Cognitive psychology - semester 1 Flashcards

Question

What makes memory go from short-term to long term memory?

Answer 1

Iconic memory Echoic memory Haptic memory Haptic memory Others: taste

Answer 2

Visual information --> mental pictures

Answer 3

Auditory information

Answer 4

Explicit memory (declarative) Implicit memory (nondeclarative)

Answer 5

Episodic memory Sematic memory

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Procedural memory Classical conditioning

Answer 7

I remember that

Answer 8

I know how

Answer 9

Personal events - birthday parties, weddings, trips etc...

Answer 10

General knowledge - grammar, history, geography etc....

Answer 11

Emotions - when you begin to associate something with an emotion, children learn to associate happiness with sweets etc

Answer 12

Memory is the capacity to process, retain and retrieve skills and knowledge

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Encoding, storage, retrieval

Answer 14

Receiving, processing and combining information

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Images and visual sensory information

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Meaning (not just relying on sensory input but also making sense of the information

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Craik & Lockhart, (1972)

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Focused on surface level features

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Encoding based on meaning

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Rehearsing Chunking

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Grouping information into smaller units e.g. 123456789 vs 123 456 789

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Memory increases with child development Memory decreases with ageing

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Retention of encoded representations over periods of time

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Unit of symbolic knowledge. You don't remember the dog you remember it's characteristics - you remember rules to improve memory

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Rule used to organise concepts

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Framework used to organise concepts. They are based on experience - we can recognise something as a dog even if we haven't seen that breed before due to past information on dogs and their features

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actively accessing stored information from memory. Bringing stored memory back into your active memory

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- Recognition: identifying previously learned information when it’s presented again. - Recall: Retrieving information without cues.

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Serial position effect is the fact that you recall items in the order in which the occurred.

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people are more likely to remember the first few items compared to middle items due to the fact that they have been encoded.

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people are more likely to remember the last few items compared to the middle items since they are recent and fresh in the memory. Less likely to show the recency effect if the memory is asked to be retrieved after a while.

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The memory is no longer available or cannot be retrieved

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Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon. When you know something, but you cannot think of the word. (Talking about movies and forgetting an actor’s name)

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shallow encoding. When you are paying little attention. Often takes place if you’re trying to multitask.

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inability to retrieve information from long-term memory. Often results from injuries.

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forgetting due to a gradual loss of the substate of memory. In principle you can remember something forever but only if you keep using it.

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Due to the fact that the new information and old information are similar they will compete within your memory. What you have already learnt will interfere with the new information or vice versa.

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Proactive interference - old information interfering with new information Retroactive interference - new information interfering with old information

Answer 39

Skills Knowledge Emotional response

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Learning is the acquisition of knowledge, attitudes and values, emotional responses and motor skills as the result of experiences.

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Observational Non-associative Associative

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Learning by watching others and replicating them. Also known as social learning.

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- Attention: the observer pays attention to the behaviour - Retention: the observer stores the behaviour in their memory - Reproduction/Initiation: the observer must acquire the skills needed to reproduce the behaviour. - Motivation: the observer finds a reason to reproduce the behaviour

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Habituation Sensitization

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You gradually stop responding to a signal that you experience over and over again. Learning to NOT respond after repeated exposure to a stimulus. Adaption to meaningless information

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An increase in behavioral response after exposure to a stimulus Threatening or painful --> sensitization Imagine you to move to a new apartment near a busy street. At first, the sound of traffic might be really noticeable and distracting. But over time, as you hear it every day you start to tune it out.

Answer 47

Learning that occurs by forming associations between different stimuli

Answer 48

Classical conditioning Operant conditioning

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Learn to associate two stimuli that occur in a sequence. Relatively passive and automatic

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‘Organisms tend to repeat those responses that are followed by favourable consequences’

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Positive reinforcement: Presenting a stimulus increases the probability of repeating a behaviour Negative reinforcement: Removing a stimulus increases the probability of repeating a behaviour

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Positive punishment: Presenting a stimulus decreases the probability of repeating a behaviour Negative punishment: Removing a stimulus decreases the probability of repeating a behaviour.

