cog sci flashcards better

What is an interesting finding of cognitive science regarding boring lectures?

Doodling can help you pay attention if the lecture is boring. The students who doodled actually retained more information.

How does doodling relate to multitasking?

It is a special case because while multitasking is generally very bad for concentration, doodling seems to help.

Describe the experiment used to test the effect of doodling.

Students watched a specifically boring lecture, and afterward, they were tested on the content; some students were allowed to doodle, and others were forced not to doodle.

What is the theory behind why doodling helps concentration?

Doodling helps concentration because the mind wants constant stimulation. When a task isn’t stimulating enough, doodling gives the brain just enough extra input to stay focused instead of wandering off.

How does doodling satisfy the bored mind while maintaining focus on the lecture?

Doodling allows part of the mind to be occupied with the doodling and part of the mind to be occupied with the lecture, meaning the mind is satisfied overall.

According to studies, which method of note-taking helps people remember better?

Taking notes by hand helps people remember better than taking notes on a computer.

What are the reasons computers are worse for note-taking and memory?

1. Internet-connected computers provide a vast potential for distraction (basically, the entire Internet is there to distract you).

2. The computer allows you to write too much, leading students to try to write down everything the professor says (taking dictation).

Why is handwriting notes better for learning?

Because the student cannot write fast enough and is forced to summarize what the professor is saying and put it in their own words.

What is the dangerous, unconscious decision made by students who type everything the professor says?

The decision is: "Let me just get it all down and I'll understand it later," which is dangerous because the student might not revisit it until weeks later and cannot ask questions.

What is "deep processing" and why is it important during class?

Deep processing is what learning is about, and it is better for the student to spend time trying to understand what is happening in class, even if they don't write it down, because it helps with long-term retention.

What is a "cognitive agent"?

One that manipulates representations.

Why is memorization important in learning, despite its bad reputation?

Memorization is a large part of learning in all fields (not just concepts and processes), and much of the complex content is impossible unless you memorize the basics.

What is a drawback of using the notebook fold-over method compared to physical index cards?

You can't rearrange them and can't easily go over the ones you got wrong more often.

Describe the forgetting curve concept.

If you learn something and don't study or think about it (like the instructor's desire for his middle name to be West), the probability of remembering it goes down rapidly over time (e.g., down near 5% after 60 days).

What happens to the forgetting curve when information is studied again?

Studying puts the retention probability back up (e.g., to 100%) and also changes the shape of the curve, meaning it takes longer for you to forget.

If a student does all their studying in one spot, what is the contextual effect on memory?

They are going to remember everything they studied better if they are in that spot because contextual things matter.

What is a highly recommended study technique, even if it involves only one other person?

Studying in groups.

What are two key benefits of studying in groups?

Somebody else will see things you didn't, they will understand things you didn't, and vice versa.

How does helping someone else with their confusion (tutoring) benefit the tutor?

It is an act of studying for the tutor; they are learning new ways to explain it and deeply processing it, which leads to better memory.

What is the finding regarding using other people's flashcards?

Using other people's flashcards isn't quite as good; students should make their own based on their understanding.

What is the basic idea of the learning styles theory?

That different people have different ways of learning, and if teaching aligns with the student's style, they should learn better.

What is the best-known version of learning styles discussed?

Visual versus auditory versus kinesthetic learners.

How is the learning styles theory described in terms of information organization?

The way that information is organized or the way that you think about it matters for how easily you understand or learn it.

Give an example of how the three types of learners (Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic) would approach understanding the plan for a new house.

A Visual learner understands best by seeing the plans

an Auditory learner by listening to a description

a Kinesthetic learner needs to move, perhaps by building a model.

What is the important prediction of the learning styles theory that makes it flawed?

The prediction is not simply that people with better visual memory learn visual stuff better, but that an auditory learner is always going to learn better if you present things auditorially because that's supposed to be their best modality.

Provide an example showing the flaw in the theory's prediction.

If a teacher wants students to learn the shape of Algeria on a map, everybody, regardless of their supposed learning style, needs to see a visual presentation.

What are three reasons why the learning styles theory seems right?

1) Everyone believes it;

2) Something close to the theory is true (people can learn in different ways and some are especially good at certain types of information);

3) People interpret ambiguous situations as consistent with the theory if they already believe it.

Define multitasking.

Doing more than one thing at a time.

What are people usually doing when they think they are multitasking?

Rapid task switching.

What is a "task switching cost"?

Every time you switch to another thing, your mind has to catch up by clearing working memory and putting new things in.

What is the result of the previous task interfering with the new one?

A residue.

Do people notice that their performance suffers when multitasking?

No, people do not notice that their performance suffers, even though their performance suffers on everything involved with the multitask.

