Psych/ COC

Universalism

• cognition controls language

• cognitive processes are universal

Piaget

Cognition influences language

Vygotsky

Language and cognition develop independently

Linguistic Relativity

• language influence cognition

Linguistic Determinism

Language controls cognition

Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development (Sensorimotor)

• 0-2 years

• learn through senses and actions

• develop object permanence

Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development
(Preoperational)

• 2-7 years

• use language and symbols

• egocentrism (can’t see other’s perspectives)

• Lack of conservation (taller glass = more liquid)

Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development (Concrete Operational)

• 7–11 years

• Logical thinking about concrete objects

• Understand conservation, reversibility, cause-effect

• Math

Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development (Formal operational)

• 12+ years

• Abstract thinking and hypothetical reasoning

• Can think about possibilities, not just reality

Critical period of language development 

• Biological window for language 

  • Early childhood to puberty

Functional MRI 

• Analyzes blood flow, detect oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin 

• Active brain requires more oxygen > regions with increased blood flow 

PET 

• Does not measure blood deoxygenation 

• Measures emission of positrons that result from the metabolism of radioactive tracer (glucose)

• Radiolabeled glucose is used as a tracer, active brain regions metabolize glucose more = hypermetabolic regions

Actor-observer bias

•  the tendency to explain your own behavior using situational factors but explain other people’s behavior using internal personality traits. 

Operant Conditioning and Methods

• training new behavior

Methods:

1. Increase motivational state (deprive of desirable stimulus) > deprive food increases motivational state > more likely to respond to food as a reward

2. Shaping > reward successive approximations of desirable behavior

3. Continuous reinforcement > reward behavior every time it occurs

Interactionist Theory of Language Development

posits that children learn language through a combination of biological predispositions and social interaction. It argues that language develops from a fundamental human desire to communicate with others and understand the social world.

UWorld:

• innate factors combined with contact between children and their caregivers produce language

Encoding

initial process of perceiving, processing, and recording information into the brain

Episodic Vs. Semantic Memory

1. Episodic (episodes of life, personal experiences, time + place, can relive it)

2. Semantic (facts and knowledge)

Primacy Effect, Role Playing Effect, Practice Effect, State dependent Effect

• Primacy effect → better recall of items at the beginning of a list

• Role Playing Effect: learning is enhanced when you actively act out or simulate a role or scenario

• Practice effect → improved performance due to repeated exposure or practice

• State-dependent effect → better recall when your internal state (mood, drugs, etc.) matches the state during learning

State Dependent Memory Effects

Memory encoded during a happy mood is harder to recall during a sad mood.

Ex. Depressed individuals find it harder to retrieve happy memories experienced during a positive mood when they are depressed

Age Related Cognitive Effects in Older Adults (Declines)

• Episodic memory

• Intelligence Fluid (ability to creatively solve new problems and adapt)

Age Related Cognitive Effects in Older Adults (Stable)

• Semantic Memory and Procedures

• Crystallized intelligence (ability to apply established skills or knowledge)

Normal Memory Decay = Forgetting Curve

Initial rate of decay is the fastest and then rate of decay slows over time

Token Economy

• tokens are secondary reinforcers which can be exchanged for a desireable reward

Occipital Cortex, Wernicke, Retina, Corpus Callosum

Corpus Callosum > connects right and left hemisphere

Left hemisphere:

• Broca > speech

• Wernicke > language comprehension

Retina

• receive and transmit information from contralateral visual field

Occipital Cortex

• ability to process information from the contralateral visual field