Exam 2 Flashcards
1
Q
Sensation
A
the processing of basic information from the external world by the sensory receptors in the sense organs and brain
• all signals are physical energy
• transduction
2
Q
transduction
A
- conversion of energy
* sensory organs receiving stimulus energy from the environment, then transducing that energy into neural stimuli
3
Q
perception
A
the organization, identification, and interpretation of a sensation in order to form a mental representation
4
Q
“bottom-up” vs “top-down”
A
sensation vs. perception
5
Q
psychophysics
A
- look at different influences on our ability to perceive and notice stimuli
- study of physical characteristics of stimuli and how we perceive them
6
Q
absolute threshold
A
minimum needed to detect on 50% of trails
7
Q
just noticeable difference (JND)
A
the minimal change in a stimulus that can detected 50 % of the time (ex: do you notice the difference in weight)
8
Q
Webers Law
A
- the JND of a stimulus is a constant proportion regardless of the intensity of the stimulus
- proportional inc. in stimulus for JND is the same regardless of signal intensity
9
Q
Weber Fraction
A
the likelihood of perceiving a stimulus change is proportional to the magnitude of the stimulus
10
Q
signal detection theory
A
- stimulus present and they hit it (hit)
- stimulus present and they miss it (miss)
- no stimulus present and they say there’s one (false alarm)
- no stimulus present and they say there wasn’t one (correct rejection)
11
Q
liberal bias
A
more likely to say there was a stimulus
12
Q
conservative bias
A
more likely to say no
13
Q
adaptation
A
• stop noticing a stimulus that remains constant over time or has enhanced detection of stimulus changing
• Helps our sensory systems notice a change
>Ignores unhelpful info
>Optimize sensitivity
14
Q
visible light
A
(small) a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that is visible
15
Q
3 physical properties of light
A
- wavelength
- amplitude
- purity
16
Q
wavelength
A
- determines the experience of color // color we see based on the frequency
- the distance between any two consecutive crests or troughs of a wave
17
Q
amplitude
A
- brightness/intensity
* height of the crests of a wave
18
Q
purity
A
19
Q
ratio, rods to cones
A
20:1
20
Q
fovea
A
only contains cones, rods are more on the periphery
21
Q
cones vs rods
A
- cones have more direct connections to neutral cells than rods do
- cones have higher acuity whereas rods have higher sensitivity
- cones receive more cortical representation
22
Q
retina
A
- where transduction occurs
- back of the eye
- contains 2 kinds of photoreceptor cells (rods and cones)
- contain photopigments that transduce light into neural impulses
23
Q
rods
A
- supports night vision
* higher sensitivity - able to detect stimulus
24
Q
cone
A
- responsible for high-resolution color
* focus and define, sharp, clear image
25
accommodation
the process by which the lens changes in thickness & shape as it adjects to focus light
• inc. sharpness of vision
26
color vision
three photopigments of the cones
27
why do cones have 3 photopigments?
* sensitive to different wavelengths of the visible spectrum
* respond to different wavelengths of light, that creat neural impulse to produce color perception
28
trichromatic theory
3 cone photopigments work together to produce color perception
29
opponent-process theory
* pairs of visual neurons that work in opposition (yin & yang of color perception)
* information from the cones is separated into 3 sets of opposing colors
* red = green, blue = yellow, black = white
* when you stare at a color your cones adapt to the color and then after you stare long enough you will see an after image of the opposing color
30
depth perception
* monocular cues
* binocular cues
* as distance is gained you see the whole image rather than the details
31
monocular cues
aspects of a scene that yield information about depth when viewed with only ONE EYE
• texture gradient, linear perspective, interposition, relative height, relative size, relative motion
32
binocular disparity
the difference in the retinal images of the TWO EYES that provides information about depth
33
cones --->
| rods ----->
- ---> bipolar cells
| - ---> ganglion cells
34
entire color sectrum is percevied as
black
35
objects that reflect the entire color specturm are perceived as
white
36
monocular cues of relative size
• perceive depth from knowing the relative size of objects
37
relative motion
looking out the window: things close appear to be moving fast, where things further away appear to be moving slower
38
Higher-level Vision: Object Identification and Localization
The brain processes and organizes the data it receives from the retina through hierarchical analysis
• Increasingly higher levels of the brain create increasingly more complete representations of what is sensed
39
Once the neural impulse leaves the eye where does it go?
