Cognition, Consciousness, and Language (CH4) Flashcards
This theory states that both verbal associations and visual images are used to process and store information (increasing the change that the information can be retrieved and used effectively when cued).
Dual-Coding Theory
What are Piaget’s stages of cognitive development?
- Sensorimotor
- Preoperational
- Concrete Operational
- Formal Operational
This type of psychology looks at how our brains process and react to the incredible information overload presented to us by the world.
Study of Cognition
Organizational patterns of behavior and thought. Can include a concept (What is a dog?), a behavior (What do you normally do in a sit-down restaurant?), or a sequence of events (What do you normally do in a sit-down restaurant?).
Schema
Adaptation to information comes about by what two complementary processes?
Assimilation and Accomodation
The process of classifying new information into existing schemata.
Assimilation
The process by which existing schemata are modified to encompass new information.
Accomodation
This stage starts at birth and lasts until about two years of age. Here, the child learns to manipulate his or her environment in order to meet physical needs.
Sensorimotor Stage
The repitition of a body movement that originally occurred by chance (such as sucking the thumb). The behavior is repeated because the child finds it soothing.
Primary Circular Reactions
This occurs when manipulation is focused on something outside the body (such as repeatedly throwings toys from a high chair). This behaviors are often repeated because the child gets a response from the enviornment.
Secondary Circular Reactions
The understanding that objects continue to exist even when out of view. This is a key milestone of ending the sensorimotor stage.
Object Permanence
Object permanence marks the begining of this type of thinking; in which the child has begun to create mental representations of external objects and events.
Representational Thought
This stage lasts from about two to seven years of age, and is characterized by symbolic thinking, egocentrism, and centration.
Preoperational Stage
This refers the the ability to pretend, play make-believe, and have an imagination.
Symbolic Thinking
Refers to the inability to imagine what another person may think or feel.
Egocentrism
The tendency to focus on only one aspect of a phenomenon, or inability to understand the concept of conservation (one big piece = two small pieces of pizza).
Centration
This stage lasts from about seven to eleven years of age. Here, children can understand conservation and consider the perspectives of others. Additionally, the child is able to engage in logical thought as long as they are working with concrete objects or information that is directly available.
Concrete Operational Stage
This stage starts around eleven years of age, and is marked by the ability to think logically about abstract ideas (can reason abstract concepts and problem solve).
Formal Operational Stage
This psychologist proposed that the engine driving cognitive development is the child’s internalization of his or her culture, including interpersonal and societal rules, symbols and language.
Lev Vygotsky
Problem-solving skills.
Fluid Intelligence
The use of learned skills and knowledge.
Crystallized Intelligence
Rapid flunctuation in cognitive function that is reversible and caused by medical (nonpsychological) causes.
Delirium
The inability to consider how to use an object in a nontraditional manner.
Functional Fixedness
A reasoning that starts from a set of general rules and draws conclusions from the information given.
Deductive Reasoning (Top-Down)
A reasoning that seeks to create a theory via generalizations. This starts with specific instances, and then draws a conclusion from them.
Inductive Reasoning (Bottom-Up)
Simplified principles used to make decisions or “rules of thumb”.
Heuristics
Used when we try to decide how likely something is.
Availibity Heuristics
Involves categorizing items on the basis of whether they fit the prototypical, stereotypical, or representative image of the category.
Representativeness Heuristic
Using prototypical or stereotypical factors while ignoring actual numerical information.
Base Rate Fallacy
When evidence obtained from testing demonstrates that the solution does not work; therefore, the solution should be discarded.
Disconfirmation Policy
The tendency to focus on information that fits an individual’s beliefs, while rejecting information that goes against them (ex. an individual seeks out info that supports their opinion but not info that contradicts it).
Confirmation Bias
A tendency to erroneously interpret one’s decisions, knowledge, and beliefs as infallible.
Overconfidence
The inability to reject a particular belief despite clear evidence to the contrary.
Belief Perseverance
When a brain is sorting through a wide variety of information to match a pattern.
Recognition-Primed Decision Model
The subjective experience of a person in a certain situation.
Emotion
What are Howard Gardner’s seven multiple intelligences?
- Linguistic
- Logic-Mathematical
- Musical
- Visual-Spatial
- Bodily-Kinesthetic
- Interpersonal
- Intrapersonal
One’s level of awareness of both the world and one’s own existance within that world.
Consciousness
A neural structure located in the brainstem, to keep the cortex awake and alert. A brain injury that results in disruption of these connections results in a coma.
