PSYCH207 Key Points

Judgment and decision making often involves estimating probabilities, and these judgments frequently rely on heuristics—mental shortcuts that can produce systematic biases

Judgment and decision making often involves ..., and these ....—mental ....  

Pattern recognition is thought to involve some form of matching of the sensory input to pre-existing mental representations

Pattern recognition is thought to ....   

Human language is rule governed, productive, arbitrary, and hierarchical

Human language is ..., ..., ..., and ....   

Because sensory input is inherently ambiguous, perception is best understood as a form of (unconscious) inference that draws on multiple sources of information

Because sensory input is…., perception is best understood as….  

Memory retrieval is cue-dependent: it is initiated by a retrieval cue and is strongly influenced by the match between the encoding and retrieval contexts

Memory retrieval is ...: it is initiated by .....  

Memory is reconstructive: remembering involves assembling information from multiple internal sources rather than reproducing a stored record

Memory is ....: remembering involves .....  

Memory can be broadly divided into limited capacity systems for the temporary storage of information and systems for storing information over extended periods

Memory can be broadly ....  

When reasoning, people tend to seek evidence that confirms their beliefs rather than evidence that would test or falsify them

When reasoning, people tend ....  

Problem solving depends critically on how a problem is mentally represented; suboptimal problem representations can lead to impasses, and restructuring the representation can help overcome these impasses

Problem solving depends ...; suboptimal ...., and restructuring .....  

Visual mental imagery plays a functional role in many cognitive processes, including memory, reasoning, and planning

Visual mental imagery plays …, including …, …, and …  

The mind can be thought of as a set of partially separable information processing subsystems, each performing a distinct function, that interact to produce thought and behavior

The mind can be thought of as a set of..., each performing ..., that....  

Cognitive processes are involved in nearly all aspects of our lives. As such, insights from cognitive psychology provide valuable insight into ourselves, and can be applied to improve individual, organizational, and societal outcomes

Cognitive processes are involved in .... As such, insights from cognitive psychology…, and can be applied….  

Because the speech signal can be ambiguous, speech perception draws on numerous sources including experience, context, and predictive mechanisms to make it intelligible

Because the speech signal ..., speech ..., ..., and ....  

Elaboration (e.g., linking information to prior knowledge, generating associations, adding sensory details) can improve memory

... (e.g., linking ...., generating ...., adding ....) can improve .....  

Forgetting often arises from various forms of interference or from insufficient overlap between retrieval cues and the representations they are meant to access in memory

Forgetting often arises ....  

A central concept in cognitive science is the mental representation, an information-bearing structure in the mind on which cognitive processes operate to enable thought and behavior

A central concept in cognitive science is the..., an....  

Cognitive psychology is the scientific study of how people acquire, store, transform, use, and communicate information

Cognitive psychology is the scientific study of ....  

Our attention can be shifted in a stimulus driven manner (exogenously) or in a goal driven manner (endogenously) 

Our attention can be shifted...  

Concepts are mental representations that support categorization and generalization, allowing people to extend prior knowledge to new situations and guide adaptive behavior

Concepts are ..., allowing people to...  

Visual mental imagery can be thought of as a weaker, internally generated form of visual perception that engages overlapping, though not identical, cognitive and neural processes

Visual mental imagery can be thought of as a ..., internally ...., though ......  

Reasoning is often described in terms of two broad types of processes: fast, automatic, intuitive processes (type 1) and slower, controlled, analytic processes (type 2)

Reasoning is often described ...: ..., ..., .... processes and ...., ..., ... processes.  

With practice, processing can shift from more controlled (slow, effortful, attention-demanding, requiring intent) to more automatic (fast, effortless, largely attention-free, not requiring intent)

With practice, processing can shift....  

Cognitive psychologists employ a diverse array of methods, with an emphasis on measuring performance (e.g., response time, accuracy) in simple and complex tasks, and follow a scientific approach involving the formation and testing of hypotheses through systematic observation

Cognitive psychologists employ a ..., with an emphasis on…, and follow a ....  

Engaging in retrieval practice (e.g., self-quizzing or practice testing) and spacing practice over time are among the most well-supported strategies for building long-term retention, despite often conflicting with learner’s intuitions about effective study

Engaging in ..., despite often conflicting ....  

Most cognitive psychologists consider humans to be limited capacity information processors. This requires some form of selection--withdrawal from some things in order to deal more effectively with others

Most cognitive psychologists consider humans to be .... This requires ... -withdrawal...  

Information that receives attention is typically processed more effectively, and as such performance is generally better when attention is focused on a single task or stimulus rather than divided across multiple tasks or stimuli. The extent to which unattended information is processed remains debated

Information that receives ..., and as such performance.... The extent to which unattended....  

Cognitive systems often rely on networks of interconnected mental representations, where activation of one representation influences related representations

Cognitive systems often ...  

Human language is a communication system, but not all communication systems qualify as languages

Human language is a ..., but not ....  

Although some mental representations of categories have clearly defined boundaries, many have a more graded structure in which some members are better examples of the category than others

Although some ..., many have a more ....