Optic nerve ---> crosses at optic chiasm ---> lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) in thalamus ---> visual cortex
40
Thalmus
relay station for all senses except for olfaction
41
Objects in the right visual field stimulate =
left half of each retina
42
Objects in the left visual field stimulate =
right half of each retina
43
first stop of information coming in
Area V1 of visual cortex-feature detectors (piecing together what the object is)
44
Hubel & Wiesel experiment
presenting different shapes and colors, sliding glass, the edge of the glass is what triggered the neral firing, which is how they found feature detectors
45
Feature detectors
* respond to edges, lines, and curves
| * building blocks to create the perceptual experience of the object
46
Primary visual cortex (where V1 is) information goes to
the visual association cortex
| • bring the information together from lower levels to build up to the perception of the object
47
Visual association cortex
* regions of the brain where objects are reconstructed from feature detectors and prior knowledge
* top-down - existing knowledge and experience
48
The “What” and “Where” Pathways in the visual Brain (as we go farther up in interpreting):
* Ventral stream (“what”) - identifying objects // underside of temporal lobe // recognizing objects and faces
* Dorsal stream (“where”) - localizing objects // on top and goes into the parietal lobe
49
Damage to the ventral stream
we are unable to identify objects by sight (visual-form agnosia)
50
Damage to dorsal stream
difficulty with our goal-directed behavior towards objects (unable to guide reach)
51
Prosopagnosia (damage to ventral stream)
where we don’t recognize faces
52
Properties of sound:
hearing, sound waves
53
Hearing
* involves the detection of sound waves or changes in air pressure unfolding over time
* auditory system detecting sound waves (changes in pressure)
* tiny vibrations detected by the ear
54
Sound waves
involve qualities of • FREQUENCY (pitch - high or low a sound is) - measured in Hz
• AMPLITUDE (loudness/intensity) - measured in dB
• TIMBRE = experience of sound quality or resonance (ex. Same note or frequency on different instruments)
55
Three parts of the ear with different functions
the outer ear, middle ear, inner ear
56
outer ear
• pinna: collects soundwaves
57
middle ear
* transmits the vibrations that are created by the sound waves (conduct/ pass along energy)
* eardrum/ tympanic membrane
* ossicles = hammer, anvil, and stirrup - connected to oval window of cochlea
58
inner ear
• transduction into neural impulses in COCHLEA (basilar membrane, transduction)
59
cochlea
a fluid-filled tube in the inner ear
60
Oval window responds to:
higher frequency sounds
61
Other end of cochlea responds to
lower frequency sounds
62
Basilar membrane
lines the cochlea where the auditory cilia (“hair cells”) are located
63
“Hair cells”
trigger neural impulses
64
Pitch perception
frequency theory & place theory (needed to account for our hearing of different frequencies)
65
frequency theory
the brain uses the frequency of auditory sensory neuron firing to indicate pitch
66
place theory
different pitches arise from stimulation at different places along the basilar membrane
67
amplitude perception
higher-amplitude vibrations cause greater stimulation in the basilar membrane, which corresponds to us perceiving a louder sound
68
tonotopic organization
(primary auditory cortex) the arrangement of the auditory cortex-nearby frequencies (that are similar to each other) are processed near each other in the brain
• results in sound map
69
sound localization
Hearing Where: having two ears allows for comparison to localize sound (interaural timing & interaural intensity)
70
Interaural timing
when the sound reaches each ear (sound enters right ear, sound is coming from the right side)
71
Interaural Intensity
loudness of sound in each ear (sound starts on the right, sounds softer to the left ear)
72
Two main causes of hearing loss:
1. Conductive hearing loss
| 2. sensorineural hearing loss
73
sensorineural hearing loss
Damage to any of the structures (transduction cannot occur)
74
conductive hearing loss
vibration cannot be conducted
75
sense of smell - olfaction
* chemical sense, where we absorb odor molecules
| * epithelium & olfactory bulb & primary olfactory cortex
76
olfactory cilia
trigger neural impulses, specific odor molecules bind to specific receptor proteins on hair cells (embedded in epithelium)
77
epithelium
mucous membrane in the nasal cavity that contains the olfactory receptor neurons
78
olfactory bulb
structure just above the nasal cavity where information is communicated to the primary olfactory cortex (glomeruli)
79
glomeruli
a spherical cluster of neurons in the olfactory bulb, takes the information to the olfactory cortex
80
primary olfactory cortex
* located in the anterior temporal lobe
| * rich connections to the amygdala and hippocampus link olfaction to emotion and memory
81
Chapter 5
Consciousness, Attention
82
consciousness
* your moment-by-moment awareness of your internal and external world
* “Consciousness is what makes the mind-body problem really intractable. Without consciousness, the mind-body problem would be much less interesting” - Ted Nagel