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A more-valued activity --> a less valued activity A non preferred task --> a preferred task Do your homework then you can play outside

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Primary - food/water Secondary - playing , money etc

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Learning through repetition

Answer 56

language production, language comprehension and language acquisition.

Answer 57

The production of spoken, written or signed language.

Answer 58

Understanding what other people speak or write.

Answer 59

Learn to understand, produce, and use language to communicate.

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the study of how context influences the interpretation of language. It involves understanding language in relation to its use in communication.

Answer 61

the study of meaning in language. It focuses on how words, phrases and sentences convey meaning.

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the study of meaning in language. It focuses on how words, phrases and sentences convey meaning.

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the study of the structure of words. Morphemes: the smallest units of meaning in language. – whole words, e.g. CAT or parts of words e.g. the prefix ‘un’ in ‘unhappy’

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The study of the sound system of language. It involves the rules that govern how sounds are organised and used in language. Phonemes: The smallest units of sound that can distinguish meaning in language. E.g. the sounds p and b in pat and bat are different phonemes.

Answer 65

- Operant learning Skinner (1957, 1985) - Infants learn language from experience and environment

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- Imitation: speaking the way others speak - Association: linking certain sounds to certain people, objects or feelings - Reinforcement: getting awarded for their successful attempts at language (e.g. smiles, hugs, etc)

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- A built-in language device helps humans acquire language. - Infants with limited exposure learn language faster. - Babies go through the same developmental stages regardless of the language they speak. - E.g. word order/make questions.

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Bialystok & Hakuta, 1994 - when L2 is learnt

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learning two languages at the same time.

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leaning L1 first and learning L2 relatively early in childhood.

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leaning L2 in adolescence onwards

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speakers can produce and understand both languages.

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speakers are stronger in one language than the other.

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speakers can understand both languages but have more limited production abilities.

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Early age - 0-6

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1. Conceptualization  to decide what to say. 2. Formulation  to formulate the thought into a linguistic plan (meaning and form) 3. Articulation  to execute the plan through the muscles.

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- Recognising and interpreting sounds or symbols - Understanding the meanings of words - Decoding structure of sentences and understanding grammatical rules - Interpreting the meaning of words and sentences

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if a person says it is getting late, while at a party they might be implying they want to leave. - Social and culture context

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(Binet) - The first intelligence scale - Wanted to find which children needed extra support and which children were gifted. - Intelligence is the ability to judge well, to comprehend well and to reason well.

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(Spearman, 1961) - General mental capacity is at the core of different mental abilities - Specific factor  S-factors: allow a person to excel on particular task. - Combination of ‘G’ and ‘S’ factors  individual’s specific intelligence level - He found that just because someone was good at one area does not mean that they will be good in all areas (s factors) - G factor is a foundation of your cognitive intelligence - S factors reflect your specilised cognitive intelligence

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- Cattell, 1963 - Splits the G factor into two different kinds – fluid and ceystlisazed

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- Intelligence is a cluster of abilities. - Propose seven primary mental abilities each is a relatively independent element.

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Gardner, 2011 Intelligence is not a single entity but a combination of different types of intelligence

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- A standardised measure designed to assess human intelligence. - It quantifies cognitive abilities relative to the general population, providing a score that is intended to represent an individual’s intellectual potential.

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- First IQ test introduced in early 20th century. - Identify children needing special educational assistance.

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- Measures five factors of cognitive ability

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- Asses different aspects of intelligence in adults

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- Designed for children.

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- Non-verbal test focusing on abstract reasoning.

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- Emotion can guide problem solving and decision making. - Emotion can guide attention and shapes what we remember.

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- Identifying students who may need special education services or gifted programs.

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- Assisting in diagnosing intellectual disabilities or cognitive impairments

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- Some organisations use IQ tests as part of their hiring process.

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- Studying cognitive development, intelligence trends, and the impact of various factors on intelligence

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Cultural bias Stereotype threat Not a complete measure of intelligence Narrow scope

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- Intelligence has a genetic component, meaning it can be passed down from parents to children.

