Unit 5 Notes - States of Consciousness, Memory, and Cognition

Flashcards based on lecture notes about States of Consciousness, Memory, and Cognition.

Consciousness

Our awareness of ourselves and our environment.

Stream of Consciousness

According to William James, this occurs when we are part of an activity and we begin to flow with the activity allowing us to pay attention to other things.

Dreams

A sequence of images, emotions, and thoughts passing through a sleeping person’s mind; most take place during the REM stage of sleep.

Hypnosis

Social interaction in which one person responds to another person’s suggestions that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will spontaneously occur.

Posthypnotic Suggestion

A suggestion made during hypnosis, to be carried out after the subject is no longer hypnotized.

Social Phenomenon (Hypnosis)

The theory that hypnotic phenomena are extension of normal social and cognitive processes.

Dissociation

A split in consciousness, which allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur simultaneously with others.

Circadian Rhythm

Our biological clock and regular body rhythms that occur on a 24-hour cycle.

Alpha Waves

A relaxed state in which you eventually slip into sleep.

NREM-1

Brief stage of sleep where hallucinations are common and the body may jerk.

NREM-2

Sleep stage lasting about 20 minutes featuring periodic sleep spindles (bursts of rapid brain activity).

NREM-3

A transition period between NREM stages 1 & 2 leading to deep sleep.

NREM-4

Slow deep sleep which lasts about 30 minutes; this is where the deepest sleep occurs.

Delta Waves

Large slow waves that emitted from the brain during NREM-4 sleep.

REM Sleep

Stage of sleep where brain waves become rapid, heart rate rises, breathing is rapid and irregular, and eyes dart around; motor cortex is active but brain stem blocks motions.

REM-Rebound

The tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation.

Insomnia

Recurring problems falling or staying asleep.

Narcolepsy

A sleep disorder characterized by uncontrollable sleep attacks; the sufferer may lapse directly into REM sleep.

Sleep Apnea

A sleep disorder characterized by temporary cessations of breathing during sleep and repeated momentary awakenings.

Sleep Walking & Sleep Talking

Occurs during NREM 4 Sleep and usually occurs in childhood.

Night Terrors

A sleep disorder characterized by high arousal and an appearance of being terrified, occurring during Stage 4 sleep.

Psychoactive Drugs

A chemical substance that alters perceptions and moods.

Depressants

Substances that slow down the central nervous system, resulting in an overall feeling of relaxation.

Stimulants

A class of drugs that makes a person feel more awake, alert, confident or energetic.

Hallucinogens

Alters a person’s perception of reality and changes their thoughts and feelings.

Encoding

The process of getting information into the brain.

Storage

The process of retaining information.

Retrieval

The process of getting information back out of memory.

Sensory Memory

The shortest of our memories and generally holds sights, sounds, smells, textures and other sensory information for a fraction of a second.

Working Memory

Often known as short term memory; the place where we sort and encode information before transferring it to long-term memory or forgetting it.

Chunking

A meaningful memory pattern.

Rehearsal

The process of repeating information so it does not fade away.

Long Term Memory

No limit to the duration or capacity; essentially all of your knowledge of yourself and the world around you.

Long-Term Potentiation

An increase in a cell’s firing; believed to be the neural basis for memory.

Recall

Retrieving information that is not in our conscious memory but was learned at an earlier time (fill-in-the-blank).

Recognition

Identifying items that were learned previously (multiple choice).

Relearning

Learning something more quickly a second time or later time (studying for finals).

Hippocampus

Serves as the brain’s “save button” for new explicit memories.

Cerebellum

Allows us to form memories using classical conditioning.

Basal Ganglia

Deep brain structures used in motor development.

Amygdala

Stress hormones causes boosted activity in the memory forming area in the brain.

Flashbulb Memories

A clear memory of an emotionally significant event.

Retrieval Cues

Hints that allow us to piece together a memory.

Priming

Often unconscious activation of particular associations in memory.

Context-Dependent Memory

Putting yourself back in the context where you experienced something.

State-Dependent Memory

We can remember something done in an altered state better when we are back in that altered state.

Mood Congruent Memory

The tendency to recall an experience that is consistent with our current mood.

Serial Position Effect

Our tendency to recall the last items in a list immediately; however, after delay we have a tendency to best remember the first items in that list.

Misinformation Effect

The incorporation of misleading information into one’s memory of an event.

Source Amnesia

Attributing a false source to an event we have experienced, heard about, or imagined.

Déjá Vu

The sense that we have experienced something before.

Cognition

Mental activity associated with processing information, understanding, and communicating information.

Concept

Metal grouping of similar, events, or people.

Prototype

The best example of a category.

Algorithm

Problem solving procedures or formulas that guarantee a correct outcome of correctly applied.

Heuristics

Simple, basic rules that serve as shortcuts to solve a complex mental task.

Insight

Sudden and often realization of the solution to a problem; contrasts with strategy-based solutions (outside the box thinking).

Confirmation Bias

A tendency to search for information that confirms one’s preconceptions.

Fixation

Inability to see a problem from a new perspective; impediment to problem solving.

Framing

The way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments.