MCAT psyc soc cognition, consciousness, and language

what are the 4 key components of the information processing model?

- thinking requires sensation, encoding, and storage

- stimuli has to be analyzed by the brain to be used in decision making

- decisions made in one situation can be tweaked and used in another

- problem solving involves someones cognitive level in addition to the complexity of the problem

what are the four stages of cognitive development proposed by jean piaget

1. Sensorimotor stage

2. Preoperational stage

3. Concrete operational stage

4. Formal operational stage

what is a schema?

organized pattern of behavior and thought that organizes categories of information and the relationships among them.

when babies are figuring things out, what is is called when they put things into schemas?

adaptation, which consists of assimilation and accommodation

what is assimilation?

when something is incorporated into an already existing schemata

what is accommodation?

when something doesn’t fall into an already existing schemata and the already formed schemata are changed to fit the new info

what is the sensory-motor stages in piagets theory?

from birth to 2 years, the child learns to manipulate its environment to meet its needs. This commonly involves circular reactions.

what are primary circular reactions?

when a behavior is repeated by chance and then the infant finds it enjoyable, leading to its repetition. This usually involves actions focusing on the infant's own body.

what are secondary circular reactions?

when something is repeated because the infant gets a reaction from objects of people outside of its body

what key milestone ends the sensory motor phase?

object permanence

what is representational thought?

the child can make represational throughts of external objects and events

what is the preoperational stage?

from 2-7 years old. It emphasises egocentrism (not understanding other people’s feelings), symbolic thinking (liking to play pretend), and centration (only understanding one concept of a phenomenon)

what is the concrete operational stage?

from 7-11, these kids are able to understand other’s feelings, can understand conservation (5 pennies is not more than 2 dimes), but still can not think abstractly

what is the formal operational stage?

11+ kids can think abstractly and problem solve.

what did Lev Vygotsky propose?

He proposed the sociocultural theory of cognitive development, emphasizing the importance of social interactions and cultural tools in learning.

what is fluid intelligence?

being able to problem solve

what is crystalized knowledge?

the ability to learn skills and knowledge

when does crystalized and fluid knowledge peak?

fluid intelligence peaks in early adulthood, while crystallized intelligence peaks in middle adulthood

what is delirium?

medical cause for change in cognition caused by things like infection, low blood sugar or ph inbalance and is reversible

what is a mental set

a way to solve a approach a problem in the same way you have before

what is the first step of problem solving?

framing the problem

what is functional fixedness?

the inability to use things in a nontraditional manner

what is algorithm problem solving?

A methodical, step-by-step procedure for solving problems that guarantees a correct solution if followed correctly.

when is trial and error problem solving best used?

when there are limited options

what is deductive reasoning for problem solving

top down processing, where rules are established and conclusions can be made by those rules

what is inductive reasoning for problem solving?

using bottom-up processing by observing and then making generalizations. Not air tight statements.

what are heuristics?

Heuristics are mental shortcuts that simplify problem solving and decision making

what is the availability heuristic?

determining how likely something is based on how many times we have experienced it occuring

what is the representativeness heuristic?

using prototypes or stereotypes to make judgments about categories or events.

what is the base rate fallacy?

ignoring numerical evidence for the likelihood of something happening and using prototypical or stereotypical factors instead

what is the disconformation prinipal?

if a potential solution fails, you should reject that solution. If you do not, you might have conformation bias

what can intuition be described as?

recognition-primed decision making, which can be unconscious thought and relies on past experiences and patterns to inform judgments without thorough analysis.

what is gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences?