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Early childhood - The environment a child is exposed to in the early years is crucial. Education - Formal education is a key factor in developing intelligence. Social Interaction - Engaging with others, whether family, peers, or mentors, helps develop language, empathy, and social intelligence.

Answer 98

Consciousness is the subjective awareness of our internal and external environments. It shapes perception, informs decision-making, and drives purposeful action.

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allows us to interpret and assign meaning to what we perceive, helping us navigate the world in alignment with our goals.

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consciousness connects our experiences across time, creating a stable sense of self and a coherent life narrative.

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allows us to imagine possible scenarios to respond effectively without direct experience.

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- Descartes argued that our thoughts are the only certainty – everything else could be an illusion. - The existence of conscious thought itself is evidence that we have a soul

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- The mind (spiritual realm) is separate from the body (physical realm) - Since we can be certain only of the mind, it must be fundamentally different from the body.

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- Consciousness requires a soul, which he believed only humans possess. - Rational thought is necessary for a soul—if a being cannot think, it cannot possess a soul.

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- Understanding another’s conscious experience requires empathetic imagination. - Our empathetic imagination is limited by our own perspective, as it is heavily shaped by personal experience. - We may imagine certain aspects of being a bat (like hanging upside down), but we cannot fully understand others (such as echolocation) - Consciousness cannot exist without subjectivity.

Answer 106

- Objectively (i.e., science) lacks a subjectivity and thus cannot fully capture the essence of consciousness.

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- It is possible to share colour vocabulary with inverted perceptual experience – there is no way to say our perceptual experience is identical across individuals.

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- All phenomena in the unaversive can be reduced to their physical properties. - Consciousness is thought to be produced by physical processes in the brain

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- Consciousness arises from interactions of simpler subsystems – neurons work together to form networks. - E.g. a single bee is limited, but a together they form a complex, organised system (i.e. the hive)

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Random movement: greater access to food Perception at a distance (vision): greater food and predator detection competency Strategic thinking: internally simulating events and goals Active movement: moving towards food via the sense only when hungry (internal signaling) Internal representations (memory): goal states maintained with distraction Language: complex thinking and abstraction

Answer 111

putting off a current award for a future award

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- Consciousness constructs our experience to elicit optimal behavioural outcome – it is not a one-to-one mapping of physical reality.

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- Active, not passive: prioritises what it deems important. - Dynamic: flexibility shifts to new perspectives - Subjective: shaped by individual qualities and experiences - Contextual : interprets perception based on contextual clues - Integrative: unifies sensory information into a coherent experience

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- An epiphenomenon is a phenomenon that accompanies another phenomenon but does not influence it. - Brain processes elicit behaviour, and consciousness is simply a byproduct of these processes – like how car exhaust is a byproduct of engine function. - If consciousness is merely a by-product, then conscious choices may not influence our actions.

Answer 115

The unconscious mind includes mental processes that occur without conscious awareness, influencing our perceptions, behaviours, and responses without intentionality or direct control.

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- Automatic processing - Hidden Influences

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Handles routine tasks and automatic functions, like regulating breathing, heart rate, and habitual behaviours.

Answer 118

Shapes our decisions, attitudes, and preferences without us realizing it. This includes biases (automatic tendencies that influence how we perceive others) and heuristics (mental shortcuts that help us make quick decisions). - Unconscious processes are like an invisible hand guiding much of our conscious life.

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- Blindsight reflects the ability to appropriately interact in the visual environment without conscious awareness of it

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- Patient PS was unaware of everything on the left side of her visual field (hemi spatial neglect) - She was shown two houses and asked, which she’d prefer to live in? - Without knowing why, PS always picked the non-burning house.

Answer 121

- Consciousness awareness and other cognitive functions can remain intact with little to no behavioural output. - Caused by damage to the brainstem (usually the pons) – the brain is intact, but the corticospinal tract is severed. - It can be revealed via eye movements, and otherwise normal EEG, and fMRI activity – like wake-sleep cycles.