* lets us think about past, present, future
83
Mind-body problem (Descartes)
how the brain as matter is related to the mind and the body (non-physical - thoughts and feelings) (material - bind, and body)
84
EGG (brain activity) precedes conscious decision-EMG (motor action)
a supported link between brain and behavior (in contrast to dualism perspective that they are separate)
• EEG - time from when moving the finger was thought-about to when it happens
• EMG - Time muscle movement
• consciousness is the link between brain activity and the actual movement (can’t track the will)
85
Two aspects of consciousness:
1. Arousal
| 2. Awareness
86
Arousal
a person’s level of wakefulness or alertness
87
Awareness
consciously being able to recognize something (can be sharp when wake but fuzzy when tired)
88
Problems measuring consciousness
can’t observe it, differences between individuals
89
Studying Consciousness - Introspection
the process of examining one’s own internal thoughts and feelings (observe and describe their own thoughts and feelings)
• self-report
• has limitations
90
Limitations of introspection:
* might not be honest
* unable to translate their experiences into words
* people don’t understand the conscious experience you have
* unknown thoughts and feelings
91
Focused Awareness - Selective attention
focusing one’s awareness onto a particular aspect of one’s experience (spot-light: focusing on what the light is on)
• necker cube - observe it differently depending on the perspective taken - shifting mental focus
92
Focused Awareness- Inattentional Blindness:
* focused on one thing/task, we miss stimulus around
* failure to perceive objects that are not the focus of attention
* ex: non-focused driving - watching out for cyclists
93
Focused awareness
change blindness: when people fail to detect changes in a visual stimulus/visual details of a scene
94
"door" study
man asking for directions, as a man was giving directions a door passes through, 2nd man was replaced by someone else, and 1st man didn’t notice
95
Wandering Awareness:
* mind-wandering
| * automaticity
96
mind-wandering
* drifting awareness (drifting away from the present moment - thought stream is coming disconnects from what our senses are taking in)
* can affect performance, escape boring situations
* can enhance creativity, problem-solving, organize thoughts and make plans
97
Automaticity
the ability to perform a task without conscious awareness, attention, or to think through it (brushing teeth, driving)
98
Unconscious mind
we can monitor, understand, and respond to various aspects of our experience without awareness (cognitive and subliminal)
99
Cognitive unconscious
the various mental processes that support everyday functioning without conscious awareness or control
• dichotic listening task - message played only in one ear, then told to tell which message was from which each, but they don’t notice it because they weren’t told to look for it
100
Subliminal perception
a form of perception that occurs without conscious awareness
• people cannot consciously report having seen a stimulus, but their behavior suggests otherwise
• the arrow in the FedEx label (you don’t notice the arrow normally until told its there)
101
Brain bases of consciousness
activation of different brain areas & default mode network
102
Activation of different brain areas
arousal (brain stem) vs. awareness (brain regions in frontal and parietal lobes)
• depending on the focus other brain areas can be active
103
Default mode network
an interconnected system of brain regions that are active when the mind is alert and aware but not focused on a particular task (restful waking state)
• creativity is maximal
104
Self-consciousness
* subjective awareness of self
* Gallup experiment-comparative studies with animals
* is mirror self-recognition self-consciousness’ (doesn’t occur till 12-18 months of age in children)
105
mirror task
used to assess whether young humans become self-conscious and whether animals can reflect on themselves
• if there’s a mark on them: if they touch themselves or the mirror
106
Animals are lacking consciousness (state of awareness)
they are just a reflex machine
107
Variation arousal
the biological rhythm - circadian rhythm & SCN
108
Circadian rhythm
a regular, 24-hour pattern of bodily arousal
109
The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)
brain structure in the hypothalamus that helps regulate sleep and alertness
110
SCN damaged
not good regulation of sleep and wake cycles
111
Aschoff & Wever, 1976
circadian rhythms can occur without the presence of light
112
Study sleep stages - Polysomnography
monitor of brainwave activity (EEG), airflow and breathing, muscle movement (EMG)
113
The stages of sleep
* Distinct rhythm or patten or brain activity, about every 90 minutes
* EGG changes in beta, alpha, theta, delta waves
* Stages 1-4 (but 3 & 4 are combined (deep sleep- restorative)) and REM sleep
114
stage 1
* shallow sleep (easy to be woken - minimal awareness of outside world)
* theta waves (high frequency and low amplitude)
115
stage 2
* k complex waves (high amplitude, low frequency, occur periodically)
* sleep spindles (very high freq.)
