MCAT Cognition, Consciousness, and Langauge

Question 1

Resource model of attention

Answer 1

States that the brain can shift between stimuli if it has sufficient resources to do so.

Question 2

Cognition

Answer 2

The ability to comprehend greats amount of information presented to us daily.

Question 3

Dual- coding theory

Answer 3

We tend to encode the visual and verbal cues to store and retrieve information.

Question 4

How does our brain process information?

Answer 4

We take in information of the stimuli and encode it. We then can use that information for our benefit in other situations.

Question 5

Cognitive development

Answer 5

The ability of children to develop the thinking and solving skills over their lifespan.

Question 6

How does infants learn about their environments?

Answer 6

Through their instincts. Through interacting with their environment with their instincts they develop schemas which are chunks of information that we can store new information in if it’s similar.

Question 7

Assimilation v. Accommodation

Answer 7

It’s how we group new information.

Assimilation is incorporating new information into existing schema

Accommodation is when we modify existing schema to fit new information.

Question 8

Describe piaget stages of development?

Answer 8

1st. Sensorimotor stage (0-2 yrs) - infants learn about their environment by manipulating it. Happens through:

• primary circular reactions which are repetitive body movements.
• Secondary circular reactions which is manipulation of their environment.

2nd. Preoperational stage (2 - 7yrs)- characterized by symbolic thinking (playing, make believe) and egocentrism (only thinking of yourself).
- They lack conservation which is the idea that the amount remains the same regardless of the changing of it’s physical appearance.

3rd. concrete operational (7- 11 yrs) - characterized by a loss of egocentrism and an understanding of conservation.

4th. Formal operation ( 11 + yrs) - ability to for hypotheses in life manipulate variables. They also exhibit abstract theory.

Question 9

What is the milestone of the sensorimotor stage?

Answer 9

Object permanence which is when they know something exists even when they cannot see it. This ushers in representation thought.

Question 10

What was Lev vygotsky theory?

Answer 10

The primary driver of culture on kid’s cognitive development is through their internalization of the culture.

Question 11

Fluid intelligence v. Crystallized intelligence

Answer 11

Fluid intelligence is intelligence that is used to solve new problems.

Crystallized intelligence is intelligence that is used for specific instances (procedural intelligence).

Question 12

What is intellectual decline linked too?

Answer 12

As people get other, they can also experience a decline in activities of daily living ( i.e. feeding and bathing).

Question 13

Delirium

Answer 13

Decline in cognition because of underlying health issues. Once the health issue is fixed the decline in cognition is reversed.

Question 14

Functional fixedness

Answer 14

The inability to use something in a new way, other than the intended function.

Question 15

What are the 4 approaches to problem solving?

• Trial and error
• Algorithm
• Deductive reasoning

Answer 15

Trial and error- trying various solutions until one works.

Algorithm- A formula or set of steps to come up with a solution.

Deductive reasoning (top- down processing) - we use previously encoded information to come up with a solution.

Inductive reasoning (bottom - up processing)- we use information from instances to come up with a generalized idea.

Question 16

Availability heuristics

Answer 16

Heuristics that’s based on coming to a conclusion about something based on how quickly a similar event in the past comes to mind.

Question 17

Representativeness heuristic

Answer 17

ignoring mathematical probability in the likelihood of an event and rather going off based on what you have experienced.

This is called the base rate fallacy.

Question 18

Disconfirmation principle

Answer 18

when we discard an option for a problem that didn’t work.

Question 19

Confirmation bias

Answer 19

Tendency to focus ideas that support preexisting beliefs and disregard those that doesn’t.

Question 20

Hindsight bias

Answer 20

When we think we knew something will happen after it happened.

Question 21

Belief Perserverance

Answer 21

The inability to reject one’s own beliefs even when there is evidence against it.

Question 22

Intuition

Answer 22

The ability to lean on information that has been learned to come up with a decision.

Question 23

What is Gardner’s 8 intelligence types?

Answer 23

Linguistic, logical- mathematical, visual- spatial, bodily- kinesthetic, intrapersonal, interpersonal, naturalistic, musical.

Question 24

What is Sternberg intelligence types?

Answer 24

Sternberg intelligence types are focused on how we use our intelligences.

Analytical intelligence- our ability to evaluate and reason.

Creative intelligence- ability to use knowledge for new situations.

Practical intelligence- ability to use knowledge in everyday instances.

Question 25

Emotional intelligence

Answer 25

Ability to understand your own and other’s emotions.

Question 26

Standford- Binet IQ test

Answer 26

Test to gauge intelligence.

(mental age/ chronological age) x 100

Question 27

Beta waves v. Alpha waves

Answer 27

Beta waves are waves that are characterized by fairly rapid firing and is seen in those concentrated on a task.

Alpha waves are waves that are characterized by more slower firing and is seen in those who are relaxing.

Question 28

Describe stage 1 of sleep (NREM 1)

Answer 28

Characterized by theta waves that has slower frequencies and higher voltages.

Question 29

Describe stage 2 of sleep (NREM 2)

Answer 29

Characterized by theta waves but are interspersed with sleep spindles and K complexes.

Question 30

Describe stage 3 of sleep (NREM 3)

Answer 30

Characterized by delta waves which are characterized by slower frequencies and higher voltages.

