Cognitive Key Terms Flashcards
Internal/External Attention
Internal Attention is a cognitive process that overlaps with other cognitive processes like memory. It is internally generated thoughts and sensations.
External Attention is attention to selection of information/stimuli in the external environment.
Focused/Divided Attention
Focused Attention is the cognitive process of having all focus and attention on one stimuli. Ability to direct attention to a chosen stimuli, and maintain that focus for a period of time.
Divided Attention is the cognitive ability to direct attention to more than one stimuli.
Dichotic Listening Paradigm
Used in studies like Treisman’s Attentuation Theory. Where participants are presented with 2 stimuli and they have to silmultaneously listen to them.
Shadowing
A process used in Dichotic Listening Tasks whereby the participant has to copy and attend to one stimuli.
Broadbent’s Early Selection Model
Broadbent’s Early Selection Model is an information processing theory. It sees the cognitive processing system as a series of channels. Humans can only process a limited amount of sensory information at one time due to an ‘attentional bottleneck’. The attentional bottleneck is the area where capacity for information is reached and it cannot keep up with the demand, therefore creates a mental blockage. When we take in external stimuli, this first registers at the buffer where it is briefly stored. Then a filter selects what is to be processed based on physical features.
Treisman’s Attentuation Theory
Agrees with Broadbent’s Theory to an extent. However, instead of suggesting that when a filter does not process some stimuli and become lost, they are just attentuated (reduced). This suggests that people can still process meaning from this information.
Resource Theory
Kahneman- Attention is a limited resource, it is finite. It can be directed or divided as required up to a maximum limit. This theory is based on the idea of a central processing unit which allows attention to be flexible across multiple units.
Laberge- attention is a spotlight that can be directed even without eye movement.
Dual-Task Paradigm
Participants pay attention to two stimuli silmultaneously. Just like a Dichotic Listening Paradigm.
Baddeley’s Model of Working Memory
Suggests that memory is directed by a central executive that assigns information to various locations. The visuospatial sketchpad is where all visual information is directed. The episodic buffer is the location where information is stored. The phonological loop contains auditory information. Suggests that working memory is multi-dimensional.
Vigilance
The ability to sustain attention over periods of time.
Working memory
Short lived sensory information about multiple incoming stimuli, currently activated semantic concepts. It has a limited capacity.
Prospective memory
Remembering to carry out planned actions or intentions.
Event-Based Prospective Memory
Remembering to carry out actions or intentions when the circumstances are right.
Time-Based Prospective Memory
Remembering to carry out actions or intentions at specific times.
Interruptions
Interruptions rapidly divert someone’s attention away from a stimulus. Following an interruption, we create implicit prospective memories to remember to continue with what we were originally doing. This is usually without explicit cueing or encoding.
PAM Theory
Preparatory Attentional Memory Processing Theory. Successful prospective memory requires us to maintain preparatory attentional working memory response. It is not automatic and is constrained by the capacity of the working memory. Retrieval requires resource-demanding preparatory attentional processes.
Multi-Process Theory
This theory suggests that event-based prospective memory involves strategic and automatic monitoring. As well as this, some intentions will be received spontaneously. Retrieval is multidimensional and event-based prospective memories can be remembered through cueing or encoding or just spontaneously.
Autobiographical Memory
Memory of things that have happened in your life. These memories define our identity, connect our history to actual history and support our personal goals and intentions.
Autonoetic Memories
Dimension of autobiographical memory. Memories about experience.
Noetic memories
Another dimension of autobiographical memory. Factual knowledge about oneself.
Copies
Another dimension. Vivid memories that contain a lot of irrelevant detail.
Reconstructions
The idea that some memories are not accurate and include interpretations made with hindsight. which could influence how they’re remembered.
Generic memories
Another dimension. i.e. location of family holiday.
Field perspective
Remembering an event from own perspective. Observer perspective- remembering an event as if you are observing it as an outsider.
Infantile Amnesia
The inability to recall autobiographical memories from early childhood.
Reminiscence Bump
The inability/disproportionate ability to recall autobiographical memories from adolescence and early adulthood.
Definitional Approach
The classical view. Concepts are mentally represented as definitions. It suggests that all members of a category are equally good examples of it i.e. there is not one that should be deemed more representative or less representative.
Prototype Approach
Suggests that in a category there are members that are more representative than others and are deemed the prototype of the category. All about typicality which is defined as the extent to which an object is representative of a category. If the member is central it is typical. And if it is peripheral it is atypical in the category. I.e. Apple would be the typical prototype in the fruits category, as it is the most common when bringing up fruit. A tomato may by atypical.
Exemplar Approach
Concepts are represented by stored examples alone and there is no typicality/prototype. There is no member that is deemed more representative than another. Emphasises the variability found in all categories. Cognitively, people can silmultaneously apply both the exemplar approach and the prototype approach.
Theory/Knowledge Based Approach
Necessary, as probalistic approaches do not address or explain how people create goal-derived (include ad hoc categories and categories that were once ad hoc but have now become common through frequent use) or ad-hoc categories (novel categories constructed spontaneously to achieve goals).
Semantic Network Model- Each concept of a category is represented as a node. These nodes are linked by pathways. Memory retrieval involves spreading activation.
Typicality
How representative a concept is of its category.
Family Resembelance
Idea that concepts can be structured in overlapping similarity patterns. Sharing properties.
Basic level of categorisation
Superordinate- overarching category i.e. furniture. Basic- a category within it i.e. chair. Subordinate- specific i.e. armchair.
