Unit 5: Cognition Flashcards
learning
the process of acquiring new and relativity enduring information/behaviors
habituation
decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation
associative learning
learning that certain events occur together
classical conditioning
a type of leaning which one learns to link 2+ stimuli and anticipate events
unconditioned response (UR)
in classical conditioning, an unlearned, naturally occurring response to an unconditioned stimulus
unconditioned stimulus (US)
in classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally - naturally and automatically - triggers a response (UR)
conditioned response (CR)
in classical conditioning, a learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus (CS)
conditioned stimulus (CS)
in classical conditioning, an originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus (US), comes to trigger a conditioned response (CR)
neutral stimulus (NS)
in classical conditioning, a stimulus that elicits no response before conditioning
acquisition
in initial stage, where one links a NS and an US so that the NS begins triggering the CS/strengthening of a reinforced response
high-order conditioning
a procedure in which the CS in one conditioning experiment is paired with a new NS, creating a second CS
extinction
the diminishing of a conditioned response
spontaneous recovery
the reappearance, after a pause, of an extinct CR
generalization
the tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for similar stimuli (to the CS) to elicit a similar response
discrimination
the learned behavior to distinguish between a CS and a stimuli that do no signal a US
learned helplessness
the hopelessness and passive resignation learned when unable to avoid repeated aversive events
respondent behaviour
behaviour that occurs as an automatic response to some stimuli
operant conditioning
a type of learning which behaviours are strengthened or punished, depending on what follows said behaviour
operant behaviour
a behaviour that operates on the environment, producing consequences
law of effect
Thorndike’s principle that behaviours followed by favorable consequences become more likely to occur, and behaviours followed by unfavorable consequences do not
operant chamber
a chamber containing a box, lever, or key that an animal can manipulate to obtain food/water reinforcer
shaping
a procedure in which reinforcers guide behaviour toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behaviour
discriminative stimulus
a stimulus that elicits a response after association with reinforcement
reinforcer
a stimulus or circumstance that produces reinforcement when it occurs in a dependent relationship, or contingency, with a response
positive reinforcement
increasing behaviour by presenting positive reinforcers
negative reinforcement
increasing behaviours by reducing negative stimuli
positive punishment
decreasing behaviours by presenting negative reinforcers
negative punishment
decreasing behaviours by reducing positive stimuli
primary reinforcer
an innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need
memory
the persistence of learning overtime through the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information
encoding
the processing of information into the memory system
storage
the process of retaining encoded information overtime
retrieval
the process of getting information out of memory storage
sensory memory
the immediate, very brief, encoding of sensory information in the memory system
short-term memory
activated memory that holds a few items briefly, before getting stored or forgotten
long-term memory
a relativity permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system
working memory
a newer understanding of short-term memory that focuses on conscious, active processing of incoming information and information retrieved from long-term memory
parallel processing
the processing of many parts of a problem simultaneously
automatic processing
unconscious encoding of incidental information and well-learned information
effortful processing
encoding that takes attention and conscious effort
rehearsal
cognitive process in which information is repeated over and over as a possible way of learning and remembering it
spacing effect
the tendency for distributed study to yield better long term effects that massed study
serial position effect
our tendency to best recall the last and first items in a list
visual encoding
the neural processes by which stimuli seen in the external world are converted into internal (mental) representations that can subsequently be processed and stored in memory
acoustic encoding
the process of encoding sounds, words, and other auditory input for storage and retrieval.
semantic encoding
cognitive encoding of new information that focuses on its meaningful aspects as opposed to its perceptual characteristics
imagery
cognitive generation of sensory input from the five senses, individually or collectively, which is recalled from experience or self-generated in a nonexperienced form
mnemonics
memory aids; especially techniques that use vivid imagery
chunking
organizing items into familiar, manageable units
iconic memory
a momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli
echoic memory
a momentary sensory memory of auditory stimulus
long-term potentiation
an increase in a cell’s firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation
flashbulb memory
a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment/event
amnesia
partial or complete loss of memory, either temporary or permanent
implicit memory
retention independent of conscious recollection
explicit memory
memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and ‘declare’
hippocampus
a neural center located in the limbic system; helps process explicit memories for storage
recall
a measure of memory in which the person must retrieve previously learned information learned earlier; ex. FRQ
recognition
a measure of memory where on e need only identify items previously learned; ex multiple choice quiz
relearning
a measure of memory that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material again
priming
the activation of certain associations, thus predisposing one’s perception, memory, or thoughts
deja vu
cues from the current situation unconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience
mood-congruent memory
the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one’s current good/bad mood
proactive interference
the disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information
retroactive interference
the disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information
repression
the basic defense mechanism that vanishes conscious anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories
misinformation effect
incorporating misleading information onto ones memory of an event; think of a lawyer or crooked cop
source amnesia
