cognitive psych final

Question 1

what is emotion?

Answer 1

feelings that involve subjective evaluation, psychological processes, and cognitive beliefs

Question 2

james-lange theory of emotion

Answer 2

our emotions are a result of our interpretation of our bodily reactions to a stimulus – your emotion depends on your “arousal”

Question 3

canon-bard theory of emotion

Answer 3

stimulus triggers emotion and physical reactions at the same time

Question 4

schachter-singer two factor theory of emotion

Answer 4

physiological response to a stimulus causes one to interpret the situation, which then dictates the internal feeling – stimulus –> physical reaction –> cognitive label –> emotion

Question 5

sentence

Answer 5

a coherent sequence of words

Question 6

word

Answer 6

a complete, discrete unit of meaning in a language

Question 7

morpheme

Answer 7

the smallest language unit that carries meaning (eg, the -s at the end of dogs)

Question 8

phoneme

Answer 8

the smallest unit of sound that carries meaning (eg, distinguishing ‘cat’ from ‘hat’ - the difference is one sound)

Question 9

speech segementation

Answer 9

the “slicing” of a continuous speech stream into appropriate segments – the process of dividing a continuous stream of spoken language into individual words or meaningful units

Question 10

coarticulation

Answer 10

phenomenon in speech production where the articulation of one phoneme overlaps with the articulation of the next phoneme. It allows for more fluent and natural speech, as it helps speakers produce sounds more quickly and efficiently.

Question 11

sytnax

Answer 11

the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language

Question 12

prescriptive rules

Answer 12

language rules describing how something is “supposed to be” (rules often taught in grammar class and dictate correct usage of syntax, grammar, punctuation, and style in a language)

Question 13

descriptive rules

Answer 13

rules describing the language as it is actually used by fluent speakers and listeners

Question 14

sentence parsing

Answer 14

the process of determining each word’s syntactic role in a sentence (this process involves breaking down sentences into their component parts (such as words, phrases, and clauses) and determining how these parts relate to one another grammatically)

Question 15

extralinguisitc context

Answer 15

the physical and social setting in which we encounter sentences - ie, the context in which we hear them

Question 16

broca’s area

Answer 16

region in the frontal lobe of the brain, responsible for language/speech production. damage here causes broca’s aphasia, which affects speech production but leaves language comprehension intact

Question 17

wernicke’s area

Answer 17

region in the temporal lobe of the brain, responsible for language comprehension. damage here causes wernicke’s aphasia, which affects language comprehension but leaves the production of language intact (words are a bunch of nonsense)

Question 18

linguistic relativity

Answer 18

hypothesis that language shapes thought and perception. It suggests that the language one speaks can influence how they understand and experience the world around them, affecting cognition, memory, and perception.

Question 19

attribute substitution

Answer 19

a cognitive process where individuals rely on an easily accessible or heuristic attribute to make judgments or decisions when more relevant information is unavailable or difficult to process.

Question 20

availability heuristic

Answer 20

a mental shortcut that people use to estimate the frequency or likelihood of an event based on how easily examples of that event come to mind. When an event or instance is readily available in memory, people are more likely to assume it is common or more probable (ex: If someone can easily think of several cases of shark attacks, they may overestimate the likelihood of being attacked by a shark, even though statistically, the risk is very low)

Question 21

representativeness heuristic

Answer 21

a mental shortcut used to judge the probability of an event or the likelihood that something belongs to a particular category based on how closely it resembles a typical or representative example of that category (ex: If a woman is described as “quiet, likes to read a lot, and enjoys spending time at home,” people might judge she is more likely to be a librarian rather than a salesperson because she fits the prototype of a librarian)

Question 22

illusion of covariation

Answer 22

a cognitive bias where people perceive a relationship between two variables even when no such relationship exists. It refers to the mistaken belief that two variables are correlated when they are no (ex: Believing that wearing a certain piece of clothing (e.g., a lucky hat) will influence the outcome of an event (e.g., winning a game), even though there is no actual connection.)

Question 23

confirmation bias

Answer 23

tendency to be more alert to evidence that confirms one’s beliefs than to evidence that challenges them

Question 24

gambler’s fallacy

Answer 24

the mistaken belief that the probability of an event changes as a result of a series of independent events. Specifically, it involves the incorrect idea that if an event (like flipping a coin) has occurred frequently recently, it is “due” to change, or if it hasn’t occurred in a while, it is overdue to occur.