116
Stage 3/4
* deeper sleep: restorative sleep (first half of the night)
| * delta waves (low freq. High amplitude)
117
REM sleep
towards the end of the 90-minute cycle that occurs multiple times throughout the night
• when we dream
• high levels of neural activity across levels of the brain
118
Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep:
* rapid eye movements
* brain activity similar to wakefulness (similar patterns)
* faster heart and breathing rates (highten neural activity) paradoxical
* inability to move the skeletal muscles, and dreams (brain stem actively blocks signals to the body)
119
Sleep vibrations - unihemispheric sleep
pattern where only half of our brain experiences slow wave sleep and the other half is awake (keep one eye open)
120
Functions of sleep:
• lack of sleep is directly related to a decline in functioning: sleep constructs, repair, and restores
> boat immune cells, build rebuilds protein and restores glycogen
> may reset overstimulated neurons from daytime
• important in learning and memory
> sleep enhances memory consolidation by increasing hippocampus involvement
121
Lack of sleep
decline in cognitive functioning, more depressive, less concentrated
122
Dreams
* sequences of images, emotions, and thoughts, sometimes vivid and storylike, that are experienced during sleep
* burst of neural activity
123
Why do we dream?
* activation-synthesis hypothesis
* REM rebound
* problem solving
124
activation-synthesis hypothesis
* top down process
* brain attempts to make sense of random neural activity
* fMRI scans of brains during dreaming
* recent memories
125
REM rebound
• we need to have a certain amount of REM sleep, so when we don't get enough the REM rebound creates more REM sleep
126
problem solving
* dreaming helps with problem solving
| * enhanced performance after sleep
127
Sleep disorders
* insomnia
* sleep apnea
* somnambulism (sleepwalking)
* narcolepsy
* dream content REM behvaior disorder (RBD)
* night terrors (sleep terrors)
128
Insomnia
* difficulty in falling asleep or staying asleep
* most common
* good sleep hygiene (what you do before bed)
* make the bedroom about sleep and relaxation
129
sleep apnea
* person stops breathing for brief periods while asleep
* seconds to minutes
* obstructive: more common - when our throat muscles relax
* central - brain doesn't send signals to the muscles that control breathing
130
somnambulism (sleepwalking)
* occurs when the person arises and walks around during sleep
* early hours of sleep // mainly in children
* eyes open
* few seconds to half hour
* not supposed to interfere to just make sure they don't get hurt
131
Narcolepsy
* sudden sleep attacks occur in the middle of waking activities
* complete loss of voluntary muscle control
* triggered by strong emotions (stress, excitement)
* can be treated with medication but patient still groggy
132
dream content REM behvaior disorder (RBD)
* acting out one’s dreams
| * paralysis doesn't occur during REM as it should
133
night terrors (sleep terrors)
* abrupt awakenings with panic and intense emotional arousal
* over arousal of CNS
* occurs during deep sleep (stages 3&4)
* get them back into prone position so they can fall asleep
134
sleep disorders
• cause variety of physical and some mental problems (depression)
135
drug use:
* psychoactive drugs
* drug tolerance
* drug withdrawal
136
Psychoactive drug
alter consciousness and/ or behavior via neurotransmitters
137
drug withdrawl
experience both physcial and psychological symptoms associated with stopping the use of a particular drug
138
drug tolerance
the need for larger does of a drug over time of taking that drug to achieve the same effect on our consciousness
139
Depressants
used for sleep disorders and anxiety - work by reducing central nervous system activity - reduce the effect of GABA
• alcohol: expectancy theory (expect that you will act less inhibited, might lead you to act less inhibited), alcohol myopia (when it affects our attention, react in simple ways or not think)
140
Stimulants
excite CNS, highen arousal and activity
• increase in both dopamine and norepieferin
• elicit euphoria and confidence/ motivation
> via increase DA and NE
141
Narcotics (opiates)
highly addictive
| • related to/ mimmic effects of endorphins (natural occurring pain relief in our body)
142
Hallucinogens
alter sensation and perception
• cause auditory and visual hallucinations via heightened excitation across brain areas
• similar molecular structure to serotonin
143
Marijuana
mildly hallucinogenic
• drugs affect judgment, concentration, sensory and time perception, short-term memory, and motor skills/ coordination
• THC is the active ingredient - THC mimics endocannabinoids - bliss molecule (THC binds to ananadamine receptors)
• medicinal uses controversial - MS, chemo
144
Chapter 7
Memory
| • Just going to encode the information that we need
145
What are the three stages of memory?