attributing to the wrong source an event we have experienced, read about, heard about, or imagined
cognition
all the metal activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating
concept
a mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people
prototype
a mental image or best example of a category
algorithm
a methodical, logical rule’procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem
heuristic
a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently
insight
a sudden realization of a problem’s solution
creativity
the ability to produce novel and valuable ideas
confirmation bias
a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore/distrust information that does not
fixation
a lingering focus of pleasure-seeking energies at an early psychosexual stage
mental set
a tendency to approach a problem in one way, often a way that has worked with similar problems in the past
functional fixedness
the tendency to perceive an object only in terms of its most common use
representativeness heuristic
judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they represent/match prototypes
availability heuristic
estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory
overconfidence
the tendency to be more confident than correct
belief perseverance
clinging to one’s initial concepts after the basis has been discredited
intuition
an effortless, immediate, automatic feeling/thought
framing
the way an issue is possed
language
our spoken, written, or signed words and the ways we combine the to communicate meaning
phoneme
the smallest, distinctive sound unit
morpheme
the smallest unit that carries meaning, such as a word or prefix
grammar
a system of rules that enables us to communicate with and understand others
semantics
the set of rules for deriving meaning from sounds
syntax
the set of rules for combining words into sensible sentences
babbling stage
the sage of speech development where one spontaneously utters words; ~4 months of age
one-word stage
the stage in speech development where one speaks in mostly single words
two-word stage
the stage in speech development in which a child speaks in two-word statements
telegraphic speech
early speech stage where a child speaks using mostly nouns and verbs
linguistic determinism
Whorf’s hypothesis that language determines the way we think
intelligence test
a method for assessing an individual’s mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others, using numerical scores
general intelligence
a factor that underlies specific mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test
factor analysis
a statistical procedure that identifies clusters of released items on a test
savant syndrome
a condition where a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill
emotional intelligence
the ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions
mental age
the chronological age that most typically corresponds with a give level of intelligence
Stanford-Binet test
a widely used American revision of Binet’s original intelligence test
intelligence quotient (IQ) equation
(mental age / chronological age) * 100
achievement test
a test designed to asses what a person has learned
aptitude test
a test designed to predict a person’s future performance
Wechsler Test(s)
most widely used intelligence test
standardization
defining meaningful test procedures and meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested group
normal curve
a probability distribution that is symmetric about the mean, showing that data near the mean are more frequent in occurrence than data far from the mean; aka bell curve
reliability
the extent which a test yields constant results
validity
the extent to which a test measures/predicts what it’s supposed to
content validity
the extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest
predictive validity
the success with which a test predicts the behaviour it’s designed to predict
intellectual disability
a condition of limited mental ability indicated by an IQ score of <70 and difficulty adapting in the demands of life
Ivan Pavlov
russian psychologist that originally studies the digestion of dogs, and later headed the understanding of classical conditioning
continuous reinforcement
rewarded every time the wanted behaviour is preformed, every time
fixed ratio reinforcement
rewarded after a fixed point/number value has been reached; ex punch cards for a free drink
variable ratio reinforcement
rewarded after a randomized number value; ex gamblings
fixed interval reinforcement
rewarded after a set time period; ex every friday is pizza day
variable interval reinforcement
rewarded after a randomized time; ex randomized note checks
socail learning
studied by Albert Bandura and the BOBO doll experiment; we learn from observing behaviours and then mimicking those same behaviours
episodic memory
memory of life events
procedural memory
memory of how to do things and muscle memory
eidetic memory
photographic memory
prospective memory
remembering a future task
shallow processing
encoding on a basic level, based on the structure or appearance of words
deep processing
encoding semantically, based on the meaning of the words; tends to yield the best retention
self-reference effect
refers to people’s tendency to better remember information when that information has been linked to the self than when it has not
overlearning
practice that in continued beyond the point at which the individual knows or performs the task as well as can be expected
testing effect/retrieval practice
the finding that taking a test on previously studied material leads to better retention than does restudying that material for an equivalent amount of time
selective attention
concentration on certain stimuli in the environment and not on others, enabling important stimuli to be distinguished form peripheral or incidental ones
divided attention
attention to tow or more channels of information at the same time, so that two or more tasks may be performed concurrently
anterograde amnesia
an inability to form new memories
retrograde amnesia
an inability to retrieve information from ones past
grit
passion and perseverance in the pursuit of a long-term goal
crystallized intelligence
facts and knowledge that increase with age
fluid intelligence
abstract reasoning, which increases until 21, then decreases
Spearman’s general intelligence theory
“G factor”, intelligence is a general mental ability
Sternberg’s triarchic theory of intelligence
intellectual capabilities are split into 3 areas of strength:
analytical - book smarts
creative - make multiple solutions per problem
practical - common sense
Garder’s multiple intelligence theory
people process information in different ways, 8 types which the education system ‘learning types’ are derived ; discredited by the WWP and highly criticized as just preferences in learning
Flyn effect
the findings that intelligence increases generationally
