PSYC 101 Midterm 2

executive function

process that allows for goal-directed action and involves mental flexibility

two ways to test EF

• inhibit either an automatic or distractor response

• flexibly switch between rules

in the card-sorting task, what stops the kids from abiding by the original rule after the experimenter introduced the new rule?

distraction (ex: dropping the cards)

T/F: IQ is a better predictor of academic performance than EF

false

T/F: most attempts to teach general EF are successful

false

T/F: training EF skills in one context generalizes well into another context

false

one thing that helps build EF skills is if the content is ___ and the person is ___

meaningful; motivated

Brazil candy sellers study main idea

• kids lack formal education but are very good at complex math skills

• this requires a lot of EF, but it is in a meaningful domain

children require both the ___ and the ___ to exert EF

capacity; desire

passive learning

receiving information without overtly doing anything else related to learning

active learning

learning while doing some sort of action

constructive learning

learners generate something new while learning

interactive learning

both partners’ utterances are constructive and there is turn-taking

passive learning example

reading a textbook

active learning example

highlighting while reading

constructive learning example

making a concept map

constructive learning example

taking a practice test

interactive learning example

making inferences that go beyond what the other person said

least engaged learning strategy

passive learning

most engaged learning strategy

interactive learning

knowledge gained through passive learning [A] can/[B] cannot generalize to new contexts

B

T/F: all learning that happens in collaboration is interactive learning

false

T/F: people’s intuitions about the best learning strategy are often wrong

true

T/F: productive struggle is beneficial to learning

true

mixing problem types [A] does/[B] does not benefit learning

A

study of showing 6-9yos a video on how an engine works

• video was much too complicated for them to fully understand

  • however, they still gained some knowledge → a mental model of how engines work

• engine expert detection task: determine who the real expert and fake expert are by reading the true and false statements

• results: watching the complicated video helps them perform better on this task

age range of most people’s earliest memory

3-5yo

infantile amnesia

inability to retrieve early memories

the cause of infantile amnesia, according to Freud

repressing inappropriate/disturbing content of early traumatic experiences

the cause of infantile amnesia, according to modern researchers

limits in brain networks; later onset of language abilities; lack of social scaffolding

foot kick-mobile move study

• rope connecting the baby’s leg to the mobile such that, when the baby kicks, the mobile moves

  • baby learns this accidentally while wiggling around in the crib

• baby likes that its in control, so it does it repeatedly

• later, retest the baby

  • put them in the same crib with the same rope

  • see if they immediately start kicking again

    • if they do, then they remember what they are supposed to do to make the mobile move

• results

  • 2mo can remember for 24hrs

  • 6mo can remember for 2 weeks

  • context is important (ex: changing the bumper pads causes confusion)

baby kicking-mobile moving study: __ can remember for 24hrs

2mo

baby kicking-mobile moving study: __ can remember for 2 weeks

6mo

baby kicking-mobile moving study: 2mo can remember for ___

24hrs

baby kicking-mobile moving study: 6mo can remember for ___

2 weeks

scuba diving study

• adults learned a new word list while scuba diving

• tested on this list in two contexts: sitting in a classroom vs scuba diving again

• results: remembered the list better while scuba diving

children as young as ___ can remember scripts and autobiographical events from 6mo earlier

3yo

children as young as 3yo can remember ___ and ___

scripts (sequences of events, ex: taking a bath); autobiographical events from 6mo earlier

T/F: children can develop false memories if you ask them repeated questions

true

bitten by rat false memory study

• every week for 10 weeks, children are asked if they remember being bitten by a rat in the basement

• results

  • at the beginning, they say no

  • by the end, they say yes, and tell a dramatic story about what happened (false memory is created)

judges, child experts, etc [A] can/[B] cannot tell when a child is describing a false vs a true memory

B

brain scans look [A] the same/[B] different when recalling false vs real memories