* encoding
* storage
* retrieval
146
Memory
Maintain info over a long period of time and access it anytime we need to
147
Encoding
Transforming general experiences into a lasting memory
148
Storage
maintaining memories over a long period of time
149
Retrieval
bringing up those memories
150
Memory is ________
constructive
151
Misinformation effect
episodic memories (personal experiences (episodes) long term) decrease the accuracy of remembering an event, because of other people's memories/perceptions of the event, incorporate other info that wasn’t a part of your memory
152
False memories
* gist vs. verbatim memory
| * same brain structures
153
Gist
the global sense of memory - general idea - get reconstructed each time we receive
154
Verbatim memory
what actually happened
155
Induce false memories
info we are told, imagining events differently?
| • Hippocampus also involved with fake memories
156
Visually imagery
made the implanting of false memories possible
157
Encoding memories
* shallow encoding
| * deep encoding
158
Shallow encoding
* encoding based on sensory characteristics, such as how something looks or sounds
* remember and identify color or font of words - superficial characteristics - occipital lobe
* Temporal lobe - auditory
159
Deep encoding
• encode based on connecting to past experience and meaning
• past experience or knowledge - make connections from past to new
>Prefrontal cortex: reasoning
160
What are the two types of deep encoding?
Elaboration and semantic
161
Elaboration
visual imagery - to support remembering = higher recall
162
Semantic
thinking of the meaning of the word - connected meaning
163
Self-referential encoding
* semantic
* making connections of learned info to relate to yourself
* Does this describe you
164
*emotions lead to more deep encoding bc
we are activating more parts of the brain
165
*amygdala with memories
trauma, negative emotions
166
Two aspects of memory storage
duration and capacity
167
Duration
how long we remember
168
capacity
how much we are able to store
169
The multistore model of memory
three storage levels in memory (sensory, short-term, long-term)
170
Sensory
as we go through info is streaming into our senses,
• Senses being stimulated by the information of the stimulus streaming around us
• Only activation of senses and then return to baseline
• Our iconic memory stores the whole grid but it disappears rapidly
• Focused attention - can remember more
171
Sensory
storage that holds sensory information for a few seconds or less (iconic and echoic)
172
Iconic memory
fast-decaying store of visual information (⅓ sec)
173
Echoic memory
fast-decaying store of auditory information (2 - 10 sec)
174
Short term memory (STM) or working memory
* (5-9 items) keeping in memory without trying to remember
* storage that holds non-sensory information for more than a few seconds but less than a minute; can hold about seven items (+/- 2)
* rehearsal, chunking, working memory
175
Rehearsal
* can be visual
* process of keeping information in STM by mentally repeating it
* phonological, visuo-spatial, central executive
176
Chucking
* creating acronyms for remembering things
| * combining small pieces of information into larger clusters that are more easily held in STM
177
Long term memory (LTM)
* infinite capacity and duration - no limit to how much we can remember
* storage that holds information for hours, days, weeks, or years; no known capacity
178
working memory
* actively keeping it in our minds to transfer to long term (re-processing information)
* taskmaster - keeping it in mind to do a certain task
* active maintenance of information in STM
* manipulation of information for a current task and can facilitate transfer to long-term memory
179
Phonological loop
* verbal
| * repeating information
180
Visuo-spatial sketchpad
* visual
| * seeing mental images
181
Central executive function
* combines information to complete a task
| * allows for manipulation of information
182
Short term memory vs working memory
short-term memory <30 sec
183
re-encoding
Whenever we retrieve information, we reconsolidate the information
184
Herman Ebbinghaus (the early 1900s
Transcience (“forgetting curve”)
185
Forgetting curve
how many of the cards he remembered (dots on the graph)
186
Transience's
it's not permanent - fading of memories
187
Herman Ebbinghaus: Serial Position Curve
* primacy and recency effect
| * U shape
188
Recency effect
remembered words at ending of list better than the rest - remembering the most recent items you heard better
189
Primary effect
remembered words at the beginning of the list better than the rest
190
Amnesia
the loss of memory due to brain damage or trama
191
Henry Molaison (H.M.)
