Cognition, consciousness, language Flashcards
Cognition
How brain processes/reacts to info overload presented by the world
Dual-Coding Theory
verbal association & visual images used to process and store info
Information Processing Model
We get input from the environment, process it and output decisions
Simulation modification
Decisions made in one situation can be gathered and adjusted to help solve new problems
Cognitive Development
Development of one’s ability to think and solve problems across a lifespan
Schema
ways for us to organize and interpret new information
Assimilation
how we describe new info/experiences in terms of our current understanding/schemas
Accommodation
how we later adjust our schemas to incorporate new experiences
Piaget’s Sensorimotor Stage
Birth to age 2; Child manipulates the
environment to meet physical needs through circular
reactions. Object permanence develops at the end of
this stage.
Object Permanence
object exists even when not seen
Primary circular reactions
repetition of body movements that originally occurred by chance
Secondary circular reactions
occurs when manipulation is focused on something outside the body
Representational thought
child begins to create mental representations of external objects and events
Piaget’s Preoperational Stage
ages 2 to 7; Pretend play, symbolic
thinking so they learn to talk, egocentrism & centration
Symbolic thinking
ability to pretend, play, make-believe, and have imagination
Egocentrism
inability to imagine what another person may think/feel
Centration
Tendency to focus on only one aspect of a phenomenon, or inability to understand the concept of conversation
Piaget’s Concrete Operational Stage
ages 7 to 11; Understands the
feelings of others and understands conversation; Able to engage in logic as long as they are working with concrete objects of info
Piaget’s Formal Operational Stage
age 11 and up; ability to think logically about abstract ideas. Moral reasoning
Fluid intelligence
problem-solving skills
Crystallized intelligence
use of learned skills and knowledge
Mental set
tendency to approach similar problems in the same way
Functional Fixedness
Inability to consider how to use an object in a nontraditional manner
Trial and Error
various solutions tried until one is found that works
Algorithms
Formula or procedure for solving a certain type of problem
Deductive (Top-down) Reasoning
Form conclusions from rules
Inductive (Bottom-up) Reasoning
Form conclusions from evidence
Heuristics
“Rules of thumb”
Availability Heuristics
When we make our decisions based on how easily
similar instances can be imagined
Representativeness Heuristic
The tendency to make decisions about actions / events based on our standard representations of the events.
Base rate fallacy
using prototypical factors while ignoring numerical info
Disconfirmation Principle
when a potential solution to a problem fails during testing, the solution should be discarded
Confirmation Bias
tendency to focus on information that fits an individual’s beliefs, while rejecting info that goes against them
Intuition
ability to act on perceptions that may not be supported by available evidence
Recognition-Primed decision model
brain sorts through a wide variety of info to match a pattern
Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences
7 areas of intelligence: Linguistic, logicalmathematical,
musical, visual-spatial, bodilykinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal
Spearman’s “g factor”
theory based on observation that performance on different cognitive tasks is usually positively correlated
Intelligence quotient (IQ)
method of obtaining a standardized underlying variable by taking a standardized test
Standford-Binet IQ Test
IQ = (mental age/chronological age) x 100
Conciousness
level of awareness of both the world and one’s own existence within the world
Alertness
State of being awake and thinking
Sleep: Beta Waves
high frequency and occur when the person is alert or attending to a mental task that requires concentration.
Sleep: Alpha Waves
awake but relaxing state with our eyes closed; Slower and more synchronized than beta waves
Sleep: Theta Waves
Irregular wave forms and higher voltages
Sleep: Delta Waves
Low frequency and high voltage waves
First Stage of Sleep
Light sleep; Theta Waves
Second Stage of Sleep
Slightly deeper. Theta waves, sleep spindles, K
complexes. lower heart rate, lower respiration, lower temperature
Third/Fourth Stage of Sleep
Deep sleep; Delta waves; Slow wave sleep; Increased release of growth hormone. Hard to wake someone in this stage of sleep
Non-rapid eye movement sleep
First four stages of sleep
Rapid-eye movement sleep
The mind appears awake on EEG, but the
person is asleep. Eye movements and body paralysis.
