Cognitive Psychology Test Review

pavlov’s experiment: unconditioned stimulus

food

pavlov’s experiment: unconditioned response

salivation

pavlov’s experiment: neutral stimulus

bell (initially)

pavlov’s experiment: conditioned stimulus

bell (after conditioning)

pavlov’s experiment: conditioned response

salivation (in response to the bell)

taste aversion

caused by classical conditioning; a strong dislike for a food or drink

extinction

caused by classical conditioning; when the conditioned stimulus is disconnected from the unconditioned stimulus therefore it no longer causes the unconditioned response

spontaneous recovery

caused by classical conditioning; revival of the response

generalization

caused by classical conditioning; act of responding in the same ways to the stimulus that seems to be similar

discrimination

caused by classical conditioning; weaker version of generalization

operant conditioning

a learning process through which the strength of a behavior is modified by reinforcement or punishment; voluntary response; follow a schedule of reinforcement; uses continuous reinforcement

reinforcement

process by which stimulus increases the chances that the preceding behaviour will occur again

reinforcer

a stimulus that encourages a behaviour to occur again

primary reinforcers

function due to the biological makeup of an organism (ex. food, water, warmth)

secondary reinforcers

acquire value through being paired with establish reinforcers (ex. money, praise)

rewards

uses knowledge of the organism whereas positive reinforcement does not

punishments

unwanted events thst when they are applied, decrease the frequency of the behaviour they follow

4 things used for operant conditioning

positive reinforcement

negative reinforcement

positive punishment

negative punishment

positive reinforcement (+R)

increase frequency of the behaviour they follow when they are applied (ex. food, social approval)

negative reinforcement (-R)

increase the frequency of the behaviour they follows when they are removed (ex. discomfort, social disapproval)

positive punishment (+P)

introduces an aversive consequence to decrease behavior (ex. electric shock, scolding)

negative punishment (-P)

removes a pleasant consequence to decrease behavior (ex. loss of privileges, time-out)

memory

process by which we recollect prior experiences and information and skills learned in the past

episodic memory (explicit)

a type of memory that involves the recollection of specific events, situations, and experiences, including contextual details such as time and place; “flashbulb” memories

semantic memory (explicit)

memory of facts, words, concepts; meaning and language; remember “what” but not “how” or “where” or “when”

explicit memory

clear, clearly stated or explained; memory of specific information

implicit memory

implied or not clearly stated; practiced skills and learning habits

maintenance rehearsal (storage)

mechanical or rote repetition of the information in order to keep forgetting

elaborative rehearsal (storage)

relating information to other information you already know well

organizational systems (storage)

organizing encoded information into a system for you to remember; steps, chronological

sensory (stage)

immediate, initial recording of data that enters through our senses

iconic memory - ability to store images (brief)

eidetic memory - ability to store visual stimuli over a long period of time

echoic memory - mental traces of sound

short term (stage)

where iconic and echoic memories are transferred after being held briefly in sensory memory; fades rapidly; have to rehearse and repeat

primacy and recency effects - remembering first (primacy) and last (recency) items

chunking - organization of items into familiar or manageable units

interference - occurs when new information appears I short-term memory and takes the place of what was already therein short-term memory, which can disrupt recall.

long-term (stage)

maintenance rehearsal and elaborative rehearsal is one way to transfer information from short to long term memory

memory as reconstruction - shape them according to the personal and individual ways which we view and understand the world

schemas - mental representations that we form of the world by organizing bits of information into knowledge

capacity of memory - never been a discovery of a limit to our memory

repression

extreme kind of forgetting; forgetting on purpose

amnesia

extreme kind of forgetting; severe memory loss due to trauma to the brain

retrograde amnesia

forget the period leading up to the traumatic event

anterograde amnesia

inability to store new memories after traumatic event

infantile amnesia

forgetting memories of infancy because of the development of the brain (hippocampus)

drill practice (improves memory)

going over and over/repetition; use information right away

relate to existing knowledge (improves memory)

elaborative rehearsal - relating new information to what we already know

form unusual associations (improves memory)

easier to remember when linked with something odd or humorous

use mnenomic devices (improves memory)

chunking information into recognizable format (acronym, phrase, jingle); mental picture with mental caption; pairing data from different senses

convergent thinking

look at a problem and narrow to the best possible solution

EX. mc tests, quizzes, standardized tests, spelling tests

divergent thinking

allows the mind to associate freely to various elements of problems

EX. wondering how many ways you can use a fork

metacognition

consists of planning, evaluating, and monitoring mental activities

EX. planning out a project; figuring out what learning styles works for you when learning new information

trial and error (problem solving)

try different things and see what happens with each

difference reduction (problem solving)

identify the goal, where we are in relation to it, and the direction we must go to move closer to it (AKA we want to reduce the difference)

“what direction do I move in order to get from here to there?”

means-end analysis (problem solving)

we know that certain things we can do (means) will have certain results (ends)

“what can I do to get from here to there?”

working backward (problem solving)

breaking a problem down into parts and then dealing with part individually

analogies (problem solving)

finding similarities between two or more items, events, or situationsto help understand a problem or generate solutions.