* areas on the inner temporal lobe were removed - hippocampus bilaterally cut
* STM could function
* LTM could not store new memories
192
Anterograde Amnesia
can’t create new long-term memories after damage occurs (STM can’t create long term memories)
193
Retrograde Amnesia
can’t remember anything prior to the damage
194
Consolidation
the process whereby memory store is integrated and becomes stable in the brain (integrating information learned and storing it for another time)
• time-dependent biological process
• boosted during sleep
195
Hebbian learning
* “cells that fire together, wire together”
| * memory traces
196
Memory traces
neurons contain reminisce of prior firing/ communication between neurons
197
Long-term potentiation (LTP)
a mechanism that creates enduring synaptic connection, which results in increased transmission between neurons
198
LTP increases the amount of protein CREM (cAMP-response element-binding protein)
works by changing the activation of genes in neurons and increasing the neuron’s response to stimulation
199
Reconsolidation
reactivation of consolidation by retrieving a memory, making the memory susceptible to change
200
Forgetting therapy
a technique for theory in which memories are (reconstructed when) reconsolidated, with interference, in order to lessen their effects
201
There are two main types of memories
explicit and implicit
202
Explicit
involve intentional and conscious remembering (declarative) - hippocampus
• ex: vacation you took 3 years ago
• episodic & semantic
203
Episodic memory
the explicit conscious recollection of personal experience (your own episodes)
• mediated by the hippocampus
204
Semantic memory
explicit memory supporting knowledge about the world, including concepts and facts (ex: capitals)
• mediated by temporal lobes
205
Implicit
form a memory that occurs without any intentional recollection or awareness (non-declarative) - depends on a range of different memory systems on the brain
• ex: how to type
• procedural & priming
206
Procedural
a type of implicit memory related to the acquisition of skills (unconscious knowledge or recollection of skills)
• bicycling
207
Priming
the increased ability to process a stimulus because of previous exposure (word completion tasks)
208
Flashbulb memory
vivid memory for an emotionally significant event, thought to be permanent and detailed as if frozen in time like a photograph
209
Amygdala and hippocampus w/ memory
brain activity is enhanced for emotional events (negative)
| • due to the stress experienced when these events occurred
210
amygdala
facilitates the consolidation of long-term memories made by the hippocampus
211
Recall vs. recognition
* we are not always able to retrieve the information we store in our memories
* there is no definitive measure of what is stored in memory. It is always influenced by how we retrieve previously learned information
* recall tends to be harder than recognition
212
Free recall
retrieval from memory without any cues to aid your retrieval
213
Cued recall
retrieval that is facilitated by providing information related to the stored memory
214
Recognition
retrieval that relies on identifying previously seen or experienced information
Influences in memory retrieval: mood, state, when encoding information
215
Encoding specificity principle
the idea that retrieval is best when the present context recreates the context in which information was initially encoded
• context (with your environment) when you learn is also encoded into that memory
216
State-dependent retrieval
increased likelihood of remembering when a person is in the same state during both encoding and retrieval
217
Mood-dependent retrieval
increased likelihood of remembering when in the same mood during both encoding and retrieval
218
Testing to improve your memory
* Self-testing or retrieval practice
| * Concept mapping (visual - connecting concepts)
219
Tips for successful learning
* pay attention
* study often - spacing effect
* encode deeply - making it meaningful or more conceptual
* test yourself
* use retrieval cues (studying in the same spot you are going to take the exam)
* reduce stress (cortisol can interfere - stress effects consolidation)
* sleep longer
220
The spacing effect
enhanced ability to remember information when encoding is distributed over time
221
Cognitive psychology
the scientific study of mental activities and how they operate (Thoughts and mental processes determine our behavior)
222
Cognition
* Problem Solving
* Memory
* Judgments and discussion
* Communication
223
The building blocks of thought
* concept
| * prototype
224
Mental representation
an internal mental symbol (Mental image)
225
Concept
mental representation that groups or categorizes shared features of related objects, events, or other stimuli
>Developed throughout life
>Grouped into concepts (individual images that share features)
>Allow used to use prior knowledge to understand and identify new things we encounter
226
Experiences can influence what comes to mind when we think of the group
concepts
227
Concepts are organized hierarchically
* Subcarinate --> specific
* Basic --> general idea (most likely used) (ex bird, dog, banana)
* Superordinate --> all-encompassing - umbrella term (ex animal, animal, fruit)
228
Prototype
The best example or average member of a concept (a prime example that captures a number of characteristics or features)
229
Different Approaches to Problem Solving
People use cognitive processes to solve problems in different ways
230
Trial and error
(never encountered before (ex. Maze))
| • Slow
231
Algorithm
a step-by-step procedure for solving problems (flow chart for solving problems)
• ex. Certain procedures for getting ready in the morning, you proceed through the algorithm
232
HELP: Mental set
