Cognitive Unit Vocab

Key vocab for the cognitive Unit of IB Psychology SL

Schema

• a mental representation of knowledge

• Helps us to understand and assume how something works and what something is based on past experience

Schema Theory

• states that all knowledge is organized and stored in units

• when new schema is taken in, it is compared to pre-existing schemas found in memories

• When these new schemas don’t match the schema we have, there is an emotional response: disappointment, confusion, frustration

• based on the assumption that humans are are active processors of information

• subconsciously interpret and integrate it to make sense of our experiences

• if information is ever missing, the brain fills it in with schemas

• limited by it not yet being clear how schemas are initially produced and their exact influence on cognitive processes as well as not accounting for why, in schema, inconsistent information is sometimes recalled

Stages of Memory

1. Encoding

2. Storage

3. Retrieval

Encoding

• transforming sensory information into a meaningful memory

Storage

• creating a biological trace of the encoded information in memory

• the memory will either be retained or llost

Retrieval

• using stored information and bringing it out of storage for thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making

• the memory will then be rencoded but is susceptible to distortion or alteration

Assimilation

• when there is no schema for something and the new and different information is categorized with old schema

• may lead to inaccuracy in categorization and assumption

Accommodation

• modifying the actual schema or creating an entirely new one to categorize new information

Leveling

• when elements of a memory are removed or toned down

• could be intentional or unintentional

Sharpening

• elements of a memory are highlighted or exaggerated

• could be intentional or unintentional

Script

• patterns of behavior that are learned through our interaction with the environment

• developed in a cultural context and is not universal

• if an event doesn’t follow the script, it causes confusion or frustration

• new knowledge and experience will eventually incorporate into our script

Cognitive Mental Processes

• perception, thinking, decision-making, problem solving, memory, language, and attention

bottom-up processing

• sensory information that comes to us from interactions with the enviornment

top-down processing

• when information is processed in the mind via pre-stored memory

Cognitive Misers

• states that we make the choice to not actively process information as to save time and effort

Multi-Store Memory Model

• Proposed by Atkinson & Shiffrin (1971)

long term memory

• if information is rehearsed or attached in some way, it is recorded and transferred into long term memory

• has an unlimited capacity with an unknown duration

short term memory

• AKA: working memory

• if sensory information is recognized or considered important, it is coded and sent to short-term memory

• limited capacity for 7+-2 units for 20-30 seconds

semantic memory

• factual knowledge in which conscious thought calls up learned knowledge such as facts about the world

• stored in prefrontal cortex and hippocampus

episodic memory

• autobiographical memories in which conscious thought recalls personal experiences

• stored in prefrontal cortex and hippocampus

procedural memory

• memories of how to do something, similar to mussel memory and habit

• implicit memory allowing action to be performed subconsciously

• “how to“ knowledge

• stored in the motorcortex then sent to the cerebellum

working memory model

• developed by Baddeley and Hitch (1974)

• believed that short term memory is not just one store, this model focuses on STM as an active space

• states that LTM is a passive store that holds previously learned material for use of STM as needed

Central Executive

• directs attention to tasks, general attention control

  • automatic level: based on habits that rely on schemas in LTM and are controlled mostly automatically by stimuli in the environment

  • supervisory attention: deals with planning and decision-making, creates new strategies when old ones are insufficient, active in emergency situations

• handles problem-solving

• limited capacity

• modality-free

  • can process any sensory information (auditory or visual)

Phonological loop

• limited capacity

• handles auditory information and language (spoken and written)

• any activity that requires retention of verbal sequences relies on the phonological loop

• can be divided into two components

  • articulatory control system: the inner voice which can hold information in a verbal form

  • phonological store: the inner ear, holds auditory memory traces (only lasts for 1.5-2 sec if not rehearsed), can receive information directly from sensory memory in the form of auditory material from LTM

visuo-spatial sketch pad

• limited capacity

• “the inner eye“

• stores visual and spatial information

  • visual: what things look like (iconic memory)

  • spatial: relationships between things

episodic buffer

• detected to linking information across domains to form integrated units of visual, spatial, and verbal information with time sequencing

• temporarily holds several sources of active information at the same time while you consider what is needed in the moment

memory

• refers to the process by which information is encoded, stored, and retrieved

declarative memory

• memory of facts and events and refers to memories that can be consciously recalled