Recticular Formation
These two waves characterize brain wave activity when we are awake.
Alpha and Beta Waves
These waves have a high frequency and occur when a person is alert or attending to a mental task that requires concentration.
Beta Waves
These waves occur when we are awake but relaxing with our eyes closed, and are somewhat slower.
Alpha Waves
When we doze off and enter stage 1 of sleeping, our brain uses these waves.
Theta Waves
When in Stage 2 of sleeping, we are sleeping more deeply. What would you see on an EEG?
Theta Waves, Sleep Spindles and K complexes
When entering Stage 3 and 4 of sleeping, there is slow wave sleep (SWS). These low frequency, high-voltage sleep waves are called?
Delta Waves
When one’s heart rate, breathing patterns, and EEG mimic wakefulness but the individual is still asleep. This is the stage in which dreaming is most likely to occur and is also associated with memory consolidation.
Paradoxical Sleep (AKA REM Sleep)
This theory states that dreams are caused by widespread, random activation of neural circuitry.
Activation-Synthesis Theory
This theory states that dreams are a way to solve problems while you are sleeping.
Problem-Solving Dream Theory
This theory states that dreams are merely the sleeping counterpart of stream-of-consciousness.
Cognitive Process Dream Theory
This refers to disorders that make it difficult to fall asleep, stay asleep, or avoid sleep.
Includes:
- sleep apnea
- insomnia
- narcolepsy
- cataplexy
- sleep paralysis
Dyssomnias
This refers to abnormal movements or behaviors during sleep.
Includes:
- night terros
- sleep walking
Parasomnias
A loss of muscle control and sudden intrusion of REM sleep during waking hours, ususally caused by an emotional trigger.
Cataplexy
Refers to the actual sound of language.
Phonology
To learn the dictinction of subtle speech sounds and how they represent a change in meaning (or not); the pronounciation of a word varies between people.
Categorial Perception
Refers to the structure of words (ex.re-design-ed).
Morphology
Refers to the association of meaning with a word (ex. women vs. mommy).
Semantics
Refers to how words are put together to form sentences (ex. Nathan has only vs. Only Nathan has).
Syntax
Refers to the dependence of language on context and pre-existing knowledge (ex. speaking to a friend vs. stranger).
Pragmatics
Rhythym, cadence, and inflection of our voices.
Prosody
What is the timeline of language aquisition in children?
- 9 to 12 months: Babbling
- 12 to 18 months: 1 new word/month
- 18 to 20 months: Explosion of language and combining
- 2 to 3 years: Longer sentences
- 5 years: Language rules largely mastered
This is where a child applies a grammatical rule (often a morpheme) in a situation where it does not apply (ex. runned instead of ran).
Errors of Growth
Largely credited by Noam Chomsky, advocates for the existance of some innnate capacity for language.
Nativist (Biological) Theory
A theoretical, innate pathway in the brain that allows infants to process and absorb language rules.
Language Aquisition Device (LAD)
A time when enviornmental input has maximal effect on the developement of an ability (most believed to happen before onset of puberty).
Sensitive Period
Largely credited by B.F. Skinner, proposes that language aquisition happens via operant conditioning (reinforcement).
Learning (Behaviorist) Theory
This theory focuses on the interplay between biological and social processes. Language aquisition is driven by the child’s desire to communicate and behave in a social manner, such as interacting with caretakers and other children.
Social Interactionist Theory
This hypothesis suggests that our perception of reality - the way we think about the world - is determined by the content of language.
Whorfian Hypothesis (Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis)
Located in the inferior frontal gyrus of the frontal lobe, controls the motor function of speech via connections with the motor cortex.
Broca’s Area
Located in the superior temporal gyrus of the temporal lobe, is responsible for language comprehension.
Wernicke’s Area
A bundle of axons that allows appropriate association between language comprehension and speech production (Broca and Wernicke communicate here).
Arcuate Fasciculus
This type of brain damage makes a patient incapable of repeating something that has been said because the connnection between Broca and Wernicke’s areas has been lost. Damage to the arcuate fasciculus is called?
Conduction Aphasia
What are the two types of hallucinations when going to sleep and waking from sleep?
“Hynagogic hallucinations occur when one is going to bed. Hynopompic hallucinations occur when one is popping out of bed.”
What is the order of sleep waves from fastest to slowest?
” BAT-D (BAT sleeps during the Day)”
- Beta, Alpha, Theta, Delta