a mental framework for how to solve a problem (with more experience, tendency to approach a problem in a way because it has worked in the past -- prior experience to make problem-solving easier)
233
HINDRANCE: Functional fixedness
an obstacle to problem-solving that involves focusing on an object's typical functions (just think about one approach to problem-solving and don’t consider other options)
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Effective experiential problem-solving:
| Restricting
the process of reorganizing one's understanding of a problem to facilitate a solution (reorganizing the way we approach a problem - broadening of what exactly is the problem here)
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Of Two Minds:
Forming Judgements and Making Decisions
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What guides the information we use when making a decision?
• Bounded rationality: the idea that rational decision making is constrained by limitations in people's cognitive abilities
(Rational decision making is affected by limitations that we have - move outside the mental set)
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Dual-processing theory
the proposal that people have two types of thinking to make judgments and decisions (controlled & automatic)
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the controlled system
is slower and more effortful (consciously processing alternatives - an important decision with no time constraint)
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the automatic system
is fast and fairly effortless (overwhelmed, tired, time constraint)
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Heuristics
(come into play with fast processing) a mental shortcut that allows people to efficiently solve problems and make judgments and decisions
• representative & availability
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Representative heuristic
a mental shortcut for judging the likelihood of something (based on whether or not it is a good representative of a given category or outcome)
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Availability heuristic
a mental shortcut for deciding how frequent or probable something is (based on how easily an example comes to mind)
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affect and reasoning
affect and ventromedial
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Ventromedial frontal cortex
unable to evaluate emotional consequences of their actions
| • The ability to associate affective reactions to consequences and outcomes for problem-solving
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Affect heuristic
a mental shortcut for making judgments and decisions that involve relying on affect/emotion (the first reaction to problem-solving is influenced by emotion - not be as effective in decision-making)
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bias =
bad
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People are often unwilling to change their beliefs because:
confirmation bias & belief perseverance
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confirmation bias
the tendency to look for and weigh the evidence that confirms preexisting beliefs (confirmatory evidence over disconformity evidence)
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Belief perseverance
the tendency for people to resist changing their beliefs (even with new information that can disconfirm evidence we continue to believe what we think is right)
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Framing
the particular way that an issue, decision, or set of options is described (just see what's positive about the product)
• Changes decision-makers reference point
• Norms matter
• And.. Loss aversion
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Loss aversion
the tendency to make choices that minimize losses (making a decision that minimizes losses)
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We overestimate our knowledge:
* overconfidence bias
| * hindsight bias
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overconfidence bias
the tendency to overestimate the accuracy of one's knowledge and judgments (overestimating their knowledge) - influences through experience - more experience (less likely for overconfidence) or less experience
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hindsight bias
the tendency, once some outcome is known, to overestimate the likelihood that one would have predicted that outcome
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Language
a system of symbols, and rules of how we are supposed to combine symbols to communicate meaning
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Phonemes
speech sounds (individual sounds that make up speech "hmm")
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Morphemes
the smallest unit of meaning (words, word parts (prefixes and suffixes)
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Grammar
rules that govern the way that language parts are put together (how words get put together) (syntax and morphology)
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Syntax
arrangement of words into sentences
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Morphology
use of markers to indicate meaning (ex. "s", "ed")
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Pragmatics
rules of usage (conversational turn-taking, addressing people of different status, responding, staying on topic)
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Components of language Hierarchy Arranged
* Sentence
* Phrase
* Word
* Morpheme
* Phoneme
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Language and cognition (how language influences thought)
Linguistic determinism (or Whorfian) hypothesis
