Cognition Lecture Flashcards
what did skinner say about language
language is learned
operant conditioning
reinforcement
and punishment
what is needed to learn language
social interaction
what did they say in the past about bilingualism
it would impact intelligence = negative
what does the present studies say about biligualism
that it may have advantages
- dementia happens later on in life
- mental flexibility - advantages by switching languages
what hemisphere of the brain is for language
left
what is the broca area
the area for language production
what is the wernicke area
understanding and making sense of the language
how would broca’s aphasia/non-fluent aphasia impact the person
hard to speak
affecting the production and comprehension of speeh
how would wernicke’s aphasia/fluent aphasia impact the person
difficulty understanding but it is fluent
mix matched words
what is the sapir-whorf hypothesis
perceptions and understanding the world through your language
the language you speak impacts your thoughts
what is the difference between a representation and a mental representation
a representation is anything that stands for something else
like a map
a mental representatino is a hypothetical internal cognitive symbol that represents the outside reality
- analogical representations
- symbolic representations
explain analogical representations
representations which maintain the physical characteristics of an actual object
- the image of a typical princess
explain symbolic representations
representations which do not correspond to the physical characteristics of actual objects
the word princess doesnt correspond to its long hair and big colourful dress
- we use symbolic representation = language to represent our knowledge
what are mental images
mental images allow us to answer wuestions about objects that are not in our presence
- allow us to solve problems and manipulate them in our heads
- if something is upside down, we internally flip it (easier to flip 60* rotated then 180*)
- picturing your room when trying to buy furniture
what are some ways we can organize concepts
- classical categorization
- prototype model
- exemplar model
explain the classical categorization
objects are categorized according to a certain set of rules or certain features
applying a criteria to see if the object fits
- “define attribute model”
- triangle is 3 sides and 3 angles, if not, it is not a triangle
what is the issue with classical categorization
- we usually make exceptions to our rules
- some features can be more narrow/better defining than others (a bird has wings vs it is a verebrate)
explain the prototype model of organizing concepts
objects are categorized according to how closely they look like the prototype which means the best example or most typical/average
- a tweeting bird is the norm but an ostrich is also a bird
what is the exemplar model in terms of organizing concepts
instead of a single prototype or typical image, we have a collection of images that look like or fall into this category of birds - cartoon versions, white bird, blue jay bird, eagle, etc
what approaches fall under the rule-based
defining attribute/classical categorization
what approaches fall under resemblance based organization
prototype and exemplar approaches
what is the cultural differences in categorization strategies
western = taxonomic = rule based
eastern = thematic = relationships (dog and bone)
what are the cultural differences between thinking styles
western = analytic thinking = independently
eastern = holistic thinking (family resemblance) = taking more out of context, broad, bigger picture
organizing many different kinds of flowers based on resemblance or rule based of what a typical or target object looks like
what are the 2 types of reasoning
deductive
- general to specific
- based on rules and if the premises are correct then the overall specific conclusion must be true
EX: all swans are birds, so this swan i see here must be a bird
inductive
- specific to general
forming theories or general rules
- you see 5 swans and their all white so you make a general rule that swans are typically white
what is decision making
selecting the best option
- heuristics; quick thinking
what is problem solving
finding a way around an obstacle to reach a goal
- you are reconstructing to overcome functional fixedness (meaning you can’t see an object being used in any other way)
contrast satisficers vs maximizers
safificers = good enough, less depression, hapiness, life satisfaction
maximizers = perfectionism, worried about regret in the future, less happy
what is the somatic marker hypothesis
insight feelings to help you make a decision
when gambling and lost, now everytime you think about it you get a gut feeling that prevents you from making the same mistake again
what are heuristics
shortcuts or rules of thumb that are used to reduce the amount of thinking needed to make a decision
- allows us to decide fast
- minimal thought and reasoning internally
- often leads to good decisions
but its not always accurate and can lead to errors and biases
what are the types of heuristic
avaliability heuristic
representative heuristic
explain availability heuristic
estimating the freq of an event based on how easily examples of it come into mind
- easier to find words that being with K instead of have K as the 3rd letter in the word
- after reading about plane crashes, you now think they are more likely
explain what representative heuristic is
