MCAT Behavioral Sciences - Cognition, Consciousness, and Language

282

cognition

how our brains process and react to the information presented by the world

dual-coding theory

both verbal association and visual images are used to process and store information

ex. tree - word and picture

information processing model

• Thinking requires sensation, encoding, and storage of stimuli.

• Stimuli must be analyzed by the brain (rather than responded to

• automatically) to be useful in decision-making.

• Decisions made in one situation can be extrapolated and adjusted to help solve new problems (also called situational modification).

• Problem solving is dependent not only on the person’s cognitive level, but also on the context and complexity of the problem.

Cognitive development

development of one’s ability to think and solve problems across the life span; limited by the pace of brain maturation; includes learning control of one’s own body as well as learning how to interact with and manipulate the environment

Abstract thought

the ability to think about things that are not physically present

diminished in certain mental conditions, i.e. schizophrenia

Jean Piaget

one of the most influential figures in developmental psychology; model of cognitive development; qualitative differences between the way that children and adults think; passage through each of these stages was a continuous and sequential process in which completion of each stage prepares the individual for the stage that follows

schema

organized patterns of behavior; can include a concept, a behavior, or a sequence of events

adaptation

how new information is processed

Assimilation

the process of classifying new information into existing schemata

Accommodation

the process by which existing schemata are modified to encompass this new information

sensorimotor stage

birth → 2 yearsa child learns to

manipulate the environment in order to meet physical needs and learns to coordinate sensory input with motor actions

circular reactions

behaviour pattern of repetitive nature

Primary circular reactions

repetitions of body movements that originally occurred by chance, and continue if child finds them soothing

ex. thumb sucking

Secondary circular reactions

when manipulation is focused on something outside the body and continues if gains environmental/social reaction

ex. repeatedly throwing toys from a high chair as a parent picks up the dropped toy

object permanence

the understanding that objects continue to exist even when out of view; key milestone that ends sensorimotor stage

ex. peek-a-boo

representational thought

create mental representations of external objects and events

preoperational stage

2 → 7 years

symbolic thinking, egocentrism, centration

Symbolic thinking

the ability to pretend, play make-believe, and have an imagination.

Egocentrism

the inability to imagine what another person may think or feel

ex. barrel experiment

conservation

understanding that a physical amount remains the same, even if there is a change in shape or appearance; preoperational lack

ex. tall vs stout glass; pizza sliced in half

centration

tendency to focus on only one aspect of a phenomenon while ignoring other important elements

concrete operational stage

7 → 11 years

understand conservation; consider others perspectives; logical thought with concrete objects or given information

formal operational stage

11 years →

logical thinking about abstract ideas; problem solving; hypothetical reasoning.

Piaget’s pendulum experiment

what determines a pendulum’s frequency?

concrete operational - changed variables at random, distorted data

formal operational - followed scientific method by changing one variable at a time

hypothetical reasoning

ability to mentally manipulate variables in a number of ways, generally within the scope of scientific experiments

Lev Vygotsky

prominent educational psychologist; proposed that the engine driving cognitive development is children’s internalization of their culture, including interpersonal and societal rules, symbols, and language

Fluid intelligence

solving new or novel problems, possibly using creative methods; peak in early adulthood but decline with age

ex. new video game navigation

Crystallized intelligence

related to solving problems using acquired knowledge, and often can be procedural; peaked in middle adulthood and remains stable with age

ex. stoichiometry problem

activities of daily living

eating, bathing, toileting, dressing, and ambulation; loss of function linked to intellectual/cognitive decline in older adults; higher level of education, more frequent performance of intellectual activities, socializing, and a stimulating environment have been found to be protective against intellectual decline

dementia

disorders and conditions that are characterized by a general loss of cognitive function, includes memory loss, impaired judgement, confusion, personality changes; caused by Alzheimer’s, Vascular multi-infarct dementia; often need full time supportive care, often from family

organic brain disorders

problems with the brain itself

ex. many genetic and chromosomal diseases such as Down syndrome

and Fragile X syndrome are associated with delayed cognitive development.

fetal alcohol syndrome

alcohol use during pregnancy results in slowed cognitive development and distinct craniofacial features

shaken baby syndrome

reduced cognition (and even death.) following trauma to the brain as an infant

delirium tremens

delirium associated with alcohol withdrawal; can be life-threatening

alcohol is the only major drug of abuse in which both overdose and withdrawal can be lethal.