Answer 122

- Assessed patients diagnosed as being in a vegetative state and put them in an fMRI scanner. - Had them answer ‘yes’ by thinking of paying tennis and ‘no’ by imagining navigating their home. - 4 out of 23 patients were able to accurately answer intimate details about themselves.

Answer 123

- As you know, there are fundamental problems with measuring consciousness, but this doesn’t stop scientists from doing it. - The most common method for study consciousness in human is by simply asking them—the introspection method. - The study of consciousness in animals often evaluates related phenomenon—like sense of self and agency.

Answer 124

Place a mark on the animal such that the mark is only visible to the animal in the mirror If the animal reacts to the mark, it indicates the animal has a sense of self – dolphins, primates, and elephants pass the test. A limitation of this test is it doesn’t account for other sense of modalities and motivation.

Answer 125

Most common method for studying consciousness - by simply asking them

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- A limitation of the introspection method is that our self-assessments are often wrong. - It is frequently reported that different colour smarties taste different. - All smarties taste the same except for orange.

Answer 127

- You feel more empathy for people of the same race as yourself.

Answer 128

Sleep is a naturally recurring state of altered consciousness characterised by… - Reduced sensory activity. - Total paralysis or suppression of voluntary muscle activity - Distinct phases that serve various restorative and cognitive functions

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Physical restoration: tissue growth/repair, immune function, removal of waste Survival advantage: energy conservation, predator avoidance and environment Cognition function: memory, decision making and problem solving

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- Whenever neurons fire, they generate electrical activity. - Global electrical activity at different frequencies, measured using EEG, reflects the activation of different brain networks.

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- Focused states are characterised by beta-waves (13-30 Hz) - Relaxed states are characterised by alpha-waves (8-12 Hz)

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1. Transition to sleep 2. Light sleep 3/4. Deep sleep

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some muscle tone maintained (occasional hypnic jerks) and slow, rolling eye movements.

Answer 134

Transitional stage between wakefulness and sleep

Answer 135

Typically between 1 and 7 minuted

Answer 136

further muscle tone loss, eye movements stop, and heart rate, breathing, and body temperature drop.

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Sleep spindle: short bursts of rapid brain activity that reinforce motor skills you practice while awake K-complex: large slow-wave bursts in response to external stimuli, helping you stay asleep

Answer 138

Typically lasts 10-25 minutes

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- Reduced muscle tone (but not absent). - Heart rate, breathing, and blood pressure drop to their lowest levels. - Delta waves (0.4-4 Hz).

Answer 140

Typically lasts 20-40 minutes

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- Tissue Repair/Growth and Hormone Regulation. - Declarative Memory Consolidation: reinforces fact-based knowledge. - Immune Activation: defence against illness and cancer. - Brain Detoxification: clear waste like beta-amyloid and restore energy stores to astrocytes.

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- Rapid eye movements and loss of muscle tone (paralysis) - Brain activity resembles wakefulness (beta waves) combined imagery-associated theta waves. - Vivid dreams: this is when most dreams occur, detailed narrative and emotional content.

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10-60 minutes

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Mental stimulation

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Circadian rhythm is an internal clock that regulates when we wake up and go to sleep

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- Problem solving: Forms new associations and aids in pattern recognition. - Emotional regulation: Helps process and dull the intensity of motional memories, particularly negative experiences. - Integration: Integrates memories, emotions, and contextual elements to develop adaptive responses

Answer 147

1. CLK proteins stimulate the production of PER proteins. 2. As PER proteins accumulate, they inhibit CLK proteins, promoting sleep. 3. With reduced CLK proteins, PER production decreases, allowing CLK to accumulate again, promoting wakefulness. - Zeitgebers (external time cues) like light, hunger noise, and temperate influence the wake-sleep cycle by affecting the production of CLK and PER proteins.

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- Impaired problem solving causes difficulties with creativity, decision making and pattern finding - Reduced meaning integration leads to emotional dysregulation, trouble interpreting emotional significance, and increased risk-taking.