Question 25

due process model

Answer 25

the theory that there are two systems of thinking and decision-making that operate in the human brain: Type I (fast, automatic, and intuitive) and Type II (slow, deliberate, and analytical).

Question 26

categorical syllogisms

Answer 26

a form of logical argument that consists of two premises and a conclusion, each of which is a statement about categories of things. They are used to test deductive reasoning and logical thinking.
All M are B
All D are M
Therefore, all D are B

Question 27

utility maximization

Answer 27

choosing the option with the greatest expected value.

Question 28

framing of questions/evdience

Answer 28

people are influenced by how evidence is framed. for example, more likely to endorse a medical treatment with a 50% success rate than a 50% failure rate

Question 29

affective forecasting

Answer 29

your predictions about your future emotions (ex: “how would you feel after breaking up with your romantic partner?”

Question 30

somatic markers

Answer 30

bodily sensations or experiences that are linked to emotionsa nd can help guide how people respond to situations and stimuli (eg, “gut feeling”)

Question 31

ill-defined problems

Answer 31

the goal state and the available operators for reaching the goal are not clearly specified (ex, having a good time while on vacation <– doesn’t outline methods to achieve these goals) – these problems are best solved by creating subgoals

Question 32

problem space

Answer 32

a process by which one determines the steps needed to reach a goal

Question 33

problem set

Answer 33

collection of beliefs and assumptions a person makes about a problem (help narrow our options for approaching a problem)

Question 34

experts vs novices in problem solving

Answer 34

experts: often think about problems in terms of their deep structure and break things up into subproblems.
novices: tend to think about problems in a superficial structure

Question 35

use of analogies

Answer 35

people are more likely to use analogies if they are told that using analogies is helpful

Question 36

functional fixedness

Answer 36

the tendency to be rigid in thinking about an objects function – unable to think about using an object in a way other than its traditional or intended purpose (thinking outside the box)

Question 37

hill climbing heuristic

Answer 37

at each step in problem solving, choose the option that moves you in the direction of your goal

Question 38

means-end heuristic

Answer 38

“what means do i have to make my current state more like my goal state?” a problem-solving strategy where you identify a desired end goal and then break it down into smaller, achievable subgoals (“means”) that progressively reduce the gap between your current state and the final goal

Question 39

convergent thinking

Answer 39

an ability to connect ideas which are seemingly unconnected – focuses on finding a single, correct solution to a well-defined problem. It involves narrowing down multiple options or ideas to converge on the best or most accurate answer. This type of thinking is often logical, systematic, and relies on established knowledge and reasoning.

Question 40

divergent thinking

Answer 40

our ability to move our thoughts in novel, unanticipated directions - involves generating multiple, creative, and varied solutions to an open-ended problem. It is characterized by flexibility, imagination, and the ability to think “outside the box.”

Question 41

einstellung

Answer 41

describes the phenomenon where a person’s prior experiences or knowledge can restrict their ability to think flexibly when solving problems. It refers to the tendency of individuals to adopt a specific approach to solving a problem based on their previous experiences, even when a simpler or more efficient solution is available.

Question 42

walla’s stages of creative thinking

Answer 42

PREPARATION: gathering/acquiring information
INCUBATION: when information is gathered in the mind and new connections are formed
ILLUMINATION: a sudden insight/lightbulb moment
VERIFICATION: when the generated idea is evaluated and refined for effectiveness / new solution

Question 43

general intelligence (g)

Answer 43

a capacity that provides an advantage on virtually any mental task

Question 44

specialized intelligence

Answer 44

specifically intelligent in a subcategory (ex, being “math smart”)

Question 45

fluid intelligence

Answer 45

the ability to deal with novel problems (peaks in early adulthood, then declines)

Question 46

crystallized intelligence

Answer 46

acquired knowledge (increases with age)

Question 47

savant syndrome

Answer 47

people with a low IQ who are extremely specialized in a talent

Question 48

unconsious

Answer 48

the broad set of mental activities outside of your awareness that make your ordinary interactions with the world possible. we are generally aware of the product, not the process

Question 49

action slips

Answer 49

when trying to do something, but end up doing something habitual instead (ie, being on autopilot)

Question 50

subliminal perception

Answer 50

people can be influenced by visual inputs that they didn’t consciously perceive

Question 51

qualia/quale

Answer 51

one’s subjective experiences that cannot be conveyed as a first-person experience to someone else (ex, the pain of a headache)