• this includes the episodic memory and the semantic memory

dual task technique

• a procedure where participants carry out two tasks at once

verbal protocols

• a process where participants think out loud as they carry out a task

dual process model

• poses that we have two systems of thinking and we are always in one (system 1 & system 2)

system 1

• focuses on what it seems

• quick and prone to error

• based decisions on past knowledge

• takes heuristics (shortcuts)

• operates automatically

• doing things a lot can make them a system 1 process

system 2

• requires concentration and effort

• works with abstract concepts

• works through logic

• uses conscious reasoning

• more reliable but slower

• requires more energy

ego depletion

• when there is too much on our mind to allocate energy and the cognitive load is too high

Law of easiest effort

• when we experience ego depletion and there are several ways to achieve the same goal, people will choose the least demanding course of action

cognitive load

• refers to the amount of working memory resources used

thoughts

• occur when engaging in a cognitive process

• can occur with or without emotion

• the way a thought is remembered can be impacted when emotion is involved

three parts of emotion

1. physiological changes

2. subjective feelings

3. associated behaviors

physiological changes

• physical changes in the body as a result of emotion

• EX: heart racing, sweating, fight or flight

subjective feelings

• Descriptors or feelings associated with particular emotions

• EX: happy, sad, angry, excited

associated behaviors

• actions that occur as a result of emotions

• EX: smiling, running, crying

Le Doux (1999)

• model of emotional pathways

• having both a direct and indirect pathway enables flexibility in response which is an adaptive advantage

flashbulb memory

• a unique highly emotional moment and can give rise to a clear, strong, and persistent memory

• we often think these memories are more accurate, but they aren’t

• proximity adds confidence to memory accuracy

• characters and criteria of a flashbulb memory:

1. place: where they were when the event occurred or when they found out

2. ongoing activity: know what they were doing when the event occurred or when they found out

3. Informant: how they found out about the event

4. own effect: how the event made them feel

5. other effect: how the event made others feel

6. aftermath: what happened following the event

Thinking

• the process of using knowledge and information to make plans and make Interpretations and predictions about the world

• components of thinking:

  • problem-solving, creativity, reasoning, and decision-making

decision-making

• the process of identifying and choosing alternatives based on values and pretenses of the decision maker

• needed during problem-solving to reach a conclusion

problem-solving

• thinking that is directed towards solving specific problems by means of a set of mental strategies

special-mechanism hypothesis

• argues that for the existence of a special biological memory mechanism that, triggered by an event exceeding critical levels of surprise, creates a permanent record of the details and circumstance surrounding the experience

• flashbulb memories are different to “ordinary memories“

• resistant to forgetting

Importance-driven model

• emphasizes that personal consequences determine the intensity of emotional reactions

• commonly accepted model of a flashbulb memory

Leading questions

• questions that either by the form or the content suggest to a witness which answer is desired

• questions that are suggestive in some sort of way

misinformation effect

• both leading questions and post-event information facilitate schema processing which may influence the accuracy of recall

post-event information

• any information that you are exposed to after you have witnessed something

• can come from TV/social media reports or hearing other people’s stories

Cognitive Biases

• heuristics that result in patterns of thinking or decision making that are consistent and inaccurate

• refers to the result of trying to fit in for self-esteem and not dependent on heuristics

Peak-end rule

• a heuristic in which people judge an experience largely based on how they felt at its peak and at its end

• occurs regardless of a positive or negative experience

• other information is not used in reaching a decision or judgement

prospect theory

• describes the way people choose between alternatives that involve risk when probabilities of outcomes are known

• people evaluate these losses and gains using heuristics, EX: the framing effect

Anchoring bias

• the tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information given when making decisions

• occurs when individuals use an initial piece of information to make subsequent judgements

• applied in: bargining, shopping, determining sentencing, and estimations

framing effect

• people react to choices depending on how they are presented or “framed“

• people prefer certain outcomes when information is framed in positive language and vice versa

• when we expect success, we prefer a definitive win rather than a possible win, but when things look bad, we will gamble on an uncertain defeat rather than a definite loss

somatic marker

• feelings in the body associated with emotions

  • EX: rapid heartbeat with anxiety

somatic marker hypothesis

• suggests that good decision making depends on an ability to access appropriate emotional information linked to the situation in which the decision is being made

heuristic

• a mental shortcut to allow for quick decision making

• an element of system 1 processing

• straight forward rules of thumb based on past experiences

availability heuristic

• decisions made based on the availability of information

representative heuristic

• when we assume one case is more representative than it actually is

questionnaires

• any written set of questions with the goal to collect qualitative data

personal consequentiality

• states that if you were closer related to the event, then there will be a stronger emotional reaction