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- Severe health risks: Causes difficulties with creativity, decision making and pattern finding. - Memory impairment: leads to memory deficits and learning difficulties.

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- Definition: sleep disorders are a group of conditions that disrupt normal sleep patterns, affecting the quality, timing, and duration of sleep - Sleep disorders typically arise from particular brain areas regulating wakefulness and sleep being overly active or underactive.

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Disorders that occur during non-REM sleep, often involving abnormal movements or behaviours (e.g., confusional arousal, sleepwalking, and night terrors).

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Disorders that occur during REM sleep, often muscle paralysis but awareness or extremely vivid dreams (e.g., sleep paralysis and nightmare disorder).

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Disorders affecting the quality, timing, or amount of sleep (e.g., narcolepsy, insomnia, and hypersomnia).

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: Characterised by walking and performing other complex behaviours in a state of partial arousal during deep sleep.

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 Increased activity in the cerebellum (motor coordination) and PCC (sensory processing) activity relative to sleeping.  Reduced activity in frontal and parietal regions (responsible for conscious awareness, decision making, etc) compared to wakefulness.

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any condition of awareness that is significantly differ from a person’s normal waking consciousness

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Sleep, drugs, meditation and hypnosis

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 Creative problem solving  Emotional regulation and self-awareness  Breaking unproductive patterns and gaining a sense of purpose

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drugs are any substance that influences motor, sensory, or cognitive experience. - They are primarily categorised as either hallucinogens, stimulants or depressants based on their physiological effect

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Neurotransmitters such as....  Dopamine: feelings of reward and motivation  Serotonin: feelings of happiness and well-being  Endorphins: pain relief  Oxytocin: feelings of love and bonding

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stimulants are substances that speed up brain processes – they produce heightened alertness, focus, confidence or energy

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caffeine, nicotine, amphetamine, and cocaine.

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anxiety, seizures, and heart arrhythmia/tachycardia.

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Depressants are substances that slow down brain and body processes – they produce relaxation and dull sensory experience.

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Xanax, Valium, and alcohol (2nd phase)

Answer 166

coma, respiratory depression, and cardiac arrest.

Answer 167

Hallucinogens are substances that produce changes in perception – seeing, hearing, or feeling things that aren’t there.

Answer 168

LSD, psilocybin (magic mushrooms), Ayahuasca, mescaline (Peyote);

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Hallucinogen-persisting perception disorder: reexperience the drug sometime later Bad trips: frightening and disturbing hallucinations.

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- State-dependent memory reflects the phenomenon that remembering is better if the mental state is the same as at the time of encoding (e.g. drunk/sober)

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the idea there is a ‘sweet spot’ of anxiety in producing optimal performance. - For complex tasks (like academics) optimal performance occurs between low and high anxiety. - Test performance follows this pattern – too little anxiety impairs motivation; too much anxiety hurts competency.

Answer 172

Thinking is the mental process of generating thoughts and ideas through internal dialogue, visual imagery, and abstract symbol manipulation.

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- Visual Imagery: The ability to create mental images or picture-like representations in the mind. - Symbolic Thinking: Understanding and manipulating abstract symbols, such as numbers, language, or signs, which represent ideas without relying on sensory properties.

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Inability to voluntarily generate visual imagery. - Pro: Less intrusive memories, potentially less prone to PTSD. - Con: Reduced episodic memory and empathy.

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Exceptionally vivid and lifelike mental imagery. - Pro: Enhanced episodic memory and visual creativity. - Con: Increases false memories and intrusive imagery.

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Only the focus of attention is vividly represented, while peripheral details are minimized

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Less V1 activity than actual perception, leading to ‘fuzzy’ representations.

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- Symbolic representations are aspects of our thinking that do not rely on reconstructing sensory experiences

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Enables abstract thinking Facilitates communication Supports chunking

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a figure of speech in which abstract concepts are understood through comparison with concrete, sensory-based experiences.  E.g., “grasping an idea,” “having a warm personality.”  Metaphors can activate brain areas associated with sensory experiences.

