Intro to Psych EXAM 2

Prof Kucinsky @ pittt

thinking (cognition)

mental activity that goes on in brain when a person is processing information

processing

includes organizing, understanding, and communicating information to others

attention

limited resource made up of a set of processes that control the flow of information through the nervous system

selective attention

selecting some sources of input for dedicated process

sustained attention

ability to maintain a state of alertness and focus for longer period of time

mental images

mental representations that stand for objects or events and have a picture-like quality

concepts

categories of linguistic information, images, ideas, or memories that are used to see relationships among different elements of experience. can be complex and abstract or concrete

prototype

the best example or representation of a concept, can be based on individual experience

example of prototype

Martin Luther King Jr may be a prototype for the category of civil disobedience or equity

natural concepts

created naturally through either direct or indirect experience e.g. our concept of snow

artificial concepts

defined by a specific set of characteristics e.g. properties of geometric shapes (squares, triangles, circles, etc)

part of brain associated with prototype theory

left hemisphere and visual cortex (holistic processing)

parts of brain associated with exemplars

right hemisphere, prefrontal cortex, and basil ganglia (analysis and decision making)

exemplar theory

we store many different individual examples (exemplars) of a category in our memory (ex. your neighbor's parrot or the penguins at the zoo)

schema

mental construct consisting of a collection of related concepts

what happens when a schema is activated?

we automatically make assumptions about the person, object, or situation

role schema

makes assumptions about how individuals in certain roles will behave

event schema (cognitive script)

set of routine or automatic behaviors that can vary across different cultures

why are event schemas difficult to change?

because they are automatic behaviors

trial and error

form of problem solving that continues to try different solutions until the problem is solved

algorithm

step-by-step problem solving formula

heuristic

general problem solving framework, ex shortcuts or rule of thumbs

working backwards

form of heuristic that begins by solving a problem by focusing on the end result first

sub-goaling

breaking large tasks into a series of smaller steps

when do people use heuristics?

• when one is faced with too much information - when time to make a decision is limited - when the decision to be made is unimportant - when there is access to little information to use in making the decision

string problem

you are in a room with two hanging cords and a table with a pair of pliers, a thumb tack, and a piece of paper. while holding onto one cord, you can't reach the other .how can you tie the two cords together?

string problem solution

Tie the pliers (or fold the paper around them) to the end of one cord so it becomes a small weight. Set that cord swinging like a pendulum. Walk to the other cord, hold it in one hand (or stand on the table if you need the reach), and wait. When the swinging cord comes back within reach, grab it and tie the two cords together.

Duncker's candle problem

you are in a room with a candle, a box of thumbtacks and some matches. How could you attach the candle to a corkboard wall without the wax dripping onto the floor?

Duncker's candle problem solution

Empty the box of thumbtacks.

Use the thumbtacks to tack the (now-empty) box to the corkboard so the box’s open side faces up like a little shelf. Place the candle inside the box and light it. The box catches any dripping wax, so nothing falls to the floor

functional fixedness

can only see objects being used in the way you are used to seeing them; can't see ways to use objects other than what they are designed for

Memory

Active system that receives information from the senses, puts it into usable form, organizes and stores it, and retrieves it later

Encoding

Mental operations that convert information into usable form in the brain’s storage systems; transforms perception/thought/feeling into memory

Storage

Holding on to information for some period of time

Retrieval

Bringing information from storage into conscious awareness to be used

Automatic Processing

Encoding of details like time, space, frequency, and meaning of words without conscious awareness (e.g., remembering when you last studied)

Effortful Processing

Encoding of details that takes time and effort, often requiring rehearsal (e.g., remembering what you studied, learning new skills)

Acoustic Encoding

Encoding of sounds

Visual Encoding

Encoding of images; concrete words (car, dog, book) easier to recall than abstract words (truth, value)

Semantic Encoding

Encoding of words and their meanings; most effective form; attaching meaning involves deeper processing and aids recall

Sensory Memory

First stage of memory; capacity = large, duration = very brief (0.5–4 sec)

Iconic Memory

Visual sensory memory; lasts about 0.5 sec

Echoic Memory

Auditory sensory memory; lasts 3–4 sec

Haptic Memory

Touch sensory memory; lasts < 1 sec

Sperling’s Iconic Memory Task (1960)

Showed people 9 letters briefly; could recall only 4–5 overall, but suggested all items briefly stored in sensory memory; memory decays rapidly with time delay

Short

Term Memory (STM)

Maintenance Rehearsal

Repeating information to hold in STM long enough to use

Elaborative Rehearsal

Encoding strategy using chunking, imagery, or making meaningful connections to move info into LTM

Long Term Memory (LTM)

capacity = large, duration = years, goal = store information for later retrieval

Memory Consolidation

Transfer of information from STM to LTM, often through rehearsal

shallow processing

physical and perceptual features are analyzed; the lines angles and contour of physical appearance (ex. of a car) are detected 

intermediate processing

stimulus is recognized; the object is recognized (ex. as a car)

deep processing

semantic, meaningful, symbolic characteristics are used; associations connected with car are brought to mind ex. the car you want to buy or the fun you’ve had in your car

Retrieval cue

A stimulus that helps trigger the recall of information from long

Encoding specificity

The tendency for memory retrieval to be improved when the context or state during retrieval matches the context or state when the memory was formed.

Context

dependent learning

State

dependent learning

Recall

Retrieving information from long-term memory with very few external cues

Recognition

Matching a piece of information or a stimulus to a stored memory or fact.

Adaptive forgetting

The process of suppressing unneeded information, making it easier to remember relevant information.

Encoding failure

Failure to process information into memory, resulting in forgetting.

Curve of Forgetting

Ebbinghaus’s finding that memory recall drops sharply shortly after learning and then levels off.

Proactive interference

When older information interferes with the retrieval of newer information.

Retroactive interference

When newer information interferes with the retrieval of older information.

Memory trace

The physical change in the brain that occurs when a memory is formed.

Decay (Disuse)

The loss of memory over time due to the memory trace not being used.

context-dependent learning

the actual physical environment in which you learn information can later serve as a retrieval cue for that informtion

state-dependent learning

memories formed during a particular physiological or psychological state will be easier to recall while in a similar state

Learning

Any relatively permanent change in behavior brought about by experience or practice

Brain and Learning

When people learn anything, some part of their brain is physically changed to record what they have learned

Approaches to Learning

Behaviorism includes classical conditioning (association learning), operant conditioning (learning by consequence), and observational learning (modeling and mimicry)