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Linguistic determinism (or Whorfian) hypothesis
Language shapes how we think and how we see the world
• Ex: color words that we have can affect how we categorize color... But doesn’t change the basic perception
• Inuit has many words for snow... Does it change their thoughts about snow? Perception? NO
Language development:
• infants prefer mother’s voice and native language in utero
• experiment with infant pacifier sucking → inc. level of sucking when the mother is talking
• infants can distinguish between all human phonemes, although this ability dissipates by 10-12 months of age - they only have the ability to distinguish they hear in their daily life
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Milestone - production
* 6-7 months: babbling (produce vowels and constants)
* 10 months: babbling starts to resemble home language
* first words about 12 months
* 2 years: 2-word utterances
* 3 years: producing sentences with grammatical function words (ex. “of” and “the”)
* 5 years: speaking words (stringing them together) similarly to adults in vocabulary and grammar
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Some milestones - comprehension
* 6-9 months: know the meaning of many common nouns
* segment speech into words (Saffran statistical learning)
* 3 years: use grammatical context to determine the referent of a word heard (determine what a word means
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Saffran statistical learning
figure out which 3 syllables that go together more often, than another set, based on the sequencing (ex: “ing”)
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Word learning: Fast mapping
* process of elimination
| * process of rapidly learning a new word simply from the contrastive use of a familiar and unfamiliar word
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Theories of language development:
behaviorist, nativist, cognitive
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Behaviorist
B.F. Skinner, language acquisition is based on:
| • association formation, reinforcement, imitation
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Nativist
Noam Chomsky, innate specialized learning mechanism:
| • language acquisition device (LAD) - born with
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Cognitive
language acquisition based on:
• general perceptual and learning process (ex. Statistical learning- Saffran)
• development of cognitive abilities (memory, attention, serial processing)
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connectionist
gradual strengthening of connections in the neural network
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Intelligence
the capability to think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, reason, plan, solve problems, learn from experience, and acquire new knowledge
> evidence suggests that intelligence is best understood as a combination of general ability (that underlies performance on many mental tasks) and some task-specific abilities
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Charles Spearman
explored if there was a hierarchy of abilities
• found correlation (though not perfect) among many cognitive tasks
• two-factory theory of intelligence
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Two-factor theory of intelligence
general intelligence (g) + skills that are specific to the task (s)
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Louis Thurstone
clustering of correlation disproved g
| • argued for a few primary mental abilities that are stable and independent
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Recent confirmatory factor analysis found
• both Spearman and Thurstone were correct
• correlations between scores on different mental ability tests = three-level hierarchy
> general factor, specific factors, and group factors
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Robert Sternberg (1949 - )
argued for three kinds of intelligence (analytic, creative, and practical)
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Analytic
“componential” intelligence (problem-solving) - using what we know
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Creative
“experiential” intelligence (novel solutions) - through an experience you know more variability in solving new tasks
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Practical
“contextual” intelligence (everyday) - street smart
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Howard Gardner’s theory
multiple intelligences - savant syndrome - goes against the notion of “g”
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Savant syndrome
a syndrome in developmentally disabled individuals (autism) that involves the presence of unusual talents/ abilities
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Heritability
an indication of how much variation in phenotype across people is due to differences in genotype - some environmental effect on intelligence
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Nature and nurture - intelligence
An enriching developmental environment influence intelligence
• families in higher SES may be able to provide more enriching environments to their children
• early intervention programs for children living in impoverished environments
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Mindsets
a set of attitudes or beliefs that shape how a person perceives and responds to the world (fixed mindset & growth mindset)
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Fixed mindset
intelligence is unchanging (avoid challenges, think that intelligence is fixed from birth)
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Growth mindset
intelligence can be developed (think you can work harder and can get better)