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- Gesturing is the use of bodily movements to convey the meaning of abstract concepts.  E.g., difficulty explaining how to tie a shoe without using hand gestures.  When participants' hands were restrained, their explanations became less clear, and their speech was more disfluent.

Answer 182

Symbolic representations are conceptualized as nodes in neural networks, which are linked to various types of relevant information

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Associations with other conceptual ideas or meanings (e.g. trust linked to love)

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Connections based on sensory experiences (e.g. fur linked to dog)

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- The strength of each link depends on how typical or frequent the association is, and these links can change dynamically based on context

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- Spreading activation refers to the process where the activation of a node in a conceptual network automatically spreads to related nodes – like a ripple effect. - For example, when a concept like "doctor" is activated, it spreads activation to related nodes like "nurse," "hospital," and "stethoscope. “

Answer 187

False memories Participants often mistakenly recall a related word (e.g., "sleep") after hearing a list of semantically related words (e.g., "bed," "rest," "dream"). This occurs because the related, non-presented word receives automatic activation, creating an illusion of familiarity.

Answer 188

Reasoning is the cognitive process of using symbolic representation and logic to draw valid conclusions from information

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- Deliberate and effortful: Involves logical analysis, critical thinking, and conscious evaluation of evidence. - Rule-based Processing: Relies on applying formal rules of logic and structured thinking.

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Deductive reasoning is a logical process in which a conclusion is reached based on the alignment of multiple premises that are assumed to be true. Example  Premise 1: All mammals are warm-blooded.  Premise 2: Whales are mammals.  Conclusion: Therefore, whales are warm-blooded.

Answer 191

Valid - the conclusion must logically follow from the premises Sound - The argument is valid, and the premises are actually true

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Even if we live in a deterministic universe, it doesn’t matter since there are too many variables to reliably make predictions.

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- Multivariate Problems: scenarios with multiple interacting variables.  Interdependence: Variables influence each other, making it difficult to isolate the impact of any single factor.  High dimensionality: As the number of variables increases, the number of interactions grow exponentially.

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Inductive reasoning is a type of logical thinking that involves drawing general conclusions from specific observations – determining what is likely. Example:  Premise 1: Every swan I’ve seen is white.  Conclusion: All swans are probably white.

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Strength: If the premises make the conclusion highly likely. Cogent: The argument is strong, and the premises are actually true.

Answer 196

Abductive reasoning is a type of logical inference that seeks the best explanation from an observation. Observation: The car won’t start, and the lights were left on overnight. Possible Explanations: The battery is dead, there’s no fuel, the engine is broken, etc. Conclusion: The most likely explanation is that the battery is dead.

Answer 197

Plausibility: Capacity to generate plausible explanations (divergent thinking). Best Explanation: Capacity to find the best possible conclusion (convergent thinking).

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our perception of how likely something is to occur often does not match its actual likelihood in the real world - Instead, our judgements are influenced by the quality and accessibility of information in memory

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Our brains use the ease of recall as a proxy for the frequency of events E.g. if you frequently read about plane crashes you might think flying is dangerous.

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The tendency to give more influence to information that is vivid, emotionally intense, or highly detailed.  E.g., A graphic image of someone being attacked by a shark is likely to linger in memory more effectively, disproportionately influencing your perception of the risk.

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decision making is the process of selecting the best option from a set of alternatives to achieve a specific outcome

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1. Alternatives: Identifying multiple possible choices. 2. Evaluation: Weighing the benefits and risks of each option. 3. Selection: Choosing the most suitable option based on evaluation

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- Human working memory can only manage 4 ± 1 chunks at a time—equivalent to 40-50 KB. - Only 1-2% of neurons are actively firing at any given moment due to energy constraints.

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- Anticipating all possible outcomes for even simple decisions quickly leads to an impossible number of possibilities. - Example: A 40-move chess game has ~10^120 possible positions—far more than the atoms in the known universe.

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is the idea that human decision-making is constrained by cognitive limitations, time, and the availability of information.

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Humans seek solutions that are "good enough" rather than optimal, aiming to make quick decisions that reduce cognitive effort.

