Cognitive Psychology and Language: Key Concepts and Heuristics

Affordances

Possible actions an object allows.

Signifiers

Clues indicating how to use an affordance.

Feedback

System response showing whether an action worked.

Mapping

Relationship between controls and their effects.

Forcing functions

Design features that prevent incorrect actions.

Gulf of execution

Problem of figuring out how to operate a device.

Gulf of evaluation

Problem of interpreting whether an action worked.

Knowledge in the world

Environmental cues that help solve the gulfs.

Knowledge in the head

Prior knowledge and experience used to solve the gulfs.

Anchoring and adjustment heuristic

Relying too heavily on an initial value and insufficiently adjusting.

Confirmation bias

Tendency to seek evidence supporting beliefs while ignoring contradictions.

Recognition heuristic

Choosing the recognized option over an unrecognized one.

Fluency heuristic

Items that are easier to process feel more true or preferable.

Antecedent

The "if" part of a conditional statement.

Consequent

The "then" part of a conditional statement.

Modus ponens

If P then Q; P is true → Q is true.

Modus tollens

If P then Q; Q is false → P is false.

Affirming the consequent

Invalid: If P then Q; Q → P.

Denying the antecedent

Invalid: If P then Q; not P → not Q.

Wason card problem

Hard abstract logic task; easier when familiar; shows reasoning uses schemas.

Sensitivity

True positive rate.

Specificity

True negative rate.

Base rate

How common a condition is in the population.

Base rate neglect

Ignoring base rates when judging probabilities.

Normative theories

Theories of optimal or rational decision-making.

Expected value

Choose option with highest mathematical payoff.

Expected utility

Choose option maximizing personal satisfaction.

Framing effects

Decisions change based on presentation or wording.

Algorithm

Guaranteed step-by-step procedure.

Heuristic

Mental shortcut; fast but error-prone.

Maximizing

Seeking the best; leads to less happiness.

Satisficing

Seeking "good enough"; leads to more happiness.

Nudge

Choice architecture that guides decisions without restricting freedom.

Whorfian hypothesis

Language influences thought.

Phonemes

Smallest sound units that change meaning.

Morphemes

Smallest units of meaning.

Free morphemes

Words that stand alone.

Bound morphemes

Must attach to another word (e.g. -s).

Competence

Knowledge of language rules.

Performance

Actual language use.

Prosody

Rhythm, pitch, and intonation of speech.

Registers

Styles of speech (formal/informal).

Accents

Pronunciation differences.

Dialects

Variations in grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation.

Pidgin

Simplified language between groups.

Creole

Pidgin that becomes a native language.

Animal language ability

Limited; no full grammar or recursion.

ChatGPT language ability

Uses patterns; no meaning, grounding, intentions.

Arbitrariness

Words have no inherent connection to meaning.

Structure

Rules constrain how language elements combine.

Productivity

Ability to create infinite sentences.

Displacement

Talk about things not present.

Dynamism

Language changes over time.

Spreading activation model

Concepts activate related concepts.

Priming

Prior exposure speeds later processing.

Categories

Mental groupings with fuzzy boundaries.

Scripts

Event schemas for common activities.

Content-addressable memory

Retrieval based on content, not location.

Hierarchical model

Concepts organized general → specific.

Flashbulb memories

Vivid but inaccurate memories of shocking events.

Neisser & Harsch

Flashbulb memories change greatly over time.

Talarico & Rubin

Confidence stays high even as accuracy decreases.

Episodic future thinking

Imagining future events using episodic memory.

Autobiographical memory

Memory for personal life events.

Reminiscence bump

More memories from ages 10-30.

Childhood amnesia

Few memories before age 3-4.

False memory

Memory for events that didn't occur.

DRM procedure

Related word lists produce false recall.

Recognition

Identifying info with cues.

Recall

Retrieving without cues.

Weapon focus effect

Attention to weapon reduces memory for other details.

Cognitive interview

Uses context reinstatement and open questions.

Sam Stone experiment

Suggestion + stereotypes created false memories in children.

Loftus & Palmer

Leading words changed memory ("smashed" vs "hit").

Imagination inflation

Imagining events increases belief they occurred.

Recovered memories

Often inaccurate due to suggestion.

Everyday memory

Memory in real-life tasks.

Banaji & Crowder

Everyday memory uses same basic principles.

Loftus

Memory is reconstructive and fallible.

Karpicke & Blunt

Retrieval practice > rereading.

Desirable difficulties

Difficult learning improves long-term retention.

Laptops in class

Worse learning due to distractions and verbatim notes.

Learning styles

No scientific support.

Mnemonics

Memory strategies using structure or imagery.

Spaced practice

Studying spaced out; best for retention.

Massed practice

Cramming; worse retention.

H.M. surgery reason

Surgery for epilepsy.

H.M. brain areas removed

Hippocampus.

H.M. impairments

Couldn't form new episodic or semantic memories.

H.M. intact abilities

Working and procedural memory.

Episodic memory

Personal experiences.

Semantic memory

Facts and knowledge.

Implicit memory

Skills and priming.

Explicit memory

Conscious recall of facts/events.

Clive Wearing

Working memory intact; no ability to form long-term memories.

Retrograde amnesia

Loss of past memories.

Anterograde amnesia

Inability to form new memories.

Working memory

Active short-term processing system.

Central executive

Directs attention and coordination.

Phonological loop

Stores verbal / auditory information.