Question 31

REM sleep

Answer 31

Sleep that is characterized by rapid eye movement and is interspersed between each sleep stage.

EEG resembles the brain waves of an awake person, but the muscles are paralyzed.

This is the stage where dreams are likely to happen, and some memory consolidation happens.

Question 32

How is sleepiness controlled?

Answer 32

By light hitting the retina and the light amount controlling SCN of hypothalamus to release melatonin from the pineal gland.

Cortisol is related to wakefulness and is highest in the morning.

Question 33

Activation- synthesis theory

Answer 33

Theory about dreams which states that dreams are the results of random neuronal firing of events throughout the day, our brain creates dreams to make sense of this.

Question 34

Problem- solving dream theory

Answer 34

Theory about dreams that states that they’re a way to solve problems while you’re sleeping.

Question 35

Cognitive process dream theory

Answer 35

Theory of dreams that states that dreams are a sleeping counterpart of a stream of consciousness (like about many things throughout the day).

Question 36

Neurocognitive models of dreaming

Answer 36

Seek to unify biological aspects of dreaming with the physiological.

Question 37

What are the two classes of sleep disorders?

Answer 37

Dyssomnias- sleep disorders that makes it harder to fall asleep, stay asleep, or avoids sleep.

Parasomnias - sleep disorders that causes you to perform unusual behaviors while you’re asleep.

Question 38

Describe the following dyssomnias

• Insomnia
• Narcolepsy
• Muscle paralysis

Answer 38

• Insomnia - difficulty falling or staying asleep

-Narcolepsy - lack of control of sleep onset.
Characterized by cataplexy which is quick onset of muscle relaxation and REM sleep.

• Muscle paralysis - inability to move even though you’re awake.
• Hypnogogic and hypnopompic hallucinations - hallucinations that happens when we’re going to sleep.
• Sleep apnea - inability to breathe during sleep.

Question 39

Describe the following parasomnias

• Night terrors
• Sleepwalking (somnambulism)
• Sleep deprivation

Answer 39

Night terrors - periods of high anxiety and sympathetic NS overdrive.

Sleepwalking (somnambulism) -When people do various activities when they’re asleep.

Sleep deprivation - lack of sleep which can have a slew of physiological and psychological effects.

Question 40

REM rebound

Answer 40

People who have been deprived of sleep experience REM that’s longer than normal when they go back to sleep.

Question 41

Hypnosis

Answer 41

A state when a person is under the suggestion of another person (the hypnotist).

Starts with the hypnotic induction in which the hypnotist seeks to relax the person and increase their concentration.

After the hypnotic induction the hypnotist can make them do different things.

Question 42

Meditation

Answer 42

A state of reduced anxiety and stress.

It induces physiological changes such as a decreased heart rate and blood pressure. The EEG resembles stage 1 of sleep with theta and alpha waves

Question 43

Attention

Answer 43

Focusing your attention on part of the sensory environment.

Question 44

Selective attention v. Divided attention

Answer 44

Selective attention is attention that focuses on one stimulus at a time.

Divided attention is attention that focuses on different stimuli at a time.

Question 45

Cocktail party phenomenon

Answer 45

Phenomenon in which we filter sensory information as we pay selective attention to another stimuli until another important stimuli captures our intelligence.

Question 46

Dichotic listening tests

Answer 46

A test designed to study selective attention.

Participants are given headphones and subjected to different stimuli in each ear. The participants are asked to recall information from one ear while ignoring other information coming from the other ear.

Shadowing is the process of recalling information from one ear.

Question 47

Phonology

Answer 47

It’s the actual sound of language.

Phonemes are speech sounds.

Question 48

Categorical perception

Answer 48

When the speech of a word is slightly difference and therefore gives a hint difference in meaning.

Question 49

Morphology

Answer 49

The structure of words

The individual parts of a word that each has meanings that aid to the overall meaning of the word.

Question 50

Semantics

Answer 50

The association of a meaning to a word.

Question 51

Pragmatics

Answer 51

How the context creates different meaning in the word.

Question 52

Describe the three theories of language acquisition
- Nativist
- Behaviorist
- Social Interactionist

Answer 52

Nativist theory- language learning is hard; learning happens through the language acquisition device.

• Behaviorist theory- proposed by B.F. Skinner and states that kids learn language through the mechanisms of behaviorist learning (reinforcement, extinction)
• Social interactionist theory- states that learning happens through social interactions with people who are more adept at language.

Question 53

Whorfian hypothesis

Answer 53

States that language shapes how we see the world.

Question 54

What are two areas of language and speech production

Answer 54

Broca’s area is responsible for speech production.

Werkice’s area is responsible for language comprehension

Question 55

What are the two forms of aphasia?

Answer 55

Aphasia is the inability to produce speech or comprehend language.

• Broca’s (expressive) aphasia- ability to comprehend language but cannot produced speech.
• Wernicke’s (receptive) aphasia- ability to produce speech but cannot comprehend language. The speech comes out incoherent even when they think they’re making sense.

Question 56

Conduction aphasia

Answer 56

Type of aphasia that occurs when someone can comprehend language and produce coherent speech but cannot repeat what someone was said to them because the arcuate fasciculus (connection between wernicke and broca’s areas) is damaged.