Why does multitasking feel amazing?

Every time you switch tasks and get novelty, your brain has a dopamine rush.

What is dopamine, and why is the dopamine rush from task switching significant?

Dopamine is the craving neurotransmitter that is really important in addiction, leading some people to feel addicted to multitasking.

What cognitive reason makes instrumental music less distracting than lyrical music?

Instrumental music uses a different brain area than the verbal parts of your brain.

What is the difference between a "project list" and a "to-do list"?

A to-do list contains simple things that you can just get done, while a project is something that is going to take much more than 20 minutes.

Why does writing down the list relieve stress?

Because you don't have to carry all that stuff around in your head, which is a major source of stress.

How does the project list help when your mind keeps interrupting your work with thoughts about other tasks?

If everything is in the list, you can stop thinking about it and trust that you will get to it because it's written down outside of your mind.

What is the purpose of the "Too Tired" list?

It lists things to do when the mind is "fried" and the person needs low-energy activities (e.g., practice guitar, read a comic book); this list is prioritized so the least wasteful activity is done.

What is the critical rule about task switching in this system?

You change tasks every half hour; you do not work on the most important thing all day long, but rather work on all the most important things in your life, every day.

When does the general population experience a cognitive slump?

Round the afternoon.

What kind of work should be scheduled during the afternoon slump (2-4 PM)?

Stuff that doesn't require a lot of thought (like busy work). This time frame is noted for having a lot of car accidents and medical mistakes.

When is the best time for a morning person's "vigilance time" (sharpest cognitive period)?

An hour after waking up for like four or five hours (for the instructor, 5:30 AM to 7 AM is when he is sharpest).

When is the best time for a night person's "vigilance time"?

At night, shifted later in the evening.

What is the major benefit of having the half hours planned out?

You never have to worry if you're working on what you should be; you know you are working on the most important thing possible right now, allowing for complete focus without thinking about other pending tasks.

What is "incubation" (from creativity literature)?

When you think about a problem, go do something else (e.g., shopping, taking a shower), and then part of your mind is still working on that problem for you unconsciously, allowing the solution to suddenly appear later.

What prevents incubation from happening?

Not having thought about the problem in two weeks.

What simple physical activity is recommended before studying, especially difficult material?

Taking a walk (maybe 15 minutes), which does increase your retention.

Why is sleeping really important for memory retention?

Sleep is when your mind takes short-term memories and turns them into long-term memories.

Why are all-nighters for studying bad ideas?

They involve stuffing everything into short-term memory, meaning the information likely won't be remembered after the class, which means the student is only working for a grade and not learning anything that will last.

How does drinking alcohol interfere with memory retention?

It interferes with sleep, particularly deep sleep, where that memory retention happens.

When is the best time to take a nap to aid memory?

Right after you study something really hard.

Define a learning disability (LD).

A specific problem that someone might have with learning.

Who assesses learning disabilities?

Clinical psychologists.

What are two criteria a learning disability must meet to be assessed?

There must be a demonstrable pattern of issues and they deal with academic skills and cognitive skills.

What percentage of adults in the general population have a learning disability?

About 2.5%.

What level of intelligence must a person generally have to be diagnosed with a learning disability?

Average or above average intelligence.

Why is a learning disability described as a specific issue?

Because the person must be smart but have trouble in specific areas; someone with low cognitive ability (low IQ) in all ways is not diagnosed with an LD.

What two major discrepancies characterize a learning disability?

1) A discrepancy between overall cognitive ability (IQ) and academic achievement (underachieving); 2) A discrepancy between a specific cognitive weakness and the person's IQ.

Give an example of a consistent cognitive weakness and academic achievement indicative of an LD.

If you have trouble with numbers and your grades are bad in math class, but good in another class. If you are bad in all classes, there is no consistency between the cognitive weakness and achievement.

What is a common reading disability?

Dyslexia.

Name potential areas for learning disabilities beyond reading.

Word recognition, phonological issues (trouble understanding speech), talking issues, math, and handwriting.

Define metacognition.

Thinking about how you think and trying to understand and develop strategies for how you think.

What is the domain of cognitive science?

Thinking across all beings.

What is cognitive science in terms of its disciplines?

It is an inter discipline with five major disciplines involved.

Why is the level of analysis being discussed distinct from other levels?

These other levels are used mainly by other disciplines.

In the context of vertical orientation of levels of analysis, what characterizes "low level" stuff?

Small and detailed.

In the context of vertical orientation of levels of analysis, what characterizes "high level" stuff?

Broad, complex, perhaps the broadest field.

What are examples of high-level fields mentioned?

Sociology and, to some extent, economics, political science.

How can learning be studied at the highest level?

By studying how cultures learn. Anthropology

Describe the example of cultural learning provided in the source.

