The brain and cognition 11.2

Question 1

Sensation

Answer 1

stimuli information detected by the sensory receptors in our nervous system

Question 2

perception

Answer 2

Perception is how the brain interprets stimuli, shaped by experiences and mood, so people may react differently to the same thing.

Question 3

Memory

Answer 3

a mental record of events.
-Sensory memory
-Short-term memory
-Long-term memory

Question 4

Sensory memory

Answer 4

memory being brought in by the senses at a given moment.
Is stored for only ~5 seconds
Allows you to perceive the environment around you with details including temperature, sound and touch.
Allows you to remember syllables long enough to understand words.
Details that you pay attention to can be stored in your short-term memory.

Question 5

Short-term memory

Answer 5

Hold information for ~30 seconds
Store information that you are working with – hence, also known as working memory.
Information that is rehearsed may be stored in the long-term memory.

Question 6

Improving memory

Answer 6

Chunking
Contextual clues
Rehearsal

Question 6

Long-term memory

Answer 6

store information for your lifetime.
All of the knowledge that you remember is stored in your long-term memory.
In order for a memory to used, it is moved to the short-term memory. This is known as retrieval.
Memories that are not regularly retrieved may become blurred.

Question 7

Chunking

Answer 7

grouping information together to improve short-term memory.

Question 8

contextual clues

Answer 8

memory is better in the context/ environment it was learnt in
E.g. sitting your exam in the same room/seat where you first learned the information

Question 9

Learning

Answer 9

change in behavior or attitude.
Classical conditioning
Operant conditioning
Observational learning

Question 10

rehearsal

Answer 10

Maintenance rehearsal – repeating information verbally/mentally
Elaborate rehearsal – linking information through stories, mind-maps or pictures

Question 11

Classical conditioning

Answer 11

process where an unrelated stimulus is taught to bring about a response.

Question 12

Operant conditioning

Answer 12

Reinforcement – encouraging desired behavior
Positive reinforcement: reward/praise is given
Negative reinforcement: negative consequences/stimuli removed

Punishment – discouraging unwanted behavior
Positive punishment: unpleasant stimuli is given
Negative punishment: reward/praise is removed

Question 13

Observational Learning

Answer 13

people copy behaviors displayed by others, particularly children emulating the behavior of adults – monkey see, monkey do!
E.g children who saw adults playing violently with a bobo doll did the same, while the children who did not observe violent behavior played nicely with it