Cognitive Control and Working Memory

Flashcards covering key concepts related to cognitive control and working memory drawn from lecture notes.

What is cognitive control also known as?

Executive control.

What does cognitive control enable us to do with our thoughts and actions?

Orchestrate them in accordance with internal goals.

What are the two types of cognitive control?

Proactive control and reactive control.

What is the marshmallow test an example of?

Cognitive control.

What is the definition of multitasking?

Doing (or trying to do) two tasks at the same time.

What measure is used to assess cognitive interference in dual-task experiments?

The observation of performance decrements.

What are supertaskers?

Individuals who can perform single and dual tasks without performance decrements.

What is the stop-signal task used to measure?

Inhibition.

What is the Stroop task designed to test?

Inhibitory control.

What does the term 'Stroop interference' refer to?

Difficulty in naming the ink color of words that conflict with the word's meaning.

What is the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) involved in during cognitive control tasks?

Conflict monitoring.

What does the concept of 'task-switch cost' refer to?

Speed and accuracy penalties that come from switching tasks.

What is typically the magical number associated with memory span, according to George A. Miller?

Seven, plus or minus two.

What distinguishes working memory from memory span?

Working memory involves storage and manipulation of information.

What does cognitive load refer to?

The difficulty level of the tasks being performed.

What does cognitive overlap measure?

The extent to which two tasks compete for the same mental resources.

What role does the dorsal prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) play in cognitive control?

It inhibits distracting word interference.

What occurs when cognitive control fails?

Error detection is performed by the anterior cingulate cortex.

What is the primary function of cognitive control processes during tasks like Stroop, Simon, and flanker tasks?

To detect and resolve interference.