Mostly BETA waves
Paradoxial sleep
- heart rate, breathing patterns, and EEG mimic wakefulness, but individual is asleep
- Dreaming is most likely to occur in this stage and associated with memory consolidation
Sleep cycle
90 min. Stages: 1-2-3-4-3-2-REM or 1-2-3-4-REM
Circadian Rhythm
Internally generated rhythms that regulate the daily cycle of waking and sleeping
Melatonin
- Contributes to sleepiness
- secreted by pineal gland
- Decrease in light stimulates its release
Cortisol
Contributes to wakefulness
- secreted by adrenal cortex
- Increase in light stimulates its release
Dreaming
occurs mostly during REM
Activation-Synthesis theory
Dreams result from brain activation during REM
sleep –> Activation in brainstem, synthesis in cortex
Problem-solving Dream theory
dreams are a way of solving problems; unbound by the normal world’s rules, dreams allow for a different perspective on obstacles
Cognitive Process Dream theory
Dreams are simply the sleeping counterpart of our stream of consciousness while we are awake
Neurocognitive Models of Dreaming
to unify biological and psychological perspective on dreaming
Dyssomnias
make it difficult to fall asleep, stay asleep or avoid sleep
Examples: insomnia, narcolepsy, & sleep apnea
Parasomnias
abnormal movement or behaviors during sleep
Examples: night terrors & sleep walking
Insomnia
difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep
Narcolepsy
lack of voluntary control over onset of sleep
Cataplexy
loss of muscle control and sudden intrusion of REM sleep during waking hours
Sleep paralysis
sensation of being awake and unable to move despite being awake
Hypnagogic & hypnopompic hallucinations
hallucinations when going to sleep or waking up
Sleep apnea
inability to breathe during sleep –> often people wake up in order to breathe
Obstructive sleep apnea
physical blockage in the pharynx or trachea prevents airflow
Central sleep apnea
brain fails to send signals to the diaphragm to breathe
Night Terrors
periods of intense anxiety that occur during slow wave sleep (SWS)
Sleepwalking or Somnambulism
occurs during SWS
Sleep deprivation
can result from one night without sleep, or multiple nights with poor-quality sleep
REM rebound
earlier onset and greater duration of REM sleep after one is permitted to sleep normally after a period of deprivation
Hypnosis
state in which a person appears to be in control of their functions, but in slightly suggestible state
Hypnotic induction
hypnotist seeks to relax the subject and increase subject’s level of consciousness
Meditation
Quieting the mind for purpose. Used for relief of anxiety
Depressants
Reduce nervous system activity –>sensation of relaxation and reduced anxiety (increases GABA activity)
-Examples: Alcohol, Barbiturates, and Benzodiazepines
Alcohol myopia
short-sighted view of the world
Stimulants
Cause an increase in arousal of the nervous system by increasing frequency of action potentials
-Examples: Amphetamines, cocaine, and ecstasy
opiates/opioids
Causes decreased reaction to pain and sense of euphoria
-Examples: Heroin, morphine, opium, oxycodone & hydrocodone
Hallucinogens
Causes distortion of reality and fantasy, enhancement of sensory experiences and introspection
Examples: LSD, peyote, mescaline, ketamine
Mesolimbic reward pathway
Normally involved in motivation and emotional response. Its activation accounts for the positive reinforcement of substance use
Other three pathways: Nucleus accumbens, ventral tegmental area and medial forebrain bundle
Attention
Concentrating on one aspect of the sensory environment
Selective attention
Allows one to pay attention to particular stimulus while determining if additional stimuli in the background require attention.
Divided attention
ability to perform multiple tasks at the same time
Controlled processing
Requires attention/effort. Used for most new or difficult tasks
Automatic processing
Muscle memory. Can be used for familiar/routine tasks
Language: Phonology
actual sound of language
Language: Phenomes
speech sounds
Categorical Perception
ability to make distinction between whether or not speech sounds represent a change in meaning of language
Language: Morphology
structure of words
Language: Morphemes
building blocks of words
Language: Semantics
association of meaning with a word
Language: Syntax
how words are put together to form sentences
Language: Pragmatics
dependence of language context and preexisting knowledge
Nativist (Biological) Language Theory
- Noam Chomsky
- Existence of innate capacity for language
Transformation grammer
changes in word order that retain the same meaning
Language acquisition device (LAD)
theoretical pathway in brain that allows infants to process and absorb language rules (used with innate ability)
Language: Critical period
language acquisition is prime between two years and puberty
Language: Sensitive period
time when environmental input has maximal effect on the development of an ability
Learning (Behaviorist) Language Theory
- B.F Skinner
- Language acquisition is controlled by operant conditioning and reinforcement by parents/caregivers
Social Interactionist Language Theory
Language development is
caused by a motivation to communicate and interact
with others.
Whorfian Hypothesis/Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis
our perception of reality is determined by the content of language
Broca’s area
Produces speech
Wernicke’s area
Language comprehension
Arcuate fasciculus
connects Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas; allows connection between speech production and language comprehension
Aphasia
deficit of language production or comprehension
Broca’s (expressive) aphasia
difficult to generate speech
Wernicke’s (receptive) aphasia
lack of comprehension of speech
Conduction Aphasia
cannot repeat words