Delirium

rapid fluctuation in cognitive function that is reversible and caused by medical (nonpsychological) causes; may be caused by electrolyte and pH disturbances, malnutrition, low blood sugar, infection, a drug reaction, alcohol withdrawal, and pain.

mental set

the tendency to approach similar problems in the same way

functional fixedness

innappropriate mental set that limits the way objects can be used; the inability to consider how to use an object in a nontraditional manner.

Trial-and-error

less sophisticated type of problem solving in which various solutions are tried until one is found that seems to work

algorithm

a formula or procedure for solving a certain type of problem

Deductive (top-down) reasoning

starts from a set of general rules and draws conclusions from the information given

ex. logic puzzles (from vague statements, come to one objective true conclusion)

Inductive (bottom-up) reasoning

seeks to create a theory via generalizations of speciifc instances

ex. Sherlock Holmes (sees a small detail, constructs a likely story behind it)

Heuristics

simplified principles used to make decisions; “rules of thumb.”

availability heuristic

heuristic used when we base the likelihood of an event on how easily examples of that event come to mind

ex. airplane vs car accidents

representativeness heuristic

categorizing items on the basis of whether they fit the prototypical, stereotypical, or representative image of the category

ex. taxicab problem

base rate fallacy

Using prototypical or stereotypical factors while ignoring actual numerical information

disconfirmation principle

the evidence obtained from testing demonstrated that a solution does not work, and should therefore be discarded

Confirmation bias

the tendency to focus on information that fits an individual’s beliefs, while rejecting information that goes against them

overconfidence

a tendency to erroneously interpret one’s decisions, knowledge, and beliefs as infallible

hindsight bias

the tendency for people to overestimate their ability to predict the outcome of events that already happened

belief perseverance

the inability to reject a particular belief despite clear evidence to the contrary

Intuition

as the ability to act on perceptions that may not be supported by available evidence; developed by experience

recognition-primed decision model

sorting through a wide variety of information to match a pattern through an extensive level of experience that can be accessed without awareness

Emotion

the subjective experience of a person in a certain situation; influences how a person thinks and makes decisions.

Gardner’s multiple intelligences

eight defined types of intelligence: linguistic, logical–mathematical, musical, visual–spatial, bodily–kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalist

Interpersonal intelligence

the ability to detect and navigate the moods and motivations of others

intrapersonal intelligence

being mindful of one’s own emotions, strengths, and weaknesses

Sternberg’s triarchic theory of human intelligence

analytical, creative and practical intelligence

analytical intelligence

the ability to evaluate and reason

creative intelligence

the ability to solve problems using novel methods

practical intelligence

dealing with everyday problems at home or at work

emotional intelligence

the ability to express and perceive emotions in ourself and others, the ability to comprehend and analyze our emotions, the ability to regulate our emotions, and awareness of how emotions shape our thoughts and decisions

ex. empathy

Spearman’s g factor

general intelligence; based on the observation that performance on different cognitive tasks is in many cases positively correlated

intelligence quotient (IQ)

the underlying variable/unit of intelligence

IQ = mental age/chronological age × 100

Stanford–Binet IQ test

intelligence test developed by Alfred Binet and Stanford professor

Alertness

a state of consciousness in which we are awake and able to think, perceive, process, access, and verbalize information; physiological arousal

physiological arousal

characterized by physiological reactions such as increased heart rate, breathing rate, blood pressure, cortisol levels tend to be higher, and electroencephalogram (EEG) waves indicate a brain in the waking state

reticular formation

a neural structure located in the brainstem, associated with wakefulness; disruption causes coma

Consciousness

one’s level of awareness of both the world and one’s own existence within that world