Hub and Spoke Model
A way to explain how the brain cognitively organises and stores information. It has a central hub which is connected to multiple spokes. The hub represents general, abstract knowledge and concepts. The spokes represent specific details related to that concept.
Dual-Process Theory in Judgement and Decision Making
Two Systems.
System 1 includes automatic and fast processing. Triggers the use of heuristics (mental shortcuts or simple strategies that help people make decisions and problem solve). Effortless and implicit processing that is affected by emotions.
System 2 is slow and serial processing which uses rules and algorithms. It is effortful and uses explicit processing with deliberate and controlled processes.
Our brain uses these systems. Suggests our ability to make decisions and judgements is multidimensional and complex.
Bounded Rationality
We aim to solve problems, make decisions and create judgements, however we are bounded by our cognitive limitations and environment. Thus, we are rational within our capacity and limitations.
Representativeness Heuristic
Mental shortcut we use to make quick judgements about something based on how closely it matches our ideas and stereotypes about that thing. Helps us make fast preconceptions, but can be wrong, as stereotypes are just constructions that are not necessarily always true.
Conjunction Fallacy
Tendency to judge the probability of a conjunction of 2 events occurring together than just one of them.
Causality Heuristic
A mental shortcut used to quickly figure out what causes something to happen, even when we do not have enough proof.
Availability heuristic
mental shortcut where we judge how likely something is to happen based on how easily examples come to mind from the long term memory.
Fast and Frugal Heuristics
Making quick snap mental judgements and decisions. No need to overthink. Saves cognitive energy.
Take the best heuristic
Decision making shortcut where we decide on something based on the best option available to us, without considering all options. But this leads to severe biases and a failure to process all information provided.
Recognition Heuristic
Making a mental shortcut decision based on whether we recognise it or not.
Prospect Theory
How we make decisions about risks, uncertainty and gains. We don’t always make decisions based on logic or the final outcome, but rather how we perceive losses and gains. Loss aversion plays a big part in this theory. People are more sensitive and worried about losses. Losses feel worse than gains feel good. Sunk-Cost Fallacy also plays a part where people carry out an act even though it has been unsuccessful because resources have been invested. Framing Effect is very pertinent in this theory too. Situational variables can have major impacts on decision making.
BUT oversimplified theory- what about individual differences and individual factors that drive this.
Blood Brain Barrier
Alcohol can easily pass through the blood brain barrier and this can directly impact brain functioning. Alcohol increases inhibition, as it imitates GABA neurotransmitters. So, GABA receptors become activated and this reduces neuronal excitation and increases inhibition. Blocks the brain’s ability to send and receive chemical messages. Alcohol has many affects on an individual:
Impairs and slows down brain activity, impairs memory, coordination and decision making. Chronic drinking can damage the brain and weaken the blood-brain barrier.
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
A disorder that affects babies whose mothers drank while pregnant. Damages the developing brain. Causes impaired neurogenesis, myelination, structural issues and alcohol induced aptosis. Also, impaired plasticity.
hard to diagnose though, as relies on self-reports from mother. and sometimes hard to see physical signs. can be caused by other factors too like mothers nutrition.
can have major cognitive impacts: early onsent ADHD, attention deficits, less responsive to medication for this.
Alcohol Myopia Theory
Mental short sightedness. Alcohol narrows our focus. This leads to poor decision making, impulsive behaviour and an inability to consider long term consequences. Neglects the bigger picture.
State-Dependent Memory
Alcohol administered BEFORE encoding impairs retrieval.
Alcohol administered AFTER encoding enhances recollection.
Alcohol-Induced Memory Blackouts
Instance of anterograde amnesia. A rapid spike in blood alcohol content shuts down normal processing. But, severity depends on quantiity and speed of intake. Fragmented black outs- don’t remember anything but then start to remember some things due to cueing. En bloc black outs- don’t recall everything that happened and these are not retrievable at all.
Anterograde Amnesia
Alcohol-Induced memory blackouts.
Mnemonic Devices
Comprise of 3 Components: organision, elaboration and mental imagery.
Method of Loci
Visualise a room you are familiar with and dot various concepts around the room mentally and mentally walk through the room recalling different concepts as you go.
Peg-word method
Pre-memorise a set of permanent memory pegs. Hang memories onto them.
Link method
Form images you wish to rememeber and link them to each other.
Memory Athletes
10 different disciplines in the world memory championships.
Used to be dominated by the British.
In 2017, 18 yr old Munkshur Narmandakh from Mongolia won and she was the first female champion. She won again in 2021. Current winner is Huang Jiyao from China.
Visuospatial Processing
Brain’s ability to understand and remember where things are in space and how they relate to things and each other. How we perceive, interpret and organise visual information.
Attentional Bias
Tendency to think about negative situations and stimuli instead of something neutral or positive. Can assess it through dot-probe task.
Interpretative Bias
Interpreting ambiguous stimuli, events and situations as a threat. Can assess through homophone task and amiguous scenarios task.
Combined Cognitive Bias Hypothesis
Different cognitive biases are interconnected. An increase in one results in an increase in another.
Cognitive Vulnerability Bias
Negative life events tend to cause an increase in anxiety and depression symptoms.
Cognitive Bias Modification
To establish a causal relationship between cognitive biases and depression and anxiety. Test if training can be used to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety. Helps people to alter unhelpful negative thinking patterns. Trains brain to think differently.