A

appearance-reality distinction study

• children are shown deceptive objects and asked

  • what does the object look like

  • what is the object really

• results

  • 3yo answer the same to both questions

__ answer the same to both questions in the appearance-reality distinction study

3yo

one thought as to why certain children fail the appearance-reality distinction study

centration

centration

trouble thinking two ways at once; can only focus on one idea

T/F: children are never successful on the appearance-reality distinction task

false

two conditions where children succeed on the appearance-reality distinction task

• when asked to give the experimented the “real X” vs the “one that looks like X”

• when asked about eating contaminated food

when children turn ___, they can succeed at the scale-model retrieval task

3yo

when a child is ___, they cannot succeed at the scale-model retrieval task

2.5yo

dual representation hypothesis

to use a symbol, a person must mentally represent as the object and as a symbol for something else

what causes kids to succeed at the scale-model retrieval task?

telling them it’s a shrinking room

age range when symbolic play is first seen

12-24mo

age where symbolic play peaks

5yo

theory of mind

the capacity to represent the contents of other people’s minds, including what they know, think, believe, and feel

by age ___, children understand that people have different desires

18-24mo

if the experimenter says the goldfish is ew and the broccoli is yum, a goldfish-loving 12mo would give her [A] goldfish/[B] broccoli

A

if the experimenter says the goldfish is ew and the broccoli is yum, a goldfish-loving 24mo would give her [A] goldfish/[B] broccoli

B

after learning that the crayon box contains animal crackers, what is the ToM-failing kid’s response to the question “when you first saw this box, what did you think was inside?”
[A] crayons

[B] animal crackers

B

after learning that the crayon box contains animal crackers, what is the ToM-failing kid’s response to the question “if your brother comes in here, what would he think is inside this box?”
[A] crayons

[B] animal crackers

B

age when they do poorly on the standard false belief task (sally-anne, crayons-crackers)

3yo

age when they do well on the standard false belief task (sally-anne, crayons-crackers)

5yo

phonology

how sounds are used in language

phoneme

smallest units of sound that can distinguish meaning

phoneme example

cat → bat

most languages have ___ phonemes

20-60

newborns are [A] good/[B] bad at phonemic distinctions in all languages

A

10mo are [A] good/[B] bad at phonemic distinctions in all languages

B

10mo are [A] good/[B] bad at phonemic distinctions in languages they are exposed to

A

in the “da” “ba” study, the 6mo [A] turns their head to the bunny/[B] stares at the experimenter the whole time

A

in the “da” “ba” study, the 10mo [A] turns their head to the bunny/[B] stares at the experimenter the whole time

B

T/F: phoneme perception decline cannot be reversed

false

phonemic perception decline is reversed when exposed to a [A] TV recording/[B] live speaker

B

one way to make TV a better learning source

make it more interactive (think blue’s clues)

morphology

the study of form and structure of words

morpheme

smallest unit of language that has meaning; has one or more phonemes

T/F: free morphemes can stand alone

true

free morpheme examples

tree, jump

T/F: bound morphemes can stand alone

false

bound morpheme examples

un-, -ness, -ed

semantics

study of meaning in words in sentences

syntax

the structure of sentences

typical word order in English

subject, verb, object

pragmatics

using language in social contexts

which language concept is closely linked with ToM

pragmatics

joint attention is important in which language concept

pragmatics

“the dog bark” (rather than “the dog barks”) is an error in which language concept

syntax

speech acts

phrases that go beyond literal meaning of words and focus on what speakers intend to achieve

put in order: babbling, gurgling, cooing

gurgling, cooing, babbling

cooing

saying vowels

babbling

saying vowels and consonants

easiest sounds to make for a babbling baby

ma, ba, pa

at which age do they start making one-word utterances

12mo

categories of typical early words

• familiar objects/people (daddy, ball)

• social words (bye bye, uh oh)

at which age do they start making two-word utterances

18-24mo

telegraphic speech

using content words and leaving out grammar rules (“ride car”)

overextension

overly genreal word use

overextension example

“kitty” for any small animal

underextension

overly specific word use