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- Fast and Automatic: Operates quickly, with little effort or conscious thought. - Unconscious: Relies on reflexes, emotional reactions, intuition, and habits. - Heuristic-Based: Makes use of mental shortcuts. - Examples: Judging mood, driving on autopilot, thin-slicing judgments

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- Slow and Deliberate: Operates more slowly and requires conscious effort. - Conscious and Logical: Focuses on rational thinking, analysing, and evaluating. - Rule-Based: Processes information systematically, often solving problems step by-step. - Examples: Solving a math problem, writing an essay, planning a trip.

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intuition is the ability to make decisions quickly based on unconscious pattern recognition informed by prior experiences – type of system 1 thinking (dual processing system

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1. Schemas: Prior experiences form mental frameworks (e.g., brushing your teeth). 2. Pattern Recognition: Similar situations activate schemas, guiding appropriate actions automatically. 3. Physiological Sensation: Bodily cues (e.g., a gut feeling, increased heart rate) signal potential courses of action.

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- Cognitive Efficiency: Offloads mental effort, freeing capacity for deliberate thinking (e.g., System 2).

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: Intuition can fail when schemas are outdated, biased, or underdeveloped.

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Heuristics are specific mental shortcuts that work to simplify decision-making – a type of system 1 thinking

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The representative heuristic is where people judge the likelihood of an event or situation based on how similar it is to a prototypical example.

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Ignoring the statistical likelihood of categories.

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Believing that a specific condition is more probable than a general one.

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if an event occurs more frequently than normal in the past, we mistakenly believe it’s less likely in the future

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Anchoring heuristic is a mental shortcut that causes people to make decisions or estimates based on an initial value (i.e., the anchor), even if the value is arbitrary.

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The familiarity heuristic refers to the tendency to favour familiar options over unfamiliar ones. Evolved as a survival mechanism, since familiar environments, foods, or people were less likely to pose threats

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Repeated exposure to stimulus (e.g., objects, faces, or ideas) makes it more likeable over time

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people may unconsciously prefer partners who remind them of previous romantic interests or family members due to a sense of familiarity

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people favour things that are easily processed  Example simple brand names and minimalist design logos (e.g. apple, Nike)

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: people trust things endorsed by credible figures  Example: celebrity endorsements or ‘9 out of 10 recommended’

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people are influenced by what others are doing  Example: testimonials and user-generated content (e.g. google reviews)

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people place higher value on products perceived to be rare or limited  ‘Limited time offer’ or ‘only a few left in stock’

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the affect heuristic refers to the tendency to make decisions based on emotional reactions - If something makes you feel good, you are more likely to think favourably about it and vice versa.

Answer 227

A doctor’s likability influences their perceived competence and expertise, regardless of health outcomes.

Answer 228

Positive or negative traits of a person influence how we perceive them in unrelated areas.

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Arousal from one source (e.g., fear) can influence feelings and behaviours related to another source (e.g., attraction).

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Participants related on emotional shortcuts to interpret how they felt, even when those feelings were misattributed.

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- Avoiding harm: humans prioritise avoiding losses over receiving gains - Preserving ego: decisions aim to maintain pride, avoid embarrassment, or gain validation

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People evaluate outcomes relative to a reference point, such as their past experiences or comparisons to others.

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Losses feel twice as bad as equivalent gains feel good.

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Decisions are influenced by how information is presented, even when the facts are the same.

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Confirmation bias is the tendency to seek, interpret, and remember information in a way that supports your existing beliefs, while ignoring or discounting evidence that contradicts.

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People focus on information that reinforces their views  e.g., reading news articles that align with your beliefs.

Answer 237

Neutral information is interpreted to support existing beliefs  e.g., interpreting vague horoscopes predictions as uniquely relevant.

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People have a better memory for information that aligns with their beliefs  e.g., in psychic readings, people remember the hits and forget the misses

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- Ego-preserving: Protects self-esteem by avoiding the discomfort of being wrong—keeps you confident. - Intellectual Stability: Provides a sense of consistency—avoids paralysis by analysis.

