves identifying, evaluating, and choosing among several alternatives.
What are the 4 methods or strategies in problem-solving and decision-making?
Trial and error, algorithms, heuristics and insight.
Explain the trial and error problem-solving method.
Method in which possible solutions are tried one after another until a successful one is found.
Explain the algorithm problem-solving method.
Type of rote solution: specific step-by-step procedures for solving certain types of problems.
Always results in a correct solution if there is a correct solution to be found and enough time.
What is the heuristics method of problem-solving?
Simple rule or “rule of thumb” intended to apply to many situations.
An educated guess based on prior experiences that helps to narrow down possible solutions for a problem.