GTPSY, Cognition Flashcards
How is consciousness selective?
Selective attention is the highest level of consciousness. It’s when we are fully aware and focused on what we have selected to pay attention to.
How is consciousness continuous?
Consciousness appears to be continuous while we are awake and alert, but is actually broken up into discrete intervals.
How is consciousness changing?
Consciousness can change for different reasons, such as drugs and hypnosis
List the states of consciousness
Selective attention
Divided attention
Daydreaming
Meditative state
Hypnotised
Asleep
Anaesthetised
Unconscious (coma)
Give two examples of selective attention
Focusing on a hard level of a video game and not noticing when somebody is talking to you
Reading a book and not taking notice to music playing in the background
What is the difference between habituation and dishabituation?
Habituation is a decrease in attention when a stimulus is repeated, and dishabituation occurs when there is a change in stimulus causing a full response.
What is meant by divided attention?
Divided attention is attending to and undertaking two different activities/sources of information at the same time.
What occurs during daydreaming and how can this state of consciousness be useful?
Daydreaming is an altered state of consciousness characterised by a shift in concentration from external stimuli to internal thoughts feelings, memories and images. It is useful because it can be a state of mental rehearsal.
Define meditation, give examples of it and explain why it is beneficial.
A purposely induced altered state of consciousness characterized by deep physical and mental relaxation. If you are meditating, you may have a reduced awareness of the external world as they focus on their internal environment. It can be used as a pain-control mechanism because it reduces
Describe hypnosis
Hypnosis is a sleep-like state of deep relaxation. It’s characterized by narrowed attention and an increased openness to suggestion.
What are the stages of sleep?
Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
Stage 4
REM
What are the physiological responses to states of consciousness and how are they measured?
Brain waves, heart rate, body temperature and electrical conductivity of the skin.
Define cognition.
Cognition is thinking and reasoning.
What are the three types of memory?
Sensory memory, short-term memory (aka working memory) and long-term memory
What are the two major types of sensory memory?
Iconic (visual)
Echoic (sound)
How does information stay in the short-term memory?
Rehearsal
What is elaborative memory rehearsal?
Elaborative rehearsal is a memory technique that involves thinking about the meaning of the term to be remembered, instead of simply repeating the word over and over.
What is maintenance memory rehearsal?
This method usually refers to repeating the information without thinking of the context or meaning of the information.
What are the 2 major types of long-term memory?
Implicit
Explicit/Declarative
Why is procedural memory nondeclarative (implicit) and give an example.
Your procedural memory takes over and allows you to perform the skill without thinking about it. For example, learning how to drive or ride a bike.
What are the 2 declarative (explicit) types of memories?
Semantic memory refers to factual information (general knowledge)
Episodic memory refers to autobiographical information as to where and when an event happened
Examples of semantic memory
Remembering birthdays of family members
Examples of episodic memory
Recalling a vacation from years ago, remembering your first kiss
How do mnemonics work?
It’s a learning technique that uses different strategies to encode and retrieve new information.
How does chunking work?
Chunking refers to the process of taking individual pieces of information and grouping them into larger units
What is repetition?
The act of saying or doing something again, as it’s quicker to learn material the 2nd time.