Sleep

a state of reduced mental and physical activity in which consciousness is altered and certain sensory activity is inhibited; deprivation has been linked with diminished cognitive performance as well as the development of chronic diseases such as diabetes and obesity

electroencephalography (EEG)

records an average of the electrical patterns within different portions of the brain

Beta waves

awake; high frequency and occur when the person is alert or attending to a mental task that requires concentration; occur when neurons are randomly firing

Alpha waves

awake; relaxing with our eyes closed; are somewhat slower than beta waves; more synchronized than beta waves

Stage 1 (NREM1)

dozing off; characterised by theta waves

Theta waves

characterized by irregular waveforms with slower frequencies and higher voltages

Stage 2 (NREM2)

deeper sleep; theta waves along with sleep spindles and K complexes

sleep spindles

bursts of high-frequency waves

K complexes

singular high-amplitude waves

Stage 3 (NREM3)/slow-wave sleep (SWS)

delta waves; deep sleep; rousing someone from sleep becomes exceptionally difficult; associated with cognitive recovery and (declarative) memory consolidation, as well as increased growth hormone release

Delta waves

low-frequency (few sleep waves per second), high-voltage sleep waves

non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM)

1-3 stages of sleep

rapid eye movement (REM)/paradoxical sleep

arousal levels reach that of wakefulness, but the muscles are paralyzed; heart rate, breathing patterns, and EEG mimic wakefulness, but the individual is still asleep; dreaming is most likely to occur and is also associated with (procedural) memory consolidation

sleep cycle

a single complete progression through the sleep stages

Early in the night, SWS predominates as the brain falls into deep sleep and then into more wakeful states. Later in the night, REM sleep predominates

circadian rhythms

daily cycle of waking and sleeping is regulated by internally generated rhythms; approximately 24-hour cycle somewhat affected by external cues such as light but underlain by biochemical signals

melatonin

a serotonin-derived hormone from the pineal gland that causes sleepiness

pineal gland

a small endocrine gland in the brain of most vertebrates that produces melatonin

Cortisol

a steroid hormone produced in the adrenal cortex related to wakefulness; levels slowly increase during early morning: increasing light → corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) from the hypothalamus → adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) from the anterior pituitary → cortisol release

dreams

a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep

activation–synthesis theory

dreams are caused by widespread, random activation of neural circuitry; mimic incoming sensory information, and may also consist of pieces of stored memories, current and previous desires, met and unmet needs, and other experiences; cortex then tries to stitch this unrelated information together, resulting in a dream that is both bizarre and somewhat familiar

problem solving dream theory

dreams are a way to solve problems while you are sleeping; Dreams are untethered by the rules of the real world, and thus allow interpretation of obstacles differently than during waking hours

cognitive process dream theory

dreams are merely the sleeping counterpart of stream-of-consciousness

Neurocognitive models of dreaming

seek to unify biological and psychological perspectives on dreaming by correlating the subjective, cognitive experience of dreaming with measurable physiological changes

Freudian dream theory

manifest content - what one actually sees and hears in a dream

latent content - the underlying significance of these dream elements

Dyssomnias

disorders that make it difficult to fall asleep, stay asleep, or avoid sleep

ex. insomnia, narcolepsy, and sleep apnea

Parasomnias

abnormal movements or behaviors during sleep

ex. night terrors and sleepwalking

Insomnia

difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep; most common sleep-wake disorder; may be related to anxiety, depression, medications, or disruption of sleep cycles and circadian rhythms

Narcolepsy

a condition characterized by lack of voluntary control over the onset of

sleep; cataplexy, sleep paralysis, and hypnagogic and hypnopompic

hallucinations

cataplexy

a loss of muscle control and sudden intrusion of REM sleep during waking hours, usually caused by an emotional trigger

sleep paralysis

a sensation of being unable to move despite being awake

hypnagogic/hypnopompic hallucinations

hallucinations when going to sleep or awakening, respectively

sleep apnea

inability to breathe during sleep; awaken oen during the night in order to breathe; obstructive (physical blockage in pharynx or trachea) or central (brain fails to tell diaphragm to move)