In some islands in Fiji, there are food taboos where pregnant or lactating women are not supposed to eat certain marine mammals.

What is a "taboo"?

A cultural rule saying you can't do something.

In the Fijian food taboo example, what is the effect of the cultural rule?

It prevents sickness and reduces a woman's chances of fish poisoning by 30% during pregnancy and 60% during breastfeeding. The fish and marine animals cause medical problems for the fetus or the mother or both, although not every time.

Do the individuals in the Fijian culture know the reason for the taboo?

Most of the members of the culture do not know that this is the reason; to them, it's just a cultural taboo.

How did the culture learn the taboo without individual members knowing the reason?

The culture is learning; the individuals who followed this taboo and passed it on to their Children ended up out, surviving everybody else, and the culture persisted.

What is the level of analysis below the cultural level?

The psychological level, which is the level of an individual.

Give an example of learning at the psychological level.

If an individual eats a food and then throws up soon after, they might have an aversion to eating that food again.

What specific example was used to illustrate individual learning and aversion?

Having French fries and then going on a roller coaster and throwing up, which might cause an aversion to french fries even though the roller coaster caused the sickness. 

Operant conditioning, specifically positive punishment,

How might learning be described at the cognitive level?

In terms of adjusting parameters in your head.

What are the different levels in order form high level to low level

1. Sociology

2. Psychology

3. Cognitive

4. Biological/neuroscience

5. Chemical

6. Physics

What major cognitive science theory describes conscious thinking and deliberative thought?

That it is composed of a bunch of informational entities called productions.

deliberative thought, or conscious thinking, operates by having the mind fire these rule-based productions. A production is essentially an information processing rule (e.g., "IF you are hungry, AND you see a blue fish, THEN eat it").

Learning occurs when the parameters of these productions are adjusted, making them more or less likely to fire in the future

What is a "production" in this cognitive theory?

A rule like "if this is the case, then do this" (e.g., "if you see chocolate, you need to jog"). In the basal ganglia

How does the cognitive theory explain why a person does one action over others at any given moment?

Cognitive theory says that when multiple possible actions (productions) match the situation, the mind selects the one with the highest activation or utility — basically the action that the system “rates” as most useful at that moment.

What makes the cognitive level different from the psychology level?

The cognitive level talks about informational entities (like a production and its parameter) that are not directly observable.

Is neuroscience part of cognitive science?

Yes, neuroscience is a part of cognitive science, but the biological level is still considered a different level of analysis than the information processing (cognitive) level.

What is "Hebbian Theory" or "Hebb's Law" of brain change?

The foundational idea that neurons that fire together, wire together.

What is the key difference between the cognitive level and the neuroscientist's explanation of learning?

The cognitive scientist talks about productions and adjusting parameters (which is independent of how it's implemented with neurons), while the neuroscientist cares more about the brain and the biology.

What does the chemical level involve?

Chemistry, where we talk about molecules and bonds and chemical reactions.

How does chemical adaptation explain why adults like bitter foods (like coffee or beer) that children often dislike?

Taste receptors learn to tolerate bitter foods, and this involves synaptic changes and the binding of the receptor.

What else might chemical explanations be useful for?

Certain drugs like psychedelic drugs, where very small amounts of molecules can have a very wide-ranging effect on your perception or your experience or pleasure.

What is the theory held by some people, but rejected by most cognitive scientists, regarding consciousness and physics?

That consciousness has quantum mechanical causes or is made up of quantum mechanical interactions.

How do we know if a level of analysis is legitimate?

If it can successfully make good scientific predictions using the vocabulary (ontology) of that level.

What is "ontology" (as a noun)?

A set of classes (or a vocabulary/language) used to describe things.

When is a prediction considered scientifically good?

If it can predict what's going to happen in the world better than chance and better than other theories.

What is the belief that all higher-level patterns will eventually be explained by a lower-level field?

Reductionism.

Why is the sociological level needed, even if it is not part of cognitive science?

For talking about the behavior of masses of people and group behavior phenomena.

Why is the psychological level needed in addition to the sociological level?

Because some behaviors are not heavily influenced by their social context (e.g., baby face recognition).

Describe the evidence for baby face recognition being built-in rather than learned.

Babies, even 30 seconds old, will look at a face right out of the womb, showing they are genetically referred to attend to faces more than other stimuli, which has no cultural explanation.

Why is the psychological level needed in addition to the cognitive level?

Because psychology is needed for non-causal, statistical models (e.g., finding that nutrition influences IQ or the effect of socioeconomic status on income).

Why is the cognitive level needed in addition to the psychological level?

Because the explanation of certain behaviors without the language of information processing is too vague (e.g., how people do multiplication).