There are multiple intelligences and not just linguistic and logical-mathmatical

How is IQ calculated?

mental age/chronological age x 100

what is consciousness?

awarness of the world and one’s existence in the world

what are beta waves?

when someone is awake and alert and thinking

what are alpha waves?

when someone is awake, but relaxed with their eyes closed. Waves are slower than beta

what waves are seen in someone in stage 1 and 2 sleep?

theta waves, which are slower but higher voltage

what kind of brain activity is seen in stage 2 sleep?

sleep spindles and k-complexes

what brain waves are associated with sleep stages 3 and 4?

delta waves, which are very low frequency (Deep sleep)

how can the sleep cyle be remembered

BAT-D (a bat sleeps during the day)

how is cortisol produced when light hits the eye?

the retina stimulates the hypothalamus to produce corticotropin releasing factor, which stimulates the anterior pituitary to produce adrenocorticotropic factor, which causes the adrenal cortex to produce cortisol, which causes someone to become more awake

what is the activation synthesis theory of dreaming?

that dreams are caused when the neurons in the brain are randomly firing and the cortex tries to make sense of it

what is the problem solving dream theory?

when the brain tries to solve problems in a state removed from reality

what is the cognitive process dream theory

the stream of consciousness is similar to when being awake but you are asleep

what is the difference between dissomnias and parasomnias?

dissomnias make it hard for someone to fall or stay asleep, or avoid sleep, and parasomnias are problems while sleeping

what is cataplexy?

form of narcolepsy where loss of muscle control and entering REM sleep, sometimes caused by emotional trigger

what are hypnagogic or hypnopompic hallucinations?

when someone has hallucinations when falling asleep or waking up (gogic, going to bed, pompic, poping out of bed)

what is the difference between obstructive and central sleep apnea?

obstructive is when there is something blocking, and central is when the brain forgets to tell the body to breath

when do night terrors or sleep walking usually occur?

during SWS

what is REM rebound?

An increase in REM sleep following periods of sleep deprivation or sleep disruption

what kind of brain waves are seen during meditation?

slow alpha or theta waves

what is alcohol myopia?

when you dont think about consequences of actions

how does alcohol act on receptors in the brain

acts on GABA receptor choride channel that hyperpolarized the cell

how do benzodiazepines and barbituates work

they also act on GABA receptors to cause increased relaxation

what neurotransmitters do amphetamines and cocaine increase?

dopamine, serotonin, and norepi

what is in ecstasy?

amphetamine and hallucanogen

what is the mesolimbic pathway of drug addiciton?

nuculus accumbons, ventral tegmental area, and the medial forebrain bundle

what is the cocktail party phenomenon

paying attention to one thing while processing the other input as unimportant

the is the ability to differentiate sounds for words and other noises?

categorical perception

what is the nativist theory of speech?

The nativist theory by Chompski posits that humans are born with an innate capacity for language acquisition, suggesting that the ability to learn language is hardwired into the brain.

why is there a sensitive period of language development and not a critical period?

The sensitive period of language development suggests that there are optimal time frames for language acquisition, where exposure impacts learning, but it is still possible to learn later on; this differs from a critical period, which implies a fixed time frame where learning is necessary.

what are speech sounds?

phonemes

categorical perception

the ability to understand slight changes in sounds and what they mean

what are the structures of words called?

Morphemes

what are semantics?

meaning of words

what is syntax?

how words are ordered

pragmatics

the rules and context governing the use of language in social situations.

what are errors of growth

when kids make mistakes with grammer when learnin to talk

what is learning behaviorist theory?

Skinner explained language acquisition by reinforcement. When the baby says the right sounds they get rewarded

social interactionist theory

language acquisition is driven by the child’s desire to communicate and behave in a social manner

Whorfian hypothesis

our perception of reality—the way we think about the world—is determined by the content of language

arcuate fasciculus

connects brocas and wernikies area. Damage means that the person can not repeat something said to them

adaptation

how new information is processed using assimilation and accomidation

what is accommodation?

putting new information into a schema and needing to change the scheme to make it make sense

what stage of sleep does dreaming happen in?

all of them, but 75% of dreaming occurs in REM

What are kids age 9-12 able to say?

babble

how does language progress from 12-18 months

about 1 word per month

what is the language progression from 18-20

“explosion of language” and combining words

what happens with language from 2-3 years

longer sentences of 3 words or more

how much language can a 5 year old use

most language rules