Psych Exam 4

Cognition and Motivation

Cognitive Psych

emerged from behaviorism

Cognition

mental process of thinking, learning, and understanding

Cognitive processes mediate relationships between

behavior and environment

knowledge

stored representation

thinking

manipulation of stored representations

Thinking slow

deliberative, logical, rational

Thinking fast

instinctive and emotional

Analogical representations

mental representations that have some of the physical characteristics of what they represent

symbolic representations

abstract mental representations that do not correspond to the physical features of objects or ideas

Prospect Theory

first, we simplify the situation, set a reference point, then make a decision

Heuristics

shortcuts used to reduce the amount of thinking that is needed to make decisions

Anchoring

setting a reference point 

Availability heuristic

decisions are influenced by how readily examples are recalled

Representativeness Heuristic

making a judgment by comparing a person/object to a prototype

Simulation Heuristic

people express more regret over outcomes that are easier to imagine or “simulate”

Confirmation Bias

Tendency to search for information that confirms your expectation (and ignore information that refutes it)

Sunk-Cost Fallacy

a person is reluctant to abandon a strategy if they are heavily invested in it

Conjunction Fallacy

likelihood of multiple events happening together is more than any single event happening

Affective forecasting

predicting how we will feel with any given outcome

Three theories of intelligence

one overall (or general) intelligence aka g, two is fluid and crystallized intelligence, multifactor:many

Script

a schema that directs behavior over time within a situation

Stereotypes

Cognitive schemas that allow for easy fast processing of information about people based on their membership in certain groups

Army Alpha/Beta Test

assessed cognitive abilities of recruits, fitness to serve, and appropriate roles

alpha tests

literate individuals

beta test

illiterate individuals

Fluid intelligence

natural abilities such as reasoning, problem solving, in unfamiliar situations

Crystallized intelligence

knowledge gained from experience used to solve problems

Hindsight bias

creation of after the fact explanations when events turn out contrary to predictions

Framing

An emphasis on potential losses or gains from at least one alternative

Base rate

how frequently an event occurs

Loss aversion

tendency to weigh potential losses more than gains when making decisions

endowment effect

the tendency to value things we own more than we would pay to buy them

incidental affective states

influence a decision without being related to the outcome

IQ

test to prove there is some sort of underlying q

Psychometric approach

how people perform on standardized tests that assess mental abilities

aptitude test

purported to be a measure of general cognitive abilities

triarchic theory of intelligence

analytical, creative, and practical

Emotional intelligence

managing emotions, using emotions to guide thoughts and actions, recognizing other’s emotions, and understanding emotional language

Fluid general intelligence is related to 

the volume of neuronal cell bodies in the frontal lobes and other brain regions that support attentional control

Intelligence tests criticisms

reflects the culture of the people who wrote, administer, and take it; intellectual potential changes over the life span

Achievement test

measured of learned cognitive abilities (ACT); crystallized knowledge

Testing and Admissions Benefit

metric by which universities can compare across schools

Testing and Admissions Drawbacks

Cultural bias, Test prep and SES bias, Writing, some argue high school GPA is better

Language

a system for exchanging information

Communication

The use of a language, gestures, facial expressions (and a lot of other stuff) to exchange information

Bottom-up processing

takes sound bits and turns them into words, and then phrases

Top-down processing

takes previous knowledge of concepts and applies them to sound combinations

Modern research about language in the brain

systems/networks rather than areas

Phonemes

smallest component of a language, a sound that rarely carries meaning in isolation

Morphemes

smallest meaningful unit of language, typically a root word and its affixes (denationalization=5)

Overgeneralization

kids learn rules and exceptions to the rule in steps

Lexicon

fancy word for vocab and is directly related to concepts; always changing

Syntax

sentence structure

semantics

meaning of language

Semantics operate at multiple levels

lexical and syntactic

Prosody

patterns of stress and intonation in a language; can change meaning or add info to a word and structure a convo

Iconic gestures

resembles object

Emblems

represents a word

Metaphoric gestures

abstract ideas/concepts

Full conversations are possible at

2-3 years

Emotion

temporary state that includes unique physiological activity, cognitive states, and subjective experiences

Emotions prepare you

for action which leads to behavior

Emotion are

universal, communicative, and triggered but not determined by internal/external events

Emotions come and go

immediate, subjective, evaluative, temporary reactions to environmental events, and communicative

Moods are 

diffuse, long-lasting, general, subtle 

Components of emotions

physiological, cognitive, phenomenological, and behavioral

Cognitive component of emotion

evaluative (appraisal, valence)

Phenomenological component of emotion

subjective experience of emotion or feeling

Behavioral components of emotion

what your body expresses

Physiological component of emotion

some similarities and variances across emotions, limbic system takes a slow or fast path

limbic system slow path

sensory info to thalamus to visual cortex

limbic system fast path

sensory info to thalamus to amygdala

appraisal

conscious or unconscious evaluations and interpretations of a stimulus

James-Lange Theory

emotion are a consequence, stimuli activate ANS which produces emotion

James-Lange problems

many physio signatures are similar and sometimes physio responses follow emotion (embarrassment and blushing)

Schachter and Singer theory

two factor, arousal triggers emotion but the physical sensations are so similar that cognition is needed

Duchenne Smile

real because whole face is activated

Purpose of emotions

adaptive, cognitive, and relational/communication

Cognitive emotional purpose

affects decision-making and resultant behavior

What helps with anger

exercise, mindfulness, forgiveness, venting

Motivation’s impact on behavior

activates, directs, and sustains

Needs

internal physio or psychological driving force that motivates people to act

Drives

internal tension that arises from an unmet need

Extrinsic motivation

Presence of rewards and punishments can be used to shape or control behavior

Intrinsic motivation

The motivation to act = the action itself is rewarding

Self-Determination Theory

(intrinsic motivation) the introduction of extrinsic motivation undermines motivation

Self-Determination

decisions based on choice and free will, without external influence

According to SDT, the things essential for growth and well-being are

autonomy, relatedness, and competence

Autonomy

feeling that you are acting on your own volition

Need for autonomy is facilitated by

ability to make choices and involvement in the task

Need for autonomy is undermined by

external pressure, punishment, deadlines, and surveillance

Need for relatedness

feeling cared for, feeling connected to, sense of belonging with others

Need for relatedness is facilitated by

unconditional empathy, secure attachment to others

Need for relatedness is undermined by

cold interactions and controlling relationships

Need for competence

sense of effectiveness and competence in one’s context

Need for competence is facilitated by

optimal challenge and potentially informationally rewards and positive feedback

Need for competence is undermined by

non-optimal challenge and potential negative feedback

Positive feedback promotes

competence

informational feedback

if there is a genuine interest in learning, getting info is rewarding

Intrinsic motivation is undermined by

contingent rewards and punishments or negative feedback