mental set (obstacles in problem solving)

the tendency to respond to new problems with an approach that was successfully used with a similar

functional fixedness (obstacles in problem solving)

tendency to think of an object as being useful only for the function that the object is usually used for

deductive reasoning

the conclusion is always true if the premises are true; if premises are incorrect, then conclusion may incorrect as well

theory > hypothesis > observation > confirmation

inductive reasoning

reasoning from individual cases or particular facts to reach a general conclusion

observation > pattern > hypothesis > theory

difference between deductive and inductive reasoning

deductive reasoning starts with general premises to reach a specific conclusion, while inductive reasoning begins with specific observations to form a general conclusion

phomenes (basic element of language)

sounds; english uses about 43 phonemes in alphabet of 26

morphemes (basic element of language)

basic units of meaning; prefixes, suffixes, plurals

syntax (basic element of language)

grammars

semantics (basic element of language)

relationship between language and the things depicted in the language

spearman’s two-factor theory

1900, Charles Spearman

1. general intelligence underlines all of our intellectual abilities - to reason and solve problems

2. specific intelligence accounts for people’s specific abilities

thurstone’s theory of primary mental abilities

1930s, L.L. Thurstone

7 primary mental abilities

1. word fluency

2. verbal comprehension

3. spatial visualization

4. facility with numbers

5. memory

6. reasoning

7. perceptual speed

gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences

1983, Howard Gardner

9 new intelligences

1. verbal/linguistic intelligence

2. visual/spatial intelligence

3. bodily/kinesthetic intelligence

4. musical/rhythmic

5. interpersonal intelligence (sensitivity to other’s feelings)

6. intrapersonal (insight into one’s own inner feelings)

7. naturalistic intelligence (nature, laws the govern natural behaviour)

8. existential

   1. logical/mathematical

sternberg’s triarchic theory

1985, Robert J. Sternberg

3 factors

1. analytical

2. creative

   1. practical

emotional intelligence

1990, Peter Salovey & John Mayer

5 factors - involved in success in school/job

1. self awareness

2. self regulation

3. self motivation

4. empathy

5. people/social skills

stanford binet scale (measuring intelligence)

1905, Alfred Binet

test to seek a person’s mental age and assess their intelligence quotient (IQ) by comparing it to the average mental age for their chronological age. (MA/CAx100)

the wechsler scales

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Test (WAIS-R) and Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-V), designed to measure intellectual performance across a range of cognitive abilities

WISC-V scored by comparing your child’s individual performance against a group of students born within a four-month age range

sensory awareness

you are aware conscious of your environment and the senses you experience (sights, sounds, smells)

selective attention - focusing on a particular stimulus

direct inner awareness

you are conscious of your thoughts, feelings, emotions without any sensory stimuli

EX. blinking when transitioning form a dark to light area, but not feeling pupils growing smaller

sense of self

you are aware of yourself as an individual and your existence

EX. staying firm in self-worth after losing a job

preconscious level

ideas that are not in your awareness now, but you can recall the; do this by directing your inner awareness to themu

unconscious level

sometimes called the subconscious; information is hidden from the conscious mind; unavailable to awareness under most circumstances

nonconscious level

basic biological functions (breathing, heart rate)

altered states of consciousness

waking state; a person’s sense of self, or sense of world, changes

• sleep

• daydreaming

• meditation

• hypnosis

  • hallucinations

insomnia

makes it hard to fall asleep, hard to stay asleep, or cause you to wake up too early and not be able to get back to sleep

nightmares and night terrors

nightmares - unpleasant dreams which the sleeper awake from

night terrors - parasomnia; a type of disorder marked by abnormal occurrences during sleep; involve sudden bouts. of intense fear, screaming, and thrashing around while you’re still asleep

sleepwalking

somnambulism; involves getting up and walking around while in a state of sleep

sleep apnea

when your breathing stops and starts while your slumber

narcolepsy

characterized by overwhelming daytime drowsiness and sudden attacks of sleep

sleep paralysis

a feeling of being conscious but unable to move; occurs when a person passes between stages of wakefulness and sleep

during these transitions, you may be unable to move or speak for a few seconds to up to a few minutes

stimulants

mechanism - block the reuptake of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin in the synapses of the central nervous system

symptoms - enhanced mood and increased energy

EX. caffeine, nicotine, cocaine, amphetamines, meth

depressants

mechanism - change consciousness by increasing the production of the neurotransmitters GABA and decreasing the production of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, usually at the level of the thalamus and the reticular formation

symptoms - calming effects, sleep, pain relief, slowed heart rate and respiration

EX. alcohol, barbiturates and benzodiazepines, toxic inhalants

opioids

mechanism - chemical makeup similar to endorphins, the neurotransmitters that srve as the body’s “natural pain reducers”

symptoms - slowing of many body functions, constipation, respiratory and cardia depression, and the rapid development of tolerance

EX. opium, morphine, heroin, fentanyl

hallucinogens

mechanism - chemical compositions of the hallucinogens are similar to the neurotransmitters serotonin and epinephrine, and they act primarily by mimicking them

symptoms - altered consciousness

EX. marijuana, LSD, mescaline, PCP, and peyote