making judgments of likelihood based on how similar the person or object is to our prototype “average/typical” or your mental sterotype
- someone who reads and wears glasses is more likely to be a librarian than truck driver
what are framing effects
changes in the way the info is percieved bc of how the person presented it
- making a decision given more emphasis on the losses of the surgery vs the wins of the surgey
- depending on how it is framed or spoken impacts our decision - in media and politcs
what are the problem solving steps
understand the problem, make a plan, carry it out, look back and see if the problem got solved if not start again
t/f functional fixedness is a type of mental set
true
- getting stuck on a particular approach to solving a problem
what is the difference between mental set and functional fixedness
mental set = trapped mindset (not open minded to seeing things in new ways)
functional fixedness = trapped objects (cant figure out how to use them in new wasy)
what is intelligence
the human ability to use knowledge, solve problems, understand complex ideas and learn quickly
what did francis galton do in terms of measuring intelligence
he tried to measure it by genes
and thought that only white ppl should procreate to keep the intelligence gene in the pool
minorities should not procreate
was false
what is construct validity
how valid are the measures used in the study
how accurately have the variables been operationalized (taking abstract concept into something you can measure like anxiety, measuring sweating)
how do we know if an IQ test is a valid measure of intelligence
measure construct validity
- concurrent validity = does the test match our current outcomes - does the test reflect the students grades?
- predictive validity = does the test predict future outcomes - does the test predict the student will finish and obtain a degree
how do we know an IQ test is a reliable source of measuring intelligence
test-retest reliability
- should be getting the same results if you are taking it multiple times at different times
internal consistency = if the items in the measure are correlated between each other
what was the first intelligence test about
measure their current mental abilities with other kids
- didn’t think intelligence was fixed
“mental age” the level of performance for that age group
french school system
what was the US version of IQ measuing
lewis terman
IQ = (mental age/actual age) x 100 = IQ
mental age was the performance and then categorized into the age group that corresponded
what is the intelligence quotient
how your score compares to other people who taken the test before you
the average IQ = 100 and deviates lower and higher from there by increments of 15
the IQ test helps us predict how successful someone will be at skl or in a complex carrer
what is generalized intelligence
the idea that one general factor underlies all mental abilities
g factor - general
s factor - specific
after generalized intelligence was formed, what was it then divided into
fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence
what is fluid intelligence
solve problems, adapt logical thinking without previous knowledge
what is crystallized intelligence
solving problems using the knowlegde acquired from previous knowlegde
t/f as you get older your fluid intelligence increases
false
it decreases
bc you start to forget previous knowlegde
what is weschler adult intelligence scale (WAIS)
VERBAL IQ
- verbal comprehension (vocab, similarities)
- working memory (arithmetic, letter-number seq)
PERFORMANCE IQ
- perceptual organization (pictures, block design, matrix)
- processing speed (symbol search, digit symbol coding)
what is factor analysis
a statistical method that looks at how lots of diff observations correlate and determines how many theoretical constructs could explain what u see
- sea monster demo, you cant see under the water so you assume the structure you see and are tested on how many situations you can come up with
what is dysradtionalia
being intelligence but not thinking or behaving rationally
what does the cognitive reflection test measure
how well people are willing to pause and think to relfect on their problems
better performance on heuristics and biases
what are the reasons we fail to make rational decisoins
- cognitive miserliness
- using very little mental effort to make the decision - mindware gap
- When someone lacks the mental tools or knowledge needed to solve a problem or think critically.
what are other ways of conceptualizing intelligence
triarchic theory of intelligence (analytical, creative, practical)
successful intelligence (strengths, weaknesses)
augmented theory of successful intelligence (wisdom )
what is multiple intelligence
proposed by howard gardner - where people can show different skills in a variety of different domains
- excel in one and loss of another
what is emotional intelligence
social intelligence that emphasizes the ability to manage ones emotions, emotions of others, emotional language
can also predict grades - ability to deal with challenges of university exams/job performance
what is incremental theory
where you can always get better
when you get into failure at skl those who have incremental theory of intelligence were protected from the negative effects (low self esteem, increased anxiety)
contrast fixed and growth mindset
fixed:
something you were born with
no feedback taken
gets defensive
growth:
comes from hard work
pays attention to feedback
