Psych Q2

What is cognition?

Mental activities involved in thinking knowing remembering judging and solving problems.

What is a concept?

A mental category that groups similar objects events or ideas.

What is categorization?

Organizing information into groups based on shared characteristics.

What is a prototype?

The most typical or representative example of a category.

Give an example of a prototype.

A robin is a more typical example of a bird than a penguin.

What is a schema?

A mental framework that organizes knowledge and guides expectations.

How do schemas affect interpretation?

Existing expectations help interpret new experiences but can cause us to miss conflicting details.

What is an algorithm?

A step-by-step procedure that produces a solution when followed correctly.

What is a mental set?

Using a familiar problem-solving method even when another method would work better.

What is an example of a mental set?

Reusing an old solution instead of trying a more effective one.

What is functional fixedness?

Difficulty seeing uses for an object beyond its usual function.

What is an example of functional fixedness?

Seeing a hammer only as a tool for driving nails.

What is convergent thinking?

Narrowing possibilities to find one best answer.

What is divergent thinking?

Generating multiple creative possibilities or solutions.

How are mental sets and functional fixedness different?

Mental sets limit methods while functional fixedness limits object uses.

How are prototypes and schemas different?

A prototype is a typical example while a schema is a broader knowledge framework.

What is classical conditioning?

Learning an association between stimuli so a neutral stimulus eventually triggers a learned response.

What is an unconditioned stimulus?

Something that naturally triggers a response without learning.

What is an unconditioned response?

An automatic unlearned response to an unconditioned stimulus.

What is a conditioned stimulus?

A previously neutral stimulus that triggers a learned response after association.

What is a conditioned response?

The learned response to a conditioned stimulus.

What was the unconditioned stimulus in Pavlov's experiment?

Food.

What was the unconditioned response in Pavlov's experiment?

Salivation in response to food.

What was the conditioned stimulus in Pavlov's experiment?

The bell or tone after being associated with food.

What was the conditioned response in Pavlov's experiment?

Salivation in response to the bell.

What is acquisition?

The initial learning of an association between stimuli.

What is extinction?

The weakening of a conditioned response when the conditioned stimulus occurs without the unconditioned stimulus.

What is spontaneous recovery?

The return of an extinguished conditioned response after a rest period.

What is stimulus generalization?

Responding similarly to stimuli that resemble the original conditioned stimulus.

What does a dog reacting to several different bells demonstrate?

Stimulus generalization.

What is stimulus discrimination?

Learning to distinguish similar stimuli and respond differently to them.

What is operant conditioning?

Learning in which consequences change the likelihood of future behavior.

What does reinforcement do?

Increases the likelihood of a behavior.

What does punishment do?

Decreases the likelihood of a behavior.

What does positive mean in operant conditioning?

Adding something.

What does negative mean in operant conditioning?

Removing something.

What is positive reinforcement?

Adding something desirable to increase behavior.

What is negative reinforcement?

Removing something unpleasant to increase behavior.

What is positive punishment?

Adding something unpleasant to decrease behavior.

What is negative punishment?

Taking away something desirable to decrease behavior.

What is an example of positive reinforcement?

Giving a student a reward for studying.

What is an example of negative reinforcement?

Buckling a seat belt to stop an annoying alarm.

What is an example of positive punishment?

Giving extra chores after someone breaks a rule.

What is an example of negative punishment?

Taking away phone privileges after misbehavior.

How is negative reinforcement different from punishment?

Negative reinforcement increases behavior while punishment decreases behavior.

How do classical and operant conditioning differ?

Classical conditioning associates stimuli while operant conditioning associates behavior with consequences.

What is a heuristic?

A quick mental shortcut used to make decisions or solve problems.

How is a heuristic different from an algorithm?

A heuristic is faster but not guaranteed to work while an algorithm follows defined steps.

What is cognitive flexibility?

The ability to change strategies or perspectives when circumstances change.

What demonstrates cognitive flexibility?

Trying a new strategy when the original strategy fails.

What is confirmation bias?

Favoring information that supports existing beliefs.

What demonstrates confirmation bias?

Reading only articles that agree with your opinion.

What is general intelligence?

A broad mental ability that contributes to performance across many cognitive tasks.

What is fluid intelligence?

The ability to reason and solve unfamiliar problems.

What is crystallized intelligence?

Knowledge and skills gained through learning and experience.

What type of intelligence helps solve a new logic puzzle?

Fluid intelligence.

What type of intelligence helps with vocabulary and factual knowledge?

Crystallized intelligence.

What are Sternberg's three types of intelligence?

Analytical and creative and practical intelligence.

What is analytical intelligence?

The ability to evaluate information and solve structured problems.

What is creative intelligence?

The ability to generate original ideas and adapt to new situations.

What is practical intelligence?

The ability to apply knowledge to everyday situations.

Where does intelligence come from?

Both genetic and environmental influences.

What environmental factors influence intelligence?

Education and nutrition and health and learning opportunities.

What can IQ help predict?

Academic achievement and some job-training or work outcomes on average.

What does IQ not fully determine?

Creativity and character and personal worth and future success.

What are the three basic memory processes?

Encoding and storage and retrieval.

What is encoding?

Converting information into a form that can be stored.

What is storage?

Maintaining information over time.

What is retrieval?

Accessing previously stored information.

What is the basic memory-processing sequence?

Sensory memory then working memory then long-term memory with attention and encoding.

What is sensory memory?

Very brief storage of incoming sensory information.

What is iconic memory?

Very brief visual sensory memory.

What is echoic memory?

Brief auditory sensory memory.

How do iconic and echoic memory differ?

Iconic memory holds visual information while echoic memory holds sounds.

What is working memory?

A limited system for temporarily holding and manipulating information.

What is chunking?

Grouping information into meaningful units to remember it more easily.

How does chunking help with phone numbers?

Grouping digits reduces the number of separate units to remember.

What is the serial position effect?

Remembering the beginning and end of a list better than the middle.

What is the primacy effect?

Better recall of items near the beginning of a list.

What is the recency effect?

Better recall of items near the end of a list.

How do primacy and recency differ?

Primacy favors early information while recency favors the latest information.

What is visual processing?

Shallow processing focused on how information looks.

What is acoustic processing?

Processing focused on how information sounds.

What is semantic processing?

Deep processing focused on meaning.

Which depth of processing usually creates stronger memories?

Semantic processing.

What is the self-reference effect?

Remembering information better when relating it to yourself.

How does concept mapping improve memory?

Connecting ideas and their relationships encourages meaningful encoding.

How do recognition and recall differ?

Recognition identifies familiar information while recall retrieves information with fewer cues.

What is long-term memory?

Relatively durable storage of information over extended periods.

What is explicit memory?

Conscious memory of facts and personal experiences.

What is episodic memory?

Memory of personally experienced events.

What is semantic memory?

Memory of facts and general knowledge.

What memory type is remembering your last birthday?

Episodic memory.

What memory type is knowing a country's capital?

Semantic memory.

What is implicit memory?

Memory that influences behavior without requiring conscious recollection.

What is procedural memory?

Implicit memory for learned skills and actions.

What memory type is riding a bicycle?

Procedural memory.

What is priming?

Previous exposure influencing later processing or responses.

How does classical conditioning relate to implicit memory?

Learned automatic responses can occur without conscious recollection.

What distinguishes explicit and implicit memory?

Explicit memory involves conscious recollection while implicit memory does not require it.