Answer 240

Is an ego-preserving bias the tendency to adjust beliefs to resolve the discomfort of holding contradictory thoughts  E.g. ‘Smoking isn’t that unhealthy; I do other healthy things, so its ok’

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Is an ego protecting bias. People attribute their success to internal factors and failures to external factors  E.g. ‘I got and A because I’m smart; I got a D because the test was unfair

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Is an ego protecting bias. using excuses or obstacles to explain potential shortcomings  E.g. ‘I didn’t study for the test, so failing doesn’t mean I’m bad at the subject’

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Is an ego preserving bias. Believing you are better than average in various domains  E.g. believing you’re an above average driver, even if you’ve been in accidents

Answer 244

A problem occurs when there is an obstacle between the initial state and the goal state

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 Initial state: where you are now  Goal state: where you want to be  Subgoals: intermediate steps  Operators: The actions that get you there

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- Problem solving is finding a way to reach the goal state.

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Well defined: Clear initial state, goal state, and operators.  Ill defined: Unclear initial state, goal state, and/or operators

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Reproductive thinking: Following a known pattern. Productive thinking: Insight and creativity.

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- Definition: A random choice is made of the relevant task dimensions, and if it produces a positive outcome, we stick with it.

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If a behaviour leads to a satisfying state, it becomes a pattern that is likely to be repeated in similar scenarios.

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- Pattern detection is extremely important as it enables learning, supports social interaction, and drives the development of language

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- Participants memorized letter strings, some with hidden patterns. - They remembered strings with patterns better because they unconsciously detected the grammar and used it to perform the task

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- The cerebellum is vital for pattern detection and unconscious learning. - During human evolution, the cerebellum expanded more than any other brain region and contains 80% of the brain's neurons

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- Apophenia is the tendency to perceive meaningful patterns or connections in random or unrelated data. - This occurs because our brain is wired to recognize patterns as a survival and problem-solving mechanism.

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- Pareidolia is a specific type of apophenia, where individuals see familiar patterns, such as faces, in abstract or random objects. - This happens because our brains are specifically wired to detect faces, a skill essential for social interaction and survival

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- Insight is the emergence of a clear understanding of a problem; it is typically preceded by a period of incubation. - Insight depends on a reframing of the problem to determine what is relevant. - Insight can evoke an ‘a-ha!’ experience; an emotional reaction that occurs at a moment of a sudden solution

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- The process of defining the basis of a problem in a way that serves to influence how the problem is evaluated. - Context often informs the frames that we should be using. - Finding the correct frame can make the solutions immediately clear - Different frames make us view things differently

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Mental set entrenchment occurs when our mental frames limit our ability to find a solution to a problem. - While prior learning and context can help us solve problems, they can also hinder us when the problem deviates from familiar patterns. For example, the nine-dot problem is often framed as "connect the dots," which can restrict our thinking. - Overcoming mental set entrenchment is done through restructuring—the process of viewing a problem from a new perspective, allowing for creative solutions.

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functional fixedness occurs when one fails to see any object in any other way than how it is typically used

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Creativity is the ability to generate novel ideas, solutions, and products by combining existing knowledge, experience, and resources.

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The ability to generate many ideas.

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The ability to evaluate and refine ideas to determine the most relevant or practical ones.

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The ability to connect two ideas that are far apart in conceptual space.

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A personality trait characterized by subclinical traits associated with schizophrenia.

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The capacity to make a high number of connections between ideas, reflecting an extreme capacity for divergent thinking.

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Evaluates and refines ideas (i.e., convergent thinking).

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Generates ideas through unconstrained thought (i.e., divergent thinking)

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Coordinates and shifts activity between these networks.

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 Processes close semantic associations (e.g., Swiss-cake-cottage) (cheese is the linking word)  Supports language and logical structure

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 Processes remote semantic associations (e.g., wise-work-tower) (clock is the linking word)  Supports insight, creativity, and humour - Remote associations require novelty; as associations become more familiar or conventical, they shift to left hemisphere processing